"At most a month," the Old Tree responded.

"If it weren't for the fact that I've coexisted with the Soul Nourishing Tree for 350,000 years and our souls have merged, I wouldn't have chosen this thing for body snatching!"

The Old Tree cursed as he continued the body snatching process.

Previously, Xu Hei had asked if he needed help finding a physical body, but it was declined. This split soul had existed long enough and could only survive within the Soul Nourishing Tree.

Xu Hei couldn't help but think of the Divine Wutong Tree.

This tree also possessed astonishing divine abilities, but the person it parasitized was too weak, which allowed Xu Hei to subdue it.

Xu Hei also seized the time to break through to the mid Divine Transformation stage. In fact, he had long been on the verge of breaking through, just missing the final push and a place rich in spiritual qi.

And this Flying Spirit Garden was just the right place for him.

…………

Two more people appeared in the Flying Spirit Garden, namely Black Butterfly from the Tianhen Sword Sect and Yaoguang Zhenren from the Yan Dao Sect.

Their appearance immediately drew inquiries from the crowd.

They dared not hide anything and truthfully recounted Xu Hei's previous actions.

"So it was him!"

The cultivators from the Blood Refining Sect were even more furious, while a deep sense of dread rose in their hearts.

They had thought Xu Hei used some special means to cleverly kill the two, perhaps by ambushing them in the divine sense formation or teaming up with others to attack.

But they never expected that Xu Hei had faced two opponents head-on, withstood a self-detonation, and emerged unscathed.

This was somewhat terrifying. Xu Hei's true strength likely surpassed that of an average mid Divine Transformation cultivator!

"This child must not be allowed to live!" Flame Demon Ancestor said harshly.

He had originally planned to take his time, knowing that with a bit more effort, he could break through.

But now, Flame Demon Ancestor directly unleashed an extremely rare Solar Essence Fire Thunder Pearl, detonating it at the entrance.

"Boom!!"

The explosion of the Solar Essence Fire Thunder Pearl stirred up a massive wave, sending dirt flying and causing the earth to tremble. Countless cracks appeared on the stone door, and the light shield dimmed.

The restriction on the stone chamber was finally on the verge of collapse.

Even though it was left by the Green Emperor years ago, it had existed for too long, and holding on until now was already its limit.

And at this moment.

The stone door in front suddenly creaked open on its own.

Two figures stood at the entrance: a young man in a black robe with an unremarkable appearance, his aura uncontrollably emanating, his robes flapping and whistling in the wind—it was Xu Hei, who had just reached the mid Divine Transformation stage.

The other was an old man with purple hair, his eyes twinkling, and a kind smile on his face.

Behind them was a large shadow, massive in size, its nature unknown.

Blood Knife Patriarch squinted his eyes and said coldly, "Hmph, you dare to come out on your own. How do you wish to die?"

"Boom!!"

At this moment, another explosion sounded in the distance.

A formation was punched open, and a monstrous aura surged from the ground to the sky, turning the ground into a sea of blood, with various skeletons and evil spirits churning within. A long howl emanated, shaking the heavens.

The cultivators from the Blood Refining Sect couldn't help but smile.

"Haha, Flame Demon, your disciple has broken through to the mid Divine Transformation stage. Congratulations," Blood Knife Patriarch clasped his hands in congratulation.

In the sea of blood, a young man in a blood robe ascended, walking on air. His muscles swelled rapidly, and six arms grew from his upper body, bathed in blood light like a demon god descending. Behind him appeared a phantom of a demon god, exuding overwhelming blood might and a terrifying aura.

It was Xiong Yan, who had just reached the mid Divine Transformation stage.

The Divine Fusion Pill obtained by the Blood Refining Sect was given to this most talented individual, coincidentally allowing him to break through at the same time as Xu Hei.

Meanwhile, many cultivators in the Flying Spirit Garden emerged, their gazes fixed on this place.

"Master, how about letting me handle this person?"

Xiong Yan descended with an overwhelming aura, his fierce might surging, his voice like thunder, drawing everyone's attention.

"Handle him?" Flame Demon Ancestor frowned slightly.

Although he had great confidence in Xiong Yan's strength, as Xiong Yan had few rivals in the same realm even at the early Divine Transformation stage, and now having broken through to the mid stage, he naturally reached a higher level.

But against Xu Hei, who easily defeated Beiming Lei and Xue Fengzi, he wasn't entirely confident that Xiong Yan could win.

Xu Hei was also taken aback by this.

He had expected a fierce battle, but instead, a reckless fool jumped out to court death. It was an unexpected delight.

"To think you have such confidence, I wonder who gave you the courage," Xu Hei sneered.

Xiong Yan smiled slightly, glancing around at everyone, and shook his head, "I think you all misunderstand!"

"Although I just broke through and consider myself not weak, killing Xu Hei would be difficult. If he resorts to self-detonation, I can't escape unscathed."

In this regard, Xiong Yan wasn't wrong. In a battle between equals, even if he could defeat the opponent, a desperate strike would leave him severely injured, making it not worth the risk.

Then, Xiong Yan smiled, "So what I mean is, I want his corpse."

This statement made everyone burst into laughter.

He took out a blood corpse and placed it beside him, sneering, "Xu Hei, I'll turn your corpse into a blood corpse to accompany your fellow."

"As for the task of killing you, I'll leave it to the elders. Although I'm disappointed not to face you directly, I won't mind delivering the final blow when you're about to die!"

Xiong Yan wore a cruel smile.

Blood Knife Patriarch laughed heartily, "Haha, Flame Demon, your disciple is interesting. He has a bright future ahead."

Xiong Yan wasn't a fool. He had heard the previous descriptions of Xu Hei and naturally wouldn't take unnecessary risks.

If Xu Hei had some hidden trump card that heavily injured him or took him hostage, it would be too embarrassing. Although such a possibility was almost nonexistent, he had to be cautious.

"Don't waste time, attack directly!" Flame Demon Ancestor said coldly.

"Boom!!"

Blood Knife Patriarch was the first to strike, his large blade expanding into a thousand-foot-wide giant blade, slashing down at Xu Hei with countless ghostly shadows flickering in the blood light.

This blade, named Blood Massacre, had beheaded millions and was imbued with extremely thick murderous aura, refined with the blood of several Divine Transformation cultivators. Ordinary people would go mad and die just by looking at it.

Under normal circumstances, any newly advanced mid Divine Transformation cultivator couldn't withstand this blade.

Suddenly, the world ahead turned pitch black, and one couldn't see their hand in front of their face. The blade fell into the void of darkness, even the blood light swallowed, and consciousness was stripped away.

"Night Owl?" Blood Knife Patriarch raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Just in time, I'll catch you all in one go."