Published: February 6, 2025
When the flame blade was unleashed, the sprint activated.
Due to the beautiful special effects of the flame blade, visually, it appeared as if Ye Zhongming swung the blade first and then started moving.
In reality, there was a brief moment when Ye Zhongming held back his attack, and it was only when he activated the sprint that the red light of the blade was released.
The sprint could double his movement speed for three seconds. As a two-star evolver, Ye Zhongming's speed was already not slow. Coupled with the base speed boost from the Bloodstained Battle Boots, he moved forward nearly three meters.
What would have been a direct attack on the hypocritical ghost tree's tendrils was now transformed into a diagonal slice from the side.
If he were facing a grade three mutated animal, Ye Zhongming wouldn't have opted for this strategy. After all, mutated animals were quite fast and reactive. Even with the sprint activated, given the difference in evolution levels, Ye Zhongming's move could easily miss.
However, although the hypocritical ghost tree had a notorious reputation and its bizarre abilities left survivors defenseless, it hadn't reached grade four yet and was still slow-moving.
The blade struck precisely where the tendril connected with the trunk.
Combining the edge of the moon with the radiant seal blade master's professional skills, the wooden grade three hypocritical ghost tree couldn’t withstand it. A small portion of the branch was severed, and a large amount of green liquid gushed out from the cut, releasing a pungent smell.
The coordination between the earth yellow pill and its master became even more seamless. After the flame blade struck true, it had already circled to the side and lunged forward. It knew that for this mutated plant, biting and scratching or using thin needles were not very effective, so it directly crashed into the hypocritical ghost tree's trunk that was pulled from the ground, using its weight and momentum to topple the tree forward.
Even though its roots were pulled from the soil, some remained underground. As the hypocritical ghost tree tilted at about a forty-five-degree angle, it started to right itself.
Unfortunately, the damage from the flame blade was not only due to the loss of half its branches but also the instantaneous fire damage. For the wooden mutated plant, fire was its nemesis; this dual damage caused the tendrils on the other side of the hypocritical ghost tree to involuntarily spread open.
When this grade three mutated plant re-established its stance, Ye Zhongming's second skill arrived, and the blade light sliced into the tendril just as it opened.
Unlike the first skill that sliced from the outside, this time the cut was made from the inside, and the result was the same: the remaining tendrils were severed and fell to the ground.
The entire hypocritical ghost tree was reduced to a mere log of its trunk.
Uncertain if it felt pain, the hypocritical ghost tree trembled, and the bark that was originally covered with magic crystals began to flap back and forth. Suddenly, it transformed into two seemingly soft yet sharply pointed wooden spikes, thrusting towards Ye Zhongming just as his blade came down.
Ye Zhongming jumped, narrowly evading the attack using the last second of the sprint.
This should be the hypocritical ghost tree's innate skill; after the attack missed, the wooden spikes reverted to the bark, which had faded in color.
Without hesitation, Ye Zhongming stepped forward and cut away the thing that almost harmed him.
The hypocritical ghost tree's attack and defense were mostly related to its branches and tendrils, and now that it was reduced to a wooden stick, it was at his mercy.
Ye Zhongming circled warily around it and, upon confirming that the hypocritical ghost tree posed no further threat, picked up the severed branches to take a look and plucked the evolution fruits from them but did not strike the killing blow.
This thing might still be useful, Ye Zhongming decided in his heart.