Chapter 68: Sleeping Sprouts

On the ancient battlefield, Qi Mingzhe and the others fell to the ground in a very embarrassed manner, splashing a cloud of dust.

"That cold and fire double formation is really too powerful. If it weren't for Senior Brother Qi, I'm afraid we would all have died there." Lu Kewei quickly helped Qi Mingzhe up and patted his sleeves while speaking in a half-complimentary and half-warning tone.

Having just entered the second world, they initially tried not to side with the black side, relying on the intelligence from the Qiming people. Instead, they fought the phantom on the white side. The phantom was actually a powerful ancient swordsman from the Heavenly Dao, trapped and driven within a formation after death. Even a mindless attack could rip them apart.

All of Shang Siding's spirit beasts died there, and he also lost an arm, which he devoured in a fit of rage. He was a beastmaster, and without a spirit beast, his cultivation was practically wasted.

Qiao Yangrun was very agile and barely took any injuries, but Lu Kewei was in a much worse state, with most of his magical weapons broken, but he still secretly retained some spiritual power.

The worst hit was Ding Yu, whose heart and lungs were pierced by a sword. Sword energy coursed through his body, his tendons severed and his energy unable to circulate. He could only temporarily seal his lungs and spleen and exit the ruins. If he couldn't find treatment outside, given his status and resources, his fate would be worse than death.

If Qi Mingzhe had not discovered that this formation was an ancient illusion and that standing on the black side was the only way out, those of them who had retained their strength would have been exhausted.

"But that information is too misleading. I think if I follow my senior brother, I'm afraid I'll die too. I'm a cripple now, so I won't cause trouble for him."

Shang Siding was no longer so carefree, his sinister nature now exposed. He took out the Sixteen-Interruption Glue and smeared it on the wound on his shoulder. He slowly glanced at the few people, then quickly took out the Thousand Miles Escape Talisman, transformed into a stream of light, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"I think he has a way to reattach his arm. I'm very curious." A murderous look flashed across Qiao Yangrun's eyes. He didn't intend to hide it and just stepped into the air to chase after him.

Although there was no personal grudge, he had long disliked Shang Siding. In addition, he also felt that Qi Mingzhe was hiding too much, so it would be better to find an excuse to avoid him.

Qi Mingzhe did not stop them, but slowly put the magic weapon into his sleeve and watched them go away.

"Then, Senior Brother, shall we go find Master Linghe's underground palace now?"

"No need to look for it. The approximate location is already marked on this map. You can stay here for a while and then you can go out and let the second and third teams come in to explore."

Qi Mingzhe took out a roll of yellowed thin paper that looked like the old things in the ruins from his arms and threw it to Lu Kewei. Then he put one hand behind his back, patted Lu Kewei's back with the other hand, laughed, and turned into a red light and flew into the distance.

Lu Kewei's respectful face behind him showed gloom and disdain, and he tore the roll of paper into pieces without even looking at it.

Luo Xuanyi was unaware of the intrigues of the people outside. She burped in satisfaction and sat up straight, feeling the surging spiritual power in her body being carefully classified and stored. She couldn't help but feel that all the pores in her body were opened up comfortably, ready to overflow with spiritual energy.

Looking around, all the cocoons hanging on the vines were shriveled, empty and curled up, and the originally eerie scene became comical.

After Luo Xuanyi reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, she deliberately restrained herself from further advancement. Previously, she had no way to cultivate mental skills or supernatural powers. If she rashly entered the Foundation Establishment stage just to advance, unless she was naturally intelligent and could comprehend her own cultivation method, she would be left cultivating as a worthless person, or else she would lose her skills and spiritual energy and fall back to a new realm to cultivate again.

She needs to find the right cultivation method and then use the vast spiritual energy to break through the realm in one breath!

She sat on the vine, lost in thought, and suddenly felt a subtle connection between herself and the vine. Perhaps it was because she had absorbed too much spiritual energy from the silk cocoon, and she had acquired a similar aura to that of the Vine Demon Spider...

wrong!

Luo Xuanyi stood up suddenly, with a mixture of disbelief and ecstasy on her face.

This statement is both right and wrong. The wrong part is that the main body of the Vine Demon Spider is already dead, so how could it be possible that a link could be established just because of a similar aura!

Just as practitioners use sound transmission or talismanic notes to establish connections and communicate, sentient beings can also use aura to mark their belonging, thereby achieving mutual perception. The Ivy Demon Spider uses aura to sense white spiders that forage for food and mark their cocoons.

Of course, this link is broken after death.

Luo Xuanyi closed her eyes and calmed down to sense the faint connection.

The other end of the link didn't seem to be actively moving; it remained stationary, and its aura was extremely weak. If Luo Xuanyi hadn't devoured so many silk cocoons by herself, she wouldn't have been able to capture it.

Climbing along the vines, surrounded by heavy vines, Luo Xuanyi struggled to push aside the heavy and dead vines, and finally saw the real body that was connected to her.

This is a tiny sprout, wrapped in the center of a huge corpse ball created by dozens of people. Countless blood lines are tied around it, beating regularly like a pulse.

For thousands of years, it has shown no signs of growth, but has been protected and dormant in the corpse ball.

Considering its growth patterns, it's clear why it can't use the numerous cocoons it finds elsewhere. The Ivy Demon Spider requires a constant diet of human blood for hundreds of years before reaching full growth, capable of surviving on silk cocoons.

It was just a bud, showing no signs of ever having grown, yet it was nestled in this vast ruins filled with only the dead. If it hadn't been sealed and allowed to grow, I'm afraid this young bud would have died long ago.

The person who saved the young sprout may have wanted to keep it for himself, but he died in the tragic battle and was picked up by Luo Xuanyi.

Luo Xuanyi carefully reached in, careful not to damage the corpse ball. The slightest touch to the surface caused a burst of sticky yellow-green liquid to burst forth, emitting a pungent stench. Luo Xuanyi didn't care, instead placing her hand over the young sprout.

She had her doubts, though. Her entire body had been transformed into a liquid by the drug, and her blood had simply been reconstructed according to its original composition. She wondered if it could actually be absorbed by the sprouts.

However, the ideas of Zang Yaozong, whom Luo Xuanyi flattered, told her that if evil creatures like the Vine Demon Spider could not be used for one's own benefit, they must be destroyed.

Regardless of whether the young sprouts could be absorbed, it was beneficial to Luo Xuanyi. Strengthening the power of someone who might become an enemy due to a momentary hesitation was a fool's act.

As Luo Xuanyi's mind moved, her palm automatically split open, and simulated red blood splashed down, landing on the young sprouts without a drop left.

The blood lines reacted before the sprouts. Wherever the blood flowed, the tightly wrapped blood lines broke one by one. Dozens of corpses in the huge corpse ball opened their eyes that had lost their eyeballs at the same time, and let out sharp screams from their throats!

Following the cry, the young bud swayed gently, as if awakening from a deep sleep. It began to absorb Luo Xuanyi's "blood".

The corpse ball's cries became more and more rapid, and the whistling sound was like a strong wind blowing through the bamboo forest.

Amidst the cries, the young buds slowly began to turn a little black, which was then suppressed. Then the black color appeared again, and this repeated several times. Just when Luo Xuanyi had given up hope, the black color finally stopped appearing.

The corpse ball collapsed and fell into the gaps between the vines.

The young sprout twisted vigorously, and at the bottom grew a delicate root, with a small white mass at the root. It was a white spider's egg.

Luo Xuanyi took over the Vine Demon Spider, which was still in its initial form, and laughed heartily from the bottom of her heart for the first time.