226 WHOMPING SAKURA TREE

Another breeze brushed across the oasis, gently shaking the towering Sakura Tree beside it. It was as if the tree was feigning ignorance to Janus' words.

"MEOW"

[You know, it doesn't really matter to me whether you feign ignorance or not]

Janus remarked leisurely as he morphed his body and transformed into his panther form.

He raised his paw and revealed his sharp and long nails before slashing it right at the massive tree.

"MEOW"

[Let's see if you can still keep pretending after I chop you down inro pieces!]

PSSSHHH!

But before Janus' paw could come in contact with the Sakura Tree, a hurried sharp gale of wind burst through the air.

Glancing upward, Janus saw a tree branch darting right to his head like a piercing spear!!!

The movement of the tree branch was extremely swift and forceful. Looking at how it was aiming to pierce right through his head, it was obvious that the attack is a killing move!

Nevertheless, Janus was still able to dodge the attack easily with a side step.

PSHH!!!! PSSH!!!! PSSSHH!!!!

However, it did not seem like the tree was willing to let him and the others get away scot-free now that it was discovered.

Dozens of other tree branches suddenly shot forward and pierced not only in Janus'  but also towards the direction of other warlocks in the group.

The force behind each of the tree's attacks left a lingering black streaks aftermath in the air.

Mu Lingxi already heard Janus speaking to the tree before the incident. While the group also saw how the black cat suddenly transformed into its panther form.

They knew that this black cat of their friend only uses this panther form whenever there is a danger, as such they were already on their guards.

Thus, when the tree launched an attack towards them, they were not totally caught off guard.

They had their wand ready in their hands as they clash head-on with the relentless attack coming from the branches of the tree.

It was apparent from how the tree was reacting that it was eager to send them to the afterlife.

They had to make sure to tread carefully, or else they might end up losing their life before they could even find where Rhapsody Swamp is.

The sharpness from each swipe of Janus's paws is not to be underestimated. It easily tore through the assaulting branches as if slicing through the mud.

However, Mu Lingxi and the rest of the group seemed not to be faring any better.

The incredible force behind the attack from the tree branches left the hand holding their wands terribly numb, and they were forced to retreat a step backward due to the impact.

The severing of its branches did not seem to inflict the slightest pain or damage to the Whomping Sakura Tree.

Instead, it swiftly sent even more branches to assault them, each of them carrying strength far greater than the previous one.

With the tremendous pressure heaping up from the movements of the branches, even the surrounding space moaned under the strain, seemingly ready to collapse at any moment.

After some time, Fan Lei was able to finally come up with a plan. Since they were dealing with a tree, the best way to counter it is through fire.

Thus he instructed his friends to use fire attribute spells. They continued to cast fire spells towards the Whomping Sakura Tree one after another.

The scarlet color of the fire spells shot towards the Whomping Sakura Tree while pouring flames down on it.

The surrounding turned incomparably scorching. The Whomping Sakura Tree swiftly withered under the searing heat, and it did not take long for it to become charred dead.

When the Whomping Sakura Tree was burned to ashes, it mixed at the water in the oasis. Turning the whole water in the oasis into pitch black.

As soon as the water turned black and they look at its reflection, the group saw a different world reflecting on the black water amidst its ripples.

The water on the oasis reflected a place that looks like a swampland. Dripping trees with black trunks covered the open glade.

The fallen trees and branches all sung together into a marshy chorus. Creating the wet Eden that was perfectly arranged by some unknown Maestro.

Red flowers, as well as the mistletoe itself, twisted beautifully around their infected trunks of decay and moss. Here and there, clumps of moss clung desperately to the trees filling the moist air with the scent of nature.

"That was the Rhapsody Swamp! On the books that I read about Rhapsody Swamp, it says there that in order to travel to Rhapsody Swamp one must first cross a portal made of black water. Most likely this is the portal going to Rhapsody swamp and they purposely did not mention the things about the desert and this sandman to serve as a trial."

Fan Lei finally understand why it seemed that something was missing right from the start.

Supposedly they should have been teleported by the school guardian straight at their destination. But instead, they were sent to a desert land.

It seemed that it was because there is still another portal leading to the Rhapsody Swamp. Just like how they use another portal to enter the land of Echurid before.

The group jumped down to the black water one after another. Jia Chang and Han Fen from Plufwarts School of Spell also jumped down after them.

Just like Mu Lingxi's group, the other group of warlocks that they met in the desert land was also intending to go on Rhapsody Swamp as well.

Though it was a little bit disheartening, that from their initial group of five warlocks, Jia Chang's group was now down to two members.

Since the other three warlocks of their group already met their end at the desert and they were nothing but a pile of yellow sand.

When the crowd opened their eyes once more, the sea of sand was no longer in sight.

The place before them produced a stark contrast on the previous place they had been. Right now, what they were seeing is a vast wetland that is forested by different kinds of trees.

The mistletoe that they were looking for grows within the branches of those trees.

The reddish color of its petals creates a striking appearance amidst the lush greenery in the Rhapsody Swamp.

Meanwhile, the two warlocks from the Plufwarts School of Spells also took their leave and departed as soon as they reached the Rhapsody Swamp.

With that, the two groups went on separate ways as they both proceeded on accomplishing each of their own mission.

Walking closer to the trees where the mistletoe hung, Mu Lingxi and the others tried to pick as many flowers as they could.

They placed the collected flowers inside a specialized jade box to keep it fresh. After filling three boxes in total, the group stopped picking mistletoe.

"So now that we are done with our school's mission, shall we head now to our true destination???"

Yun Xue asked after stowing the three boxes of Mistletoe in his storage ring.

The group decided that it would be best if only one of them will keep the flower and they unanimously decided that the one who should keep it is Yun Xue.

After attending to Mu Lingxi's burned hand, Yun Xue went back to ignoring her. This left Mu Lingxi wondering what was wrong with him this past few days.

He acted concern one moment and another second he was giving me a cold shoulder.

He is worst than a fickle-headed teenager or a menopausal woman!

On the other hand, Chan Gu took out his Nexus Portal and repeated the ritual that he did before to activate the artifact.

After waiting for a few more seconds, the place where the portal leading to the exit of Rhapsody Swamp was reflected in the blue-green water inside the palm-sized artifact.