Reincarnated as a Divine Tree

After the scarred man revealed the divine stone, the speed of the attacking figures actually increased—but his movements were even faster. Before they could strike, he quickly channeled his blood energy into the stone and hurled it straight at the armored enemies in front of him.

The divine stone exploded midair with a blinding flash that drew every eye in the area. As the light spread, the ground around them began to petrify at a rate visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, every flower, blade of grass, and tree nearby had turned to lifelike stone sculptures.

The blurry figures caught in the heart of the blast were now transformed into humanoid statues, suspended in the air and completely immobilized.

Seeing the totem's power firsthand, the scarred man felt a rush of relief. He had finally escaped a deadly predicament—but that relief was quickly replaced by dread. This was the strength of the clan totem. 

Even innate-stage warriors couldn’t resist it. The realization only reinforced his desire to flee. If they lingered any longer, escape from the great clans’ control would become impossible—resistance, even less so.

Just as he turned to save his brother, thinking the battle was over, he noticed something strange: a faint green light was beginning to emanate from the petrified figures.

Startled, he froze in place, watching closely. The glow seemed to be seeping out from their armor. As the green radiance intensified, the petrification covering their bodies began to melt away. The sight chilled him to the core.

Even the totem’s power can’t finish them off. What in the world are they?

Within seconds, the figures that had been turned to stone were fully restored. But upon closer inspection, their armor had noticeably dulled. Two of them had even lost the plating around their necks.

This brought the scarred man no comfort. On the contrary, his fear only deepened. With part of the armor gone, he saw no faces underneath. It was as if nothing had ever been inside. Worse still, the two headless suits of armor showed no signs of damage—they charged at him again without pause.

He could no longer suppress the terror welling up inside. With a burst of blood energy, he dashed toward his brother’s side. After knocking back Chen Qingyu and the others attacking them, the two fled as fast as they could into the distance.

While retreating, the scarred man hurled away the two bundles they carried. Those bundles held not only their spoils from Chen Tianjing’s group but also their accumulated possessions. But he understood—if they still cared about those thirty thousand jade coins, they'd both die here.

The extra pack was simply the price he paid for his own mistake.

"Chief, should we pursue?" a clan member asked, eyeing the trail of their flight and the abandoned bundles.

Chen Changming slowed for a moment but then narrowed his eyes, voice cold. "Pursue them."

Several figures immediately surged forward, chasing after the two brothers without hesitation.

"Damn it! We already gave your stuff back. Do you really want to kill us over this?" the scarred man shouted, fists clenched as he ran.

But no reply came from behind—only silence.

Still, the scarred man's expression grew darker by the second. He could feel his blood energy waning and his strength faltering. The armored figures pursuing them were fast—far too fast. Escape was impossible. That was the reason for his desperate cry.

Behind them, Chen Changming’s expression remained hard. He was unmoved by the scarred man’s plea or the tossed backpacks.

If they had returned the items before the battle began, things might have been different. But now, there was no turning back.

Their clan was still weak and barely capable of defending itself. The resurrection of their fallen kin—and their return through the help of the Divine Tree—could not be exposed under any circumstances. No outsider could be allowed to learn the truth.

Even if others couldn't fully guess the nature of the soul-armored figures, the risk was too great. This was about the future of the clan. As the clan’s former patriarch, Chen Changming wouldn’t show mercy or leave any threat behind.

Besides, the Divine Tree’s power had been significantly depleted by this operation. That wasn’t something a mere package could repay.

The scarred man felt the relentless pressure behind him. Fury burned in his chest, but his brother was barely holding on—his vitality was nearly drained. They had no second divine stone. Escape was their only option.

But before they could get far, the air temperature around them suddenly plummeted. Two familiar armored figures appeared in front of them, blocking the path.

Behind them, Chen Qingyu arrived with a flash, his Shadow Step bridging the distance in an instant.

Once more, they were surrounded.

“Brother… just go. Don’t worry about me,” his younger brother muttered weakly.

The scarred man clenched his jaw, frozen in place. No matter how desperate the situation, he couldn’t bring himself to abandon his own flesh and blood.

Yet as he looked at the encircling foes and the expressionless Chen Qingyu, despair crept into his eyes.

He had never imagined that his own greed would become a death sentence for both of them.

It was too late for apologies. Begging would do nothing. With the last of his blood energy surging to the surface, he shouted:

“I’ll take all of you bastards down with me!”

His roar echoed with helpless rage and sorrow.

Some of the surrounding clansmen felt a flicker of sympathy—but none stayed their hand. Mercy toward the enemy was cruelty to themselves.

Besides, their armor was already severely weakened. They couldn’t afford any delays.

Soon, the sounds of battle began to fade… and then ceased entirely.

A short while later, a few green wolves arrived, along with some of the previously injured clansmen. But Chen Changming and the others, having resolved the skirmish, were gone—the soul armor on their bodies had already vanished.

Dawn was approaching. Though several had now broken through to the innate realm, they couldn’t remain in the world for much longer. They needed to return to the clan—to the Divine Tree—before the sun fully rose.

Looking at the two lifeless bodies before him, Chen Qingyu remained composed and merely instructed the clansmen to bury them. On the path to building a powerful clan, countless corpses would inevitably be buried—if not enemies, then kin.

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