Chapter 262: Subduing Si Rumeng

In that instant, her listless aura erupted like a volcano, surging wildly!

Tier Five… Tier Six… Tier Seven…

BOOM!

The terrifying pressure of a Tier Eight Great Demon swept over the area like a tsunami.

Si Rumeng threw her head back and let out a piercing shriek.

Amidst the roiling demonic energy, her voluptuous, graceful human form rapidly blurred and expanded. In the blink of an eye, a towering, pitch-black tree radiating a faint purple glow shot up from the ground.

The giant tree was immense, its trunk as thick as a mountain. Countless gnarled roots, like frenzied dragons, pierced the earth and plunged deep into its ley lines.

“Rise!”

Si Rumeng cried out.

Countless thick branches, like a billion arms, grew frantically toward the sky, thrusting upward to meet the descending black hand.

BANG—!!!

The giant hand collided with the canopy.

A deafening roar erupted, shaking heaven and earth.

For a brief moment, the crushing descent of the space above actually came to a halt.

Countless branches and leaves shattered under the hand’s crushing force, turning to dust. The trunk issued a constant KRAKK, as if it would snap at any moment.

But the giant tree remained standing, stubbornly enduring the world-ending blow.

It held up a fragile sliver of hope for this small world.

“Impressive.”

Jiang Mu looked up at the shocking scene and couldn’t help but marvel.

‘This Tree Demon Granny may have a foul temper, but she’s tough as nails.’

However, at this critical moment in the stalemate…

“Granny!”

Several female voices cried out from the ruins. “We’re here to help you!”

Several graceful figures transformed into streaks of light, flying recklessly toward the giant tree.

It was the beautiful ghosts, led by Wen Xiaoqing.

Si Rumeng, in her tree form, sounded anxious. “Xiaoqing, don’t come over! You can’t withstand this! Hurry and find a place to hide!”

However, the female ghosts acted as if they hadn’t heard, still charging resolutely toward the core of the trunk.

Jiang Mu stood his ground, his brow furrowed slightly.

His gaze swept over the ghosts, but he didn’t see that foolish girl, Yu Xiaoqian.

‘Strange. That girl is the most loyal of them all. Why would she disappear at a time like this?’

As suspicion bloomed in his mind, Jiang Mu subconsciously glanced at the Bronze Buddha Lamp in his hand.

When he looked, his pupils contracted.

He couldn’t sense the bond of Incense and Candle Power from the approaching ghosts on the Buddha Lamp.

This meant—

They had severed their connection to the Buddha Lamp!

‘Something’s wrong!’

A terrible premonition suddenly seized Jiang Mu.

Without hesitation, he shot forward and threw a palm strike at the ghost in the lead.

A pitch-black seal materialized in his left palm.

“Suppress!”

At his shout, a massive phantom of the Ghost King Seal materialized from thin air. Carrying an aura that could suppress all ghostly beings, it smashed down on the ghost’s head!

“AH—!”

The female ghost let out a bloodcurdling scream. Before she could even react, she was crushed by the Ghost King Seal, exploding into a cloud of black smoke as her soul was annihilated.

“What are you doing!?”

Si Rumeng, who was struggling to hold up the giant hand, sensed this and roared in a mixture of shock and fury.

Jiang Mu continued his charge toward another female ghost.

“Get out of my way!”

Enraged, she sent several thick vines lashing toward Jiang Mu like long whips, filled with chilling killing intent.

Jiang Mu ignored her fury. He retracted the Ghost King Seal and used the Spirit Snake Body Step to twist his body in an uncanny way, avoiding a fatal blow as a golden light flared across his skin.

Profound Gang Unleashed!

WHAP!

The vine struck his back. His Protective Gang Qi shuddered violently, and the force of the blow sent him flying.

But he used the momentum to his advantage, his body becoming a crimson bolt of lightning as he used Instant Teleportation to appear before another female ghost.

“Fool!”

Jiang Mu barked, channeling his Blood River True Qi into his palms and mercilessly striking the female ghost’s chest.

BANG!

That ghost also exploded with a shriek.

By now, the remaining three female ghosts, including Wen Xiaoqing, had reached the main trunk of the giant tree.

The looks of anxiety and concern on their faces vanished instantly, replaced by sinister malice.

PTUI! PTUI! PTUI!

They opened their mouths and spat out globs of viscous, ink-black liquid, splashing it directly onto Si Rumeng’s true form, the tree trunk.

SSSSSSS—

The sound of sizzling corrosion filled the air.

The iron-hard trunk was instantly eaten away by the black liquid, deep pits forming as plumes of black smoke rose.

Si Rumeng let out a pained scream.

The black liquid wasn’t just corroding her wooden body; it was eating away at her very Divine Soul!

“Xiaoqing… you all… what are you doing!?”

Si Rumeng’s voice trembled with disbelief.

“What are we doing?”

The surviving ghost sneered, lunging forward again. “Sending you on your way, of course, Granny!”

“You’re courting death!”

Jiang Mu used Instant Teleportation again, arriving in a flash.

He brandished the folding fan in his hand.

Imprisoned Ground!

The female ghost’s body froze instantly.

Wreathed in Blood River True Qi, Jiang Mu struck out with his palm.

SPLAT!

Her body exploded.

Jiang Mu landed beside the ravaged tree roots and said coldly,

“These wretched servants betrayed you long ago. They were Black Mountain’s hidden pawns, waiting for the perfect moment to deliver the fatal blow. You’ve wasted all those hundreds of years you’ve lived!”

Si Rumeng was silent.

Her giant tree form trembled.

Whether from the excruciating pain or a heart turned to ice, it was impossible to say.

KRAK…

Just then, a sharp crack sounded from above.

Weakened by the corrosive black liquid and her own wounded spirit, a massive crack appeared at the base of the giant tree.

The black hand in the sky sensed the weakening resistance and pressed down with even greater force!

RUMBLE!

The rate at which space collapsed suddenly accelerated.

“I can’t hold on…”

Si Rumeng’s weak, despairing voice drifted over. “His power is too great… and this hand… it seems to be intangible. My attacks have no effect… I can’t find its weakness…”

“A weakness?”

Jiang Mu looked up, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at the sky-blotting black hand.

“Every technique has a weakness.”

He took a deep breath, brought two fingers together, and pressed them firmly to the center of his brow.

Earth Spirit Star Divine Abilities—

Spiritual Light Divination!

Activate!