61: Fight against the Ghost-Faced Treeman

Chen Qing passed through a forest of massive trees and arrived at a dim swamp.

He recalled one of the tasks he had accepted:

"Task: Obtain the trunk of a Rank 2 Ghost-Face Treant.

Reward: Corresponding academic credits will be awarded based on completeness and quality."

The trunk of a Ghost-Face Treant is extremely tough, containing trace elements not found on Blue Star, making it one of the Materials for crafting alloy weapons.

The task hall's manual recorded that Ghost-Face Treants prefer damp environments and typically live by swamps deep within the forests of Qi Ling Star.

Chen Qing held his shark tooth, observing his surroundings.

The trees here were eerie and cold, giving off a quiet, chilling sensation upon approach.

Suddenly, Chen Qing's Mental Energy stirred, and he swung his blade towards his right-rear!

"Clang!"

A metallic clash resounded, and the shark tooth vibrated!

Chen Qing retreated after a single strike, sidestepping.

He cautiously watched the approaching enemy behind him—a massive tree with a thick trunk, easily 10 meters tall!

It looked exactly like the other trees around it!

But from both sides of its trunk, countless branches extended, like numerous flexible tentacles.

Two of these branches were distinctly different from the others, as black as ink, resembling refined iron.

Just now, the shark tooth had struck these two branches, leaving only a shallow mark.

Chen Qing's expression was stern; it was very hard!

In front of him, a bizarre human face suddenly appeared in the center of the Ghost-Face Treant's trunk, revealing a sinister smile.

Chen Qing looked at its sudden smile, then, mimicking it, also revealed a sinister smile.

Across from him, the Ghost-Face Treant's bizarre human face clearly froze for a moment; in its entire life as a Treant, it had seen fear, and it had seen caution, but it had never seen someone like Chen Qing, who smiled along with it.

Chen Qing paid it no mind; battlefields are unpredictable, and he was never one to play by the rules.

Seizing its momentary dazed, Chen Qing stepped with Shadow Step, and with the speed boost of his D-Rank combat boots, he slashed at the Ghost-Face Treant's branch.

A thin layer of ice crystals still clung to the shark tooth!

This strike was extremely fast and exploited the opponent's momentary distraction; many of the Ghost-Face Treant's branches were instantly lopped off, and a deep wound was left on the two main black branches!

Dark green blood flowed from the wound!

However, the next moment, this blood rapidly congealed into ice crystals!

This was a secret Chen Qing had recently discovered during his Cultivation.

As he tried to attach Mental Energy to his ice crystal longblade, he found that once his strike landed, it would leave behind the extreme ice aura belonging to the Bone Wing Ice Dragon King.

This aura was extremely destructive, capable of greatly hindering the opponent's wound healing!

To be honest, ever since his Awakening as the Bone Wing Ice Dragon King, he hadn't done much research into this ability, focusing instead on his own Martial Dao.

And his ability had always been neglected by him.

This was also due to hearing too many remarks about the limited usefulness of abilities for lower-tier Martial Artists.

Martial Artists only truly begin to manifest the differences in their respective abilities when they reach the middle three Ranks and start Cultivating Mental Energy.

But he was different; although he was only at the First Rank Peak, his Mental Energy could already perceive, which was a major advantage distinguishing him from others!

So he discovered that as long as he infused Mental Energy into his ice-attribute attacks, he could actually release some of the aura belonging to the Bone Wing Ice Dragon King's ability!

This aura was domineering, sharp, and subtly carried a sense of majesty.

It was a majesty that looked down upon all living beings.

Across from him, the Ghost-Face Treant, struck by this blade, clearly recoiled half a step, and the smile no longer appeared on its ghost face, replaced by a look of surprise and uncertainty.

Seeing this, Chen Qing was about to press his advantage when, from behind him, several strange tentacles suddenly stabbed out.

Chen Qing's Mental Energy perception was strong; his figure shimmered and disappeared from its original spot.

It was another Ghost-Face Treant!

And it was even faster, at least a full size larger than the one just now!

At least Rank 2 Peak, moving towards Rank 3!

Above the swamp pond, which had already frozen solid, Chen Qing's figure reappeared.

Chen Qing raised an eyebrow, looking at the newly appeared Treant.

Are these two from the same tree family?

He scanned his surroundings; surely there weren't other family members, were there?

