“Could it be that the Wood Tribe has already been completely wiped out by the Demon Clan, which is why we haven’t seen a single one?” Zhu Guo’er’s expression changed, her voice tinged with worry.
“Complete annihilation is impossible. The Wood Tribe has a population in the hundreds of billions, including many powerful beings at the Body Integration stage. Even if they couldn’t match the Demon Clan, they wouldn’t be exterminated so easily. Moreover, the Wood Tribe has formed alliances with our Human Tribe and several others. The allied races wouldn’t stand idly by while the Wood Tribe was destroyed. Most likely, the Demon Clan has gained the upper hand in this region, forcing the local Wood Tribe members to evacuate.” Han Li pondered for a moment before replying slowly.
“Your words make sense, Senior. Once we move further away from the spatial rift, we should encounter Wood Tribe members.” Zhu Guo’er nodded repeatedly, finding his reasoning sound.
Han Li said nothing more and continued to urge the flying carriage forward in silence.
Three days later, the flying carriage came to a halt above an endless expanse of primal forest, hovering quietly in the sky.
A hundred zhang ahead of the carriage, seven or eight high-ranking demons blocked their path. These demons had green fleshy wings on their backs, wore feathered robes, and had crimson eyes, their appearances exceptionally ferocious. Behind them were densely packed two-headed demonic birds, each about a zhang in size, their bodies covered in multicolored feathers, with black horns on their heads—numbering at least five or six hundred.
“Is this the seventh batch?” Han Li stood at the front of the carriage, his expression impassive as he asked.
“Senior, this is the seventh wave,” Zhu Guo’er replied cautiously.
“Hmph, it seems the high-ranking demons in charge of this area haven’t learned their lesson yet. Then let’s wipe them all out. After dealing with this batch, we should finally have some peace for a while.” Han Li narrowed his eyes and spoke coldly.
With a flick of his sleeves, streams of inch-long green light surged forth—seventy-two miniature emerald swords. Han Li formed a hand seal with one hand and pointed at the swords. A dragon-like hum erupted from the swords as they blurred, multiplying from one to two, two to four, four to eight… In an instant, the sky was filled with thousands of green swords.
The high-ranking demons across from them paled in shock, but as if bound by strict orders, they showed no intention of retreating. Instead, black mist rolled from their hands as they conjured various demonic weapons. With a roar, they transformed into gusts of black wind and charged toward the carriage. Behind them, the five or six hundred demonic birds flapped their wings, emitting deafening cries as they swarmed after the high-ranking demons.
“Go!” Han Li’s eyes flashed with killing intent as he uttered the command coldly.
The green swords trembled simultaneously before shooting out as zhang-long sword beams. In an instant, the air was filled with the sound of slicing wind, and the sky became a blur of green shadows. With a single flash, the high-ranking demons and hundreds of demonic birds were engulfed.
Screams erupted instantly! Blood rained down from the sky, along with countless severed limbs. The demons and demonic birds were annihilated in the blink of an eye by the thousands of sword beams. Han Li flicked his sleeve again, and the distant sword beams swiftly returned, vanishing into his sleeves.
The air ahead was now filled only with the thick stench of blood, devoid of any living beings. Han Li swept his gaze briefly before urging the carriage forward without a word, transforming it into a streak of green light that shot through the sky.
As Han Li had anticipated, no more demons or demonic creatures appeared to intercept them for the rest of the journey. However, the black-green giant trees continued to appear sporadically in the forests below, as if the entire Wood Tribe territory had been overrun by these demonic plants.
What unsettled Han Li even more was that despite traveling such a great distance, he still hadn’t encountered a single Wood Tribe member, as if the entire race had vanished.
A month later, as the carriage passed over a valley at the edge of a mountain range, Han Li finally discovered a small Wood Tribe settlement under siege by over a thousand demons.
The tribe numbered only around ten thousand, with barely two or three thousand capable of fighting. They were being slaughtered by the demons, on the verge of total annihilation. Overjoyed, Han Li immediately unleashed his thunderous might, annihilating the demons and saving the Wood Tribe members.
