Chapter 44: Shock

Chapter 44: Shock

The purple mist surged like a vast ocean, filling the sky, covering the mountains, and exuding an imposing aura that made even the souls of men tremble. The mist coalesced into a gigantic purple figure, which took a step downward, crushing the large willow tree at the edge of the village. It wielded the might of heaven and earth, as if the very heavens were intervening.

This scene, this grandeur, left the assembled heroes stunned. Indeed, the Purple Mountain Marquis was formidable, living up to his reputation. A single step from him could destroy an entire clan.

No wonder there were legends that the Purple Mountain Marquis had, on several occasions, caused several major tribes to disappear from this land. Such methods were astonishing and truly formidable.

The Stone Village faced a crisis. The willow tree was under attack from the four great powers working together, enveloped from top to bottom, with each strike being more shocking than the last.

The willow branches remained unyielding, still reaching upward to confront the attacks of the Lord of the Luo Fu Great Marsh.

It was a fierce dragon, over two hundred yards long, filling the western sky, spewing light and displaying terrifying power, crushing numerous mountains and forests into dust.

"Whoosh"

The green-glowing willow branches, seemingly invincible, pierced through the dragon’s forehead with astonished gazes watching. They passed through as if a green divine chain with overwhelming power, unstoppable in its path.

The dragon was so massive that, despite being pierced, its vital energy dissipated rapidly, yet it continued to thrash wildly, spewing dawn light and attacking the land below. The Stone Village was subjected to devastating impacts; forests disappeared, rocks flew in all directions, and the earth cracked.

"Whoosh"

The tender willow branches swayed, emitting brilliant light. The verdant branches twisted like a dragon, rapidly wrapping around the dragon’s neck and then pulling fiercely, causing the massive dragon to plummet to the ground.

From afar, the Lord of the Luo Fu Great Marsh, standing by the river in the forest, spat out a mouthful of blood and shot two beams of light from his eyes, revealing his shock. He realized that his treasured technique, imbued with his own vital energy, had been broken, and in just an instant, it became the "supplement" for that willow tree. The dragon visibly withered as the green willow branches drained its vital essence, leaving only the residual divine light.

At the same time, the willow branches were being attacked from the north, with dozens of bolts of lightning arriving, black lightning dancing wildly, intercepting the tender green shoots.

Could it withstand such a fierce assault? The delicate branches, crystal clear and seemingly weak, faced such violent lightning that even fine iron would turn to dust.

Everyone held their breath. Lightning was one of the most terrifying forces in this world, and the willow had previously encountered such an attack, turning blackened, indicating that lightning could indeed harm it. Now faced with such an onslaught, could it survive?

"In my name, I grant you destruction," roared the Thunder God, his voice booming like mountains and resonating through the earth.

However, what happened next was astonishing. The sky full of lightning surged and engulfed the willow branch, yet it became even greener, as if being nourished by a sweet spring, so fresh it seemed to be dripping with water.

Everyone was astounded, with the Thunder Marquis left speechless, losing faith in himself for the first time in his life.

The willow branch swayed, creating a green ripple, absorbing all the lightning, which vanished in an instant, leaving people with their mouths agape, unable to speak.

"Whoosh"

Points of green light rippled as the willow branch gently swept, drawing a graceful trajectory. The green light sparkled as its branches extended, heading towards a great river to the west.

There stood a figure, shrouded in mist, emitting a powerful aura—none other than the Lord of the Luo Fu Great Marsh. Despite being over a mile away, the willow branch reached him in an instant, faster than anyone could react.

"Woo"

The tender branch fell heavily, and the Lord of the Luo Fu Great Marsh cried out, using all his strength to resist, summoning a beast bone, a highly powerful treasure as a decoy, while he quickly fled.

The area was brilliantly illuminated, casting light over the entire forest and river. Yet, such a powerful treasure could not stop the branch. With a "puff," it shattered the decoy, turning it into bone powder, and the vital energy merged into the green willow.

"Ah, no!" The Lord of the Luo Fu Great Marsh screamed. Although he was fleeing at top speed, it was too late. The descending willow branch, sharper than a celestial sword, sliced him in two with a light sweep, leaving him to fall into a pool of blood. His vital energy surged, and he aged as if a thousand years had passed, his body withered and cracked, losing all divine brilliance.

At this moment, the heroes were filled with fear, the mighty were silent, and the faces of the Luo Fu Great Marsh’s people turned ashen. Not long ago, they had boasted that with their clan leader present, a mere village was nothing, and they would completely wipe it out to avenge the dragon. But now, the result was so cruel and terrifying: the strongest clan leader of the Luo Fu Great Marsh had been cut in two, bloodied, and left dead.

"Clan leader!" Many cried out in grief.

At this time, countless people had their hairs stand on end, their skin crawling. This willow tree was too terrifying; no force could match it.

"Chief, run!" The Thunder Clan members shouted, warning the Thunder Marquis loudly.

The willow branches, gleaming with dawn light, had already retreated, changing direction towards the north, heading for the Thunder Marquis.

