Nine Nether Dragon Emperor-Chapter 293: Avoid Ning Xuan when you see him in the future!

Under Ning Xuan's gaze, three resplendent fruits emerged from the center of the World Tree. The fruits quickly detached themselves and floated into his hands.

"Of these three fruits, you may do with two as you see fit. The last one, however, I hope you will find a suitable place to plant."

BOOM—

Outside this region, the world was plunged into darkness. Amid a tremendous roar, countless ghostly faces howled, trying to rush over and snatch the fruits from Ning Xuan's hands.

This was the true crystallization of the World Tree! It was Its complete inheritance!

The reason the Apocalyptic Barren Land had trapped the World Tree here was for Its fruits. Now, those fruits were being handed over to a human youth. The Apocalyptic Barren Land was filled with unprecedented fury, yet it could not break through the World Tree's final barrier.

Ning Xuan felt the immense energy pulsing within the fruits, and a strange light flickered in his eyes.

I just have to consume one of these fruits, and my Cultivation Realm will soar! I could even ascend to the heavens in a single step and become a saint! And there will be no side effects. There's no way my Mental State wouldn't be able to keep up. After all, these fruits contain the essence, qi, and spirit of an ancient being that has existed for endless eons, one that has witnessed the cycle of all things and the changing of seas into mulberry fields!

"Grandpa Tree, aren't you afraid he'll take the fruits and consume them all for himself?" Zhongli Ruoruo, who also understood the gravity of the World Tree fruits, couldn't help but ask.

The World Tree responded with confidence, "Little girl, my eyes do not misjudge people!"

A moment later, a sigh arose.

"How many years has it been? Fifty thousand? A hundred thousand? Or… I can no longer remember. But at long last, I have found someone worthy of this trust. Thank you, girl."

As Its voice faded, the World Tree swayed. A beam of light enveloped Zhongli Ruoruo, and her strength skyrocketed at an unimaginable speed. In just an instant, another Emperor Realm expert appeared, and Zhongli Ruoruo's strength was established directly at the Peak of the Emperor Realm.

"This world's level is too low. If your cultivation becomes any higher, it will trigger an unimaginable disaster. After you leave, you must depart from this world quickly. The Emperor Realm should not exist here!" the World Tree's voice warned.

It had the power to instantly create powerhouses who transcended the Emperor Realm, but the laws of heaven and earth would not allow it. Such a method was terrifying! Yet, even It was helpless against the Apocalyptic Barren Land. The latter's power was simply unimaginable. It did not try to provoke Ning Xuan by suggesting he could give up if he was afraid.

"Rest assured. I will do my utmost to complete the task you've entrusted to me," Ning Xuan nodded, accepting the charge.

Even if I hadn't encountered the World Tree this time, I would have inevitably had to confront the Apocalyptic Barren Land sooner or later! Since that's the case, why be melodramatic about it?

"Good. After you leave, I will do my utmost to restrain the Apocalyptic Barren Land. However, it is inevitable that some will slip through the net. You will have to deal with them yourself."

Ning Xuan nodded.

"Alright, I will send you off now."

As the World Tree spoke, a branch swept out, instantly tearing open a passageway. Ning Xuan and Zhongli Ruoruo stepped inside, and the passageway closed behind them.

"The most I can buy you is ten years, possibly even less. You must plant the fruit quickly, or the consequences will be unimaginable!" The World Tree's words echoed in Ning Xuan's mind one last time.

"Got it!" Ning Xuan agreed without a second thought.

…

「The outer perimeter of Wanjue Ridge.」

The void suddenly cracked open, and Ning Xuan and Zhongli Ruoruo appeared. Glancing around, Zhongli Ruoruo was not too surprised. If the World Tree could instantly raise her cultivation to the Emperor Realm and send them to the outskirts of the Yin Yang Sect, this was nothing strange at all.

"Yi Yi… be careful!" Zhongli Ruoruo had just begun to speak when her expression drastically changed.