Fortunately, he was cautious enough; after the battle began, the ice crystals under his feet spread, freezing a patch of swamp for him to transfer to.

Otherwise, that attack would have been quite difficult to dodge.

These Ghost-Face Treants really weren't easy to deal with; this forest was essentially the opponent's home turf, no wonder the task Rank was marked so high.

Chen Qing licked his lips; a bit of a challenge was good. This trip wasn't just about completing the task; encountering various different Yao Beasts and experiencing different battles was also a form of improvement!

He stomped his foot, and a layer of ice crystals spread towards the two Treants.

Chen Qing's figure vanished, reappearing behind the weaker Treant!

Reduce their numbers quickly!

Chen Qing infused Mental Energy into the ice crystals on the surface of the shark tooth, striking the Treant's trunk with a slash.

"Crack!"

A massive, deep gash appeared, instantly causing the Treant to emit a shrill shriek.

Chen Qing disengaged with one strike, retreating rapidly.

The branches of the other Treant swept over, but missed!

Ice Seal!

Chen Qing silently chanted, and at the wound of the Treant he had just struck, a large patch of ice crystals instantly congealed!

Ice Soul Spear!

As Chen Qing's figure retreated, a blue light flashed in his eyes, and an Ice Soul Spear instantly condensed in the air, rapidly streaking towards the Treant's gash!

"Buzz!"

The Ice Soul Spear tore through the sky, precisely piercing through countless branches and impaling the Treant's wound!

The sound of the trunk tearing continued as the Ice Soul Spear, as if piercing cold iron, firmly lodged itself in the Treant's trunk.

The Ghost-Face Treant shrieked, and an expression of extreme pain appeared on its bizarre human face.

Beside it, the larger Ghost-Face Treant went somewhat mad at the sight, its countless branches furiously sweeping towards Chen Qing.

Chen Qing ignored its attacks, quickly condensing an Ice Prism Mirror above the heavily wounded Ghost-Face Treant!

Ice Prism Mirror activated again!

Chen Qing appeared above the Ice Soul Spear embedded in the Treant's gash, his eyes sharp, gripping the shark tooth's hilt with both hands, the blade pointing downwards, and slashed with all his might at the Ghost-Face Treant's trunk!

"Crack!"

The Ghost-Face Treant's defense plummeted after being severely wounded, completely unable to resist this strike.

Its entire trunk was severed at the waist by Chen Qing!

Before Chen Qing could land, he sensed a sharp aura attacking from the side!

A branch as thick as a thigh stabbed out; the other Ghost-Face Treant had gone completely mad!

Chen Qing reacted quickly, attempting to activate Ice Prism Mirror to transfer back to the swamp.

However, this time, the Ice Prism Mirror failed!

Chen Qing's expression remained unchanged; he instantly raised his sword to block, and at the same time, two ice shards suddenly appeared under his feet. While blocking, he stomped hard on the ice shards, using the momentum to glide backward.

"Clang!"

A tremendous force struck him, sending Chen Qing flying dozens of meters backward!

Chen Qing propped himself up with the shark tooth, stabilized his body, patted his chest, and wiped away a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth.

Although he used the ice shards to deflect most of the force, taking a blow from a Rank 2 Peak with a Rank 1 Peak body still caused him injury.

He glanced at the swamp, where another massive Ghost-Face Treant had appeared.

His reserved Ice Prism Mirror must have been shattered by it!

"Screech!"

A frantic roar echoed throughout the entire forest.

Birds scattered from the trees... Outside the forest, Li Qingshan and Li Tianyang, carrying large and small bags, looked towards the depths of the forest.

Li Qingshan asked, puzzled, "Who is that? Daring to provoke the Bone Wing Ice Dragon King of this area? They've driven it mad!"

"Could it be like us, raiding someone else's lair?"

Beside him, Li Tianyang, whose waist was wrapped with several large bags, was also somewhat stunned; the commotion from the Treant King was no less than that of the rampaging Spineback Dragon!

"Never mind! Let's run quickly! It's at least 50 kilometers from here to the portal entrance, and we're not moving easily. We can't worry about others!"

Li Qingshan nodded. They had indeed raided someone else's lair, though only a small part, but if they could return safely this time, it would be a huge haul!

That Chen Qing, wasn't he trying to recruit him?

Seeing so many good things, wouldn't he come begging him?