Jiuying stepped forward, and using some unknown method, the seemingly indestructible stone wall slowly disappeared, bit by bit.

Shen Miao stared in disbelief. What kind of magical spell was this?

Seeing her confusion, Jiuying explained, "This is actually a kind of illusion, but if you can't tell, it's real."

Shen Miao knew about the illusion; that thing could really kill people.

She silently warned herself that there were more amazing things in this world than she had imagined, so she had to be extra careful, or she wouldn't even know how she died.

Behind the wall was a room, but this room was open on both sides, and inside was a huge tree. The tree was so big that even if Shen Miao stretched out both hands, she might not be able to encircle it.

However, the tree is now firmly locked in place by several iron chains, the other end of which is embedded in the wall.

From Shen Miao's perspective, this tree looks like a criminal who has committed an unforgivable act and is being tortured in this dark and sunless underground.

But what crime could a tree have committed?

Shen Miao felt very strange.

Jiuying also saw the situation inside, but didn't say anything. He just turned his head and gestured to the two of them, indicating that they should follow him inside.

Shen Miao's mind was still on that tree, and she didn't notice Jiu Ying's abnormality. She helped Qing Chen and stepped inside. Upon closer inspection, the tree was covered with various kinds of moss, and she didn't know how many years it had been there.

The iron chain was also covered in rust because it had been locked for too long.

"Jiuying, why is this tree chained up?" Shen Miao asked instinctively.

Jiuying quickly raised a finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture, while nervously watching the tree.

Shen Miao also inexplicably became nervous.

No way, no way, judging from Jiuying's appearance, could this strange tree understand their language?

Just as I was thinking this, I suddenly felt a tremor under my feet, as if something was about to emerge from the ground, and the leaves above my head were falling down in a rustling sound.

"run!"

Jiuying let out a loud shout.

The three of them helped each other up and stumbled toward the exit, but the ground suddenly shook more violently, and they could not even stand, let alone run.

"Oh my god, what the hell is this? Is it an earthquake?" Shen Miao was repeatedly thrown to the ground, making her look extremely disheveled.

Jiuying struggled to steady herself and came over to pull her and Qingchen together, explaining in a deep voice, "No, it's this tree. It was just awakened."

Shen Miao was shocked: "What, it's alive?"

At this moment, the tree was shaking like a sieve, and the already rusty iron chains broke completely under its violent shaking, falling to the ground with a clanging sound.

Shen Miao kept patting the pile of things on her head—vines, branches, and even molluscs and caterpillars. She was about to go crazy; what on earth was this?

Just as the three of them finished cleaning themselves off, the tree snapped the last chain, and countless vines shot out, forming a giant net that enveloped them.

Jiuying used his stone spear to defend himself, shouting, "Don't let the vines get close, they'll snatch people away!"

Shen Miao and Qing Chen also took out stone spears. These vines seemed to have gone mad, constantly wrapping around people. Their impatient appearance was like that of a lecherous ghost.

The three of them cut down many vines, but soon, even more grew back.

This is a demonic tree!

Although it cannot move itself, the vines that parasitize it can all be used by it, and as long as the prey is kept in the room, they can only become its food and nutrients.

The men were panting heavily as they chopped away, but the vines continued to grow at an extremely rapid pace.

Qingchen's back wound reopened, and blood stained his entire back red. If this continued, even if he wasn't killed by the vines, he would eventually die from exhaustion and become nourishment for the demon tree.

A nameless fire surged in Shen Miao's heart.

She asked Jiuying breathlessly, "When will we be able to kill all these monstrous things?"

Jiuying smiled bitterly, "We can't kill it completely, nor can we kill it. Do you see those iron chains on its body? They are meant to lock it up so it can't move. Now that we have awakened it, we must offer a blood sacrifice."

The implication was that they were doomed.

Shen Miao snorted; she really wouldn't accept her fate.

Everything has a weakness, and she believed that this tree was no exception. She believed that as long as she found its weakness, she could kill it.

Shen Miao grabbed a vine and pulled it out forcefully. She instructed the roots of the vine, frowning as she said, "These vines don't seem to be wrapped around the tree; they're growing out of it."

The other two snapped down a few vines and asked breathlessly, "What did you say?"

“I said these vines aren’t parasitic; they grew directly from the demon tree,” Shen Miao repeated.

Jiuying gasped for breath: "So what?"

"Watch out!" Qingchen swung his stone knife and cut off a vine that was trying to entangle Shenmiao.

Shen Miao smiled at Qing Chen and said, "Thank you."

Qingchen's expression was indescribable: "Don't get distracted. Watch out for the vines around you. Getting entangled in them can really kill you."

"You two cover me while I figure out a way to kill it." Shen Miao smiled.

Neither Jiuying nor Qingchen understood, but they did as instructed, wielding stone spears in one hand and stone knives in the other, their four hands carrying four tools, their movements seamless.

Shen Miao swiftly retrieved a chainsaw from her spatial storage and walked towards the demon tree.

Qingchen was already numb. Even if Shen Miao conjured a house out of thin air, he wouldn't show any fright. It was Jiuying's little heart that needed more training.

He stared in disbelief as Shen Miao approached the demon tree with that strange tool. Whether the demon tree sensed the danger or not, its trunk began to shake violently again.

Shen Miao placed the chainsaw on the tree trunk and began sawing it directly.

Even though the demon tree has become a demon, it is still afraid of things like saws. As the buzzing sound rang out, Jiuying suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "That's strange, the vines don't seem to be growing as fast anymore."

“It’s not that it’s growing slower, it’s that it’s stopped growing altogether,” Qingchen said in a deep voice. “Moreover, the attack power of the vines has also decreased.”

Seeing a glimmer of hope, the two fought even more fiercely.

With a loud crash, the tree trunk was completely sawed off, fell heavily, and smashed down a wall.

The group was covered in sap from cutting vines, looking utterly disheveled. They exchanged glances, managed a forced smile, but couldn't manage a proper laugh; they were simply too exhausted.

Jiuying looked at Shen Miao's chainsaw, hesitating to speak.

Shen Miao remained calm and didn't intend to explain anything; it was too taxing on her brain, and besides, she didn't know how to explain it.