Chapter 67 Doesn't Senior Brother hate me? (9) "I am... ...
Li Weiyan's mood gradually calmed down, and they began to talk about serious matters.
"Senior brother, Ah Li, did you find anything inside? I only remember that shortly after you went in, a white light surged out from the door, and then my consciousness entered an illusion. Was all of this the work of a demon, or did someone use a magical artifact to cause trouble here?"
Upon hearing this, Fu Li calmly recounted what had happened after they entered the examination hall and what they had seen in the underground cave.
“There is indeed a golden statue of a golden eagle on the offering platform. As soon as we entered, our vision was obscured by the white light it emitted, and we entered an illusion just like you. When we woke up, we found ourselves in a tunnel, where there were many human remains. The location is roughly directly below the Golden Feather Shrine.”
Upon hearing this, Li Weiyan pondered for a moment, then said, "If that's the case, why doesn't the demon show itself? We only have three of us left, and the rest are trapped in illusions. Isn't this the best time to strike? Besides creating illusions, doesn't it have any other means?"
Fu Li was taken aback by his words, and murmured, "So it doesn't want to show itself, or it's not confident..."
As the two were talking, Chongjingge's gaze swept across the scene inside the shrine with a cold, icy look, sharp yet swift.
Suddenly, his gaze locked onto a spot, his eyes shooting straight towards the eaves of the Gongtang tiled house like two arrows.
The voice was soft and cold: "Perhaps, that demonic creature wasn't the Golden Feathered Eagle at all."
Before the other two could react, he leaped high into the air, his natal sword, Qintian, suddenly appearing in his hand. The sword energy surged forth like the August tide, crashing against the roof of the tiled house with the force of waves crashing against rocks.
Almost instantly, the nameless little flowers that had grown on it, previously unremarkable in color, under the threat of Qintian's sword energy, underwent a terrifying transformation. Their delicate branches rapidly expanded and grew larger until they completely crushed the already dilapidated roof. Countless arm-thick, deep green vines arched out from the ground and walls of the tribute hall, stretching in all directions, easily destroying the tribute hall and the surrounding walls wherever they went, with rubble and debris pouring down from around the monster's body.
Fortunately, the three of them reacted quickly and moved the disciples who had fainted on the ground to a safe place, thus avoiding being affected.
The vines and the massive, powerful root system connecting to the ground intertwined to form a huge base, eventually growing into a towering plant with vines as its foundation, standing atop the three like a small mountain. Countless ferocious giant flowers bloomed all over the giant plant, like gaping maws, each large enough to swallow a human head.
At this moment, Fu Li finally saw the true form of the demon beast. It was not the demon-possessed Golden Feathered Eagle Demon he had previously guessed, but a huge vine demon tree.
Before he could even think about why the monster in the Golden Feather Shrine was a tree demon, he immediately leaped up to avoid the sneak attack from the vines that emerged from the ground.
Fu Li recalled all the books he had read, but did not remember any similar monsters.
With such a large size, no one would believe it if you said it wasn't corrupted by demons.
This is really a difficult situation.
He then drew his sword, imbued it with a fire spell, and stared intently at a huge vine flailing wildly on the ground. With a swift movement, he cleaved it in two. The wound was charred black by the flames formed from his spiritual energy.
Fire overcomes Wood, so this battle seems exceptionally easy for him.
At this moment, Li Weiyan and Chong Jingge exchanged a glance, and before the monster could fully raise its massive body, they rushed forward from the left and right, attacking different parts of its body.
Among them, Li Weiyan's Fiery Talisman had little effect on the attack on the vines at the bottom, only managing to burn a few thin vines. Green, viscous liquid flowed from the wounds, but new vines quickly grew out.
On the opposite side, Chongjingge held the Qintian sword and swung it, striking a flower on a vine. The large, basin-like flower was instantly sliced off by the white sword light, and it withered and turned gray before it even hit the ground.
This time, the wound did not heal immediately; a stream of bright green sap gushed out, dripping like rain.
