Chapter 184 - Strangler Figs

"So this is what demonic plants look like. They become walking trees." Leyvi observed the demonic strangler figs as they moved slowly to surround them.

"Do demonic plants have a similar power-level classification as demonic beasts?" He asked.

"No. They are different." Nala replied.

"Why?"

"Demonic plants don't develop demonic cores, they develop demonic hearts. Although it's called a heart, it's not a heart like ours. The heart looked similar to a crystal. It is where their consciousness converges, making them sentient. Also, unlike demonic beasts, their special abilities don't rely on bloodline powers, they could obtain special abilities right away after becoming demonic plants." Nala explained.

"So, how do we classify them?"

"Hmm... how do I explain this? When a demonic plant becomes sentient, it can skip levels right away, depending on how long it has been absorbing spiritual energy. However, when the seeds it produces grow, it immediately becomes a demonic plant." Nala tried to articulate her words properly.

"Ooooo.....so this is when the classification started, right?" Leyvi showed a knowing look.

"Bingo! You get a special night with me as a reward! They went from the Sprout Stage to Budding Stage, Blooming Stage, Overgrown Stage, Elder Stage, and Ancient Stage." As soon as Nala finishes her explanation, all their opponents arrive, surrounding them.

Leyvi sensed concentrated spiritual energy from a certain part of each demonic strangler fig, which he assumed was where the demonic hearts were located. However, one of them had a way higher spiritual energy intensity than the others.

"That one must be their boss. Is it in the Blooming Stage?" Leyvi guessed, but he needed confirmation.

"Bingo again! That one is in Blooming Stage, and the rest is in the Budding Stage. You get two special nights with me now! Darling, you are really good at gauging their energy. It took me a while to do that." Nala praised.

While they were still talking, the demonic strangler figs moved with an eerie, coordinated intelligence, their roots snaking and intertwining to form a living barrier.

All strangler figs extended their roots underground, connecting to one another in a vast web-like network. These roots carried spiritual energy between the trees, enabling them to act as a single entity. Additionally, the spiritual energy shared by the boss strangler fig enhanced all the Budding Stage strangler figs.

At the same time, the trees stretched their branches and aerial roots outward, weaving them together to form a dense canopy above. This blocked out sunlight and prevented any chance of escape into the air.

Lilian showed great excitement instead of getting intimidated as she witnessed the demonic plants surrounding them. Although she had known about the existence of demonic plants, this was the first time she had seen them.

"Holy! These trees are really creating a living formation! Are you sure this place is the easiest hunting ground, Nala?" Leyvi expressed his doubts.

"Hehe, you can't handle this level, darling?" Nala teased.

"Haha! I have no problem. I'm just worried about you ladies. Anda, try to burn it." Leyvi instructed.

"Sure." With a whim, a large fire appeared around one of the demonic strangler figs, burning its trunks. The next moment, a high-pitched screech was heard.

"Eeeeee! Quick! Deploy the sap layer and attack them!" Leyvi heard them communicating again.

They quickly developed a layer of sap covering their trunks and branches, acting as a fire retardant and making it difficult for flames to penetrate.

Aerial roots descended like whips, targeting Leyvi and the ladies from above. The roots alternated between direct strikes and attempts to ensnare.

The strangler figs also released clouds of toxic spores into the enclosed space. These could make the inhalers' breathing harder and cloud their visibility. The spores also contained a paralytic agent designed to weaken and disorient their prey.

"These demonic plants are really going all out after a minor burn," Anda commented, seemingly not bothered by their coordinated attacks.

If she brought out Little Fiery, she could easily turn all the demonic strangler figs here into ashes, but that wouldn't count as training.

"Hehe, let me take care of the defense." Nala volunteered.

She clasped her hands together, and a surge of water formed by her Qi flowed from her hands, gathering in the air around them.

With a sexy pose, she spun the gathered water into a swirling vortex that expanded outward, forming a sparkling water dome around the group.

After another sexy pose, spiraling currents began to form within the dome, rotating with increasing speed and precision.

The rapid, spiraling motion of the water dome generated centrifugal force, causing any tendrils or roots that struck it to be deflected away. The sheer speed of the currents made it nearly impossible for the strangler figs to latch onto the water barrier.

