Zhao Yunxiao could directly attack the plant root since he could feel exactly where it was, but doing so was unlikely to yield any significant results.


    He was not going to simply assume that Hua Xian was an idiot.


    Since Hua Xian had dared to allow his roots to come into direct contact with them, it could only mean that even if they tried to attack his roots, the damage done to him would still be minimal.


    He either had absolute confidence in the toughness of his roots, or it could be that even damaging the roots would do little harm to him.


    So, if they really wanted to take down Hua Xian, they still had to find his true body.


    But to do so, they would have to first free themselves from the roots binding them.


    Whether that was possible remained to be seen. But even if they managed to free themselves, if Hua Xian had any semblance of intelligence, he would definitely retract his roots to prevent them from following his roots to his main body.


    And if they were to lose direct physical contact with the roots, they would once again be like lost lambs, unable to locate their opponent due to their distorted senses.


    Because unlike Nie Hanchang and Lou Yuan, he still had another card up his sleeve!


    As expected, the root was rather tough.


    “


    However, Zhao Yunxiao was not discouraged by that.


    “


    Zhao Yunxiao quickly tried to grab onto the retreating root, but his distorted senses caused him to grasp at nothing but air.


    I can’t shoot without knowing where you are!” Nie Hanchang shouted upon feeling the roots retreat, instantly understanding that Zhao Yunxiao was starting to make his move.


    “


    “


    Point to his true body!” Zhao Yunxiao shouted.


    True body?! O-Okay!” Lou Yuan immediately spun around and did as he was told. “I am pointing at it now! But are you able to see me? I can’t even see my own hand properly!”


    As expected, Lou Yuan’s physical senses might be just as distorted as theirs under Hua Xian’s illusion technique, but his mastery of energy sensitivity was on a completely different level, allowing him to overcome the illusion technique and be fully aware of his surroundings.


    This was initially done as a precaution against Old Niu – to set up a killing array that he could lead Old Niu into when necessary – but it ended up only coming in handy now.


    Under the effect of Hua Xian’s illusion technique, Zhao Yunxiao realised that while he could sense nothing from the clone that was in the prairie with him, he had retained the mental link with the earlier clone that had not followed him into the prairie, and could still sense everything in the latter’s surroundings.


    Because of that, Zhao Yunxiao immediately controlled this earlier clone to give up on the killing array and hurry over, though he was also careful not to let Zhao Yunxiao Two enter the prairie itself, lest he fell under the same illusion technique.


    By casting his spiritual sense into the prairie, Zhao Yunxiao Two could sense Zhao Yunxiao’s true body. And using Zhao Yunxiao Two as a third party to observe his own body movements, Zhao Yunxiao was able to calculate and adjust his throwing motion on the fly, allowing him to throw the spatial pouch in the right direction and with the right amount of strength.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Since Zhao Yunxiao Two could sense Zhao Yunxiao’s true body, he naturally could sense Lou Yuan and where he was pointing to as well.


    “What?!” Hua Xian was shocked by the sudden attack.


    The earlier retracted roots shot out from the ground, forming a blockade that shielded the bush of flowers.


    Boom-!


    An explosion occurred upon impact, charring the roots black.


    Zhao Yunxiao had refrained from using explosive talismans earlier, worried about accidentally setting the prairie on fire.


    But now that his enemy was part of the prairie, why would he hold back?


    If it catches fire, so be it!


    “Oh shit!” Lou Yuan quickly cowered from the blast and hid behind Nie Hanchang.


    “Damn you!” Hua Xian’s boyish figure sneered in rage as he glared at Zhao Yunxiao Two, though the latter quickly disappeared behind the dense vegetation in the surrounding terrain, showing absolutely zero intention of facing Hua Xian.


    Zhao Yunxiao had no idea about the actual range and activation rules of Hua Xian’s illusion technique, but he was going to do everything necessary to prevent Zhao Yunxiao Two from falling prey to it!


    Another three other daggers flew into the prairie, aimed at the same bush of flowers despite coming from a slightly different direction this time.


    This was the weakness of plant demons, and Hua Xian was no exception to the rule.


    “Wishful thinking,” Hua Xian said before extending his thick roots to block the daggers once again.


    Boom-! Boom-!


    Two more explosions bombarded the thick root, though Hua Xian also made sure to adjust his roots so that the same spot was not struck twice.


    The third dagger was slightly slower, only arriving after the explosions were over.


    Still, that did not escape the keen eyes of Hua Xian, who easily blocked it with the same root.


    Poof-!


    This time, there was no thunderous explosion that followed. Instead, it was replaced by a cloud of black smoke that burst out from a small bag attached to the dagger.


    What is this?!” the startled Hua Xian hurriedly retracted his root, only to find out that a layer of black powder had now covered the surface of the root.


    This was the pollen of the darkpetal lily – infamous for its ability to numb enemies’ movements when inhaled.


    Firstly, it would serve as an attack option, and this had already proven its worth earlier by stopping Hua Xian from binding all three of them with his roots.


    Secondly, its continued activation would suck up the fog in the area, concentrating them in the form of the giant tortoise heads. That removed the risk of this fog being an unknown medium that could potentially cause poison to spread throughout the entire valley.


    When the pollen of the darkpetal lily came into direct contact with Hua Xian’s root, some of it inevitably seeped within, entering his xylem sap that spreads from the roots throughout his entire body.


    Now, it was back to the first reason for extending the duration of the Dark Tortoise Devouring Array – using it directly as an attack option.


    “


    “


    The thick roots that were too slow to return stopped moving.


    Essence energy accompanied this demonic aura, spinning around the flower like a tornado and acting as a form of energy barrier.


    Faced with this storm of energy that had suddenly appeared, even the surrounding fairymist flowers within the same bush were almost uprooted instantly.


    Since his physical body was struggling to keep up, Hua Xian had decisively opted to give up on that altogether, choosing to concentrate all of his energy in creating an energy barrier instead.


    At the same time, his sheer desperation and urgency could be seen from how he could no longer afford to care about the well-being of his companions – the very same matterthat had led to him acting in the first place!


    The ten giant tortoise heads charged forward, their huge jaws biting down mercilessly upon arriving at the edge of this energy tornado.


    Bang-!


    The energy barrier lasted for mere moments before shattering, exposing the defenceless sole fairymist flower within.