Chapter 261: Lone Survivor

Staring at Xiao Budian and then Lin Feng, an instant later, every single one of the Kui Cow's eyes widened and let out a concerted howl.

Up on the mountain, Zhuge Fengling's eyes widened further, speechless. On her shoulder, the Gold-Digging Mouse shrieked. "The disciple is already so savage...the master? Fengling, run, run! This man...a hundred, no, a thousand of you can only cower in front of him!"

Coming to her senses, Zhuge Fengling nodded fervently and turned, ready to bolt.

At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded out beside their ears. "Leaving so soon?"

Purple gas surrounded Zhuge Fengling and the Gold-Digging Mouse. Both instantly felt the world spin before their eyes; when their vision returned to normal, Lin Feng's cryptic face appeared before them.

Zhuge Fengling forced a smile. "This...uh, this master, what can I do for you?"

Lin Feng surveyed her briefly, his gaze settling on the Gold-Digging Mouse on her shoulder.

The Gold-Digging Mouse trembled, speaking in human tongue. "Yes...yes, master, wh-whatever lowly me can do for you, please feel free!"

"Don't you guys want me to do your bidding?" Lin Feng asked emotionlessly. "That those Kui Cows are guarding. What treasure is it?"

Zhuge Fengling felt as feeble as a strand of wet noodle from head to toe, barely able to stand at all. It was then that she realized that her conversations with the Gold-Digging Mouse have all fallen on Lin Feng's ears.

This discovery removed any remaining notion of resistance.

"It's over, it's all over." Zhuge Fengling, despondent, confessed, "All I know is that it seems to be a spiritual flower or herb, basically a type of plant extremely rich in spiritual energy, I don't know about the rest."

The Gold-Digging Mouse hurriedly nodded in agreement. "We didn't dare to go closer. That Kui Cow King's senses are extremely sensitive, it would notice even the movement of a single blade of grass."

The vast gap in abilities between the two allowed Lin Feng's Awareness to easily capture all of Zhuge Fengling's emotional changes and psychological fluctuations; even without probing directly into her soul, he can infer if there has been deceit or deception.

Seeing that Zhuge Fengling and the Gold-Digging Mouse were indeed oblivious, Lin Feng set them aside and turned to see those Kui Cows subdued by Xiao Budian and Tuntun.

The herd of Kui Cows all lowered their heads, though not in submission, but rather silent defiance and wordless stubbornness.

"Stubborn as a bull". The Bull, obstinate by nature; Kui Cows, especially, exemplified this trait.

Even if their lives were in the hands of others, they still refuse to yield.

Lin Feng surveyed them emotionlessly, and nodded to Xiao Budian. "Boiled or braised? Your choice."

"I like boiled." Xiao Budian sniggered, staring at the Kui Cows, his eyes gleaming like a wolf spotting sheep. "Full of original flavor, plenty of soup in addition to the meat."

The stubborn Kui Cows, upon hearing these words, remained in silence. However, the bodies of many of them have started to tremble.

They were not afraid of being slaughtered, but the thought of becoming food after their deaths made their hearts full of sorrow; this despair far exceeded the simple fear of death.

Once Lin Feng has opened his mouth, Xiao Budian understood what he was up to. At this point, he closely observed those Kui Cows and seized the three which had been trembling the most.

Those three Kui Cows were all relatively young, forming their Demonic Cores and being promoted to Demonic Commander only recently.

With their age and cultivation speed, they could be considered the talented ones in this Kui Cow herd, with a bright future ahead of them.

Only just forming their Demonic Cores, with boundless potential and infinite possibilities, hearts full of pride and longing for the future - but unavoidably, more afraid of death, as they were unwilling to perish at such a tender age.

A bright future was ahead of them. Forming their Demonic Cores, promoted to Demonic Commander - their lives only just got on track.

Their pride empowered them to face death with courage, but to be eaten by this human brat after being killed - this was unacceptable to them, weakening their conviction.

It wasn't even necessary for Lin Feng to act. Xiao Budian emitted the full power of his immense Mana, appearing as vast and boundless as the ocean itself. The invincible sense of power simply crushed the final mental defenses of these three Kui Cows.

That strength - it was as if standing before them was not a cute, good-looking human teenager, but an ancient beast, more barbaric and bloodthirsty than their King, who would in an instant skin them alive and devour them whole.

No "making an example of" or live demonstration was necessary. In front of this Xiao Budian, no normal person would think he was only kidding or trying to scare him.

This murderous brat will really do this sort of thing, and without any psychological burden to boot. He will, in fact, revel in it.

Even under the assumption that he wouldn't, however, besides him stood a salivating devil with gleaming eyes!

This one favors swallowing raw.

Looking on this scene, Lin Feng's lips twisted. "Come to think of it, this way of interrogation is truly rather brutal."

The mental defenses of the three young Cows completely crumbled, spitting out every single thing they knew - not even seeking to live, but merely not to end up in Xiao Budian's plate after death.

"Saros Steel Tree?" Hearing this, Lin Feng's eyes opened in surprise.

Not counting the one-of-a-kind, mysterious Black Heavenly Treasure Tree on Mount Yujing, normally, it was recognized that there existed Four Great Strange Trees within the Grand Celestial World - the Ginseng Fruit Tree, the Divine Parasol Tree, the Celestial Jade Tree, and the Saros Steel Tree.

