In a panic, Fang Chen swung the Floating Immortal Sword at the willow branch wrapped around his ankle.
Slice!
The Floating Immortal Sword severed the branch instantly. The current flowing from the sword into Fang Chen was no longer scorching but cool, and it lifted his spirits.
The severed branch did not vanish at once. It fell to the ground and burned fiercely, crackling until nothing remained but ash.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Countless red willow branches shot out of the sea of fire and lashed at Fang Chen like whips. They moved so fast they tore through the air with a string of sharp cracks.
Fang Chen's gaze sharpened. He swung the Floating Immortal Sword and cut down the incoming branches.
There were too many. Even with the Floating Immortal Sword, Fang Chen struggled to keep up. At last, the branches broke through his curtain of sword strikes and lashed his body.
Crack, crack, crack...
Terrible wounds opened wherever the branches struck him, and Flames burned within them.
"Ah!"
Fang Chen could not hold back a scream. His face twisted in agony. Under the force of that searing pain, his mind seemed to break through some limit and resonate with the space around him.
Hum!
In the next instant, Fang Chen's vision changed. The surrounding red Flames turned transparent, revealing a willow tree thirty zhang tall behind them. The branches attacking him extended from that tree. Every branch was bloodred, nothing like the willows he had seen in books. He had no idea what kind of willow it was.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
The branches kept lashing toward Fang Chen, but now they seemed much slower to his eyes. He could easily predict their paths. He swung the Floating Immortal Sword, filling the air with sword shadows that severed every incoming