As Qi Yunfang was feeding blood to the last two individuals, perhaps Xu Xing's movements in obstructing the treants were too forceful. The great tree on the island suddenly began to tremble. Its trunk, with a diameter of eight to nine meters, shook, causing luminous fruits to fall continuously from its branches. The capture cages that had been hanging from the branches also dropped. Upon witnessing this, Qi Yunfang immediately understood: the giant treant was awakening.
Qi Yunfang looked down. Xu Xing was currently blocking the approaching treants, while the other ability users were also displaying their unique powers, all working to impede the treants.
However, Xu Xing's abilities were still too potent. When Xu Xing stomped on the ground, a fissure immediately appeared. The island in the lake was already small, and under Xu Xing's intense combat, the island itself became fragmented. In such a situation, there was no reason for the giant treant to remain dormant.
"Xu Xing, Xu Xing, couldn't you have been a little gentler?" Qi Yunfang began to complain. If there had been more time, the last two teammates could have been saved. But now, with the giant treant awakening, there was no time to dwell on it.
Subsequently, Qi Yunfang brandished her dagger, severing the vines from the last two ability users, who immediately plummeted downwards.
"Have two people carry them. After we leave here, I'll give them the antidote," Qi Yunfang quickly said.
Two men immediately came forward, carrying the individuals who had not yet been detoxified, preparing to take them away.
The appearance of over twenty treants did not pose a significant threat to those present who had recovered their abilities. Although they couldn't defeat them, as long as they dodged carefully, there was still a chance to escape.
However, at this moment, the treants on the island began to move. The treants uprooted themselves, and the sixty-meter-tall treants started to walk. The island in the lake was not particularly wide, and as the colossal treants advanced towards the ability users, it felt like Mount Tai pressing down, bringing immense pressure. Everyone couldn't help but look towards the cave entrance: "Why aren't Xiao Sheng and the others here yet? Have they forgotten this day's agreement?"
Xu Xing couldn't help but look towards the marmot cave in the distance, thinking, "If we still can't break out at the last moment, then I can only save myself."
Fortunately, at this very moment, a voice echoed from the cave entrance: "Hold on, I'm coming!"
This voice belonged to Xiao Sheng. The cave entrance was instantly enveloped in fiery red light, and then a massive fireball erupted from the cave, striking a treant directly.
Upon being hit by the fireball, the treant immediately began to wave its arms in pain, layers of white mist rising from its body, accompanied by a sizzling sound. If treants could roar, after enduring such intense scorching, any creature would have let out a painful howl.
Following this, Xiao Sheng and his group burst forth. Six ability users appeared within the cave. Xiao Sheng's body was covered in flames, radiating intense heat. Such temperature was something the treants had to take seriously.
Shen Feng also appeared, seeing that the people on the distant island had managed to break free from the vines. He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, "I didn't expect them to actually have a way out and manage to escape."
When Shen Feng first heard the three-day deadline, he was actually skeptical, as he couldn't imagine what means these people possessed to gain freedom from the treants' restraint. Yet, now, these people had indeed escaped safely, forming a pincer movement as expected, which made Shen Feng very happy.
"Let's quickly cover their retreat. Shen Feng, you're fast, go and hold back the giant treant. We'll entangle the ordinary treants and let them quickly rendezvous with us." At this point, Xiao Sheng couldn't worry about anything else and quickly instructed Shen Feng to engage the giant treant. Among those present, only Shen Feng possessed the speed to keep the giant treant occupied.
Shen Feng didn't hesitate. This was a critical moment, and Xu Xing was still on the island. To ensure Xu Xing's safe return, Shen Feng could only charge forward and fight the giant treant to the death.
Shen Feng immediately unleashed "Rú Fēng Suí Xíng" and rushed out, his speed so great that even the ability users could barely track him. The giant treant raised its hand, intending to strike the ability users on the island, but at this moment, Shen Feng shouted, "Kuáng Nù Zhī Fēng."
Immediately, countless wind blades condensed from the air and shot towards the giant treant. Shen Feng knew that he was unlikely to injure the giant treant, but his objective was not to wound it, but merely to buy time.
Upon noticing Shen Feng's attack, the giant treant could only retract its attacking branches and block its front with two limbs, as if protecting some vital part.
The giant treant had a thick trunk, and its roots at the base numbered over thirty, appearing much thicker than ordinary treants. Logically, the giant treant's body should have been more robust. However, the situation was entirely different. Countless wind blades in the air continuously flew towards the treant, severing the fragile branches on its crown. Leaves and luminous fruits kept falling to the ground. Even when the wind blades struck the trunk, they often penetrated deep into its interior.
Upon witnessing this, Shen Feng was momentarily stunned, thinking, "Is it this fragile?"
But Shen Feng quickly understood. It was understandable that the colossal treant had poor defensive capabilities. After all, this was likely the本体 (běntǐ -本体) of a mutated plant, needing to digest and absorb prey, and requiring the trunk to transfer energy and water. If the trunk were too dense, it would hinder the transport of substances. Therefore, despite its immense size, the treant's defense was actually insufficient.
"Come on, City Lord! You must win!" Xu Xing cheered as she saw Shen Feng rushing from the distant water.
