In the cultivation world, demon beasts were roughly divided into three categories: one was corporeal demon beasts, one was nature-spirit demon beasts, and the last was spirit-form demon beasts.
Corporeal demon beasts already possessed physical bodies before gaining sentience.
They were the most common throughout the cultivation world and could usually gain sentience, temper their bodies, and raise their cultivation in five to ten years.
Nature-spirit demon beasts were those that could not move freely in nature, such as flowers, grass, trees, stone, mud, copper, and iron.
Because they could only passively receive spiritual energy, the time required for them to gain sentience was more than ten times that of corporeal demon beasts, and they needed to be in a place rich with spiritual energy before they had any chance of forming a physical body.
The final category, spirit-form demon beasts, was a collective term for more abstract elemental demon beasts as well as the lingering souls of demon beasts that wandered the world.
The demon beasts standing before Su Zhan and Yun Li were precisely nature-spirit demon beasts.
“Hide behind me.”
Su Zhan’s long sword left its sheath.
Her eyes narrowed; she did not act rashly.
“What’s going on? I already…” Yun Li pressed her lips together, murmuring with some confusion.
Before the two of them had entered this passage, she had already probed the area.
There should not have been any demon beasts here.
How had so many suddenly appeared out of thin air?
“It was my oversight in not considering this point. Focus on the present first, Junior Sister. Continue using fire to burn away all the surrounding vines.”
Su Zhan comforted her.
Now was not the time to review mistakes.
Nature-spirit demon beasts could completely withdraw their spiritual power while dormant, becoming no different from ordinary vegetation.
It was perfectly normal that Yun Li had not detected them.
Countless vines hung down all around them.
They needed to deal with them quickly, or they would suffer for it.
The weeds underfoot were still manageable.
The protective spell and spiritual pressure she had applied around her body were enough to keep the flames from burning her, and Yun Li had also applied a protective spell to herself.
As the flames slowly spread, the surroundings grew clearer and clearer.
Su Zhan finally saw the true faces of these demon beasts.
Their exterior was ashen and decayed like wrinkled tree bark.
Their bodies were almost entirely composed of coils of vines.
The eye sockets were hollowed out yet glowed with azure light.
In the place of a mouth were three tentacle-like feelers resembling those of an octopus.
Both arms and thighs were supported by multiple vines.
“They’re so ugly!” Yun Li said instinctively.
Whether or not it understood the girl’s words, the foremost vine demon beast let out another strange cry.
Its lower limbs slowly shifted forward, yet the vines of its arms, like twisting snakes, whipped toward the two of them with lightning speed!
Su Zhan raised her sword horizontally in front of Yun Li, who had no time to react, and blocked the first strike.
Yet immediately afterward, multiple vine whips came crashing down at the same time.
There was no time to raise her hand and block again.
Su Zhan pulled Yun Li sideways to dodge.
The next moment, the spot where the two of them had just been standing erupted with a heavy thud, leaving a shallow trench gouged into the ground.
Su Zhan’s expression sank.
Thoughts surged through her mind in an instant.
Her sword was difficult to wield in such a cramped space, and most of her other techniques had little offensive power—mostly minor spells for daily convenience.
Lin Wan’er had once taught Su Zhan practical combat techniques, but she had never taken them seriously and practiced them.
It was already too late for regret.
Right now, she could only rely on Yun Li.
“Junior Sister, attack with talisman arts! I’ll protect you!” Su Zhan shouted.
At present they only needed to deal with the foremost vine demon beast.
The others moved slowly and did not need to be considered for the moment.
Before the words had fully left her mouth, the vine demon beast’s whip came lashing again!
The vine whip was fast, but Su Zhan was faster.
She met the whip head-on.
Her sword blade glowed with azure light as she swung and severed the vine.
Yet the vine demon beast seemed to feel no pain and continued attacking relentlessly, striking toward Su Zhan’s side as if intending to smash her into the wall.
“All right… ah, Senior Sister, careful!” Yun Li nodded repeatedly, the words not yet finished.
Su Zhan raised her sword, preparing to deliver a heavy slash, yet before she could even assume the stance the tip of the blade touched the ceiling.
Her movement paused for a fraction of a second.
In that single instant, the unreasonable vine whip had already swept before her face!
If it had been a single vine she could still have endured it by force, but this strike was formed from several vines twisted together, enormous in size.
What would happen if it landed?
Recalling the trench from earlier, Su Zhan felt her small frame definitely would not withstand it.
“Senior Sister, dodge!” Yun Li cried urgently from behind.
Su Zhan twisted her body and swayed her foot, slipping to the left.
The next moment, a surging column of flame exploded out from behind her.
A violent aura instantly painted the surrounding walls red.
The pillar of fire poured straight past Su Zhan’s ear and scorched onto the vine whip.
The ashen tree vines burst apart inch by inch, turning into charred residue that pattered to the ground.
“Well done!” Su Zhan gasped for breath and could not help praising, her heart still pounding wildly.
This fire talisman had been infused with greater spiritual power by Yun Li, so the release speed had been a little slower, but the effect was gratifying.
The flames continued to spread along the vine whip toward the main body of the vine demon beast.
The demon beast cried out strangely and tried to extinguish the fire, but it was useless.
The flames only grew fiercer, spreading further as the creature thrashed about.
“Keep casting. Don’t stop!” Su Zhan said.
Although the vine demon beast before them was too busy to attack, nine more vine demon beasts were still steadily approaching from behind.
Without needing Su Zhan’s urging, Yun Li immediately drew a second talisman paper after using the first fire talisman and began chanting.
Su Zhan was not idle either.
Her sword blade lit up with azure light once more, and several extremely weak strands of sword qi shot forward.
She did not seek power; she only sought for the wind pressure of the sword qi to blow the flames toward more places.
These flames were spiritual fire.
As long as a demon beast was touched by even a little, it would feel bone-searing pain!
“How dare you hit my Senior Sister! Burn you ugly freaks to death!” Yun Li shouted.
Seeing that her moves were effective, her last trace of hesitation vanished.
Another domineering pillar of fire continuously blasted forth, thicker and larger than the one she had condensed earlier to protect Su Zhan, unstoppable as it filled the entire passage!
This strike was aimed at the remaining vine demon beasts and had almost consumed half of her spiritual power.
The scorching flames surged like waves.
Yun Li saw Su Zhan swing out sword qi and instantly understood her intention.
She drew out yet another different talisman paper and affixed it atop the original fire talisman.
“Wind Talisman, haste!”
With the command shouted, the originally straight pillar of fire suddenly trembled from the inside out.
In less than a moment it began twisting along with the force, gradually transforming into a roaring, howling fire serpent that arrogantly braced against the surrounding walls, determined to swallow every demon beast before it!
The surroundings expanded by an entire circle and continued to widen.
The power was this great!? Su Zhan looked at Yun Li in astonishment, only to discover that the girl’s face was extremely pale.
Clearly this move had already drained every last bit of her spiritual power.
“Junior Sister, don’t force yourself!” Su Zhan said.
Yun Li clenched her silver teeth, eyes full of unwillingness. “It’s fine… I can still… hold on… I don’t want to keep hiding behind Senior Sister and be unable to do anything!”
She’s really being reckless… Su Zhan thought.
Yet this also created a favorable battlefield for her.
The ceiling had been forcibly raised a great deal, and she could now swing her sword without reservation.
The long sword in her hand flashed with azure light.
Su Zhan exhaled a breath of turbid air and assumed a slashing stance.
“Qingyun Sword Art — Break the Clouds!”