52: Second-level tree demon

In the evening, Zhou Yun stewed five jin of Second-Order Demon Beast Meat. Before it was even out of the pot, Zhang Qingxiao, who was in the middle of Alchemy, smelled a peculiar meaty aroma.

He almost ruined the batch of Detoxification Pill he was refining due to his Divided Soul.

"This Second-Order Demon Beast Meat is truly fragrant."

After finishing the Detoxification Pill, Zhang Qingxiao ran to the kitchen, picked up a piece of Second-Order Demon Beast Meat with his hand, and put it in his mouth. His mouth was instantly filled with fragrance, making him praise it endlessly.

"Husband, wait a moment, dinner will be ready soon."

Seeing her husband looking so satisfied, Zhou Yun also wore a happy smile on her face.

Today's dinner was very sumptuous. In addition to the Second-Order Demon Beast Meat, there were various side dishes, which Zhang Qingxiao and Liang Qiaoer praised endlessly as they ate.

After dinner, Liang Qiaoer came to the Pill Refining Room to practice Alchemy.

Zhang Qingxiao, however, felt quite energetic. After practicing a set of Tiger-Leopard Fist and a set of sword techniques, he still felt full of energy.

He went to bed early and fought three hundred rounds with Zhou Yun, still feeling unsatisfied.

However, Zhou Yun lacked the stamina and could not continue to cooperate.

She could only cross her legs to Cultivate, resolving the abundant energy within her body.

The next day, just as Zhang Qingxiao had expected, the Li family Foundation Establishment cultivator did not go to preside over the land reclamation, but was replaced by a female Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Fourth Layer.

This female Foundation Establishment Cultivator was named He Mei; she looked somewhat cold and was not good with words.

She brought them, these Outer Sect Disciples and Utility Disciples, to the wilderness. After speaking briefly and setting new rules, she entered the forest.

Zhang Qingxiao, Luo Fei, and the others were arranged to be in the first batch to go to the very front line.

They rotated every day, with a total of seven groups, arranged in sequence.

No one was given special treatment, which was relatively fair.

Zhang Qingxiao did not really care about being arranged in the first batch to go to the front line.

He cooperated very well, following the other Outer Sect Disciples and Utility Disciples to burn the trees.

Then, after waiting for the poisonous insects and ants to come out, they used Magical Artifacts to kill them.

Perhaps because they had just killed three Second-Order Yao Beasts yesterday, they did not encounter many Yao Beasts all day today, and even the poisonous insects and ants were fewer than before.

This allowed their group to complete their day's work very smoothly.

Zhou Yun knew that he was working in the wilderness and was more tired than usual, so she made a very sumptuous dinner.

After eating dinner, Zhang Qingxiao would practice Alchemy and Cultivate.

Three months passed in a flash, and the scope of land reclamation reached fifty miles.

The further they progressed into the Late Stage, the slower their progress became.

It was not that they were intentionally slacking off, but rather that after penetrating deep into the wilderness, the Yao Beasts became more numerous, and at the same time, the poisonous insects and ants became more formidable.

Even a Cultivator in the Qi Refining Middle Stage would die on the spot if bitten by poisonous insects or ants without taking a Detoxification Pill.

There was simply no opportunity for rescue.

Besides that, Second-Order Yao Beasts often appeared.

Every time a Second-Order Yao Beast appeared, some Outer Sect Disciples and Utility Disciples would be unlucky.

Zhang Qingxiao had encountered this twice while he was at the very front line.

If it hadn't been for the Second-Order defensive Talisman he carried, he would have almost lost his life there once.

On this day, while everyone was burning trees, a large tree suddenly let out a shrill sound.

Subsequently, countless small flying insects flew out from inside the large tree.

"Not good, this is a Second-Order Tree Demon."

"Everyone, quickly use techniques and Magical Artifacts to attack these small flying insects."

