Various large and small battles had erupted around the crown of the Primordial Undying Tree.
Bang!
A genius who flew into the air in a bid to rapidly reach the peak of the tree burst into blood mist as the combined attacks of many around him landed on his body.
One thing was certain. Regardless of who they were battling, every genius was doing their best to keep an eye on one another, and every single one of them was aiming to enter the maze of branches that constituted the Primordial Undying Tree's crown.
Skree!
The cry of a phoenix rang out as a swift phantom made of flames dived towards its target. But considering who it was aimed at, it was almost natural that it missed.
"Tch! You lot from the Peng Clan are only good for fleeing. Let's see how long a rat like you can last." Feng Qing'er scoffed as she watched it happen.
"Ha! Speak after you actually land an attack on me, you slow-witted bitch. Oh wait, you've never managed to do that unless you teamed up with your counterpart, have you?
Penh Xiaoyan flashed through the air with speeds that matched teleportation. Regardless of what Feng Qing'er did, her attacks wouldn't hit.
Peng Xiaoyan spread her arms as she moved, slashing them downwards in a crossed pattern. Light green mana raged and formed an x-shaped blade that spun towards Feng Qing'er.
But Feng Qing'er was never afraid of Peng Xiaoyan's attack power. When it came to power, she was Queen.
A string of flame runes appeared before her as she drew in the air, forming a sword that seemed almost corporeal. As the sword shot forward, it split into thousands of pieces that clouded the atmosphere and formed an inescapable net.
"You've learned some new tricks, huh. But you aren't the only one!" Peng Xiaoyan sneered.
Her body arched like a bow and exploded forth with extreme speed. She reached Feng Qing'er's position in an instant. A set of twin daggers appeared in her hands and stabbed downward, being coated with wind mana in the process.
"Good! Thanks for delivering yourself to me!" Feng Qing'er grinned.
Being surprised at Peng Xiaoyan's speed was one thing, but being unprepared was another. In fact, Feng Qing'er was extremely glad that the former had decided to engage her in close combat.
A fiery red greatsword that emanated blazing heat manifested in the air. Feng Qing'er grabbed its hilt without hesitation, swinging without even looking for a target.
After all, her opponent was moving too fast. She couldn't track her even if she wanted to.
Sssss!
A sizzling sound was emitted from the spot of collision. Under Peng Xiaoyan's shocked gaze, her daggers were directly melted by the blade.
"A few tricks?" Feng Qing'er scoffed. "Bitch, I've been reborn."
Reincarnation Flames raged. Using the wind mana as a conduit, they billowed into a massive flame tornado that enveloped the two women.
Boom!
The flame tornado caused a large shockwave that pushed back any that were in the vicinity, but upon reaching a certain location, the heat was directly suppressed.
A winter storm seemed to have formed unnaturally within the underground space. The land had been frozen into ice, and even mana moved sluggishly.
Standing in the middle of this space was Lunaria Snow, who Damien had dropped off long before his confrontation with Hun Fang had started.
"To think things escalated so quickly. But, it isn't unexpected. The most surprising thing is Qing'er's growth. Even if I heard about it beforehand, it's still shocking to see."
Lunaria murmured to herself as she casually blocked a strike aimed for her head. She flicked her finger, causing a crystalline ice shard to shoot through that genius' head, instantly killing him.
"While Qing'er is having such a riveting battle, I'm stuck dealing with bugs. What a shame."
Lunaria moved without pause. She soon reached the crown of the Primordial Undying Tree and began climbing its branches.
"Another one."
She clutched her hand into a fist. Following her movement, a frozen statue of a hidden genius fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
Her blood had been frozen from within.
"I was unable to accurately judge the prowess of Qing'er's friend during our time together, but if Hun Fang considers him a threat, then I shouldn't push my luck. For the goals of our Ice Phoenix Clan, only a green fruit is necessary."
Truthfully, she wasn't too interested in the purple fruit. While its effects were astronomically greater than the other two kinds, she knew her limits.
And more than that, the Ice Phoenixes were already existences that symbolized purity. To take a treasure that purified their bodies even more was like a stain on their pride.
"But pride is just pride. In the end, I will still end up taking such a treasure."
As she moved, she glanced in a certain direction.
"It's a shame. With power so similar to mine, I wanted to see which of us was superior. But it seems now isn't the time."
In the direction she was looking, another tundra had formed. But this one was intrinsically divergent from hers.
The source it came from differed.
The mana was whiteish blue, and within that tundra, hints of another blue flame could be seen along with unknown patches of black.
Inside, Ruyue stared dully at a man who stood across from her.
"The 3000 Beast Record is really just a gauge of strength, huh. 4th rank genius Regis Tiriad, in terms of personality, you're probably the shittiest one here."
"Hahaha! A beauty that struggles is the most fun to tame! Come come! Insult me more!"
The man named Regis licked his lips in glee. His tongue was forked like a snake's.
Ever since he saw the woman in front of him, he has been resolved to make her his.
But he didn't have his clan's power to use at the moment, so he had to do the dirty work himself.
'But that's fine with me! The chase is the most fun part!'
His bewitching poison did nothing to this woman, and aphrodisiacs were the same. The easy tactics had already been thrown out the window.
'So instead of poisoning her mind, I just have to poison her body! If she desires the antidote, then she's mine. Even if she doesn't, she'll still be immobilized so she's mine nonetheless!'
He felt orgasmic as he imagined the scene of this woman pinned under him. A poisonous aura leaked from his body and spread through the realm she had created.
"No matter what, ice is still ice. It'll melt eventually."
Ruyue sighed and shook her head. "I think I understand how he feels a little now. These geniuses that used to be dangerous for me…they're just so weak."
There was no time. While Damien secured the purple fruit, she needed to grab the green ones for both herself and for the White Dragon King so they could fulfill their promise.
"What a hassle. He probably forgot all about that deal we made. I'll make sure he compensates me properly for this."
Black mana intertwined with the blue mana Ruyue was normally emitting. Her ice suddenly gave off an ominous aura it didn't have before.
"Desolation…I've always been concerned about using it on people, but if it's you, then I don't think it'll stain my conscience too much."
The mana shot forward, piercing the fog of poison that Regis had put up previously.
"W-what?! My Thousand Death! How can you pierce it so easily?!"
Before he could put up any semblance of defense, the blackish-blue mana infiltrated his body.
It spread rapidly, more rapidly than any poison. And in an instant, it sucked away all the mana in his body. But it didn't seem satiated at all.
"Vitality is an interesting thing," Ruyue muttered to herself. "Thanks to the Tree Senior, I was able to understand more about it than I ever thought I would."
Regis' body began to shrivel. The mana within him was stealing everything he had, including his life force.
He tried mobilizing his own mana to counter, but soon realized that it had been devoured long ago. The only option left was the poison that ran through his blood.
But when that was stolen from him.
Desolation. That's what happened.
Everything that he had was taken. The poison in his body just served to feed that blackish-blue mana even faster.
And soon, he became an empty husk on the floor. In his place, there was a blob of corrupted mana.
"Tch. I don't even want this. Hmm, I'll just throw it over there."
Ruyue flicked her finger and discarded the blob of mana. In the place where it fell, a massive explosion filled with poisonous gas erupted, slaughtering 10 geniuses at once.
"Alright. Now that that's over, back to the task at hand."
Ruyue soon arrived at the crown of the tree, and just like Lunaria had a few moments prior, she began her hunt for the green fruits.
