161 Hades, the god of the underworld, awakens and provokes Chu Feng!
"Zhong Ming! My brother, you're actually alive." Zhong Yang's feelings for him ran deep.
And he addressed him as Your Highness—this was definitely no ordinary superior-subordinate relationship.
"Your Highness, a thousand years! Do you know how anxious we were? Some tried to break the seal on the Ruins and ended up obliterated." Zhong Ming embraced Zhong Yang, speaking with deep emotion.
"Enough—let the past stay buried."
"Then do we give up on revenge? However mighty the Heavenly Dao may be, it still can't reverse the workings of the Demon Realm—so we still have a chance."
"But Father Emperor is gone, and the Demon Realm's former glory is gone. With our current strength, we probably can't even beat some people from the Human Realm."
…Their talk diverged—war or peace, a thousand-year pact—no easy answer.
In this scorching space Big Fly, sporting fur thicker than a monkey's, didn't sweat a drop; the beast spirit body truly was formidable.
"Dead cat, where did you get this spirit body?" Chu Feng asked.
"A treasure from North Snow City. My master and I agreed I'd come out for a month to find you—I knew you'd hit Sky Prison because you're always starving, and there are only a few places in the Human Realm rich in spirit energy." Big Fly said.
"Why were you looking for me?" Chu Feng asked, puzzled.
"To help you grab treasures! Listen, the City Lord wants me to bring you back for sure." The cat was far steadier now… but even in this tattered Demon Realm you could still dig up some good stuff.
"Brother Xu, have you figured out a way to seal the Demon Realm Entrance?" Zhong Yang asked.
"Brother, if you seal the entrance we can't get out for a long time—without demons from the Human Realm to run errands, how will we manage?" Zhong Ming yanked Zhong Yang's robe, shouting urgently; turns out the two were brothers.
Unable to bear the hunger pangs, Chu Feng scoured the ground for anything edible—or any treasure.
"There's nothing in the Demon Realm, is there?"
"If you're not afraid to die, head to the demon luo tree. One fruit boosts a hundred years of demonic energy, but it only fruits every five hundred years, and anyone without cultivation vanishes on contact."
Zhong Ming, still fuming, pointed him that way.
Chu Feng ignored life-and-death warnings and sprinted toward the tree.
"With your low cultivation you'll die instantly." Zhong Yang blocked his path.
"Out of my way—I just want something to eat." Driven by hunger, Chu Feng summoned his Extreme Spirit Body.
Hadn't they said the Extreme Spirit Body would be useless in the Demon Realm? Why was it growing stronger for Chu Feng?
"See? My master's Extreme Spirit Body from the Immortal Realm works fine here—how could a measly demon luo fruit harm him?" Red Fang was totally confident in Chu Feng's power.
Zhong Yang stepped aside.
The demon luo tree stood in the most perilous zone of the Demon Realm, amid seething lava; a small island at the center held the two-meter, purplish-red tree.
Apart from the newly unsealed minor demons, only this tree radiated potent spirit energy.
Two palm-sized red fruits hung from its boughs, dense demonic qi swirling around them.
As Chu Feng neared, the demonic qi formed a mist that enveloped him.
The spirit energy in his body ebbed, and his spirit body began to fade.
Only his heartbeat remained; it felt like countless barbs were piercing him—no pain, no sorrow.
In the Human Realm death is final; here it's different.
Dying in the Demon Realm can feel like ten-thousand arrows, or like drifting in a haze—an existence worse than death.
Chu Feng's formidable talent kept his consciousness alive; memories of the demon luo tree flashed through his mind.
The tree was nearly a hundred thousand years old; all Chu Feng could see beyond the black mist were fragments of its memories.
Foremost among them: the war a thousand years ago that toppled the Demon Realm.
Back then the Human and Demon Realms forged a rare pact to crusade against the Heavenly Dao. The leaders were the Human Venerable—ancestor of White God Path—and the Demon Venerable, Zhong Yang's father.
The war dragged on for nearly a century; the united forces were finally routed. The Human Realm's landmass expanded beyond unification, while the Demon Realm became Ruins—only this tree survived intact.
It was no small feat that, untended for a millennium, the tree still managed to bloom and fruit.
As that memory blurred, Chu Feng felt his final consciousness about to vanish—dying like this seemed utterly meaningless.
Gu Yuena watched the mist expand and shrink, red light flashing within, terrified Chu Feng might leave her forever.
No—this absolutely cannot happen!
Grief flooded her mind; she mutated like a mad titan, her body swelling tenfold, hair streaming outward.
Red and blue light intertwined in her eyes—complete demonic derangement.
"We're done—her mind's snapped; there's no stopping her now." Zhong Yang cried… Gu Yuena stooped her colossal form, cupping the mist in her hands while stomping the tree's barrier with both feet.
Yet it was futile—brute force cannot overcome spirit and demonic qi.
Chu Feng's last wisp of consciousness sensed someone trying to rouse him.
"Miss Gu Yuena, what's she doing! Will my master be okay?" Red Fang asked in a panic.
"Her emotions are being infinitely amplified by the clash of mind and demonic qi. Best not to act rashly right now," Zhong Ming added.
Gu Yuena's body was no longer hers to control; her subconscious was too weak to reclaim it, yet she still didn't understand what she felt for Chu Feng.
Yes—what feeling could drive Gu Yuena to such madness?
The question faded along with her final thought as she slipped into slumber.
Only the frenzied titan kept thrashing about.
Yet she cradled the mist gently, gradually calming down.
A tear slid down, pierced the demon luo tree's barrier, landed on the fruit, purified it, and turned it vivid pink.
Chu Feng thought he had left the World, but his vision grew clearer—laughter, blooming spring days.
He hadn't been killed by hordes of demons but was done in by a single tree—how ridiculous.
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