Chapter 62 : Demon Plants That Do Business
Chapter 62: Demon Plants That Do Business
Hearing this, Long Tao could not help but feel admiration for Senior Brother Fang Wuqi.
No wonder True Person Duanyue had said that as long as the situation was reported to Fang Wuqi, he would know how to handle it.
This man’s judgment of the overall situation was indeed precise and decisive, and his on-the-spot decisions were executed without the slightest hesitation.
Long Tao reflected silently that if it had been him instead—when his own side held a numerical advantage, and all were elites—he would most likely have become blindly overconfident, thinking to rely on superior numbers to clash head-on and entangle the enemy first.
Only after casualties appeared would he hurriedly activate a teleportation artifact, but by then, the losses would already be irreparable.
After all, not a single one of those who had come this time was anything less than a Sect Prodigy painstakingly cultivated by the sect.
“Oh, right,” Zhu Huaisu suddenly recalled the perilous moment from earlier and studied Long Tao curiously.
“How did you block that strike from behind just now? I didn’t see any defensive artifact on you… wait, this is… a True Essence Protective Barrier? This aura feels… unlike our lineage’s.
Could it be something True Person Duanyue placed on you?”
By “our lineage,” she was naturally referring to the line of inheritance from True Person Mingzhu and True Person Zhiying.
“Yes,” Long Tao nodded, revealing a trace of a bitter smile.
“When I rushed in earlier, it was extremely dangerous. True Person Duanyue still found time to place this layer of protection on me. Sigh… he really is a careful and kind person, nothing like his bold and heroic appearance.”
Hearing this, Zhu Huaisu and Luo Yusi nodded in agreement in unison—though such words were absolutely not something to be said in front of a True Person.
“By the way,” Zhu Huaisu’s expression turned serious.
“You said earlier that the Wuyi Sect also enlisted two independent Golden Core cultivators outside. Do you know who they were?”
“One was a sword cultivator. I didn’t hear his name clearly, but he looked extremely formidable. At the time, he pointed his sword straight at True Person Zhiying, his face cold as ice, without the slightest expression. The other was the Withered-Hand Elder—that one I could never mistake.”
Upon hearing the four words “Withered-Hand Elder,” Zhu Huaisu’s expression immediately darkened further.
This was an evil cultivator who struck terror into everyone in the surrounding region, his notoriety so severe that it could stop a child’s night crying.
This was no joke—when Long Tao was young, he had used this very name to frighten his own younger sister and Xiao Ying, with excellent results.
This man was not only cruel in his methods but also extremely lascivious, especially obsessed with beautiful female cultivators whose cultivation had achieved success.
In his early years, he had repeatedly attacked female disciples of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect.
Later, after being pursued relentlessly by the sect, he had narrowly escaped with his life at the cost of one crippled hand.
Though his strength was greatly diminished, he remained an extremely troublesome opponent.
As for the other sword cultivator, Zhu Huaisu pondered briefly and arrived at a candidate.
“That sword cultivator might be Acrid Unforgiven—a genius disciple from Burial Sword Cliff back in the day, who later defected from his sect for unknown reasons. It’s said he once fought True Person Zhiying and survived.”
Burial Sword Cliff was a sword-cultivation sect in the southwest.
Though not large in scale, it boasted many experts and was famed for the high mortality rate among its disciples.
The other two, upon hearing this, both nodded silently.
When it came to True Person Zhiying’s battle records, there was never a need to ask about victory or defeat—one only needed to see whether the opponent had survived, or how severe their injuries were, to judge their level of strength.
“Let’s put the external situation aside for now and talk about our current predicament,” Long Tao said, his question realistic and cruel.
“If the eight assassins who entered were all as formidable as the one just now… then within our team, someone may already have met with misfortune, right?”
Zhu Huaisu’s reaction, however, was unexpectedly calm.
With a composed expression, she said, “That’s only natural. If someone is unlucky enough to run into them while alone—or worse, encounter two or more at once—it’s basically a dead end.
No amount of protective artifacts would save them.
But since we chose to join the secret realm team, everyone was prepared to die.
You didn’t seriously think we came here to sightsee, did you? Even without this upheaval, secret realm exploration has always been a matter of life and death.”
Though she spoke so calmly, Long Tao still caught a trace of worry in her brows that she could not fully conceal.
After all, that unfortunate soul who might have been isolated could very well be her junior brother, Nan Yuchen.
Wait! A suddenly sinister thought surfaced in Long Tao’s mind.
If… Nan Yuchen truly died by accident within the secret realm, what would happen to his System task? Would it fall completely silent from then on, never again coming to harass his life?
After all, if he himself were to harm Nan Yuchen, the System would certainly stop him.
But if someone else killed Nan Yuchen, that couldn’t be blamed on him, could it?
