https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-200-Unifying-the-Black-Mist-Mountains-the-True-Uncrowned-King/12530565/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-202-Plundering-the-Primal-Demon-Tree/12531834/
Chapter 201: Improving Demon Parasitism
Chapter 201: Improving Demon Parasitism (Happy Chinese New Year's Eve)
"Thank you, Progenitor."
Having received another large clump of 'Origin', Lin Yuan immediately expressed his gratitude.
Lin Yuan's gratitude was sincere. In his previous five shuttlings, he had mostly relied on himself, even during the fifth shuttle, when he became a background-defying third-generation immortal.
Most of the resources Lin Yuan needed for his cultivation depended on his yin and yang spirits venturing outside.
Now, however...
As long as Lin Yuan complained, the Progenitor Demon Tree would actively send over its Origin, even at the cost of its own depletion.
Of course, Lin Yuan was also aware that the Progenitor Demon Tree was doing this solely to exploit him. Should he successfully descend upon the Tianqing World, he would likely be the first to die.
Over the years, the Progenitor Demon Tree had invested a lot of its Origin into Lin Yuan, and it would naturally want to recoup its losses.
But just as the Progenitor Demon Tree wanted to devour Lin Yuan, the latter harbored the same ambition toward the former.
For now, the existence of the Progenitor Demon Tree brought far more benefits than drawbacks for Lin Yuan. It was akin to an endless treasure trove for cultivation.
Furthermore, Lin Yuan had already used his sealing technique to sever the Progenitor Demon Tree's control over the Child Demon Tree, eliminating even the most basic hidden dangers.
"Cultivate well," the Progenitor Demon Tree encouraged, its mental fluctuations carrying a tone akin to a gentle elder's admonishment. "Quickly grow to the fifth stage."
The growth of the Demon Tree was unlike that of a normal cultivator. It progressed in stages—specifically, the first, second, and third stages. The Progenitor Demon Tree itself was at the eighth stage, a powerful evil god that dominated the extradimensional realm.
The Child Demon Tree was a continuation of the Progenitor Demon Tree, and there was an ethereal connection between the two.
Once the Child Demon Tree reached the fifth stage, its life essence would be sufficient to establish a 'spatial channel' with the Progenitor Demon Tree.
At that time, the Progenitor Demon Tree would be able to enter the Tianqing World through an alternative means.
This was the Progenitor Demon Tree's ultimate scheme. Given the current situation, forcefully invading the Tianqing World was not feasible.
"Rest assured, Progenitor. I will do my best to grow," Lin Yuan assured, stalling for time. "Your glory will soon envelop this world, and all living beings will kneel at your feet."
Lin Yuan was also 'dangling a carrot' in front of the Progenitor Demon Tree. If the Progenitor Demon Tree were to give up on the Tianqing World and turn away now, Lin Yuan could only watch helplessly.
Thus, he could only try to keep the Progenitor Demon Tree's hopes alive, making it believe that success was within reach, while also emphasizing the 'sunk cost' of its previous investments.
Only then could he firmly keep the Progenitor Demon Tree tethered outside the world.
"Naturally," the Progenitor Demon Tree replied. "As long as I can occupy this world, I might even grant you freedom and allow you to become a new evil god."
The Progenitor Demon Tree spoke with conviction, but in truth, it never intended to let Lin Yuan live.
How could it? After consuming so much of its Origin, Lin Yuan still wanted to survive?
However, some things couldn't be said too directly, even when facing the Child Demon Tree, whose life and death was entirely at its mercy. It still had to pay lip service.
And so, the two Demon Trees, each with their own ulterior motives, severed their connection.
In the deepest part of the Black Mist Mountains, Lin Yuan pondered the information that the Progenitor Demon Tree had revealed.
"The fifth stage," Lin Yuan mused. The growth of the Demon Tree was distinct from cultivation; it was related to strength but not entirely dependent on it.
For example, right now, Lin Yuan possessed the strength of a seventh-stage being, but in terms of the Demon Tree's growth stages, he was still at the sixth stage.
"The world barrier isolates us, and I've also been concealing my aura," Lin Yuan thought to himself. "The Progenitor Demon Tree can't detect which growth stage I'm specifically at."
The Tianqing World was highly vigilant against the Progenitor Demon Tree. Decades ago, to pry open a crack in the Tianqing World's barrier and scatter its demon seeds, the Progenitor Demon Tree had paid a hefty price.
And since that incident, the Tianqing World's defenses against the Progenitor Demon Tree had risen to a whole new level.
Thus, the Progenitor Demon Tree's perception of Lin Yuan was actually quite limited, and Lin Yuan's self-enlightenment of various aura-concealing techniques ensured that he left no traces.
