Several hours later.
Fang Xi returned to the Baiyun Martial Hall.
"Junior Brother, how was it?" Liu Taotao and Tang Xuan immediately surrounded him.
They were also among the inner disciples who firmly stayed behind during the previous turmoil at the martial hall.
Fang Xi shook his head, "Taking advantage of the opportunity when those strange people returned to their lair, I went to check the city gate... The outside of the city is already shrouded in black mist. Trying to pass through will be hindered by a strange force. It seems like Blackstone City is truly isolated inside and out."
Tang Xuan immediately felt despair.
Fang Xi looked towards the towering treetops at the center of the city, deep in thought, "I suggest... we relocate to the outskirts of Blackstone City, closer to the city walls, and establish a base there..."
“Why?” asked Mu Miaomiao, who had been silent since sending her father to rest in the room, finally speaking up.
"Because that demon tree is still growing taller..." Fang Xi explained, "Creatures trapped under the canopy will surely be disturbed by the dangling aerial roots, which is extremely dangerous..."
In his heart, there was still one speculation he didn't voice out.
That the demon tree would continue to grow taller.
At this rate, one day it would tower into the sky, its canopy replacing the sky, shrouding the entire Blackstone City!
That would be the doomsday of Blackstone City!
"Of course, it's not ruled out that this demon tree has intelligence, actively keeping a part of the human population captive for its periodic consumption..."
"Demon... truly an interesting creature! According to what Mu Canglong said, is this blockade method called 'Demon Domain'? It does have a hint of a formation's embryonic taste."
"Cough cough!"
Mu Canglong appeared out of nowhere, coughed a few times, and said, "Fang Xi is right. Let's do as he suggested... Also, when the martial hall relocates, we can abandon everything else, we only need food and clean water..."
"Dad, your health?" Mu Miaomiao looked at her father with concern.
Fang Xi also noticed that the tadpole-like dark lines on Mu Canglong's body had spread further, reaching his chin.
"It's useless, this is poison, and a 'curse'!" Mu Canglong replied with a bitter smile.
"May I ask, Master, what is a 'curse'?" Fang Xi became interested.
"The so-called demons, monsters are just slightly deformed in appearance, stronger in strength, or possess some peculiar abilities..." Mu Canglong waved his hand, "But demons are completely different, especially 'curses'! This is a unique power of demons - curse power! Its terror far surpasses the blood and qi power of us martial practitioners, even true power, true strength... Therefore, once involved, it's like a festering sore attached to the bone, undoubtedly fatal..."
"I see." Fang Xi nodded, clasping his hands, "Master, I need to return home to handle some matters, I can only join later."
At this point, most of the monsters outside were hanging on the treetops, making it much safer.
Some of the remaining disciples had already secretly run away.
Fang Xi bid farewell solemnly because he was a man of principles.
"Um... Master, I also want to go home for a while." Liu Taotao timidly echoed.
"Alright." Mu Canglong nodded without stopping them, "Remember, we will gather at the east city gate later. Fang Xi's previous inference was correct, the farther away from the core of that demon tree, the better... Also, be careful of those demon servants. Although they are only influenced by the demon's curse power, they are not easy to deal with."
...
"How did the enjoyable world suddenly turn into a struggle for survival against demons?"
Fang Xi walked on the street, looking at the broken shops, scattered bodies on the ground, occasionally catching wary glances from behind windows, feeling speechless: 'It's like a battle royale version, with the poison circle expanding outward...'
Fortunately.
He could still feel that as long as he wanted, he could still return to the Southern Wilderness Immortal Realm.
With this as his trump card, Fang Xi wasn't in a hurry.
He walked slowly, stopping at his mansion.
The gate was broken, lying on the side.
Several guards' bodies were scattered around, some still frozen in a roaring posture.
"As expected..." Fang Xi had anticipated this, his eyes gleaming, stepping into the main residence.
Several maids lay in a pool of blood, clutching jade leaves, pearls, gold jewelry, and other valuables...
'As soon as danger strikes, they think of stealing the master's belongings and fleeing...'
He walked around, confirming that his own home had also been attacked by monsters, with many servants dead or injured.
Most of the survivors had already fled, taking away a lot of valuables.
"Let it go, consider it as severance pay."
Fang Xi was very open-minded about this, as they were just material possessions.
He entered his bedroom, his eyes suddenly narrowing as he pushed open the door.
The bedroom was also in a mess.
It seemed that the master's prohibition had met its end, much like passing gas.
