A bulky physique was unacceptable, appearing clumsy and heavy. Being too small was also not ideal. Fur with mixed colors was also a no-go, lacking beauty and softness. However, this little creature before him, exquisite and nimble in every way, captivated his gaze, making it impossible for him to look away.
It perfectly suited his aesthetic.
Liu Jiang Fusheng intensely disliked the way Yan Tianjiao looked at Gu Xiaoyi, a possessive anger and frustration akin to his own belongings being coveted.
He raised his wide, silky, snow-white and moonlit water-blue sleeve, pulling the Treasure-Hunting Rat, filled with possessiveness, tightly into his embrace, allowing no one else to pry.
"Gu Xiaoyi, it's mine."
Gu Junshi met Yan Tianjiao's gaze unpleasantly, a dark shadow flickering in his eyes.
His gaze had always been clear and clean, like misty green grass, lush and vibrant.
But now, it seemed to contain a demon, the heavy sea fog of Chuan City, causing an involuntary shiver.
Gu Junshi felt a complete darkness before him. Simultaneously, the subtle, hidden fragrance from his body filled her senses. She was accustomed to his scent, but from the perspective of the Treasure-Hunting Rat, this intimate closeness, hidden within his personal space, was a first.
She had specifically followed him into the "Grand Competition" this time because she wanted to know what had happened to him. However, throughout their journey, she hadn't detected anything unusual about him. Yet, she had discovered a completely different little pampered husband when he was with her compared to when he wasn't…
Perhaps, it was because his sealed memories were struggling to break free from their "cage."
Gu Junshi could never have guessed that the Heavenly Dao, acting without any sense of fair play, had specifically infiltrated the consciousness of "son" Liu Jiang Fusheng, helping his gradually awakening true self see many things more clearly, things that had been deliberately ignored or obscured.
Lu Ziyin saw them clashing fiercely over a spiritual pet. Those unaware would have thought they were fighting over some peerless beauty.
"Yan Tianjiao, since we've met, why don't we team up to capture this Purple Vine Demon Face, so we can get clues and leave the Second Realm sooner?"
"Tch—"
After being rejected by Liu Jiang Fusheng, Yan Tianjiao had no intention of giving up easily. He had seen the spiritual beast clearly; it hadn't formed a contract with him, so its ownership was still up for negotiation.
He coldly raised his eyes to look at the Purple Vine Demon Face.
If that was the case, he wouldn't give up on this Purple Vine Demon Face either. He would offer terms that would entice the other party for an exchange.
This Purple Vine Demon Face did indeed appear somewhat mutated. It was much larger than ordinary Purple Vine Demon Faces. However, as it was merely a tree demon, he didn't feel the need to cooperate with these people.
He swung his arm, and hundreds of ice arrows condensed from the water behind him, forming a wall of ice radiating cold. Their target was naturally the Purple Vine Demon Face.
Lu Ziyin had placed Fang Rui far away earlier and casually drew a barrier to protect her.
Seeing Yan Tianjiao's arrogant intention to "monopolize" the Purple Vine Demon Face, he didn't intend to intervene.
He also wanted to know the strength of the greatly mutated Purple Vine Demon Face. If it proved too troublesome… he would simply switch to another one.
After all, there wasn't just one available. If he encountered a difficult one, there was no need to stubbornly confront it.
Although he said this, finding another Purple Vine Demon Face wouldn't be that simple.
It was because the path back had been cleared by Liu Jiang Fusheng earlier, and he had picked up a bargain, following behind him. Traveling peacefully with his beautiful companion, they hadn't encountered any danger in the forest, which was why they had arrived so smoothly.
In reality, this Green Bramble Forest was filled with hidden dangers. They needed to save time and conserve their strength. Giving up on this one and searching for another meant facing all the dangers all over again. Therefore, even though they knew this Purple Vine Demon Face was unusual, they still intended to give it a try.
The ice arrows, like blue light, shot into the trunk of the Purple Vine Demon Face. Its trunk was exceptionally thick and hard, its bark layered like a protective shell, so it didn't sustain any actual damage.
However, these ice arrows contained ice spirit energy. Upon exploding, they froze the entire trunk. White frost and ice crystals quickly covered its surface, and the wriggling, drooping vines also turned into stiff ice tendrils.
The Purple Vine Demon Face just stood there, unmoving, allowing Yan Tianjiao to attack?
Now the entire Purple Vine Demon Face was frozen into an ice block by Yan Tianjiao's ice spirit energy. Was it really that simple to deal with?
Lu Ziyin watched with curiosity and suspicion, feeling that things were not so simple.
