Chapter 63 : Someone Came Looking for Trouble

Chapter 63: Someone Came Looking for Trouble

The three demon plants were all stunned.

They clearly had not expected this human cultivator to be so familiar right off the bat, speaking as if they were old acquaintances.

Based on past experience, cultivators who barged in usually first observed warily, approached step by step, and only then probed with questions.

The more hot-tempered ones would not bother with words at all and would attack outright.

Naturally, this place was their territory.

Although their cultivation was weak and they would certainly not be a match for sect disciples in a head-on fight, when it came to escaping and preserving their lives, they were quite confident in their abilities.

“Judging by your attire, fellow Daoist, you’re from the Wuyi Sect, right?” One of the demon plants shook the vines on its body, its voice oddly carrying the tone of a street vendor.

“Looks like you’ve just been through a vicious battle. How about a few spirit melons? They replenish qi and nourish the body—excellent effects!”

Long Tao laughed inwardly.

These trees really had sharp eyes; they had recognized the “Wuyi Sect skin” he was wearing at a glance, saving him the trouble of introducing himself.

“Oh?” He feigned curiosity, squatting down as he asked, “How much is one of your melons?”

“Two mid-grade spirit stones each,” the demon plant replied crisply, its branches swaying as it named the price without hesitation.

“Holy hell!” Long Tao’s eyes went wide, his expression exaggerated.

“Are your melon rinds made of spirit stones, or are the seeds inside made of spirit stones?”

The demon plant did not get angry.

It merely tilted its head, wearing an expression as if looking at some country bumpkin.

“Take a look around this secret realm—aside from us, where else are you going to find spirit melons? These were nurtured bit by bit by the three of us over a hundred years, drawing in the refined spiritual energy of this pocket world! You think they’re expensive? I think they’re expensive too!”

Long Tao waved his hand, putting on an expression of being persuaded.

“Alright then, pick one for me!”

“Sure!” The demon plant’s voice immediately turned cheerful.

A slender vine deftly coiled around a melon, and it even patted it twice with a branch.

“Take a look at this one. Plenty of spiritual energy, big size!”

Long Tao glanced at the spirit melon.

Spiritual energy overflowed from it; the rind was plump and smooth.

With his eyesight, he truly could not see any problem—it was a good melon.

But there was no helping it; he had come today specifically to stir up trouble.

He put on a thoroughly punchable expression and asked with a half-smile, “Is your melon… guaranteed ripe?”

The demon plant froze.

What passed for its “brows,” formed from intertwined thin vines, seemed to furrow slightly, yet its voice remained warm.

“Fellow Daoist, what are you saying? The three of us have grown here in the secret realm for over a hundred years. Every spirit melon we bear is plump and fully ripe. Would we sell you an unripe melon?”

“I’m asking if your melon is guaranteed ripe.” Long Tao did not follow its line at all.

He slowly repeated the question, while secretly activating the Scorching Prairie Ring hidden in his sleeve.

A trace of threatening fire-aspect aura seeped out, faint but unmistakable.

The demon plant abruptly straightened up, its branches rustling loudly, its tone turning cold at once.

“Are you deliberately looking for trouble, fellow Daoist? Do you want it or not?”

“If the melon is ripe, of course I want it.” Long Tao also stood up.

His tone was relaxed, yet full of infuriating smugness, while his gaze sharpened.

“But if it’s not ripe… then what?”

“If it’s not ripe,” the demon plant snapped, clearly enraged.

A thorned vine-whip lashed fiercely against a nearby rock, scattering sparks.

“The three of us will eat it on the spot! Satisfied now?!”

As it spoke, it actually pulled out a faintly glowing spirit-measuring plate from beneath itself.

Long Tao was genuinely surprised—these tree spirits were quite up-to-date, even having such professional equipment.

The spirit melon was placed on the plate.

The scale spun rapidly, finally stopping at a number.

“See that? With this amount of spiritual energy, it’s worth two mid-grade spirit stones plus five low-grade ones! We won’t take advantage of you—rounding it down, just two mid-grade spirit stones!”

“There’s no way there’s that much spiritual energy,” Long Tao immediately retorted, his finger almost jabbing the spirit-measuring plate.

“Your plate has to be faulty, right?”

“Are you fucking looking for trouble?!” Another demon plant finally snapped, all the thorns on its body bristling.

“Do you want it or not?!”

“But I heard,” Long Tao pressed forward instead of retreating, lowering his voice, his tone dangerous, “that some demon plants, in order to force ripening, secretly inject yin-sha energy. Looks great on the outside, but the core is already rotten. Your melon… wouldn’t happen to be one of those ‘unripe melons,’ would it?”

Before the words even finished, he suddenly slammed a punch into the spirit melon!

With a loud bang, melon flesh exploded everywhere.

