Chapter 1747: Nine-Character Mantra

Zu An’s expression hardened. He knew he couldn't stand idly by, for as the saying goes, the one who tied the bell must untie it. He charged directly at the woman.

The beautiful woman seemed to have been prepared. The floor suddenly cracked open, and saplings grew rapidly from the ground, instantly enlarging into treant soldiers that blocked all paths forward.

"Boss, be careful not to get entangled!" Wei Suo warned hastily. Many wood-element cultivators could summon treants, and while treants were clumsy, they possessed immense strength. Once entangled, it was difficult to unleash one's full power, just as he had experienced when he was trapped by that entity earlier.

Zu An remained calm and directly unleashed a flaming blade attack. Fire was the natural nemesis of such plants.

The treants immediately panicked, letting out silent screams.

The beautiful woman frowned slightly. She gently waved her hand, and a ball of water vapor condensed in her palm.

She then threw the water ball at the treants, and it quickly transformed into a fine drizzle.

However, her expression quickly changed. Logically, the water should have been enough to extinguish the flames, but to her surprise, the flames were unaffected. Instead, they burned even more fiercely, as if fueled by the water.

The tall and mighty treants were reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.

Zu An didn't stop; he charged directly at her.

Qiu Honglei also moved, conjuring a palace lantern whose light enveloped the woman, coordinating with Zu An's attack.

The beautiful woman's hair transformed into countless thin, dense vines, quickly forming an umbrella that blocked the palace lantern's light, leaving her unaffected.

Qiu Honglei gasped, completely surprised that her opponent had nullified the attack in such a manner.

At that moment, countless vines rose from in front of the beautiful woman and surged towards Zu An. Compared to the vines unleashed by the senior disciple earlier, her vines were noticeably much thicker, and a radiant glow flowed over them, clearly indicating they were extraordinary.

Zu An's body erupted in a blaze, and he transformed into a fire phoenix, lunging at her.

"This is no ordinary fire!" the beautiful woman exclaimed, her expression changing slightly. She suddenly retreated, her hands rapidly forming a series of complex seals as she moved. "Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing!"

Zu An was filled with questions. He had heard this Daoist Nine-Character Mantra in his previous life and knew it was generally used for exorcism.

But now, a treant demon was uttering this exorcism mantra. Was there something wrong with this world?

At that moment, the beautiful woman cried out again, "Form up in the south, Vermilion Bird, heed my command!"

As soon as her words fell, a clear bird cry suddenly echoed from behind her. A fiery bird figure, radiating flames, soared into the sky and crashed directly into Zu An.

A blinding flash of fire streaked past, and both sides retreated several steps.

Zu An realized his flames could no longer burn the opponent's vines.

He wondered if that fiery bird was the legendary Vermilion Bird. Both the Vermilion Bird and the Phoenix were sacred birds of fire, and with the Vermilion Bird protecting her, it would likely be difficult to harm her with fire.

But how could a magnificent Vermilion Bird, a sacred beast, protect a demon?

Furthermore, she was reciting a Daoist mantra.

At that moment, the beautiful woman soared into the air, and countless vines rose from behind her, attacking both Zu An and Qiu Honglei. Wherever they passed, the tables, chairs, and even the pillars in the room shattered.

Qiu Honglei's body suddenly glowed brightly, and a wall of light rose in front of them, blocking all the vines.

The strongest light-element defense—Wall of Lamentation!

The beautiful woman was surprised, not having expected her wide-ranging attack to be blocked.

Her hands quickly formed seals again, "Lin..."

But Zu An had already moved. A brilliant sword light flashed, carving a path through the countless vines, and he appeared by her side amidst her shocked gaze.

His hand clamped around her neck, preventing her from uttering any more mantras.

She initially tried to retaliate but suddenly felt a force sealing her vital points. Simultaneously, a strange suction emerged from his palm, like a black hole, capable of draining her life essence at any moment.

Thus, she no longer dared to move, nor could she.

The vines that had been flying everywhere all retracted and vanished.

"What kind of demon are you?" the beautiful woman asked, somewhat appalled. This person's cultivation was truly terrifying.

Not only that, but he seemed capable of draining her dry at any moment.

"I am human, of course," Zu An said, glancing at Wei Suo. "Undo the spell on him!"

Wei Suo was almost in tears, thinking, "The boss is truly the best."

At the same time, he was also somewhat shocked by Zu An's cultivation, which was even higher than he had imagined.

However, the beautiful woman calmly replied, "My name is Jing Teng. I have never been coerced in my life."

Zu An frowned and couldn't help but increase the pressure in his hand.

This woman's name is Jing Teng? What a strange name.

The beautiful woman let out a soft groan, a hint of pain flashing across her brows, but her expression remained stubborn, showing no sign of yielding.

"Do you truly believe I wouldn't dare to kill you?" Zu An said in a deep voice.

The beautiful woman calmly replied, "This world is inherently one where the strong prey on the weak. I am inferior in skill and have fallen into your hands. Whether you kill me or dismember me, I obey your will, but to make me beg for mercy, don't even dream of it."

Sensing the resolve in her tone, Zu An was momentarily troubled. If he killed her, Wei Suo would die as well.

Qiu Honglei smiled faintly. "A'Zu, leave it to me. Our Holy Sect is more skilled at this kind of interrogation."

The beautiful woman glanced at her indifferently. "Your human tortures are useless against me. I won't even frown, even if I die."

At that moment, Qiu Honglei walked up to her, her slender fingers gently tracing the beautiful woman's smooth cheek. She chuckled, "For a woman as beautiful as you, sometimes death isn't the most terrifying thing."

