Boom!
The ground in the corner of the wall exploded, and dirt and debris erupted like a fountain.
Li Tianjue soared into the air, bursting through the roof. Below him, tree roots as thick as arms shot up rapidly, like countless tentacles trying to entwine his ankles and drag him down.
He unleashed a punch, the spirit light on his fist blooming like a meteor, smashing towards the roots. They instantly broke into sections, scattering and splashing.
Even so, the remaining roots still attacked Li Tianjue ferociously.
As if they would never stop!
"Eldest Senior Brother!" from a distance, Su Luo and Lu Jixing rushed over.
They encountered not too many roots, and after being severed by the two, they lay still on the ground.
The roots beneath the earth also swiftly retracted, as if afraid of them. However, it wasn't until Su Luo heard the commotion erupting from the other end that she realized Li Tianjue had also encountered an accident, and quickly hurried over with Lu Jixing.
"So big, what is that monstrous thing?" the two's eyes widened.
Li Tianjue flew in mid-air, constantly attacking. Those tree roots were like dense octopus tentacles, each thicker than an arm. They emerged from a deep pit in the ground, occupying an area of five zhang.
Looking into the distance, Su Luo exclaimed in shock, "Has that tree turned into a spirit?"
She had never seen such numerous and thick tree roots. How big was this tree? Unfortunately, the distance was too great, exceeding the detection range of the divine eye mirror, making it impossible to determine its species for the time being.
The two watched Li Tianjue battle those tentacles, beams of spirit light shooting out, smashing them into pieces, preventing them from getting close to him.
"Such rough and powerful attacks, truly worthy of Eldest Senior Brother!" Su Luo praised.
"Eldest Senior Brother is making these vine spirits and tree monsters completely unable to fight back..."
Lu Jixing couldn't help but sigh, admiration appearing in his eyes, "If only I were as strong as Eldest Senior Brother."
With no immediate danger, Su Luo felt a bit more relaxed. As she approached Li Tianjue's direction, she comforted him, "Third Senior Brother, you are also very formidable. As long as you keep cultivating, you will eventually be like Eldest Senior Brother."
"Actually, I..."
Lu Jixing wanted to say that what he liked most was poison arts, but unfortunately, his talent was insufficient, and learning it was too strenuous.
However, he didn't want to show weakness in front of his junior sister, so he kept silent.
The two watched from afar, not going forward to help, lest they distract Li Tianjue. With his cultivation, dealing with these roots was not difficult, but if they joined, they might only cause trouble.
Although Su Luo cultivated daily, she had only just broken through to the first stage of Profound Heaven Master. Such large and dangerous battles... forget it. Wasn't it better to be lazy? Fighting against stronger opponents was very tiring!
The sky was filled with spiritual light, like lightning and thunder, smashing the tree roots into debris. Villagers of Yunmeng Village, who were hiding in the forest for the night, watched the sky in terror, trembling. They had never seen such a terrifying sight.
After a quarter of an hour, the commotion gradually subsided.
Countless tentacles rapidly retreated into the ground, leaving only the severed roots piled on the ground.
Su Luo and Lu Jixing then stepped forward, and Li Tianjue slowly descended from mid-air.
He glanced at the two, casually sheathed his long sword, and said sternly, "It seems Yunmeng Village was plagued by this tree spirit, which caused so many deaths. As long as we find its main body and eliminate it, it should be resolved."
Lu Jixing looked at the deep pit in front of him and slapped his forehead, saying, "Eldest Senior Brother, we can go down this hole, and we'll surely find that tree spirit."
Li Tianjue's pupils darkened, and Su Luo chuckled dryly, "Third Senior Brother, perhaps not. What if we get buried underground?"
Lu Jixing then realized and quickly laughed it off, "I was just kidding..."
Li Tianjue gave him an icy glare before asking, "Did you find Tianshu?"
"No," Su Luo shook her head. They had searched all the houses in Yunmeng Village but found nothing.
"No news is good news for now. Why don't we check thoroughly again when it's dawn, and ask the village chief if there are any cellars or caves? Perhaps Second Senior Brother is temporarily trapped."
Saying this, Su Luo herself lacked confidence.
The root system of that tree spirit just now was so extensive. One could imagine how terrifying its main body was, and how many thousands of years it had been cultivating.
If Second Senior Brother had been careless, he might indeed be in grave danger.
The three walked towards the village entrance with heavy hearts. The sky was finally gradually brightening.
When Village Chief Liao Daan, accompanied by a few villagers, cautiously came to check the results, they saw Li Tianjue and the others sitting peacefully and eating breakfast. They quickly approached, exclaiming happily, "Young Master Li is indeed safe! As expected of a master from Qingxu Heaven. The battle last night was so fierce, what kind of demonic creature was it?"
"We don't know for sure yet, but there are still people alive in the village, though their minds have been controlled."
Li Tianjue didn't say much. He finished the dried food Su Luo brought in a few bites and asked Liao Daan where there were cellars near the village, and about any long-growing trees, especially those over a thousand years old.
Liao Daan and the villagers immediately listed many, including a hundred-year-old banyan tree, an immortal pine in the mountains, and even an old locust tree at the village entrance that had lived for hundreds of years. Listening to them, Su Luo and the other two grew more solemn. Could all these trees have turned into spirits?
Although Yunmeng Village was more than a hundred li away from Qingxu Mountain, there was a spiritual vein beneath Qingxu Mountain. The trees and animals on the mountain grew exceptionally well due to the nourishment of spiritual energy.
If these ancient trees had, by chance, absorbed some of the spiritual energy emanating from the spiritual vein, it was not impossible for them to become spirits.
Soon, led by Liao Daan, Li Tianjue and the other two found all these trees one by one.
"None of them. Although these trees have gained some spirituality, they haven't reached the point of becoming spirits. Moreover, they feel very peaceful, unlike the one from last night, which was full of brutality and killing intent." Li Tianjue excluded them one by one. The result was that they had been busy for several hours, yet found nothing.
Su Luo was already too tired to walk.
A light sweat beaded on her forehead, as if she had run dozens of miles. She just wanted to lie down.
Second Senior Brother, where are you? Please come out.
She wailed in her heart...
At this moment, a villager snapped his fingers, "Right, I remember now. Isn't there a big willow tree behind Wang Pozi's house? It's also several hundred years old, could it be that one?"
Li Tianjue asked him to lead the way, but the villager was terrified and didn't dare to enter the village. He only provided the detailed location.
Su Luo and the other two entered the village again.
After walking for a long time, they discovered that they had missed it during yesterday's search. On the northern side of the village, near a cliff, there was another thatched cottage.
A giant, sky-reaching willow tree appeared before them.
"So big..."
Lu Jixing stared at the willow tree in shock. Su Luo and Li Tianjue also frowned.
Could it be over a thousand years old?
The trunk was so thick that even two people embracing it couldn't wrap around it. It had several ugly tree burls, about ten meters high. The branches of the tree hung down densely like human hair. Even though it was daytime, this willow tree gave off a gloomy aura.
Despite its dark green leaves and lush foliage, it exuded a feeling of dread,
As if as soon as you went near it, you would be strangled.