As expected, in the next second, a burst of green airflow exploded on the spot with a "bang!" The ice shard fragments on the trunk of the Purple Vine Demon Face flew out, each piece like an ice blade hurtling towards them. Liu Jiang Fusheng, Lu Ziyin, and Yan Tianjiao reacted swiftly, immediately using spiritual energy to draw shields and retreat.
The ice blades colliding with their spiritual shields created ripples, and the fierce wind whipped their dark hair, their beautiful faces glowing brilliantly in the light.
The Purple Vine Demon Face no longer feigned harmlessness; it began its counterattack.
With this movement, it revealed its status as the overlord of the forest.
A suddenly fierce airflow whipped towards them like a whip. It was the thick, large vines swinging around the Purple Vine Demon Face. Since it began its counterattack, it had shed its disguise as a normal tree stump. The dense, withered, black branches moved, swaying in the wind like a devil's claws and teeth.
The "demon faces" on its trunk pulled open two strange, elongated slits, suddenly revealing a pair of "eyes" that had no pupils, but rather two vortex-like, deep black tree hollows, looking eerie and terrifying.
"Roar—"
It trembled, and the accompanying Purple Vines began to boil like oil dropped into water. The Purple Vines and the Demon Face were not truly one entity, but they complemented each other. The Demon Face served as the "brain," while the Purple Vines and branches served as the "body," driven by it to attack.
Due to the immense size of this Purple Vine Demon Face, its extending Purple Vines were everywhere. The ground, the trees, and even above their heads were densely covered with twisted, extending Purple Vines, ranging from arm-thick to thicker than barrels. Countless Purple Vines surged upwards from all directions.
This scene would surely have made ordinary people’s legs go soft with fear.
However, the three people present, while slightly surprised that this Purple Vine Demon Face was more difficult to deal with than they had expected, had no further concerns.
"What good are extra hands and feet?"
Yan Tianjiao snorted. He stomped on the ground, and a handful of a dazzling, multicolored ice essence crystal appeared in his hand. Although it possessed the brilliance of radiant jade, it could not overshadow the sun and moon. The moment it appeared, the temperature within a radius of the area instantly plummeted.
Lu Ziyin closed his Yunmo fan with a "swish!" As the fan opened, each supporting "bone" of the fan extended sharp blades glowing with green light. A stylish fan instantly transformed into a highly lethal weapon.
Liu Jiang Fusheng's robes fluttered, a misty fog enveloped like rolling clouds, the galaxy rotated, and with a reach of his hand, a floral spirit longsword appeared in his grasp.
The three had no tacit understanding, but they acted in perfect unison, attacking almost at the same moment.
Freezing the Thousand Li, wherever Yan Tianjiao went, the extending vines before him all turned into stiff frozen tendrils, which then shattered from the tips and fell to the ground.
Lu Ziyin swept his fan, and the net of vines covering the sky was also broken into segments and fell with a rustling sound.
Liu Jiang Fusheng wielded his sword, and light and shadow turned into a blazing net around them, shredding all obstacles.
With a tacit cooperation of three parts, the outermost "claws" of the Purple Vine Demon Face were quickly annihilated, leaving only a bare Purple Vine Demon Face standing there.
At this moment, it roared again.
The remaining withered branches seemed to have been infused with some strange power, beginning to thicken from being thin, and their branches became more flexible from being stiffly bent. They re-coiled into a net to envelop them.
The two vortex-like "eye sockets" of the Purple Vine Demon Face grew darker, and finally, pupils appeared within them. Perhaps they couldn't be called "pupils," but rather two dark green beads, their surfaces uneven as if corroded by lava.
This was a symbol of the Purple Vine Demon Face's enraged transformation. It split its inner demon core into two and placed them in the "eye sockets," allowing the attacking branches to be continuously supplied with vast demonic power through the "eye sockets."
"Hiss—"
A piercing sound of branch trembling and tree groaning cut through the forest, startling all the poisonous creatures and beasts hiding in the dense woods. Liu Jiang Fusheng, Lu Ziyin, and Yan Tianjiao were all disturbed to varying degrees by the sound wave from the Purple Vine Demon Face, their expressions changing.
These branches were different from the previous Purple Vines. They contained the powerful demonic energy of the Purple Vine Demon Face. Even if they were frozen by Yan Tianjiao's ice, they could break free from the ice again with a surge of spiritual energy, fiercely attacking and entangling.
Furthermore, they were not afraid of being cut by blades and could regenerate through demonic energy.
They were endless, and couldn't be destroyed. The three were in a stalemate with the Purple Vine Demon Face, unable to approach it with absolute advantage anymore.
"Use fire!"
Lu Ziyin thought of it.
If freezing didn't work, then burning with fire. All tree demons feared spiritual fire; this was common knowledge in the cultivation world.
