Chapter 25 Li County Pear Blossom Lantern Festival (Part 7)
Upon approaching the trunk, Liu Sheng could feel the pain and despair of the people trapped within the tree more clearly. Layer upon layer, it was estimated that those absorbed earliest had already sunk deep and become nutrients for the Pear Tree Wraith.
As the lantern's cold light circle enveloped the Pear Tree Wraith's roots, the Pear Tree Wraith began to tremble slightly, and more and more flowers fell.
She held her peach wood sword, found a gap between the intertwined people, and concentrated all her strength to strike at the "tree bark."
The peach wood sword was not as sharp as an iron sword, and the "tree bark" looked slippery, covered in a thick layer of mucus. By common sense, it should have been difficult to break through.
But to Liu Sheng's surprise, the peach wood sword directly cut an opening in the "tree bark," and a yellowish-white liquid seeped out, revealing the twisted human bodies inside.
At this moment, this pear blossom tree began to shake violently, seemingly resisting Liu Sheng's actions.
A piercing scream, filled with pain and anger, echoed from deep within the trunk, reverberating across the sky.
Illusions emerged from all directions, attempting to drag her back into the murderous Li County Pear Blossom Lantern Festival, but these illusory mirages retreated as soon as they touched the lantern's light.
However, they did not dissipate; instead, they crouched nearby, ready to act.
Seeing this, Little Tentacle injected more Guai Qi into the lantern, and the light circle expanded. The illusions shrieked sharply as if scalded, retreating even further.
Liu Sheng was unaffected, focusing on using her peach wood sword to widen the opening.
The first person was pulled out of the tree trunk, covered in yellowish-white and fresh red mucus, falling onto the ground covered with pear blossom petals, their life status unknown.
Snap!
A branch lashed fiercely at her.
At this point, the effect of her protective talisman had worn off, leaving only the protective formation on her robe.
A flash of light blocked the blow for her.
It could still withstand two more hits!
Liu Sheng continued to use her peach wood sword to enlarge the opening, trying to rescue more imprisoned people.
The lantern in Little Tentacle's hand glowed even brighter, causing the Pear Tree Wraith to tremble more violently. Pear blossoms fell madly with a rustling sound, and the entire Zui Bai Garden seemed to be shaking.
The Pear Tree Wraith seemed to hesitate for a moment, but it was very quick.
Snap!
Another blow!
The protective shield was reduced by one more.
As Liu Sheng worked, one figure after another was pulled out from the reddish-brown "tree bark."
Some of these people still had faint breaths, while others showed no signs of life.
A powerful and cold aura surged from deep within the tree trunk, rushing towards Liu Sheng.
Only one more left!
Liu Sheng was still persisting at this moment. Her untrained arms were sore from overuse, and her palms had developed blood blisters from the peach wood sword handle. Half of her body was already inside the "tree bark," covered in sticky pulp.
But she couldn't care less about that anymore.
She wanted to pull out more people.
And those familiar faces she hadn't seen yet.
Although she usually focused on her own affairs, she wasn't as indifferent to those rare, subtle emotions as she appeared.
Finally, with a snap.
The Pear Tree Wraith's charged blow struck the protective shield activated on Liu Sheng.
After this blow, the Pear Tree Wraith seemed to weaken considerably. Most of the pear blossoms on its crown had fallen, and night returned to the sky above the garden.
Although most of the attack's force was blocked by the protective shield, the residual power still made Liu Sheng's chest ache, and a metallic taste filled her throat.
But at this moment, the physical pain was completely overshadowed by the surprise that followed.
It was Wang Dongdong! She finally found her!
Wang Dongdong lay silently in the depths, eyes closed, covered in blood, her chest rising and falling, clearly still alive!
Liu Sheng laboriously dragged Wang Dongdong out of the tree trunk, pulled out a Small Return Pill, and put it into her mouth.
At this moment, a chill swept over Liu Sheng's heart.
Liu Sheng looked up and saw that something seemed to be brewing deep within the opening she had created, and a congealed, cold malice spread outwards.
