Clearly, if there were no pressure, her strength would drop by at least half.
Perhaps Zhou Niannian's passive skill was to feel fear only when encountering danger.
If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn't have provoked that shadow. Because the shadow now seemed to be angry with her and had been chasing Zhou Niannian all the way.
"What should we do, Jiang Fan? It's chasing me all the way. I'm afraid it will catch up and kill me with one blow."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Fan turned his head and looked at the shadow. Indeed, it was as Zhou Niannian had said.
Now, the shadow seemed to regard Zhou Niannian as its only enemy, constantly pursuing her. Wherever Zhou Niannian turned, it would follow.
This made Jiang Fan quite embarrassed. After all, he didn't know if he could withstand it if he provoked this shadow now.
"You'd better speed up. I can't do anything about it. I want to stop it, but it's just a shadow. I don't seem to have any way to deal with it."
Hearing this, Zhou Niannian, trembling with despair, could only tightly follow Jiang Fan and continue to move forward.
If she could choose again, she would never provoke this shadow.
Along the way, Gun Gun wanted to try to distract the shadow, but unexpectedly, the shadow ignored it completely and walked right through its body.
However, fortunately, Gun Gun was not harmed, which put others at ease.
Just as Jiang Fan thought they could continue forward, he did not expect that what appeared before them was not the flat ground like before.
What came into view was a pillar that pierced the sky.
Around the pillar, countless plants were intertwined.
No one knew which of these plants would attack, which wouldn't, or if touching any of them would immediately result in death.
Looking back, Jiang Fan felt a desire to retreat, as this pillar was obviously too dangerous. If they continued forward, his companions might get hurt.
But the flat ground they had traversed seemed to have been completely destroyed by the shadow.
Looking back now, the flat ground had turned into dead wood, or rather, decaying plants had fallen to the ground.
However, these plants did not seem to have lost their vitality. Instead, they had taken on a bizarre appearance, twisting their bodies and swaying incessantly, as if they would attack without hesitation if something approached them.
"What should we do now? Do we really have to climb up? Wouldn't it be too dangerous to climb up? This pillar is too tall."
What Dai Xiaomei said was not without reason, as the pillar was so high that one could not see its end. If they were to climb up, there was a high probability of falling to their deaths due to lack of sustenance.
Clearly, Jiang Fan had also seen the crisis before them.
"There's no other choice. The plants behind us seem more threatening. At least the plants in front of us are still green, while those behind us don't look normal."
Indeed, as Jiang Fan said, the plants behind them not only looked like they would attack people, but they even seemed to attack their own kind.
When nearby trees accidentally touched each other, sharp thorns immediately grew on their bodies.
These thorns attacked each other back and forth, leaving their bodies covered in scars. It seemed that if Jiang Fan were to pass, these thorns would severely pierce him.
Yao, Gun Gun, and Zhou Niannian also looked behind them. The plants behind them were indeed terrifying. However, it was precisely because of their commotion that the shadow seemed to slow down its pace.
Because it slowed down, Jiang Fan and his group had a slight reprieve.
"Now this shadow seems to have stopped its advance slightly due to the commotion of those plants. We need to be constantly vigilant about when it will attack us. If it attacks, we will immediately start climbing up."
Jiang Fan stared intently at the shadow before him, and the shadow stood in place, watching Jiang Fan.
It seemed to be waiting for the plants and trees in front of them to stop fighting before coming to kill Jiang Fan.
From a distance, although the shadow's expression could not be seen, just by looking at it, one could feel the killing intent emanating from its core.
Using the remaining vines, they wrapped them around their hands and feet as anti-slip tools.
After equipping Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei, Jiang Fan took the lead and began to climb up.
Fortunately, the process of climbing up was not difficult, as there were giant roots to step on.
The group climbed up along the roots.
Thanks to the vines on their hands and feet, Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei found climbing to be quite effortless.
For Gun Gun, who was at the very back, it was even simpler. Its sharp claws only needed to grip the thick roots to avoid falling.
Because of this, Gun Gun served as the rearguard.
This was partly because Gun Gun's combat strength was considerable, and partly because it could provide a safety net for others if they accidentally fell.
It was very easy for its massive body to reach any of them.
Unexpectedly, not only did Jiang Fan and his companions climb upwards, but even the shadow began to pursue them as they climbed.
However, the shadow's climbing speed was apparently faster, as it was less like climbing and more like swimming upwards along the roots.
Seeing this, Gun Gun behind them bared its fangs.
It wanted to warn the shadow behind not to come closer, but the shadow was not afraid of Gun Gun at all. Instead, it made Gun Gun feel incredulous and immediately waved its paws, signaling Jiang Fan and the others to hurry.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Fan also increased his speed. Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei behind him quickly followed suit.
As Jiang Fan's speed increased, the shadow's speed also accelerated.
Moreover, it wasn't just climbing; it was also killing the surrounding trees as it climbed.
These trees became possessed simply because the shadow passed by them.
Even the roots below began to wave erratically as the shadow passed, as if attacking something.