When Earth Awakened, I Became a Sword Saintess

Chapter 173 : The Strange Tree on the Island

173: The Strange Tree on the Island

The Lu swung its translucent, glowing fins and serpentine tail, stirring up Primordial Energy in the water as it accelerated toward Xia Yuyin.

In the water, Xia Yuyin couldn't swing her sword with full force. She struck down, her sword hitting the Lu's ox-horn, but failed to sever it. Instead, she was knocked away. The Lu continued its pursuit.

In the water, the Lu was much faster than Xia Yuyin.

Xia Yuyin sheathed her longsword. Facing the Alien Beast charging toward her with a long column of white water, she seized the right moment and grabbed the Lu's horns with both hands. Her body also endured a tremendous impact. Xia Yuyin held her breath, clinging tightly to the horns.

The Lu wanted to force Xia Yuyin down into the water. Although a Purple Domain Realm expert could rely on Primordial Energy to hold their breath for a long time, there was a limit; they could not completely forsake breathing, and their physical strength would drain greatly in the process. In such an intense struggle, if the time spent suffocating exceeded the limit, even a Purple Domain Realm expert from the land would die.

Her sword was useless in the water, but Xia Yuyin's strength was still immense. She twisted the horns with force, pressing the Lu's head down beneath her, moving herself above the Lu. This caused the Lu, as it swam with all its might, to push Xia Yuyin upward. The Lu's body was suited for movement in the water, but once its head was controlled, it found it difficult to change direction.

Splash!

A water column more than ten meters high erupted from the lake. The Lu pushed Xia Yuyin out of the water. In mid-air, Xia Yuyin let go of its horns and gave the Lu's back a light kick with her long leg, creating some distance. In the air, she drew her longsword and spun her body.

Splurt!

With a spinning slash, she severed the Lu's head.

The Lu, now in two pieces, fell back into the water along with Xia Yuyin.

The Lu's life force was incredibly tenacious. Even without its head, it struggled desperately in the water, seeking revenge on Xia Yuyin. But the Lu's blood attracted a large school of small, ferocious, fish-like Alien Beasts, which began to madly devour the Lu.

Xia Yuyin quickly dragged the Lu's head and swam to the small island.

She took the Mid-Stage of Purple Domain Realm Source Crystal from the Lu's head, only to realize her underwear had no pockets. Xia Yuyin looked down, a hint of shyness in her eyes, but she already had a plan in mind.

Having dealt with the Source Crystal, Xia Yuyin began to explore the small island. The island was overgrown with ancient trees and shrouded in purple mist, making it very mysterious. She sensed that besides the purple energy, there was also a very powerful fluctuation, one filled with life energy.

"Could a powerful Alien Beast be living on the island?" Xia Yuyin became cautious.

But this fluctuation wasn't a Primordial Energy fluctuation; it didn't seem to be an Alien Beast.

"In any case, I'll be careful. If I want to cultivate here, I must first investigate the situation and eliminate any potential dangers."

Xia Yuyin held her sword and cautiously walked into the ancient forest. The forest wasn't large; after a few steps, one could see the lake on the other side.

Xia Yuyin scouted the forest once. Besides some small wild beasts and birds, there were no powerful Alien Beasts at all.

She stood under the thickest ancient tree in the middle of the island and looked up. It was a crooked, extremely ancient willow tree. Its trunk was as thick as a small house.

"This tree must be several thousand, perhaps even ten thousand, years old. It's so thick, it's perfect for me to use as cover while I cultivate."

When cultivating, she could lean her back against the great tree, needing only to guard and be vigilant on the other side.

And here, the purple energy was most abundant.

So she wanted to sit down under the old willow tree, but found it was covered in withered leaves, not very comfortable. So she simply sat cross-legged on a tree root that was more than half a meter thick.

Xia Yuyin adjusted her breathing and began to absorb the purple energy. Absorbing this purple energy was extremely pleasant, and her hair, blowing in the wind, gradually dried.

Suddenly, it seemed as if the entire forest above her head began to shake. The willow branches hanging from the old tree, each one too thick for Xia Yuyin to wrap her hand around, seemed to come alive. Like countless long whips, they lashed toward Xia Yuyin, blotting out the sky.

"What!?" Xia Yuyin was shocked. She instinctively rolled away.

Smack! Smack! The willow-whips struck heavily on the tree root, leaving cracks.

There were too many willow branches. Xia Yuyin relied on her reflexes to roll and dodge, but one of the branches coiled around her calf. The branch was incredibly strong and instantly hoisted her upside down, suspending her in mid-air.

"Let me go!" Xia Yuyin cried out instinctively. A girl's body instinctively recoiled at this kind of entanglement and restraint.

However, several willow branches took advantage of Xia Yuyin's unpreparedness and coiled around her thighs, ankles, hands, and waist. Relying on her reflexes, Xia Yuyin waved her longsword to defend herself, managing to keep her sword hand from being entangled. But apart from that, her entire body was tightly bound by the willow branches and hung in mid-air.

Several more branches whistled through the air, lashing toward Xia Yuyin. Trapped by several branches, she found it difficult to dodge.

For a moment, the branches struck her back, legs, buttocks, chest...

"Ah!"

These branches were incredibly powerful. Although Xia Yuyin had body refinement defense and was also circulating her Primordial Energy to defend, the lashes were unbearable, and she couldn't help but cry out.

If this continued, she feared that once her Primordial Energy defense failed, she would be in danger.

Her sword hand was still free. She hacked at the branches, but they were supple and difficult to cut through in the air. However, Xia Yuyin's resistance was also incredibly strong. She aimed at the branches that were binding her, which were now taut.

Slice! Slice! Slice!

The taut branches were severed, and green tree sap splattered.

This emerald green, crystal-clear tree sap, when it splashed onto Xia Yuyin's body, gave her a cool and refreshing feeling, as if the sap contained energy beneficial to the body, and was even being absorbed by her skin.

But it was just a fleeting sensation. At this moment, where did Xia Yuyin have the time to care about this? She cut through the branches, fell to the ground, and quickly fled the range of the crooked old willow's branches.

"Huff... huff..." Xia Yuyin supported herself on her knees, panting heavily by the lakeside. "That was close... I was almost beaten unconscious by this willow demon..."

Xia Yuyin felt the willow sap on her body. Just as she was about to wash it off in the water, she discovered that the essence contained within the crystal-clear, emerald green sap was being absorbed by her body. It was actually beneficial for her body refinement cultivation.

"This energy..." Xia Yuyin suddenly realized. Wasn't this the powerful life force she had felt on the island earlier? So it wasn't an Alien Beast, but came from this old willow tree?

A moment later, Xia Yuyin entered the water to wash herself clean. But she did not leave because of her previous failure. Instead, she stayed on the island, observing the thickest, most ancient, crooked old willow tree from a distance.

"Although this willow demon is strong, it also has a major weakness: it cannot move. I'm not leaving. I'll stay here and find a way to deal with you. What can you do to me?"

After whipping her body so many times, it had caused serious physical and mental trauma. Xia Yuyin would absolutely not forgive this willow demon.

"But, how should I deal with it?"

Xia Yuyin was currently cultivating the second level of the Mysterious Female Sword Art. She recalled a sword move within it called "Feather Sky Slash." It was a move that condensed sword energy to injure enemies from a distance. It consumed a lot of Primordial Energy and was not easy to master. Xia Yuyin hadn't started practicing it yet.

"Hmph... long-range? Perfect for dealing with this old willow demon."