As soon as it landed, the stench was even stronger, the scene was filthy, and the remains of corpses and broken bones were scattered everywhere, a sight too terrible to behold.
Ahead stood a dilapidated cave, with a throne made of piled-up rocks surrounded by branches and vines that came from all directions, extending here from the outside world, each root thick and heavy, with intertwined branches.
The important thing is that those are not ordinary vines, but blood-sucking vines that look the same on the outside but are interconnected on the inside like blood vessels. These vines are not only highly poisonous, but also have a strong ability to suck blood. They are disguised in the forest and kill people invisibly.
At this moment, these blood-sucking vines were still flowing with blood that they had sucked from an unknown source, and they were flowing in an orderly manner toward the same place.
Everyone looked straight ahead, and after enduring the unbearable stench and the mutilated corpses, they were finally shocked by the horrifying scene before them.
The vampire vines that clung to the wall intertwined and gathered at the rocky throne, their branches and shadows overlapping, the tips of the vines disappearing into the flesh of the creature seated there, blood flowing continuously into its body.
The monster greedily sucked in the fresh blood, enjoying the thrill of falling into the abyss. Sensing the presence of a living person, it twisted its body and slowly opened its eyes.
Mountain spirits originally had no physical form, but this one had forcibly developed a physical body by consuming too much human blood, flesh, and bone. Both its physique and strength were far superior to that of ordinary people.
Its eyes were like copper bells, ridiculously large, with hollow eye sockets filled with black mist, like burning fire, and turbid air emanating from them. Black mist emanated from its entire body, and the outline of a human body could be vaguely seen, but it was not complete.
It opened its eyes and looked straight ahead, its reaction somewhat slow.
While it was stunned, Qinghe noticed two people lying behind it, or rather, two skeletons. Their tattered clothes looked familiar, but their flesh and blood had been completely devoured, turning them into mummies, making it impossible to identify them.
Not only them, but the entire underwater space was filled with piles of debris, white bones, and a sinister atmosphere.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Li Jiang and Liu Yuntai, and noticed that they both had angry expressions on their faces.
Indeed, as upright people, we would be furious to see such a thing happen, and we would want to kill such a wicked person as soon as possible.
Zhuge Changdeng, on the other hand, looked at the mountain spirit with excitement in his eyes, and the long sword on his back seemed eager to rush up and test it.
Looking at the monster mountain spirit before him, Qinghe felt that something was amiss.
"Why did it become like this?" Qinghe asked Qirong, tilting her head, but Qirong just stared silently ahead without answering her.
The mountain spirit finally came to its senses, opened its mouth wide and let out a fierce roar, waving its hands and pulling at the vampire vines on the wall as well.
Seeing that no one reacted, it became angry and stood up from its throne, but its movements were clumsy and looked very strange.
At this moment, the mountain spirit had not fully refined the human body. Its body was in a state of both illusion and reality, and its legs were weak, causing it to float directly in mid-air. In addition, the black aura freely emanating from its body and the vines embedded in its flesh made it float like a hammer, swinging endlessly in the air.
The blood in the blood-sucking vine was quickly depleted, and the moment it stopped, the mountain spirit became extremely agitated. Blood was like fuel to it; no one knew what it would become without blood, but until then, it would do everything in its power to obtain fresh blood. Just like now, a few fresh, living people standing in front of it were indeed the best option.
However, in its limited knowledge, the people in front of it were quite powerful, and taking their lives would not be easy. This was why it hadn't attacked them in the valley; fear of the strong was instinctive.
But it had no time to think about such things; without blood, it was already on the verge of going mad.
The eyes, deep and unfathomable, quickly locked onto their prey, and Qinghe, who was being targeted, had a bad feeling.
She only thought of picking on the softest persimmons when the mountain spirit attacked her.
The vampire vine was the mountain spirit's best weapon. It waved its hands, and the vines that were originally attached to the walls around it seemed to come alive and all stabbed at her.
Just as she reached his face, she suddenly smelled a pungent stench of blood. She raised her hand to cover her nose and instinctively cast a powerful spell, but her hand suddenly felt heavy as a sword light flashed out and slashed fiercely at the vines.
The vines recoiled in pain. She paused for a moment, then looked up to see Qi Rong standing in front of her, his foxfire bursting forth and instantly burning half of the vampire vines to ashes.
In that brief moment, he glanced back at Qing and the sword in his hand; with its phoenix head and azure feathers, it was a rare and excellent weapon.
Most of the vines were burned away, and the mountain spirit was enraged. The black aura grew thicker with its roar. It desperately absorbed the last bit of blood, and its body swelled up. Its eyes, which were originally like black holes, began to fluctuate strangely, and their color became even deeper than before.
"This is a sign of demonic possession. We must stop it, otherwise it will not be so easy to deal with once it becomes demonic."
Upon hearing Qi Rong's words, the group stood ready, gripped their weapons, and charged forward.
Mountain spirits are spiritual beings of heaven and earth, born with powerful strength. Unlike humans, they do not need to undergo long years of cultivation to possess the cultivation level of humans who have cultivated for decades or even hundreds of years. This kind of power is undoubtedly fatal to fragile humans.
Moreover, this creature in front of us has consumed so much human blood that its power is no longer pure; it is mixed with a violent and bloodthirsty evil, making it exceptionally powerful.
Apart from Qi Rong, who was able to fight him, the other four were no match for him.
A gust of wind swept past, and Qinghe and Lijiang retreated to the side, their swords trembling from the previous attack.
Looking up towards the direction of the chaotic battle, Liu Yuntai and Qi Rong joined forces to attack from both sides, their crimson foxfire and moon-white sword light intertwining to unleash a vast power.
Only then did Qinghe carefully observe Liu Yuntai. He noticed that Liu Yuntai was agile, wielded his sword skillfully, and possessed powerful spiritual energy, even surpassing the rumored late-stage Void Refinement cultivator.
However, he was no match for the powerful mountain spirit. The vines whistled past at great speed, and he was unable to dodge during the opening of his attack, and was knocked back to the ground.
He stumbled back several steps until a hand caught him from behind, allowing him to regain his balance.
He turned around, cupped his hands in thanks, and said, "Thank you, Miss Qinghe."
Qinghe shook his head to indicate that he was alright, and with a sharp look in his hand, he attacked again.
Qi Rong's foxfire continued to burn the remaining vines, but those vines seemed to be inexhaustible. The bloodsucking vines that had just been burned to ashes had now grown back, and were even thicker and more poisonous than before.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Qinghe pondered that the root of these vines might be the mountain spirit. With a determined look, he raised his sword and attacked the mountain spirit.
She understood the principle of "capture the king first to catch the thief."
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