Unexpectedly, he really had guessed right—a wisp of extremely faint, almost imperceptible dark sha energy drifted out from the shattered pulp.

To be honest, this bit of sha energy was harmless, and the overall quality of the melon was indeed excellent… but since he had found an excuse, how could he not make full use of it?

“Well then,” Long Tao pointed at the mess on the ground, grinning maliciously.

“You said it yourselves—if there’s a problem, the three of you eat it.”

“You! You smashed our melon?!” The three demon plants were completely furious.

Thorned vine-whips rose at the same time, clearly about to attack.

Long Tao showed no weakness.

He instantly pulled out a second Scorching Prairie Ring.

With both rings fully activated at once, blazing waves of fire rolled outward, forcing all three demon plants to retreat a step in unison.

“Fuck!” Long Tao seized the moment and went all out with his bully act.

“When people from our Wuyi Sect eat at restaurants outside, we don’t even pay! What’s the big deal about eating a few of your shitty melons?! I advise you to know what’s good for you—hurry up and pack all these melons for me, and when—”

As he spoke, the hand behind his back swiftly made a signal, notifying the two female leads hiding behind him that it was time to enter.

Sure enough, just as he struck a domineering pose and prepared to keep breathing fire at the three demon plants cowering in the corner, Zhu Huaisu and Luo Yusi burst out of the forest behind them like divine soldiers descending from heaven.

Zhu Huaisu pointed her sword at Long Tao, her voice flat and emotionless, as if reading lines.

“It’s the remaining Wuyi Sect culprit who escaped earlier! Take him down at once!”

Luo Yusi cooperated by spreading her spider web, sealing off the escape route.

Long Tao immediately went full method actor, pretending to panic.

“Ah! It’s people from the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect?! For… forget it! I’m in a good mood today—I’ll let you rotten weeds off!”

Before the words even fell, he had already turned and bolted into the dense forest on the other side, fleeing faster than a rabbit.

……

After escaping into the forest, Long Tao quickly changed back into his original sect robes, wiped away the traces of his disguise, and deliberately took a short detour through the perilous woods.

Only then did he retrace his steps back.

Upon returning to the earlier “melon stall,” he saw the three demon plants crowding around Zhu Huaisu and Luo Yusi, emotions running high.

Their branches trembled wildly, and crystalline tree sap even seeped from the corners of their “eyes,” as if they had suffered some enormous injustice.

“Oh my, thank heavens for the timely arrival of the fairies of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect and this Spider Little Saint!” The leading demon plant wiped its “face” with a vine and cried dramatically.

“That vicious Wuyi Sect brute just now was utterly unreasonable! He insisted our melons weren’t guaranteed ripe and smashed the century-long hard work my brothers nurtured with a single punch! He even tried to forcibly rob us of the meager livelihood we rely on!”

Another demon plant hurriedly echoed it, gesturing with its branches.

“Exactly, exactly! If not for the two of you arriving in time and scaring that villain away, these three old bones of ours—uh, old branches—I’m afraid he really would’ve torn us apart and burned us as firewood!” As it spoke, it cautiously observed Zhu Huaisu’s expression.

Seeing her face remain blank, it quickly turned to Luo Yusi instead, its tone growing ever more obsequious.

“Especially this Spider Little Saint—treasure-like visage, solemn and dignified, noble and elegant.

The moment you appeared, that thief was scared witless! You must carry the bloodline of an ancient holy clan, surely the precious daughter of some Holy Lord. To behold you today is truly the honor of us humble plant cultivators!”

Zhu Huaisu felt faintly dissatisfied upon hearing this.

She was clearly the genuine princess—so why was no one flattering her with such words?

The third demon plant was even more quick-witted.

It promptly rolled up several spirit melons with the richest spiritual energy and respectfully presented them to the two of them.

“Just a small token, unworthy of mention! Please, Fairy and Holy Envoy, have a taste! The paths within this secret realm are complex, and miasma abounds.

If there’s anywhere our brothers can be of use, just give the order! We only ask that the two of you… uh, in the future, put in a few good words for us before the great powers of your esteemed sect…”

Zhu Huaisu crossed her arms, coldly watching the three trees possessed by theatrical spirits, the corner of her mouth twitching almost imperceptibly.

Luo Yusi, on the other hand, tilted her head slightly.

A gentle smile flickered through her multiple compound eyes.

She lightly pushed the spirit melons back with her forelimb, her voice still soft.

“There’s no need. Eliminating demons and defending the Dao is our duty. It’s just that… you mentioned earlier that you’re very familiar with the secret realm’s paths?”

The moment they heard this, the branches of the three demon plants rustled excitedly as they rushed to answer.

“Familiar! Extremely familiar!”

“We could walk them with our eyes closed!”

“Wherever the Fairy and Holy Envoy wish to know about, we’ll tell you everything we know, without holding anything back!”