Fang Xi didn't care about all this, he walked to a carved sandalwood cabinet, knocking on the cabinet door.
"Ah!" A shrill scream, and a petite figure rushed out, holding a pair of scissors, swiftly stabbing.
Smack!
Fang Xi was speechless, casually swatting away the scissors, and giving a slap, "Baihe, wake up, it's me!"
Hiding in the cabinet was unexpectedly the maid Baihe.
A bright red palm print quickly appeared on her cheek, contrasting with her fair and delicate skin. But she seemed to have finally come to her senses, crying uncontrollably, saying, "There... there are monsters... Shuixian, Yulan... they... they're all dead..."
"What about Yuegu?" Fang Xi asked.
Baihe shook her head, "Didn't see her..."
Fang Xi recalled his journey and didn't see Yuegu's body, which was good news.
He stroked Baihe's hair, feeling as if he were petting a cat, "Now that Blackstone City is finished, I'll give you two choices. The first is to come with me, the second is I'll give you a hundred taels of gold, return your contract, and you can leave on your own. You choose!"
Fang Xi looked around the bedroom, finding nothing he wanted to take.
Gold and silver were probably as common as bricks and stones in today's Blackstone City, better off going to the kitchen to carry a few bags of rice!
'No, I can buy rice for mortals in the immortal realm, no need to carry it...'
"I..." Baihe's eyes showed a hint of liveliness, "I'll go with Young Master..."
"Very well!" Fang Xi nodded, she was a clever girl, "In that case, hurry up and pack up, carry a bag of rice from the kitchen, and come with me..."
...
East City Gate.
A residential building built along the city wall.
The Baiyun Martial Hall chose to settle here because it was already the outskirts of Blackstone City.
In the small courtyard, it was already crowded with martial hall apprentices and their families.
Apart from Fang Xi bringing a maid, Liu Taotao and Tang Xuan also brought their parents.
Even the second senior brother, Wu Ji, had brought a beautiful woman at some point, said to be his wife, and occupied a room in a grand manner.
Near the courtyard, there were many forces from the city, mostly martial hall masters, bringing their apprentices, driving away the original residents, and occupying the best land in this circle.
In the current chaos of the city, the fist was the best authority!
It was because of this that Mu Canglong had to drag his crippled body to negotiate with those martial hall masters.
Late at night.
Mu Canglong gathered a few inner disciples to discuss the events of the day.
"Cough... According to the information I gathered, the demon tree can parasitize human and animal bodies. It initially chose to descend at the government office, and the city magistrate and most high officials in the city basically have no place to bury their bodies..."
The dim light revealed the horrified and fearful faces of the people, and Mu Canglong's voice sounded helpless, "Now... there are many martial hall forces gathering near the east city gate.
The south city gate is occupied by Yuanhe Mountain, the situation at the north city gate is unknown, it's probably a dead end, sporadic news at the west city gate, gathering a large number of refugees..."
"And those monsters driven by the demon tree come out at night, their numbers are not many. As long as we are cautious, we should be able to hold out for a while..."
Mu Miaomiao looked worried, "Dad... the food and water reserves we have here can barely last a month."
"Only a month?" Mu Canglong's mood inexplicably became low.
In fact, there were too many deaths in Blackstone City, as long as one wasn't afraid of danger, avoiding the core area shrouded by the tree canopy and monsters to search for supplies in residential and food stores wasn't difficult.
The real difficulty lay in confidence!
'In fact, all the high-ranking officials should be clear that they will definitely be abandoned by the Great Liang Court...'
'Now, sticking together is just a way to survive a little longer.'
Fang Xi crossed his arms, leaning against a pillar, already understanding everything, 'The current persistence is just a faint hope, hoping that this demon will leave after being fed and watered...'
'But no one would have thought at the beginning that this demon would turn out to be a tree! Who knows, it might not leave. Even if it does leave, it might wait until the canopy covers the entire sky, using its aerial roots to kill everyone...'
'Of course, judging from the extent of its expansion, this process will take several months to a year... So the initial danger is actually... for others!'
As Fang Xi pondered, Mu Canglong's expression changed suddenly, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood, fainting.
"Dad!" Mu Miaomiao exclaimed, rushing over to support him.
Ignoring the commotion of the others, Fang Xi walked out of the room, looking at the gloomy sky.
With the strongest combat power of the Baiyun Martial Hall now compromised, it was likely that someone with ill intentions wouldn't be able to hide it for long. Danger was imminent!
(End of this chapter)