Rise of the Wang Clan: Starting with a Portable Farm

Chapter 225: Slaying the Vine Demon

The Vine Demon had gorged itself for thousands of years, growing fat on the vitality of the land. Yet, this gluttony was its curse; by destroying the Spirit Vein, it had severed its own path to advancement. It was a prisoner of its own greed, trapped in this dark cavern, waiting for the slow decay of its long life.

Wang Guang’an chuckled, a sound devoid of warmth. He flicked his wrist, and a dragon of fire surged from the Three Flames Fan.

BOOM!

The Fire Dragon collided with the volley of wooden spears launched by the demon. Both attacks disintegrated in a shower of sparks and splinters.

It was a draw. Neither side gained ground.

Wang Guang’an frowned. If this continued, it would be a war of attrition. The Vine Demon, rooted into the earth, possessed vast reserves of Qi and regenerative capabilities that far outstripped a human cultivator. Even if he severed a thousand roots, as long as one remained, the demon would simply regrow.

If they stalled, Wang Guang’an would be the first to run dry.

Fortunately, the fan in his hand was a Middle Grade Dharma Treasure. Though it consumed spiritual energy like a thirsty beast, its firepower was something the demon’s wood-aspected body couldn’t withstand forever.

Wang Hao didn’t stand idle. He commanded his puppets and Spirit Beasts to launch a barrage of harassment attacks while he personally hurled Fireballs and Fire Dragons, systematically burning away the demon’s peripheral root system.

With Wang Guang’an drawing the demon’s main focus, Wang Hao was free to act as a nuisance. His attacks weren’t strong enough to deal critical damage, but he knew the gamer’s logic: As long as you can break defense, even a Level 10 player can grind down a Level 100 raid boss.

The Vine Demon, irritated beyond measure by this gnat, opened two glowing green eyes on its main trunk. It glared at Wang Hao with pure malice.

Whoosh!

A massive vine whipped through the air like a scourge, aiming to crush Wang Hao into paste.

“Vile beast!” Wang Guang’an roared. “You dare get distracted while fighting me?”

He swept the fan violently. Two streams of white-hot flame erupted. One intercepted the vine targeting Wang Hao, incinerating it mid-air; the other blasted toward the demon’s main body, forcing it to retract its defenses.

Simultaneously, Wang Guang’an began to channel his spiritual energy. The harassment attacks were working, but they were too slow. He needed a decisive blow. He began to pour half of his total reserves into the fan, preparing to unleash the Three True Flames: Ultimate True, Ultimate Yang, and Ultimate Heat.

The Vine Demon, seeing the attacks pause, mistook Wang Guang’an’s charging time for exhaustion. It felt a surge of smug triumph.

It knew it couldn’t eat these humans—the Golden Core cultivator was too fast to catch. But it decided to leave a lasting impression. It would teach these ants the price of trespassing.

Since the Golden Core human wasn’t attacking, the demon ignored him. Instead, it turned its full fury on Wang Hao and his pets. What better way to hurt them than to slaughter the young one?

But the demon miscalculated. Wang Hao was not an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.

When the smaller roots lashed out, Wang Hao didn’t panic. He moved with fluid grace, his techniques intercepting the vines before they could reach him.

Frustrated, the Vine Demon made a fatal error. It abandoned its defense.

Mobilizing its massive main branches, it launched an all-out offensive. The vines split into two waves—one to suppress Wang Guang’an, and a crushing deluge aimed straight at Wang Hao.

It believed Wang Guang’an could only block one wave. Wang Hao would die. Even if the attack drained a significant portion of its strength, the psychological blow would be worth it.

It had no idea what it was walking into.

Wang Hao, seeing his Ancestor’s prolonged silence, had already guessed the plan.

“Ancestor!” he shouted, his voice steady. “Ignore me! I can hold!”

Wang Guang’an gave a sharp nod. He trusted the boy.

Wang Hao watched the sky darken with writhing vines and glowing wooden spears. He calmly recalled his Spirit Beasts. Puppets were replaceable; beasts were not. He wasn’t about to let his pets die for nothing.

He flicked his wrist, sending a stack of Second Rank Fire Talismans flying. They detonated in mid-air, creating a wall of explosions that blunted the initial assault.

Then, he unleashed the Dry Sun True Flame.

A wall of golden fire roared to life in front of him. For good measure, he conjured a secondary fire shield around his body and activated the Clear Source Boots, ready to flash-step away at a moment’s notice.

The wooden spears, glowing with green demon Qi, slammed into the wall of True Flame.

Hiss!

The moment they touched the fire, the demon Qi evaporated. The spears lost their momentum and veered off course, deflected by puppet fire, before disintegrating into ash.

The vines fared even worse. The terrifying heat of the Dry Sun True Flame made them recoil instinctively before they even made contact.

Unwilling to accept failure, the Vine Demon thrust a massive, vat-thick main vine forward to test the defense.

It touched the fire wall.

FWOOSH!

The vine ignited instantly. The flames didn’t just burn; they clung to the wood, spreading with terrifying speed toward the main body. A primal fear shrieked in the demon’s soul. It frantically severed the limb, letting the burning segment fall to the ground.

“As expected of a Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire,” Wang Hao grinned, wiping sweat from his brow. “If I had this back at the Danding Sect, that Tree Demon wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

While the demon was fixated on Wang Hao, Wang Guang’an had finished his preparations.

The Three Flames Fan hummed, vibrating with contained power. It had drunk deep of the Golden Core cultivator’s essence.

Wang Guang’an swung the fan.

Three distinct flames spiraled out, coalescing into three magnificent Fire Phoenixes. They shrieked a war cry that shook the cavern walls, diving toward the demon’s main trunk.

The demon’s hastily erected defenses—spears and vine walls—melted like wax before the birds. The phoenixes didn’t just destroy the obstacles; they absorbed the burning wood’s energy, growing larger and hotter as they flew.

Wang Guang’an’s hands blurred in a series of seals.

“Merge!”

The three phoenixes collided, fusing into a single, blinding sphere of white-gold fire. It hung in the subterranean air like a miniature sun.

The heat was absolute. The damp earth on the floor cracked and glazed into glass. The rock on the ceiling began to drip like melting candle wax.

The Vine Demon finally realized its mistake. Its massive root system convulsed, the ground shaking with its silent scream of terror and pain.

It tried to defend, but it was too late. It had spent its vines attacking Wang Hao. Now, in a panic, it tried to recall its remaining limbs to form a wooden cocoon around its core.

It quickly learned how foolish that was.

BOOM!

The sun collided with the wooden cocoon.

A catastrophic explosion rocked the cavern. The demon’s defenses vaporized instantly. A pillar of fire erupted skyward, piercing the gloom and turning the underground world into a blinding white hell.

Even from hundreds of meters away, Wang Hao felt his skin blistering. He crushed an Ice Talisman, encasing himself in a chill aura to survive the heatwave.

The fire spread like a living thing, racing along the dry roots, instantly engulfing an area of 10 miles in a sea of flames.

The cavern, once silent, erupted into chaos. Thousands of Demon Beasts, driven from their lairs by the heat and noise, ran screaming in terror, their howls adding to the apocalyptic din.

Thick, choking smoke filled the air. If Wang Hao and Wang Guang’an weren’t cultivators capable of holding their breath for hours, they would have suffocated in minutes.