"What's wrong?"
Jiang He looked over curiously, not understanding why the other person's face had suddenly turned deathly pale.
Hearing this, the other two couldn't help but turn their heads, thinking he was having a relapse of his internal injuries, which was why he was sweating profusely and showing an unusual expression.
However, Ji Yuan at this moment was unable to spare any attention. His gaze fell upon the old locust tree, and he could not move it away. It wasn't that he couldn't, but that he dared not.
He had a feeling that if he were to look away now, everyone present would die in the next instant!
This feeling was not spoken, but it welled up from his heart. For a moment, his entire body trembled uncontrollably!
Even when facing death several times, he had never felt such a tremor of fear!
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
A night breeze blew, and the dense leaves of the old locust tree rustled. The other three heard nothing unusual, but to Ji Yuan, it sounded like a series of chilling laughter.
Before long, Xu Qiqi and the other two also noticed something was wrong. They exchanged a subtle glance, their hands instinctively moving towards their weapons.
Silently, a killing intent descended, almost engulfing Ji Yuan, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. Strangely, the other three seemed unaffected.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye and immediately saw their subtle movements, understanding instantly why the situation had taken a sudden turn.
"Run!"
Ji Yuan struggled with all his might, barely managing to squeeze out a single word.
As soon as the word left his mouth, the middle-aged guard carrying him immediately ran towards the courtyard gate without hesitation. He also scooped up Xu Qiqi and held her under his arm.
At the same time, Jiang He drew the long sword behind him, moving to block the path between the group and the old locust tree, then retreated backward without looking back.
During this process, the young man's eyes remained fixed on the old locust tree not far away. Although he didn't know what had happened, he understood why Ji Yuan had suddenly acted this way.
But he knew one thing for sure: if something were to happen here, the old locust tree would be the most suspected culprit.
It was not uncommon for plants to transform into spirits in this world. While other places were not worth mentioning, within their Nine Xuan Sect alone, there were several tree spirits.
Therefore, it was not difficult to accept that an old locust tree, living for several hundred years, might have developed sentience by chance and transformed into a demon.
"The locust tree... is problematic!"
Under the shroud of the cold killing intent, Ji Yuan spoke with great difficulty. With every word he uttered, sweat beaded on his forehead, and his face grew even paler.
It was hard to imagine the pressure he was enduring!
Hearing this, Xu Qiqi and the other two felt their hearts sink, and various speculations immediately arose in their minds.
But before they could figure out what was happening, locust leaves suddenly began to fall from the sky.
Each green leaf was as light as nothing, but when a breeze blew, they instantly shot out like hidden weapons launched by martial artists, filling the air.
Seeing this, Jiang He let out a low cry. The shadow of his sword weaved continuously, and with flashes of cold light, the falling locust leaves were chopped into pieces!
Although he blocked most of the leaves, a small portion still shot forward. Some embedded themselves into the flagstones beneath their feet, while others landed on the three of them, immediately leaving them covered in wounds.
Ji Yuan suffered the most. Despite the middle-aged guard's best efforts to dodge, more than ten locust leaves pierced his back.
Fortunately, his cultivation was at the late stage of the Enlightenment Realm. Although his physique was not as robust as that of a martial artist, it was far superior to that of an ordinary mortal. The scene on his back looked terrifying, but it did not fundamentally injure him.
However, the steadily flowing blood made his face even paler.
"Be careful!"
Just as they were about to escape the courtyard, a shout suddenly came from behind them.
Almost simultaneously, a whooshing sound erupted from behind, like countless arrows being fired.
The middle-aged guard instinctively turned his head and saw countless roots breaking out of the ground, instantly surging towards them like a tidal wave, almost upon them.
Thump! Thump, thump, thump!!!
With loud thuds, an entire wall and the courtyard gate collapsed. Dozens of old locust tree roots savagely pierced everything in their path, including Ji Yuan and the other three.
Their bodies were impaled and hung on the roots, crashing through the thick courtyard wall and being flung onto the flagstones.
In just a moment, the grayish flagstones were soaked in blood, and the strong smell of blood permeated the air.
After more than ten breaths, Jiang He got up, propping himself on his sword. Among the four, he was in the best condition. At the critical moment, he had performed a secret technique, causing part of his body to turn into deadwood, which blocked many of the attacks.
However, as he gazed at the densely packed roots, even the usually fearless youth couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle and a sense of despair rise in his heart.
Rumble...
Just then, an object rolled slowly and finally bumped against his heel.
Jiang He looked down and saw a bronze lamp lying upside down at his feet.
He subconsciously looked back and met Ji Yuan's gaze, immediately understanding his intention. He picked up the bronze lamp and placed it in front of him.
The next moment, dozens of roots shot towards them. Jiang He, meanwhile, mustered the vital energy within him and blew fiercely onto the wick of the bronze lamp.
Instantly, a blazing flame surged and grew. What was originally just a wisp of a flame suddenly expanded dozens of times, transforming into a raging inferno that engulfed the dozens of roots in front of him.
After twenty breaths, the spiritual energy accumulated in the bronze oil lamp was completely depleted. The sky-high flames slowly dissipated, leaving only scattered remains and withered leaves, with the air filled with a strong smell of burning.
Jiang He looked up nervously and saw dozens more roots breaking out of the ground. Even the ones that had been burned were regenerating the burnt parts.
It seemed that no matter how many roots were destroyed, it made no difference to the old locust tree.
