Simultaneous traversal: All Abyss difficulty.

Chapter 624 The Ghostly Wedding! The Illusory Image of Laozi!

The two ghostly faces on Grandma's tree trunk were twisted and deformed, and dark green sap gushed out from the wormhole-like wounds.

It let out a shrill scream that was neither male nor female, and suddenly a crack appeared in the center of the tree trunk, from which the gilded red altar was slowly pushed out by the wriggling tree roots.

"Here you go! Take it all!" Grandma's voice was filled with unprecedented fear. "Get that damned bug out of here!"

The giant longhorn beetle that Fang Yu had transformed into burst forth from the tree roots, its elytra flapping and scattering wood chips all over the ground.

A flash of golden light, and he returned to human form, landing on the ground. He casually caught the urn of ashes that was thrown to him, then turned and tossed it to Xiaoqian behind him.

"Here, your indenture."

Xiaoqian hurriedly caught the urn, and crystal tears rolled down her cheeks.

She was about to thank him when she saw Fang Yu make a shushing gesture and take out a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and put them on.

“Next up is the paid content.” He grinned, and a yellow hard hat appeared out of thin air in his left hand, while a buzzing chainsaw materialized in his right hand—a manifestation of the Green Light Ring.

Sepi's eyes widened: "Is the captain going to demonstrate how to cut down a tree on the spot?"

"Professional," Zheng Zha commented briefly, silently taking two steps back to give Fang Yu some space.

The roar of the chainsaw startled the birds roosting in the forest, and Fang Yu hummed an off-key tune as he walked toward the dying tree spirit.

The ghostly face on Grandma's tree trunk twitched violently: "What...what are you going to do? I've already returned your ashes!"

"The side quests haven't even started yet." Fang Yu stepped on a tree root that was trying to escape, and the chainsaw slammed down without hesitation. "B-level side quest, here I come!"

"No--!!"

The saw teeth screeched as they rubbed against the wood fibers, sending wood chips flying like snowflakes.

Fang Yu's movements were as precise as if he were cutting a work of art; with each main root he sawed off, Grandma's screams rose eight octaves.

Two ghostly faces roamed wildly on the tree bark, eventually merging into a distorted face that was half male and half female.

"Please, I've cultivated for a thousand years!" The old woman's voice suddenly transformed into a seductive female voice. "Just let me go, and you can choose any of the beautiful female ghosts from Lanruo Temple."

The chainsaw sound stopped abruptly. Fang Yu pushed up his sunglasses, turned around, and waved to Xiaoqian: "Xiaoqian, come here."

Xiaoqian approached, bewildered, only to see Fang Yu grab her shoulder and point his chainsaw at the tree demon: "See? This is typical workplace PUA. First, he intimidates you, then he promises you a lucrative deal, and finally..." The chainsaw roared again, "...taking an inch and then a mile, he'll take your life."

"Unfortunately, the most beautiful woman in Lanruo Temple is already in my arms. What use are your promises then?"

The tree spirit quickly said, "No! There are many more beautiful women than Xiaoqian! You have to believe me!"

"I don't believe a single one of them." Fang Yu pushed Xiaoqian behind him. "If you really had that many beautiful subordinates, why would you marry Xiaoqian to the Black Mountain Demon? Are you kidding me? Die!"

Before he could finish speaking, the chainsaw slashed deep into the center of the tree trunk!
Grandma let out a shrill scream that sounded inhuman, and the entire locust tree convulsed violently, with the remaining withered leaves on the crown falling like rain.

"Crack!"

With a final, crisp sound, the main root of the thousand-year-old tree demon snapped.

The ghostly face on the tree trunk froze instantly, and the bark withered and cracked at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At the same time, all team members' watches vibrated simultaneously:

[Mission to destroy Lanruo Temple complete. Reward: 3000 reward points]

Fang Yu, on his own, obtained the B-level side quest of killing the tree demon.

He took off his sunglasses with satisfaction, only to find that the chainsaw was stuck in the tree trunk.

He tried to pull it twice but couldn't budge it, so he simply let go and allowed the green light energy to dissipate.

"Earth Escape: Earthly Wrath!" He slammed his hands into the ground, forming a hand seal. "Come out and work overtime!"

A small mound rose from the ground, and the Earth-Escape-Ground Wraith, wearing a miner's hat and having eaten a mole fruit, emerged. It blinked in confusion until it saw the fallen giant tree, at which point it suddenly realized what was happening and immediately stood at attention and saluted.

"Dig out all the remaining tree roots." Fang Yu kicked the already weathered tree trunk. "Don't leave a single hair."