The beautiful woman's expression changed. "What do you mean?"

Qiu Honglei gave a charming smile. "As a woman, you naturally know what I mean."

Her gaze briefly swept over Zu An, ignoring him completely, then she turned to Wei Suo. "Brother Wei, didn't you want to spend a night of passion with these female ghosts earlier? This girl is a bargain for you."

Wei Suo, who had been tormented to death by those flowers, instantly lit up upon hearing this. "Really?"

"Of course it's true," Qiu Honglei replied. "If this lady doesn't undo the demonic spell on you, it proves she's dying to be with you."

To everyone's surprise, the beautiful woman actually let out a sigh of relief. "He is currently restrained by my vine seeds. Even if he has the desire, he doesn't have the ability."

Wei Suo's face immediately fell. That was too humiliating.

Oh, what a missed opportunity.

Qiu Honglei was startled, then a little annoyed. She nudged Zu An. "Worst case, let him do it."

Zu An was speechless.

He felt like he was caught in the crossfire.

A faint smile touched the beautiful woman's lips. "He's your man, are you willing to let him?"

Qiu Honglei's expression was natural. "It's normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. Moreover, he'd be sacrificing himself to save a brother, so it's no big deal."

Zu An was utterly confused.

Wei Suo was almost in tears, thinking that if saving a brother meant this, he'd be thrilled to do it every day.

The beautiful woman frowned, her expression indeed changing slightly, but she quickly regained her composure. "He's quite handsome, so I wouldn't be at a disadvantage."

Now it was Qiu Honglei's turn to be utterly confused.

Then she got angry. "A demon is a demon! What a shameless woman. Just kill her!"

As she spoke, she took out her gleaming twin blades and made a gesture as if to strike her.

"Please spare her!" Just then, an exclamation came. It was Xiao Ying, the female ghost from before, who had hurried back, holding up her skirt.

She had run away earlier out of fear of Granny, but later she kept worrying about the handsome young man. So she secretly came back to look, and to her surprise, she saw Granny, who was always invincible, being subdued.

Zu An was somewhat surprised. "You're pleading for her? Aren't you afraid of her?"

Because of the legend of *A Chinese Ghost Story*, he subconsciously regarded her as a wretched female ghost oppressed and controlled by Granny.

"Granny is indeed very fierce, and I'm very afraid of her, but she's actually quite good to us," Xiao Ying said timidly.

Zu An and Qiu Honglei exchanged glances, completely surprised by this turn of events.

Seeing that the two seemed not to believe her, Xiao Ying hurriedly explained, "It's precisely because of Granny's protection that I haven't been captured by the Ghost King's subordinates. For years, Granny has strictly forbidden us from harming people; we are only allowed to absorb yang energy from those lecherous scoundrels who indulge in promiscuity. We've never taken anyone's life; they just need some time to recover."

"You're lying!" Qiu Honglei's expression turned cold. "Clearly, many people in the vicinity have been harmed here at Ruolan Temple. Do you think we don't know?"

Wei Suo nodded repeatedly. He had initially come here at the villagers' request because of the ghost rumors, intending to meet female ghosts... *ahem*, to eliminate evil for the people!

Zu An and the others were startled, never having expected such a situation.

"Xiao Ying, why bother explaining all this to them!" the beautiful woman said, clearly annoyed, as she felt such an act implied begging for mercy.

"But your senior disciple just now, it seems she's drained human essence more than once or twice," Zu An sneered. That person had a fierce expression, and her hands were clearly stained with blood.

"Senior disciple sometimes can't help herself and secretly drains people," Xiao Ying said weakly, "but out of consideration for Granny, the number isn't large."

The beautiful woman's eyes snapped open. "Such a thing happened? Why didn't you tell me before!"

Xiao Ying trembled slightly, clearly intimidated by the other party's immense authority. "Because Senior Disciple and Granny are of the same clan, we didn't dare to speak."

"Same clan?" The beautiful woman's face turned icy. "I merely took pity on her back then and taught her a few things. How could she be considered of my clan? If I had known she was so vicious, I would have killed her long ago!"

Zu An smiled. "Since that's the case, there's no longer any animosity between us. For Xiao Ying's sake, I'll release you, and you save my friend. How about that?"

The beautiful woman hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright!"

"To show my sincerity, I'll release you first," Zu An said. He released his grip and stepped back a few paces.

Qiu Honglei was somewhat worried, but Zu An's gaze signaled her to relax, indicating it wouldn't be difficult for him to subdue her again.

A hint of surprise flashed across the beautiful woman's face. Then she gestured towards Wei Suo, and countless green lights flew out from his body. Immediately, the dense tree buds and flowers on his body all vanished.

Wei Suo, feeling all over his body, began to grin foolishly with joy.

The beautiful woman turned directly and walked outside. "Xiao Ying, let's go!"

"Wait!" Zu An called out to her.

The beautiful woman suddenly turned back. "Humans are indeed untrustworthy!"

Zu An smiled. "You're overthinking it, lady. I have no intention of troubling you. I just want to ask you about a few things. Have you seen a few women..."

As he spoke, he briefly described the appearances and characteristics of Yan Xuehen, Yun Jianyue, and Xie Daoyun.

"I didn't expect you to be quite the womanizer," the beautiful woman sneered. "I haven't seen them."

From their previous exchange, her character seemed unlikely to lie.

Feeling disappointed, Zu An then asked, "By the way, what was that about the Ghost King you just mentioned?"