Initially, the tree spirit only aimed to obtain some primal chaos energy from Xiang Shaoyun for his breakthrough. But now, he had transformed into their guardian. He felt rather helpless at how things had developed.

When Di Nian saw the old man, his eyes flickered with complicated emotions as he found that he couldn't even see through the old man's cultivation. Xiang Shaoyun started beating Di Mie up.

"Bastard! Stop it!" Di Nian roared as he sent a wave of God Realm energy toward Xiang Shaoyun.

However, the tree spirit stood in his way and said, "Have you asked for this old man's permission before trying to kill him?"

The celestial darkdevil tree was no ordinary divine tree. Rather, it was a tree that had reached great heights in the path of cultivation. He might look like a kind old man, but when he was furious, he could be extremely terrifying.

His dark energy surrounded Di Nian; he was prepared to kill Di Nian the moment Di Nian even thought of killing Xiang Shaoyun. When Di Nian sensed the tree spirit's strength, his face turned solemn. Still, he wouldn't be intimidated so easily.

A crimson feathered fan appeared in his hand. Under his manipulation, a phoenix flew out of it, its cry reverberating throughout the area. The fan was no ordinary weapon. Rather, it was a Phoenix Fan, the clan's unique treasured equipment made of phoenix feathers. It was incomparably powerful, capable of burning a large area into nothingness with a single wave. A power of extreme yang like this was what the tree spirit hated the most. His face fell, but he still showed no fear.

"I'm not here to fight the Di Clan to the end. I'm only here for my woman. If you refuse to return her, this will only end when one of us is dead," said Xiang Shaoyun firmly as he stopped beating Di Mie.

Di Nian could feel how determined Xiang Shaoyun was. However, this was their own turf. Before long, more of their experts would arrive. They basically held all advantages and would have the upper hand in the event of an all-out war. The only issue was the fact that Di Mie had been captured.

Right that moment, terrifying energy undulations erupted in the sky as though the entire sky was about to explode. Everyone looked up in shock and was greeted by surging God Realm energy forming an astonishing spectacle in the sky.

"The young are truly formidable. You are actually capable of eliminating my clone? Wait until my main body is here. I'll see how capable you are then," the Di Monarch's voice rang out.

Next, the Di Clan Gods all retreated from the sky. Purple Lightning Marquis, Xiang Yangzhan, Scarlet Flame Monarch, and Yu Huayan also returned from the sky. Scarlet Flame Monarch and Yu Huayan looked somewhat miserable, but the other two looked perfectly fine.

As for the Di Clan Gods, none were killed. However, three of them in particular had suffered grave injuries, with almost half their bodies destroyed. If it wasn't for the Di Monarch's protection, they would have been killed.

"Di Monarch!" shouted the Di Clan members when they saw the monarch's translucent body, which seemed like it was going to fade away soon.

They could see that the monarch had suffered a defeat. Their morale suffered a great blow as a result.

"Release my daughter-in-law, or I'll flatten this place," said Xiang Yangzhan overbearingly with his spear in hand.

"We don't have her. If you want to fight, so be it. Di Nian, activate the formation. My main body will return soon. The other clan members will arrive soon as well," said the Di Monarch before fading away.

"Everyone, retreat back into the formation. They won't hold any advantage over us there," said Di Nian.

He then waved his arms repeatedly, accelerating the flow of energy beneath the formation. He drew out a large amount of God Realm energy. The energy surrounded the Di Clan people and further enhanced his strength. The space around him started warping from all the energy in the air.

Even Xiang Shaoyun started feeling doubtful as he muttered, "Is Caidie really not here?"

As Yu Caidie had her own trump cards, a single pseudo-God would have some difficulty capturing her. If the Di Clan really had her, it did not seem likely that they would be willing to fight him to the death for her sake.

"I'll ask you one last time. Is Yu Caidie really not here?" asked Xiang Shaoyun.

"No means no. What's the point of all the talk? Bring it on if you want to fight. When our reinforcements arrive, all of you will die," said Di Nian coldly as he continued manipulating the formation.

"In that case, I'll keep him as my hostage. I'll return him after I figure out Caidie's whereabouts," said Xiang Shaoyun as he started retreating with his people.

They were disadvantaged fighting on the Di Clan's turf. Unless absolutely necessary, he wasn't willing to escalate the situation to the point where both sides suffered.

"Stay!" Di Nian roared as he sent a large wave of energy toward Xiang Shaoyun.

Xiang Yangzhan naturally wouldn't watch on as his son was attacked. He charged ahead, and when he arrived before Xiang Shaoyun, he stabbed forth with his spear. Xiang Yangzhan was terrifyingly strong, and to him, it was like a taboo for anyone to touch Xiang Shaoyun. He would not spare anyone who dared to harm his son. That one stab of his was akin to 3,000 lightning bolts, unleashing a rain of lightning akin to a natural disaster.

Di Nian's expression was solemn, and the radiance around him intensified as he waved his fan and unleashed a terrifying flame attack that could evaporate oceans. 

The two attacks collided, causing the entire city to shake from the impact. The weaker cultivators dropped onto the ground in fear. If it wasn't for the formation's protection, the impact from the collision would have been enough to gravely injure them.

At the same time, other Di Clan members also tried saving Di Mie. Naturally, Purple Lightning Marquis wouldn't give them the chance to do so. Finally, Xiang Shaoyun's group safely retreated under the tree spirit's cover.

Di Nian had to rely on the formation to contend against Xiang Yangzhan. After leaving the formation's vicinity, he could no longer make use of the formation and was naturally having a hard time stopping Xiang Shaoyun's group.

"Y-you better release me, or all of you will die!" threatened Di Mie, who felt extremely sullen from being captured by Xiang Shaoyun's clone. He had never suffered so much humiliation in his life before.

"Still so mouthy even when you're in such a situation? Do you really think I wouldn't dare to kill you?" berated Xiang Shaoyun murderously.

When Di Mie sensed Xiang Shaoyun's killing intent, he shivered before saying indignantly, "We really don't have Yu Caidie. They would have taken her out in exchange for me otherwise."