Chapter 102: Sister Si, I Don

Accompanying Si Qingguo were countless talismans, each one carrying the magic power of a Cultivation of the Passage realm cultivator, unleashing a spell upon release. Golden talismans fluttered around her, surging like waves—some forty thousand in total. It was as if forty thousand Cultivation of the Passage cultivators struck at once, yet they still failed to exhaust even one percent of the tree demon’s animated corpses.

Even if each talisman were drawn by the weakest Cultivation of the Passage cultivator, such a tidal wave of talismans would force even Qian Chen to flee in panic.

But in cultivation battles, techniques are myriad—how could one possibly be limited to direct confrontation?

Qian Chen himself had dozens of ways to bypass the talisman sea. Hadn’t he dealt with Zhen Daoren, even when the latter was surrounded by just as many talismans, and still saved himself?

The tree demon extended hundreds of willow branches, their emerald chains interweaving into a vast net that sealed off the surroundings.

At the same time, more willow branches plunged into the white bone mound at its roots, each branch dragging a string of bones. The bones writhed and clawed, struggling on the branches, as if the tree demon were puppeteering them—turning the bone mound into an army of skeletons to face the talisman sea.

Each talisman transformed into a spell—fire, lightning, golden light, black wind—gradually wearing down the skeleton army.

Yet whenever a skeleton was obliterated, the willow branch behind it merely withdrew lightly, unharmed. Occasionally, a talisman’s power leaked through the skeleton horde and struck the tree demon, but it caused no pain, no injury.

“I knew this demon was troublesome!” Si Qingguo seethed inwardly. Had she not been trying to save lives, had she first studied its nature before attacking, would she be reduced to such a desperate state?

Swish… swish…

More willow branches stirred, swaying with the wind, radiating eerie Yao light—whip-like, sword-like—revealing astonishingly unnatural power. Si Qingguo sensed the danger; she knew she could not let the tree demon prepare further, or even this sea of talismans would not protect her.

She gritted her silver teeth and drew another golden pair of small scissors from her sleeve.

The scissors were shaped like interwoven xuan birds; as she released them, they darted nimbly into the air, becoming two beams of golden-xuan light that twisted around the tree demon’s roots.

She remained calm, knowing these willow branches were not the tree demon’s true core—merely a magical artifact, a partial manifestation of its power. Even if she cut them all, she might deprive the demon of one trick, but could not kill it. Only by severing its roots could she truly strike at its life.

The scissors opened and closed, and golden-xuan light flashed like lightning—two xuan birds took form…

The dozens of willow branches nearest the scissors lashed out like whips toward the xuan light. The two beams opened and closed, and the emerald Yao willows were cleanly severed—as if their very growth had been cut off. Half of each branch fell to the earth, still green, but devoid of its eerie vitality.

But this brief delay allowed ten times as many branches to swarm in. The scissors darted left and right, shearing off hundreds of willows.

Yet finally, dozens of branches braided together into thick cords, like giant pigtails. The xuan bird scissors could no longer sever them at once. These thick cords coiled around the scissors, wrapping them into a massive willow ball. Rolling Yao energy pressed down; Si Qingguo broke into a sweat, frantically urging her artifact—but could not break free.

She saw the surrounding willows beginning to weave into a net to trap her. She turned to look at the Ten-Fang monk, already bound beside the giant willow, and a flicker of guilt crossed her face… yet she decisively flung a handful of thunder and fire. Each yin thunder exploded with power rivaling Qian Chen’s Silent Divine Thunder, blasting a gaping hole in the willow net.

She had decisively abandoned both saving the monk and her own artifact.

She raised her hand and released a flying shuttle, its spiritual light enveloping her. In an instant, she pierced through the tree demon’s encirclement.

At that moment, the tree demon emitted a strange, genderless laugh: “You’ve come to Grandma’s place—and still think you can leave? Grandma sees your foundation is excellent… perfect for becoming a Corpse Concubine, part of my collection!”

