Vegetation Sha

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

The tree was centuries old, its gnarled branches blotting out the sky and sun, exuding the overwhelming momentum of accumulated years.

Through the tree's tag, Fang Huai found something unusual.

[Demon-Suppressing Wood]

[Spirit-Absorbing Demon Suppression]

[Spirit-Absorbing Demon Suppression: Absorbs the power of all living things to suppress and kill trapped demons.]

Demon-Suppressing Wood?

The Mystic Sword Sect had occupied Green Parasol City for a long time; there was no way they didn't know about this treasure. If they had evacuated, they would surely have dug it up and taken it with them.

But the Demon-Suppressing Wood was left here, which could only mean it was still suppressing a demon.

It was said that the older a tree grew, the more likely it was to mutate.

The Demon-Suppressing Wood had stood here for a century, suppressing a demon while absorbing the lifeblood of Green Parasol City's residents to grow. Its core had eventually developed into a Vegetation Sha.

That explained everything.

He sank his mind into it and discovered the clue:

[Vegetation Sha]

[Demon Wood Sha Transformation]

[Demon Wood Sha Transformation: Formed from the mutation of Demon-Suppressing Wood. The Sha lives while the wood lives; the Sha dies while the wood withers.]

He probed downward with his spiritual sense, wanting to know what demon was suppressed here, but an unknown force blocked him.

It seemed the Mystic Sword Sect had put considerable effort into hiding the demon's aura.

The Sha-Seeking Rat climbed up the Demon-Suppressing Wood, stopped at the middle of the trunk, and turned back to squeak at Fang Huai and the other two.

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

He drew his Spirit Sword and was about to cut into the trunk when Fang Huai stopped him.

"Senior Brother Liu, there must be a demon suppressed beneath this Demon-Suppressing Wood. If we take the Vegetation Sha, the wood will lose its spirit, and the demon won't be contained anymore."

Liu Ye's hand froze. He thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth. "We've come this far. We have to at least see how much Vegetation Sha there is. Take a little, enough to report back."

With that, he steeled himself and thrust his Spirit Sword into the Demon-Suppressing Wood.

The wood was hard. After digging for a long time, he only broke a small opening.

Seeing this, Fang Huai sighed and drew his own Spirit Sword to help break the wood.

He wasn't willing to take the risk of extracting the Sha, but under Jiang Miao's pressure, he had no choice but to take the gamble.

Finally, they pierced through the outer layer of the trunk, and emerald-green Sha Qi drifted out.

Fang Huai drew a little of the Sha Qi into his body, channeling it into the Sha Spirit Root in his sea of consciousness. An incomparable comfort washed over him.

It really was an aberrant Sha—a good thing that could nourish and evolve the Sha Spirit Root!

Liu Ye was equally delighted. He took out a Sha-Gathering Bottle, placed it against the opening, and began drawing the Sha Qi inside.

Just then, Fang Huai sensed Cheng Zhaozhao's aura rapidly approaching.

"Stop collecting. Junior Sister Cheng is coming. Seal the opening quickly," Fang Huai urged.

The two stuffed wood chips back into the breach and sealed it with spiritual power. No sooner had they finished than Cheng Zhaozhao descended on her Paper Kite, landing above them.

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

Fang Huai had expected this, but he hadn't expected Cheng Zhaozhao to arrive so fast.

Seeing that their collection of Vegetation Sha would have to be put on hold, he could only exchange a glance with Liu Ye and comply with Cheng Zhaozhao's demand.

The three sped back on the Paper Kite. Below them, Green Parasol City had descended into chaos.

The leisurely atmosphere was gone. The streets and alleys were packed with mortals carrying bundles.

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

There were women holding crying children, their skirts stained with mud trampled by the crowd, but they had no time to tidy themselves, only pushing forward.

Though the city gates were wide open, an invisible barrier blocked the exit, trapping the crowd inside.

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

For a moment's impulse to ruin a major task, Fang Huai could have killed him.

Liu Ye knew he was at fault and hung his head in silence.

If not for his rashness, the two of them would have already completed the Sha-collection mission.

The three arrived at the city tower and saw Lin Yu and Pu Ren'an with furrowed brows.

The city gates were closed. Mortals crowded below, their cries and curses shaking the sky.

The mortals didn't dare provoke Pu Ren'an, so they only howled at Lin Yu to open the gates.

Lin Yu kept trying to calm them, telling them to be patient, saying he would find a way to keep everyone safe.

But the mortals in the city could no longer listen. They accused him of letting demon cultivators harm people, of being utterly powerless to protect them.

Some, overcome with emotion, even cursed him as a spy planted by the demon cultivators, scheming to slaughter the entire city's populace.

Pu Ren'an's face darkened. Seeing Fang Huai and the other approach, he hurled two Wind Blades at them, carving bone-deep wounds.

"Worthless!" Pu Ren'an spat.

Cheng Zhaozhao opened her mouth to explain: "The two senior brothers didn't want this either..."

"Enough. If I truly wanted them dead, I'd have struck long ago." Pu Ren'an's tone softened slightly. "Since things have already come to this, the real priority is finding a way to control these mortals."

Fang Huai watched the two play their parts—one accusing, the other playing the peacemaker—and felt a wave of speechless disgust.

This Cheng Zhaozhao, first acting the informant, then pretending to be the good guy—it was utterly nauseating.

That Pu Ren'an could suppress his rage and refrain from killing Fang Huai and the other was no accident.

According to the Corpse Sha Sect's usual methods for harvesting mortals, upon arriving at a mortal city, they would seek out the largest local family and tempt them with benefits to help control the populace.

But this time, because Lin Yu had interfered, they hadn't even managed that before the situation spiraled out of control.

Now, they still needed Fang Huai and Liu Ye to help maintain order.

Pu Ren'an's eyes were icy. "You two, just go down and kill. Kill until these people are terrified, kill until they all shut their mouths!"

Lin Yu was horrified. "No! They are living, breathing people—how can you treat them like this?"

Pu Ren'an sneered. "Fellow Daoist Lin, these very people are calling you a demon cultivator's spy, and you're still protecting them?

Besides, they're already the Corpse Sha Sect's vassals. It's not your place to meddle."

Lin Yu drew his Spirit Sword, his gaze sharp. "You can try."

Pu Ren'an summoned his Soul Banner artifact. "The four of us would like to test your skills."

Tensions flared, the two sides on the verge of irreconcilable conflict. Fang Huai flew to Pu Ren'an's side and whispered in his ear.

At first, Pu Ren'an frowned, but then his brow relaxed. He gave a slight nod, signaling Fang Huai to negotiate with Lin Yu.

Fang Huai cupped his hands toward Lin Yu. "Fellow Daoist Lin, This Humble One has a compromise. It may not satisfy either side completely, but it can solve the problem before us."

"Speak!" Lin Yu said coldly.

Fang Huai continued, "Since Fellow Daoist Lin insists on protecting these mortals, you must not believe they can survive under the Corpse Sha Sect.

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

Lin Yu's heart churned. As a key disciple nurtured by his sect, he carried numerous talismans and spirit artifacts. If it came to a life-or-death fight, he was confident he could defeat these four demon cultivators.

But a battle between cultivators would inevitably harm the mortals, causing casualties. The demon cultivator disciples were also treacherous and might use the commoners' lives to threaten him.

Moreover, if he killed these demon cultivators, the peace treaty between the Mystic Sword Sect and the Corpse Sha Sect would likely be torn apart again.

Thinking this over, Lin Yu asked, "How many Spirit Stones?"

"Eight hundred!"