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Who would have thought that the greatest temptation was actually holding such evil?

If they had really consumed this fruit whole for refinement, they would have been completely corrupted, heart, body, and mind.

"That was close," Qin Yue hissed.

They had thought the evil plot was the number of Thunderpeal Fruits, but now they realized that it was merely the first layer hiding a much more tragic end for whoever took the fruits.

Besides, given how precious Thunderpeal Fruits were, virtually no one would have the presence of mind like Jiang Qing\'e to tear one open.

Which meant that they would likely have fallen into the trap if not for her.

The First Princess\' elegant face was drawn and tight as well. Not even she had anticipated this level of trickery. The Thunderpeal Fruit was produced by the Thunderpeal Tree itself. If there were problems with the fruit, did that not mean that the tree itself was not as benign as it seemed?

What was wrong with Thunderpeal Mountain?

And there had been so little corruption up till now...

"There\'s something odd about the tree," Lu Ming said, raising her resonant power defenses as she stepped away from the trunk.

She had come to the same conclusion as the First Princess.

The others turned back to the trunk of the tree, their respect now replaced with caution. The cool shade of its leaves had suddenly turned chilly.

"If the corruption in this mountain range is so faint, why would there be problems with the tree?" Zhao Beili asked, frowning.

"What if," Jiang Qing\'e said quietly, "the Thunderpeal Tree absorbed all of the corruption?"

Suddenly, all of the students felt an urge to run as far as they could.

If Jiang Qing\'e\'s guess was right, then this tree was a ticking bomb of corruption.

Li Luo licked his lips nervously as well. So much for peace and quiet.

"Well, what do we want to do now?"

The one who had asked was Ao Bai, the Two Star Hall winner. He had been quiet so far, understanding that his quasi General Stage strength could not contribute much before his betters.

But now that they were in grave danger, he thought it better to speak out and clarify.

Jiang Qing\'e looked around them. "It\'s not about what we want to do anymore," she said calmly. "Haven\'t you noticed? The lightning is picking up in intensity." The others looked up to see forks of lightning flash down almost constantly now, gigantic bolts that sizzled with menacing power.

"The Thunderpeal Tree!"

The First Princess had noticed that the silver leaves were arching downwards at the edges now, intending to trap them within a dome-shaped prison on the mountain.

"It\'s going to capture us!" Zhao Beili yelled.

"Get out!" the First Princess cried, leading the way towards the nearest edge.

Boom!

But a blinding flash of lightning crackled from under the boughs, and a thick, silver vine lashed out at them with the speed of a striking viper.

Bzzst!

It was not just one vine, but an entire bunch of them. Each was crackling with enough power to make even the three Heavenly Pearl Stage cultivators blanch in fear.

"One and Two Star Hall students, get back!" the First Princess shouted. The power here was not something that the junior students could handle.

The First Princess, Qin Yue, and Zhao Beili put up powerful defenses, their heavenly pearls winking into existence. Under their combined defenses, they were able to repel the vines.

Jiang Qing\'e had the back covered, her ninth-grade light spirit avatar standing like a guardian angel over them, and her heavy sword held in a defensive stance.

The suddenness of battle could have unnerved inexperienced students.

The three Heavenly Pearl Stage students were unfazed, calling forth enough power to shake the mountains.

In the wake of the attack, wooden splinters wafted down to the ground.

The attack had been stopped, but the edges of the tree\'s crown had finished forming its prison, and they were trapped within.

Lu Ming and Li Luo were placed at the rear, protected by their stronger companions. Thanks to the quick actions of the First Princess and Jiang Qing\'e, they were well covered.

Lu Ming looked out at the dome of boughs all around them. "We\'re trapped," she hissed.

"The calm before the storm, huh," Li Luo said glumly.

"This is not good. We have three Heavenly Pearl Stage experts, but the environment is not favorable to us. The Thunderpeal Tree can constantly harness lightning from around it to attack us. If this keeps up, we will run out of resonant power eventually," Lu Ming assessed.

Li Luo nodded. Still, this was something that the First Princess and the other experts knew. They were probably testing out the limits of the tree\'s strength, to see if they could join forces and break out in one punch.

As for the missing squad, they would have to give that up for now.

While Li Luo was thinking this, he suddenly felt the ground beneath him sag.

His eyes narrowed. "Beware below!!"

Boom!

Just as he yelled this, the ground gave way, revealing another batch of electric vines that swept out at their feet.

The attack was too fast and too furious for Li Luo and Lu Ming to react properly.

At the crucial moment, Li Luo slammed a hand into Lu Ming\'s back, pushing her out of harm\'s way. One injured person was better than two. With his other hand, he formed the strongest defense he could muster against the vines.

Bang!

A muffled crash.

Li Luo was sent flying, his hair standing up from the electrical power and sizzling with white smoke. He coughed out enough blood to stain both his hands.

He was seriously injured, but his arms were wrapped in a bear hug around the vine, preventing it from attacking them further.

"Li Luo!" Lu Ming screamed as she watched him sail through the air.

Swoosh!

A powerful sword sliced down, severing the electric vine in one clean sweep.

Jiang Qing\'e to the rescue.

At the same time, more and more vines came out from underground.

Jiang Qing\'e\'s beautiful features were tight with cold fury. The Thunderpeal Tree was trickier than they had expected, to be able to pull off sneak attacks like this one.

The situation was chaotic, and she had no time to coddle Li Luo. Her sword slashed out with frenzied light, clearing the vines.

Lu Ming hurried to Li Luo\'s side. "Are you alright?" she asked urgently.

Li Luo waved weakly, then coughed and wiped the blood from his mouth. "The First Princess and the others have drawn much of the Thunderpeal Tree\'s attacks, or I\'d be dead already."

Lu Ming hesitated. "Thank you," she said sincerely.

If not for Li Luo pushing her out of the way, she\'d be badly injured now as well.

Li Luo smiled at her. "Ah, to let such a beauty see me in such an ungainly position. It is a crime."

Lu Ming immediately felt a smile coming upon her, but she forced it back down.

"The last time we fought, I didn\'t expect someone who poisoned girls to have a gentlemanly side to him as well."

"You were an opponent back then. Of course I had to do everything I could," Li Luo said defensively.

"I\'m kidding. Heal yourself. I\'ll watch you." She smiled. Her hand was on the slender weapon by her side, and she turned to watch their surroundings.

Li Luo nodded, then he lowered his head to the severed vine he was still holding. The electric energy had faded from it, but he looked at it worriedly nevertheless.

He had sensed a weak and vague signal coming out of it when his blood-stained arms were tightly wound around it.

That signal...

It seemed to be a call for rescue.

Midasthefloof\'s Thoughts

Sorry for the late chapter all!

Enjoy :)