44: Grass and Tree Sha

The Fiend-Seeking Rat stopped in front of an ancient tree.

The ancient tree was a hundred years old, its gnarled branches blotting out the sun, exuding a majestic Aura accumulated through the years.

Through the ancient tree's label, Fang Huai discovered something unusual.

【demon suppressing wood】

【Spirit Siphoning Demon Suppression】

【Spirit Siphoning Demon Suppression: Siphons the power of living beings to suppress and kill trapped Yao Beasts.】

demon suppressing wood?

Taiwan Novel Network is great for easy reading anytime.

The Profound Sword Sect had occupied Qingwu City for a long time; it was impossible for them not to know about this treasure. If they were to evacuate, they would surely have dug up and taken this wood with them.

But the demon suppressing wood was left here, which could only mean that it was still suppressing a Yao Beast.

It was said that the older a tree, the easier it was for it to undergo a mutation.

The demon suppressing wood had been here for a hundred years. While suppressing the Yao Beast, it had also been absorbing the blood and Qi of the people of Qingwu City to grow, and its core eventually developed into a herb Fiend.

In that case, everything could be explained.

He focused his mind on it and discovered the truth:

【herb Fiend】

【Demon Wood Fiend Transformation】

【Demon Wood Fiend Transformation: Formed by the mutation of demon suppressing wood. The Fiend lives within the wood; if the Fiend dies, the wood withers.】

He extended his Divine Sense downward, wanting to know what kind of Yao Beast was suppressed here, but he was blocked by a mysterious force.

It seemed the Profound Sword Sect had put a lot of effort into concealing the Yao Beast's presence.

The Fiend-Seeking Rat climbed up the demon suppressing wood, stopped halfway up the tree, and turned back to squeak at Fang Huai and Liu Ye.

Liu Ye's face lit up with joy, and his brows relaxed as he said, "Found it!"

He took out a spiritual sword, intending to dig into the trunk, but Fang Huai stopped him.

"Senior Brother Liu, there must be a Yao Beast suppressed under the demon suppressing wood. If we take the herb Fiend, the demon suppressing wood will lose its spirituality, and the Yao Beast won't be held down anymore."

Liu Ye's hand paused. After a moment of thought, he gritted his teeth and said, "We've already come this far. We have to at least see how much herb Fiend there is. We'll take some back to complete our task."

Having said that, he steeled his heart and thrust his spiritual sword into the demon suppressing wood.

The wood was hard, and after digging for a long time, he only made a small opening.

Seeing this, Fang Huai sighed and also drew a spiritual sword to help break the wood.

He wasn't willing to risk taking the Fiend, but under pressure from Jiang Miao, he could only take the risk.

Finally, they pierced through the outer layer of the trunk, and a shimmering green Evil Qi drifted out.

Fang Huai absorbed some of the Evil Qi into his body, gathering it at the Fiend Spiritual Root in his Sea of Consciousness, and immediately felt incredibly refreshed.

As expected of a strange fiend, it was good stuff that could nourish and evolve the Fiend Spiritual Root!

Liu Ye was equally delighted. He took out the calamity-gathering vial and held it to the opening, drawing the Evil Qi into the vial.

Just then, Fang Huai felt Cheng Zhaozhao's presence rapidly approaching.

"We can't collect anymore, Junior Sister Cheng is here. Quickly, block the opening!" Fang Huai hurriedly warned.

The two filled the opening with wood chips and applied a spiritual energy Seal. Just as they finished, Cheng Zhaozhao arrived above them on her kite.

"Liu Ye, Fang Huai, you've caused trouble! Senior Brother Pu ordered me to bring you back immediately!"

Fang Huai had long guessed this would happen, but he didn't expect Cheng Zhaozhao to arrive so quickly.

Seeing that the collection of the herb Fiend would have to be put on hold, he could only give Liu Ye a look and comply with Cheng Zhaozhao's demand.

The three of them sped back on the kite. Below them, Qingwu City had already turned into a mess.

The leisurely atmosphere was gone, and the streets were crowded with Mortals carrying bundles.