"They can absorb the Qi in the spiritual shields and also consume the blood and Qi of Cultivators. Do not let them attach to your bodies."

An Inner Sect Disciple, seeing the small flying insects flying out, hurriedly shouted a warning.

This was the first time Zhang Qingxiao had encountered such a situation. He had originally intended to use his Magical Artifact to attack slowly as before, but after hearing the words of this Inner Sect Disciple, he immediately became vigilant.

He quickly condensed a fireball in his hand, and seeing the flying insects flying towards him, he immediately controlled the fireball to crash into the small flying insects.

At the moment of contact, the fireball burst open.

The nearby flying insects were instantly blown to death in large numbers, and some were burned to death by the flames produced after the fireball exploded.

Other Cultivators, seeing Zhang Qingxiao use the Fireball Technique to kill so many small flying insects, followed suit, but the results were unsatisfactory.

The small flying insects were not afraid of ordinary Fireball Technique attacks at all.

"Ah!"

"No!"

"I don't want to die, save me, quickly save me!"

A Cultivator at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer did not notice the small flying insects behind him. The Qi in his spiritual shield was absorbed by the small flying insects, and a dozen of them quickly attached to his body.

He fell directly to the ground, letting out a shrill scream.

Everyone watched as the body of this Qi Refining Fifth Layer Cultivator began to shrivel rapidly.

In just a few breaths, the whole person was reduced to nothing but a skeleton.

"Luo Fei, bring your men and all come to my side."

Zhang Qingxiao gasped, and seeing that Luo Fei and the others were still fighting on their own, he hurriedly shouted.

Hearing his words, Luo Fei immediately called his men and ran to his side.

"We will form a circle and retreat backwards."

"I will be in the middle, responsible for killing large swarms of small flying insects, and you are responsible for killing those small flying insects that were not blown up by my Fireball Technique."

Seeing Luo Fei bring five men over, Zhang Qingxiao quickly made the arrangements.

Just as they formed a circle according to his instructions, swarms of small flying insects flew over.

He immediately condensed the Fireball Technique to attack.

Just like this, while killing the small flying insects, they retreated and soon arrived at the outer perimeter.

Although they retreated to the outer perimeter, there were still many small flying insects.

These little things, despite their small size, were not slow at all.

Coupled with the fact that the Second-Order Yao Beast seemed to have an endless supply of small flying insects, they ended up killing more and more as they went.

As for the other Outer Sect Disciples and Utility Disciples, no one knew how many had died.

Even two Inner Sect Disciples, not paying attention, had small flying insects attach to them, and they were miserably drained of their blood and Qi, becoming dried corpses.

"The Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, why haven't they come over yet..."

The Qi in Zhang Qingxiao's body had already been consumed by two-thirds, and looking at the sky full of small flying insects, he could not help but feel anxious.

"Brother Zhang, we cannot go on like this. The brothers' Qi consumption is too great, and they are about to be unable to hold on."

The Qi consumed by Luo Fei was even more than that of Zhang Qingxiao, and their techniques had very little effect on these kinds of small flying insects.

They could only keep using Magical Artifacts to attack.

If it weren't for Zhang Qingxiao eliminating a large number of small flying insects, and the fact that they had taken Golden Marrow Pill which could slowly restore Qi, they would have been unable to hold on long ago.

"Do not panic!"

"We will continue to retreat. The flying insects inside this Second-Order Tree Demon must have a limit in quantity, and the range it can control will not be too large."

Although Zhang Qingxiao was anxious, he was not flustered.

If it really came to the final moment, he could still use his Flying Sword and Second-Order defensive Talisman.

Upon hearing this, Luo Fei knew that Zhang Qingxiao had no better solution, so he could only take his five men and continue to persist in retreating.

Just at this moment, the place where the Second-Order Tree Demon was located suddenly ignited with raging flames.

The small flying insects that were originally chasing them relentlessly stopped their pursuit, turned around, and flew rapidly towards the Second-Order Tree Demon.