Seeing this, Chongjingge immediately said, "Those flower plates on its body are its weakness!"
Upon receiving the message, Li Weiyan touched the ground with his toes and flew into the air again. He extended two fingers and shot out several attack talismans, successfully plucking a flower from a demon beast.
As another stream of fluid gushed from the wound, the vines all over the monster's body began to writhe violently. If it could make a sound, it would surely be letting out a deafening wail.
Now that we've found the weakness, whatever it may be, let's grab our weapons and attack.
Fu Li drew his sword and leaped into the air, his body overflowing with crimson flames, as he cleaned the flower plates around the monster, just like the two of them.
At the same time, the monsters would not sit idly by and let the three of them harvest them.
It wielded dozens of its thickest vines and attacked the three of them. Each vine was as thick as a stone pillar at the gate of Longque Mountain. Once it hit them, they would be crushed to dust, just like insects swatted by a fly swatter.
The three of them dodged the vines that were being swung around them while continuing to destroy the flower pots using various methods. Looking up from below, they could see three streams of light swirling around the giant demon tree, harassing it to no end, making it seem like they were swatting away mosquitoes.
At first, Fu Li seemed to be handling things with ease. After all, he possessed a fire elemental root and cultivated fire elemental magic, making him naturally effective against tree demons. The flames emanating from his body contained pure spiritual power, preventing the tree vines from approaching easily.
But gradually, he also felt his strength failing. Although the monster had lost dozens of flower plates and its body was covered with countless wounds, it still thrashed about in a rage.
Seeing that at least half of the flower heads on the tree were still intact, Fu Li gritted her teeth and shouted to the other two, "Isn't there a way to defeat this monster with a single blow?!"
Chongjing Pavilion was also frowning. Hearing Fu Li's shout, he subconsciously forced himself to speed up. However, with his right hand injured and to ensure everyone's safety, he couldn't use overly lethal methods. He could only continue clearing the monsters one by one, making sure they wouldn't suddenly explode and injure others.
Upon hearing this, Li Weiyan called out, "Ah Li, if you're tired, don't push yourself. Just leave it to your senior brothers!"
But Fu Li didn't want to be seen as someone who only relied on his senior brother's protection afterward. Just as he was gritting his teeth and persevering but was about to give up, a voice suddenly entered his mind---
"The fatal flaw of the Illusionless Flower Fairy lies at its tip, where a pink flower blooms, the culmination of its many years of cultivation. You can pluck it using your fire-elemental spiritual power."
Fu Li was stunned for a moment, and in that instant, he was almost swept away by a vine.
He was certain this wasn't the system's voice; it was more like someone was communicating with him telepathically. And it was completely unfamiliar.
Although it is only a short sentence, it is as clear and smooth as a calmly flowing river, and carries a touch of the coolness of moonlight, as if it can penetrate into people's hearts.
Perhaps it was the reassuring feeling in the voice, or perhaps it was a desperate measure, but Fu Li heeded the other person's advice. Her expression suddenly became focused, and she found a gap between the vines, so she flew to the top in one go. Sure enough, at the very top, she saw a very small pink flower, exactly the same as the wildflower that had originally grown on the eaves.
Fu Li then adjusted his angle and leaped forward, a flame condensing at his fingertips. In the instant he passed Xiao Hua, he used the flame as a blade and successfully sliced it off from the top.
Then, with a nimble leap, he landed steadily on the ground.
As it turned out, the voice hadn't lied to him. After losing the flower at its tip, the monster's body instantly shriveled up. Its once massive trunk seemed to have been drained of all its nutrients, eventually shrinking to the size of an ordinary dwarf tree, standing listlessly in the ruins of the tribute hall.
Although he didn't know what had happened, Li Weiyan recognized that it was Fu Li who did it and turned around in surprise: "Ah Li, what did you do? How did you do that?"
Fu Li grinned as he held up the flowers in his hand, about to show them off as a trophy, when he suddenly heard Chongjing Pavilion in the distance shout, "Oh no! Junior Brother is in danger!"