There were men carrying their elderly parents on their backs, with bulging cloth sacks hanging from their waists, stumbling toward the city gates;

There were women holding crying children, their skirts covered in mud from being stepped on by the crowd, but they didn't have time to tidy up, only pushing forward desperately.

Although the city gates were wide open, the exit was blocked by an invisible barrier, confining the crowd within the city.

"Look at what you've done!" Fang Huai couldn't help but scold Liu Ye.

Acting on impulse and delaying a major matter, Fang Huai almost felt like killing him.

Liu Ye knew he was in the wrong and hung his head in silence.

If it hadn't been for his momentary impulse, the two of them would have already completed the task of gathering the Fiend.

The three arrived at the city tower and saw Lin Yu and Pu Renan looking worried.

The city gates were closed, and Mortals were crowded below, their cries and curses filling the air.

The Mortals didn't dare provoke Pu Renan, so they could only howl at Lin Yu to open the gates.

Lin Yu kept trying to persuade the Mortals to stay calm, saying he would find a way to keep everyone safe.

But the Mortals in the city could no longer listen, saying he was letting demonic Cultivators harm people and was completely unable to protect them.

Some who were particularly agitated even cursed him for being an undercover agent planted by the demonic Cultivators, intending to slaughter the Mortals of the entire city.

Pu Renan's face was dark. Seeing Fang Huai and Liu Ye arrive, he threw two wind blades at them, inflicting bone-chilling wounds.

"Useless!" Pu Renan cursed.

Cheng Zhaozhao spoke up to explain, "The two Senior Brothers didn't want this either..."

"Enough. If I really wanted to kill them, I would have done it already." Pu Renan's tone softened slightly. "Things are already like this; finding a way to control this group of Mortals is the priority."

Seeing the two of them play off each other, Fang Huai felt speechless.

This Cheng Zhaozhao, acting as a snitch first and then playing the good person, was truly disgusting.

Pu Renan's ability to suppress his anger and not kill Fang Huai and Liu Ye was calculated.

According to the Corpse Fiend Sect's usual practice of capturing Mortals, after arriving at a Mortal city, they would find the largest Family in the city and use benefits to entice them into helping control the people.

But this time, because Lin Yu intervened, they hadn't had time to do that before the situation became uncontrollable.

Right now, he still needed Fang Huai and Liu Ye to help maintain order.

Pu Renan's eyes were full of cold light. "You two, just go down and kill. Kill until these people are afraid, kill until they all shut their mouths!"

Lin Yu was shocked. "No! They are all living beings. How can you treat them like this?"

Pu Renan sneered, "Fellow Daoist Lin, these people already say you're an undercover demonic Cultivator, and you're still protecting them?

Besides, they are already vassals of the Corpse Fiend Sect. It's not your place to tell us what to do."

Lin Yu drew his spiritual sword, his gaze stern. "You can try."

Pu Renan also summoned his soul banner Magical Artifact. "The four of us would like to see what you're capable of."

The situation was tense. Seeing that both sides had reached an irreconcilable point, Fang Huai flew to Pu Renan's side and whispered in his ear.

Pu Renan frowned at first, but then his brow relaxed, and he nodded slightly, signaling Fang Huai to negotiate with Lin Yu.

Fang Huai cupped his hands toward Lin Yu and said, "Fellow Daoist Lin, I have a compromise. It might not satisfy both sides completely, but it can solve the problem we're facing now."

"Speak!" Lin Yu said coldly.

Fang Huai said, "Since Fellow Daoist Lin insists on protecting these Mortals, you must not believe they can survive within the Corpse Fiend Sect.

In that case, why not offer some Spirit Stones and buy them?"

Lin Yu struggled inwardly. As a key Disciple nurtured by his Sect, he had many Talismans and Spiritual Artifacts. If it came to a life-and-death struggle, he was absolutely certain he could defeat these four demonic Cultivators.

But a battle between Cultivators would inevitably affect the Mortals and cause casualties. Demonic Disciples were also very cunning and might use the people's lives to threaten him.

Furthermore, once these demonic Cultivators were killed, the peace treaty between the Profound Sword Sect and the Corpse Fiend Sect would likely be torn up again.

Thinking of this, Lin Yu said, "How many Spirit Stones?"

"Eight hundred!"