Chapter Forty-Six: Fragments of the Bloodfiend Tree

This piece of wood was no larger than a palm, twisted and contorted into something resembling a human shape. It looked somewhat like a ginseng root, yet lacked any root tendrils. Its texture was a deep purplish-black, reminiscent of sandalwood, but not quite the same. Seeing Chishui Tiger hold it in its hand, the weight seemed extraordinary.

Jiang Feng did not dare to accept it; Chishui Tiger’s words had awakened him to the truth. No wonder that old fox Yichen hadn’t come searching for the Blood Fiend Fruit himself. The perimeter of the Blood Fiend Tree was guarded by a curtain of sand—a sandfall impossible for ordinary people to endure!

“Hmph, that crafty old Yichen! He sent me here to risk my life for him. Once I return, he’ll pay for this!”

“Who is Yichen?” Chishui Tiger’s ears were keen. “Is it the woman behind you?”

Jiang Feng shook his head respectfully. “She is my wife, Wang Yingying, and that bird is a divine beast. Only the three of us came here.”

Chishui Tiger showed little interest in Wang Yingying, but sized up the divine beast for some time. After a moment, they passed the piece of wood over. “It is no small feat for you to reach this place. This shard of the Blood Fiend Tree is useless to us, so we give it to you. Perhaps you may gain something from it and your Netherforce will increase.”

Jiang Feng reached out, and as soon as the wood was in his grasp, he felt his body sink, nearly crushed by its weight. He was forced to summon his Netherforce to support it. This tiny block of wood weighed four or five hundred pounds.

“Your Netherforce is powerful—not what I’d expect from someone at the Nether Servant stage,” Chishui Tiger observed, eyes glinting with curiosity.

Jiang Feng was only at the sixth stage of Nether Servant cultivation, but his Netherforce was robust thanks to his practice of the Profound Heaven secret arts. His Netherforce surpassed even those at the ninth stage, nearly equal to someone at the first tier of the Void Nether Realm.

“What kind of tree is the Blood Fiend Tree? I can’t sense even a trace of Netherforce within this wood,” Jiang Feng wondered. The fragment was so dense, its energy was sealed, impossible to refine or absorb.

Hearing Jiang Feng’s question, the two Chishui Tigers exchanged an awkward glance. One, more articulate, explained, “Our brothers were brought here by our previous master to seek the Blood Fiend Tree. He feared we couldn’t withstand the sandfall, so he built a copper hall for us to wait in. He entered alone and did not return for a long time. We sent six companions to look for him, while the two of us guarded the hall. Eventually, one companion returned, battered and bloodied, barely spoke a word before dying, leaving behind this shard of the Blood Fiend Tree.”

Jiang Feng listened, dumbfounded. Such a grand copper hall built on a whim—what manner of great figure was their previous master!

He wanted to ask about this master’s name, but seeing sorrow in Chishui Tiger’s eyes, he changed his question. “You’ve waited here so long, but never managed to comprehend this fragment?”

Chishui Tiger grew embarrassed, replying, “We have tried many times, burning it with Chishui Flame, soaking it in mysterious water—nothing worked. Even our sharpest claws couldn’t scratch it. So we abandoned the search for the Blood Fiend Tree and devoted ourselves to waiting, believing that someday, a destined person would come and fulfill our master’s last wish.”

His words left Jiang Feng with no room to refuse. Resigned, Jiang Feng carefully stowed the fragment away, promising the Chishui Tigers, “I will do my utmost, but I won’t risk my life. I have no particular interest in this Blood Fiend Fruit.”

“Of course, if your life is threatened, you must save yourselves first.”

Aside from the fragment, Jiang Feng was irked that the Chishui Tigers had no other gifts. He left the copper hall in low spirits, preparing to venture deeper into the mysterious forest.

Once outside, he took out the fragment and his Nine Heavens Steel Blade, hoping its domineering aura could penetrate the wood. But he was quickly disappointed—the blade that could cut through anything was powerless against this block.

“Impossible! Even the Nine Heavens Steel Blade can’t cut it? When Master gave it to me, he said it could destroy anything!” Jiang Feng, angered by repeated failures, summoned his abundant Netherforce, suspending the wood in midair. Using Shadow Dance Soul-Stepping, he circled the fragment, unleashing fierce energies from the blade. At the same time, he invoked the Profound Heaven secret arts—Profound Heaven Divine Palm and Eight Dragon Sonic Death—striking the wood higher and higher, bombarding it with every killer move he knew.

