Chapter 120: Earth Spirit

Cao Xiaoseng bandaged the wound on Yao Ling’s wrist while recounting what had just transpired to Ye Bai.

"Just as you were releasing your 'Fire Bodhi,' your fire-attribute energy had already condensed, and red fire lotuses began to appear in the surroundings. But right at that moment, you suddenly stared at the Jinghong Blade, motionless, and the fire lotuses formed by the surrounding fire energy began to fade."

Cao Xiaoseng tied a neat bow on Yao Ling’s arm and stood up. Looking at the sea of flames before them, he continued, "The tree puppet must have noticed you suddenly abandoning your attack, so it gathered all its vines to engulf you. At that moment, I thought you were..."

He left the sentence unfinished and described the change in Ye Bai: "After the puppet’s vines completely swallowed you, it wasn't long before red flames began to emerge from within them. Immediately after, countless tiny Jinghong Blades began to pierce through the puppet vines. Wherever they slashed, the vines ignited. The tree puppet tried to suppress the flames with its own elemental power, but it was completely futile. Before long, it became what you see now."

"You mean, after I was swallowed by the vines, many small blades resembling the Jinghong Blade emerged from within?" Ye Bai surmised that this must have been the time he was trapped in his conscious space, witnessing the Jinghong Blade suspended in the endless void.

"Yes. Those tiny Jinghong Blades looked like an upgraded version of the Fire Bodhi, only they seemed more sentient and far more lethal," Cao Xiaoseng said, describing the impression that shocking scene had left on him.

At this moment, Yao Ling stood up and added, "If I am not mistaken, it means you have triggered your first Battle Rune. Ye Bai, remember that feeling. Only the first time each Battle Rune is triggered will there be a reinforcement of your combat skills."

*Snap, snap, snap-snap.*

The scorching heat of summer, combined with the surrounding sea of fire, made the air even more stifling. The tree puppet, now reduced to mere vines, emitted constant cracking and popping sounds within the inferno.

Just as Ye Bai dealt with the tree puppet, the tree body at the guard station finally went berserk against the attacks of Xiao Mo and her two companions.

*BOOM!* A massive palm, formed from countless tangled vines, erupted from beneath the guard station and swiped toward the three of them.

"Damn it, it’s using its ultimate move!" Huang Di cursed, throwing his compressed, orb-like elemental energy toward the center of the palm.

*Boom! Boom!*

Two thunderous explosions erupted within the vine palm. The fire-attribute orb blasted a large crater into the palm, while the wood-attribute orb was immediately swallowed by the vines—though the vines that consumed it were instantly melted.

"The defense is monstrous!" Huang Di gasped. He knew the power of his own compressed elemental orbs; they should have been enough to instantly kill a Foundation-tier high-level mutant tree.

The fire orb was meant to detonate, and the wood orb to provide fuel. Wood feeds fire, and his unique wood-attribute power was inherently capable of melting all things. Yet, the two orbs had failed to link up, each functioning only as its individual component.

The two dual-attribute orbs Huang Di threw caused quite a commotion on the vine body, but for a palm of such immense size, it was insufficient. Before it could strike the trio, the two deep craters in the center of the palm had already healed.

"Huang Di, dodge!"

A pillar of yellow energy shot down from the sky, seemingly attempting to stop the tree’s hand, but it was too late.

Even before Yang Hao’s warning, Huang Di sensed that the situation was dire. He swiftly agitated the elemental energy within his body, attempting to escape the reach of the tree’s palm.

Under the influence of his elemental energy, the surface of his Type-3 biological armor began to coat itself in a thin layer of wood-attribute energy, and a pair of red and green wings sprouted from his back, flapping at extreme speed.

"Ah, no!" Just as the elemental wings materialized, the tree’s palm snatched Huang Di. It didn't grip him with fingers; instead, at the point of contact, vines began to grow frantically, wrapping him layer by layer.

Xiao Mo watched from the side, unable to act. When the tree’s palm first appeared, she had triggered her biological armor to flee its range. She wanted to save Huang Di, but she was merely a Foundation-tier mid-level fighter; crushing a dozen-meter-tall puppet in one blow was her limit, and this battle had already escalated to the Growth level.

"Senior Brother, save me! This monster is absorbing the elemental energy in my body! Ah—ugh!" Suddenly, Huang Di’s voice came from within the vine palm, followed by cries of agony before he could finish his sentence.

Yang Hao watched the vine-encased Huang Di with cold eyes, not yet intervening. His earlier casual release of earth-attribute energy had only grazed the edge of the hand, causing little damage.

It wasn't that Yang Hao truly didn't care about Huang Di. Setting aside the fact that he couldn't explain Huang Di’s death upon returning, the bond of fellow disciples wouldn't allow him to abandon him. He wanted Huang Di to suffer a little. The boy was usually lackadaisical, unserious, and failed to properly cultivate his elemental energy, remaining a "veteran" of the outer hall of the Tianwu Hall while still stuck at the peak of the Foundation tier.

