"Rustle... rustle..."
The wind rustled the leaves.
"Where is the wind coming from?" Feng Wuya was startled, as they hadn't sensed it at all.
Chu Tianle and Bai Shengyi began to search the surroundings. In such a strange place, any unusual detail could be a crucial turning point.
"Here!"
Due to her familiarity with the "Qing Meng Teng," Bai Shengyi, who understood plants well, took two laps and noticed something off about the pile of green leaves to the east. Although they still looked green, they were very dim, and their undersides were exposed.
"It's said that places where "Zhui Ling Mu" are found either lack spiritual energy or contain spiritual stone veins. What do you think is underneath here?"
Feng Wuya said, preparing to push aside the leaves with his hand.
"I don't know what's underneath, but I know that if you touch it again, this will be your grave," Chu Tianle said irritably. "Can you keep your hands to yourself?"
Feng Wuya sheepishly withdrew his hand. "I just didn't expect it."
The "Zhui Ling Mu" is a spiritual entity that resembles a spirit plant. It is born to guard, but guarding can also lead to slaughter.
Unlike the "Qian Hun Chong Si," it has a more malevolent nature. Instead of directly entering a living being to absorb its spiritual energy and flesh, it first uses its vines and thorns to intimidate and toy with its prey. Only when the prey is exhausted does it swallow them into its main body to digest, which in turn nourishes its external leaves.
Therefore, the greener the outer leaves are, the more life forms the "Zhui Ling Mu" has digested.
However, a hundred years ago, many people used "Zhui Ling Mu" as a means to search for spiritual stone veins, and gradually, "Zhui Ling Mu" disappeared from public view.
They never expected to find one in this Flowing Light Secret Realm.
"I'll go down first." Chu Tianle used his great saber to part the vines and leaves, revealing a hole of unknown depth. Before Bai Shengyi and Feng Wuya could agree, he jumped down.
Feng Wuya exclaimed, "Hey! Chu Tianle, are you crazy?"
Saying that, he also jumped down.
Bai Shengyi twitched her lips, thinking that both of them were problematic. Didn't they have any sense of caution?
Bai Shengyi cut a section of "Qing Meng Teng" vine and tied it to the vine with a silk handkerchief. Then, holding the "Qing Meng Teng," she used the cave walls to descend.
They hadn't traveled far before they heard the pained cries of Chu Tianle and Feng Wuya.
They had fallen on their backs when entering the secret realm, and now they had fallen on their backs again. Bai Shengyi, illuminating the way with a night-glowing stone, felt their pain.
"Shengyi, what are you looking at?" Chu Tianle felt Bai Shengyi's gaze on him was strange.
Bai Shengyi: "Nothing. Can you still walk?"
Chu Tianle and Feng Wuya exchanged a look and said, feigning bravery, "Yes."
The space below was not large but very deep, like a winding cave extending outwards. After half an hour of going through twists and turns, they saw something emitting a faint white light ahead.
As they were about to get a closer look, Feng Wuya exclaimed, "The jade slip lit up! There's a place to put the boxes here!"
Feng Wuya's voice seemed to trigger a switch. In an instant, Bai Shengyi clearly felt that the previously calm space was suddenly filled with various kinds of spiritual energy!
There was light blue water spiritual energy, snow-white ice spiritual energy, emerald green wood spiritual energy... clumps of them mixed in the small space, making this section of the path extremely unstable.
"Behind us is a spiritual stone vein! At least high-grade spiritual stones!" Chu Tianle suddenly gasped, his voice tense.
Bai Shengyi also trembled and quickly looked closely.
Indeed, those white lights were the reflections of spiritual stones.
"My heavens! We're rich!" Feng Wuya took out a small handkerchief and flaunted it.
Bai Shengyi, always a doer, ignored him and began to select suitable positions for the boxes according to the instructions on the jade slip, preparing to place them.
Chu Tianle rolled his eyes at Feng Wuya and took out a recording stone to help Bai Shengyi document.
The three of them were too excited to realize that the spiritual energy in the air was gradually becoming denser, and the vines outside were silently climbing in from the black hole...
"There's the most wood spiritual energy here, it should be placed in this position... Chu Tianle, be careful!"
Seeing a wood thorn as thick as an arm stabbing towards Chu Tianle, Bai Shengyi quickly pushed him aside and summoned the "Lun Hui Bi" to block the thorn!
"Ah!"
However, the wood thorn suddenly softened, coiling around Bai Shengyi like a tongue and dragging her out of the cave.
"Shengyi!"
Chu Tianle and Feng Wuya cried out in alarm and rushed after her.
Yet, in just a few breaths, not only were there no traces of vines ahead, but the exit they had just come down from was also sealed.
"Damn it!" Feng Wuya punched the cave wall and couldn't help but curse.
Chu Tianle's expression was even uglier than his. How many times had this happened?
Shengyi had gotten into trouble in front of him again, and he was still powerless!
"I am too incompetent."
This sentence seemed to hover over Chu Tianle's head like a curse. He forced himself to calm down and said to Feng Wuya, "You find a way out. I'll go and place the boxes first. I must find Shengyi."
"Okay. The spiritual energy can be used now, I'll blast this damned "Zhui Ling Mu"." Feng Wuya said, punching the entrance of the cave, but the entrance remained unmoved.
Feng Wuya's face darkened, "I'll try again. You go ahead and get busy."
According to the jade slip, the placement of the boxes also changed, so Chu Tianle's task was not simple. Both of them were filled with determination, wanting to finish this quickly and find Bai Shengyi.
On the other side, Bai Shengyi felt something was wrong when she was coiled up, but she only managed to awaken the "Qing Meng Teng" before losing consciousness.
"Master? What happened just now? Why did Little Tengye suddenly faint? Where's the boss? Master? Are you alright?"
After "Qing Meng Teng" spoke several times, it realized that Bai Shengyi had fainted! And the "Lun Hui Bi" was also asleep.
It was terrified. Seeing the vines about to drag Bai Shengyi into a three-meter-thick tree stump, it quickly wrapped its vine leaves around Bai Shengyi, preventing the vines from dragging her further.
However, having just awakened, it was no match for the vines at all. Moreover, the vines were absorbing spiritual energy from it in return.
Its strength gradually weakened, and it could only watch helplessly as the vines dragged Bai Shengyi into the yellowish-brown tree stump.
"No! Let my master out!"
"Qing Meng Teng" generated countless vine leaves, entwining the vines, pulling at the vine branches while trying to drill into the tree stump to bring Bai Shengyi out.
"What kind of bad thing are you! Release my master immediately, don't force Little Tengye to eat you, do you hear me!"
The tree stump was too thick and hard as iron, making it impossible for "Qing Meng Teng" to drill in. Moreover, the vines on the other side showed no reaction.
However, "Qing Meng Teng" could clearly feel Bai Shengyi's life force weakening.
"Master, you must hold on, don't scare Little Tengye, sob sob sob..."
It couldn't wait any longer!
"Qing Meng Teng" swung its vines, regardless of the consequences, and entangled with the vines.
Vines scraped against the bark, revealing transparent green vine flesh. The vines madly absorbed "Qing Meng Teng's" spiritual energy, but were numbed by the superficial benefits, failing to notice that the tiny vine branches of "Qing Meng Teng" had pierced into their vine flesh and merged with their bodies.
"Sob sob sob, Master, Little Tengye hurts..."
The spiritual energy being lost was snatched back by the frenzied "Qing Meng Teng." It cried as it devoured the vine flesh bite by bite, rapidly extending its branches...