Furthermore, the flowing currents within the dome filtered out the toxic spores, preventing them from reaching Leyvi and the others. Any spores that touched the water were diluted and rendered harmless.

"Hahaha! Nala, I didn't know that you have a technique like this. Let me learn it too!" Leyvi was impressed. So far, he had only seen her using simple water-attributed attacks.

"Hehe." Nala giggled. "Darling, I'm sorry, but I don't think you can do this." Nala was proficient enough to divert her attention slightly.

"Huh? Why? Nala, are you looking down on your man?" Leyvi poked her side boob.

"Ah!" Nala exclaimed. The water dome became slightly unstable for a second. "Darling! Don't make me aroused right now!"

"Uhh...my bad." Leyvi felt tempted to fondle her boobs and see what would happen to the water dome, but he held back his childish desire. It wasn't the right time, after all.

"Darling, you can't do this because your manipulation Qi is mediocre. You can only create two vines, right? If you want to do something like this, you need to be able to create around a hundred vines." Nala estimated.

"A hundred vines?" Leyvi's wish to learn this technique became a shattered dream.

In actuality, he could only create and manipulate only one vine. He managed to create two vines only because of his dual mind.

"Lilian, how many total vines can you summon?" Leyvi felt curious.

Lilian didn't stop admiring the demonic plants and answered Leyvi, "Over a thousand."

"A thousand??" Leyvi fell to his knees, feeling depressed over his lack of Qi manipulation talent. "It's over! The difference is that huge?"

Anda chuckled. "What are you sad about? You have incredible jolt Qi talent. In fact, you might be the best. Not many cultivators are proficient in this."

"But I want to create cool stuff like this too..." Leyvi mumbled.

"So....how do we attack them from inside here? We can't defend like this forever, right?" Valenia raised a question. If she attacked, the water dome would be slashed, too.

Leyvi stood up again and started thinking. "Hmm...in this situation, probably only Anda's fire concept and Lilian's vine attacking from below would be feasible. But they have covered themselves in fire retardant sap and Lillian's vines alone might not be strong enough."

If there was really no way for them to attack while inside the water dome, he would summon Scarlet and dig a hole leading outside. After that, he would beat them all alone.

The group of demonic strangler figs still hadn't given up on attacking the spiraling water dome even after a while, as they were trying to deplete Nala's Qi.

"Somebody, feed me a Qi Replenishing Pill, please. I need more Qi for the next step." Nala requested.

"Here you go." Anda fed a top-grade tier-3 Qi Replenishing Pill to Nala.

"Thanks, big madam! Woohoo.....this is my first time consuming a top-grade tier-3 Qi Replenishing Pill! My Qi is returning very quickly. I could only afford a low-grade before this. Being rich is the best!" Nala said while her Qi was replenishing at a high rate.

A minute later, her Qi filled the core again. "Alright, watch this, darling!"

Nala made another sexy pose, causing the water dome to change again. Some of the spiraling water streams sharpened into high-pressure currents, cutting through thinner roots and tendrils that dared to breach the dome. The spiraling water dome had been upgraded to a shredding water dome!

"Alright! I'm going to run towards one of the strangler figs and shred it into pieces. After their formation is broken, I'll dismiss the dome and you guys immediately attack them before they merge into a formation again. Okay?" Nala laid out her plan.

"Hahaha! Let's try it!" Leyvi agreed with her plan.

"Alright, follow me!" Nala took off.

Her movements were swift and fluid as she charged toward the target. Leyvi and the others followed closely inside the water dome.

Seeing the dome moving, the strangler figs intensified their attacks. However, it didn't matter. The shredding water dome carved a path through the thick roots and writhing tendrils, slicing them apart, destroying all their attempts.

"Here we go! Nala's Big Drill!" She shouted as they reached one of the demonic strangler figs.

With a burst of energy, Nala slammed the shredding water dome into the strangler fig. The spiraling currents collided with its hardened bark, grinding through layers of wood and sap with a deafening screech.

The high-pressure water currents drilled deep, finally reaching and obliterating the tree's demonic heart. The fig shuddered violently, its roots and branches convulsing before collapsing into lifeless wood pieces.

The collapse of the strangler fig sent a ripple through the root network. Their movements and attacks became disorganized.

"Ladies and gentlemen, attack!" Leyvi shouted.