Shen Feng calmly replied, "Stop the nonsense and get out quickly. I'll continue to stall for time."
After Shen Feng finished speaking, Xu Xing dared not delay and quickly said to everyone, "Let's go quickly, we'll take the water route."
Xu Xing was unwilling to further burden the City Lord. It was because of her that Shen Feng had risked danger to come to their rescue. If she continued to cause trouble, it would be even more shameful to the City Lord. With this thought, Xu Xing jumped into the lake. As long as they maintained buoyancy in the water, they could use the current to head directly towards the cave entrance, as the cave entrance was also where the waterfall drained.
But a problem arose. Many of the people present were from the north and had not had the opportunity to learn to swim in arid environments. Swimming pools were also unfamiliar places for most people. Four or five non-swimmers stood awkwardly on the island, hesitant to jump in.
"Don't waste any more time, jump in quickly!" Qi Yunfang said, swimming vigorously towards the distance. At this point, Qi Yunfang had done all she could and couldn't possibly teach these people how to swim on the spot.
It was Chai Kefu who was more resourceful. After entering the water, he shouted to those on the shore, "Aren't there many branches on the ground? Hold onto the branches and jump into the water, and you'll naturally float."
The non-swimmers heard this good idea. Coincidentally, there were many branches on the ground that Shen Feng's wind blades had cut. So, a few of them picked up the branches from the ground and jumped into the water.
Unfortunately, one person had bad luck. As he was picking up branches from the ground, the giant treant happened to pass by. One of its legs stomped down, crushing that person into a pulp on the spot. When the giant treant lifted its leg again, only a bloody, pulpy mess remained on the ground.
Seeing this scene, those in the water were filled with grief. Some who were close friends, seeing their good brother die, could only cry out in sadness, "Lao Liu, how could you be gone?"
A living, breathing person, and a highly regarded ability user at that, was now gone. Witnessing such a scene, everyone felt immense sorrow.
Xu Xing paid no mind to these sentiments. She was unwilling to drag the City Lord down. If they didn't leave quickly, it would be bad if she implicated the City Lord. With this in mind, Xu Xing jumped directly into the lake.
However, the treants began to pursue the group in the water, forming a subtle encirclement.
Lu Xian, seeing this, quickly said, "Knock off the fruits on the treants' heads, knock off all the fruits, so these treants can't see anything."
Jin Zijue's hands crackled with electric arcs, and the air buzzed with "crackling" sounds. He confidently said, "Leave it to me, I'll do it."
"Stop, stop, stop! Do you know anything about electrofishing? If you make a move, all these people will float up," Lu Xian said, quickly stopping Jin Zijue's imminent attack. He absolutely couldn't let this fellow act recklessly. If lightning struck the water, the mountain spring water would conduct electricity, and the people in the water would immediately be electrocuted.
Jin Zijue thought about it and could only shrug, saying, "Then I'll go fight on the side. You guys do your best."
After saying this, Jin Zijue found two treants and engaged them in combat.
At this moment, Zhang Zi made her move. Zhang Zi condensed ice in her hands, which gradually took the shape of ice cones, incredibly sharp. In the faint light of the cave, they gleamed with a cold radiance.
Then, Zhang Zi hurled the condensed ice cones from her hands. "Whoosh," the ice cones traced a perfect arc through the air, finally shattering the luminous fruit on a treant's head.
This treant immediately became blind, no longer able to sense its surroundings. However, after the luminous fruit was shattered, two new fruits grew on its head. From their appearance, these two fruits rapidly matured, and the treant immediately regained its sight.
"This won't do. The fruits on the treants' heads regenerate. Attacking the fruits is useless," Zhang Zi said, showing a troubled expression upon seeing this.
Lu Xian quickly replied, "It's useful, it's useful. Look, when the treants lose their sensory abilities, they actually become chaotic. And once they become chaotic, they can't pursue us anymore."
Zhang Zi then continued to attack the fruits on the treants' heads.
Finally, twenty-two people safely reached the shore. Xu Xing looked back. Shen Feng was still moving constantly on the water, and the giant treant was also continuously attacking Shen Feng. Their battle had moved onto the water. The island in the lake was completely shattered, gradually disintegrating under the scouring of the water.
"Think of a way to help the City Lord," Xu Xing urged.
Xu Xing worried that Shen Feng might not be a match for the giant treant. Although a large portion of the giant treant's branches had been cut and many vines had broken, the treant's core had not been harmed. On the other hand, Shen Feng was struggling, constantly dodging the giant treant's attacks. If this continued, Shen Feng would undoubtedly lose.
Chai Kefu looked at Lu Yizhen and said, "This is our chance to make a contribution. Quickly, let's see where the本体 (běntǐ -本体) of the mutated plant is."
Lu Yizhen nodded. While he might not be proficient in other areas, he was known as "Heavenly Eye" because his eyes could see things differently, even perceiving the flow of energy. At this crucial moment, the most important thing was to find the giant treant's weakness. If they could locate the heart of the mutated plant's本体 (běntǐ -本体), that would be ideal.
Lu Yizhen immediately began to use his abilities, his eyes fixed intently on the direction of the battle. At this moment, Shen Feng's movements had slowed, and the energy flow of the treant was entirely visible. Gradually, Lu Yizhen located the point where the energy converged.