Beside the Spirit Tree, Lǚ Yáng, who was in the middle of meditation, suddenly opened his eyes. He slapped his hands against the ground and his entire body launched into the air.
At the very moment he vacated his spot, a streak of green light flew past without a sound.
"What kind of rat dares to sneak attack?" In mid-air, Lǚ Yáng raised his hand and struck out. In a flash of fire, a green object was swatted away.
Only then did he see that it was a Green Flying Dagger, no wider than a pinky finger and thin as a cicada's wing.
Observing a wisp of blue smoke drifting away, Lǚ Yáng's expression flickered slightly. He waved a palm, blowing the smoke away, and muttered, "It's even poisoned."
"Fellow Daoist, what a shameless way to act." Lǚ Yáng wore a look of mockery, staring at the group of beasts on the left bank.
"What a pity." Following a sigh, the pack of beasts on the bank parted, and from within them stepped a man.
This person was thin and frail, less than three feet tall, with a blue face and fangs. Even his hair was blue. His lower body was wrapped in vines and leaves, and blue lines traced eerie patterns across his exposed skin.
Lǚ Yáng frowned; this person was incredibly strange. Yet, gauging his aura, he was only at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, so he was nothing to fear.
"Fellow Daoist, spirits are for those who see them. Our strengths are equal; why not just call it a day?" The man on the bank chuckled and spoke.
"Call it a day?" Lǚ Yáng smiled and replied, "Sure."
These words made the man freeze for a moment, his blue face appearing to turn a shade deeper. "Fellow Daoist, since that is the case, why not come over for a chat? The Spirit Fruit still needs some time to ripen anyway. We can discuss the Dao, and I even have some Spirit Wine here..."
The smile on Lǚ Yáng's lips vanished. He simply watched the other party calmly, showing no intention of moving.
Seeing that his ploy hadn't worked, the man stopped pretending. His eyes filled with traces of killing intent, and he grinned viciously, "Looks like this mongrel isn't taking the bait."
Right then, the ground beneath his feet cracked open, and tree roots moved like spirit snakes. Shortly after, a small tree, roughly the same height as the man, crawled out of the earth.
This small tree possessed eyes, nose, and mouth; it had clearly turned into a demon, though its cultivation was not high—it appeared to be at only the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining.
Lǚ Yáng's expression remained unchanged, though his heart sank slightly. He hadn't expected the man to truly have an accomplice. Fortunately, it was a Tree Demon, and his own abilities were quite effective against it; otherwise, he would have had to consider fleeing.
The man and the demon soared into the air together. After covering a stretch of distance, the Tree Demon wrapped its vines around the man and launched him forward. Moments later, he reached the vicinity of the small island.
Lǚ Yáng knew he couldn't let him land easily. He immediately stomped his foot to meet him, his whole body erupting with flames like a humanoid sun.
The two exchanged a punch in mid-air—one side surged with scorching flames, the other overflowed with blue light.Yet, they were at a stalemate for less than a breath before the blue light was incinerated by the flames.
The man remained expressionless, using the force of the strike to perform a backflip and jump back, landing precisely on the approaching Tree Demon.
Lǚ Yáng also performed a backflip, landing steadily on the island. He immediately reached out, drawing the sword he had left by the tree, and stood tall with a look of disdain toward the pair.
In the lake, the man remained expressionless, playing with the flying dagger in his hand. He appeared to be a master, but secretly transmitted his voice: "Mùmù, this one is tricky. He practices fire techniques; he counters us."
"Don't be afraid, Qīngyá. There are two of us against one. There is water nearby, and water produces wood, which counters fire. His fire techniques are nothing to fear."
"Besides, you are both at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining. Looking at him, he doesn't seem to have mastered any specialized spells. We can beat him."
Watching the man and the demon moving rapidly through the water, Lǚ Yáng raised his hand and swung his sword, slashing out three streaks of Sword Qi in succession.
They wanted to board the island to face him two-on-one; Lǚ Yáng would never allow them to land so easily.
