The new generation of talented pillars of the demon-slaying family must not all perish here.
It is unclear whether the attack occurred suddenly because the signaling was too loud.
The branches of the surrounding trees seemed to come alive, spreading and extending wildly.
The soil underground becomes soft like quicksand, and once you step into it, you will be completely buried.
They could neither touch the ground nor fly, and were surrounded by aggressive jungle on all sides. They could only dodge and weave through the constant attacks.
In an instant, all the passageways were blocked.
"Ling Ying!"
Before she knew it, Ling Ying was struck by a vine and fell to the ground, about to be swallowed by the quicksand.
Lingyan quickly handed him a soft gauze to wrap around him, but unexpectedly, the spot she used for leverage suddenly collapsed, causing her to lose her balance and fall down as well.
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Author's Note:
Today is another day of frantically planting foreshadowing, and this chapter is a little different too!
Chapter 117 Swordsman and Exorcist (Part 3)
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"Miss Ling!"
Seeing that she was about to be in danger, Chu Cheng waved his sleeve to knock down the attacking branches, and with a light step, he was about to run towards Ling Yan.
"Mr. Chu! Help me!"
Just then, a young man from a prominent family next to him was unable to dodge in time and was tightly entangled by the vines.
The originally delicate and slender branches instantly sprout a row of barbs the moment they wrap around a person, frantically sucking blood as nourishment like leeches. In no time, they grow to the thickness of a wrist and seem to continue to expand.
The young man's once vibrant and energetic face turned deathly pale in an instant.
If we don't save him soon, he'll probably turn into a dried-up corpse in no time.
The responsibility that the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion should shoulder made Chu Cheng pause for a moment. He first used a magic weapon to cut the blood-sucking vines, threw the person to another disciple nearby, and then headed towards Ling Yan's direction.
In the instant that Ling Yan was pulled down by the force of Ling Ying's fall, she had already reacted.
Although she was only twenty, she had undergone rigorous training since childhood, practicing diligently in the sweltering heat and freezing cold, all so that she could save herself in dangerous situations.
With her palm facing down, Ling Yan unleashed a spell. The powerful impact and recoil propelled her not only half a body length into the air, but also lifted Ling Ying, whose feet were already half-buried in the ground.
"Hey! Even if you do save me this time, don't expect me to be grateful!"
Even in such a perilous situation, Ling Ying still had a foul mouth, making Ling Yan wish she could bury him back in the ground on the spot.
Chu Cheng arrived shortly after and lifted the two of them, bringing them back to a tree where they could hold onto something. Although the attacks were frequent, it was still much better than being stuck in the quicksand where they could not move.
Thank you.
Although Lingyan was confident that she could escape danger without Chu Cheng, she was not a spoiled and ignorant young lady who had come to her rescue out of kindness. Her expression softened, and she naturally had to express her gratitude.
"Mr. Chu, what should we do now?"
Even though these young people have undergone a lot of training and have extraordinary talent and physique, they are still human after all. If they are constantly attacked and entangled by these endless vines and branches, their energy will eventually be exhausted, and they will truly become fish on the chopping block.
"We can't escape; we must kill the mountain demon completely."
This is Chu Cheng's answer.
Because they were so deep in the mountains, almost in the middle of the forest, it was virtually impossible for them to overcome so many obstacles and travel such a long distance.
It seems that there is no other way out except to face the demon.
"Chu Cheng, are you confident?"
Frowning, Lingyan asked the crucial question.
"...I'm not entirely sure, maybe 50% at most. I have to give it a try, otherwise what's the difference between dying sooner or later?"
With a wry smile, Chu Cheng's face was also full of helplessness.
"Enough. Ling Ying, summon the demon!"
Lingyan made a decisive and firm order to Lingying.
This time, Ling Ying didn't act foolishly or argue. He took out an incense stick from his pocket, lit it with his fingertips, and then quickly threw it into the air.
The burning incense tumbled and swirled in the air, its rich aroma spreading rapidly, like the serene scent of cedar mixed with the pungent aroma of pepper.
The demonized trees that had been chasing the crowd shifted their focus, baring their fangs and claws as they searched everywhere for that fragrance.
The tremors of the mountains and forests suddenly stopped, and three breaths later, an even more violent shock erupted nearby.
A massive figure burst forth from the earth, roaring and scattering dirt everywhere. The vines that had been reveling around suddenly retreated, lying prostrate on the ground trembling, and the noisy jungle fell silent.
The colossus reached out its arms, formed from gnarled rocks, and pinched at the incense sticks in mid-air, instantly turning the fragile sticks into powder.
It let out an even louder roar, filled with the rage of being deceived.
The mountain demon slowly twisted its small head, which was extremely disproportionate to its enormous body—or rather, its head was a nearly oval rock, like a statue that had been misplaced.
Two holes were cut into the top of the stone statue's head, from which red flames were emerging, flickering and dancing with its breath.
