Chapter 1422: Temptation

Fortunately, none of them were ordinary individuals; they swiftly employed their refined movement techniques to evade the attack. Without needing a signal, they all launched their counterattack at the same time.

Yu Yanluo didn't use the Thousand Mile Mountain and Sea Map because her opponent was too powerful, and her current cultivation level was insufficient to trap it with the map. While applying various auxiliary runes to her companions, she also activated her Medusa's Eye. However, a layer of yellowish-brown light shimmered across Feng Xi's body, and its form was surprisingly unaffected by the petrification spell.

Yu Yanluo quickly warned, "Be careful, it's an earth element creature with extremely high defense." Even a creature of the earth element, which naturally has some resistance to the Medusa's Eye, shouldn't have been so minimally affected. Ultimately, it was due to a thick, resinous, and muddy layer covering Feng Xi's body, which provided a certain degree of insulation against her Medusa's Eye.

Just then, Zu An, moving with lightning speed, appeared beside Feng Xi and thrust his Yin-Yang Twin Swords directly into its body. However, his pupils quickly constricted in surprise, as the Heaven-grade Yin-Yang Twin Swords, even empowered by the Fire Phoenix and Azure Duck, failed to penetrate its hide. The sword tips felt like they had struck solid rock, and the blades immediately bowed under the immense impact, emitting mournful wails as if they were about to snap.

Just then, Feng Xi spun its head and snapped at him. Despite its clumsy appearance, its speed was astonishingly quick. Fortunately, Zu An, having just been warned by Yu Yanluo, had conserved a fraction of his strength. Using the rebound force of his swords, he instantly retreated several zhang to a nearby tree. Where he had just been standing, Feng Xi's jaws had directly bitten a massive pit. With such terrifying biting force, Zu An even wondered if his body, tempered by the Hongmeng Primordial Scripture, could withstand it.

As Feng Xi was about to pursue Zu An, a streak of light shot past – it was Yan Xuehen's Flying Snow Sword. If the situation weren't so dire, Zu An might have whistled in admiration. No wonder so many TV shows in his past life featured sword cultivators; controlling a sword in combat was undeniably impressive. Yan Xuehen formed a sword incantation with her hand, and the Flying Snow Sword, like a meteor, streaked past Feng Xi, leaving trails of cold light.

Initially, Feng Xi, confident in its tough hide, completely ignored the flying sword. It seemed a slender sword like that couldn't possibly breach its defenses. However, Yan Xuehen was no fool. Having witnessed her companions' attacks, she instantly realized the absurdity of its defense. Naturally, she wouldn't strike its body but would instead target its eyes. No matter how strong its defenses were, surely its eyes couldn't be as hard as rock?

Feng Xi indeed panicked, dodging incessantly. But Yan Xuehen's swordplay was too incisive, constantly denying it any chance to counterattack, infuriating it to the point of squealing like a pig.

By this time, the others had also regained their composure. Yun Jianyue brought out her Changxin Palace Lantern, and wherever its light fell, Feng Xi's usually agile movements were visibly affected. Realizing it could no longer evade Yan Xuehen's Flying Snow Sword, it simply closed its eyes and braced itself for the strike. The sword struck its eyelid, drawing blood, but clearly did not harm its eye. They hadn't expected the creature's eyelids to be so remarkably tough.

Meanwhile, Zu An brought out the Nine Cauldrons and, taking advantage of Feng Xi's temporary blindness, unleashed the White Lotus True Flame upon it. Since the creature possessed high physical resistance, it was time to switch to elemental attacks.

As expected, Feng Xi, enveloped by the White Lotus True Flame, squealed in agony. Then, it violently shook its body, and countless fiery 'steel needles' shot out in all directions, covering the area. The group clearly saw that these were not steel needles at all, but rather Feng Xi's hairs, coated with the White Lotus True Flame, which greatly amplified their power.

As Zu An hastily dodged, the fiery 'needles' pierced straight through trees, and the accompanying flames quickly set them ablaze, transforming the immediate vicinity into a sea of fire. Squealing, Feng Xi seized the opportunity to flee frantically into the depths of the dense forest. Its entire body resembled a fireball, though the flames were noticeably smaller. After all, its body was covered in a thick, armor-like mixture of grease and soil, and when it ejected its hairs, a significant portion of the flames was carried away with them.

