Chapter 44: Xiao Qingge's last chance!

Li Ran entered the depths of the forest. As he moved along, the surroundings were filled with verdant light. Suddenly, he felt his heart skip a beat. It was as if something was staring at him from the dark.

However, he didn't find anything after careful investigation.

"It's just too quiet."

The trees covered the sky, many times higher than the other regions. There wasn't a single bug or songbird chirping, nor could the sounds of battle be heard. The silence was akin to death, he could almost hear his heartbeat.

The sun above was scorching, but there was not a trace of warmth on his body.

He continued to walk forward. Other than the trees, there were no other creatures around him.

"Weird, where did all the demon beasts go?" Li Ran muttered.

An ancient tree suddenly split its bark open right behind him, as if it was mocking him.

Li Ran’s body suddenly stopped, as if he was in a daze.

The ancient tree’s ‘smile' grew even bigger as it silently stretched out its body. Its branches, which were as thick as a person’s arms, ruthlessly whipped towards him.

Bang!

There was a crater on the ground but no figure was present.

"I've caught you!"

Li Ran's smile was vicious as he hovered in the air. Yunling Spear appeared in his hand. He threw it out like a javelin, and the silver spear pierced the tree demon's mouth at a lightning pace.

Boom!

There was a loud explosion in the air. The giant tree demon exploded from the middle, and with an ear-piercing wail, it fell to the ground with a bang.

The silver spear flew back into his hand and Li Ran landed lightly.

"You want to pretend like a normal tree? Your head must be crooked!" As the smoke and dust dissipated, the trees withered, and only a branch that emitted a sparkling green light was left on the ground.

This was the spirit marrow of the tree demon, the beast's demon bone.

Li Ran tossed it inside his storage ring.

"No wonder no demon beasts can be seen here. So this tree itself is a demon.”

"But then again, there are so many trees here, but there’s only one demon here?"

As soon as he thought of this, the sky suddenly darkened. Li Ran's pupils constricted as he left the spot.

Roar!

The surrounding ancient trees split open one after another, and the group of demons howled.

Boom boom boom!

The tree trunks that covered the sky frantically smashed its branches down. The surface of the earth cracked, and stones collapsed.

Li Ran transformed into a shadow, moving through the barrage of attacks. This group of tree demons were not weak, the weakest among them possessed a Foundation Establishment cultivation.

Their roots dug deep into the ground, continuously providing vitality for them. Coupled with the extremely large number of roots, it was indeed quite a trouble.

Even if a Golden Core Cultivator were to face this group of demons, the cultivator would be killed by them.

"Opportunities are always accompanied by danger…" Li Ran's body was suspended in the air, and his hands formed seals as he fiercely pressed down!

Bang!

A muffled sound rang out in the air. The branches of the demonic trees slightly arched down, as if they were facing great resistance.

Youluo Temple Secret Technique: Hidden Spirit Suppression Seal!

At the same time, numerous black blades formed behind Li Ran. In a blink of an eye, the black blades numbered to hundreds.

The black blade floated in the air, making a buzzing sound.

"Die!" Following his furious shout, the blades rained down like a rainstorm.

Boom boom boom boom!

The hurricane soared and sawdust flew everywhere.

The tree demons howled as they collapsed, causing an earth-shaking explosion. When the last tree demon was destroyed, the forest finally became quiet.

Amidst the dust, the ground was covered in a green light, filled with the tree demons’ demon bones.

"This is definitely enough. If I still can't advance, I'll just sit down and rest."

Li Ran gathered the demon bones and slowly walked away…

—

On the other side…

Xiao Qingge was carefully shuttling through the forest.

She hid like a rabbit at the notice of the slightest movement.

In this secret realm, she was simply too weak. She knew that she would definitely not be able to enter the second level. Therefore, before she was eliminated, she had to find immortal materials to produce spirit fruits.

Spirit Fruit.

A fruit that was said to be capable of bringing the dead to life. As long as there was a breath left inside you, the fruit would be able to revive you.

Besides saving one’s life, it had a special effect that only a few people knew about. The effect was to reverse one’s spiritual root. The Spirit Fruit would destroy the spiritual root, and then reverse the spiritual root grade.

If cultivators ate it, their cultivations would be lost, and they might even lose their innate talent. It was even more poisonous than poison.

However, Xiao Qingge happened to be a mortal who had lost her cultivation. As long as she obtained the Spirit Fruit, she would be able to reverse and regain her cultivation and talent.

This was something she had accidentally stumbled on from an ancient book. However, the Spirit Fruit was an ancient immortal herb.

Not to mention the mortal world, not even the Supreme Dao Palace had it. It was rumored that the last time the Spirit Fruit had appeared was in a secret realm in the Western Region.

That was why she placed her hope here.

"I must find it before the trial ends. Otherwise, I really won't have a chance!" A trace of anxiety flashed across Xiao Qingge's face.

Suddenly, the wind whistled behind her. Xiao Qingge's pupils suddenly constricted.

Someone is here!

"Yo, isn't this the mortal who followed Li Ran into the secret realm? Did Li Ran leave you alone here? I'm afraid that the demon beasts will eat you!" Song Qingsong's voice rang out.

Grimness flashed through Xiao Qingge's eyes. This was the person she was most unwilling to meet!