“The taste is good.”
Fiery Owl Demon God licked his fangs, feeling the wisp of the strange path of dao tree Origin that had been completely refined, integrating into his demonic flame, bringing a hint of cold and slippery energy.
The pallor and wriggling purple blood vessels on his right half-body receded like a tide, and the pitch-black Demon God body once again took dominance, with the suffocating heat and destructive aura surging anew.
Thirty-six crimson bone spurs slowly retracted into his body, leaving deep, bone-visible scorch marks, yet they rapidly healed under the licking of the demonic flames, as if they had never appeared.
Inside his Dantian, the black and white Yin and Yang fish-shaped demonic Origin became even more condensed, and as they swam, they completely shredded and assimilated the last trace of stubborn grayish-white strange poison.
The embers of victory burned in his chest. Ten thousand years of arduous cultivation, nine tribulations of tempering, how could they be shaken by a mere segment of corrupt strange thought from an unknown strange Star Domain?
Strange path of dao tree? It was merely sustenance delivered to his doorstep, helping him glimpse a corner of the forbidden Strange Dao's mysteries.
Fiery Owl Demon God’s left eye burned with the afterglow of a Chaos starburst, and though his right eye had recovered its profound demonic pupil, deep within the pupil, a faint, almost imperceptible grayish-white mark, like sand settling at the bottom of water, quietly precipitated.
That was the cold mark of the strange path of dao tree Origin that remained after completely refining the strange path of dao tree's will, carrying incomprehensible babbling.
Just as Fiery Owl Demon God's mind relaxed slightly, his demonic body was about to complete its final reshaping, and his Extreme Demonic Origin was about to return to Perfection.
“Sizzle!”
A very faint sound, like wet wood being slowly squeezed, came not from outside, but from the very core of his Extreme Demonic Origin! The black and white Yin and Yang fish True Flame, which had just finished refining the strange poison and appeared incredibly condensed and powerful, had a point of light at its core that suddenly dimmed for an instant!
Fiery Owl Demon God's entire body trembled violently, and the ferocious smile on his face, after devouring a powerful enemy, instantly froze.
It wasn't from the refined strange path of dao tree's will; that thing had indeed been completely annihilated.
This unusual sensation… came from deeper within, from the Foundation of his Great Dao Origin! From the very seed of his Extreme Demonic Origin that had been briefly touched and absorbed by the strange path of dao tree's roots!
The strange path of dao tree's cunning far exceeded imagination. Its final roar was not a curse of despair, but the fuse that activated its final trap! The process of it being devoured and refined was itself a part of its ultimate scheme.
It disguised a wisp of its most refined, most obscure “Dao Seed illusion,” which perfectly mimicked the aura of Fiery Owl Demon God’s Extreme Demonic Origin, as refined energy, and silently planted it in reverse into the core of Fiery Owl Demon God’s Extreme Demonic Origin!
That wisp of “false seed” no longer retained its original form. It had no fixed shape, no clear boundaries. It was like a drop of ink falling into clear water, or a venomous snake blending into blood.
It deeply entangled and assimilated with his own Extreme Demonic Origin! It was no longer an external invader, but had become a part of his own Extreme Demonic Origin—a distorted part that was polluted, twisted, and imbued with the strange path of dao tree’s will!
Fiery Owl Demon God's proud Extreme Demonic Origin, capable of incinerating stars, when it touched this distorted area, was like a raging fire encountering its own reflection; not only could it not burn it down, but it was instead silently “imitated,” “absorbed,” and even “reversed” by it! His power, in turn, became the nourishment for this distorted Extreme Demonic Origin!
Even more terrifying, Fiery Owl Demon God felt his cognition being polluted. Some cold, cunning thought fragments, not his own, filled with endless greed, began to surge upwards from the depths of his Extreme Demonic Origin like silt at the bottom of water, attempting to cover and replace his original Demon God will.
The feeling was as if another “self”—a malicious “self” disguised by the strange path of dao tree’s will—was quietly growing deep within his consciousness, attempting to seize control.
This was not simple parasitism; this was strange transformation Possession! The strange path of dao tree sacrificed its “form,” but planted its most core “strange” and “will,” like the most fatal virus, into the very Foundation of Fiery Owl Demon God’s existence.
The strange path of dao tree was not trying to kill him immediately, but to tamper with his Dao Foundation, pollute his will, and ultimately transform this arrogant Fiery Owl Demon God into a new vessel for its Strange Dao will! A stronger, more perfect “strange path of dao tree”!
The demonic flame in Fiery Owl Demon God's eyes wavered for the first time; it was not fear, but immense shock and anger, and a cold chill from the depths of his Extreme Demonic Origin, in the face of a scheme that completely defied logic and directly targeted the essence of existence.
Fiery Owl Demon God gazed at the ancient hall walls before him, covered in living strange patterns, like the inner cavity of a giant tree. Every opening and closing pattern on the walls seemed to silently mock his recent victory.
