Rare demonic beasts were not so easy to find, especially on the outskirts of the Wuji Mountains. How lucky would someone have to be to encounter even one?
The three wandered for several hours, encountering demonic beasts a few times along the way. Each encounter ended with a scare but no harm, and they even picked up two Low-Grade Beast Crystals.
The sun was about to set.
They agreed to return to Wuji City first. Many demonic beasts preferred to emerge at night, making it far too dangerous to stay.
Just as they were about to retrace their steps, they spotted an Elf Deer standing quietly in a valley over a hundred meters long, gazing back at them.
"An Elf Deer! That's an Elf Deer, right?"
Chubby let out an excited, low cry.
"Shh! Don't rush in!"
Elf Leopards, Elf Cats, Elf Deer-any demonic beast bearing the word "Elf" in its name belonged to a premium, rare species. Support-type demonic beasts like Elf Deer seemed harmless, but Elf Deer and Tree Demons were ideal partners. The deer acted as bait, luring prey into traps laid by the Tree Demons, which killed the prey for food. In return, the Tree Demons protected the deer.
Chasing after it recklessly could easily lead them into a trap. But the opportunity was right before them. If they let it slip away, who knew whether they would find another rare demonic beast?
The Elf Deer was about to leave.
Chubby grew anxious.
"Hao, are we going for it or not? Once we pass this village, we won't find another shop like this!"
"All right! Take a gamble, and our bicycle might become a motorcycle!"
The three approached the valley. Seeing them, the Elf Deer bounded away, then looked back at Jiang Hao and the others after running a short distance.
The valley formed an inverted U, low at the entrance and high at the far end. The farther they went, the higher the terrain rose. Strangely, not a single weed or shrub grew at its end. Only six large trees stood there quietly.
Once they entered the valley, its eeriness was apparent even from a distance.
"Stop!"
Looking at the Elf Deer among the six large trees, Jiang Hao stopped and hurriedly said, "Those are Tree Demons. Let's go!"
Though the school had taught them these basic facts, seeing them firsthand was another matter. Everyone harbored a little wishful thinking. What if the teacher had been wrong?
Tree Demon Level: 39 Quality: low-grade. Combat power: 260 Strength: 120 Stamina: 200 Defense: 200 Agility: 30 Skills: Entangle, Strangle, Camouflage
After seeing the Tree Demons' stats, Jiang Hao decisively gave up.
These were fucking tanks parked right in front of them. Their own defense could not compare, and worse still, there were six of them.
Swish, swish, swish!
Chubby suddenly stopped. "What's that sound?"
Wen Ruxue said, "Watch your feet!"
Suddenly, several branches burst from the earth and wound tightly around Chubby's feet, dragging him rapidly toward the Tree Demons.
"Chubby!"
Jiang Hao roared and charged over, grabbing Chubby. But the tremendous pulling force dragged them both away.
"Roar, roar, roar!" Pang Dudu frantically extended his sharp claws to slice through the branches, only for more branches to burst from underground.
"Magnetic Field Rally!"
Wen Ruxue immediately activated the Seven-Colored Spirit Butterfly's special skill.
Under its invigorating effect, Pang Dudu's combat power soared. His sharp claws became like blades, slicing cleanly through the branches wrapped around him with each stroke.
But as soon as he cut them, more branches wound around him. There was simply no guarding against them all.
Wen Ruxue could not escape either. Soon, all three were wrapped in layer upon layer of branches like rice dumplings and hung upside down from the trees.
Meanwhile, Pang Dudu was still struggling fiercely against the entangling branches.
They were still too young!
"Hao, what do we do?" Chubby panicked.
He controlled his Beast Pet as it resisted the Tree Demons' attacks, hoping its bear-like brute strength and defense could break through their blockade and draw more of their attention.
"Cluck-cluck!"
Jiang Hao could no longer answer his question.
His mind remained focused on Big Hen.
Fireball!
Fire overcame wood. He hoped it could drive the Tree Demons back, but he also feared that their monstrous defense might withstand even this elemental law. If that happened, they would truly be in trouble.
Two fireballs struck the Tree Demon holding Jiang Hao, one after the other. Amid the roaring flames, several branches were charred and a large patch of bark was scorched—but that was all. They inflicted only a tiny amount of damage, and even that was achieved under the Seven-Colored Spirit Butterfly's Magnetic Field Rally.
Creak, creak!
The branches around their bodies kept tightening, trying to strangle them in one go. Rootlike thorns on the branches pierced their bodies and began draining their blood and energy.
In less than twenty minutes, they would be drained into dried corpses.
That was what made Tree Demons so terrifying.
Of the six Tree Demons, three were thrashing the three humans, while the remaining three chased and hemmed in their Beast Pets. The one having the easiest time was actually Wen Ruxue's Seven-Colored Spirit Butterfly. Though only a Support-Type Beast Pet, it was in the Golden Body Realm, after all. Its nimble aerial movements left the Tree Demons helpless against it.
"Cluck-cluck, cluck-cluck!"
Big Hen darted up and down, constantly dodging branches. Once ten seconds passed, another egg hit the ground, and two fireballs blasted the Tree Demon holding Jiang Hao.
The Tree Demon recoiled in pain, and the branches around Jiang Hao loosened slightly. He hurriedly took the knife he had prepared from his backpack and began cutting the branches around him.
"Chubby, Ruxue, are you all right?"
Chubby was being squeezed so tightly that his eyes rolled back. He had no breath left to answer.
"Ruxue, healing!"
Wen Ruxue was also suffering under the constricting branches. Hearing him, she hurriedly had her Beast Pet cast Healing Art.
Soon, a pale green mist appeared around all three of them. Its warmth nearly made Jiang Hao moan aloud.
Before long, vitality flooded his body as though he had been injected with chicken blood. His hands moved faster and with greater force, and soon he broke free of the Tree Demon's entanglement.
With no time to pull out the thorns still embedded in his body, Jiang Hao rushed to Chubby's side and brought his knife down.
"Watch out!"
Wen Ruxue's terrified warning suddenly came from behind him.
Jiang Hao felt something pierce his thigh. Agonizing pain shot through his nerves straight into his brain!
He sucked in a cold breath and looked down. A sharp branch had pierced straight through his upper thigh, nearly ending his family line.
At that moment, he truly understood what it meant for pain to pierce the heart!
Jiang Hao clenched his teeth without making a sound and swung his knife at the branch. It snapped, and he could see green sap mixed with his blood flowing from the broken end.
More branches burst from the earth and attacked him.
Jiang Hao regretted his recklessness. He had known the Elf Deer was bait, yet still taken the risk. Now he had not only put himself in danger but dragged his companions into it too. He was even more frustrated by how few skills his Beast Pet had. He had dared to enter the Wuji Mountains with only a single Fireball skill. Was that not courting death?
With a few more skills, he would not have been left so helpless.
Jiang Hao hacked frantically at the branches winding toward him, but there were too many. Two fists could not defeat four hands. Soon, the branches wrapped him into a rice dumpling once again.
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