"This Penglai Island is infested with an Undead Tree Demon, its whereabouts unknown. If you insist on splitting up, I may not be able to protect you all," Yuan Ming continued to transmit his voice.

"We thank Lord Nether Moon God for your kind intentions. While we may not be powerful, we are still capable of protecting ourselves," White Scale Master said.

Queen Ming Kong and the burly man from the Water Ape Clan did not speak, but their expressions were resolute, clearly determined.

"If that's the case, I will not insist," Yuan Ming said no more.

White Scale Master, Queen Ming Kong, and the strong man from the Water Ape Clan gave a slight bow to the others and then swept toward the golden hall.

Only Hua Zhi, Old Man Hei Zhu, Aunt Wan Hua, Shi Yanshi, Wulu, and Long Chong remained on the spot, their combat power greatly reduced.

The expressions on Old Man Hei Zhu and the others were unpleasant, but Hua Zhi remained composed and continued toward the direction of Evergreen Garden.

A strange scene unfolded.

The path leading to Evergreen Garden seemed not far away, yet no matter how much they accelerated their Flying Escape, they still could not reach it. The gates of Evergreen Garden appeared to be at the far reaches of the horizon.

"Something is not right. Could it be that we've fallen under an Illusion Technique? Should we retreat first and make long-term plans?" Aunt Wan Hua spoke with an uneasy look.

"This isn't an Illusion Technique, it's a type of spatial extension restriction," Shi Yanshi shook his head and said.

"Spatial extension?" Old Man Hei Zhu asked.

"It's a kind of Space Restriction indeed. As the name implies, it can extend what is originally a short distance into an unbelievably long one. However, this restriction poses no danger; it simply requires some extra effort," Shi Yanshi explained.

Hearing this, the others relaxed slightly and felt more confident, immediately increasing their Flying Escape speed.

Just as Shi Yanshi said, the group, giving their all to fly, finally reached the entrance of Evergreen Garden after a quarter of an hour.

The place indeed looked like a garden. Through the gates, they could see tall green trees, courtyards, and towers, with a very pleasant landscape.

Beyond the beautiful scenery, just like the previous flower gardens, a large number of spirit grasses and spirit trees were planted in Evergreen Garden. Several could be seen just by looking through the gates.

Yuzhu, Aunt Wan Hua, and the others from the Three Islands had been planting various Spirit Plants for generations and held a special fondness for spirit grass and Spiritual Flowers. Old Man Hei Zhu, Shi Yanshi, and Aunt Wan Hua could not wait and flew into the garden eagerly.

With a "bang," a wisp of azure light rose from the gates of Evergreen Garden. A green light screen had actually appeared, blocking the three of them from entering.

Old Man Hei Zhu, angered and embarrassed, shone with black light, ready to make a move.

A series of coughs came from within the garden. A short-statured elder wearing a bamboo hat, with a red smoking pipe in his mouth, appeared inside the garden.

"I've been here for many years, and today I've finally seen people. Are you Cultivators who've come to Penglai Island in search of treasures?" the elder walked to the gate with a smile, completely unaffected by the green light restriction on it.

"Who might you be?" Old Man Hei Zhu and the others showed a cautious look.

Having previously encountered Zhao Gui, Old Man Hei Zhu and the others had also encountered other puppets of the Undead Tree. Since Penglai Immortal Island was the lair of the Undead Tree, they were even more careful, with their Magic Treasures ready to strike at any moment.

While questioning the elder, they also simultaneously used their techniques to sense the elder's aura.

Although the Penglai Immortal Palace had forbidden the spread of Divine Sense, the Cultivators present had profound Cultivation, and without the use of Divine Sense, they had all learned a secret technique or two for such investigation.

Surprise showed in the eyes of Old Man Hei Zhu, Aunt Wan Hua, and Shi Yanshi. The elder before them possessed profound Cultivation and had already reached the Nascent Soul Mid-Stage. His aura was pure, bearing not a trace of the Undead Tree Demon.

"I am Zhu Yu, servant to the Penglai Immortals and in charge of this Evergreen Garden. If you Fellow Daoists wish to enter the garden in search of treasures, you can, but you must first pass my test," the elder took off his bamboo hat to reveal a shiny bald head.

Old Man Hei Zhu, Aunt Wan Hua, and Shi Yanshi exchanged glances, wondering if this man could be an Undead Tree Puppet?

Inside the Stealing Heaven Tripod, a cold smile emerged on Yuan Ming's face.

The bald elder before them was the same as Zhao Gui, an Undead Tree Puppet. To Yuan Ming, it was just the same trick being used again, only this one was better concealed.

Yuan Ming had been using his Divine Sense all along, not only aware that the bald elder was an Undead Tree Puppet but also clearly observing the process of his appearance.

The elder had suddenly emerged from a grey tree growing within a cluster of trees inside the garden.

Yuan Ming activated his Divine Sense to delve into the grey tree, meticulously searching it inch by inch. He soon detected some unusual and hidden fluctuations of aura seeping out from the core veins of the grey tree.

As his Divine Sense probed towards the core of the tree trunk, the core veins suddenly enlarged, revealing an odd black rune, resembling a doorway and currently emitting a faint spatial fluctuation.

"This is a space rune? It seems that the bald elder has been teleported from another place," Yuan Ming mused silently, scrutinizing the black rune.

"Lord Nether Moon God, is this person a puppet of the Undead Tree?" Old Man Hei Zhu's voice came through the power of desire.

"Correct, kill him quickly!" Yuan Ming halted his study and commanded coldly.

Old Man Hei Zhu, Aunt Wan Hua, Shi Yanshi, and Long Chong all received Yuan Ming's transmission and did not hesitate to attack.

