Stone Fairy!

The wind rose from the ground, gathering from all directions, howling loudly.

The sky darkened at a visible speed, and the already gray sky became even darker.

The branches of the big elm tree began to sway, the leaves rustling louder and louder, the sound growing denser and denser, and elm seeds scattered everywhere.

Then the elm tree began to emit a green glow, the green light flowing across its trunk like flowing blood, illuminating the entire tree.

The village chief's expression changed instantly.

He turned abruptly, knelt down with a thud in the direction of the big elm tree, his forehead hitting the muddy ground heavily, his voice urgent and trembling:

"The High Priest is angry! Kneel down! Kneel down!"

The village chief was trembling all over, his voice filled with a deep-seated fear.

"Please spare me, Your Excellency! Please spare me, Your Excellency!"

The villagers were terrified by this turn of events. One by one, they knelt down, their foreheads touching the ground, their bodies trembling like leaves.

Some people began to kowtow, the thumping sounds mingling with cries and pleas for mercy, echoing in the open space in the center of the village.

"Lord Sacrifice Spirit, spare your life!"

"We didn't mean to!"

"Spare me..."

"..."

Xie Ning stood still, undeterred, but her grip on the spear tightened involuntarily; the elm tree was emanating a dangerous aura.

That big elm tree is changing.

The eerie green light grew stronger and stronger, enveloping the entire tree.

The branches began to grow wildly, stretching out in all directions. The originally flexible branches became stiff, and cracks appeared on their surfaces, from which dark red sap, like blood, seeped out.

The leaves on the branches fell off one by one, revealing the grotesque and twisted branches.

The once spiritually imbued elm tree is now unrecognizable.

It was an intense, almost tangible demonic aura, tinged with the stench of blood, surging forth from the tree trunk. A ghostly green light flowed along the blood-red branches, dyeing the entire open space a bizarre color.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

The blood-red branches peeked out from the tree canopy, swaying slowly in the air, before suddenly reaching out towards the villagers kneeling on the ground.

"evildoer!"

Xie Ning shouted angrily, thrusting his spear forward and leaping into the air.

"Stop your arrogance!"

Xie Ning leaped into the air, thrusting his spear forward, the tip of which was covered with a layer of pale golden light.

The spearhead pierced a blood-red branch that was reaching towards the villager.

With a soft "plop," the branch was pierced by the spearhead, and dark red sap splattered everywhere, emitting a strong odor. The branch twitched violently and then abruptly retracted.

But then even more branches surged up, blood-red branches bursting forth from the canopy and wrapping around Xie Ning.

Xie Ning advanced instead of retreating, his spear dancing in front of him like a golden light, each point the spear tip touched pierced or severed a branch.

The broken branches lay scattered on the ground, wriggling a few times in the mud before gradually coming to rest.

There were just too many branches, and they seemed to be endless. For every one that was cut off, two more would grow back from the cut, thicker and more menacing than before.

Beads of sweat appeared on Xie Ning's forehead, and her breathing gradually became rapid.

Yu Guangzhong and Xie Ning saw the villagers kneeling on the ground still kowtowing and begging for mercy, their bodies trembling, and Xie Ning was instantly filled with rage.

"Why aren't you leaving yet!"

Xie Ning roared in mid-air, his voice filled with anger.

"What are you doing kneeling here!"

No one moved.

The villagers seemed to be gripped by fear, and could do nothing but kowtow and beg for mercy.

Xie Ning gritted her teeth and held her gun, cutting off several more branches in succession. But the branches seemed to know that she was about to give up, so they stopped charging head-on and instead surrounded her from all sides, blocking all her escape routes.

"Bang!"

Xie Ning flicked away a few more branches, but among them, an even thicker branch was hidden and lashed out at her, making the air explode.

Xie Ning's old strength had been exhausted and new strength had not yet been generated, so he could only hold the spear in front of his chest to block.

"Bang!"

The branch lashed heavily against the spear, and the immense force transmitted through the shaft. Xie Ning felt a numbness in his hand, and the spear nearly slipped from his grasp.

Xie Ning was also thrown backward by that force.

Meanwhile, as Xie Ning flew backward, more and more branches pierced towards him.

Xie Ning's pupils contracted, and he chanted an incantation, mobilizing the spiritual energy within his body, causing his entire body to glow with golden light.

"Golden Light Mantra!"

With a bang, the branches crashed into the golden light, successfully blocking the attack, but the immense force sent Xie Ning flying backward at an even greater speed.

Just when Xie Ning thought he was about to smash the houses behind him...

A gentle force suddenly arose from her back, supporting her like a soft cloud, gently lifting her and slowly placing her on the ground.

Xie Ning's toes touched the ground.

She paused for a moment, then turned around to look.

At that moment, Daozhen was standing right behind her.

The white Taoist robes looked out of place in the eerie green light. Daozhen gave Xie Ning a very faint, almost imperceptible smile.

"I'll do it."

Daozhen's voice was very soft, as if he were talking about something extremely ordinary.

However, Xie Ning felt a sense of reassurance from it.

What happened next shocked Xie Ning.

I see,

As Daozhen stepped toward the large elm tree, the blood-red branches with long teeth and five claws in mid-air suddenly stopped, and then they began to retreat backward, desperately shrinking into the canopy, as if they had seen something that terrified them to the extreme.

Daozhen stopped three feet in front of the elm tree.

The elm tree's ferocious appearance had lessened considerably, but the strong, blood-stained demonic aura still lingered around its trunk.

Daozhen raised his head and looked at the large elm tree in front of him.

"What is it?" Daozhen asked, his voice neither loud nor soft, yet it carried clearly throughout the open space.

"Aren't you coming out yet?"

There was a moment of silence.

Something moved deep in the shadow of the big elm tree, and then a small figure emerged from the shadows.

He was a dirty little kid.

Behind them, Xie Ning looked surprised.

Isn't this the same child who told them to leave quickly last night?

Seeing the current situation, Xie Ning also understood the child's identity.

This is the spirit of the elm tree.

Yu Ling looked at Dao Zhen calmly, her voice, though childish, carried a powerful force.

"I told you to leave this place, why did you come back?!"

Daozhen did not answer, but instead asked, "You clearly possess a spiritual and benevolent nature, so why do you insist on devouring blood and flesh?"

"Hmph." Yu Ling sneered.

"Because they deserve to die!"