’Did I get him? No, that’s not right!’

The blade-wielding Demon General thought its strike had landed a decisive blow. But as the blade fell, it knew something was wrong. Its slash, which could cleave solid iron, felt like hitting a frozen, greasy boar hide with a wooden sword. The force had no purchase, simply sliding off the smooth, hard skin and muscle!

The Demon General’s blade failed, and the arrows met the same fate. Su Zhou’s entire body pulsed with Qi Force, and a gale instantly erupted in a ten-meter radius around him. Four Gale Shields appeared to protect his vital points. The arrows couldn’t even break his skin; they were simply blown away by the fierce wind!

"Let me borrow your head!"

How could Su Zhou possibly pause? He launched his counterattack before the enemy’s assault even ended. He swung the Blade of Annihilation in another vertical slash, severing the spear-thrusting arm of a four-armed, shield-bearing Demon General. Earthen fire and fierce flames immediately ignited the severed limb, which screeched as it burned on the ground. At the same time, Su Zhou’s left hand shot out, forming a claw as it descended toward the head of the blade-wielding Demon General.

The Demon General hastily raised its arm to block, letting out a furious roar to project an air of might.

This Demon General stood a full four meters tall. Its arms were incredibly muscular, over two meters thick. Su Zhou’s arms, however, were those of an ordinary young man. The difference was like that between heaven and earth. Yet the result of their contact left everyone aghast. The seemingly brawny arm, upon touching Su Zhou’s palm, was cleanly severed in two!

In an instant, cyan Wood Liquid gushed out. Muscles as hard as rock collapsed like cotton candy. Su Zhou hadn’t cared if it blocked or not; he just brought his claw down. It was like a giant hammer slamming from above, instantly shattering both of the Demon General’s arms. Su Zhou seized its head—face frozen in terror—in his palm.

CRACK! His five fingers clenched, their tips digging into the skull. Su Zhou let out a wild laugh. With a twist and a pull of his hand, he ripped the Demon General’s entire head and spine right out of its body. A purplish-cyan Evil-Devouring Demon Fire engulfed it, instantly burning away the Spiritual Soul Body attached to the Undying Root within the spine. It even enhanced the grisly trophy, transforming it into a long, bony whip!

By this time, the decapitation squad had already engaged the Divine Wood Guard in close combat. However, after witnessing Su Zhou’s terrifying display, the squad members themselves were aghast and scrambled to retreat. The Divine Wood Guards, who had just been clashing with them, couldn’t understand why their opponents had suddenly stopped fighting and pulled back.

But they quickly understood why—a long whip of bone and spine was lashing toward them, accompanied by a thunderous crack that seemed to split the very air!

"Hahaha, all of you can just die!"

At this moment, Su Zhou was the very incarnation of a god of slaughter, a living war machine. Against his power and the sharpness of his Divine Weapon, the three Grandmaster-Level Demon Generals hadn’t even lasted three breaths before being completely annihilated. The Divine Wood Guards fared even worse.

At first, some Demon Soldiers attempted to trade blow for blow, but when one Divine Wood Guard brought a Pumpkin Hammer down with all its might, Su Zhou simply met it with his head. The hammer was dented three inches deep with a resounding BOOM, like the tolling of a great bell!

Seeing this, all the Divine Wood Guards dropped their weapons without a second thought and fled in all directions!

How could mere foot soldiers like them possibly stop a monster like that—impervious to blades and spears, horrifically brutal in his slaughter, more of a Demon than their own Demon Army? They had the courage to fight Martial Artists, even Grandmasters. But fighting a monster more inhuman than themselves? That was simply beyond the pale for this Demon Army.

"That’s enough. Let’s keep moving!"

Casually collecting the Evil Souls of the three Demon Generals, Su Zhou couldn’t be bothered to waste time chasing down the fleeing Divine Wood Guards. He continued to lead the team, running swiftly up the gradually steepening trunk of the Divine Wood as if it were flat ground.