The mountain was all hard rock—but now, several thick tentacles burst through the stone, as if the massive boulders were as soft as tofu.

These willow-root tentacles surged upward with torrents of bloodlight. The bloodlight exploded into countless crimson threads, entangling the shuttle’s spiritual aura. Si Qingguo had no choice but to summon her blade-light, slashing through the threads—but as countless willow branches closed in behind her, escape grew impossible.

She gripped a small jade seal in her hand, her expression hardening, ready to detonate her artifact and strike the tree demon a devastating blow.

At that moment, a yellow shadow flashed past her side…

Si Qingguo blinked, then froze in shock and confusion.

“If I didn’t imagine it… that was a chicken?”

The chicken was covered in pale yellow feathers, resembling the common Nine-Pound Yellow—but larger. Its feathers were pale yellow bordering on gold, pure and flawless, glossy and well-kept… delicious-looking… Si Qingguo stared too long, and found herself swallowing a trickle of saliva.

“Damn it… this demonic array has exposed my weakness.”

She growled angrily: “You conjure such absurd illusions to distract me!”

The big yellow chicken’s pupils glowed pure gold, fixed on the tree demon’s trunk. The tree demon felt a faint tension—it sensed the faint Yao energy on the chicken and sneered: “Just a chicken? Do you know how many jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards I’ve devoured? Countless oxen, sheep, pigs, and horses too… the world isn’t only about animals eating plants—plants eat animals too.”

“Hah! I fear no ox demon—why should I fear a chicken?”

Si Qingguo watched the tree demon grandmother, puzzled—was it acting too deeply?

The big yellow chicken’s eyes glowed gold—and suddenly shot out a golden needle. The ten thousand willow tendrils, the bloodlight from the roots—none could block it. The golden light pierced the tree demon’s body in an instant, striking its core dantian. The tree demon grandmother felt her magic power slow, her spirit trapped within her body.

The pain in her dantian burned as if scoured by solar true fire. The emerald willow branches began to yellow.

The tree, once brimming with Yao vitality, withered and charred. The tree demon grandmother screamed in agony.

“This is a Subjugation Artifact—the Golden Needle that Breaks Demons…”

“Demon! Face my sword!” A bold laugh rang out. Si Qingguo saw a blade-light streaking toward her—its sword stroke cleaving the tree demon’s body.

“Sword Qi Thunder Sound! That’s the sword immortal who fought the demon yesterday!”

Her heart leapt. That day, sword qi thunder had sliced through the sky, followed by demonic flames—she’d been far away, yet still felt the terrifying divine might. She immediately spurred her shuttle, her blade-light like a white ribbon, severing the now-sparse blood threads—and stopped fleeing.

Si Qingguo shouted loudly: “Elder! Count me in!”

“Demon! Face my knife!”

The short knife’s blade-light flashed like snow, following right behind Yan Shu’s sword strike. Both knife and sword struck the tree demon’s roots, nearly severing it in half. The massive wound split nearly halfway—green leaves and branches sprayed out. Yet the tree demon displayed astonishing vitality: the bloodlight reversed, sap congealed into threads, and the wound writhed shut.

Yan Shu was about to strike again when countless willow branches surged wildly toward him…

He slashed with his sword, cleaving through the chaotic branches—but the demon’s willows were too numerous, constantly regrowing. The tree demon poured all its accumulated Yao vitality into regeneration, taking on the semblance of immortality.

The tree demon spread its countless willows over a hundred li, and though Yan Shu’s sword could cut through them, striking its true trunk, this willow demon had cultivated a Divine Magic Form—it had fused its body into a tentacle-like divine demon.

Though it had not yet merged its dantian with its divine form to achieve its True Divine Demon, it had been pierced by the Golden Needle, pinning its Yao dantian.

Unable to freely relocate its dantian, as long as even one branch remained, it could not die—given time, it would regenerate fully.

But now, it had expended all its accumulated vitality on healing, and its dantian could now seal the wounds Yan Shu inflicted.

