The beam of corrosive light fired by the flower monster descended like divine judgment, its force pressing heavily down on Rhazor.

At the same moment, countless vines, flower monsters, and walking trees closed in from every direction, bringing with them even more corrosion and danger.

Rhazor’s eyes burned fiercely. He had found a path to freedom, though with only a 7% chance of success. Naturally, that measly percentage told him this was no longer a training session.

It had now become a battle to the death, and he had to win.

While dying would not be permanent for him, considering Klaus could simply create another incarnation, the energy required to recreate him would be enormous, and his cultivation would fall to the True Immortal Realm, the same level as his original body. Not to mention the disgrace and stain it would leave on his reputation.

All of this, coupled with the fact that dying would prevent him from obtaining the [Flame Dao Crystal], made him grit his teeth as he moved.

BOOOOOOM!!!

His Void Flame Domain exploded violently as he slashed his sword downward.

"Void Flame Art: Abyssal Flash!"

A black-and-crimson slash tore through space itself, vanishing and reappearing like a void blink.

The corrosive beam collided head-on with the slash, causing space itself to tremble violently.

For a single second, everything froze. Not even a vine could be heard rattling throughout the dense, venomous, and corrosive forest.

Then...

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The sky exploded.

A catastrophic shockwave blasted across the forest as void flames devoured the corrosive beam. The collision warped space so badly that even nearby vines were shredded apart by spatial fractures.

Rhazor didn’t even wait for the explosion to settle.

The moment the pathway appeared within his vision, he vanished using Void Shift. His speed was already on another level of madness, so he moved at a terrifying pace.

His body flickered through space, reappearing several kilometers away directly along the glowing blue route Icon had mapped out.

The second he appeared...

SHIIIIING!!!

Several black vines pierced through the location he had just left behind. A second later, and he would have become a sieve.

Rhazor inhaled sharply.

’Too close.’

[Warning: The forest is adapting to your void fluctuations.]

"Of course it is."

Rhazor gritted his teeth and accelerated, moving even faster now. He knew the forest was a single entity, and to be frank, he had no idea how he was supposed to defeat it. As he moved, he tapped into his connection with his four flame spirits.

’Guys, do any of you have a way for me to defeat this forest? I haven’t fought a forest before, so I don’t even know where to start.’

’How about you use me to burn them to cinders?’ Nirvana, the Flame Spirit of the Chaotic Nirvana Forbidden Flame, suggested, but Rhazor merely laughed.

’Not everything can be solved through Chaos, Nirvana.’ Rhazor smirk

’Daddy can try burning them with the Soul Fury Flame. Since the forest is a single entity, I am sure its soul would be burned.’ Fury also suggested, and to be frank, Rhazor knew it could work.

However, he wouldn’t get the chance to try it since the forest was chasing him. Or rather, at this stage, he was running through the forest, doing his best to avoid every rattle of a vine, every puff released by a monster flower, and even deadly collisions with the walking trees.

BOOOOM!!!

Flames exploded from his dragon wings as he shot through the forest at terrifying speed.

The glowing route before his vision twisted unpredictably.

Left.

Down.

Right.

Up again.

The route wasn’t taking him through safe zones.

It was taking him through the only survivable zones, and those zones made up just 7% of the hundreds-of-thousands-of-miles-wide forest.

Behind and around him, the forest roared furiously.

The gigantic Vine God narrowed its glowing eyes.

For the first time, its expression shifted slightly as it watched Rhazor weave his way through one obstacle after another.

It was as though the forest was surprised by his resourcefulness.

"Interesting," it muttered, its glowing eyes narrowing further.

The gigantic flower beneath it suddenly released a deafening screech.

SKREEEEEEEEE!!!

The sound spread instantly throughout the forest, sending deadly signals to everything around Rhazor.

Every vine.

Every flower.

Every tree.

All of them went berserk.

Rhazor’s face twitched.

"Oh, come on."

BOOOOOOM!!!

The forest exploded into motion as chaos spread everywhere.

Vines shattered mountains apart as they pursued him relentlessly. Flower monsters descended from the skies, while poisonous spores flooded the surrounding area like a tsunami.

Even space itself began distorting more violently around him.

The forest was trying to completely lock him down, yet Rhazor refused to give in, not when he hadn’t even managed to make a name for himself yet.

Rhazor’s expression became ugly.

’Oh, I will kill this forest before leaving this godforsaken place.’

His body flickered as he moved even faster.

Feeling how his techniques were being neutralized the moment he used them a second time, he suddenly understood something terrifying.

"This thing..." his pupils trembled slightly, "...it’s very intelligent."

Not just intelligent.

It was learning, and at a terrifying speed.

Every second he used Void Shift, the forest adapted further.

Every flame attack he unleashed became less effective.

Even the poison was evolving. It felt as though he had found himself in a situation where he constantly had to adapt, or else he would be placed at a disadvantage.

[Warning: Unknown toxin mutation detected.]

"...You have got to be kidding me."

Rhazor’s scalp tingled.

’This isn’t just a normal living forest. This is a living superorganism capable of rapid evolution and adaptation.’

Suddenly...

BOOOOOOM!!!

A colossal root erupted directly in front of Rhazor, completely blocking his sight.

Rhazor instantly twisted his body sideways, narrowly avoiding it.

But before he could recover from that deadly maneuver...

SHIIIIING!!!

A black vine pierced through his right shoulder.

Blood exploded outward.

"GUH!"

The impact spun his body violently through the air.

Three more vines followed immediately.

Rhazor’s eyes sharpened.

"Not happening."

Ten crimson spears instantly appeared around him, spinning at deadly speed.

"Rip them apart."

The spears exploded outward like divine lightning, closing in on the vines like vipers.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The attacking vines were shredded apart instantly.

Rhazor used the opening to stabilize himself.

But the next second...

His eyes widened.

The severed vine pieces wriggled violently.

Then each fragment transformed into entirely new vines.

"No way."

[Analysis complete.]

[The forest possesses infinite regenerative propagation.]

[Destroying fragments multiplies total biomass.]

Rhazor’s eyes narrowed as waves of killing intent exploded from them.

"So cutting them makes things worse?"

[Correct.]

Rhazor nearly cursed out loud.

"What kind of bullshit enemy is this?!" His voice was drowned out by the deadly screeches and roars of the forest.

Suddenly, the glowing route in his vision changed.

Rhazor’s eyes narrowed sharply.

Ahead of him, the forest abruptly stopped.

There were no vines, no flower monsters, and no moving trees.

Only silence.

A massive circular area stretched before him, spanning several thousand kilometers wide.

At the center stood a gigantic black tree so enormous that its top vanished beyond the clouds.

Unlike the rest of the forest, this tree radiated absolute death.

Even the surrounding vines refused to approach it, almost as though they were afraid of it.

Rhazor slowly stopped moving.

His instincts screamed louder than ever before. He knew he had to run. However, he had nowhere else to go.

[Warning.]

[Extreme danger detected.]

[Probability of survival beyond this point: Unknown.]

Rhazor stared silently at the black tree.

Then his lips slowly curled upward.

"Icon, sweetheart, why do I feel like the route you found is somehow even more dangerous than the forest behind me?"