At this point, Su Zhou alone had slaughtered his way through the last of New Southern Celestial Capital’s defenses. The decapitation squad behind him had, at most, helped finish off a few Demon Soldiers who hadn’t died instantly. For a moment, the three Grandmasters charging with him began to have their doubts. They wondered if there was any need for them to be following this Human Demon God at all.

—Anyone with eyes could see that Master Su could probably charge through the enemy lines much faster on his own.

But as they set foot on the trunk of the Immortal Banyan Tree and began their ascent toward the top of the Divine Wood, the other members of the decapitation squad did indeed become useful.

Even Su Zhou couldn’t face the combined assault of over a dozen Wood Centipedes and nine Yang Flame Cicadas and continue sprinting madly as before.

Even with his current power, Su Zhou couldn’t just ignore the impact of a Wood Centipede; a moment of carelessness could send him flying. The Yang Flame Cicadas could also fly, and their bodies were intensely hot, making them somewhat resistant to the fire from the Blade of Annihilation. When they attacked the decapitation squad climbing the Divine Wood, they didn’t pose a lethal threat, but they could drastically slow their progress. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Grandmaster Su, you break through first!"

At this, Grandmaster Liu of the Daoist Sect finally unleashed his ultimate technique: the C Fire Snake Technique. As the somewhat portly Daoist recited a spell and flung out a ball of white, phosphorescent light, a Flame Serpent of blinding white phosphorus appeared before him. It was five to six meters long and as thick as a man’s torso. At a command from Grandmaster Liu’s thoughts, the Flame Serpent instantly became a streak of fire and pounced on a Wood Centipede, setting it ablaze!

Three Postnatal Experts, also from the Daoist Sect, stayed behind. They were Grandmaster Liu’s core disciples. While they hadn’t yet mastered a biological Divine Art like the Flame Serpent Technique, they could still conjure Flaming Blades and summon gales to buffet the Yang Flame Cicadas in mid-air, temporarily restricting their movement.

"We’re counting on you!"

Su Zhou and the rest of the decapitation squad didn’t stand on ceremony. This was part of the plan all along. Rather than acting hesitant, the best way to help was to break into the Celestial Palace at top speed and kill that Dog Emperor!

The four Daoists stayed behind, using their Wind-Fire Daoist Skill to block the assault of the Spirit Plant Demon Beasts. The remaining six members of the decapitation squad continued to press forward toward the Cloud-top Celestial Palace.

On this leg of the journey, however, there were strangely no enemies to intercept them. Only a thin layer of Gray Mist shrouded the massive branches and leaves of the Divine Tree.

They could see the Divine Wood’s unbelievably massive branches, their lengths and thicknesses measured in hundreds of meters. A single leaf was as large as a house. Cyan aerial roots, like the Undying Roots, hung down, gathering the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth. They emitted a fluorescent green glow, allowing the Divine Tree to shine with a dazzling, verdant brilliance, even under the overcast sky.

But this was no time to marvel at the wonders of the Divine Wood. Su Zhou merely spared it a sideways glance before continuing to lead his four team members toward the nearby Yongning Celestial Palace. His heart was leaping with excitement; he could no longer wait to use his Divine Blade...

’Wait... four? Weren’t there five?!’

"Someone fell behind?!"

Instantly, Su Zhou stopped in his tracks. He scanned his surroundings warily. It was only then that the other two Grandmasters, Zhou Buyi and one other Postnatal Martial Artist, belatedly realized that a Martial Artist who had been following close behind them had vanished without a trace.

—In the crown of the Divine Tree, the Gray Mist swirled. The five of them stood in place and scanned their surroundings, but they couldn’t find a single clue.

A sinister and bizarre aura seeped from between the branches, leaves, and aerial roots, which were gradually being filled by the mist.

But the next moment, before the eerie atmosphere could last for even three seconds, a thunderous roar blasted away the surrounding mist and scattered all the gloom!

"Where did this mutt come from?"

"Get your ass out here and bark!"