I manage female characters in all the heavens.

Her gaze shifted from indifference to coldness, then from coldness to a furious sharpness—as if someone had snatched away a piece of meat that was already in her mouth, and her anger flared up instantly.

The negative emotions caused by the people and wealth I brought from my family, I've been squatting here for half a day, just waiting to harvest this wave of zombies as food to replenish my body, and then you fucking came out of nowhere and intercepted it?

Tree spirit, how dare you!

Without the slightest hesitation, she suddenly reached out and beckoned to the captain in the courtyard whose head had already been chopped off.

The captain's longsword rang out of its sheath with a "clang," transforming into a streak of silver light that pierced the night and instantly flew into her palm!

She stood under the eaves, flicked her wrist, and threw the longsword toward the tree roots!

The longsword transformed into a silver rainbow, soaring through the air and leaving a trail of condensed light. It tore through the rain and precisely struck the tree root that was about to pierce the second zombie!

laugh!

The sound of the blade cutting into the wood was crisp and clean, without any resistance.

The tree root snapped in response, and a stream of dark green sap gushed from the break, splashing onto the ground like blood.

The severed tree root writhed wildly on the ground a few times before quickly withering away, turning into a charred, dead piece of wood.

The severed tree root suddenly recoiled, as if in pain, and pulled back into the ground, leaving a dark hole in the ground.

The courtyard fell silent for a moment, as if the tree spirit was in a daze.

Suddenly—the tremors of the earth intensified!

puff!puff!puff!

Seven or eight sounds of breaking ground rang out at the same time!

One after another, enormous tree roots, even thicker and more ferocious than before, burst forth from the ground, densely packed like a swarm of snakes, all coiling towards the living corpses in the courtyard!

The speed was astonishing, almost instantaneous, and a tree root had already pierced the chest of a living corpse, beginning to suck blood!

"You dare to come again??"

Nie Xiaoqian flew into a rage, immediately raised her sword fingers, moved her lips, and quickly recited a few words she had casually seen in the scriptures as a spell.

With a flick of her sword finger, the longsword that had been lying on the ground suddenly flew up, drawing a sharp silver arc in the air, as if guided by invisible threads, and accurately slashed at the tree roots!

A flash of silver light, and the tree root snapped instantly!

Dark green liquid splattered everywhere!

Immediately afterwards, the long sword spun in the air, turned back, and severed another tree root!

Repeating this process, the longsword, under her mental control, transformed into a silver-white streak of light, traversing and weaving through the entire courtyard. Every turn was unimpeded, and every strike was precise and ruthless!

All the tree roots that broke through the soil, whether thick or thin, were instantly severed by that flying sword!

The tree spirit hidden underground exclaimed in surprise: "Control, sword control technique?!"

This seems plausible but is actually a family tradition.

Broken roots flew everywhere in the yard, sap splattered all over the ground, and the ground was covered with broken tree roots and dark green stains.

None of the living corpses were absorbed by the tree roots anymore.

Nie Xiaoqian then gave a satisfied snort, pointed her sword, and the long sword that had been hovering in the air drew a perfect arc and flew back to her.

The flying sword hovered a foot away from her, its tip pointing downwards, slowly rotating, like a loyal guardian protecting its master.

She stood under the eaves with her hands behind her back, her head slightly tilted back, her clothes fluttering in the night wind, exuding the aura of a dignified and imposing sword immortal.

To possess such sharp swordsmanship at such a young age, and the extraordinary skill demonstrated in that earlier glance, made the tree demon secretly call him a monster.

The tree spirit was actually unwilling to face such a monstrous human, and he had previously decided to avoid this girl altogether.

But there's nothing he can do now. His hard-earned results have been snatched away by the other party, who won't even let him touch them. If he doesn't say something, how will he survive in the demon world?

Suddenly, the ground in a corner of the yard slowly cracked open, and the soil surged to both sides, as if something was rising from the depths of the earth.

A figure slowly emerged from the cracked ground.

Nie Xiaoqian's eyelids twitched; this bizarre-looking thing was truly the most she had ever seen in her life.

That was... let's just call it a "person".

He wore a dark green robe, which was covered with mud and moss and smelled of rotting grass and wood; he was of medium height and hunched over, looking like a sickly person who had never seen the sun; his face was old, his skin was dry and withered like old tree bark, and his wrinkles were so deep that they could trap flies.

What's most irritating is its temperament and appearance—neither male nor female, neither yin nor yang, neither human nor ghost, as if all opposing concepts such as male and female, human and demon, life and death have been forcibly kneaded together, ultimately creating something that makes one feel uncomfortable all over.

Tree Demon Granny, your transformation is so ugly. Could you please take some time to improve it?

Nie Xiaoqian looked at the thing in front of her, and was so disgusted by its ugliness that she didn't know what to say for a moment.

The Tree Demon Granny stepped out of the ground and saw "Nie Xiaoqian" looking calm and composed, protected by her flying sword. Her face was filled with a complex expression of doubt and anger.

"Humans—"

Its voice was hoarse and shrill, like sandpaper rubbing against sheet metal, giving one goosebumps just by listening to it: "Why are you stopping me from saving people?"

"Save them?"

Nie Xiaoqian raised an eyebrow, revealing a playful smile. "Are you talking nonsense?"

