Chapter 992: Inescapable Crisis P2: Dying Demon Tree Attacks

One had to say that although Kanis had overestimated the kind of Spirit resources available in Orveth, he had correctly estimated the kind of trump cards available to Aksai.

Kanis’s subordinates acknowledged his orders and began coordinating the necessary arrangements. Several cultivators who had been maintaining the outer siege adjusted their positions, while others started preparing the formation components they had brought along.

The spatial-locking formation would require additional effort to establish, but Kanis considered it worthwhile. If the island’s owner had prepared a spatial treasure in advance, a simple siege might not be enough to prevent his escape.

As for why he assumed that the island’s owner hadn’t already escaped, it was because only someone like him could keep the island’s formation running while Rumaal and his wives were trying to break through it by force.

Kanis continued flying toward the Demon Tree, with Rumaal and his two wives following closely behind him.

As they descended toward the mountain peak, the three cultivators gradually gained a clearer view of the island below. The destruction caused by Kanis’s sword strike had spread far beyond the formation itself. Cracks ran across the ground, buildings had collapsed in several regions, and thick roots that once lay beneath the earth had been exposed to the open air.

However, it wasn’t the destruction that first caught their attention.

It was the people.

Large numbers of mortals had gathered throughout the island, their figures scattered across roads, open fields, and the remains of damaged settlements. Many had rushed out of their homes after the ground beneath them began shaking violently. Some had barely escaped before their houses collapsed, while others had lost their homes entirely when the enormous roots beneath the foundations were damaged.

Yet, despite their fear and confusion, many of them were doing the same thing.

They were prostrating themselves in the direction of the dying Demon Tree.

Men, women, and children knelt on the ground, pressing their foreheads against the soil. Some trembled as they prayed, while others cried openly, their voices mixing with the commotion that had spread throughout the island.

Not everyone had gathered out of devotion or reverence for the tree. Some had simply followed the movements of their neighbors, hoping that someone among the crowd understood what was happening. Others had come out of their own volition, instinctively recognizing that the enormous tree towering above the island was somehow connected to the calamity that had befallen them.

The problem was that most of the island’s general populace had no idea what had caused the crisis. All they knew was that the island they had lived on for years, perhaps even generations, was suddenly falling apart.

And the tree they had always regarded as a guardian was dying before their eyes.

Fear and bewilderment spread through the population.

Amid the chaos, a few low-level cultivators were attempting to restore order. They cast Spirit Spells to stabilize collapsing structures, divert streams of water away from damaged settlements, and rescue people trapped beneath the rubble. Some tried to gather the panicking crowds in safer locations, while others hurried toward the regions where the destruction appeared most severe.

Unfortunately, their efforts were woefully inadequate.

The damage extended across too many regions, and the destruction of the Demon Tree had affected the island on a scale far beyond what these cultivators could handle. Even Foundation Establishment Experts would have struggled to manage such widespread devastation, let alone the Spirit Refining Novices who made up the majority of the island’s low-level cultivators.

They could save a few buildings, rescue a handful of trapped people, or prevent a localized disaster from growing worse.

But they couldn’t stop the island from collapsing around them.

Kanis glanced at the commotion below but showed little interest in it. Rumaal and his two wives behaved similarly, barely sparing the mortals a second glance as they continued toward the mountain.

To them, these people were nothing more than the working bees in a hive.

Emerald Cove Island was the hive, and its owner was the queen bee.

Once the original owner was removed, replacing him would be enough to bring the island under new management. The mortals and low-level cultivators would still need food, shelter, protection, and someone to organize their lives. They would continue performing their duties under whoever took control of the island.

Their loyalty could be redirected. Their skills could be put to use. Even the destruction surrounding them could eventually be turned into an opportunity to establish a new order.

Of course, things would not be quite that simple.

There would inevitably be people who refused to accept their new masters. Some might remain loyal to the original owner, while others could take advantage of the chaos to resist the incoming forces or seize resources for themselves.

Such people would have to be dealt with.

A few well-chosen executions would serve as a warning to the rest, demonstrating the consequences of rebellion. It was the familiar practice of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys.

However, neither Kanis nor Rumaal considered such matters worthy of their personal attention.

They were cultivators who stood near the peak of the power structure in Orveth. Managing mortals, suppressing minor rebellions, and reorganizing the island’s population were tasks better left to their subordinates.

Once the island’s original owner had been defeated and deposed, the people accompanying them would handle the rest.

For now, their priority was the person who had dared to establish himself on such a resource-rich island and had somehow acquired a defensive formation powerful enough to withstand the combined attacks of three peak Lord-level cultivators.

***

A few minutes passed in the chaotic backdrop.

The imperial cultivators took their time to reach their destination, observing the island’s current condition.

As Kanis approached the mountain peak, his attention was drawn to a beautiful palace nestled among the surrounding greenery.

The palace stood not far from the enormous Demon Tree, its elegant architecture blending harmoniously with the natural landscape.

It was a striking sight, especially against the backdrop of the island’s current devastation.

Kanis slowed down and examined the palace from above.

‘This should be the island owner’s residence.’

The place was also far more refined than he would have expected from a remote island in Orveth.

Kanis had barely begun considering whether the palace might contain any valuable treasures when the dying Demon Tree suddenly stirred.

RUMBLE!

The entire mountain shook.

The enormous trunk, already split almost vertically by Kanis’s previous attack, creaked as though the weight of the world had suddenly fallen upon it. Its remaining branches twisted violently, and the countless roots that spread beneath the surrounding landscape began tearing themselves out of the ground.

The earth erupted.

Massive chunks of soil and stone shot into the air as the Demon Tree uprooted itself. Its gigantic roots ripped through the mountainside, tearing apart the ground that had nurtured them for who knew how many years. Thick vines snapped free from distant valleys, dragging boulders and broken earth along with them.

Yet the tree didn’t uproot itself completely.

Instead, it appeared to be making a deliberate sacrifice.

A considerable portion of its enormous root system and vines was abandoned across the island. The remaining roots withdrew from the earth, coiling around its battered trunk before rising into the sky. The tree concentrated what little vitality it had left into those surviving appendages, preparing to launch one final assault against the intruders.

It was as if a woodland titan had awakened from a deep slumber and discovered a group of insignificant pests crawling around its territory.

The Demon Tree had decided to crush them under its owner’s commands.

Kanis’s eyes narrowed as the enormous roots and vines rose higher.

They were colossal.

Some roots were thicker than the towers of the palace below, while others stretched across the sky like enormous serpents. Countless vines intertwined above the mountain, their sprawling forms casting shadows across the surrounding landscape.

Within moments, the sky above the Demon Tree was almost completely blanketed by a forest of writhing roots and vines.

The sight was so overwhelming that even Rumaal couldn’t help gulping.

He had witnessed many extraordinary battles during his long cultivation career, but the sheer size of the Demon Tree made him feel like an insignificant insect standing before a primordial beast. Anaah and Mirelle were similarly taken aback, their gazes fixed on the enormous appendages gathering overhead.

For a brief moment, the three of them almost forgot that the tree was already on its last breath.

Its trunk had been split open. Much of its vitality had been lost, and the damage caused by Kanis’s earlier strike had nearly destroyed its foundation.

Yet even in such a weakened state, the Demon Tree possessed enough power to make three powerful Lord-level cultivators feel insignificant.

Then the tree attacked.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Gigantic roots and vines descended from the sky, sweeping toward Kanis with enough force to shatter mountains. The air trembled beneath their movements, while the surrounding vegetation was flattened by the pressure they generated.