Chapter 16 The Dragon Emerges

"Understood, Grandmaster Su?" Readjusting his Daoist robe sleeves, the Dao Sage slowly straightened his Daoist crown. He said softly, "We are all over a hundred years old... Even a Grandmaster, after years of battle, should be nearing his grave. The reason we can barely cling to life is because of this."

"The longer we stay in places saturated with wood energy, the more easily we are eroded by it, growing these Divine Wood roots... Others are fine, as they aren't stationed here permanently, but rotated. But my two old comrades and I are different."

"Seventy years ago, when we led the armies of the Hundred Schools to attack the South River Heavenly Pass, we have been confronting the National Teacher and the Demon Emperor here. We either slay demonic soldiers or patrol the surrounding area. Over the years, facing the Divine Wood across the river, and having killed so many demonic soldiers, we have long been soaked in wood energy to the bone... This decaying body is no different from those demonic soldiers and generals."

At this point, the three Grandmasters laughed with a hint of desolation, "If we aren't near the Divine Wood, we still have the qualifications to fight the Demon Empire's National Teacher. But if we were to go to the Divine Wood, I fear... our bodies would directly defect, and that wouldn't be surprising at all."

"We thought we could only gamble with the Extinction Blade, but we never expected a figure like Grandmaster Su to appear out of nowhere, like the light of dawn!"

Hearing this, Su Zhou fully understood... The dragon slayer who bathes in dragon blood will also grow dragon scales. Although it's just a dark fairy tale, it's the reality in the Divine Wood world!

The Panrong Undying Tree has completely saturated this land with its aura. Just like Mo Ganxiu, who also grew wooden roots in his body, the three Grandmasters who fought against the Demon Dynasty for many years have become monsters almost like those of the Demon Dynasty!

After seeing the arms that the three Grandmasters showed him, Su Zhou finally understood why the Hundred Schools' righteous army was so conflicted, and even before knowing that the National Teacher and the Demon Emperor were about to advance to the Xiantian (Innate) realm, they made a desperate attempt to forge a divine weapon.

What a tragic thing. Before slaying the evil dragon, the warrior has already begun to transform... But the three Grandmasters must continue to persevere, because after them, the Hundred Schools have no new Grandmasters. Perhaps someone from the new generation like Zhou Buyi can become a Grandmaster, or even a Xiantian Martial Saint, but by then, the Demon Dynasty will definitely have Xiantian experts. When will this confrontation end?

On the contrary, the appearance of Su Zhou is truly a heaven-sent hero, giving the Hundred Schools' righteous army a new hope. Heaven is above, Su Zhou's True Qi attribute is coincidentally fire, and he even knows a little bit of thunder magic! Although this is tacitly acknowledged as his dragon blood's innate talent, Su Zhou's appearance here at this moment makes him undoubtedly the best candidate.

He even claims to be the inheritor of another divine tree, here to sever the Panrong Undying Tree. Doesn't this give them, who are already nearing twilight but see no way out, a feeling of 'destiny'?

"Grandmaster Su."

At this moment, the three Grandmasters of the Hundred Schools' righteous army bowed to Su Zhou in unison. Their tone was complex, and they seemed unsure if they could trust Su Zhou, but in the end, it turned into firmness.

Their words were sincere, "Although your origins are mysterious, your words and actions undoubtedly hold steadfast righteousness... You are trustworthy. At least letting you hold the divine weapon means that even if the Demon Emperor advances to the Xiantian realm, there will still be a chance to fight. Besides, rather than discussing who should hold the divine weapon, it's better to discuss when we should launch the general offensive – that is the more important matter."

"That's right." At this time, Su Zhou stopped dwelling on the matter. The three Grandmasters clearly had unspeakable secrets, so why couldn't he help them? He even felt a bit gleeful inside because he could continue playing with knives, "So, how should we attack, how should we kill the Emperor?"

The three Sages smiled and said, "This is what requires us to summon all the Grandmasters to discuss it in a meeting. Grandmaster Su, if you have any brilliant ideas, you might as well share them later."

Su Zhou originally wanted to say that he was just a young man, chuuni (delusional) and naive, so how could he have any brilliant ideas? For matters of war and strategy, it's really better to find someone else.

However, a flash of inspiration struck his mind. Su Zhou couldn't help but narrow his eyes and asked, "Just now, I asked all the leaders, has the South River Heavenly Pass and the area around the Divine Wood always been filled with such clouds and mist?"

"Indeed, it is so. Where the Divine Wood is located, it is rare to have three days of sunshine, but most of the time it is cloudy, and it doesn't rain all the time."

The Confucian Sage seemed to know a lot about this, so he answered. Su Zhou nodded thoughtfully, and images of clouds and mist, the South River, and the Heavenly Palace hanging in the clouds flashed through his mind. Then, he smiled and said, "In that case, I really do have an idea."

At the same time, in the Eternal Peace Heavenly Palace.

At the highest point, on the Altar of Heaven, a figure wearing a wood-element dragon robe stood on the treetops of the Panrong Undying Tree, which was also the very center of the Altar of Heaven, looking down at the Hundred Schools' camp.

"The divine weapon has arrived... has it."

The Demon Emperor's gaze seemed to be able to see through the clouds, which were gradually turning black, as if they were about to rain again, and see the changes in spiritual energy in the Hundred Schools' camp. His voice carried a hint of regret, "The National Teacher has been defeated..."

His tone carried a hint of genuine sadness.

Although the two had been fighting each other for decades, competing for the attribution of the Divine Wood's power, even with mutual suspicion and infighting, they were ultimately former master and disciple. If the National Teacher hadn't studied the mysteries of the Divine Wood, he wouldn't have been able to achieve his current dragon form.

Conflicts of interest are one thing, and the friendship between the two over the years is another. He has always been very clear about this - just like how his father's rare kindness as a father was one thing, and being the biggest obstacle to him obtaining the power of immortality was another.

As for the countless mortals who died at his hands... How could the Demon Emperor care about them? Even calling them numbers is an exaggeration. A selfish emperor to the extreme probably never considered those lowly people as human beings.

"Originally, I was prepared to divide the power of immortality equally."

At this moment, the Demon Emperor was too lazy to use the royal 'we'. He sighed lightly, his tone carrying a hint of regret, "Forget it, forget it, it's fine, this way, I don't have to struggle with whether to continue sharing the Divine Wood's energy with you."

"As for the divine weapon... it's too late."

Laughing softly, the Demon Emperor's figure gradually changed, the tall figure gradually twisted, dispersed, and finally collapsed into countless roots shrouded in mist... but his voice still echoed from the air.

"This body is not mortal, we are a dragon body, hahahahaha!"

--Combine to form a body, scatter to form chapters, ride the clouds and soar in yin and yang--

This is a dragon!

Within the sacred Eternal Peace Heavenly Palace, the eerie demonic shadows of wooden roots are spreading.

Along with the spread of gray death clouds and mist, one after another plant-like maids and guards were silently swallowed, and finally turned into part of the mist.

In a spacious room of the palace, a fully armored guard waiting for Qingye's message trembled and shrank into the corner of the room. He seemed to have a premonition of something terrible coming, but he had no way to stop it, no way to escape, and even no way to choose death.

He could only stay here, waiting for his doom.

Gradually, from the cracks, from the doors and windows, the dead gray clouds filled the room... The guard closed his eyes in despair. He felt wooden roots crawling onto his body, penetrating into his body... And then...

Then everything turned into nothing.

In the New South Heavenly Capital beneath the Divine Wood, a strange dragon's roar could faintly be heard, coming from every part of the Heavenly Palace.

The final battle is about to begin.