The true refinement had only just begun, and the roles of prey and hunter had already silently undergone a fatal reversal.
“No… impossible!”
Fiery Owl Demon God roared in disbelief, trying to activate his demonic flames to dispel this strange illusion.
Fiery Owl Demon God discovered in horror that his pure, blazing demonic Origin, which could incinerate all things, now had a cold, strangely vibrant yet incredibly sinister strange transformation aura at its core!
This aura was greedily sucking his Extreme Demonic Origin power, like real tree roots drawing nourishment, and using it to accelerate the lignification and erosion of his entire Extreme Demonic Origin world!
Fiery Owl Demon God looked down at his right arm—the arm that had just recovered, covered in pitch-black demonic flames—and beneath the skin, fine, grayish-white patterns, like tree rings, began to emerge! Wherever the patterns spread, his flesh felt a strange numbness, as if it was losing sensation and transforming into something… terrifying.
Fiery Owl Demon God tried to clench his fist; his right hand's movement was half a beat slower than his left arm, and his joints made a slight “creaking” sound when he moved them, like old wooden door hinges.
“Hehehe…” The strange laughter, like a baby crying, did not come from outside, but directly from the depths of his Extreme Demonic Origin, filled with endless mockery: “You thought you refined me? Fool! I am you, and you are me… Your demonic Origin is already my fertile ground! Your power is merely providing more nourishment for my growth!”
Fiery Owl Demon God was both shocked and enraged. The demonic flame in his left eye burned wildly as he attempted to introspect his Extreme Demonic Origin, to find the root cause of the trouble.
However, when Fiery Owl Demon God “looked” into the core of his Extreme Demonic Origin, he saw a sight that made his Divine Soul tremble:
At the center of what was originally the Origin symbolizing the Extreme Demonic Flame, an extremely tiny, grayish-white seedling had grown at some unknown point! The seedling's roots were as fine as hair, yet incredibly tough, deeply embedded in the core of the Yin and Yang fish, greedily absorbing the most pure Demon God Origin power.
The edges of the Yin and Yang fish demonic Origin were visibly being stained with a layer of deathly grayish-white, and taking on a stiff, lignified texture! Though small, the seedling exuded a nauseatingly vigorous evil aura, originating from the same source as the entire ancient hall’s abnormality. Every bit of Yan Xiao’s Origin it absorbed, it grew a bit stronger, while simultaneously injecting more strange transformation pollution back into the demonic Origin!
This was not an energy confrontation at all; this was a forced transformation of life forms! The strange path of dao tree’s final killing move was not Possession, but to completely assimilate this powerful Demon God, along with his Extreme Demonic Origin, his body, and his very existence, into a new, stronger “strange path of dao tree”!
“Get out!”
Fiery Owl Demon God let out a roar that shattered the Void Realm. The demonic flame in his left arm instantly condensed into a sky-burning blade, and he plunged it without hesitation into his Dantian—the location of his Extreme Demonic Origin! He intended to excise this poisonous seedling along with the contaminated part of his demonic Origin!
However, the moment the sky-burning blade pierced his body, another anomaly occurred!
Fiery Owl Demon God’s right arm, which had already developed tree-ring patterns, suddenly lifted completely beyond his will, its five fingers like hooks, gripping his left wrist tightly! The strength of his right arm was astonishing; the grayish-white patterns beneath his skin erupted with dazzling light, and a cold, tough, restrictive woody energy instantly invaded along his left wrist, wildly coiling around the sky-burning blade!
“It’s useless…” The strange transformation seedling at the core of the Extreme Demonic Origin emitted joyful fluctuations: “Your resistance, your anger, your demonic Origin… are all just fuel for my growth. Look, even your limbs have begun to recognize a new existence…”
His right arm tightly clamped his left arm, preventing the sky-burning blade from descending.
At the same time, Fiery Owl Demon God felt his right leg also becoming heavy and stiff. The skin at his ankle cracked open, revealing grayish-white inner material like decaying wood! The network of tree roots spread across the ground seemed to come alive, and several thick roots shot up like venomous snakes, coiling around his right leg, attempting to spread throughout his body, to completely fix him to this “fertile ground.”
The ancient hall’s abnormality was also intensifying; the wriggling vines began to spew viscous sap with strong anesthetic and assimilating effects; the woody textures on the walls, as they opened and closed, emitted hallucinatory spore dust;
The entire space echoed with increasingly clear, rustling whispers, like millions of leaves rubbing together, frantically assaulting Fiery Owl Demon God’s Divine Sense, attempting to disintegrate his will.
Internal and external troubles! The core of his Extreme Demonic Origin was parasitically corroded, his demonic body was being forcibly transformed into a non-living, non-dead strange wood, and the entire environment had turned into a malevolent nest against him!