At this moment, the sword cultivator’s disadvantage against an immortal foe became clear.

If one cannot slay the enemy’s primordial spirit, every strike with sword-light is merely a drain of magic power against demonic energy. With the willow demon’s vast body, Yan Shu would die of exhaustion before he could kill it.

Watching Yan Shu gradually entangled by the countless willows, Si Qingguo cried sharply: “Elder! Watch my artifact!”

She activated the jade seal she held. Instantly, a massive inscription descended upon the tree demon’s tangled willows: “Pingyang Merit Seal.” The latent divine power flared slightly—and instantly shattered the countless willows. Yan Shu seized the opening, slashing twice more, nearly piercing the willow tree through.

Far away, Qian Chen, wounded and only watching from afar, saw this and felt a pang of envy—“Artifact! How does this girl have so many… not just quantity, even quality surpasses mine. And she has another artifact…”

“I’m clearly still too poor! Since my sect (Louguan Dao) went bankrupt, my entire fortune vanished into thin air… now I live on bran and vegetables. The only artifact I own is a demonic one I seized—and dare not use lightly.”

“I’ve fought tooth and nail to earn this little, yet this girl just has a rich dad.”

“Taishang, I don’t want to strive anymore. Just drop a Spirit Artifact on me!” Qian Chen muttered inwardly.

Though they nearly succeeded, under the tree demon’s desperate, life-or-death surge of root attacks, Yan Shu still needed two more strikes to sever its roots.

“I’ve probed its origins, Sister Ning! Give me three more strikes—I’ll fuse my dantian with my sword and kill it!” Yan Shu shouted.

“Sister Ning?” Si Qingguo’s face paled slightly. “I’m not surnamed Si—but I’m not surnamed Ning either!”

At that moment, a cool, clear voice reached her ears: “Sister, how many more times can you activate that artifact?”

Si Qingguo, unguarded, replied honestly: “This artifact was given to me by my father for protection. My cultivation is insufficient—I’ve already used it once, and can activate it twice more. But my father strictly ordered me: save the last use for a life-or-death crisis.”

Ning Qingchen paused thoughtfully, then suddenly pecked—

Her sword-light lacked the height of sword qi thunder, but she had mastered sword-light differentiation. Yet she did not strike the tree demon—instead, she slashed at the middle willow ball, now slightly smaller.

Si Qingguo rejoiced, frantically urging her small scissors. Two golden-xuan beams shot from within the willow ball, spinning back to cut—joining forces with Ning Qingchen to shred it apart.

“Use this artifact to keep cutting those willow roots…”

“Sister Feng! We may have to risk it!” Qian Chen’s voice echoed in their minds: “Sister Ning, no need. I’ve already secretly planted many Silent Divine Thunder spells around the tree demon. The thunder has accumulated into a formation. All I need is to play a tune—and it will detonate.”

“When that happens, Sister Ning, take Yan Shu and the others far away. Once I’ve shattered these branches and leaves, let Yan Shu strike the final blow. Save all your setups for then!”

Ning Qingchen’s heart steadied. She turned to Si Qingguo, the red-clad girl gazing at her pitifully: “Prepare your seal strike. When I say ‘go,’ release it—no hesitation!”

Saying this, she pulled Si Qingguo slightly away from the tree demon’s trunk.

On the distant snowy peak, Qian Chen looked down at the lower mountain, where a towering demonic tree waved countless tentacle-branches, raising bloodlight into the sky.

“Such commotion won’t hide from those demons for long.”

“I’d planned to let Yan Shu and Ning Qingchen train their coordination—but now I must force myself, wounded, to use even one-tenth of my power!”

With that thought, Qian Chen plucked a silk string. A low, hoarse qin melody rang out—and invisible, colorless thunderlight surged with the music.

The tree demon vaguely sensed countless strange magical forces approaching from the void. It roared, its countless branches thrashing wildly—one willow whip lashed a hundred li, and ten thousand branches swirled and coiled into a dense formation.