Old Man Hei Zhu flipped his hand and brought out a black fishing rod, the very one that had been destroyed by the Blood Realm Venerable before. It seemed to have been repaired over these thirty years.

A black fishing line shot out, transforming midway into seven or eight shadowy figures, barely visible, enveloping the bald elder.

Aunt Wanhua invoked her basket Magic Treasure, and a rainbow-like pale yellow mist shot out.

Shi Yanshi's black brush danced in the air, and two large "trap" runes appeared out of thin air, enveloping the bald old man from above and below.

Long Chong also summoned his War Spear Magical Treasure, stabbing in the air, and a large number of water-jar-sized water thunders exploded towards the bald old man, emitting a deafening roar.

Seeing this scene, Wulu's gaze flickered before he too summoned his Magic Treasure to assist.

The bald old man saw the sudden attack from several people and his originally smiling face grew dark.

However, he did not flee into the garden; his legs suddenly transformed into thick black tree roots that plunged deep into the ground, his body turned into a trunk, and his arms became thick branches.

In the blink of an eye, the bald old man transformed into a green-black Tree Man standing over a dozen meters tall, emitting a Mana fluctuation that had greatly changed, carrying a strong aura of the Undying Tree.

Not only that, but the green-black Tree Man's Mana realm soared dramatically, from the mid-stage Nascent Soul to the late-stage Nascent Soul!

"Is this the Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique? Can it merge two types of Mana, greatly enhancing the Tree Man's strength?" Yuan Ming pondered with a flicker of surprise in his eyes inside the Stealing Heaven Tripod.

The seven or eight Level 4 Upper Stage Tree Demons that had suddenly appeared at the Time Cave Entrance were likely also transformed in this way.

The green-black Tree Man moved, and countless branches and leaves swept across with lightning speed, filling the sky with shadows, rushing forward like a mountain and an ocean.

Bang bang bang!

The attacks from Old Man Hei Zhu, Aunt Wanhua, and even Shi Yanshi were all repelled. As for Long Chong and Wulu, they were not even worth mentioning—Their Magic Treasures had not even neared the shadows of the leaves before they were blown away by the residual airflow.

Hua Zhi, who had been standing by without any movement, immediately took action upon seeing this scene.

Her legs transformed into vines and drilled into the ground.

The next moment, the ground beside the green-black Tree Man exploded, and two purple-black Vines shot out, piercing into the Tree Man's legs.

The green-black Tree Man had its roots deep into the ground, making it difficult to move, and was instantly struck by the purple-black Vines.

The legs of the Tree Man started to turn purple, spreading rapidly, and its once plump legs quickly shriveled.

"You think you can flaunt your paltry poison in front of me?" the green-black Tree Man snorted angrily as its legs suddenly turned pitch-black, halting the spread of the deadly purple poison.

The blackness of his legs intensified quickly, and whoosh—black flames burst into life, burning fiercely.

The two purple-black Vines wrapped in black flames withered swiftly, turning to ash in mere moments.

Hua Zhi's face showed shock. After breaking through to Level 4, her body had become more resilient, and her regenerative abilities had reached an astonishing level; even the previously feared fire Divine Skills were no longer a concern. Yet she had no defense against these black flames!

Inside the Stealing Heaven Tripod, Yuan Ming's eyebrows also furrowed slightly.

Under his Divine Sense, he saw the black flames more clearly—they could even burn Spiritual Power, first consuming the demonic power within Hua Zhi's vines, then burning the body, which easily destroyed Hua Zhi's tendrils.

Old Man Hei Zhu and the others were also shocked. However, under the command of the Nether Moon God Order, they did not dare to slacken and continued to manipulate their Magic Treasures to attack, but they couldn't get close to the green-black Tree Man and were knocked away by the branches from a distance.

"Although there's some trickery involved, this Tree Man does possess the battle power of a late-stage Nascent Soul. It seems that Hua Zhi and the others alone cannot take it down," Yuan Ming thought to himself without continuing to watch the battle, and shot out a beam of Soul Power.

The black flames on the surface of the green-black Tree Man spread quickly, and in the blink of an eye, its entire body was burning with raging black fire. His legs pulled out from the ground, and he charged straight towards Hua Zhi and the others.

Everyone's faces changed color as they flew away, but how could they outrun the green-black Tree Man? It looked as though several people were about to be caught by the burning branches.

Just at that moment, a vast Divine Soul Power enveloped from above.

The green-black Tree Man's actions froze instantly, it stood still as if asleep, and the black flames on its surface quickly extinguished.

Yuan Ming nodded slightly, finding the Nightmare ability indeed very useful, stronger than his Illusion Technique, the only downside being the considerable consumption of Soul Power.

He shook his head and flicked his finger.

A dozen-meter-long black Sword Qi shot out, disappearing into the void.

Immediately following that, a ripple appeared in front of the green-black Tree Man, and Soul Destroying Sword Energy burst out of nowhere, "whooshing" down on the Tree Man, penetrating it.

The green-black Tree Man let out a mournful cry, its tall body crumbled, and all signs of life dissipated, soon losing its vitality.

Hua Zhi's eyes glinted with golden light and then quickly recovered as she flew up to appear beside the corpse of the green-black Tree Man, pressing her hand on its head.

A flow of gold and black surged into the Tree Man's head—the Soul Searching Divine Ability from Yuan Ming.

He used the Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique to lend this Divine Ability to Hua Zhi for casting.

But the next moment, Hua Zhi's expression became puzzled as the inside of the green-black Tree Man's head was empty, devoid of a Divine Soul.

Yuan Ming's face showed a look of astonishment. The Soul Destroying Sword Qi he had just used had been restrained to avoid killing the green-black Tree Man, leaving it heavily injured but still alive. Could it be that he hadn't controlled his strength properly, directly obliterating the Tree Man's soul?

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