In fact, the Thunder Marquis had already sensed the danger and reacted immediately, summoning his treasure and wielding lightning, soaring three feet above the ground, and rushing away to escape.

However, the speed of the willow branch was too fast, turning into a green beam that crossed the northwest and reached him in a sweep.

"Whoosh," the stone mountain where the Thunder Marquis stood was cut off, like a sword slicing through spring mud. It did not stop but pursued instantly, the tender shoot aiming at the Thunder Marquis's back, about to pierce through.

"Open for me!"

The Thunder Marquis roared, his entire body bristling with electricity, transforming into a ball of lightning, dazzling and releasing massive amounts of electric light, shaking the stone mountain apart.

At this moment, the willow branch halted, failing to pierce him but absorbing the lightning, then suddenly wrapped around him, lifting him up and returning to the Stone Village.

Many were astonished. Such a powerful Thunder Marquis was captured. Why didn’t the willow kill him but instead bring him back?

The Thunder Marquis roared and struggled, his treasure glowing and resonating, trying to break the willow branches. But all was in vain; the tender branch was undamaged, and the willow continued to absorb the lightning he released.

"This is..." The crowd was stunned, realizing what the willow tree intended. It wanted the Thunder Marquis to continually use his precious techniques, producing endless lightning for it to absorb.

"New life in destruction, it seeks nourishment from lightning."

The crowd was chilled, this willow was too sinister to be judged by ordinary standards. With the four great clans attacking it together, it seemed they had made a huge miscalculation.

The Thunder Marquis was hung on the willow tree at the village entrance, continuously struggling, but his vitality was waning, and he was not expected to last much longer.

The crowd was shocked. This was a grand Thunder Marquis, one of the rulers of the two royal territories, now captured and imprisoned—unbelievable.

The events of today would undoubtedly spread across the land. The name of Stone Village would reverberate far and wide. A seemingly dying ritual spirit, completely blackened, had proved to be so terrifying, killing one person and capturing another. Among the four strongest powers, two had been defeated—truly a divine might that astonished the world.

The Thunder Clan members looked utterly dismayed. The mighty clan leader, commanding all directions and controlling vast lands, had been captured.

Not long ago, the experts of their clan had boasted that they would wipe out Stone Village effortlessly, declaring that treasures like the Suan Ni's divine bone were beyond what a mere village could possess. Now, what was happening was more than just a slap in the face—it was like skinning them alive, with their clan leader on the brink of death.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. One clan leader was killed, another captured, while the attacks at the other two locations had only just begun.

The golden wolf skin treasure, which was indistinguishable from a real divine wolf, made of golden material, lunged forward, extending its massive claws, which were indestructible, directly tearing apart the soil and stones to destroy the willow tree's roots.

However, as soon as a root was exposed, the divine wolf was horrified. The root, resembling a coiling dragon, surged upward, instantly entangling it and dragging it into a fissure in the ground.

"Awooo!"

The golden divine wolf howled, its fur bristling, emitting dazzling light as it struggled fiercely, its enormous claws gripping the root.

"Crack"

To everyone's shock, the sharp golden claws were shattered, broken into three pieces by the tree root. The root flicked, causing soil and stones to scatter, covering the area.

Everyone stared in disbelief, almost in shock. Such a powerful treasure, nearly equivalent to the divine wolf itself, was instantly rendered useless.

Before the sand could cover the spot, people noticed that the golden wolf skin was withering and decaying, decomposed by the root into fertilizer.

"A treasure as powerful as this, once the remains of the first ritual spirit within fifty thousand miles, is now only fit to be used as fertilizer," people were horrified.

The members of the Golden Wolf Clan were all pale, the supreme divine wolf, reputed as the greatest ritual spirit on this land, was now so thoroughly suppressed.

They recalled their earlier boast about charging in with iron cavalry, trampling the land and flattening it. Now, it seemed like a self-inflicted joke.

With this willow tree here, who would dare to claim the title of the greatest ritual spirit on this land?

"Boom"

In the sky, a massive purple foot descended, crushing the willow tree at the village's edge. It was an attack from the Purple Mountain Marquis, the greatest expert in this vast territory, whose methods were truly astonishing.

The willow branches entwined around the Thunder Marquis, swaying in the wind, then lifted their tender tips, gently swaying to form a green vortex, which rapidly grew larger until it became a towering tornado.

This scene was incredibly shocking, leaving all the powerful observers dumbstruck. The transformation was so swift—a single tender shoot, with just a gentle stir, created such a terrifying celestial phenomenon.

This was also the first time the willow branches had used such a method, demonstrating the extraordinary nature of the Purple Mountain Marquis, living up to his reputation.

"Boom"

The green vortex expanded, reaching the heavens, connecting the sky and the earth, with a magnificent and overwhelming force that shook the surroundings. It roared like a mountain flood and crashed like a vast sea against the sky, causing the strong to nearly collapse and suffocate.

The massive purple foot was pulled into the vortex, followed by the entire purple giant, which collapsed and was torn apart by the towering tornado.

The scene was filled with horror and terror.