At the same time, right above their heads, a purple light broke through the white mist barrier and shot straight down like lightning, but even before it arrived, a heavy pressure as heavy as mountains and seas arrived.
Chongjing Pavilion was the first to realize that danger was approaching. However, he was too far away from Fu Li. Just as he was about to go to protect his junior brother, the purple figure had already arrived at Fu Li's side.
Even without turning around, Fu Li could feel a chilling and oppressive aura surging from behind him, forcing him to remain motionless.
A familiar yet unfamiliar voice spoke flippantly: "I wondered what kind of grand occasion it was, but it turns out that the immortal cultivation sects have come here for training. How lively."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a piece of luxurious dark purple brocade along the edge of his blue brocade robe, the ornate and intricate patterns of which indicated that he was no ordinary person.
Just as he was stunned, a finger pressed against his chin and lifted his face, and his eyes were immediately met with a beautiful and exquisite face.
Before him stood a tall, slender man in a brocade robe. His neat robes swayed in the wind, changing colors in the sunlight, and were embroidered with dragons and other patterns that Fu Li could not understand.
That face was delicately handsome, with sharply defined sideburns and a face as smooth as jade. Its features were clear and exquisite, and long, silky hair cascaded down to its waist like a waterfall of ink. A few strands fell from its shoulders to its front, exuding a touch of nonchalance. However, what was most striking were the serpentine pupils beneath its sculpted eyebrows, cold and gleaming with a faint purple light, their narrowed eyes radiating a lazy, cunning expression.
In this state, he resembled an evil god sculpted by people's imagination in a temple, with a hint of contempt amidst his eerie and sinister charm, his face without a single flaw, making him unforgettable.
At the same time, the man was also looking at him.
However, when his gaze fell upon the red mole between the boy's eyebrows, his expression suddenly changed, and his previously casual eyes instantly became deep and thoughtful.
Suddenly, with a sharp "whoosh," a fierce sword aura ripped through the sky, carrying a surging, tide-like killing intent, and instantly struck the purple-clad man's face. Wherever it passed, the killing intent took shape, the space trembled and shook, and the atmosphere was chillingly cold.
The man in purple glanced at it indifferently, casually raised his sleeve and unleashed a dragon-shaped bolt of lightning, which vanished the instant it touched the sword energy.
Upon seeing this, the purple-clad man's expression changed, and he quickly retreated to the side, barely managing to avoid the sword light. However, the hand that had touched Fu Li had a piece of its sleeve sliced off.
Fu Li felt a chill run down his spine, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Before he could react, he was already wrapped up in Chongjingge's arms.
The man's brows furrowed, and a murderous aura emanated from him. His injured arm held the boy tightly in front of him, and he stared at the uninvited guest with a fierce look in his eyes.
Qintian responded to its master with a series of cries, as if it could unleash a world-destroying battle at any moment.
The man in purple glanced down at his tattered sleeve, narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Chongjing Pavilion, and asked, "Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique? Where are you from?"
Upon hearing this, Fu Li suddenly remembered that the Chong family of Nanzhou was once a world-renowned dragon-slaying family, but it had long since declined and disappeared. In this generation, only the Chongjing Pavilion inherited the Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique.
Judging from the purple-clad man's fearful demeanor, he must be the Four Seas Demon Lord who joined forces with Fu Li to harm the male protagonist in the story.
As expected, when Li Weiyan stepped forward, bowed, and asked, "We are inner disciples of Dragon Gate Mountain. We have come here to slay demons and monsters and to hone our cultivation. May I ask why you have intruded into this place, senior?"
The man in purple chuckled twice, it was unclear whether he was mocking their identities or something else.
His jewel-like purple vertical pupils narrowed slightly, and he said casually, "Perhaps you have heard of my name from your master."
"I am Zhongli Qianye, the Demon Lord of the Four Seas."
Author's Note: I made some minor revisions; the plot remains largely unchanged.
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