Stranger Danger

Pop!

There was a soft pop that sounded like a fist cutting through the air, a glass being shattered into pieces, or a branch being snapped in half.

The moment the noise appeared, the skyful of willow branches all snapped into countless pieces. Then, they disintegrated into ash.

"Argh! It hurts!"

A bloodcurdling scream resounded throughout heaven and earth as the willow tree twisted and shook violently. What was once a lush, thick canopy was now bald, and an ancient face appeared on the tree trunk.

The face had white beard and hair. Normally, it looked benevolent and elegant. Right now though, it was contorted into an ugly, vicious snarl.

"Argh! Who are you? Why are you fighting against me?"

The wizened face on the tree trunk glared at Ye Qing from afar.

Ye Qing was a few kilometers away from the island when the wizened face first spoke, but by the time it finished, it discovered that Ye Qing was standing in front of it.

"Are you the Willow God?" Ye Qing looked at the wizened face, the so-called Willow God of the Willowa, and asked without a trace of emotion in his voice.

"I am," The Willow God answered while light shone out of its tree trunk and regrew its broken branches and leaves. Its roots were bursting out of the ground and towering like dragons and serpents as well.

Clearly, the Willow God was extremely wary of Ye Qing.

"Who are you? Why are you killing my people and going against me?" asked the Willow God.

"The hell are you talking about?"

Ye Qing could not be arsed to waste his breath on the Willow God. "You are an evil creature who sacrifices living humans. You deserve death!"

Ye Qing stomped the air, and a terrible yet invisible shockwave washed out, snapping the titanic roots inch by inch. Then, he threw a punch at the willow tree's trunk.

"You dare?"

Astonished and afraid, the Willow God spat out a wisp of blue light. It immediately transformed into a howling, blue-colored yin wind that overflowed with intents of corrosion, decline, and desolation.

A look of disdain overcame Ye Qing's features as he suddenly changed his fist impetus. He abruptly stood as tall and majestic as mountains and rivers.

"Mountain River Impetus"

The yin wind's howls were terrible, but it could not move the mountains and rivers one bit, much less harm Ye Qing.

When the blue yin wind began weakening, Ye Qing's fist impetus changed again. It became as invasive as fire as a storm brewed in the sky, and the roars of a dragon and a tiger shook the world.

A dragon and a tiger appeared amidst the storm. Riding the wind and clouds, they looked like they would rip and tear the world into pieces via sheer brutality and power.

"Dragon Tiger Impetus"

"No! You cannot kill me! I was conferred this title by the Rakshasa King himself! If you kill me, he will kill you!"

Seeing that the dragon and tiger were charging toward him, and neither his yin wind nor his blue light could impede them at all, the Willow God realized that its life could end in the next moment and screamed.

"Oh, the Rakshasa King?"

Ye Qing paused his fist briefly, and the Willow God thought it had found the light at the end of the tunnel. However, the young man followed up indifferently, "Never heard of him."

The next moment, the dragon and the tiger slammed into the willow tree one after another.

Boom!

There was a loud boom. First, the light and wind scattered. Then, the giant willow tree snapped in half from the center and collapsed.

As it collapsed, its willow branches withered rapidly, its tree trunk darkened and turned gray at a visible rate.

The upper half of its tree trunk scattered into dust the moment it made contact with the sea and land surface. The massive dust clouds lingered in the air for a moment before scattering into the wind.

This wasn't the end though. After breaking the willow tree in one punch, Ye Qing descended from above and landed on the bottom half of its tree trunk. At the same time, invisible energies sealed off the entire island and prevented any chance the Willow God had of escaping.

The next moment, Ye Qing stomped on the tree trunk.

Bang!

There was a muffled noise, and the faint blue light surrounding the tree trunk turned grayish and withered. At the same time, what sounded like a bloodcurdling scream came from deep beneath the earth.

Ye Qing followed up with another stomp.

Thunk!

It was like a divine being was striking a drum. The sound could be heard from dozens of kilometers away, the tree trunk sank several inches into the earth, and the entire island roared as cracks spread all across its surface, and it sank ten meters into the sea.

"I surrender! Mercy, please, mercy!"

The Willow God's begs came from underneath the earth.

The Willow God's greatest advantage wasn't its strength or skill. It was its incredibly long lifespan and ability to preserve its own life. Its roots weren't just spread throughout the island, it traveled as deep as dozens of kilometers underground. Even if its tree trunk was destroyed, it could always rise again so long as a root was still intact.

The only way to exterminate its roots thoroughly was to destroy the entire island, but that was basically impossible for anyone below the Sage stage.

The Willow God only appeared on small, remote islands with no champions. It generally conducted itself with great caution as well. Although its actions and behavior were undoubtedly vile, it hadn't killed so many people that a Sage might be tempted to kill it.

And its plan worked. For hundreds of years, it hadn't encountered a single Sage.

That was why it dared to do whatever it wanted in this sea region.

But today, the Willow God met its unmaker. The young man clearly wasn't a Sage, and yet he was so powerful that he rivaled one. He had absolutely trounced his ass like he was a dog, not a god. As if that wasn't bad enough, the young man showed that he had the power to destroy this whole island.

That was why it was afraid. It was afraid to death.

Ye Qing said coldly, "If you really are surrendering, then show yourself."

The Willow God tried to negotiate, "I can, but you must promise that you will let me live."

"Hah! You really think you have the right to negotiate terms with me?"

Ye Qing scoffed, lifted his foot, and brought it down a third time.

Rumble!

This time, the earth was shattering, and the mountains were collapsing. The entire island was crumbling and sinking into the sea.

"Ahhhhhh! Please, mercy! I'm sorry for what I did, so please!"

The Willow God cried out in pain and terror.

Ye Qing paid it no attention though. He just stomped again and again and again like he would not stop until every last piece of this island was stomped into the sea.

Realizing that Ye Qing would not compromise, the Willow God dared not dilly dally any longer. A wisp of blue light flew out of the underground and transformed into an old man in front of Ye Qing. He begged and kowtowed repeatedly saying, "Mercy, celestial, mercy..."

"Oh? You don't want to hide anymore?"

Ye Qing stopped what he was doing and looked down on the Willow God.

"I dare not, I dare not! Please, show me mercy..."

The Willow God begged while continuing to kowtow like he was pounding garlic.

"I can forgive you..."

Ye Qing said slowly. The Willow God was so overjoyed that he thanked Ye Qing before he even finished, "Thank you for your benevolence and generosity, celestial! This little one is impressed from the bottom of his heart!"

"From now on, this little one will become your servant! Feel free to order me as you please, celestial!"

So what if he was trading his freedom away? So what if he was entering a life of servitude?

The Willow God was willing to pay any price to live.

So long as he was still alive, he would have the chance to turn the tables against his "master". When the time came, he was going to make the young man wish he was dead. He would claim revenge and repay all the humiliation he had suffered a hundred fold!

"Don't thank me yet. I'm not finished."

Ye Qing interrupted the Willow God's endless ramblings.

The Willow God hurriedly shielded his thoughts and replied carefully, "Please continue. This little one shall obey."