Ye Xiu said nothing more, merely gazing intently at everything that unfolded on the screen. Zhu Yuanzhang’s fishhook remained conspicuously empty, yet behind him, brilliant snowflakes began to drift down—snow in the middle of summer.

“Your Majesty, do you not desire even greater achievements?” A snow-white dress, an elegant figure, a bewitching smile capable of stirring heaven and earth; it was indeed the Myriad Demon Empress. Her appearance had not changed in centuries. She stood present in the Ming Dynasty, before Zhu Yuanzhang.

“Guards… protect the Emperor…” The fawning angler beside him was utterly terrified by the Empress's appearance from the snow. He scrambled to the ground, desperately trying to distance himself from her. “You’re a demon… a monster…”

Zhu Yuanzhang remained composed, slowly lowering his fishing rod to fix his gaze upon the beautiful, enigmatic woman before him. “What ‘greater achievement’? Can it ensure timely rains and favorable weather for my nation, and the happiness and peace of my subjects?”

The Myriad Demon Empress was clearly taken aback by Zhu Yuanzhang’s words. In her estimation, an emperor who had forged an empire would never be content with the status quo. “Your Majesty, I possess the means to expand your territories further, to make your enemies tremble before you. If you wish it, not just this mere continent, but the entire realm will become your plaything.”

Zhu Yuanzhang blinked, a flicker of agitation crossing his features. Faced with this mysterious woman and the tempting proposition she offered, what emperor would not be moved?

“Whoosh…” The image contracted once more. The talisman bearing the inscription of the Red Cliff Heavenly Scripture scattered into the wind. When Ye Xiu and the other regained their focus, they found themselves unmistakably in the forest within the Eight Trigrams of the Ghost Path. However, in this dimension, the trees were not oriented vertically; instead, they hung suspended horizontally in the air, stretching endlessly left and right.

“Ghost Mask, what just happened?” Old Liu felt a distinct unease looking at the floating trees. He had assumed the Ghost Mask, operating outside this realm, understood everything. “What devilish place is this? Are there still more array cores to the Great Profound Dao Charm?”

“What just happened? Haven’t you already removed the array core of the Earth Spirit Incantation?” The Ghost Mask had not witnessed the vision Old Liu and his companion saw, perhaps such recordings were only accessible to those connected to it. “This is another spell—the Myriad Wood Incantation. It controls the trees within the Eight Trigrams of the Ghost Path. Destroy this formation, and the trees in the Trigrams will burn to ash, completing two-thirds of the Great Profound Dao Charm destruction.”

Ye Xiu felt the situation was far from simple. He quietly said to Old Liu, “The Myriad Demon Empress appearing in the Ming Dynasty and involving herself with Zhu Yuanzhang suggests the Red Cliff Heavenly Scripture realm is deeply connected to the God of Death.”

“You think Zhu Yuanzhang was transformed into a God of Death?” Old Liu could deduce it instantly. “Historically, who could refuse the power offered by the Myriad Demon Empress? Xia Jie, Han Xin, the First Emperor, or even Yama?”

Ye Xiu knew of these emperors whom the Myriad Demon Empress had remade into Gods of Death. However, as far back as the era of Xia Jie, she apparently had not mastered the use of the Nether King’s vital essence, as there were no records of a God of Death associated with him. Han Xin became a God of Death but was inadvertently drawn into the incident involving Empress Buxian Wu. The First Emperor was personally executed by the Myriad Demon Empress. Yama defied her. “I fear the owner of this tomb is someone surnamed Zhu from the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang’s tomb is at the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum in Nanjing. Could it be Emperor Jianwen, Zhu Yunwen?”

“Nothing to do with Zhu Yuanzhang? Could Zhu Yunwen have become a God of Death? That’s impossible!” Old Liu found the line of reasoning absurd. “If Zhu Yunwen possessed such power, he would have gone out and dealt with Zhu Di, who usurped the throne. Why hide in this dreadful place writing a call to arms against Yan in cryptic script?”

“What are you two muttering about? Hurry up and retrieve the talisman from the Phoenix Tree at the core of the Myriad Wood Incantation array!” The Ghost Mask was growing impatient, completely failing to understand their deliberation. “These trees floating left and right are the essence of tree spirits; danger lurks everywhere within this dense wood. Only by breaking through this sea of trees can you reach the Phoenix Tree at the array core. Don't take this lightly.”

“Hmph, through a sea of trees?” Old Liu eyed the trees suspended before them. There were Silver Firs, apricot trees, elms, and countless others, staggered and unending, yet they hovered in the air as if drawn by some force. They did not appear particularly dangerous. He turned back to Ye Xiu with a smug grin. “I’m going over on my sword!”

Ye Xiu remained silent, gesturing with an open hand. He certainly wouldn't underestimate this grove, knowing full well that Old Liu's greatest weakness was complacency. He had been captured by the twin-eyed Death Bats last time and hadn't learned his lesson. Ye Xiu planned to wait for the opportune moment to rescue him.

“Whoosh…” Old Liu stepped onto the Demon Breaking Sword and glided into the woods. The white streak of light was breathtakingly beautiful, like a meteor across the sky. He passed through unimpeded and mocked Ye Xiu, “What about you? Don’t be afraid, keep up!”

Ye Xiu, seeing that Old Liu was fine, prepared to rise on his Black Flame, when suddenly, numerous branches erupted inexplicably from the trees. These branches were not like ordinary leafy ones; every single one affixed to the trunk displayed thorns as sharp as swords. “Old Liu, watch out!”

