A blade aura several feet long slashed past, and the Celestial Demon Blade directly cleaved from the treetop to the root, forcibly cutting a crack into the tree trunk and splitting it in two.

"Ah!!!!!"

The old locust tree let out a wail, and a great amount of black blood oozed uncontrollably from the crevice between the two tree halves, emitting an extremely foul stench.

Legend has it that if a spirit did good deeds, its essence would leave a fragrant scent; otherwise, it would be nothing but foul water.

This old locust tree had lived in Antong County for hundreds of years, secretly causing the deaths of countless innocent villagers. The stench of the black blood was so overwhelming that even the wild grass within the cracks of nearby stones began to wither at a speed visible to the naked eye, illustrating just how toxic it was.

Qin Yuesheng protected himself with Inner Strength, unaffected by the poisonous gas, and directly pressed a palm onto the trunk of the old locust tree, immediately activating the decomposition function.

[Decomposition Successful: Obtained ’Tree Demon Essence Wood x10’, ’Celestial Fire Power x1’, ’Four Hundred Year Heart Marrow x1’]

With the old locust tree’s protection gone, the squirrel was immediately exposed to Qin Yuesheng’s gaze. Qin Yuesheng’s cold glare sent a shiver through the squirrel, and although it wanted to escape, it dared not attempt, fearing Qin Yuesheng might directly chop it in half, leaving it dead with no corpse to collect.

"You can speak, right?" Qin Yuesheng asked.

How could the squirrel dare to play dumb? It nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes I can."

"You’re also a monster?"

"I, I am just a humble Squirrel Demon with shallow cultivation, never having harmed anyone. I beg you, sir, to spare my life."

Seeing the squirrel speaking so eloquently, Qin Yuesheng found it amusing and said, "I was hiding in the dark and heard everything clearly. You acted as a lackey advisor to this old tree demon, helping it plot strategies to seek opportunities for survival and healing. How can you claim you haven’t harmed anyone?"

"Sir, you see through everything. I have a shallow cultivation and weak strength, nowhere near a match for the old locust tree. To survive, I had no choice but to follow its orders. However, I’ve always been kind-hearted deep down."

Qin Yuesheng reached out and grabbed, and the squirrel was instantly caught in his hand.

"If you want to survive, tell me the true situation in Antong County. Why are the people clearly dead from the Celestial Fire calamity, yet still living perfectly well in this world?" Qin Yuesheng asked.

"S-sir, it’s all the old locust tree’s demon technique. The locust tree inherently has the ability to nourish souls. After the Celestial Fire burned all the people of Antong County to death, it summoned their souls and nurtured them within itself. This made the souls behave abnormally, not fearing the sun by day and living like normal people. Regular folks wouldn’t notice anything amiss. Any outsiders passing through Antong County who stop overnight would generally not leave alive the next day, forever becoming the old locust tree’s subordinates."

Qin Yuesheng asked, "Is there a way to break it?"

"No need to worry, sir. Once the old locust tree is dead, those souls will revert to their previous states. By the break of dawn tomorrow, when the purple aura rises in the east and the red sun ascends, those souls that should no longer exist in this world will disperse in the glaring sun, never to harm again."

Qin Yuesheng nodded, "They are also victims. If it weren’t for the old locust tree sacrificing them for its benefit, they would still be living their simple and peaceful lives in Antong County, with no chance to harm others."

"Yes, yes, sir, you’re right. The true villain is this cursed, lightning-struck old demon tree. Even the Celestial Fire calamity couldn’t deal with it, yet it died under your hand. Sir, your strength is profound. I admire you immensely, like the ceaseless flow of the Wujiang River," the squirrel said, holding Qin Yuesheng’s thumb and widening its eyes in admiration.

"Where did you learn all these nonsensical phrases?"

"There used to be a private school in Antong County. I lived in a tree outside the classroom window and eavesdropped on the lessons every day."

Qin Yuesheng conjured a Life-and-Death Cold Ice Talisman and implanted it into the squirrel’s body, "I’ve placed a Death Curse on you. If you don’t receive my dispelling in seven days, you’ll freeze to death. From now on, you’ll work for me and won’t harm others."

The squirrel excitedly wagged its large tail, joyfully saying, "Thank you for sparing my life, sir. Thank you for sparing my life. I’ll definitely abandon my wicked ways, lay down my swords, turn back from the brink, and strive to be a good squirrel."

Qin Yuesheng casually placed it on the ground, then went to collect the items obtained from decomposing the old locust tree.

The Tree Demon Essence Wood consisted of ten rather heavy planks. Even when Qin Yuesheng held them, he felt his hands slightly strained. Meanwhile, the material was extremely hard, although not up to the level of materials used for the Celestial Demon Blade or Dragon-Slaying Sword, it was sufficient for crafting heirloom-level weapons in the martial world.

After all, these were essence woods from a tree demon over four hundred years old that had gained intelligence, making them invaluable.

Recalling the dragon horn stored on the ship, Qin Yuesheng nodded with satisfaction. This trip had yielded significant materials for crafting two weapons, a substantial gain.

The Celestial Fire Power was a lifelike, worm-like entity that Qin Yuesheng grabbed in his hand, squirming and twisting, emitting a warm heat.

Realizing that despite surviving the Celestial Fire calamity, the old locust tree sustained considerable injuries likely related to this Celestial Fire Power, he deduced that it was a valuable resource from the Celestial Fire calamity.

Unsure of its usage for now, Qin Yuesheng decided to store it away for future study.

"Tell me, did a group of outside officials come to Antong County recently?" Qin Yuesheng asked while breaking open the old locust tree’s Demon Core, sipping the Heart Marrow inside.

Despite the old locust tree’s evil deeds and toxic essence, the Heart Marrow seemed unaffected, tasting entirely normal.

"I heard from the villagers in Antong County that they were captured and had their life force taken to feed the old locust tree," responded the squirrel.

Qin Yuesheng fell silent, realizing how the remaining Seven Star Bureau officials who didn’t die at the Wujiang ferry had perished completely.

Regrettably, the souls of Antong County villagers were so powerful that they effortlessly killed six Seven Star Bureau officials without any resistance.

Qin Yuesheng didn’t realize that locust trees are inherently suited for nourishing ghosts, and the longer these spirits are nurtured, the stronger they become. Even those skilled in exorcism might find themselves outmatched by numerous powerful ghosts, leading to their unfortunate demise.

Tossing the Mountain Ghost Pearl to store the Tree Demon Essence Wood inside, Qin Yuesheng recollected the Mountain Ghost Pearl and quickly headed towards Wujiang, taking the squirrel with him. He hadn’t forgotten that the old locust tree had sent Antong County ghosts to deal with the White Lotus disciples on the ship.