Liu Sheng realized the situation was dire, but her protective formation had been completely depleted.
She only had enough strength left to drag Wang Dongdong aside, and not very far either.
No sooner said than done, a bloody ray shot out from deep within the tree trunk, rushing towards them.
As expected, B-grade weird objects were not so easy to deal with. Even with the targeted weird object "Zhang Hengyuan's Custom Lantern" weakening its power, for Liu Sheng, who had no cultivation, any of its attacks were unbearable.
Liu Sheng could only have Little Tentacle hold the lantern high, making its light shine brightly.
Making it cry, this was her only method left...
She was also at a loss for tears.
Just as she felt she was done for, a golden light suddenly struck from behind her, instantly enveloping her in a pale golden shield.
The bloody ray hit the shield, creating a violent collision sound, as if the surrounding air was being torn apart.
Liu Sheng looked back.
It was Fu Ze who saved her!
"Are you alright?" Fu Ze's voice was hoarse and tired, his body covered in bloodstains. His right hand was forming a seal, and his left hand hung limply by his side, seemingly broken.
Unlike Liu Sheng, who had an AI cheat, he looked like he had been through a fierce battle all the way here, so he arrived much later than Liu Sheng.
Liu Sheng felt that something was brewing again deep within the tree trunk. The red of the "tree bark" was getting darker and darker, as if it was about to drip blood, and the people trapped inside seemed to be dissolving faster.
"Quick, protect these people! It's going to devour them to gain power!" Liu Sheng urgently shouted to Fu Ze.
Fu Ze immediately understood, took out his peach wood sword, flew forward, and channeled his Spiritual Qi to slash the opening Liu Sheng had made, creating a huge opening in the deep red tree trunk, from which many people fell out.
Then Fu Ze waved his hand, and a flash of spiritual light appeared, enveloping everyone on the ground, including Liu Sheng, with a protective talisman.
Fu Ze had a cultivation of Initial Realm Stage Eight; the protective talisman he cast was not on the same level as Liu Sheng's.
His move was very timely, because the next moment, strong winds began to blow, and Guai Qi erupted.
Every petal on the ground grew an evil eye, densely packed and horrifying to behold.
Immediately, those petal eyes were blown by the wind and transformed into sharp blades, attacking everyone present.
Fu Ze slapped another protective talisman for everyone; one layer of protection was not enough for this kind of multi-stage area attack.
But he had been running and fighting all the way, his Spiritual Qi was already over-consumed, and all his spiritual beads had been absorbed, so he had no extra Spiritual Qi left for himself.
Liu Sheng held Wang Dongdong, seeing Fu Ze smile at her with relief.
As the captain of this reconnaissance mission, although there was only so much he could do, at least he had a clear conscience...
Many years ago, when his wife and daughter died amidst the weirdness, he had wanted to follow them. Now, he could finally fulfill his wish...
Fu Ze thought silently.
Layers of petal eyes clustered around him, scraping at the flesh on his body, as if his body was covered in tiny eyeballs.
Blood splattered, and the petal eyeballs around him were stained a bloodthirsty red.
His vision gradually blurred...
"No--!!!"
Liu Sheng's heart ached with sorrow. She had never hated herself so much for not being able to cultivate.
She thought she had already won by relying on the "world" to get here.
She thought she was already amazing for having analyzed the origin of the Pear Tree Wraith.
She felt that she was just a small Siku, diligently working a job, collecting a fixed monthly salary, and waiting for retirement.
But she couldn't protect Fu Ze, couldn't protect Wang Dongdong, couldn't protect the innocent people of Li County...
She couldn't even protect her own life; Fu Ze saved her.
He saved her a second time.
Now he was going to die!
Fu Ze is not the male lead, just to avoid misunderstanding.
Being unable to protect her teammates was also a blow for Liu Sheng, who had always been a slacker. The female lead is still relatively weak in the early stages, but she will continue to grow, definitely a strong female lead.