More of those brown tree vines lashed toward the group, treating them like prey.
At the same moment she flung the possessed demon immortal away, Jian Dan pulled out the "Heaven and Earth Stabilizing Formation" from her storage bracelet. This time, she fueled it with immortal stones. In an instant, a silver-glowing shield spread out around them.
The formation disk sank directly into the ground beneath their feet. As the brown vines slammed down, the shield flickered once, then steadied as more immortal stones merged into it. When the barrier grew solid, it ignored the pounding attacks entirely.
Only then did everyone finally let out the breath they'd been holding. When they turned, they saw Jian Dan already seated cross-legged beside Xiao Yue.
"Junior Sister, why were you so reckless?"
With the danger gone, Jian Mao and Jian Jing came over and sat down beside her before asking.
"That demon immortal never once thought of us as equals. Instead of sitting around waiting for him to plot against us, we're better off striking first."
As she spoke, Jian Dan twirled the star-moon bodhi bracelet on her wrist and smiled faintly.
"Exactly. Senior Brother, I agree with Junior Sister. He thought we didn't dare resist, so we had to catch him off guard. Now the initiative's in our hands."
Jian Chun sat down too, openly backing her.
Jian Xu, Wu Siyuan, and Kuang Dao didn't speak, but their silence was clear support for Fairy Lu.
Hu San had already declared Fairy Lu his female boss. While everyone else was being hunted down, she had the guts to turn the tables and control the situation. He didn't even know who those trapped cultivators were, but he firmly believed she'd save them. At this point, his admiration was close to blind worship. If Jian Dan knew, she'd probably just laugh.
"You! We're not scolding you. Just, next time, let us know before you act. At least give us a chance to coordinate!"
Jian Jing was always blunt. Honestly, Jian Dan's decisive counterattack left her feeling pretty damn refreshed.
"Yes, I'll remember, Senior Sister. Things just happened too suddenly earlier."
After that lighthearted reply, everyone sat down together. Lady Di had someone watch the formation's edge for signs of the tree demon's attacks, then she and Bei Ze joined the discussion.
"Boss Mao, how do we move forward?"
"That Human-Faced Demon Tree has to be dealt with, or we can't advance."
"Of course. But it doesn't look easy to handle. Does it have a weakness?"
Jian Chun asked directly, then shot Hu San a glance, hinting that he should think too.
"Boss, I've only heard of these things. Never actually seen one." Hu San scratched his head.
"That's fine. Just tell us what you know."
"They usually grow in places where people die in droves. Souls refuse to leave, and their bodies get absorbed as nutrients by nearby trees. Over time, they turn into this monster. And these things are tyrannical. Within a hundred miles, they don't let any other spirit plant survive. Even if there are some, they eventually get eaten by the tree."
"It's a tree, wood element. So it fears fire?"
That was the obvious guess.
"This one's mutated. Half human, half tree. Water and fire won't work well on it," Lady Di cut in. She and Bei Ze had been in this place longer, so they knew more than Hu San.
"All things in this world have something that restrains them. I don't believe this tree has no weakness," Wu Siyuan said firmly.
"There is one. It feeds on people, it's full of resentment, and it defies heaven's balance. It fears cultivators with thunder roots and those with great karmic merit. But 'fears' doesn't mean it can't fight them," Bei Ze finally revealed.
"Even if there are thunder-root cultivators, nobody here can use spiritual energy. As for asking immortals to step in, who knows if they'd even come, or if we could reach the center of this place in the first place," Jian Mao frowned.
"We need to save the Purple Sky Sect disciples, and we need to kill this obstacle."
"Junior Sister, do you have any ideas?"
"Not yet. Let's wait and see. Didn't that demon immortal already go test its strength for us?"
Jian Dan stroked her star-moon bodhi bracelet, her lips curling into a faint smile.
The Heavenly Sword Sect disciples immediately understood her meaning. Even as they spoke, they split their attention to watch outside the barrier. Sword cultivators had never feared battle, much less this group of pure sword cultivators. They had patience, they had grit. If they couldn't take it down in one strike, they'd grind it to death.
The only question was whether the cultivators hanging from the tree could hold out that long.
"There's movement. That possessed one's making a move!"
The disciple on watch immediately called out.
Yu Linhai, who'd been possessed, cursed furiously when he realized the Human-Faced Demon Tree was controlling him. He watched helplessly as Jian Dan's group set down a defensive formation and stayed safely inside.
As soon as the vines wrapped around the body he'd just taken over, its life force began to drain away. Now he regretted bragging about his plan earlier.
When he'd first noticed the tree, he'd never planned to fight it alone. He'd intended to use the group behind him as cannon fodder, confident his strength as a demon immortal would let him dominate. He'd never expected them to strike first and throw him out.
He'd simply been too arrogant, too dismissive.
"Keep watching. When he and the tree have worn each other down, that's when we strike," Jian Dan said calmly.
"If he wants us to charge in first, he'd better prove he's capable," someone snorted.
"Junior Sister means we should wait until both sides are injured before we move?" Jian Jing quickly caught on.
"Exactly. Wait for the right moment, then strike."
Everyone stood again and moved closer to the barrier's edge to watch.
The possessed demon immortal's body started smoking. Black flames flared up, scorching the vines.
The brown tendrils loosened, and with a violent jerk he broke free, dropping toward the ground. But at once, dozens more vines lashed out to bind him again. He landed, gripping his demon blade in one hand and raising a shield in the other. Slashing and blocking, he fought the monster head-on.
At first, he stumbled, caught off guard and struggling to control his new body. A few times, he got tangled. But as the battle dragged on, he grew fiercer. With Xianyuan energy finally flowing into his blade, he hacked clean through the vines.
The severed pieces writhed across the ground, crawling back toward him. Black flames caught them, burning them to gray ash that vanished in a stinking haze.
Other cut vines retreated to the tree's trunk, fusing back together before lashing out again.
Each time the demon immortal's strikes landed, the faces in the bark twisted in silent screams, wracked by pain. The eight cultivators dangling below turned visibly paler with every blow.
"Senior Brothers, the tree's draining the Purple Sky Sect disciples. They can't hold out much longer!"
"Move! While the demon immortal's keeping it busy, let's get them down!"
Jian Mao didn't hesitate. This time, he gripped the trophy longsword and glanced at Jian Dan before leaping out of the barrier.
Jian Jing, Jian Xu, and Jian Chun shot after him. Jian Dan didn't look back as she ordered, "Wu Siyuan, Hu San, Xiao Yue, stay inside. Lady Di, take your people outside and cover us!"
Then, like the wind, she rushed out.