118: Chapter 118

Before Xiao Bai entered the Bewildering Forest, Tian Kui had specially placed a small, unique object on him.

Only Tian Kui could see Xiao Bai's exact location; he had already reached the very center of the forest and was not moving on to the next area, remaining almost completely stationary.

"Tian Kui, what are you looking at? I can't see anything, just a mass of pink mist."

"As long as he isn't discovered by the Banyan Tree King, he will be able to safely enter the safe zone in the eastern half."

Feng Yun asked curiously, "Was that tree demon that impersonated me earlier?"

"It wasn't a tree demon, just an illusion; we all misunderstood."

Tian Kui didn't tell the truth and brushed it off; she wouldn't do anything that might offend a snake.

By this time, Xiao Bai had reached the perimeter of the Banyan Tree King. He had tried many paths before, but for some reason, he had circled back here again.

The Banyan Tree King stood over a hundred meters tall, with a canopy covering over thirty acres and a base trunk diameter exceeding twenty meters.

It stood before Xiao Bai in majestic grandeur, with countless vines from its thick branches plunging directly into the ground, and the heartbeat of the Banyan Tree King could be clearly felt.

"It seems I have no choice but to tunnel through the base of the Banyan Tree King; otherwise, there's simply no way around it."

Chapter 156: The Tunneling Army

"The snake form is too big a target; I'd better turn into a little ant."

Pfft! What the hell—even after turning into a little ant, there was still a piece of snake tail left behind.

The Banyan Tree King's strength was far superior to Xiao Bai's, so the Immobilization Technique and illusion techniques were ineffective.

He transformed into a small ant and used the Earth-Walking Technique, burrowing into the ground just like Tu Xingsun, which would allow him to move without anyone noticing.

Xiao Bai clenched his fists. "That's the plan. How clever I am! To be safe, I'll also use the Invisibility Technique; as long as I don't touch the Banyan Tree King's roots, I'll be fine."

Before he had even fully entered the area covered by the Banyan Tree King, Xiao Bai burrowed into the ground.

The underground was intricate and complex. The massive root system completely stunned Xiao Bai; the roots in the underground world were far larger than those above ground.

The root system was highly developed, dense like a spider web, and every root was covered in countless fine hairs.

Sharing the same idea as Xiao Bai were some monsters skilled at digging, some of whom chose to practice Demonic Cultivation and belonged to the Demon Race.

Burrowing Dragons, Pangolins, and rodents swarmed deep into the underground.

"Brother Dragon, the roots of the Banyan Tree King are right ahead."

"Dig a tunnel as quickly as possible to cover everyone's retreat."

The Burrowing Dragon and his subordinates practiced Demonic Cultivation and naturally took orders from the Demon Race Elder, Ji An.

They formed a tunneling army with the Pangolins and rodents, rapidly digging underground. They split into over a dozen teams, advancing in unison, attempting to clear a path through this area and pass under the base of the Banyan Tree King.

They were fast and very careful to avoid touching the tree roots as much as possible.

Xiao Bai was observing the situation from the side, hidden by his Invisibility Technique; these monsters skilled at digging had not discovered him.

Having free pathfinding pioneers was something Xiao Bai certainly appreciated, so he sat back and waited for them to dig out a tunnel.

If there was any disturbance, they would be the first to die, allowing Xiao Bai to retreat more effectively.

Since entering the Bewildering Forest, these monsters skilled at digging had remained hidden underground and had basically not been affected by the illusions.

Ao Wuming was the first to wake up from the illusion. He was covered in cold sweat. "This illusion is too powerful; with my current Cultivation, I actually fell for it."

"Fortunately, it wasn't real. From now on, I must completely cut off any fantasies about Xue'er."

Ao Wuming opened his dragon mouth and let out a sharp roar, hoping to use the high-pitched sound to awaken the Dragon Clan members trapped in the illusion.

The effect was obvious; the Dragon Clan members around him woke up one after another.

The scene was a mess, and many tree trunks were filled with a pungent, fishy stench.

The Dragon Clan was lecherous, and the illusions they fell into were all related to lust; one could only imagine the extent of the chaos at the scene—it was simply unbearable to look at.

Much of the tree bark had been stripped away, and dragon skin hung everywhere on the branches; they had all been drained dry by the tree demons and flower demons.

Ao Wuming was furious and used his golden dragon tail to snap several large trees in two.

"You detestable tree spirits, how dare you kill the elites of my Dragon Clan!"

"All Dragon Clan members, listen to my command: cut down all these tree spirits and avenge our fallen clansmen."

"Yes..."

The Dragon Clan army unleashed an attack on the trees, quickly toppling a large swathe of the forest.

In less than a minute, these trees returned to their original state; they were simply impossible to kill.

"Your Highness, Second Prince, these trees are very strange; they cannot be killed by cutting."

A few shrill screams rang out; several low-level Dragon Clan members were blown up by the tree offspring.

Ao Wuming was flustered and shouted anxiously, "Everyone revert to your original forms and retreat quickly!"