Yang Hao estimated the timing. As Huang Di’s voice grew weaker, he finally began his counterattack.

"Earth Spirit!"

Yang Hao clenched his fists, his entire body suffusing with earthy-yellow elemental energy. The earth-attribute energy on the ground seemed drawn to him, gathering slowly around his presence.

Not far away, Xiao Mo suddenly felt the air pressure increase dramatically. The blue sky began to fade, turning yellow. Xiao Mo retreated from the area covered by Yang Hao’s wood-attribute energy. She thought that if she weren't wearing biological armor, she might have been crushed by the spiritual pressure. The gap between the Growth level and the Foundation tier became ever more apparent in that moment.

Near Yang Hao’s right hand, nearly all the earth-attribute energy in the vicinity converged, and slowly, a massive yellow fist manifested beside him.

*Hum, hummm—*

The tree body beneath the ground seemed to sense another type of elemental energy erupting in the air, climbing and nearly surpassing its own.

"Go!" Yang Hao threw his right fist toward the vine palm holding Huang Di. The massive fist of earth-attribute energy at his side slammed heavily into the tree’s hand.

*BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!*

The palm that could cover the entire guard station collided with the fist. The sky seemed on the verge of shattering; the air was filled with sonic booms, and the already collapsed ground sank even further.

The unconscious Huang Di floated in mid-air, a layer of yellow earth-attribute energy wrapped around his body, leaving him seemingly unscathed.

"Junior Sister, take good care of Junior Brother Huang. The battle below is not something you can participate in. Go to the Black Qilin armored vehicle." Yang Hao had originally estimated the target to be around the early Growth stage, but unexpectedly, it was at the mid-Growth stage. His plan to let the two of them gain experience had to be abandoned.

"Understood." Xiao Mo gently supported the unconscious Huang Di and retreated into the Black Qilin vehicle.

"Time to use some real skill." Yang Hao rubbed his fists, earth-attribute energy flickering in his eyes.

"Earth Spirit!"

With a roar, Yang Hao vanished. Between heaven and earth, only a pillar of earth-attribute light remained, piercing the sky, while yellow soil swirled around it in a continuous dance.

"Human, do not push your luck. A scorched-earth outcome benefits no one. If you retreat now, I shall act as if nothing happened."

The moment Yang Hao vanished, a figure made of pure green stepped out from the vines at the base of the guard station.

"Heh, you think I can just walk away? When you slaughtered over three hundred people at this guard station, why didn't you think of showing mercy? Today, you will be struck down here to atone for the sins you have committed," Yang Hao’s voice echoed from within the pillar of energy.

"Truly, you refuse?" The green figure sneered. "Do you really think you humans are invincible on this Earth? Don't wait until the day your race is wiped out to realize how ignorant you truly are."

Seeing that a fight was inevitable, the green figure began to radiate a verdant glow. The vines across the entire guard station retracted and condensed, wrapping around the tree body to form a humanoid shape.

"What did you say? Ignorant? What exactly do you know?" Suddenly, the pillar of earth-attribute energy Yang Hao had become burst open, and a giant over ten meters tall, composed of earth-attribute energy, stepped out.

Regrettably, the tree did not speak again. All the vines retracted, condensing into a green vine-man of the same size as Yang Hao’s earth giant.

*Boom!* Yang Hao’s earth giant swung its arm, punching through the chest of the vine-man.

The vine-man offered no defense, allowing Yang Hao to pierce its chest. But as soon as the earth-attribute arm penetrated, Yang Hao regretted it. The vines within the vine-man’s chest grew frantically, tightly anchoring his earth-attribute arm inside. Immediately, Yang Hao felt the vine-man beginning to invade his giant form.

The tree vines followed the arm, piercing inward, taking root, and sprouting, growing even deeper. In a short time, the upper body of the earth giant was covered in small, sprouting trees.

The earth giant stood motionless on the ground. Yang Hao struggled to make it move, but it was futile. The vines that had entered the giant were like a virus, spreading rapidly. The roots of the trees intertwined, restricting the giant’s mobility—much like how trees are planted on mountains to prevent landslides by anchoring the soil with their roots.

Yang Hao faced the same problem, only more severe, as the vines inside the giant were slowly devouring his earth-attribute energy.

"Sever!" Forced, Yang Hao had to abandon the earth giant, emerging from its chest.

Deprived of his energy, the earth giant instantly crumbled into yellow soil, leaving only the frame of the green giant standing in place.

Yang Hao flew backward, noticing that the wood-attribute mutant beast seemed to have a suppressing effect on his earth-attribute power. Gradually, a blue mist of water began to manifest around his body.