Ling Yan knew something was wrong and flew out like an arrow, her silver-white magic weapon scattering like a stream of light onto the giant statue.
Caught off guard, the mountain demon let out a low growl of pain, and the still forest came to life again, becoming the mountain demon's eyes as it pursued and captured the attacker.
Ling Ying continuously unleashed fire spells from her fingertips, but aside from burning the branches that rushed towards her, they didn't have much power. As vassals of the mountain demon, these demonized trees had already learned to extinguish fire on their own.
If it weren't for the sudden inferno, the other small fires would be completely insignificant to them.
The silvery-white attacks continued to rain down on the mountain demon, while Lingyan continued to move through the forest, diverting the mountain demon's attention.
The mountain demon's heavy body was a hindrance, but the slippery quicksand on the ground made it move as smoothly as a fish in water.
It stared intently at Lingyan's location, occasionally summoning a cluster of sharp spikes or hurling a boulder from the ground where Lingyan had just stepped off.
While Ling Yan was holding back the mountain demon, Chu Cheng used his teleportation ability to imprint a magical artifact on the ground.
The others were already struggling to dodge attacks, let alone offer any real help.
"Mr. Chu, are you done?"
Most of them had reached their physical limit. If it weren't for the will to survive, they would have collapsed to the ground long ago if this were ordinary training.
"It'll be soon!"
After setting up the last magical artifact, Chu Cheng thrust his right hand forward and shot a golden seal at the mountain demon.
"Charge!"
Golden light emanated from the ground in a five-pointed pattern, making the originally loose quicksand extremely solid. The mountain demon was directly imprisoned inside and could not move at all.
The final golden seal rapidly grew larger in the air, until it was large enough to engulf the colossal mountain demon, and it pressed down swiftly, seemingly trying to flatten the solid rock formation.
The colossus raised its arms to support the golden seal, and the roar that came from the mountain demon's throat seemed to carry a hint of pain.
The demonized jungle weakened, and some vines slowly but firmly climbed toward the golden seal, wrapping around it as if trying to pull it apart.
Seeing this, everyone stopped hiding and rushed out of the jungle, throwing all their ultimate moves at the suppressed mountain demon without mercy.
Everyone understands one thing: if they cannot achieve their goal in one battle, if they cannot kill the mountain demon even in this way, then they will be the ones who die today.
The mountain demon understood the same principle as them, so it ignored the pain it was inflicted by the other attacks and used all its strength to resist the golden seal.
The golden seal was pressed down a little, the mountain demon was raised a little, the vines were pulled to the side a little, and Chu Cheng controlled the golden seal to pull it back a little, and so on back and forth.
Chu Cheng's right hand, which was controlling the golden seal, began to tremble uncontrollably. His face turned as white as gold leaf, and a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
He can't hold on much longer.
The golden seal was lifted inch by inch, and the mountain demon raised an arm and began to strike the hateful thing that was suppressing it. Tiny cracks began to appear on the surface of the golden seal and gradually widened.
Chu Cheng suddenly knelt on the ground, unable to suppress the injuries to his lungs and internal organs any longer. A large amount of blood gushed from his face, making him look like a bloodthirsty demon.
"Mr. Chu!"
The golden seal was lifted up completely, and just before it shattered, it returned to its original small and exquisite form and went back to Chu Cheng's side.
The mountain demon roared to the sky, filled with joy.
Starting from its feet, the solidified earth began to crack, as if it was about to break free of its restraints and unleash a massacre.
"Ling Ying, you take them and go first."
Knowing she had no hope of defeating them again, Lingyan, with the resolve to die, gave these instructions to her cousin.
"Enough nonsense. If anyone's leaving, you go first. If the family's honor dies here, I'll die at home!"
Although they have never gotten along, Ling Ying still couldn't say anything nice, but she shared Ling Yan's determination to advance and retreat together.
Even knowing it's like an ant trying to shake a tree, they will never abandon their companions.
"Even if I perish here today, it will not be a failure as a demon slayer."
After muttering something under his breath, Ling Ying fearlessly charged towards the mountain demon.
"Ling Ying, are you stupid? Come back here!"
Ling Yan wanted nothing more than to grab Ling Ying and shake his head to see if it was full of water, since Ling Ying was clearly a mage but insisted on acting like a warrior.
The heroic and passionate sacrifice has always only happened in stories and imagination.
In fact, Ling Ying didn't even get within half a zhang of the mountain demon before being punched away.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood in mid-air, then collapsed to the ground unconscious.
The mountain demon finally broke free from the solid ground, and the two flames on its small head burned even more fiercely.
It turned around and looked at the crowd in front of it, its hatred fixed on Lingyan and Chucheng.
The ground trembled again, and the forest, which had been still for a moment, came back to life, launching an even more ferocious attack.
Lingyan and Chucheng, in particular, received a lot of special care.
Everyone was already exhausted and seriously injured. How could they possibly deal with the increasingly violent mountain demon?