In fact, the old locust tree had been rooted here for hundreds of years. Its roots had spread immensely, even pervading the ground beneath half the neighborhood.
Let alone dozens or hundreds of roots being destroyed, even hundreds or thousands would not matter and would not cause fundamental harm.
For a moment, the young Jiang He felt a sense of despair. He knew that the other three behind him depended on him to resist the killing intent of the old locust tree.
But at this moment, he truly didn't know what else he could do. The spiritual energy in the bronze oil lamp was depleted, and his proud secret techniques and sword skills were useless against this behemoth.
Swish!!!
The roots shot out like arrows and spears, instantly covering a distance of more than ten zhang. Under the vast shadow, they were about to end the lives of the four.
Seeing this, Jiang He gripped the hilt of his sword, but then suddenly relaxed it, as if resigned to his fate, and closed his eyes.
Crack! Crack, crack!! Crack, crack, crack!!!
Suddenly, a series of cracking sounds rang out, followed by the sound of numerous branches falling to the ground.
Jiang He's eyes snapped open and he saw a white stream of light flashing before his eyes. It moved back and forth in the air, and wherever it passed, roots were severed.
The stream of light was a white jade flying sword, emitting a faint, glassy aura. There was no sword energy or imposing aura.
But beneath its blade, it seemed nothing could withstand it, nor could anything remain unbroken. Countless old locust tree roots were severed, and all attacks were blocked by this palm-sized white jade flying sword.
"What are you waiting for? You might want to die, but we don't!"
From behind, Ji Yuan's weak voice came.
The young man quickly turned and hurried to the side of the others, helping them up with difficulty and then tending to their wounds.
Locust leaves were removed from their bodies, and then the medicine provided by Ji Yuan was applied. Before long, the bloody wounds stopped bleeding and quickly scabbed over.
"Don't give up easily. Even when you're at your wit's end, you must have the spirit to fight for your life."
While tending to their wounds, Ji Yuan suddenly said solemnly.
Hearing this, Jiang He was stunned for a moment, then nodded heavily. He made no promises and did not make any passionate boasts, but silently took it to heart.
"How long can you hold on?"
Xu Qiqi glanced at her junior brother and then turned her gaze to Ji Yuan beside her.
With the white jade flying sword blocking in front of them, continuously slicing off the attacking roots of the old locust tree, they were temporarily safe from immediate death.
However, they were all exhausted, covered in wounds, and could barely stand for a while, let alone escape this dangerous place.
If it were only up to Jiang He, he couldn't possibly escort all of them to safety.
"If the locust tree doesn't employ any other tricks, we should be able to hold on for a while."
Ji Yuan thought for a moment and casually replied.
His white jade flying sword was different from the magic artifacts or natal flying swords of ordinary cultivators. It relied solely on its own sharpness, maneuvering in mid-air to sever the locust tree's roots without consuming any of his vital energy.
As for the spiritual energy contained within this flying sword, which he called 'Xiao Bai', it was enough to keep it going until dawn.
Therefore, theoretically, if the other party did not use any other means, they should be temporarily safe from death for a considerable period.
But Ji Yuan didn't believe that a demon that had hidden so deeply would only possess such limited offensive capabilities.
"Do you... have any other backup plans?"
Xu Qiqi hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but ask.
The two beside them also looked over expectantly, hoping that this person, who always did the unexpected and seemed omnipotent, would casually nod at this moment.
Unfortunately, Ji Yuan's expression darkened, and he slowly shook his head.
He still had some vital energy left within him, but both his internal and external injuries had erupted, making him unable to perform any extra actions. That bit of vital energy was confined within his body and could not be mobilized at all.
All his trump cards had been played. At most, he had a few talismans of decent quality, but they were incapable of causing any damage to the old locust tree.
As for the long sword on his back, if he could wield it, not to mention a second-realm demon, even a third-realm could be easily slain.
But in his current state, he couldn't wield the sword at all. Even if Jiang He were to use it, this sword, the treasured sword of the ancestor of Xuan Tian Temple, would never allow itself to be controlled by others; it might not even be willing to leave its scabbard.
Considering all this, he was indeed at his wit's end and could no longer produce any tricks. Even releasing Xiao Bai from his Violet Mansion was a considerable effort.
"If Senior Brother could just descend from the heavens right now..."
Xu Qiqi murmured softly, then couldn't help but laugh at herself.
Reality was, after all, not a storybook. No hero would descend with infinite hope at the most critical moment every single time.
However, although no hero descended, ordinary guards were indeed shouting and running from afar.
"You... How did you get here?"
The middle-aged guard was stunned, seemingly unable to believe the scene before him.
There were four young men in total, all former guards of the Zhao family. Three of them had collapsed and fainted from shock early on, and one who was not yet nineteen had been left in the wooden building by them.
Now, the four of them were running from a distance, appearing before them.
"We saw you hadn't returned for a long time, so we decided to come and check."
The youngest guard glanced at the commotion not far away, then helped the middle-aged guard up from the ground: "It seems we've arrived at the perfect time!"
Ji Yuan and Xu Qiqi were also carried. As for Jiang He and the remaining person, they stood between them and the old locust tree, in case of any further developments.
"Let's go!"
The young guard shouted and, along with his companion, led Ji Yuan and the others away.
Surprisingly, the old locust tree did not obstruct them when they saw this. Instead, it retracted all its roots and burrowed back into the ground.
Xiao Bai circled in the air for a while, and seeing no more roots attacking, it returned with a spin and entered Ji Yuan's brow.