Yama Reborn-Chapter 508 - 505: Injection

Chapter Five Hundred and Five: Injection

Clouds churned. After the friction between positive and negative electric charges, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.

The distant rumble of thunder came from the horizon.

Lu Xixi squinted, turned away from the windowsill, and gently pulled the curtains closed. Then, she turned and entered the kitchen.

She turned off the stove and moved the pot of bone broth, which had been simmering all afternoon, to the side of the counter.

Turning around, Lu Xixi walked into the bedroom, lifted her daughter from the crib, gently patted her twice, and then leaned in to kiss her small face.

A moment later, child in arms, Lu Xixi went to the apartment across the hall. She knocked and looked at Ou Xiuhua, who stood in the doorway.

"Mom, I need to step out for a bit. Can you look after Yiyi for me?"

Ou Xiuhua nodded immediately, smiling. "Oh, of course... Where are you going?"

"I’m going to find Chen Nuo." Lu Xixi, smiling, handed her daughter to Ou Xiuhua and casually added, "I made bone broth in the kitchen; it’s still hot. You can get it later and have it for dinner tonight."

"Ah? Then..."

Lu Xixi’s smile was very gentle. "Tonight, Chen Nuo and I will eat out, so we won’t be coming back."

After bidding farewell to Ou Xiuhua, Lu Xixi returned to her own apartment. She first went to her room to change, taking off the loungewear she had on and putting on a black Black Windbreaker—Chen Nuo had said he liked the way she looked in a windbreaker.

Then, she grabbed a hair tie from the dressing table and lightly gathered her long, seaweed-like hair into a ponytail.

「Chen Nuo was in midair!」

The wind roared in his ears as he passed through the clouds.

Within the thick cumulonimbus clouds, a bolt of lightning flashed nearby, illuminating the world in an instant!

Chen Nuo gritted his teeth, forcibly swallowing the blood that had risen to his throat. Before he could stabilize himself, a powerful force slammed into his back.

The six Mentality Barriers he had deployed shattered instantly! The force pierced not only the barriers but also Chen Nuo’s shoulder blade.

He finally spat out a mouthful of blood and toppled forward. Amidst the chaos, he struggled to twist his body and retaliated with a Spiritual Storm.

Within the rain clouds, Mr. Tree stood silently. He allowed the Spiritual Storm to sweep over him, yet he remained unshaken. Smiling at Chen Nuo, he slowly opened one palm.

Chen Nuo clenched his fists!

A ceaseless cracking sound filled the air as numerous invisible slicing forces pressed down.

Chen Nuo fiercely unleashed his spiritual power. Countless Mentality Tentacles rose to meet the assault, absorbing the blows, only to be shredded. Yet, new Mentality Tentacles continually replaced them.

I feel like a log tossed into a shredder! Chen Nuo thought. Layer by layer, he was being sliced apart.

Finally, after thousands of his Mentality Tentacles were shredded, Chen Nuo found a gap in the dense slicing forces. He took a deep breath and activated his Teleportation Ability. His body tore through space and vanished.

Mr. Tree, standing nearby, scoffed, and his figure also vanished on the spot.

A second later, Chen Nuo materialized a kilometer away. But as soon as his figure solidified, Mr. Tree appeared at his side like a shadow.

A slap landed on Chen Nuo’s shoulder.

SNAP! His shoulder blade—which had already healed three times—shattered again.

Chen Nuo swayed and counterattacked with a fierce punch to Mr. Tree’s forehead, but it was deflected by a palm.

Immediately, both figures vanished again.

In just over ten seconds, the two of them flickered in and out of sight in the air at least thirty times.

Mr. Tree closely tracked Chen Nuo’s every teleport, clinging to him like a burr.

More than thirty teleports led to over thirty clashes. In each one, Chen Nuo was overwhelmed by Mr. Tree’s superior strength and found himself at a disadvantage.

Eventually, after more than thirty exchanges of Spiritual Storms, the rain clouds in midair boomed and dispersed. The light rain that had been brewing also vanished.

But amidst the heavy moisture in the air, Chen Nuo felt his breathing grow labored. After more than thirty severe injuries, his healing ability as a Controller seemed to have reached its limit.

His wounds could no longer recover.

"That’s about enough."

Mr. Tree smiled. "Chen Nuo, you are much stronger than last time."

Chen Nuo gasped for breath, spat out another mouthful of blood, and glared at Mr. Tree. "So are you."

"You’ve teleported over thirty times. Your control over Spatial Ability is now among the strongest I’ve seen in humans." Mr. Tree shook his head. "But your abilities come from the Seed... A Chosen One cannot contend with their Seed."