Ning Xuan reacted at the same moment, but it was too late.

A microscopic speck of calamity soil landed on Ning Xuan. Its corrosive power was instantaneous and devastating, and his body was instantly immobilized. Fortunately, Zhongli Ruoruo was no longer the person she once was. With incredible speed, she fed Ning Xuan one of the World Tree's fruits.

Ning Xuan's Cultivation Realm instantly skyrocketed from the King Realm's First-Layer Heavens to its Fifth-Layer Heavens!

And then… there was no "and then."

The rest of the fruit's energy had been expended to fight the influence of the Apocalyptic Barren Land.

"Damn it! You sneaky bastard, from now on, you and I are enemies!" The newly mobile Ning Xuan simply couldn't hold it in.

A World Tree fruit that could have allowed him to become a saint was wasted just like that. Even someone with the most stable Mental State would break down in this situation. His reaction was perfectly normal.

Zhongli Ruoruo's face was also etched with worry. Now that her Realm had advanced, her perception was on a completely different level. The more powerful she became, the more keenly she sensed the terror of the Apocalyptic Barren Land. Just a microscopic speck of it required a full World Tree fruit to suppress. It was beyond terrifying.

"We have to plant the fruit quickly and let a new World Tree grow in this world!"

The energy contained in a World Tree fruit was naturally no match for the World Tree Itself; however, the fruit's true value lay in its possession of the tree's Primordial Source. Only by growing into a new World Tree could its power be fully unleashed!

Ning Xuan nodded.

"How… how did you get out?!"

A voice suddenly rang out as figures began to pop up all around them—they were people from the Yin Yang Sect.

Ning Xuan glanced at Zhongli Ruoruo. She nodded.

The next moment, Ning Xuan vanished. When he reappeared, no one else was left alive.

At the Fifth-Layer Heavens of the King Realm, Ning Xuan had few rivals left on the entire Yuan Ling Continent, let alone within the Yin Yang Sect.

「Inside the Yin Yang Sect.」

The high-ranking members of the Yin Yang Sect, who had been monitoring the two through a clear spring, all scrambled back in unison. One of them flicked his sleeve, and the spring's surface rippled, blurring the pair's figures. When the water calmed, the images of Ning Xuan and Zhongli Ruoruo were gone.

PLOP!

Someone collapsed ungracefully, their forehead drenched in sweat. Just a moment ago, when Ning Xuan had glanced in their direction, they had felt the terrifying sensation of being targeted by an ancient, ferocious beast.

If Ning Xuan wished it, he could obliterate us with a flick of his finger!

A dreadful realization dawned upon them. After a long while, a voice resounded within the Yin Yang Sect. "Issue the order! From now on, all disciples of the Yin Yang Sect are to give Ning Xuan a wide berth!"

"The Sect Leader is wise!"

"The Sect Leader isn't just wise, he's sagacious! Ning Xuan is too freaking scary!"

"Phew… It's a huge relief that we don't have to fight him!"

Some were so relieved they even wept. For a time, the prestige of the Yin Yang Sect's Leader reached its absolute peak within the sect.

Discovering how the sect members now perceived him, the Yin Yang Sect Leader's mouth twitched, his expression shifting through a range of colors. It took him a long while to finally squeeze out a sentence.

"Ning Xuan… I thank you!"

Ning Xuan, of course, had no idea that by being spared, the Yin Yang Sect's Leader had seen his prestige within the sect soar to unprecedented heights.

At this moment, he was befuddled.

He could not find Si Lanyi and the others at all.

Previously, when Lingji had used the Divine Drunkenness, he had sent Si Lanyi and the others into the Stele Forest. The Stele Forest contained the Blunt Stone Tower, which suppressed Shentu Yi, the number one prodigy of the Demon Path from the Yao Guang Realm.

But now, Si Lanyi and the others were gone, and Shentu Yi had also vanished without a trace.