After Lingxue left, Qingyi remained alone and silent, sending subtle pulses of Qi around him, sensing everything.
About an hour passed, and once he was certain that Lingxue had already removed all the fox women from the danger zone, Qingyi finally acted.
He walked over to one of the many roots and pressed his hands against the firm, rough wood.
Qingyi closed his eyes, sending out a pulse of Qi and processing each response.
"I found you." Qingyi smiled, his body disappearing, swallowed up by a spatial fold.
When he reappeared, he was in a strange place.
Everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but light. A field of white grass, a white sky, and white walls.
A gentle breeze caressed his long black hair as he walked through this place.
’This must be the heart of the tree of life...’
His eyes scanned the area until they finally stopped in the center, where he found what he was looking for.
It wasn’t exactly a seed. A cocoon would be a better way to describe it.
It was a pulsating red, perhaps two or three meters tall.
Although covered only by a thin transparent membrane, the thick liquid still hid what was inside.
Qingyi pointed a single finger, and an orb of crimson flames appeared at its tip.
He could feel that frightening demonic Qi growing stronger, consuming all the energy of the fox people’s Tree of Life.
If it weren’t for his powerful constitution, he was sure he would have already been poisoned by this Qi.
This couldn’t go on.
He sighed, filled his lungs with air, and then released it.
A terrifying ray of heat exploded at speed, hitting the cocoon with full force.
The world before him split in two, as did his attack, a barrier like a sharp blade appearing in front of the cocoon.
Qingyi’s attack ceased, revealing the cocoon intact between two huge cuts in the ground.
A few moments passed until, finally, something happened.
The cocoon shook, undulating violently before collapsing.
Pure red liquid spilled out in deep veins, corrupting everything it touched. A figure accompanied this spill, falling to the ground.
It was clearly a female figure, but drenched in that liquid. Qingyi was unable to see her facial features.
A pair of double horns, which appeared to be covered in skin, and long white hair were revealed, contrasting with the blood red that covered her.
The figure took a moment on the ground, seeming comfortable until, under Qingyi’s gaze, it ceased to be so.
Her eyes opened, pure and deep, like those of a child who had just seen the world for the first time.
Her fingers grabbed the white grass, now stained red.
Her first reaction was not anger, aggression, or even an attempt to hide her nakedness.
She simply plucked the blade of grass, observing it carefully on her fingertips.
The reddish liquid disappeared completely, evaporating into the air and revealing the grass in all its beauty.
"What is this?" she asked, sniffing the blade of grass.
So sweet and so perfect.
"Spiritual grass of some kind..."
"Hm..." Her lips curved. "I like that."
"Are you here to kill me?" she continued, focusing her eyes on Qingyi’s.
"Yes..." He nodded. "What are you?"
She shuddered, immediately retreating.
"I am a thing... a bag to gather energy for my master..."
Something akin to fear flashed in her eyes, lasting only a brief moment before being replaced by curiosity.
"Why do you want to kill me?" she asked again, standing up and squeezing the grass between her curious, delicate fingers.
"Because you will hurt people I love."
"Hm... but... I don’t want to hurt anyone."
"And does that change anything?"
"No..." She lowered her head, intertwining her fingers anxiously.
"I can’t sense the energy reserves prepared by my creator. Nor the Daughter of the Icy Moon."
"They are far from here. Now, it’s just you and me..." Qingyi said, a strange expression taking over his face.
Daughter of the Icy Moon? Was she talking about Xueyao? What was the Heavenly Demon’s interest in Xueyao?
"I know..." The seed spoke once more, her voice almost a whisper.
There was pain in her eyes, resignation, and above all, hesitation. She looked at her hands and then at Qingyi again.
In the next moment, she disappeared. The ground beneath her feet turned into nothing but pure dust.
Qingyi turned his face away, his eyes cold and focused as his hair fluttered.
He felt a crimson liquid run down his cheek. A thin cut revealed itself for a brief moment before disappearing, the blood evaporating into a reddish vapor.
"Hm... I hit you... things die when they are hit... are you already dead?"
"No..." Qingyi turned, watching her standing behind him.
What was wrong with that woman? She was really like a newborn.
He closed his eyes and calmed his breathing.
She had to die.
For the sake of the fox people.
If she got close to them, she could awaken the energy within them and consume them.
He wouldn’t take that risk.
Qingyi gathered all his Qi in his fist, his eyes filled with murderous intent as he punched.
The woman seemed confused at first, watching the attack approach at extreme speed.
She blinked and when she realized what was happening, her body was torn from the ground, a barrier appearing around her as she was thrown backward.
The white walls surrounding them held her for only a brief moment before collapsing, the woman’s body thrown into a world she had never seen before.
It was beautiful. Endless forests, birds singing, and a pure, burning sun.
If she could, she would just watch that for the rest of her existence.
She turned, watching the huge tree trunk from which she had been thrown drift away.
An intense flaming aura emerged from the hole she had made in the trunk, rapidly approaching.
She crossed her arms, and immediately, a pair of blood-red blades appeared in her hands.
She looked at the blades, as if she had formed them by instinct rather than her own desire.
Her beautiful eyes focused. Then, she slashed forward.
Qingyi’s attack split in two with that slash.
The resulting fireball completely engulfed her, the flames continuing for kilometers and destroying everything.
Trees, birds, animals, spirit beasts, and even oxygen.
Nothing remained but oppressive white smoke.