Chen Nuo squinted, his mind racing. Countless thoughts flashed as he desperately sought a way to counter this formidable foe.

In Jinling City... What power can I still draw upon? Lu Xixi... No, she’s not enough. On the same level as me, not enough! That cat! But that cat is the most timid and would absolutely refuse to clash with other Seeds. So then...

A thought suddenly struck Chen Nuo. "What are you waiting for?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"You’re much stronger than me," Chen Nuo gasped, managing a smile. "That whole exchange was less a fight and more me getting beaten up. After more than thirty teleports, I’ve reached my limit, but you’re far from it. So I guess, if you wanted to kill me, you could have done it by now. So... what are you waiting for? Um... you’re waiting for Seed, aren’t you?"

"He’d better show up," Mr. Tree chuckled. "If he does, then I’ll kill him here and be done with it once and for all. If he doesn’t appear, then I’ll kill you—after losing his Chosen One, his Seed’s strength will weaken significantly for a long time. Even if he finds another Chosen One, he won’t be able to regain his current strength in the short term. In any case... I can accept either outcome."

Mr. Tree spoke casually, shaking his sleeves. "We’ve waited so long. You’re injured, your Life Force has declined, and he can definitely feel it. Even so, he still hasn’t shown up... Chen Nuo, I think he might have already given up on you. After all, it’s better for a Chosen One to die than for him to die himself. Knowing he can’t win, he won’t come out just to be killed. If you’re dead, at least he can find a place to survive, then strive to find a chance to fight me..."

As he spoke, Mr. Tree took a deep breath and roared up at the sky, "Isn’t that right?! Seed! You’ve already seen everything here, so you don’t dare show yourself! Is that it?! Seed!"

The clouds in the sky dispersed, and the wind howled, but no response came. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Mr. Tree nodded. "Alright, that’s your choice. So be it."

He pointed gently at Chen Nuo.

With that gesture, an alarm surged wildly from the depths of Chen Nuo’s consciousness! It was an instinctual feeling, the profound alertness that arises when life faces an imminent, overwhelming threat.

That simple point of his finger seemed to contain the power to utterly erase him.

Chen Nuo retreated frantically, recklessly unleashing all his remaining strength. His body teleported left and right, shifting in several directions in midair at least six times.

But to Chen Nuo’s horror, no matter how he teleported, tore through space, or changed positions, he couldn’t shake the deadly lock Mr. Tree’s pointing finger held on him!

"Chen Nuo, die. You were an outstanding Chosen One. I regret that you couldn’t become my Chosen One," Mr. Tree said with a grin.

Chen Nuo no longer had the strength to evade. He simply gave up dodging and raised a finger at Mr. Tree—the middle finger of his left hand.

Mr. Tree wasn’t angered in the slightest; his finger simply fell lightly.

CRACK!

CRACK! CRACK!

Chen Nuo immediately felt the bones in his arms being forcefully immobilized. Then, with crisp snapping sounds, the bones in his shoulders broke.

His whole body was then twisted like a pretzel.

In this posture, the blood from his damaged lungs was squeezed out, spraying violently from his mouth.

In just an instant, Chen Nuo knew he had broken more than thirty bones.

His Life Force was rapidly slipping away. Even his Consciousness Space was locked down, rendering him unable to use his Controller abilities to heal his body...

His vision was already beginning to darken.

「A bolt of lightning fell from the sky!」

Instantly, it pierced Mr. Tree’s body like a sharp sword.

Only after passing through Mr. Tree’s body did the lightning burst apart, illuminating the darkened sky.

Mr. Tree’s figure trembled, and his raised finger finally fell.

His clothes, nearly torn to shreds, fluttered in pieces and were quickly incinerated by the electric arcs.

Some distance away, Chen Nuo’s body was released. He broke free instantly and retreated frantically a hundred meters.

Mr. Tree looked up at the sky, a hint of strangeness in his eyes.

A hundred meters above him, Lu Xixi, in her black Black Windbreaker, clothes billowing, stood mid-air.

In each of the Star Sky Empress’s hands, she wielded a Lightning Whip!

The instant Mr. Tree looked up, Lu Xixi moved.

The Empress dove. Her Lightning Whips lashed out, wrapping around Mr. Tree’s arms. With a sneer from Mr. Tree, the lightning around his arms shattered and dissipated. Lu Xixi hummed, somersaulted, and aimed her feet at Mr. Tree’s face.

Mr. Tree raised a hand to block. Hundreds of strands of spiritual power converged around him, enveloping Lu Xixi’s leg and, with a CRACK, twisting it.

The Empress raised an eyebrow. Instead of retreating, she leaned forward, aiming her hands at Mr. Tree’s face.

