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Translator: Asuka
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye brushed past the two fierce beasts that were struggling against each other. Before he could stand up straight, the reddish tail of the snake lashed out at him like a whip. A gust of wind blew in his face. Unable to dodge aside, he could only hastily call upon his Spiritual Power to protect himself.
*Smack.* He was sent flying. A soreness spread across his shoulder blades as he rolled across the scorching ground several times. He got to his feet and looked up in surprise. His attack that was enchanted with the Sharp Edge had failed to slice the snake in two. He only managed to slice through most of the snake’s body. Blood gushed out of the wound as the Snake Demon rolled on the ground in excruciating pain.
Meanwhile, the tiger took the chance to break free of the snake’s restraints, bravely and fearlessly rushed forward, aimed for the wound, and took a huge bite. Then, it viciously tore off a large chunk of flesh.
In response, the snake raised its head up high and opened its mouth. A faint red light brewed in its mouth, aiming directly at where the tiger currently stood. At the same time, the temperature within the karst cave increased considerably.
The tiger instinctively sensed that something ominous was coming. Thus, it let out a low roar and sprang to the side with vigorous movements. In the next moment, flames spewed out of the snake’s mouth. It was so hot that the very air became distorted from the heat.
The corners of Lu Ye’s eyes twitched at the sight. He could tell that the Snake Demon was much stronger than the tiger. It was fortunate that the tiger was currently holding the snake’s attention. Otherwise, he would have been forced to use a Golden Body Talisman Paper to block the attack if that mouthful of flames had been directed at him.
The tiger avoided the attack in the nick of time, so the flames failed to hurt it. On the other hand, Lu Ye took the chance to sneak behind the Snake Demon and slashed at the snake just below its head. This attack once again only managed to slice through most of the snake’s body because the blade was stopped by the snake’s bones.
Having suffered twice at his hands, the huge snake immediately turned around and took aim at him. A red glow began brewing in its mouth again. He did not retreat in the face of the attack. Instead, he stabbed his knife into the snake’s mouth and threw himself backward at the same time.
When the flames poured out, the knife pierced through the snake’s head and penetrated through the back of the snake’s head.
At that moment, a snow-white figure rushed out from the side, slammed into the snake’s body, and knocked the snake to the side. As a result, the flames that spewed out of the snake’s mouth missed its target and burned the air instead.
Lu Ye, who had fallen to the ground, quickly got to his feet and took out a Spirit Talisman Paper from his Storage Bag. Holding the Spirit Talisman Paper in his hand, he glanced to the side and remained alert. However, he soon put the Spirit Talisman Paper away and quietly stood there waiting.
His last attack had pierced right through the snake’s head. It could be said to be a fatal blow. Although the huge snake was wriggling and twitching on the ground, it was obvious that it could not survive much longer. Moreover, the knife that was stuck in its mouth caused even greater damage with every twitch it made. The ground was stained with splattered snake blood, which was then evaporated by the high temperature in the cave with hissing sounds.
In the meantime, the tiger got to its feet and shook its body. Its snow-white fur was a mess. There were large patches of burnt marks here and there, making it look extremely dishevelled.
The entire process, from the time the tiger launched its first attack until now, had taken no more than a dozen seconds. The battle was decided during that brief period and the victor emerged alive. Nevertheless, the fight in that few short seconds had been extremely dangerous.
What surprised Lu Ye was that his first time cooperating with the tiger had gone so perfectly. In particular, during that last moment when he landed that fatal blow and fell backward in order to avoid the opponent’s flaming breath, the tiger’s slamming attack had ensured his safety even more.
He secretly reflected that it would have been a difficult battle against this Snake Demon had he come here alone. He might even be forced to use several Spirit Talisman Papers. However, it only took such a short time for him to defeat the opponent with the tiger’s help. He suddenly felt that it was a good thing that he agreed to Yi Yi’s request back then.
“Good job.” Lu Ye nodded at the tiger, being generous with his praise.
The tiger responded with a purring sound. It was not able to speak and its strength was not that great, but he found that it was very intelligent after interacting with it on several occasions. It could understand words, which was an amazing feat.
After a while, the huge snake finally stopped moving. He stepped forward and kicked it to confirm that it was completely dead. Glancing at the long knife sticking out of the snake’s mouth, he couldn’t help feeling a little troubled. The knife was glowing red from the heat of the snake’s flames. It would take a layer off his skin if he tried to retrieve it now. Thus, he had no choice but to wait a while.
Taking advantage of this time, he walked over to the Barrier Penetrating Fruit Tree, carefully plucked the two Barrier Penetrating Fruits, and placed them into his Storage Bags. As for the tree… He had no plans to do anything to the tree. Besides, it would not survive even if he brought it with him.
Just as he was about to go and retrieve his knife, his mind suddenly became disoriented. Something inside his body stirred restlessly. This feeling inadvertently reminded him of what happened a few months ago…
He quickly said, “Amber, go back first. I will join you later.”
The tiger made a soft growl, raising its paws to tap the dead snake.
He immediately understood its meaning. “I know. This is a good thing. How can I leave it behind?”
Only then did the tiger walk out in satisfaction. Before it left, it even picked up the chunk of meat that it tore off the huge snake previously.
Lu Ye looked back at the Barrier Penetrating Fruit Tree once the tiger’s figure was completely out of sight. The same feeling of excitement stirred in him again. He hastily focused his mind. To his surprise, the shadow of the Skill Tree did not appear in his field of vision. Instead, something strange occurred in his Source Spiritual Point. Closing his eyes quickly, he carefully perceived the changes. He could vaguely see the phantom of a large tree appearing in his Source Spiritual Point. It was the Skill Tree.
The roots of the Skill Tree grew countless fine roots, just like that time in the mines of the Evil Moon Valley a few months ago. Those fine roots then plunged into something, somewhere. In the next moment, a fiery red power was drawn out along the roots.
Following the influx of the fiery red power, he clearly saw one of the leaves on the Skill Tree burst into flames and burn brightly. It was followed by a second leaf… When it came to the third leaf, that particular leaf only glowed slightly but did not burn.
Afterward, the roots slowly disappeared. He opened his eyes again and discovered that he had placed his hand on the Barrier Penetrating Fruit Tree at some point. The tree was completely withered. The originally scorching hot karst cave had also undergone a complete change. It was no longer hot.
He became lost in thought, thinking back to the time when the Skill Tree experienced a change for the first time.
At the time, he had been going through Manager Yang’s belongings when he found an unknown mineral ore. Then, the Skill Tree had grown roots that plunged into the ore. In the end, the mineral ore cracked open to reveal a ball of orange-yellow flames. After the Skill Tree absorbed the power of those flames, a leaf engraved with the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern had burst into flames.
This time around, it was even more incredible. He did not know what kind of power the Skill Tree had absorbed, but it caused two leaves to burn while the third showed obvious changes.
[It looks like the conjecture I came up with a long time ago is correct. The Skill Tree needs to absorb the power of flames or some sort of searing heat to show any changes. What happened just now has indisputably proven this fact.]
This underground karst cave must have contained the energy needed by the Skill Tree. Once the Skill Tree absorbed those powers, this place was no longer scorching hot as before. Since the living environment of the Barrier Penetrating Fruit Tree had been destroyed, it was only natural for it to die as well. It could even be said that the tree originally contained some of the power of heat. How could it survive once that energy had been depleted by the Skill Tree?
So he now has 3 complete leaves, and a 4th partial leave? Two new patterns to learn as well?
That poor tree…