In a courtyard, two figures, a man and a woman, moved with swiftness, their coordination so perfect it was as if a single artist had drawn their every motion. Having been refined into puppets controlled by the same divine consciousness, their actions were naturally as one.
However, despite their formidable combat prowess, their realms were only at the initial stage of Enlightenment. Though they fought with unwavering ferocity, their bodies sustained considerable injuries. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before their physical forms collapsed from the sheer weight of their wounds.
Just then, Su Hongzhu, who had been strolling leisurely, finally appeared outside the courtyard. She stopped, gazing at the scene within from a distance, making no move to intervene immediately. It was as if she felt no concern for her two puppets being utterly destroyed by the ancient locust tree.
Moments later, with more than a dozen locust roots lashing out, they pierced the bodies of the two figures, pinning them to the ground. Lacking any sense of pain, they were now too weak to swing their swords and sever the roots embedded in their bodies. Their already vacant eyes grew dim at an accelerating rate.
Before long, they ceased all movement, their physical injuries erupting, causing their bodies to crumble on the spot. In the void, a faint whimpering sound seemed to arise, filled with a sense of release.
Upon witnessing this, Su Hongzhu's eyes remained unmoved, yet she finally took a step forward, slowly entering the courtyard. In her sight, the entire courtyard was strewn with roots and branches. Countless emerald locust leaves were embedded in the flagstones and soil, alongside numerous sword marks. In the brief skirmish of just a moment, at least several dozen, if not a hundred, locust roots had been severed, yet it seemed to have had no effect on the ancient tree. Its potent life force showed no signs of depletion. As for the hundreds of locust leaves scattered on the ground, they were insignificant to the dense canopy. If the ancient locust tree wished, it could sprout a vast expanse in an instant with minimal expenditure of life force.
"As a ghost, why do you aid these humans?"
The trunk of the ancient locust tree writhed, and then an aged face materialized, speaking to Su Hongzhu as she approached.
Seeing this, she covered her mouth and chuckled softly, offering no reply. As her next step landed, her form dissolved into an afterimage. In an instant, Su Hongzhu appeared before the trunk of the ancient locust tree, and with a powerful punch, she slammed it towards the aged face.
With a dull thud, like striking a bronze bell, a rolling, heavy sound reverberated outwards in all directions.
*Swish!!!*
Branches lashed out with speed, instantly piercing her body, even passing clean through. Yet, when these branches were withdrawn, Su Hongzhu bore no wounds; not even her clothes were torn. It was as if the attacks had never landed on her.
She smiled slightly and kicked the trunk. The heavy force caused the ancient locust tree, which would require more than a dozen men to embrace, to tremble. A rustling sound emanated from its canopy. Su Hongzhu delivered one kick, then another dozen, and as if her soles were starting to ache, she switched to her fists, pounding ferociously. The entire ancient locust tree shook violently. Throughout this onslaught, whether it was the tree's branches, leaves, or roots, each piercing her body failed to inflict any damage.
This scene was naturally observed by several individuals positioned on a rooftop far outside the courtyard. Apart from Huixin, each of them had witnessed the terror of the ancient locust tree. Its countless roots were not something ordinary cultivators or warriors could easily block. Even Jiang He, from the renowned Nine Profound Sect, with his masterful swordsmanship, could only hold on for about twenty breaths. If not for Ji Yuan's flying sword at that time, they would have likely perished there.
Yet now, none of the ancient locust tree's attacks could harm Su Hongzhu. Instead, she was up close to its trunk, raining blows with her fists and feet like a tempest. In less than ten blinks of an eye, the robust trunk was covered in imprints from her punches and kicks, each one sinking deep into the wood, causing the bark to crack. Deep green sap was already trickling from the fissures, filling the air with a sweet fragrance.
"Prepare to assist."
Ji Yuan suddenly whispered, then glanced at the middle-aged courtyard guard beside him. The others were naturally overlooked, as their strength was insufficient compared to him and the guard. Only Huixin, with her Buddhist background, possessed means that countered malevolent spirits; otherwise, her strength was only slightly superior to these guards, and certainly not enough to engage the ancient locust tree in close combat.
A moment later, Ji Yuan and the middle-aged guard leaped from the rooftop and quietly advanced towards the distant courtyard.
Meanwhile, within the courtyard, after failing to inflict damage, the ancient locust tree sensed something amiss. The canopy of leaves and roots ceased their barrage and began to coil around Su Hongzhu layer by layer. Clearly, the ancient locust tree suspected that her current form was a diversion, concealing her true self.
Initially, only a few roots wound around her, which she could easily break. But as their numbers grew, she found herself increasingly strained. Red Powder Skeleton, this type of异种鬼物 (unique ghost creature), possessed two innate advantages: a divine ability to charm men and a robust physique. That skeletal form was not only incredibly tough but also possessed strength far exceeding that of ordinary martial practitioners of the same realm. Such creatures often disdained using spells in combat, relying instead on their own resilience to engage enemies head-on.
However, Su Hongzhu now faced something that precisely countered her strengths. Layer upon layer of branches and roots wrapped around her. Although she could break some, more would fill the gaps, seeming inexhaustible. In just a few moments, Su Hongzhu vanished from sight, leaving only a large sphere formed by countless branches and roots of the ancient locust tree.
