Chapter Forty-Four: The Tree Demon Matriarch

Su Ye’s body abruptly retreated, his hands forming a spell seal as the power of thunder and fire surged forth, transforming into a torrent of flames that swept toward the root tendril. Yet the tendril was shrouded in dense, baleful energy, so even the thunder and fire barely slowed its rapid advance.

With a soft, chilling sound, the tendril pierced straight into Su Ye’s shoulder.

"Su Ye, be careful! The locust demon will drain your vital blood and life force directly!" Ning Caichen shouted in warning, shaping a sword formula in his hand. The iron sword he wielded shot out, slashing at the tendril.

"You arrogant brat, you think you're powerful? I’ll drain you dry this instant!" The locust demon let out a crazed laugh. The tendril embedded in Su Ye began to voraciously siphon his vital blood and yang energy.

Feeling his strength ebb away, Su Ye immediately activated the Five Thunders of Yin and Yang technique. Thunderous rumbles echoed within his body as a formidable power surged forth—not only sealing his vital energy and blood, but also suppressing the locust demon’s tendril invading his body.

The locust demon, having just absorbed some of Su Ye’s blood and energy, was startled by the abrupt change within him. As she prepared to shatter Su Ye's spell, suddenly, a surge of pure baleful energy swept in from the distance.

"Netherworld envoys—why are they appearing here?" The locust demon’s expression changed dramatically upon seeing them.

Seizing this opportunity, Su Ye let the power of thunder and fire surge through his hands, grasping the tendril embedded in his shoulder. Enduring the pain, he tore it free.

"Thank you for coming, honorable envoy. I sense this locust demon is from the Netherworld; I beseech you to subdue her and take her back to the Underworld!" Su Ye’s gaze lingered on the envoy, his heart filled with worry.

He could not discern the envoy’s true strength. The locust demon had already reached the eighth rank, and he feared the envoy might not be her match.

"So it was your trick, brat. But a mere ninth-rank envoy is still no match for me!" The locust demon remained unperturbed, understanding at once why the envoy had appeared.

Ning Caichen was utterly shocked, unable to fathom Su Ye’s methods. He wished to ask what had happened, but clearly, Su Ye had no time to answer.

---

"You are the tree demon matron under the Black Mountain Ghost King!" The envoy gathered baleful energy in his palm, and a white-skinned lantern slowly materialized in his hand.

"You recognize me, little envoy? Then step aside, lest I make sure you never become a ghost!" The locust demon laughed lightly, her tone grandiose, yet she made no move against the envoy.

Relieved, Su Ye took out a healing talisman from within his robes, swallowed it, and silently activated the Five Thunders of Yin and Yang, tending to his wounds.

"We both hail from the Underworld. We must not meddle in mortal affairs. If the Judge of Punishments learns of this, you’ll pay a visit to the Yellow Springs Hell." The envoy held the white lantern, its ghostly blue fire flickering, unsettling the heart.

The Judge of Punishments he spoke of was Zhong Kui, one of the four great Underworld judges, whose cultivation far surpassed the ninth rank. Even the Black Mountain Ghost King, whom the locust demon followed, was no match for him.

The Yellow Springs Hell was a place of torment specially reserved for ghosts and demons who fled to the mortal realm to wreak havoc—most dreaded by all Underworld creatures.

The tree demon matron shuddered involuntarily when the envoy mentioned the Yellow Springs Hell.

"A mere ninth-rank envoy dares threaten me with the Yellow Springs Hell? How reckless!" The locust demon sneered, baleful energy swirling around her as she summoned a sinister branch of the locust tree.

The branch was imbued with exceptionally pure baleful energy and terrifying power.

This branch was taken from the tree demon matron’s true form, whose cultivation had long since surpassed the lower three ranks and entered the middle three—a truly fearsome strength.

Now, the locust tree at Lanruo Temple was but a cultivated avatar. Once this avatar was fully grown, she could traverse freely between the realms of yin and yang.

However, when the avatar was about to emerge years ago, the monks of Lanruo Temple discovered it.

Yet, they failed to see through the locust demon’s true identity. At the time, they planned to use Nie Xiaoqian’s body to seal the demon’s soul and destroy her.

Had she been an ordinary locust demon, their plan would have worked. But this locust demon was the tree demon matron’s avatar.

Using Nie Xiaoqian’s soul, the demon feigned death and lost all memory belonging to the matron—until now, when it finally returned.

---

"Join forces and help me!" The envoy’s expression grew grave upon seeing the tree demon matron summon the locust branch.

That branch, taken from the matron’s true form, contained terrifying power.

As the envoy spoke, a gray-white chain shot from his hand, whistling as it wound toward the tree demon matron.

From his white-skinned lantern, flames flickered, and bean-sized fireballs streamed out, forming a torrent of fire that assaulted the demon.

The matron laughed coldly, and from her summoned branch surged a jet of dark green light—a force of terrifying strength. The chain and flames were instantly shattered by that green light.

A leaf separated from the green glow and shot straight at the envoy’s chest.

Su Ye and Ning Caichen, witnessing this, both grew solemn. The envoy, a ninth-rank cultivator from the Underworld, could not withstand even a single blow from the locust demon!

Still, neither hesitated. Steeling their hearts, they launched their own attacks.

Su Ye frantically channeled the power of his companion jade talisman within his sea of consciousness, his fingers tapping lightly. A five-colored radiance surged from the talisman, and in an instant, the Five Thunders Evil Suppression talisman formed at his fingertip.

He flicked it forth, and the talisman shot toward the tree demon matron with a piercing howl.

This talisman, wholly condensed from the power of the companion jade, consumed a great deal of its energy. Thus, the resulting Five Thunders Evil Suppression talisman broke through the ninth rank’s barrier, possessing the might of the eighth rank.