Once this thought took root, it stirred up a storm within Long Tao’s heart.
On one hand, Nan Yuchen truly was loyal and righteous, a good friend.
As a person with normal values, Long Tao genuinely hoped he could grow safely and one day become a pillar of the sect.
But on the other hand… selfishly speaking, that boy’s death might mean that he would finally regain his freedom.
So… sigh… Long Tao let out a long breath.
Matters touching on the dark side of human nature were better left unexamined.
He would simply let things take their natural course.
…
After the two women finished regulating their breathing with medicinal pills, the three-person team rose and prepared to continue forward.
At present, every moment gained in finding teammates meant an extra advantage.
There was truly no time for slow recuperation.
With no clear target direction, Long Tao simply guided the team according to the guiding arrow indicated by the System Interface Panel.
Zhu Huaisu and Luo Yusi raised no objections—after all, whichever direction they went, it was all a matter of luck.
The spirit cat, Little Mi, lightly leapt onto Luo Yusi’s spider back, curled into a ball, and began to nap.
With these two experts at his side, Long Tao no longer needed to stay constantly on edge like he had when traveling alone.
Still, though he no longer worried about ordinary poisonous insects or demon plants, the thought of those elusive invisible assassins made him unable to suppress concern over whether his head might suddenly part ways with his neck.
“Relax,” Zhu Huaisu said sharply.
“If an invisible assassin really gets close, Little Mi will sense it—at least you’ll die knowing why. Besides… there’s still some residual power left in the True Essence Protective Barrier True Person Duanyue gave you. It should be able to block one more strike.”
Compared to Zhu Huaisu’s sharp tongue, Luo Yusi was clearly much gentler.
She softly exhaled spirit threads, wrapping and reinforcing several of Long Tao’s vital points, and said gently, “Don’t worry, Long Tao.
I’ll protect you. Just don’t stray too far from me.”
Before Long Tao could even voice his thanks, Zhu Huaisu had already yanked Luo Yusi’s massive spider body a little closer to herself, like a clear-headed woman afraid her close friend would be deceived by a scoundrel.
With a look of utter disdain, she said, “Daoist Friend Luo, don’t be fooled by this man. He’s bad to the core! Besides… a grown man needing two women to protect him—aren’t you ashamed?”
“Not ashamed at all, not ashamed at all!” Long Tao immediately went along with it.
“Please, both of you, make sure to protect me! I’m the weakest little chick in the sect!”
“Have you no shame at all?!”
…
After the trio continued forward for about half a quarter of an hour, the small cat on Luo Yusi’s back suddenly perked up its ears and stood alert, staring straight ahead.
The others immediately fell silent, following its gaze with furrowed brows.
Not far ahead, an utterly unbelievable scene appeared: three demon plants, almost completely transformed into human form, were sitting together in a circle—and were even conversing with organs resembling mouths.
Aside from their bodies being entirely composed of branches, leaves, and vines, the scene looked exactly like a few close buddies chatting idly by the roadside.
“I checked the sect’s archives,” Long Tao whispered, taking the lead.
“There really are plants with spiritual intelligence in the Azurewood Demon Forest.
Some are even quite friendly.
As long as you don’t show hostility first, they usually won’t initiate an attack.
It’s just that I don’t know whether these three… belong to the friendly type.”
Zhu Huaisu and Luo Yusi nodded slightly; they too had seen similar descriptions in sect records.
“What should we do?” Zhu Huaisu’s first instinct remained caution.
“These demon plants don’t look very strong. Should we strike first to be safe?”
She leaned toward eliminating potential threats to avoid complications.
But Long Tao offered a different view.
“Don’t rush. What we lack most right now is information. If they really are the friendly type, that would be a rare source of intel. How about… we try making contact?”
“How do we do that? What if they ambush us?”
“Um… like this…” Long Tao lowered his voice and laid out his plan.
After listening, the two women and the cat all wore somewhat strange expressions, but none objected.
After a moment’s consideration, they ultimately nodded in agreement.
Thus, Long Tao put on the somewhat tattered Wuyi Sect disciple robes taken from the assassin earlier, made a simple disguise, exchanged a glance with the two women, took a deep breath, and mustered his courage as he walked toward the three demon plants.
After drawing closer, he discovered with some surprise that several spirit melons brimming with spiritual energy were laid out in front of them.
One of the demon plants noticed him and, instead of reacting aggressively, smiled and said to its companions,
“See? I told you that once the secret realm opened, human cultivators would come. After waiting so many years, we’re definitely selling these spirit melons this time!”
Hearing that the other party was genuinely planning to do business, the tension Long Tao had been holding instantly dissipated by more than half.
He could not help but step forward with a smile and ask,
“Business good, brothers?”