“Yingying, use your strongest techniques. Divine beast, join us! Let’s see if the three of us together can damage this fragment.”

Wang Yingying quickly poured her Netherforce into the effort. The divine beast, excited, unleashed its spells around the wood.

Under the relentless assault of the Nine Heavens Steel Blade and the Profound Heaven secret arts, the strange wood trembled ever so slightly, but still no Netherforce or vital energy emerged.

Half an hour passed. Wang Yingying was the first to collapse, her breath heavy, eyes filled with apology.

Jiang Feng, equally exhausted, ceased his attack and comforted her with a gentle pat on the shoulder and a weak smile.

A fragment of the Blood Fiend Tree had nearly left them debilitated. He could barely hold the wood now, crouched on the ground, face pale, frustrated as he gazed at the fragment. “So hard! It’s unnatural. If Master were here, could he break it?”

Suddenly, Wang Yingying pointed at the wood, astonished. “Jiang Feng, look! We’ve made a crack.”

He followed her gesture. Indeed, there was a faint fissure on the wood, and peering inside, he saw what seemed to be a world of yellow earth.

“What is this?” Jiang Feng was perplexed. He had never heard of such a phenomenon within wood—a realm inside, layered with runes that flickered and vanished, leaving him unsure if it was real or illusion.

Wang Yingying noticed it too, but her cultivation was not as strong as Jiang Feng’s. One glance left her dizzy, nearly collapsing. She quickly averted her gaze, clutching her forehead. “Let’s return to the copper hall and ask the Chishui Tigers. Maybe they know something.”

Jiang Feng stared into the crack, at a world like swirling yellow sand, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart. Even the playful divine beast was now somber, readying its defenses.

“All right, let’s ask the Chishui Tigers.”

He just managed to stand when his legs went weak. Suddenly, a powerful suction pulled from behind, and his vision went black.

During his unconsciousness, he felt as though he had fallen into a turbulent sea, pressures from every direction compressing his organs, forcing him to vomit several times before feeling slightly better.

He groped around desperately, but found nothing. Fierce winds battered his eyes, freezing cold biting to the bone, nearly causing him to lose consciousness again.

He endured for over an hour until the hostile environment finally receded. He opened his eyes slightly—and was stunned.

Before him,

The copper hall had been harsh, too—bleak and barren—but it was far better than the sight now confronting him.

The air was thick with a chilling, murderous atmosphere. The sky was an eerie yellow-brown, and the ground beneath his feet was cracked and parched, as if a chasm could open at any moment.

Jiang Feng crouched low, examined the earth, and his expression changed abruptly. “This is bad. The runes in the wood—looks like a teleportation Nether art.”

In the realm of Nether arts, there existed time-space techniques that could transport a person instantly from one place to another. What Jiang Feng was experiencing now was likely such a phenomenon.

“Where am I?”

The land beneath his feet was shattered, the stones so fragile they crumbled to dust at a touch.

Jiang Feng’s face grew pale. In the East Nether, this was the greatest fear—being suddenly transported to an unknown, desolate place, with no way out but death by entrapment.

Moreover, he had lost contact with Wang Yingying and the divine beast.

Thinking of his promises to Wang Yingying, Jiang Feng’s brow furrowed, his eyes sorrowful. He closed his eyes to the sky for a long moment, struggling to calm himself.

“Perhaps only I was caught in this teleportation Nether art,” he forced a smile, clinging to a shred of hope.

The biting wind howled, gnawing at his nerves, sinking his heart ever deeper.

“Forget it, I must find a way out first—otherwise, everything is futile.”

For the first time, Jiang Feng felt nervous. Before, wherever he went—even if things were dire—he had someone to rely on. Now, there was nothing but desolation.

Was anyone here? Was there danger?

He knew nothing.

The unknown was the deepest fear of all.

Tension and anxiety seemed to seep into the very air. Jiang Feng tried to steady himself, but his heart trembled until a black spot appeared before him, easing his mind somewhat.

“What is that?”

As it drew nearer, his face turned pale once more.