The Terrifying Ghost Child

"..."

Faced with Ye Qianfan's questioning, the evil spirit could only give an awkward laugh.

At the same time, he hoped these sword cultivators could kill the evil spirit, so he would never have to face that terrifying ghost child again!

"Junior Sister is right. That evil god's avatar must be inside this dead tree!"

A male sword cultivator with half his hair hanging loose seemed eager to show off before the female cultivator. He twirled his sword one-handed and said, "Just wait, Junior Sister. Your senior brother will chop down this murderous Evil Tree and drag out the evil god growing inside!"

"Be careful, Senior Brother!"

"We're disciples of the Purple Sun Sword Sect. Haven't we cleared out enough Evil Trees and monstrous flowers over the years? There's no need to worry, Junior Sister—aah!"

But...

Whether that senior brother had taken his showing off too far or simply lacked the strength to back it up was anyone's guess.

The instant he rushed beyond the porch, the little girl sitting in the tree controlled a branch and effortlessly strung him up!

Just like that.

The eldest senior brother of the Purple Sun Sword Sect, who looked so ethereal but fought so poorly, nearly got strangled to death by a branch!

Naturally, the other disciples of the Purple Sun Sword Sect would not stand by and watch the Tree Demon kill their senior brother. They hurriedly shouted, "Everyone, attack together! Save Senior Brother!"

"Yes!"

The swordsmen immediately flourished their swords and charged toward the Evil Tree!

But the Evil Tree was stronger than Ye Qianfan and the others had imagined. The swordsmen battled the vines descending from above, yet strangely, when their gleaming, razor-sharp swords struck the vines, they rang out with metallic clangs!

It was as though those were not vines falling toward them, but incredibly hard iron chains!

"How dare you, foul demon!"

Just as Ye Qianfan thought these sword cultivators were done for, an old monk carrying a golden bowl and a demon-subduing staff entered from outside. Pointing at the red-clad child spirit in the tree, he sneered, "Reveal yourself at once!"

With that...

The old monk cast his golden bowl toward the red-clad child in the tree, trying to trap her beneath it!

"Aah!"

The red-clad child suddenly gave a strange cry, then slipped into the trunk and vanished in an instant.

The old monk frowned and swung his demon-subduing staff, about to smash the Evil Tree apart...

But the Evil Tree seemed to awaken suddenly, its entire trunk shaking!

Then the old locust tree seemed to come alive!

Its attacks were no longer limited to the Purple Sun Sword Sect cultivators who had charged beneath it. Even the old monk, Ye Qianfan, and the others standing beside the porch came under attack!

"You're courting death!"

The old monk's staff finally struck the trunk.

But the Evil Tree merely shook violently. Its attacks showed no sign of stopping, and it lashed out at the old monk even faster!

"Pfft!"

Besieged by roots and branches, the old monk was ultimately overwhelmed, and a branch pierced straight through his chest.

He spat out a great mouthful of blood!

As for the other sword cultivators, there was no need to say more...

They could not even withstand ten exchanges against the Evil Tree before its vines stabbed them all to death and hung them from its branches. Their corpses swayed in the wind, like oversized fair-weather dolls dangling from the tree!

In the blink of an eye.

The number of heads on the Evil Tree had grown considerably!

Fortunately, those who had been killed occupied its vines and branches, preventing it from attacking Ye Qianfan and the others with its full strength. They also kept retreating toward the doorway, barely escaping death!

But faced with this situation...

Shen Lang and the others were left speechless. "Isn't this assessment a little too difficult?"

"Damn it, what kind of difficulty is this assessment set to?" the Rich Merchant complained repeatedly as well. "There's an Evil Tree blocking us ahead and wandering ghosts pursuing us from behind. Is the Demon-Quelling Office trying to toy with us until we die? We can't beat it, and we can't even retreat!"

"Everyone!"

The evil spirit had opened Ye Qianfan's Ghost Eye, so he could see the changes in the Evil Tree after it absorbed the flesh, blood, and karmic energy of the sword cultivators and the monk!

The resentment surrounding the entire Evil Tree had gone from thin as mist at the start to thick as ink now.

That alone showed how much the Evil Tree's power had grown!

"Now probably isn't the time to chat. If we don't find a way to kill this Evil Tree and just let it keep absorbing their power, forget slaying it—we might not even be able to escape!"

"Heaven and earth are boundless, lend me the power of the cosmos. Heavenly eye—open!"

Shen Lang immediately opened his heavenly eye.

The moment he did and saw the expanse of black mist before him, he nearly fainted!

"What the hell is this? How are we supposed to fight it?"

"This evil spirit attacks through vines. Ordinary things definitely won't stop them."

Just as everyone was at their wits' end, the Daoist inside Ye Qianfan spoke. "I studied it all night yesterday and discovered a function of the Bagua Mirror that might withstand this Evil Tree's attacks! After all, these attacks aren't real physical attacks. They're merely spell attacks formed from condensed yin energy."

"Are you sure?"

Ye Qianfan looked at the vines skewering people like pieces of grilled meat and hanging them from the tree.

You're telling me these attacks are formed from condensed yin energy? That they aren't real?

"I'm sure!" the Daoist said firmly. "If you don't believe me, take out the Bagua Mirror and aim it at the tree. You'll understand!"

"All right!"

Ye Qianfan hurriedly pulled the Bagua Mirror from his belt!

It was only palm-sized, making it convenient both to store and to hold while casting spells!

Then...

Ye Qianfan aimed the Bagua Mirror at the Evil Tree!

Just as the Daoist had said, the Evil Tree was nothing more than a bare, withered tree. As for the people hanging from it, they were actually suspended from the dead vines on its trunk.

The vines still writhing around were nowhere to be seen in the Bagua Mirror!

He could only vaguely make out numerous black shadows drifting through the air. Those must have been the vines formed from evil energy that the Daoist had mentioned!

Smack!

Just as Ye Qianfan was examining the Evil Tree with the Bagua Mirror!

A vine formed from yin energy swept toward Ye Qianfan. Caught completely off guard, he hurriedly raised his hands to shield his head in fright.

But...

When the vine struck the Bagua Mirror, it merely stirred a faint gleam across its surface. Those vines formed from yin energy seemed unable to shake the Bagua Mirror's protection!

"I'll handle this!"

Ye Qianfan let out a long sigh of relief. "Brother Shen Lang, play a tune to back me up. I'll deal with this Tree Demon!"

"Brother Ye, are you sure you'll be all right?" Shen Lang asked with some concern.

But just then, Ye Qianfan saw that ghost child preparing to float down from the tree to find him again. Terrified, he hurriedly shouted, "Yes! Hurry and play the flute!"