"Die!"

BOOM!!

From the Empress’s hands, countless bolts of lightning surged forth like a violent storm, bombarding Mr. Tree at point-blank range.

Mr. Tree’s figure was instantly pierced by numerous lightning bolts. Beneath the dazzling light, his form seemed to turn transparent.

The scale of the bombardment was so massive that it seemed as if the entire sky had erupted into a thunderstorm in an instant.

After unleashing hundreds of lightning bolts in a frenzy, Lu Xixi quickly retreated. With a lateral shift, she moved towards Chen Nuo.

Chen Nuo had steadied himself. Seeing Lu Xixi approach and support him, he exhaled and said with a frown, "He’s very strong. We might not be able to defeat him."

Lu Xixi narrowed her eyes and glanced at Chen Nuo. "You’re my husband, and I’m your wife. How could you get into a fight without calling me?"

Chen Nuo shook his head. "We can’t win."

"Then we’ll die together."

Chen Nuo said, "...You mean ’live and die together,’ right?"

Lu Xixi snorted. Her twisted leg healed rapidly as she took a deep breath. Then, she took a top-level Self-Healing Serum Injection from her pocket and jabbed it into Chen Nuo.

Chen Nuo tilted his head. "It’s no use. External injuries heal easily, but the power in my Consciousness Space is almost completely drained."

"What about your ultimate move? You always had one when we dealt with Seed before," Lu Xixi said, raising an eyebrow at her man.

Chen Nuo squinted...

Of course, I still have a trump card. Against something like a Seed, what weapon could be more effective than the Tree of Misfortune, which can severely damage the Mother?

The reason I hadn’t used it, despite being beaten so badly, was simply the vast power gap between us; even if I made a move, I couldn’t hit him.

Mr. Tree certainly wouldn’t just deliver himself into my clutches to let me plant the Tree of Misfortune in his Consciousness Space.

Chen Nuo took a deep breath. "Find a way to entangle him... five... no, three seconds. Just three seconds will do."

"Okay, I’ll get you five seconds!" Lu Xixi nodded.

As the Empress turned to leave, she suddenly stopped. Turning back, she quickly kissed Chen Nuo’s bloodstained face.

Chen Nuo managed a bitter smile. "A life-and-death situation... Does it have to be this romantic?"

"If we die, there won’t be a chance for kisses anymore," Lu Xixi blinked. "And from now on, you’re not allowed to keep things from me anymore!"

Chen Nuo looked into Lu Xixi’s eyes and suddenly took a deep breath. "...Okay! I promise you!"

A hint of a smile flickered in Lu Xixi’s eyes before her expression turned serious again. "Make your preparations. I’ll get you those five seconds!"

Saying this, Lu Xixi tensed, ready to charge upward, but Chen Nuo suddenly pulled her back.

Chen Nuo’s expression was complex, but he finally spoke.

"It might be risky... but I know one of his weaknesses. He absolutely won’t dare to kill you!"

"Huh?" Lu Xixi was startled. Despite her confusion, she nodded vigorously at Chen Nuo. "I... I understand!"

「The blanket of electricity in the sky quickly dimmed!」

However, the electric currents were not dissipating in all directions.

A closer look would reveal Mr. Tree standing within the vortex of electricity, arms spread wide, inhaling the power of the thunderstorm with each deep breath.

After absorbing the last current, Mr. Tree exhaled. A satisfied smile touched his lips as he lifted his eyelids to look at Lu Xixi, who was already rushing toward him.

"Quite a nice power. After all, you’re my Chosen One..." Mr. Tree smiled. "But I remind you, a Chosen One offending their own Seed is a sin. And sin must be punished."

Lu Xixi, swift as the wind, had already reached him. To Mr. Tree’s words, the Star Sky Empress’s reply was simple and direct.

"Go to hell."

BOOM!

A fist wreathed in electric arcs struck out in front of Mr. Tree. His figure swayed, the electricity instantly faded, and he easily caught her fist.

With a flick of his hand, Lu Xixi’s forearm snapped with a CRACK, and she was thrown backward.

But the Empress twisted in mid-air and flew back. Her broken forearm healed instantly, and with a flick of her hand, two bolts of lightning shot towards him.

Mr. Tree’s face darkened. With a sudden grasp in the air, a bolt of lightning also burst forth from his palm.

Under the impact of the colliding electric currents, Lu Xixi’s figure drifted away again. This time, currents flowed throughout her body, and the band tying her ponytail snapped.

Her seaweed-like long hair floated up, dancing wildly like serpents.

