The ground across the ancient forest suddenly rippled like a stormy sea. Centered around the Root Giant, the earth cracked apart and countless thicker main roots burst out of the soil.
They no longer tried to coil around their targets. Instead, they lashed out like massive whips, sweeping across the towering trees that the two used for footing, carrying devastating force.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Ancient trees that would take several, even ten people to encircle shattered like brittle reeds under the terrifying blows, snapping and collapsing one after another.
Wood chips filled the air. Huge trunks crashed down, triggering chain reactions through the forest.
The giant tree Xie Zhaolin had just stepped on was snapped in half by three or four roots. She lost her balance and her body plunged downward at terrifying speed.
"This is bad!"
Below her, a writhing sea of roots waited to tear her apart.
At the critical moment, Xie Zhaolin sucked in a sharp breath. The Jingxiao Ribbon struck downward, not to attack, but to skim lightly off a sweeping root like a dragonfly touching water. She used the rebound to propel herself upward again, narrowly avoiding the encirclement.
But more roots surged toward her from every direction like predators desperate to devour prey.
She was like a tiny boat tossed on a stormy ocean, seconds away from capsizing.
Elder Chou was faring no better. The towering trees she relied on were collapsing one after another, shrinking her movement space at a terrifying rate.
The formation disk appeared in her hand once more, hovering above her head and raining down a barrier of light that barely held off the sweeping roots. The shield trembled violently, clearly on the verge of shattering.
"Elder Mo! We can't stay in the trees! We have to break out!" Elder Chou's voice trembled slightly. She had evidently realized the situation's desperation.
Xie Zhaolin's gaze swept rapidly across the storm of roots and crashing trees. Elder Chou was right. Staying in the trees meant waiting to die. They had to reach the ground, find a gap, and force a breakthrough.
Directly below her, the trunk of a tree that had been snapped midair came crashing down, temporarily pinning a patch of writhing roots and opening a tiny area of momentary safety.
A chance.
Xie Zhaolin didn't hesitate. She dove straight down, the Jingxiao Ribbon swirling around her, knocking aside splintering wood and stones. Her boots slammed heavily onto the fallen trunk with a dull thud.
Almost at the same moment, Qiu Qianzi drifted in from the other side like mist and landed nearby.
Back to back, they pressed against the fallen trunk, finally taking a brief gasp of air, though both faces were grim.
All around them, roots strained violently against the crushed wood restraining them. In the distance, the colossal Root Giant had turned its body, its hollow head locking on them again. It seemed enraged by their stubborn resistance.
Rumble.
This time, it didn't strike the trees. The entire ground rolled violently.
Countless secondary roots soaked in corrosive slime erupted from the earth around them, forming a rapidly shrinking death cage.
"Up!"
Xie Zhaolin and Elder Chou shouted at almost the same time. The Jingxiao Ribbon and a burst of light flared again, shooting them upward as they tried to break out from above.
But the guardian creature seemed to have predicted this.
Just as they rose several meters into the air, the thick main roots above, which had been wildly thrashing moments ago, suddenly twisted together into a massive net covering hundreds of meters. It descended from above with the force of a mountain crashing down.
At the same time, the forest of roots below surged upward.
No path to the sky, no escape to the ground.
A true kill trap.
The light barrier above Elder Chou's head flickered wildly and emitted sharp cracking noises. Her complexion turned pale.
Xie Zhaolin's expression hardened to its limit. The Jingxiao Ribbon spun frantically, but there was no way to block both sides at once.
No more hesitation.
Just as the shadow of the giant root net was about to swallow them whole,
Shiiiing!
A blinding flash of purple burst from Xie Zhaolin's waist. The small form of Dian Diao appeared in a crackle of electricity, distorting the surrounding space.
Her left hand shot out like lightning and seized Elder Chou's wrist. Her grip was so strong it nearly crushed bone.
"Go!" Xie Zhaolin growled, her voice hoarse.
Buzz.
Space twisted violently. Purple lightning flashed.
BOOM!
Behind them, the root net slammed into the erupting roots from below, detonating in an explosion of wood and dirt that shook the world.
Thump. Thump.
Two figures tumbled out of distorted space, crashing onto the forest floor barely ten meters outside the deadly cage.
Dirt and debris pelted their protective light shields. Dian Diao's short-range teleport had barely dragged them out of the kill zone.
Xie Zhaolin staggered to her feet and immediately returned the exhausted Dian Diao to the spirit beast pouch. Elder Chou let out a pained grunt. Her wrist throbbed sharply, but she didn't have time to care, staring back in horror.
The place where they had stood seconds ago had been completely pulverized by the interlocking roots.
They had escaped by the width of a hair.
"Move!"
Xie Zhaolin offered no time for thought or thanks. She rasped the command and immediately charged off in another direction at full speed.
Saving Elder Chou had nothing to do with camaraderie or kindness. It was pure, calculated self-preservation. If she had died first inside that kill zone, the creature's full attention would've shifted instantly to her alone. Even with Dian Diao, escaping would've been uncertain at best.
Keeping Elder Chou alive meant splitting the incoming attacks. It gave her a chance to survive.
Elder Chou understood Elder Mo's intent instantly, but she had no choice. Seeing Elder Mo sprinting away without looking back, she clenched her teeth, forced down the terror and searing pain in her wrist, and flashed forward to keep pace.
This time, she didn't distance herself. She stayed parallel with Elder Mo at several meters' distance, forming a faint defensive arc together.
Both women knew one thing clearly: hunted by something comparable to a Nascent Soul horror, any infighting meant instant death. Their only chance was to work together.
"Elder Mo!" Elder Chou called out urgently while running. "Its body is massive and its intelligence seems low, but its root coverage is enormous. We can't fight head on! We need to find its core or a weakness!"
Xie Zhaolin's voice was ice-cold. "Easy to say. How do we find it?"
Her mind raced.
The monster's attacks were savage, but they relied heavily on instinct and the vast network of roots. Its movements were noticeably slow.
Maybe there was a way to exploit that…