At the same time, the illusion that had affected Ji An gradually faded, and he looked at the few trees he had knocked down around him.

Earlier, while he was enjoying himself, a flower demon had launched a sneak attack, trying to finish him off, but it had been blocked by his Blood Demon Great Art, and the attempt had failed.

Ji An's expression was grave, but then he revealed a slightly wicked smile; he hadn't expected that his "old blade" was still sharp and that he had performed beyond expectations.

He then found Gui Jianchou, who was still sobbing on the ground, calling out for his mother incessantly, weeping in a pitiful, tear-streaked manner—truly a model of filial piety.

"Break..."

Ji An used the Blood Demon Great Art to forcibly break through the pink mist surrounding Gui Jianchou.

"Old Ghost, retreat quickly."

"Hurry and use your magic power to banish the distracting thoughts in your heart, otherwise you will fall into the illusion again later."

The large number of casualties among the Ghost Race around him made Gui Jianchou quite furious, yet there was nothing he could do.

He could only wipe away his snot forcefully and lead the remaining Ghost Race members in a retreat.

After some investigation, they gathered at the perimeter of the Banyan Tree. The losses this time were severe; hundreds of thousands of troops had entered the Bewildering Forest, and only about ten thousand remained.

The tree demons and flower demons, having eaten their fill, were able to settle down for a while and did not launch a new round of attacks on the allied forces.

A Ghost Race scout came to report, "Reporting to the Great Guardian, all exits have been searched, and they all lead back here without exception."

Gui Jianchou slowly raised his hand. "Everyone fall back; do not come over yet."

"Old Ji, Ao Wuming, let the three of us go over and take a look first."

Here, one could not only hear the heartbeat of the Banyan Tree King but also hear snoring; over eighty thousand of the allied Demons and Monsters army had died.

This had allowed the Banyan Tree King to eat its fill, and it was now resting with its eyes closed. The Bewildering Forest had returned to its former tranquility and was now no different from an ordinary forest.

Thump-thump!

The Banyan Tree King's heartbeat suddenly accelerated a few times, and a gust of wind blew, causing the leaves to rustle.

Gui Jianchou was so scared that he retreated repeatedly; the previous illusion had made him feel incredibly uncomfortable. When it came to real combat with blades and guns, he wasn't afraid at all.

This kind of ethereal thing was truly impossible to guard against; even an expert of his caliber could easily fall for it.

Illusions were generated based on the distracting thoughts in one's heart; once caught, sometimes the higher one's Cultivation, the more painful it was.

"It's nothing, just a false alarm. Let's slowly move closer."

As experts of the three major groups, they were sneaking toward the Banyan Tree King like thieves, not daring to fly and forced to walk step by step.

Every step was taken with extreme caution; Gui Jianchou didn't even dare to transform into a pool of black liquid to flow over, fearing that the leaves on the ground would make too much noise.

At the same time, deep underground, the well-developed root system of the Banyan Tree King began to move first.

In the blink of an eye, it strangled all the rat spirits that were digging tunnels.

The tree roots were like a press, rolling up the rat spirits and squeezing all the blood out of them, leaving only their skins behind.

The blood flowed into the soil and was quickly absorbed by the tree roots.

Immediately afterward, the dense tree roots proceeded to strangle the entire tunneling army from all directions without any blind spots.

Xiao Bai kept his Invisibility Technique active and remained motionless, trying his best to control even his breathing, not daring to gasp loudly.

Two slender tree roots kept probing around Xiao Bai, the fine hairs on the roots sensing for scents.

It kept feeling that there was some living thing here, so it began to strike out wildly, determined not to let any suspicious spot go.

The tree roots hit Xiao Bai, but it was as if they had only touched air; seeing no movement, they left.

The tree roots continued to search for living creatures deep underground, not even sparing a single ant; all became nutrients for the Banyan Tree King.

After things quieted down for a while, Xiao Bai quickly left the underground; this place was even more dangerous than above, so he definitely couldn't stay for long.

"If I had been digging tunnels with them just now, I would probably be dead by now."

"A Level 2 Devil King was killed instantly, and that was just an attack by the Banyan Tree King's roots; it is truly terrifying."

Chapter 157: Who Are You Calling Uncle-in-Law?

Ji An slowly raised his hand. "Wait, this Banyan Tree King is starting to move."

"Fall back, fall back!"

Gui Jianchou immediately transformed into a mass of black liquid and retreated decisively.

The Banyan Tree King slowly opened its huge eyes; one eye was larger than Ao Wuming's dragon head.

"What Demons and Monsters dare to disturb my rest? Is this a place you are allowed to come?"

"All of you, become my nutrients."

Ao Wuming shouted, "Everyone retreat quickly!"

In an instant, the ground began to shake, and the earth split open into a bottomless abyss. A high-intensity gravitational suppression prevented even a Level 9 Peak Ghost King like Gui Jianchou from flying.

He could only transform into a mass of viscous black liquid, clinging to a huge rock.

Ji An decisively transformed into a mist of blood. "Disciples of the Blood Demon Sect, quickly use the Blood Demon Great Art to protect yourselves."