"On the battlefield outside the world, the Tianqing Alliance has been winning consecutively lately," Lin Yuan noted, his gaze shifting to a certain direction—the battleground where countless strong cultivators of the Tianqing Alliance were fighting against evil god puppets.
Lin Yuan wasn't surprised by the Tianqing Alliance's advantage in the battlefield.
Over the past decade or so, the Progenitor Demon Tree had provided Lin Yuan with an unknown amount of its own Origin, resulting in a decrease in its strength and a reduction in the number of evil god puppets it could produce.
Strictly speaking, although Lin Yuan was the offspring of the Progenitor Demon Tree, he had also contributed to the Tianqing World by weakening the Progenitor Demon Tree's strength.
The Tianqing Alliance's advantage on the extradimensional battlefield could largely be attributed to Lin Yuan's efforts.
Outside the Tianqing World...
The Progenitor Demon Tree loomed large, standing tall in the void. Its countless tendrils swayed, and a terrifying demon domain spread in all directions.
Facing the Progenitor Demon Tree were thirteen figures standing shoulder to shoulder—the Alliance Master of the Tianqing Alliance and the twelve Vice Alliance Masters.
The Alliance Master of the Tianqing Alliance was the strongest cultivator in the Tianqing World. Wielding the World Sword, they could unleash power akin to an eighth-stage being.
As for the twelve Vice Alliance Masters, each of them was a force to be reckoned with at the seventh stage.
"Evil god, perish!" the Alliance Master of the Tianqing Alliance shouted as they slashed at the Progenitor Demon Tree with the stone longsword.
Riiiiip!
A large amount of spatial force was torn apart, creating a spatial turbulence that carried the might of the void.
The Progenitor Demon Tree's massive form remained unyielding as its countless black tendrils swayed, barely blocking the sword strike.
"If not for this world, you insects would not be qualified to stand before me!" the Progenitor Demon Tree roared, its mental fluctuations shaking the heavens.
What it feared the most was the stone longsword in the Alliance Master's hand.
That sword was the product of countless millennia of the Tianqing World's nurturing. In principle, such a weapon should have remained dormant in the depths of the world, rotating with the world's own rotation.
However, due to the Progenitor Demon Tree's invasion, the Tianqing World was on high alert, and they had not hesitated to bring out the stone longsword. Together with the Tianqing World's strongest cultivators, they were determined to repel the evil god's invasion.
After a fierce battle...
The Progenitor Demon Tree chose to retreat.
The Alliance Master and the twelve Vice Alliance Masters of the Tianqing Alliance could only stand down.
While they could hold their ground against the Progenitor Demon Tree near the Tianqing World, venturing farther away would be akin to seeking death.
The stone longsword in the Alliance Master's hand grew more powerful the closer it was to the Tianqing World, and its might diminished the farther away it was. Eventually, it would be no different from an ordinary longsword.
"Alliance Master, have you noticed that the extradimensional evil god seems to have weakened a lot this time?" one of the Vice Alliance Masters mused aloud.
With the protection of the stone longsword, they could fight the Progenitor Demon Tree without fear.
However, this time, the Progenitor Demon Tree did not engage them in combat. And from the brief exchange, they vaguely sensed that the Progenitor Demon Tree had weakened.
"What's going on?"
"Is the evil god luring us intentionally?"
The Alliance Master of the Tianqing Alliance was filled with suspicion.
The decline in the Progenitor Demon Tree's strength was completely baffling, as they had never truly harmed it before.
So why had its strength diminished so mysteriously?
Therefore, the Tianqing Alliance Master's first reaction was that the Progenitor Demon Tree might be intentionally revealing its weakness to lure them into a trap.
In the deepest part of the Black Mist Mountains, Lin Yuan perceived everything within a radius of thousands of miles before continuing his contemplation.
["Your comprehension talent is heaven-defying, and you are in the process of improving the parasitic nature of the Demon Tree Seed."]
["Your comprehension talent is heaven-defying, and you are in the process of improving the parasitic nature of the Demon Tree Seed."]
["Your comprehension talent is heaven-defying, and you are in the process of improving the parasitic nature of the Demon Tree Seed."]
In front of Lin Yuan, a bunch of grayish seeds floated in the air.
As an innate ability of the Demon Tree, the Demon Tree Seeds possessed various effects, and Lin Yuan valued their 'parasitic' ability.
However, the original parasitic capability of the Demon Tree Seeds was too crude, and the parasitized lives resembled zombies, making it too obvious.
Hence, Lin Yuan had been spending some time every day in recent decades to perfect the flaws in the Demon Tree Seeds.
"It has been initially improved."
"Let's see how it works."
Lin Yuan glanced at the Beast King that was entangled by the black vines next to him.
