The tree demon matriarch, reduced to a mere trunk, watched the man before her in terror.
This combat sequence was all wrong. Shouldn't she have bound him with her branches, only for him to beg for mercy before she cruelly drained him dry?
How, in an instant, were all her branches severed?
She was a great demon of the second rank. Even a demon king of the first rank might not have been able to so easily remove all her branches!
Unless this fellow was beyond rankings, a True Immortal level expert!
But in the land of Xia Fu, aside from those two, there hadn't been a new True Immortal expert for many years. Where had this person come from?
The thought sent cold sweat down the tree demon matriarch’s spine. She hastily said, "What do you wish to know? As long as I know it, I will not conceal anything. I only beg you to spare my life."
The man in black smiled. "Rest assured, if your answers satisfy me, I can let you live."
And so, the tree demon matriarch began to reveal everything she knew to the stern man in black, the Black Night Knight, who had been brought here along with Wen Wen.
After the tree demon matriarch finished speaking, the Black Night Knight gained some understanding of the world's structure.
This land was called Xia Fu, and its largest nation was Da Song, with several smaller countries surrounding it.
There were superhumans here as well, but their nomenclature for them differed slightly from the Federation's.
Monsters and superhumans were ranked by grade. The Awakened aligned with the sixth grade, the True Order with the first grade, and the Cataclysmic Level represented True Immortals who transcended the grading system, serving as the world's ultimate fighting force.
However, based on the Black Night Knight's observation, the second-grade tree demon matriarch was slightly weaker than a typical Awakened, suggesting the power tiers in these worlds were somewhat lower than the Federation's.
Furthermore, from some information gleaned from the tree demon matriarch, the Black Night Knight inferred a few other things.
"If my guess is correct, that event will happen. There's no need for me to meddle. This isn't Xia Fu, after all."
"I should find Egger soon and figure out a way back to the Federation."
The Black Night Knight then sighed, "Unfortunately, I can't track Egger here. I'll find that brat Wen Wen first; he might have a solution. It was the right decision to call him this time."
The Black Night Knight's lock on Egger relied on a special satellite he had launched. He had placed a small device on Egger, which allowed the satellite to roughly pinpoint Egger's location.
But there were no satellites here, so he had lost the method to track Egger.
Due to the existence of satellites, the Black Night Knight knew countless secrets, including secrets related to Wen Wen. This was precisely why he wanted to bring Wen Wen along this time.
Having obtained the information he desired, the Black Night Knight flicked a finger at the tree demon matriarch. A black light pierced through the trunk, and the tree demon matriarch's life force rapidly faded.
"You... you promised me, as long as my answers satisfied you..."
The Black Night Knight shrugged, "I am not satisfied."
"You... you're an utter scoundrel!" The tree demon matriarch, enraged, died.
The Black Night Knight gleefully collected the massive trunk into his spatial equipment, not forgetting the branches he had previously cut off. These were all valuable.
Most superhumans were not particularly interested in ordinary currency; enough to get by was sufficient.
But the Black Night Knight was different. He also possessed his own high-tech research institute and factories, with technology at least several decades ahead of the Federation.
Many high-tech devices used by the Hunter Association originated from the Black Night Knight's factories.
For instance, some photographic equipment, hunting terminals, mental state detection devices, the casings for memory erasure devices, and core components for Giant Soldier mechs, among others.
He only did business with the Hunter Association. While it was profitable, his research institute was a massive drain on resources, with annual research and development costs being astronomical.
He wasn't a rich second-generation heir whose parents had died—superpowers came with wealth—so he never missed an opportunity to make money.
"Next, I need to find that kid."
...
On a deserted island in the vast ocean.
Ishina sat on the golden beach in a lotus position, her snow-white thighs speckled with sand, creating a striking image.
Before her stood a spirited young man in white robes.
This young man's strength was unfathomable, making Ishina somewhat wary. Moreover, Ishina felt his face was vaguely familiar, though she couldn't recall where she had seen it.
"You say you've been standing here for over a decade. What exactly are you waiting for?"
The young man glanced back at Ishina and smiled faintly, "Have you heard of the Kun Peng?"
"Kun Peng?"
"'In the Northern Darkness, there is a fish, its name is Kun. The Kun is so vast, I know not how many thousand li it spans. It is transformed into a bird, its name is Peng. The Peng's back, I know not how many thousand li it spans...' "
The young man chanted obsessively, leaving Ishina utterly bewildered, unable to comprehend what he was talking about.
After finishing, the young man continued, "This world is often invaded by outer realms. Previously, someone protected this world, but they have since disappeared."
"I have formed the Demon Hunter Alliance, joined by many heroes. We fight bloody battles to resist foreign enemies."
"But if we cannot eradicate the root of the invasions, we will never be able to hold out."
"The Kun Peng can detect the traces of outer realm invasions and drive out those invaders. That is why I am waiting here for the Kun Peng. Only with the Kun Peng's power can this world truly find peace."
As she listened, Ishina felt a strange sense of familiarity. Then, she heard a soul-stirring cry.
A colossal figure, obscuring the sky, appeared on the horizon. It was a massive whale, swimming freely through the sky. Beside it were schools of flying fish with six eyes and a pair of wings.
"This... this is the Sky Curtain Giant Whale!"
"No, its color and posture are slightly different from the Sky Curtain Giant Whale. Its name is Kun Peng."
"But this Kun Peng, so similar to the Sky Curtain Giant Whale, coupled with the young man before me..."
"I understand!"
Before Ishina could clarify matters, she saw the young man transform into a streak of rainbow light and fly to the Kun Peng's head.
Compared to the Kun Peng, the young man was smaller than an ant, like an insignificant speck of dust.
Yet, this single speck of dust was causing the Kun Peng to yelp in pain repeatedly. The residual shockwaves from their battle stirred up monstrous tsunamis, instantly submerging the deserted island.
Dark clouds blotted out the sky, and lightning flashed everywhere. The astonishing battle lasted for a day and a night. Finally, the giant whale ceased its struggles, carrying the young man towards the horizon, its form gradually disappearing.
Ishina stood on the surface of the sea, speechless for a long time...