The elm tree is the nexus of the Ninefold Vicious Array; what I just performed merely connected that nexus to the world we inhabit. That collapse earlier was a rift in space-time. No one can directly breach a rift, so we have to wait here on the trunk," Old Liu explained brilliantly, sweat beading on his own forehead. "I heard in the Realm of No Return that those from the Death Realm possess strange powers, cultivating primarily with Violet Flame. Seeing you today, I am truly disappointed. Didn't the Death God also possess a magical artifact called the Soul Stone?"

Ye Xiu knew he was doubting his strength, but even a Death God couldn't be all-powerful from the start. Ye Xiu quickly shifted the topic: "This elm tree seems unremarkable, but its roots snake deep into the earth. Could this be the path leading into the Ninefold Vicious Array?"

Old Liu noticed Ye Xiu's awkwardness and didn't press the matter of the Death Realm further. He flipped his hand and took a coin from his pocket, tossing it gently toward the ground. "This is for testing the path ahead—the Qiankun probe. To enter the Vicious Array, we must descend along these roots. If I hear no sound from the coin, the path is clear. If I hear a sound return, you rookie Death God had better stick close behind me."

Ye Xiu nodded, cautiously following Old Liu as they began to slide down the main trunk. To Ye Xiu, Old Liu was a master who had achieved enlightenment. His composure while standing beside a Death God spoke volumes of his confidence and ability.

The dim sunlight from the outside world had vanished entirely. The color of the roots before them deepened with every inch they descended. Had it not been for the searchlight Old Liu had prepared, Ye Xiu, despite being a Death God, would have been utterly lost in this pitch-black environment. "Old Liu, what do you think is inside the Ninefold Vicious Array? Are you, an otherworldly Daoist, truly so concerned about the people?"

Old Liu glanced back at Ye Xiu upon hearing this, gripping the root tightly with both hands. "Places filled with malevolent energy usually hide either gold and silver or items imbued with the power of enlightened masters. Perhaps there's even something your Death God needs! So, you certainly came to the right place with me. We have the ability to peek in, and incidentally, saving the people from their plight—what could be wrong with that?"

"I knew you didn't have purely good intentions," Ye Xiu muttered, climbing down headfirst, clinging to the root. In the periphery of the searchlight beam, he spotted a massive root branching off into numerous smaller tendrils. The previously smooth branches now sprouted small, irregular bumps. "How long will this take? Are we going to starve to death on these roots?"

"A Death God fears death!" Old Liu joked as if nothing were amiss. After all, he wasn't strictly considered human either. "Shh... Quiet. There seems to be some movement below."

Suddenly, Ye Xiu felt a numbness creep up his arm. Old Liu dimmed the light on his own headlamp and gestured for Ye Xiu to crouch low. At that moment, Ye Xiu heard the sound of wind rising from the depths, mixed with the faint clinking sound of the coin striking something.

"What is it?" Ye Xiu was intensely curious but dared not speak loudly. He could almost hear sounds echoing from various branches—sharp, sudden cracks.

Old Liu reached back, pressing Ye Xiu down, and completely extinguished his light. "The coin's echo means something is ahead. And we are still up here on the trunk. Something might be attacking the trunk itself."

"It's the Vicious Birds! Damn it, are these things even underground?" Ye Xiu's first thought was of the Inner Bird King he had destroyed earlier. Those creatures weren't strong, but they were loathsome because they could embed their eggs inside a person's skin. Once hatched, the chicks would eat the host's viscera and burst forth, tearing a whole person apart.

"No, this vibration seems to be coming from the trunk itself." Old Liu was calm, his experience seemingly leagues beyond Ye Xiu's. "Don't you feel the texture of the bark changing?"

Ye Xiu started internally, realizing he had felt something undulating beneath his palms. He had initially dismissed it as the roots becoming rougher, but now he knew that wasn't it. "You mean something is trying to burrow out from under the bark!"

"Bad news! Climb up, quick!" Old Liu roared, actually stepping hard off Ye Xiu's shoulder to gain momentum. When Old Liu reactivated his searchlight, Ye Xiu saw a withered, open-mouthed human face right where Old Liu had just been standing.

"Damn it, are you trying to kill me!" Ye Xiu erupted in anger and scrambled upward, following the beam of light for dear life. Though he didn't know what they were fleeing, if this cultivator was running so fast, Ye Xiu, who understood nothing, certainly shouldn't linger to observe such horror. "There's a face down there! What was that thing!"

Old Liu yelled as he continued his ascent. "Faster, faster! There's more than one face behind us! Haven't you noticed what's around you?"

Ye Xiu instinctively glanced to his side. The bark he had been clinging to had instantly transformed into countless human faces—some resembling old men, some children, and many women whose mouths were imprinted with something repulsive. "What in the hell are these things!"

"Those are Tree Faces! Move faster or you’ll be swallowed," Old Liu, who understood everything but possessed little courage, shouted this before already climbing many feet higher.

"Oh, come on! Where did this thing come from? It could take my life!" Ye Xiu was terrified by Old Liu's panic, almost forgetting his identity as a Death God. While some mysterious force could harm even a Death God, if this thing was merely constructed of bark, it shouldn't be able to hurt him.

"Damn it, I lost my composure! I actually forgot—you are a person from the Death Realm." Realizing this, Old Liu abruptly stopped climbing. He settled coldly onto a branch and began to observe the trailing Tree Faces below with intense focus.

Ye Xiu, catching his breath, finally pulled himself up to the level where Old Liu had initially stopped. Now, both men were paused, but the crisp, cracking sound from the branches below had not ceased. Suddenly, with a sharp CRACK, Old Liu yelped and started screaming for his life.

"Damn it, something just bit my ass!" Though he was clearly in excruciating pain, the sound of his shout was comical. He yanked out something resembling a scalpel from his waist pouch and stabbed it hard directly beneath where he was sitting. A mist of blood erupted, and only then could he move again. "Blast it, it actually bit my backside."

Ye Xiu choked back a laugh, but when he looked beneath Old Liu’s rear end, he saw a hideous child's face pierced through the eye socket by the blade, letting out a painful, wailing cry. That wail seemed to act as a signal, making the commotion around them even more violent.