Vegetation Sha

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

The tree was a hundred years old. Its gnarled branches blotted out the sky, exuding the grandeur of time itself.

Looking through the tree's label, Fang Huai found what was unusual about it.

[Demon-Subduing Wood]

[Spirit-Absorbing Demon Suppression]

[Spirit-Absorbing Demon Suppression: Draws upon the strength of all living beings to suppress and kill the trapped demon beast]

Demon-Suppressing Wood?

The Mystic Sword Sect had occupied Green Parasol City for so long. They couldn't have been unaware of this treasure. If they had withdrawn, they would certainly have dug it up and taken it with them.

But the Demon-Suppressing Wood had been left here. That could only mean it was still suppressing a demon beast.

They said the older a tree grew, the more likely it was to undergo a mutation.

For a hundred years, the Demon-Suppressing Wood had suppressed a demon beast while drawing upon the vital blood of Green Parasol City's people to grow. In the end, its core had developed into Vegetation Sha.

That explained everything.

He sank his thoughts into it and discovered the truth:

[Grass and Tree Fiend]

[Demon Wood Sha Transformation]

[Demon Wood Sha Transformation: Formed from the mutation of the Demon-Suppressing Wood. The Sha lives as long as the wood does; when the Sha dies, the wood withers.]

His divine sense probed beneath the tree, seeking to learn what demon beast was sealed there, but some inexplicable force blocked it.

It seemed the Mystic Sword Sect had gone to considerable lengths to conceal the demon beast's aura.

The Sha-Seeking Rat climbed the Demon-Suppressing Wood and stopped midway up the trunk. It turned and squeaked at the two of them.

Liu Ye beamed, his brow relaxing. "We found it!"

He took out his Spirit Sword and was about to cut into the trunk, but Fang Huai stopped him.

"Senior Brother Liu, there must be a demon beast sealed beneath the Demon-Suppressing Wood. If we take the Vegetation Sha, the wood will lose its spiritual power, and the demon beast won't stay suppressed."

Liu Ye's hand froze. He thought it over, then gritted his teeth. "We've come this far. We should at least see how much Vegetation Sha there is. We can take a little back to report."

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

The wood was hard. After a long time hacking at it, he had only made a small hole.

Seeing this, Fang Huai sighed and drew his own Spirit Sword to help cut into the trunk.

He didn't want to risk taking the Sha, but with Jiang Miao pressuring him, he had no choice but to take the chance.

At last, they pierced the outer layer of the trunk, and shimmering green Sha drifted out.

Fang Huai inhaled a little of it, gathering it in the Sha Spirit Root within his sea of consciousness. A wave of indescribable comfort washed over him.

It really was an anomalous Sha—a precious substance that could nourish and evolve the Sha Spirit Root!

Liu Ye was just as delighted. He took out the Sha-Gathering Bottle, held it to the hole, and drew the Sha inside.

Just then, Fang Huai sensed Cheng Zhaozhao rapidly approaching.

"We can't collect any more. Junior Sister Cheng is coming. Hurry, seal the hole!" Fang Huai warned them.

They stuffed wood chips into the hole and used their spiritual power to seal it. They had only just finished when Cheng Zhaozhao arrived above them on her Paper Kite.

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

Fang Huai had expected this, but hadn't thought Cheng Zhaozhao would arrive so quickly.

Seeing that they would have to put off collecting the Vegetation Sha, he could only signal Liu Ye and agree to Cheng Zhaozhao's demand.

The three of them sped back on their Paper Kites. Below them, Green Parasol City had descended into chaos.

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

A man carried his elderly parents on his back, a bulging cloth pouch hanging from his waist, and staggered toward the city gate.

A woman clutched a crying child. Mud covered her skirt where the crowd had trampled it, but she had no time to brush it off and could only keep pushing forward.

The city gate stood wide open, but an invisible barrier blocked the exit, trapping the people inside the city.

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

For the sake of a moment's recklessness, he'd jeopardized something important. Fang Huai wanted to kill him.

Liu Ye knew he was in the wrong. He hung his head and said nothing.

If he hadn't acted on impulse, the two of them would have already finished collecting the Sha.

The three arrived at the city tower and saw Lin Yu and Pu Ren'an wearing troubled expressions.

The city gate was closed, and ordinary people crowded below it, their cries and curses shaking the heavens.

They didn't dare antagonize Pu Ren'an, so they could only howl at Lin Yu to open the gate.

Lin Yu kept trying to calm them down, telling them not to panic and promising he would find a way to protect everyone.

But the ordinary people in the city could no longer listen. They accused him of letting demonic cultivators hurt people and of being powerless to protect them.

Some were so worked up that they even cursed him as a mole planted by the demonic cultivators, claiming he meant to slaughter every ordinary person in the city.

Pu Ren'an's face darkened. When he saw Fang Huai and Liu Ye coming, he flung two Wind Blades at them, cutting deep, bone-chilling wounds.

"Useless!" Pu Ren'an cursed.

Cheng Zhaozhao tried to explain. "The two senior brothers didn't want this to happen..."

"Enough. If I really wanted them dead, I'd have killed them already." Pu Ren'an's tone softened a little. "Things have come to this. The priority is finding a way to control these ordinary people."

Seeing Cheng Zhaozhao and Pu Ren'an play good cop and bad cop, Fang Huai was speechless.

Cheng Zhaozhao had acted like a snitch, only to turn around and play the good person. It was sickening.

Pu Ren'an had endured his anger and spared Fang Huai and Liu Ye for a reason.

In the Corpse Sha Sect's usual practice of capturing ordinary people, when they arrived in a city, they would seek out its most powerful lineage and tempt them with benefits to help control the populace.

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

For now, they still needed Fang Huai and Liu Ye to help keep order.

Pu Ren'an's eyes were cold. "You two, go down and kill. Keep killing until these people are afraid—until every last one of them shuts their mouths!"

Lin Yu was shocked. "Absolutely not! They're living, breathing people. How can you treat them like that?"

Pu Ren'an sneered. "Fellow Daoist Lin, they're already calling you a mole for the demonic cultivators, and you're still protecting them?

"Besides, they're already under the Corpse Sha Sect's control. You don't get to dictate what we do."

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

Pu Ren'an summoned his Soul Banner magic weapon as well. "The four of us would be glad to test your abilities."

The swords were drawn, and both sides were on the verge of an irreconcilable clash. Fang Huai flew to Pu Ren'an's side and whispered in his ear.

At first, Pu Ren'an frowned, but then his expression relaxed. He nodded slightly, signaling Fang Huai to negotiate with Lin Yu.

Fang Huai cupped his hands toward Lin Yu. "Fellow Daoist Lin, I have a compromise. It may not satisfy everyone completely, but it can resolve the problem we're facing."

"Speak," Lin Yu said coldly.

Fang Huai said, "Since you insist on protecting these ordinary people, Fellow Daoist Lin, you must believe they won't survive in the Corpse Sha Sect's hands.

"Then why not pay some Spirit Stones to buy them?"

Lin Yu was torn. As a disciple the sect had prioritized cultivating, he had many talismans and spiritual artifacts on him. If it came to a fight, he was confident he could defeat all four demonic cultivators.

But a cultivator's battle would inevitably put ordinary people at risk and cause casualties. Demonic cultivators were also devious, and might threaten him with the people's lives.

And if he killed these demonic cultivators, the peace treaty between the Mystic Sword Sect and the Corpse Sha Sect would likely be torn up once more.

After considering this, Lin Yu asked, "How many Spirit Stones?"

"Eight hundred!"