Fiery Owl Demon God’s left eye was blood-red, and demonic flames burned wildly on his left half-body, resisting the erosion and restraint, but the strange transformation of his right half-body was like a bone-eating maggot, spreading at an accelerated rate from the seedling at the core of his Extreme Demonic Origin; his proud Demon God power, at this moment, had become a catalyst for his own accelerated mutation!
The strange path of dao tree seedling rooted in the core of his Extreme Demonic Origin seemed to have grown a bit taller after devouring his angry demonic flames. Its grayish-white leaves swayed slightly, emitting an even denser strange aura.
Fiery Owl Demon God's demonic body trembled, his right arm completely lignified, grayish-white tree patterns spreading like living things to his neck. The demonic flame in his left eye burned wildly, trying to suppress the abnormality within his body, but the strange path of dao tree seedling rooted in the core of his Extreme Demonic Origin grew even more robust, its roots penetrating every inch of his flesh and blood, greedily absorbing the Demon God Origin.
With a “buzz!”
The Yin and Yang fish afterimages near the strange path of Dao tree, which had not yet dissipated, suddenly twisted, and two illusory figures slowly emerged.
On the left, crimson flames flowed, and the silhouette of Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor gradually solidified, her wings appearing as grayish-white bone wings like withered branches, each feather dripping corrosive viscous liquid into the Void Realm.
On the right, profound ice condensed, and the figure of Jade Unicorn Immortal Emperor reappeared, his Qilin armor already covered in woody cracks, his grayish-white Qilin horn twisted and bifurcated like decaying tree branches, emitting a suffocating aura of deathly stillness.
Two Immortal Emperors who had already fallen and whose Extreme Demonic Origin had been annihilated, were now “reborn” in another form under the influence of the strange path of dao tree.
“Nirvana as the guide, life and death as the bridge…” The strange path of dao tree seedling’s intent echoed in Fiery Owl Demon God’s Sea of Consciousness: “Demon God Dao Fruit, it will perfectly assist in forming the Dao Fruit!”
“Crack—”
The dome of the ancient hall was suddenly pierced by the strange path of dao tree, and three extremely strange fruits grew at a visible speed, all hanging down from the main branch.
The first one was heart-shaped, its surface covered with pulsating vascular patterns, each contraction causing spatial tremors, as if devouring the Law itself.
The second one was shaped like an infant fetus, with strange light like a galaxy flowing between its curled limbs, and indistinctly, the babbling of countless living beings could be heard.
The third one was actually a bloodshot eyeball, its pupil reflecting countless distorting worlds. Just looking at it caused one's Divine Soul to ache.
Fiery Owl Demon God was both shocked and enraged, but his roar turned into a rustling sound of branches and leaves—his throat had already lignified! Looking down, his body from the chest down had completely transformed into a grayish-white tree trunk, its roots deeply embedded in the ground, merging with the entire ancient hall.
Even more terrifying, when the heart-shaped Dao Fruit pulsed, the strange path of dao tree seedling within his Extreme Demonic Origin actually resonated with it, as if these three fruits were originally conceived from his Demon God Origin!
Countless compound eyes slowly opened on the inner wall of the tree cocoon. In each eye, different stages of Fiery Owl Demon God’s strange transformation were reflected—his demonic flames being devoured, his Extreme Demonic Origin being invaded, his existence being completely replaced by the strange path of dao tree.
The seedling rooted in the core of his Extreme Demonic Origin had now grown into a towering giant tree. What hung from its branches were not leaves, but strings of crystals forming from the strange transformation of his Demon God Origin…
This terrifying Demon God, who had roamed the Demon Abyss for tens of thousands of years, ultimately became the strange path of dao tree’s most perfect cultivation vessel.
“Nourishment… is not enough…”
Millions of grayish-white woody tentacles suddenly pierced out from deep within Fiery Owl Demon God’s completely lignified throat, tearing this twisted declaration into spores flying everywhere. His vocal cords had long turned into tree-ring-like fibers, and the tremors they now emitted were no longer language, but the hungry frequency with which the entire ancient hall resonated.
The strange path of dao tree grew rapidly, its massive body occupying the entire ancient hall. It wielded countless branches, scattering strange white robes in all directions. These robes were not fabric, but projections of will condensed from grayish-white energy, each wisp containing a trace of the strange path of dao tree's most core Origin—they were its seeds, extensions of its will, and messengers for sowing disaster and abnormality.
These strange white robes floated in the air, light and silent like ghosts, yet carrying a heart-palpitating sense of oppression. They had no fixed form, sometimes spreading like mist, sometimes condensing into humanoid outlines, as if they could open non-existent eyes at any moment, gazing at some life-bearing planet in a nearby Star Domain.
“Go.”
A deep, ethereal voice came from deep within the tree heart, not words, but a command directly imprinted in the Void Realm.