Strictly speaking, up till now Lin Feng has not even seen one of them. The only one he came into contact with was that Celestial Jade Tree Demon, Long Ye - but at that time, Long Ye's body has been completely destroyed after the battle with Yan Mingyue, with only a strand of soul remaining.

But come to think of it, Long Ye was capable of challenging the then All-Under-Heavens Strider, Yan Mingyue, thus her strength was indubitable. If she was incompetent, the Heavenly Charms Grand Sage would probably have not selected her as her protégé, even passing on the Demonic Clan's strongest surviving mantra, the Hunyuan Demonic Code.

From this, one can get a glimpse of the mystical properties of the Celestial Jade Tree.

It was especially because the Four Great Strange Trees were all extraordinarily gifted, possessing countless uses and formidable spiritual energy, that not a trace of them could be seen in the human world of the Divine Lands.

Because human cultivators have chopped them down long ago.

If you wish to see these Four Great Strange Trees, you could only do so in the Demonic world of the Barren Expanses.

The Saros Steel Tree, being listed alongside the Celestial Jade Tree as one of the Four Great Strange Trees of the universe, naturally has its exceptional traits. It was rumored that the Saros Steel Tree was naturally indestructible and invulnerable, durable beyond extremes. Apart from a select few natural enemies, no one could harm a single leaf.

Even the toughness of a small sapling was beyond the abilities of the ordinary man to harm.

The Saros Steel Tree has been extinct in the Divine Lands long ago. The last Saros Steel Tree there was planted in the old Buddhist Holy Land - the Great Thunderclap Temple, guarding the Great Thunderclap Temple's Forest of Stupas and possessing unthinkable powers.

That day when the many powers allied to vanquish Buddhism, tens of thousands from the Great Zhou Empire's Divine Martial Army, led by Marquis of Xuanji, Zhu Hongwu, himself, formed the Almighty Celestial Destroyer Formation and after days and nights of intense fighting, blasted open the Great Thunderclap Temple's defense formation, the Vairocana Formation, with brute force.

But it is this very incredibly strong Almighty Celestial Destroyer Formation that ran into a wall before that Saros Steel Tree, trying with all its might but still unable to destroy it.

Ultimately, it was only with the help of the Mount Shu Sword Sect, using one of the Saros Steel Tree's natural enemies and together with the Almighty Celestial Destroyer Formation, that the Saros Steel Tree was cut down, leading to the destruction of the final Holy Land of the Great Thunderclap Temple, the Forest of Stupas where the śarīras of past generations of monks were buried.

Still, the final blow of the Saros Steel Tree caused the demise of that Immortal God from the Mount Shu Sword Sect - the battle was bloody beyond belief.

But ever since that battle, the Saros Steel Tree had been completely extinct in the Divine Lands.

Lin Feng had never thought that today, he could encounter a Saros Steel Tree here.

Although according to what those Kui Cows said, this Saros Steel Tree is but a sapling, it still made Lin Feng extremely tempted.

By its level of rarity, it might even be considered a lone surviving sample.

"How did you discover this sapling?" Lin Feng asked.

A Kui Cow shook its head. "We didn't discover it. That sapling was planted by Master, and later transplanted here, in Mount Kunlun."

"Master? Transplant?" Lin Feng remained expressionless. "You moved here together with others?"

"That's right. We used to live at Mount Liubo, seven thousand miles across the East Sea. We listened to the teachings of the Flowing Waves Holy Man, and revered him as our Master. Later, the Holy Man brought the Saros Steel Tree with him to the Mount Kunlun area; we the Kui Cow Clan willingly follows the Holy Man, so we came here together."

Since he took the title of Holy Man, then he should be one of the Immortal Gods; just that his name wasn't well known, likely an independent cultivator from beyond the seas.

As Lin Feng plotted silently, he said emotionlessly, "The Flowing Waves Holy Man? Where is he? I would very much like to meet him."

"Master left. We don't know where he went either." This Kui Cow obviously didn't understand the value of bluffing, and instead told Lin Feng honestly.

Seeing his simplicity, Lin Feng can't help but shake his head, speechless.

He pointed with his fingers and balls of purple gas emerged, scooping up everyone and flying in the direction of the distant Kui Cow herd.

Lin Feng didn't hide his trail either, winding up his powers and speeded towards the Kui Cow herd. Just as he approached, with still hundreds of miles remaining, a pillar of demonic energy shot up high into the sky, resembling a bolt of raging lighting.

The demonic energy rocketed straight into the Heavens like smoke, transforming into a huge thundercloud and instantly enveloping a hundred-mile radius, with white flashes of lighting blinking non-stop within the thundercloud.

From the source of the demonic energy, a thunderous roar emerged. "Who dares cometh?"

Lin Feng gazed at the distant mountains and saw hundreds of Kui Cows congregated together, pairs and pairs of eyes gathered in staring at Lin Feng's party.

In the middle stood a mammoth Kui Cow, taller than even the surrounding mountains and larger as well. The master of that terrifying demonic energy was none other than this Kui Cow.

The Kui Cow King who had already formed his Demon Soul.

At this moment, the Kui Cow King had an extremely grave and solemn expression on his face, cautiously staring at Lin Feng with uneasiness in his gaze.