The reason Lin Yuan kept these Beast Kings alive was that they were useful, and now it was just right to test the 'parasitic' ability of the Demon Tree Seeds.
As for why he didn't parasitize the lower beasts first, it was simply a waste of his seeds.
The parasitic ability of the Demon Tree Seeds depended entirely on the strength of the parasitized being.
If the parasitized being possessed fifth-stage strength, it could retain its power even after parasitism.
If the parasitized being only had first-stage strength, it would still be at the first stage after parasitism, which was of no use to Lin Yuan.
In Lin Yuan's eyes, only the few Beast Kings who had reached the sixth stage in the Black Mist Mountains were barely worth parasitizing.
Whoosh!
A black vine loosened its grip, and a Beast King fell to the ground.
As it fell, the Beast King's body rapidly grew larger, and by the time it landed, it had become a formidable creature.
"What is this?"
This Beast King was the Divine Ape King, and after being unconscious for so long, it was taking a moment to regain its senses.
"Hmm?"
"Something's wrong."
After just a few breaths, the Divine Ape King came to its senses and immediately became tense.
It turned its head and saw that it was under the terrifying ancient tree, and its heart sank.
The Divine Ape King wanted to escape instinctively, but it felt an evil force permeating its body, suppressing it to the point where even the slightest movement was difficult, let alone running away?
Just as the Divine Ape King was considering whether to say something...
A grayish seed fell from a branch and quickly headed towards it.
"What is that?"
Although the Divine Ape King couldn't move, it instinctively sensed danger.
Buzz!
The grayish seed landed directly on the Divine Ape King's glabella, and new roots quickly grew from the seed, taking root in the Divine Ape King's glabella.
"Ah!"
The Divine Ape King let out a painful roar as it felt as if its head was exploding, and its consciousness began to blur.
"This seed... It wants to replace me?"
Sudden terror filled the Divine Ape King's heart.
The grayish seed had taken root in its brain, slowly erasing its original consciousness and trying to usurp its body.
"No!"
"I don't want this!"
The Divine Ape King struggled violently.
Compared to being replaced, death was a better option.
The Divine Ape King frantically resisted, gathering the remnants of its consciousness and launching a counterattack against the Demon Tree Seed.
However, at this moment, the Divine Ape King's entire body was suppressed by Lin Yuan's power, leaving only a trace of its consciousness. How could it possibly fight against the Demon Tree Seed?
After just half a day...
The Divine Ape King's consciousness completely dissipated.
The Demon Tree Seed had successfully parasitized it.
Outside, Lin Yuan observed the changes in the Divine Ape King.
"Master."
At this moment, the Divine Ape King slowly got up from the ground and bowed slightly to Lin Yuan.
"The parasitism was successful," Lin Yuan said. He could clearly sense the presence of the Demon Tree Seed in the depths of the Divine Ape King's mind.
"Master, I now possess all the memories and abilities of the Divine Ape King," the Divine Ape King reported.
Half a shichen later, Lin Yuan dismissed the Divine Ape King.
Now that the Divine Ape King had been replaced by the Demon Tree Seed, there was no need to worry about its loyalty.
"Not bad."
Lin Yuan nodded slightly.
Based on the behavior of the replaced Divine Ape King, as long as he paid a little more attention, there was hardly any difference compared to the original Divine Ape King.
At least it was far better than the initial parasitized beings, who had dull eyes and stiff movements.
Now, the Demon Tree Seeds could not only perfectly integrate into the parasitized beings but also acquire all their memories.
It was almost to the point of being indistinguishable from the original.
"However, there are still some flaws."
"Continue to improve."
Lin Yuan thought for a while and decided to use his heaven-defying comprehension talent to further perfect the seeds.
The reason Lin Yuan put so much effort into improving parasitism was to prepare for the subsequent spread of martial arts.
Unfortunately, the image of the Demon Tree was not favorable, so Lin Yuan needed to find some 'spokesbeings.'
And these 'spokesbeings' had to be absolutely loyal to him, which aligned with the parasitic ability of the Demon Tree Seeds.
"Martial arts..."
Lin Yuan's thoughts surged as he contemplated his journey through the myriad worlds. Due to the limitations of the Demon Tree itself, Lin Yuan had not embarked on the path of martial arts.
But everything he was doing now was laying the groundwork for martial arts, and spreading the evolution of martial arts was his main plan for the next few hundred years.
"Continue your cultivation."
Lin Yuan immersed himself in cultivation, and the energy within his body became increasingly terrifying, like a vast ocean that went on forever.
No one knew, not even the invincible Tianqing Alliance Master or the Progenitor Demon Tree, that in the seemingly 'absolutely safe' rear of the Tianqing World, a change was taking place that could overturn the current situation.
(End of Chapter)
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