"Of course it's to save people." The Tree Demon Granny flicked her sleeve, speaking with righteous indignation, "Look at these living corpses, slaughtering your subordinates. In a little while, they'll probably be wiped out."

"I will drain the living corpses of their essence and kill them, so they will no longer be able to kill—isn't this helping you and saving you?"

Although its primary goal was to devour the living dead, saving people was also a fact, and it couldn't understand why this woman was trying to stop it.

Aren't these people her subordinates? She clearly has the strength to kill all the undead, yet she watched helplessly as her subordinates were slaughtered. The Tree Demon Granny couldn't understand why.

Humans are still too complex; it needs to continue learning and researching.

The tree spirit paused, its voice growing even more sinister:

“You young girl, you are quite old, but your cultivation is remarkable. You must not be an ordinary mortal.”

"I'm already being lenient by choosing to absorb the living corpses instead of devouring all of them. Don't push your luck too far."

"Or do you think that humans and demons are different, and that just because I am a demon, you must oppose me?"

Its tone suddenly turned heavy, as if it was indignant about the irreconcilable conflict between humans and transvestites.

The world shouldn't be like this. There are good and bad people, and there are good and bad demons. Without a doubt, I am a good demon. You can't target a good demon who is wholeheartedly good like this!

Nie Xiaoqian sneered three times, "Too bad I'm a bad person!"

"Screw your bullshit about transvestites being different!" she bluntly stated. "You think I'm here in the middle of the night, braving the rain, just for fun?"

"If I hadn't stopped you just now, you probably would have sucked all the zombies in this yard clean, leaving not a trace, right?"

"I was guarding the vegetables, and you ate the meat and drank the soup, leaving me not even the scraps? You have quite the airs of a high official!"

Upon hearing this, the Tree Demon Granny trembled, her cloudy eyes shifting as if she were processing the information in "Nie Xiaoqian's" words.

After a moment, it asked tentatively in a hoarse voice, "You mean... you also want to taste these zombies?"

I am a demon, so it is only natural for me to eat living corpses, just like big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp.

But for a human to eat zombies is a bit too much.

It didn't understand, but it was deeply shocked.

"if not?"

Nie Xiaoqian shrugged matter-of-factly, “I’ve come all the way from Jinhua Prefecture with my family to Guobei County, braving the heavy rain to stay overnight in this dilapidated temple, and I even made sure my men had a special dinner.”

"What do you think I'm after? I'm weak and need them to nourish me!"

As she spoke, she pointed to the broken roots scattered all over the ground by the Tree Demon Granny: "You, on the contrary, intercepted me halfway without even saying a word. What, you think you can bully me because I'm young?"

Tree Demon Granny: "..."

It remained silent for a long time, trying to digest the amount of information in "Nie Xiaoqian's" words.

After a long pause, it asked in an extremely confused tone, "So, you deliberately let your men die? Why?"

Nie Xiaoqian said confidently, "In this chaotic world, human life is as worthless as grass. No one is immune to death. Since they are all going to die anyway, they might as well die in a meaningful way."

"If I can transform it into my power, when I become invincible in the future, won't they also share in my glory?"

"Besides, the ones who killed them were monks from Lanruo Temple, who were corpse demons, while I was the one who eliminated the corpse demons. I am not only innocent but also have merit."

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if this way, you, me, and everyone could get along?"

"You suddenly jumped out and stole my nutrients and merits, and even tried to save these damned guys. You're completely going against me!"

"Now think about it seriously and tell me, do you really want to be my enemy?"

Tree Demon Granny: "..."

It opened its mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, its expression changing several times, but in the end it was completely bewildered.

For the first time, it learned that its subordinates could be used in this way.

Good heavens, is that person even human? Or is it some ancient demon in disguise?!

Even the Black Mountain Lord isn't as ruthless as her!

It licked its chapped lips, a dark glint in its eyes. "I have lived for countless years, and this is the first time I have ever seen someone more ruthless than a demon. You, little girl... are very talented."

Your talent for being a demon far surpasses mine.

Don't try to get too close to me.

"Nie Xiaoqian" waved her hand, "To put it simply, I was the one who targeted these zombies first. You're trying to steal my prey, so you're just making trouble for me. Since you're making trouble for me, then you'd better test my sword first!"

The longsword hanging beside her trembled slightly, its light swirling, emitting a clear sword cry, as if responding to its master's fighting spirit.

The tree demon granny's gaze fell on the flying sword, a hint of apprehension flashing in her eyes.

Although the brief exchange just now was merely a test, it had already sensed that the girl's sword control technique was extremely sharp. The speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness of her sword light were far beyond what ordinary sword cultivators could display.

Moreover… although she suppressed the aura emanating from her body very well, the Tree Demon Granny, being a tree spirit, possessed exceptional perception and could still detect something amiss.

It was a vast power, like a dormant volcano, suppressed within her, ready to erupt at any moment.

Danger!

However, the living corpses were cultivation resources that it had carefully planned and created for itself, and it could not afford to lose them.

Do you really think that just anyone can turn into a living corpse by being infected with enough yin energy? That's all thanks to its sweat and effort!

This was already a struggle to obstruct the path. Although it was wary of the strength the other party had previously displayed, it had to take action now. Otherwise, if other demons found out that it was afraid of even this, how could it survive in the demon world?