"You have fire?"
Yan Tianjiao glanced at Lu Ziyin with an idiotic look.
Lu Ziyin choked.
Of course, he didn't. So, he placed his hope on the other two.
But the problem was that none of the three present were Pill Cultivators. They didn't have a hidden trump card. Only Pill Cultivators possessed a wisp of their natal spiritual fire. They were all genuine Body and Law Spiritual Cultivators, so there was no hope.
And ordinary flames likely wouldn't be feared by this Purple Vine Demon Face.
"No fire."
Liu Jiang Fusheng cut off a sharp branch tip that was about to stab into his eye with his sword. Impatient, he planned to activate a sword technique to break the deadlock. Unexpectedly, Yan Tianjiao from the other side suddenly rushed over.
Liu Jiang Fusheng was caught off guard. By the time he realized something was wrong, he saw Yan Tianjiao coming with the entire offensive of the Purple Vine Demon Face.
Yan Tianjiao flashed and dodged behind Liu Jiang Fusheng. The overwhelming dark branches lunged like a devouring mouth. The demonic energy, close enough to graze his face, approached. Fearing that it would harm the Treasure-Hunting Rat, his first reaction was to throw it out, then wield his sword to defend.
Unexpectedly, Yan Tianjiao, who had been watching with intent, shamelessly seized the Treasure-Hunting Rat that was always around Liu Jiang Fusheng's neck and abducted it.
Holding the struggling Treasure-Hunting Rat, he was content. The gloomy, beautiful face even had a slight reduction in its usual fierceness. He said to Liu Jiang Fusheng, "Afraid it will get hurt? Then I can reluctantly take care of it for you first."
Liu Jiang Fusheng, having been tricked by him, and seeing his Treasure-Hunting Rat snatched away, his face instantly turned cold. He no longer concealed his strength and directly deployed a dazzling and vast sword array. Sword light poured down like rain, completely shaving the branches of the troublesome Purple Vine Demon Face.
Seeing that the threat of the Purple Vine Demon Face was easily resolved without him lifting a finger, Lu Ziyin smiled happily. This time, he seemed to have seen the benefit of the two of them fighting.
The Purple Vine Demon Face was now pushed to a desperate situation. Only one final blow was needed to finish it.
Yan Tianjiao, holding the little thing he had finally managed to snatch, was momentarily lost in thought and didn't rush to deal with the Purple Vine Demon Face.
Liu Jiang Fusheng acted without hesitation. After dealing with the branches of the Purple Vine Demon Face, he turned, his gaze cold and dangerous, and reached out to Yan Tianjiao, saying, "Give it back to me!"
Seeing that these two were once again caught in a dispute over a "peerless beauty," Lu Ziyin shook his head. He couldn't be as willful as them. He closed his Yunliu Fan, which he usually used for show but served as a magic artifact in critical moments. With a long arm, the Yunliu Fan transformed into a long sword – the Yunliu Sword.
He walked in front of the Purple Vine Demon Face, which had been shaved bare on its "head." It still wanted to struggle desperately, but Lu Ziyin pierced it with his sword at its vital spot.
—Its "eye socket."
The Purple Vine Demon Face let out a miserable cry. Moments later, it vanished into nothingness before Lu Ziyin's eyes.
Where it disappeared, a light, fluttering beast skin paper fell to the ground.
Similar to the clue from the First Realm, this was the clue for the exit to the Second Realm.
He bent down and picked it up. There were only two words on it.
Swamp.
This time it was simple. They didn't have to guess; the exit location was directly revealed.
Lu Ziyin waved the beast skin paper in his hand towards the two and said teasingly, "It seems my guess was correct. This Purple Vine Demon Face is the clue for the exit. Now that the exit has been found, do you plan to leave, or fight first?"
But neither of them paid him any attention.
Lu Ziyin guessed that these two intended to choose the latter. He had no interest in participating in their fight, so he directly said, "We three took down this Purple Vine Demon Face together. I won't hide the clue anymore. It says 'swamp.' You can figure out the rest yourselves."
After he finished speaking, the beast skin paper in his hand disappeared.
After Gu Junshi was snatched by Yan Tianjiao, he initially struggled only symbolically. Seeing that Liu Jiang Fusheng was safe, he bit down on Yan Tianjiao's unguarded left hand. While Yan Tianjiao was in pain, he kicked off and leaped into Liu Jiang Fusheng's embrace.
His eyes lit up with joy, bright and soft.
"Xiaoyi."
Yan Tianjiao stared blankly at the Treasure-Hunting Rat.
He seemed oblivious to the two blood holes on his hand, his eyes merely dimming.