With doubts in his heart, Du Yu followed Master Qing all the way down.

As he descended further, the Little Burning Sun within him grew increasingly joyful.

"Closer."

"A bit closer now."

"Demon Fire, Demon Fire, me and Du Yu's Little Demon Fire~"

Du Yu: "..."

Normally, the Little Burning Sun was not in this state.

It was apparent that the Demon Fire's allure was immense; this Little Golden Crow was about to turn into a "little chatterbox."

Du Yu imagined the Little Burning Sun rubbing its hands together, a string of emoticons popping up in his mind, somewhat cute?

He tried to hold back, but eventually said, "Sleep, Little Burning Sun. You can have anything in your dreams."

The Little Burning Sun felt embarrassed, having accidentally shared all its thoughts in its excitement.

Feeling annoyed, she murmured softly, "Hate you, I'm ignoring you now."

Then the Little Burning Sun went silent; maybe it went to play with Sister Ta.

Du Yu continued descending with Yang Qingqing, and surprisingly, the 15th underground level was quiet. Until they entered the tunnel door again, they encountered no Demon Beast attack.

After passing through this tunnel and exiting the dark door, they would be at the 20th underground level.

This was the fabled battlefield of real combat!

"Master Qing?" After walking through the passage for a while, a voice finally emerged at the tunnel's end.

Du Yu employed his Extreme Eye Power, looking ahead, but the cold mist around was just too haunting.

Until the two approached the Stone Gate, the surrounding cold started to clear.

The guarding soldiers witnessed this scene, secretly amazed.

The cold fog inside the tunnel seemed to avoid them as if evading a plague, granting them a clear view of the passage.

After repeatedly confirming the master-student identities, the soldiers spoke: "Master Qing, there are multiple units on the battlefield performing tasks. Today's password is 'Wood God' and 'Ten Mouths.'

If soldiers need to verify your identity, please respond promptly to avoid unnecessary trouble."

"Mm." Yang Qingqing nodded, "We won't go too deep, rest assured."

"Return safely." The soldier whispered, patting the side of the micro-camera attached to his head.

"Click!"

A soft sound, and the Stone Gate behind the soldier slowly opened.

Du Yu gripped the Ghost Firefly Torch in his left hand, vigilantly gazing towards the direction of the Stone Gate.

Never would he have imagined, once the Stone Gate opened, a "tree branch corridor" would appear before him?

Behind the door was yet another tunnel, pieced together by dense tree branches, with a few scattered leaves hanging within, all gray in color.

As the two stepped inside, the cold mist scattered in all directions.

"Huh." Du Yu couldn't help but shiver, a chilling aura washing over him, sending shivers down his spine.

"Click!" The Stone Gate behind them closed slowly, leaving only the master and student in the tree-branch tunnel.

Yang Qingqing raised her hand, her slender jade fingers pinching a leaf, gently rubbing: "This is the Demonic Plant emerging from the underground, we call it the Tree of Cold Qi."

"It's spread here already?" Du Yu's heart sank, this was the 20th underground level, only about 100 meters from the surface!

Trees from the Otherworld have invaded this deeply?

Under the headlight's illumination, Du Yu scrutinized the leaves, finding nothing special aside from their color.

Only in contrast with Master Qing's pale fingers did the leaf appear particularly dirty.

"It has been here for a long time now." Yang Qingqing said lightly, pinching the leaf with two fingers, "Watch closely."

Tap~

A light sound, the dirty gray leaf was plucked off.

Instantly, the tree tunnel quivered!

The Tree of Cold Qi seemed quite dissatisfied with the act of plucking its leaf, the layers of branches churning.

"Oh!" The ground beneath Du Yu's feet was also pieced together by branches, and under the Tree of Cold Qi's agitation, it rose and fell like waves.

Yang Qingqing: "Have you noticed the problem?"

Du Yu followed the ground's undulating rhythm, managing to stand firm, and perceived the issue at hand!

The Tree of Cold Qi from the Otherworld was restricted by another kind of tree!

"This... is the Divine Tree?"

Du Yu was astounded!

Without restriction, the Tree of Cold Qi could crush people in the tunnel into pulp!

It couldn't freely rampage because another tree's branches tightly bound the branches of the Tree of Cold Qi.

And were these dry branches not the existing form of the Divine Tree?

"Yes, the Divine Tree."

Yang Qingqing's fingers swept over the tree wall: "The Cold Tree from the Otherworld couldn't reach the surface and invade the ground because the Divine Tree's roots extended downward, binding it."

Yang Qingqing inserted her fingertips into the tree wall, forcibly ripping out a flexible gray branch.

Sure enough, the gray branch was tightly intertwined with dry roots.

"Wherever the branches of Cold Qi pass, there the Divine Tree follows." Yang Qingqing's right hand reached forward, stripping the dry roots backward, then pinched the gray branch.

The gray branch, once severed, finally lost its spiritual essence, no longer writhing or twisting.

In the woman's hand, scarlet flames ignited, burning the gray branch to ashes.

As she rubbed within her palms, flecks of ashes silently fell.

"Whew." Yang Qingqing blew on her palm, causing the tree-branch corridor to surge once again!

Du Yu could feel it; this time, not only was the Tree of Cold Qi agitated, but also the Divine Tree was joyful!

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