Lu Xixi’s spiritual power instantly enveloped the surrounding airspace. It forcibly gathered the positive and negative electrical charges from the air, and countless currents began to swirl into existence around her.

This electrical storm was even more astonishing in scale; countless currents formed thousands of dense webs, enshrouding Mr. Tree.

As Lu Xixi brought her hands together, the electric net constricted.

Mr. Tree sneered, and his figure suddenly shot upward.

Like a sharp blade, he instantly tore through several layers of the electric net.

Lu Xixi’s complexion grew paler as she controlled all the surrounding electric nets, attempting to encase him. Mr. Tree’s figure darted left and right, tearing through the nets, but Lu Xixi relentlessly generated more electricity to entangle him.

"You’re just wasting your strength." Mr. Tree’s voice clearly reached Lu Xixi’s ears. "Your kind of attack won’t hurt me at all."

Lu Xixi snorted, her eyes narrowed as she stared at Mr. Tree, recklessly expending her spiritual power to summon more lightning...

Then, Lu Xixi lunged forward!

A desperate gamble? Mr. Tree had seen Lu Xixi’s sudden attack. He sneered, and with a flick of his finger, several sharp Mentality Tentacles stabbed towards her.

Lu Xixi, mid-air, made an unthinkable move.

With a twist of her body, she dodged all the Mentality Tentacles aimed at her limbs and torso! But at the same time, she maneuvered her forehead directly into the path of the sharpest Mentality Tentacle, thrusting it forward violently to meet the attack!

It was then that Mr. Tree’s expression truly changed.

Cursing harshly in his mind, Mr. Tree’s finger twitched. The Mentality Tentacle, which had been a hair’s breadth from piercing Lu Xixi’s forehead, instantly dissolved into nothing.

Blood streamed down Lu Xixi’s forehead, but she had succeeded in closing the distance to Mr. Tree.

This time, she used neither lightning nor Telekinesis. Instead, she grabbed Mr. Tree’s shoulders and twisted her body to embrace him from behind.

Her spiritual power surged wildly, and layer upon layer of Spiritual Power Barriers enveloped both her and Mr. Tree.

One layer! Two layers! Ten layers! Hundreds of layers...

Mr. Tree frowned and struggled. Several of Lu Xixi’s bones snapped, but the Empress clenched her teeth, instantly using her power to heal her body, clinging even tighter to Mr. Tree’s back.

Mr. Tree snorted coldly. "Let go! Or you’ll die."

"Fine, kill me then." Lu Xixi sneered sharply. "Five!"

Numerous Mentality Barriers had already wrapped the two of them up like a silkworm cocoon.

Mr. Tree’s expression darkened as several Mentality Tentacles pierced Lu Xixi’s body.

Yet the Star Sky Empress, a top-tier Controller, seemed to be using an almost futile tactic: forcibly enduring the damage, expending her power to heal her injuries rather than release her grip.

Mr. Tree clearly needed only to unleash a single Spiritual Force Tentacle through Lu Xixi’s head to finish her easily... But, of course, he couldn’t do that.

Killing his own Chosen One... would be equivalent to destroying his own power.

Two Chosen Ones allowed his strength to surpass all other Seeds. If he killed one of them himself...

"You’re just wasting strength."

"...Four!"

"What are you talking about?"

"...Three!" Lu Xixi gritted her teeth.

"Hmm?!" A flicker of unease, a flash of alarm, shot through Mr. Tree’s mind. He abruptly turned his head. Chen Nuo, whom he had beaten to a pulp, had silently teleported and now stood right in front of him!

And, just beyond the countless Mentality Barriers Lu Xixi had erected, Chen Nuo gave him a savage grin.

Chen Nuo’s finger was already pointing at him.

Mr. Tree felt Chen Nuo’s spiritual power locking onto him firmly.

At this moment, the Spiritual Force Tentacles of all three were entangled.

Lu Xixi’s Mentality Barriers enveloped her and Mr. Tree like a silkworm cocoon.

Mr. Tree’s Mentality Tentacles pierced through, leaving the cocoon riddled with holes.

And Chen Nuo pressed right up against the cocoon.

One of Mr. Tree’s Mentality Tentacles pierced Chen Nuo’s body. His brow twitched in pain, yet a pleased smile lit up his eyes.

The next instant, Mr. Tree felt a chilling power surge from the depths of his soul. It spread from the point where his Mentality Tentacle had pierced Chen Nuo, traveling rapidly up that very conduit—one of his own Spiritual Force Tentacles—and infiltrated his body.

This is...

Mr. Tree’s confident expression instantly stiffened. ...A... virus?

The Seed of Misfortune, injected!

In Mr. Tree’s Consciousness Space, pandemonium broke out in an instant.