Worried about setting the entire mulberry forest ablaze, Zu An quickly recalled the White Lotus True Flame. Nevertheless, the scattering fiery 'needles' had already transformed this part of the forest into a raging inferno. They rushed to extinguish the blaze, but the White Lotus True Flame was not easily suppressed. Furthermore, Feng Xi had unleashed so many hairs that numerous ignition points had been created; as soon as they put out one flame, several more would flare up elsewhere.

Yun Jianyue suggested, "In my opinion, we should just let it burn. It would be good to torch this mulberry forest, and we could seize the chance to burn Feng Xi to death inside it, saving us a lot of trouble."

Yan Xuehen frowned, "That's not appropriate. Such an act would go against the heavens and could invite ill omens."

Yun Jianyue snorted, "Don't treat your principles as absolute truth. Our Holy Sect has always operated this way, and aren't we still thriving?"

Zu An interjected, "This mulberry forest is quite peculiar. Have you forgotten the Weak Water from earlier? If we actually set the forest on fire, not only might we get burned ourselves, but what if this mulberry forest has a will of its own and we truly anger it? That could lead to serious trouble."

"You always side with that Ice Stone Maiden," Yun Jianyue said indignantly. "Did I know you first, or did she? I always get the feeling you two are secretly involved."

"Demoness, what nonsense are you spouting!" Yan Xuehen's cheeks flushed, and she looked guiltily away, not daring to meet Zu An's gaze.

Yu Yanluo quickly interjected, "Let's extinguish the fire first, or it will spread completely out of control."

Just then, a misty vapor suddenly rose among the trees, followed by a sporadic light rain that began to fall, extinguishing the scattered flames one by one.

"Why did it suddenly start raining?" the group wondered, gathering together and feeling grateful for the unexpected aid. As the flames died down, the rain also stopped.

"How could ordinary rain extinguish the White Lotus True Flame?" Zu An mused, puzzled. Although he had recalled the main body of the White Lotus True Flame, those scattered embers were not something common water could put out.

Yan Xuehen looked up at the sky, her expression puzzled. "That rain didn't seem to fall from the heavens; it was more like..."

"More like it was formed by the forest itself," Yun Jianyue added, her expression grave. "Little An, it seems you were right; this mulberry forest has also developed its own will."

Zu An swallowed, "It can't be this eerie, can it?"

Just then, Yu Yanluo's expression subtly changed. "Do you think it's possible that Feng Xi and this mulberry forest are one entity, similar to the relationship between the Ya Yu and the Weak Water we encountered earlier?"

"Probably not," Yan Xuehen analyzed. "Otherwise, Feng Xi's actions just now wouldn't have inadvertently harmed this mulberry forest. As it stands, it doesn't seem to bear us ill will; we just need to avoid provoking it."

The group unanimously agreed with this assessment, as their sole objective was to deal with Feng Xi.

The group then searched for Feng Xi's whereabouts in the mulberry forest. Initially, they could track its footprints and the charred marks from the White Lotus True Flame, but the deeper they ventured into the forest, the scarcer these traces became, until they vanished entirely, leaving no hint of its presence. The mulberry forest seemed to possess an inexplicable force field, significantly impeding the range of their spiritual perception. Zu An also observed that despite the numerous small animals in the forest, his Jade Cong was unable to command them as scouts.

They searched for several more hours until night fell, but they still couldn't find any trace of Feng Xi.

"This mulberry forest is too vast and overgrown," Yan Xuehen observed. "If Feng Xi is determined to hide, it will likely be very difficult for us to find it."

"This is infuriating!" Yun Jianyue exclaimed, exasperated. "These fierce beasts are legendary, aren't they supposed to be the type to stand their ground and fight? Why are they all more cowardly than the last?" She recalled how the Ya Yu had been similar, requiring significant effort to lure it out.

The group discussed various methods, but unfortunately, each was rejected.

"Look, the moon is out!" Yu Yanluo suddenly exclaimed, pointing to the sky.

Zu An looked up to see a bright, translucent moon, like a jade disk, shining beautifully and mysteriously in the sky. Just then, a thought struck him: "Do you remember the Ya Yu mentioning that Feng Xi was lustful?"

Yan Xuehen's eyes lit up. "Why don't we try that approach!"

At this, Yun Jianyue grew annoyed. "Why are you all looking at me?"