Crown Prince of the Empire, I quit!

The dark golden ember on Liu Yueli's spine flickered even more intensely, stimulated by the scent of the rotten heart willow that permeated the depths of the canyon! More and more dark red gelatinous material oozed from the wound behind her shoulder, almost covering her entire back! Her body convulsed unconsciously in the excruciating pain, and a short, painful gasp escaped her throat, as if it were being strangled!

at this time!

"Your Majesty! Look!" A sharp-eyed guard suddenly pointed to a crack in the stone wall deep in the canyon, near the bottom of the platform, his voice filled with surprise!

In that crevice shrouded in poisonous miasma, a ghostly figure, wrapped in a tattered Toruhan fur coat and smeared with oil paint, was seen climbing towards the platform with great difficulty and stealth! His movements were swift and uncanny, as if he was extremely familiar with the canyon's terrain, skillfully avoiding most of the poisonous miasma and vines!

Even more shocking was the fact that on his back, he was carrying a long, narrow object wrapped in black animal skin! The outline of that object... was incredibly similar to the animal-patterned iron block that Chang Baishan and Liu Yueli had held before!

"The remnants of Toru Khan?!" A murderous light flashed in Meng Zhi's eyes!

"No..." Qin Ming's gaze suddenly fixed beneath his veil! His deep eyes were fixed on the shape of the package on the man's back, as well as a very unique tattoo on his wrist that was exposed as he climbed. It looked like a twisted willow branch!

"It's... the traitor Toruhan!" Qin Ming's icy voice was like the collision of cold iron. "On his back... is a fragment of the 'Heart of the Sacred Tree'!"

The Heart of the Sacred Tree! The core of the sacred tree worshipped by Toru Khan! A sacred object that holds the sacred tree's true power! Legend has it that only the Heart of the Sacred Tree can fully activate and control the power of "Blood Attraction"!

Hua Yunhong's goal... wasn't just Liu Yueli! He also wanted the fragment of the Heart of the Sacred Tree that the traitor had brought! He wanted to completely fuse the Blood-Inducing Mark within Liu Yueli's body with the Heart of the Sacred Tree! He wanted to create... a living "Sacred Tree Container" completely under his control!

"Stop him!" Qin Ming's cold voice was filled with undeniable murderous intent! "Take that fragment!"

"Here!" Ying Qi's figure disappeared from Liu Yueli's stretcher like a ghost, and rushed towards the crevice!

On the high platform, Hua Yunhong had apparently spotted the climbing figure! An unprecedented fiery light erupted from his narrow eyes! He suddenly raised his hand, pointed in the direction of the crevice, and shouted at Helian Tieshu: "Catch him! Alive! Take the thing on his back... for me!"

"Here!" A fierce light flashed in Helian Tieshu's eyes! His huge body leaped down from the high platform like a cannonball! His heavy boots crushed the rocks and he pounced towards the crevice!

Deep in the canyon, poisonous miasma swirled, vines snaking like snakes. A black-armored soldier struggled amidst the poison and madness. Beneath a high platform, in a crevice, a Toruhan traitor desperately climbed, carrying a fragment of the sacred tree's heart. Shadow Seven, like a gruesome ghost, darted from the shadows in pursuit. Helian Iron Tree, like a ferocious beast in human form, crushed the rocks and pounced to intercept!

Qin Ming, sitting upright on his inky black warhorse, his eyes covered with his face like two cold abysses that swallowed everything, coldly sweeping across the chaotic and bloody battlefield, across Hua Yunhong's face on the high platform that was twisted by greed, and finally, falling back to Liu Yueli's body on the stretcher behind him that was twitching in pain.

Blood... Heart of the Sacred Tree... Container...

Hua Yunhong's chess game finally revealed its most deadly fangs. Qin Ming's counterattack had just begun. A cold murderous intent, like an invisible storm, silently gathered in the Death Valley.

On the high platform, Hua Yunhong stood with his hands behind his back, his dark green dragon robe motionless in the wind.

His narrow eyes, like two bottomless wells, reflected the bloody purgatory below, serene and serene, without a ripple. Only when his gaze swept over the heavily guarded stretcher at the canyon's entrance, and the Toruhan traitor desperately climbing through the crevice, carrying the fragment of the sacred tree's heart on his back, would a flicker of uncontrollable greed, like a hungry wolf smelling blood, flash across his depths.

"Blood Guidance... The Heart of the Sacred Tree..." He murmured softly, his voice trembling with a barely perceptible tremor, "Finally... it's returning to its place!"

"Helian!" Hua Yunhong's voice suddenly turned cold, like a poisoned ice needle. "Stop that traitor! Seize the fragment! At any cost!"

"Here!" A fierce gleam flashed in Helian Tieshu's eyes! His massive body swooped down from the edge of the platform like a cannonball! His heavy boots crushed the rocks, leaving spiderweb-like cracks with every step! He ignored the chaotic battlefield below, his gaze fixed on the ghostly figure in the crevice, like a hawk stalking its prey!

Deep within the crevice, a Toruhan traitor named Agula clung to the slippery rock face like a gecko, his movements swift and eerie. The paint on his face had long since been blurred by sweat and blood. Only his bloodshot eyes gleamed with the fierceness and determination of a lone wolf. On his back, the narrow object wrapped in black animal hide swayed slightly as he climbed, emitting an ancient and cold aura.

"It's almost there... it's almost there..." Agula growled softly, digging his calloused fingers deep into the cracks in the rock. "As long as... as long as I give it to..."

laugh--!

A cold, almost silent, sharp blade, like the fangs of a venomous snake, shot out without warning from the shadows above his head, striking directly at his vital point on the back!

Shadow Seven!

Like a ghost seeking his life, he appeared silently above Agula! The short blade in his hand, as thin as a cicada's wing, flashed a deadly cold light in the dim light!

Agula's pupils suddenly constricted! In a life-or-death moment, he unleashed an astonishing reaction! He jerked sideways, his back pressed against the rock wall! The short blade grazed his shoulder blade, sending a trail of blood splattering across his face! Simultaneously, he drew a poison-tipped bone dagger from his waist and, like a scorpion's tail, stabbed it fiercely into Ying Qi's ribs!

Ding!

A resounding clang of metal! Shadow Seven's short blade precisely parried the bone dagger! In the narrow crevice, the two exchanged several blows in a flash! Their movements were lightning-fast! Every collision sent piercing sparks flying! Agula's skills were incredibly ruthless and cunning. His bone dagger was like a venomous snake, each strike targeting Shadow Seven's vital points! Shadow Seven, like a ghost, moved erratically, his short blade clinging to Agula like a maggot on his tarsal bones.

"Hand over the things...!" Ying Qi's cold voice was like the friction of cold iron.

"Don't even think about it!" Agula's eyes flashed with a frenzied rage! He slammed his foot against the rock wall, using the force to quickly retreat! At the same time, his left hand reached into his arms like lightning, pulled out a whistle carved from animal bones, covered in strange runes, and blew it fiercely!

"Woo——!!!"

An extremely sharp whistle, like a night owl crying blood, instantly tore through the clamor of the canyon! It pierced the eardrums and hurt!

The moment the whistle blows!

"Roar--!!!"