The Earth-遁地冤虞 immediately perked up, its claws flashing like afterimages, and soil gushed up like a fountain, hurling countless tree roots of varying thickness into the air. "Xiaoqian, why don't you dig some yourself? We can't let this centuries of enslavement go to waste."

Xiaoqian held the urn containing the ashes and shook her head repeatedly, her plain white dress fluttering gently in the night breeze.

She gazed at Lanruo Temple, where she had been imprisoned for three hundred years, now gradually collapsing under the digging of the Earthly Vengeance, and a complex light appeared in her eyes.

"Stop reminiscing." Fang Yu suddenly patted her shoulder. "Get ready to welcome the next BOSS. I bet five cents that the Black Mountain Demon's wedding procession is already on its way."

A sudden gust of cold wind arose, and the world changed color!
On the distant mountain road, a strange wedding procession slowly appeared.

Under the blood moon's glow, paper-mache children danced with twisted steps, their pale faces painted with exaggerated blush, their mouths stretched to their ears, emitting strange "giggle" laughter.

Eight blue-faced ghost guards carried a black lacquered sedan chair. The curtains moved without wind, revealing a blurry black figure sitting inside.

"jingle--"

A chilling wind carried the faint tinkling of bells, and the group then noticed two ghastly green lanterns floating at the very front of the procession.

The lanterns were adorned with the character "囍" (double happiness), but the candlelight was a ghostly blue, casting distorted shadows of the entire procession on the ground.

"Hiss—" Zheng Zha suddenly gasped. His vampire constitution was the first to sense the abnormality. The shadows were wriggling on their own, spreading towards everyone's feet like living things!
Zhan Lanqing's white zombie fingernails suddenly grew larger: "Something is crawling underground!" Before she finished speaking, the entire wasteland suddenly surged like waves, and countless white skeletal arms broke out of the ground!

“Daodaodao!”

Yan Chixia suddenly appeared out of nowhere, his messy hair still covered with bits of grass.

He plunged his Xuanyuan Sword into the ground, and golden ripples spread out, temporarily forcing back the ghostly hands: "Run! The Black Mountain Demon himself is here! If you don't run, you'll all die!"

Sepi scoffed, "The squad killed the tree demon like it was nothing, what's that Black Mountain Demon compared to that!"

"You know nothing!" Yan Chixia's beard bristled with anger as he pointed his sword at the distant palanquin. "The Black Mountain Demon's power is ten times stronger than the Tree Demon's! Plus, the Blood Moon enhances it!"

He suddenly coughed violently, spitting out black blood. "This is a day of massacre that is not seen once in a century!"

A cold wind swirled the paper money and slapped it against everyone's faces, each one revealing a distorted human face.

Li Yingqi swept his sword across the paper money, but the falling paper money emitted a miserable cry like that of an infant.

“Great Immortal!” Yan Chixia suddenly looked at Fang Yu, “You may live, but these companions,” he pointed a trembling finger at the pale-faced newlyweds, “will have their souls extracted and their spirits refined, never to be reincarnated!”

As if to confirm his words, a muffled laugh suddenly came from inside the sedan chair.

The entire wedding procession froze in an instant, and all the paper figures turned their heads in unison!

Hundreds of pale faces stared at the crowd, their lips slowly parting in identical arcs.
The Black Mountain Demon remained silent.

One look from him and everyone felt their blood run cold!

Such pressure was comparable to that of the Blood Demon of the Nether Spring!

"Ah."

The Black Mountain Demon uttered a single "Heh," and everyone felt a chill run through their bodies!
Yan Chixia hurriedly bit his finger and drew a circle in the air, shouting, "It's too late! Everyone! Follow me, even if I have to sacrifice my old life, I'll make sure you all get out of here! Heaven and earth are boundless, the universe is our guide!"

"Snapped."

Fang Yu raised his hand to interrupt Yan Chixia's spellcasting, and Yan Chixia was so anxious that he was practically fuming. "You! Cough!"

As Yan Chixia spat out a mouthful of blood, Fang Yu's divine protection revived and enveloped Yan Chixia.

Before Yan Chixia could speak, Fang Yu looked at the bewildered Black Mountain Demon, scratched his itchy back, and muttered to himself, "Who among you has a mirror? Why does my back feel so itchy? It feels like something's crawling on it, a monkey or a sloth?"

The Black Mountain Demon was so frightened he almost lost his soul!

A monkey is lying down?

Isn't that Lao Tzu?!

(End of this chapter)