Qīngyá threw three flying daggers to shatter one streak of Sword Qi, and the Tree Demon sacrificed five branches to block another. For the final streak, Qīngyá took it with his bare body, shattering it, yet a fresh bloodstain appeared on his arm, with flames still clinging to the wound, burning away.
Qīngyá remained expressionless, leaping backward into the water. Only then did the burning sensation of the wound subside slightly.
However, how could ordinary water extinguish Lesser Yang Spirit Fire? To even weaken it a little was already impressive.
"What do we do, Qīngyá? It seems we really can't beat him." The Tree Demon surfaced beside Qīngyá, its face full of fear.
That last streak of Sword Qi had not only severed five of its branches, the flames at the breaks were constantly burning. If it hadn't severed them quickly, there was no guarantee its entire body wouldn't have been ignited.
Lǚ Yáng didn't have the kindness to let them talk. Upon discovering that three streaks of Sword Qi were enough to leave them in such a wretched state, he pressed his advantage.
But as soon as he moved, the man and the demon in the water immediately sank to the depths, not daring to engage.
Helpless, Lǚ Yáng could only return to the island, keeping a firm lock on their two presences.
One was on the land of the island, the other was deep beneath the water. After a stalemate, the man and demon in the water realized they had no chance and began to retreat along the riverbed toward the distance.
Once they had traveled a certain distance, Lǚ Yáng chuckled. With a leap, he tapped the surface of the river twice, reached the bank, and began to chase after them.
The man and the demon in the water sensed this change and their faces turned sullen. That fellow hadn't given up and wanted to cut them off.
"Forget it, I'll spend some effort to take you away," the Tree Demon said coldly. Its form sank, all its roots beginning to burrow into the ground. Moments later, it dug a large hole.
Watching the ripples on the river surface, Lǚ Yáng dove into the water without hesitation, swimming toward them at high speed.
"He actually dares to enter the water?!" Qīngyá sneered and immediately turned to face him. He had been planning to tunnel away, but he didn't expect to have another chance.
Qīngyá waved his hand, and a green glow shone on the aquatic plants at the bottom of the water. Suddenly, the weeds began to grow wildly, their stems becoming thick and rope-like, whipping toward Lǚ Yáng like vine lashes.
These things were not difficult to deal with. Lǚ Yáng drew a line with his sword, and a streak of Sword Qi sliced them directly, his forward momentum not slowing in the slightest.
"How arrogant!" Qīngyá roared. A green light suddenly exploded from his body, and the image of a giant tree materialized.
At this moment, Qīngyá's speed surged. Even underwater, he left behind trails of afterimages as he dashed straight toward Lǚ Yáng.
Seeing this, Lǚ Yáng did not dare to be careless. He immediately stopped his momentum, prepared for battle, while his left hand flicked, and he gripped his sword with both hands.
Qīngyá charged with overwhelming force. Just as he was about to collide, a palm-sized object suddenly appeared in front of Lǚ Yáng, instantly expanding to the size of a millstone. The surrounding water flow became chaotic.
"This is?" Qīngyá crashed into the scale, filled with questions. Accompanying a dull boom, the water within a three-foot radius was pushed away, forming a vacuum.
Behind the scale, Lǚ Yáng seized the opportunity. His body erupted with flames; he quickly made hand seals to channel Mountain Burning, and the flames around him exploded with even greater ferocity!
With a flash, Lǚ Yáng appeared above Qīngyá's head. Flames gathered in his fist, and he struck down. The erupting fire expanded the vacuum by another two circles!
Qīngyá's expression changed drastically, but it was too late to flee. He could only harden his heart and take the blow.
Yet, his giant tree shadow was instantly extinguished, and the green light ignited like oil. In the blink of an eye, he became a ball of fire.
But most fatal of all was Lǚ Yáng's punch, which landed on the top of his head. The flames condensed in the fist exploded, Qīngyá's skull shattered, and in an instant, he turned into charred remains!