Shao Heng, naturally, did not trust the vine demon.
A demon cultivator at the late stage of the First Realm already possessed remarkable intelligence; she had nourished its roots with the [Azure Emperor] spiritual liquid, which had provided immense benefits.
Was it treating her as an honored guest and caring for her meticulously, or was it imprisoning her to continuously extract her essence?
Shao Heng would not gamble.
Among these three, first, the younger female cultivator had attempted to divert the trouble, wanting Shao Heng to share the vine demon's pursuit with her. Then, despite her several attempts to escape and change positions, the demon continued its relentless chase.
Such behavior provoked a surge of anger within Shao Heng.
The green vines surged toward the sky, dense and overwhelming, directly striking down Lin Xuan and Cao Jingyin, who were riding flying shuttles.
Zhang Rong acted decisively, leaping to the ground herself. Under the infusion of her magic power, her flying sword split into a hundred sword shadows, sweeping like a whirlwind to shred every vine it touched.
The green vine demon clearly intended to retreat. Shao Heng clenched her hand, stopping the drip of the spiritual liquid, and said, "They want to kill me. Since you won't protect me, then don't expect to gain anything more from me either."
Having already tasted the sweetness of the growth spurred by the spiritual liquid, the vine demon ultimately attacked the three of them. The vines entwined into a massive cocoon, trapping them inside, and then sprouted a multitude of sharp, poisonous thorns.
At the same time, however, it wrapped around Shao Heng's waist and pulled her backward, clearly intending to take her and flee the area.
In an instant, the slender vine around her waist was shrouded in black mist, rapidly turning withered and shriveled; it snapped with a light struggle.
Shao Heng remained standing where she was. She began to manipulate the death qi she had previously mixed into the spiritual liquid, causing it to erupt within the vine demon's body.
Activating the [Azure Emperor] had nearly exhausted seventy percent of her magic power; similarly, the death qi buried within this demon's body had become extremely concentrated.
Backstabbed by Shao Heng, the power of the vine cocoon trapping the three diminished significantly. Combined with the techniques Lin Xuan and Zhang Rong were already deploying, after only two or three breaths, a loud *bang* echoed as the three broke free and flew into the air.
Lin Xuan was incensed. His hands moved rapidly to form seals, and a massive palm of magic power descended, seemingly intending to crush the entire forest flat.
To protect itself, several green vines stood upright like the main pillars of a roof. Shao Heng also timely controlled the death qi to ease the pressure, preventing the vine demon from truly being destroyed.
"We... stop."
A hoarse voice emerged. With the vine demon's cultivation, it had refined its vocal cords and could speak human language.
The corners of Shao Heng's lips curled upward. As she waved her hand and manipulated her seals, a very faint sound rang out.
She used the death qi to directly shatter the vocal cords within the vine demon, rendering it unable to speak or communicate. If it tried to flee, the death qi would simultaneously cause chaos and torture it.
Lin Xuan and the others, unaware of the true situation, assumed the demon was exhausted. Given the divide between humans and demons and the fact that it had been attacked, why would they let it go voluntarily?
They could only continue the struggle!
The green vine demon clearly understood Shao Heng's intention; it suddenly emitted a strange ripple that spread to its surroundings.
"That green vine demon is using the demon language to call its companions. Be careful," Ao Chuan said. Being a Heavenly Demon, Dragon Script was one of the oldest forms of writing, and it was born with the ability to understand most written languages in the world.
Shao Heng did not respond, but she grew even more cautious.
The death qi condensed on her skin, protecting her like an eggshell. Simultaneously, the Mudra within her body flickered, with moonlight flowing through her meridians, ready to trigger an escape technique at any moment.
*Swish!*
Tremors rose from beneath the ground. Looking closely, the surface was actually writhing. In an instant, countless vines burst from the earth, joining the green vine demon to shatter the magic power palm seal.
"Senior Brother, let's take Junior Sister and flee! Too many vine demons are coming!"
Zhang Rong manipulated her spiritual sword to protect her surroundings. She had practiced Gold-element immortal arts, so any vine that approached would be shredded on the spot by sharp sword qi, but as the number of vines leaping from the ground increased, she began to look strained.
Cao Jingyin, protected by Lin Xuan at his side, said resentfully, "What kind of skill does that ugly brute have? A mere mid-stage First Realm cultivator, yet he can make the vine demons leave him untouched."
"Senior Brother, if we could obtain that method, wouldn't we be able to move freely through the forest? Collecting Fragmented Moons would certainly be easier!"
Hearing his two junior sisters, Lin Xuan kept his eyes fixed on the figure on the ground.
