Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Tree Demon Reveals Itself

Ah Huang was getting annoyed by this guy’s constant fidgeting and was visibly displeased.

“Calm down! There’s no need to lose your head just because you care too much. Stay composed. I checked carefully during the day—there’s not much demonic energy. This kind of low-level demon can only prey on unsuspecting ordinary people. Your little sweetheart is prepared, skilled in martial arts, and has a protective talisman. She’s safe.”

“Damn it! You really can’t keep your mouth shut. Can you stop calling every pretty girl who’s a bit close to me my wife?”

“Tsk tsk… Do you take me for a blind man? Didn’t you notice the cold war between Zhao Shanshan and Qin Mei earlier today? Women, you know… In any case, just make sure Queen Vika doesn’t find out in the end. Consider her your mistress, hidden away in a golden chamber.”

This guy was getting more and more outrageous with his remarks, making Fu Yang so angry he wanted to sew his lips shut…

Meanwhile, Zhao Shanshan hadn’t noticed that something was changing in the muddy waters of the pond!

From within the sludge, something began to writhe slowly, thick as a giant python, stretching toward the shore…

So, there really was a demon here!

Closer and closer… faint rustling sounds could be heard.

Zhao Shanshan’s hearing was exceptionally keen—she immediately sensed something was wrong and turned sharply.

A thick, black, python-like thing was emerging from the mud nearest the shore, lunging straight for her!

Her pupils contracted sharply; all she could see was the rapidly enlarging “python.”

“The demon is here!” Zhao Shanshan shouted. At the same moment, her body reacted instinctively, dodging aside to evade the sudden attack.

The snake-like thing shot past her, close enough to brush her clothes, splattering mud that reeked of rot.

In that instant, Zhao Shanshan stamped her foot, hooking a stone into her hand. With all her might, she hurled it directly at the “python.”

Bang!

A large gash split open on the demon’s body, oozing foul green liquid.

“By the authority of the Three Pure Ones, I command thee—Fire Talisman!”

It was Ah Huang, launching a ranged Taoist attack.

A fireball the size of a human head whooshed through the air, striking the snake-shaped demon and severing its front half, which crashed heavily to the ground.

But behind it, even thicker, larger roots were quickly retracting into the pond’s mud, clearly trying to escape…

“Maoshan, Spirit-Subduing Talisman!”

A yellow talisman paper followed hot on the heels of Ah Huang’s fire spell.

Snap!

It landed firmly on the snake-shaped demon.

Startled, Ah Huang turned to find that, in that split second, Fu Yang had pulled a blank talisman from his cloth bag and instantly cast a Taoist spell.

“Impressive, brother! When did you learn Maoshan techniques?”

“Less talk, more action! Let’s see what the hell this thing is.”

Fu Yang dragged him over, and with a still shaken Zhao Shanshan, they stared at the demon pinned by the talisman.

It wasn’t a snake after all—it was… a massive tree root!

“Incredible, brother! Did the Black Mountain Demon somehow end up here?” Fu Yang quipped, eyeing the thick, gnarled root immobilized by the Spirit-Subduing Talisman, as thick as an adult’s thigh and ashen gray—at first glance, it truly did look like a giant python.

Ah Huang, however, seemed to understand. “So it’s a tree demon… No wonder I got tripped by a root in the mud earlier today. It was this thing all along!”

As the two of them discussed the root demon, Zhao Shanshan timidly pointed out, “Fu Yang, Ah Huang… Is this root the demon itself, or is it the tree that grew it that’s actually the demon?”

At her words, both men exchanged a look and shouted in unison, “Dammit!”

Too busy with their banter, they’d overlooked the fact that this was only one part of the demon’s true body…

A sloshing, squelching noise arose.

The three of them turned to see the hundred-square-meter mud pit roiling and churning with countless thick roots, writhing like a nest of giant pythons—horrifying and bizarre!

The tips of these roots were bristling with sharp, fine spikes.

These were the very things that had pierced the victims’ necks, dissolving organs and flesh before draining them dry!

“By the authority of the Three Pure Ones, I command thee—Sword of Fire!”

Ah Huang gripped a burning talisman, igniting it into a fireball, then struck it against his peachwood sword.

Boom!

He now wielded a flaming sword, slashing at the root pinned by Fu Yang’s “Spirit-Subduing Talisman.” In just a few swift strokes, he incinerated it to ashes.

But at that moment, all the thick roots in the pond surged up, writhing and twining as they lashed toward them!

“Damn it… This is what you call a typical low-level demon? Ah Huang, it’s your time to shine! Go, Pikachu Huang!”

With that, Fu Yang shamelessly shoved Ah Huang forward, grabbing Zhao Shanshan and pulling her to the side.

Ah Huang muttered a curse and prepared himself like a lone warrior facing a raging tide of roots.

His flaming peachwood sword danced, slashing with sharp, sweeping strokes—his movements indeed quite impressive.

Splat, splat, splat…

The sounds of roots splintering and burning filled the air, and the mass of snake-like roots advancing menacingly were all dispatched by Ah Huang alone!

“Fu Yang… isn’t it a bit wrong for us to just stand here and watch?” Zhao Shanshan asked.

“He’s the one who claimed it was an ordinary little demon. This is more like the Black Mountain Demon! Shanshan, you were in real danger just now.”

Hearing this, Zhao Shanshan felt a warm glow inside. So he was angry at Ah Huang because he was worried for my safety.

Meanwhile, having finished off the roots with his Dragon and Tiger Mountain fire talismans and peachwood sword, Ah Huang came over, panting and tongue lolling like a dog.

“You’re a real piece of work… didn’t help me at all!”

“How did I not help? Without my Spirit-Subduing Talisman, could you have destroyed the first root so easily?”

“Fine, let’s not argue. But this could be trouble. It’s common for animals to develop intelligence and become demons—but plant demons are rare, and once they appear, they’re very hard to deal with.”

Ah Huang was absolutely right.

In reality, the Taoist concept of “demons” is quite different from what you find in online fantasy stories.

As the saying goes, “There’s always something unnatural about a demon!”

In the real world, anything that defies the laws of nature can be called a “demon.”

For example, sometimes you’ll read news stories about a farmer’s old yellow dog living thirty years and showing uncanny intelligence; after it dies, they find a bezoar in its stomach.

Or a farmer’s rooster lives for over a decade, can eat venomous snakes, guard the house, and even fight off wild dogs and jackals!

From a Taoist perspective, that means the dog and the rooster have gained some spiritual intelligence and can be called “demons.” Of course, these are low-level demons and, as they’re raised by humans, are basically good-natured.

When Ah Huang suggested tracking the roots back to the tree demon’s main body, Fu Yang readily agreed. Better to eradicate the source once and for all, lest it cause more harm.

“It seems these roots stretch all the way from the demon’s main body underground to this pond to absorb water. But how do we follow the roots to the source? This Hundred Trees Garden is huge—what if the tree demon’s roots are incredibly long and spread everywhere?”

Fu Yang asked, frowning.

Ah Huang grinned mysteriously. “Leave it to me!”