Without waiting for their shock and confusion to settle, Han Li revealed his identity as a human. Leveraging the alliance between their races, he finally learned from the tribe’s elder about the recent events in Wood Tribe territory, and everything became clear.
Five or six years earlier, after several decisive battles, the allied forces of the various races and the Demon Clan had reached a stalemate. The demons then executed a cunning diversion, secretly relocating nearly half of their main forces from the primary battlefield in Human and Demon territories to the Wood Tribe’s lands via spatial rifts, launching a surprise attack.
Under the overwhelming assault of the suddenly reinforced demonic army, the Wood Tribe forces, which had previously held their own, suffered seven consecutive defeats, losing most of their troops. The suddenness of the attack left the allied races unable to provide timely reinforcements. In desperation, the Wood Tribe’s Grand Elder, who should have remained in their sacred lands, personally took to the battlefield to repel the enemy.
But then the unthinkable happened. The moment the Grand Elder appeared on the front lines, three Demon Saints—who had been lying in ambush—simultaneously attacked, surrounding him. Though these Demon Saints weren’t as terrifying as the likes of Yuan Yan or Liu Ji, they were no mere avatars but their true selves. In their first strike, they grievously wounded the Grand Elder, nearly killing him on the spot.
At the critical moment, the Grand Elder summoned the sacred spirit tree that the Wood Tribe had worshipped for countless millennia. Borrowing its power, he barely escaped with his life, but his cultivation had been reduced to less than a tenth, stripping him of his Mahayana-level strength.
With the Grand Elder incapacitated, the Wood Tribe’s morale plummeted, leaving them powerless against the demonic invasion. Within a year, they lost seventy to eighty percent of their territory. By the time reinforcements from the allied races arrived, it was too late. Under the threat of the three Demon Saints, the allied forces and the remnants of the Wood Tribe army could only barely hold onto the remaining territory, with no hope of reclaiming what had been lost.
The scattered Wood Tribe settlements had already begun retreating to areas protected by the allied races, but some tribes, either receiving the news too late or moving too slowly, were trapped in demon-occupied lands. Forced into hiding in remote areas, they clung to the hope that the allied forces would one day return.
However, after years of relentless demonic searches and purges, few surviving tribes remained. This explained why Han Li had encountered no Wood Tribe members since emerging from the rift.
The small tribe Han Li had saved was originally part of a larger settlement. After their main tribe was discovered, they split into smaller groups to flee, ending up in their current state. Even so, they had been discovered again by the demons. Had Han Li not intervened, they would have faced extermination or enslavement.
“Senior, everything I’ve said is true. I beg you, in the name of our alliance, to help us return to the protected lands,” pleaded the Wood Tribe elder, a Void Refinement cultivator, after finishing his account.
Han Li swept his gaze over the tribe, noting that women, children, and the elderly made up over two-thirds of their number. After a moment of contemplation, he said slowly, “Taking you with me isn’t impossible. But I must warn you—I’ve already killed several waves of demons on my way here. The Demon Clan will have noticed me by now. It’s only a matter of time before high-ranking demons come for me. If you stay with me, you’ll be in even greater danger. With so many of you, I can’t protect everyone if a battle breaks out.”
“What? If that’s the case, I won’t insist. But I implore you, Senior, to inform the other elders of our plight. May the allied races send reinforcements soon to deliver us from this suffering. If that day comes, we will be eternally grateful.” The elder’s face fell, but after a moment’s thought, he bowed deeply, his voice filled with desperation.
“Very well, I’ll deliver your message. But I’m not familiar with the current distribution of demonic forces. Does your tribe have any relevant information or maps?” Han Li agreed readily and then asked in return.
“Though we’ve been in hiding, we do have some information. It’s not detailed, just a general overview,” the elder replied hastily.
“A general overview will suffice.” Han Li smiled slightly, satisfied.
After obtaining the materials and maps from the elder, Han Li immediately took flight and departed. The Wood Tribe members, not daring to linger, also set off at once for another hidden refuge.
Ten days later, as Han Li urged his flying carriage over a verdant lake, the water below suddenly parted without warning. A massive emerald hand shot out, seizing the carriage in an instant. With a slight squeeze, the carriage exploded into green flames, shattering completely.
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