Ancient trees towered into the sky in the lush jungle. Flowers and grasses of every color bloomed beneath them, and luxuriant branches and leaves brimmed with vitality.
Yet sunlight could barely penetrate the dense foliage, leaving the forest dim and steeped in an eerie, chilling gloom.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, enormous vines crawled toward them like pythons. The thick tendrils writhed like an octopus's tentacles, and amid their ceaseless movement, a tree stump roughly a zhang across, covered in moss and weeds, rose from the ground.
"It's appeared!"
"This is a middle Earth Rank demon discovered earlier. The Expeditionary Corps named it the Wood Octopus. It was originally a tree demon that had attained sentience. After withering and dying, it sprouted vines and advanced to Earth Rank again."
"More than ten of our scouts died beneath its vines earlier. It seems to have grown increasingly bloodthirsty after getting a taste of flesh!"
As a flying eagle skimmed over the canopy and caught a fleeting glimpse of it, the disciplinary officers monitoring the battle in the Spirit-Taming World's native territory noticed the demon at once. They immediately notified the elders, consulted the records, and issued a timely warning.
"Tell the nearest squad to stop. This isn't a monster they can handle. Send in an elite battle group!"
"Yes!"
Just under half a day later, the Spirit Tamers of an elite battle group received the report. Escorted by allied units, they crossed the Dense Forest and finally intercepted the Wood Octopus before it could approach the Expeditionary Corps' main force.
Against a demon like this, ordinary fire was already almost useless. Both the bark covering its vines and the blood-baleful power and water element spells this vine demon could wield effectively countered ordinary flames.
Still, Spirit Tamers favored a blazing battlefield and the combat