“Oh, shoot…” Before Old Liu could react, a suddenly lunging branch pierced his foot. He lost his footing and slid off the Demon Breaking Sword. Below him, the forest floor had already grown dense with interlacing branches, darting in and out, thrusting and piercing like the teeth in a mouth.

Ye Xiu summoned his Black Flame and brought out the Heaven Scrutinizing Sword, stepping onto the nearest tree trunk. As he landed, he heard the sound of wind rushing—two branches thrust out from the sides. Although prepared, the speed of the branches was too swift. He flipped upside down, severing the branches with the Heaven Scrutinizing Sword. “Old Liu, freeze these things!”

Old Liu managed to grab a trunk, thinking he had found a place to cast his spell, but another volley of branches pierced through the trunk, forcing him to let go. He was about to fall into the gaping maw below. “Freeze what? I don't even have stable ground!”

Ye Xiu leaped up. In that moment of crisis, the sword moves of the Heaven Scrutinizing Sword surged in his mind. His hand formed a vertical gesture, and the Heaven Scrutinizing Sword rose, scattering several beams of red light into the forest, slicing away the mouth beneath Old Liu. “Thin Face Blade…”

“Whoosh…” Old Liu used one hand to forcefully pull himself up, simultaneously yanking the Thin Face Blade's thread toward Ye Xiu. Using the momentum from Ye Xiu’s pull, he spun around. “Demon Breaking Sword, Chill Dragon Qi!”

“Hoooo…” Immediately, a north wind howled, and snow blanketed the ground. The sharp, elongated branches instantly froze solid. Old Liu shot upward and struck palms with Ye Xiu in mid-air. “It’s up to you!”

“Nine Dragon Black Flame!” Ye Xiu charged downward, holding his sword in one hand while channeling the Black Flame onto the Heaven Scrutinizing Sword in the other. At that instant, sword light flashed wildly, shattering the frozen timber into dust.

As the vast forest was destroyed, a colossal tree appeared in their sight—a Phoenix Tree, soaring over a hundred meters high. Its diameter was so immense that it defied description in terms of how many men could encircle it. Most miraculously, the tree's foundation was suspended, and its roots swung wildly in the air.

The Ghost Mask seemed to sense their progress, his voice booming with direction. “The Myriad Wood Incantation array core lies within the hollow of the Phoenix Tree. To enter the hollow, you must first evade the entangling branches, and…”

“…and the monstrous birds nesting on the Phoenix Tree…” Ye Xiu flew sideways in the air, holding the Heaven Scrutinizing Sword. He saw the strange birds swarming out from the towering tree. They were small, but their beaks were exceedingly sharp. They flew in formations of three, entwined like cannonballs, bombarding him.

“Clang! Clang!” Old Liu gripped the silk-wrapped Thin Face Blade, spinning it before him. Wherever the blade passed, the clumped monstrous birds were sliced apart. Facing attacks from three directions, he manipulated his Demon Breaking Sword to carve a path of slaughter.

Ye Xiu stepped onto the scattered ice shards, using the Heaven Scrutinizing Sword for defense as he approached the Phoenix Tree. But at that critical juncture, a massive root shot up from below like a giant python, wrapping around him securely. In desperation, Ye Xiu plunged the Heaven Scrutinizing Sword into the root. A trace of blood seeped from the wound. “This tree isn’t just huge; it…”

“A Blood Tree?” Old Liu was versed in Daoist practices. He understood the implications of blood within a tree. “Did this tree grow by absorbing the essence of some human?”

“What is it? Hurry up and figure something out!” Ye Xiu strained, driving the Heaven Scrutinizing Sword deeper into the root. The blood flowing outside the blade shifted from vivid red to pitch black—a blackness only the God of Death possessed. “What is a Blood Tree? What exactly is hidden in that hollow?”

Suddenly, the pale voice of the Ghost Mask echoed from the heavens. “I only know the hollow is the array core of the Myriad Wood Incantation. It conceals the incantation talisman. Removing it will destroy the trees in the Eight Trigrams of the Ghost Path.”

Old Liu formed a swastika-shaped formation in the air using the Demon Breaking Sword. He pushed the formation with his palm, leaping into the swarm of attacking birds, enveloping them entirely. “A Blood Tree is cultivated using the blood of certain people or other lifeforms as a base. Through continuous purification and extension, it gains the abilities of that base entity—perhaps human intelligence, or the unique powers of another creature.”

Ye Xiu fueled the Heaven Scrutinizing Sword with Black Flame. The blazing fire followed the wound down into the root, causing the entity within to spasm slightly. He seized the opportunity, breaking free and leaping atop the bird flock. “The black blood on that root—what does it signify? Is the base you mentioned the God of Death?”

“Who knows!” In a flash, Old Liu brought out the Thin Face Blade, pulling Ye Xiu with him as they charged toward the tree hollow. The roots swung forward again, blocking the entrance as if a hand were defending a vital area. “See that? That’s conscious self-defense. We need a way to break these roots!”

“Let me handle it!” Ye Xiu raised the Heaven Scrutinizing Sword, now wreathed in roaring Black Flame. The shadow of dragons and snakes loomed as he roared, channeling all his sword light toward the center of the root. The strike pierced the root, causing blood to gush violently from within. Unfortunately, the root was too massive; no matter how powerful the Heaven Scrutinizing Sword was, it could only wound, not sever it.

“One more strike!” Old Liu followed up with seven sword shadows generated by the Demon Breaking Sword, all aimed at the same spot. The two strikes converged as one. The root thrashed wildly like a frantic snake, spraying blood high into the sky. With a final surge of effort, the two managed to sever it.