The entire courtyard fell into sudden silence, the tempestuous sounds of bombardment gone. Though the ancient locust tree had temporarily subdued Su Hongzhu, it now faced a new dilemma, its aged face etched with a helpless sigh. It had indeed restrained her, but how to deal with this troublesome ghost was another matter entirely. The ancient locust tree had no doubt that if it released its branches and roots, this female ghost would continue her assault until one of them fell. From the very beginning, it had sensed her intent.
"Since you brought this upon yourself, do not blame me for imprisoning you a hundred feet beneath the earth!"
The ancient locust tree muttered, its voice echoing through the courtyard. As its words fell, a dark, lightless chasm opened in the ground beside its trunk, appearing as a descent into an inferno. The ancient locust tree then raised the massive sphere formed by its branches and roots, intending to bury it, along with Su Hongzhu, a hundred feet deep underground. If it succeeded, Su Hongzhu would likely never regain her freedom. Her spiritual energy would be depleted, and she would become a withered skeleton, merging with the earth over an endless passage of time.
But precisely at this moment, two figures streaked forward, one after the other. A flash of cold light severed the branches and roots connecting to the sphere.
"Break!"
Ji Yuan, wielding 'Yuanbao', leaped forward with all his might. As his sword light flowed, the sphere, still falling through the air, suddenly shattered into pieces. Debris of shattered limbs and wood flew outwards, and Su Hongzhu's figure reappeared. She stepped on the scattered branches and, with a sweeping leg, delivered a fierce whip kick to the trunk of the ancient locust tree.
*Crack!!!*
A sharp crack echoed, and a fissure immediately appeared on the trunk of the ancient locust tree, spreading rapidly upwards and downwards, extending nearly half the length of the trunk. She suddenly reached back and, with sheer force, pulled a slender bone sword from her own spine! This sword was only a finger wide and as long as her spine, its surface a pristine white with a jade-like quality, emanating a faint glow.
Without a word, Su Hongzhu raised the bone sword high and brought it down with immense force, cleaving the face on the ancient locust tree's trunk in two! She then seemed to vent her remaining fury, chopping and slashing with the bone sword more than ten times, carving out a massive cavity in the trunk of the ancient locust tree, sending fragments of its wood scattering across the ground.
"This is..."
However, just as she was about to thrust her sword into the heart of the tree and utterly destroy its trunk with her spiritual energy, a scene before her caused her actions to falter slightly.
"Hold your hand!"
On the other side, Ji Yuan urgently shouted. Even the middle-aged guard beside him, losing control, was on the verge of charging forward recklessly!
Within the gaping hole that Su Hongzhu had carved into the ancient locust tree's trunk, a young boy was revealed. He was the young master of the Zhao family, Zhao Yuebai, who had been abducted by Zhao Wuhen to be used as a vessel for his soul. Zhao Yuebai's limbs and lower waist were embedded in the trunk of the ancient locust tree. Only his torso above the abdomen and his head had been revealed by Su Hongzhu's cleaving.
"Young Master!"
Seeing Zhao Yuebai, still unconscious, the middle-aged guard cried out in alarm. Perhaps Zhao Wuhen's affection stemmed from seeing him as his future vessel. But to the others in the Zhao family, Zhao Yuebai was still their beloved young master, whom they cared for from the bottom of their hearts. The middle-aged guard clearly remembered a small figure squatting at the side when they practiced martial arts in the training grounds, gazing at them with admiration.
*Bang!!!*
However, while they were momentarily stunned, a thick branch shot through the air and sent Su Hongzhu flying violently. She crashed through two or three courtyard walls consecutively, finally slamming into a rock garden. Loud noises reverberated throughout the entire Zhao family mansion.
Witnessing this, Ji Yuan's expression changed instantly, and a chill rose from his heart, spreading rapidly throughout his body! He quickly drew his sword and slashed forward. His sword light crisscrossed, severing branches and wood as several sharp branches, at an almost imperceptible angle, suddenly lashed out towards his chest. After cutting down a few branches, Ji Yuan immediately retreated. The spot where he had stood was immediately engulfed in dust as more than a dozen roots slammed into it. A bead of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and he couldn't help but think, "Fortunate." However, before he could make any further move, in his peripheral vision, he saw a figure recklessly charge towards the ancient locust tree.
No, to be precise, he was charging towards the boy trapped within the trunk of the ancient locust tree! He blocked the branches and roots that rained down, felling leaf after leaf that flew like hidden weapons. Despite being drenched in blood, he was determined to rescue the boy!
For he would never forget the small figure who would watch them practice every day with adoring eyes. Nor would he forget the innocent, yet determined, boy who said he, too, would become like them, mastering peerless martial arts and venturing into the martial world they spoke of.
"Here, have this sugar figurine."
On that day, the boy offered a sugar figurine and, with an innocent smile, asked, "My name is Yuebai. What's yours, Uncle?" At that time, he had taken the sugar figurine, smaller than his palm, with his rough hands. His tanned face had shown a trace of emotion, a hint of embarrassment as he replied, "My name is Zhaoge, Shou Zhaoge."
He had hesitated to meet the boy's gaze then, for the admiration in his eyes made the rough man uncharacteristically shy, as he had not, as he boasted, mastered the world's most peerless martial arts. Nor had he ventured far into the martial world, which was why he was now one of the Zhao family's guards. But now, he felt that even without peerless martial arts, even without leaving the hundreds of miles around the county town... he absolutely had to! He absolutely had to rescue Young Master Yuebai, who knew he was boasting yet still admired him!
Rescue him completely from the clutches of the demonic creature! Even if the ultimate price... was his own life!