"Black mist? What is that thing?"
He was puzzled, but a hint of fervor appeared in his eyes.
"Don't worry, Junior Sister. With me here today, these vine demons are nothing to mention!"
He opened his right hand to reveal a jade ring resting in his palm.
Carved upon the translucent white jade ring was a phoenix with its wings spread, so lifelike it appeared to be a living creature.
As Lin Xuan injected magic power into it, the carved phoenix turned from snow-white to crimson. As if awakened, it detached from the ring and flew around Lin Xuan with outstretched wings.
He chanted an incantation, his left hand forming a seal.
"By my command: Burn!"
Empowered by his magic, the crimson phoenix's form expanded several times over. Its wings spread wide, its feathers glowing brilliantly, and countless flames condensed into spheres that fell downward like meteors.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Standing to the side, Zhang Rong recognized this as a low-grade immortal art practiced by Lin Xuan. Being of the Fire element, and combined with the Phoenix Jade Ring bestowed by their master, its power was increased by thirty percent.
Even so, her furrowed brow did not relax.
"Why act out of momentary anger? This forest spans over four hundred miles, and the number of lurking plant demons is countless; even ten percent of them haven't gathered here. Although Fire-element arts suppress Wood-element ones, this will surely invite hostility and pursuit. If we don't retreat in time, we will fall into even greater trouble."
"It's all because of that cultivator who looks like a brute!"
Since Lin Xuan had already unleashed the immortal art, Zhang Rong suppressed her discouraging words.
She also formed a seal, performing the low-grade immortal art [Mystic Gold Sword Control]. Gold-element spiritual qi howled, controlled into small golden swords that mixed with the falling meteors to increase their lethality.
"Thank you for the help, Junior Sister!"
Lin Xuan laughed loudly, but his laughter was abruptly cut short by a dazzling, multicolored arrow flying out from the layers of vines.
His face stiffened, and the hair on his body stood on end. His cultivator's instinct told him to dodge the arrow immediately, but Lin Xuan soon realized he could not move; it was likely some form of spiritual consciousness lock.
"How could this arrow be a technique mastered by a mid-stage First Realm cultivator?!"
Several bright spots appeared on Lin Xuan's forehead, connecting to vaguely form the shape of a snake.
This was the Winged Fire Snake, the sixth constellation of the Southern Seven Mansions, the Wing of the Vermilion Bird.
This immortal art helped his already weakening magic power recover rapidly. Lin Xuan then summoned a circular shield dharma treasure made of red jade to protect himself.
*Bang!*
The arrow actually pierced directly through the shield. Although its power was diminished, it still impaled Lin Xuan's abdomen and immediately exploded.
"Senior Brother!"
The voices of Cao Jingyin and Zhang Rong rang out in succession. At that moment, a figure drifted through the moonlight, reaching out to snatch the Phoenix Jade Ring from in front of Lin Xuan and gripping it in her palm.
"Thief!"
Zhang Rong shouted in fury. Her long sword flew out, and before it even reached Shao Heng, its sharp energy grazed Shao Heng's face, leaving a bloody scratch.
Shao Heng could have dodged, but Lin Xuan remained conscious after being hit by the arrow. He glared at her with hatred, and a burst of fire erupted around him, transforming into fire snakes that lunged toward her.
In her haste, she summoned the Soul-Sucking Bell, shaking it to emit a soul-disturbing sound that plunged all three present into a state of consciousness trance.
A white shadow flew out from Shao Heng's sleeve, directly using a claw to crush the small golden insect on Cao Jingyin's shoulder, then used a tail like a whip to strike the girl, sending her flying to the ground.
Facing the pincer attack of two peak First Realm cultivators, Shao Heng also appeared exceptionally strained.
The fire snakes scorched her skin, turning it black rapidly. Although the spiritual sword lost some accuracy due to Zhang Rong being affected by the Soul-Sucking Bell, its power remained; after veering away from her heart, it directly severed her left arm!
Shao Heng grit her teeth, swallowing her cry of pain, and immediately channeled her magic power to the wound to stop the bleeding.
As the white shadow flew back, it simultaneously grabbed the severed limb and brought it back, which Shao Heng then stored in her storage ring.
With a flash of silver light, Shao Heng activated [Three Thousand Miles of Moonlight], splitting into three illusory bodies while using the moonlight and shadows to escape.
She pushed her escape technique to the limit, traversing over a hundred miles.
As for the three disciples, Zhang Rong, who had the lightest injuries, was the first to break free from the influence of the Soul-Sucking Bell. She regained consciousness and immediately supported Lin Xuan, only to be shocked to find that his abdominal wound showed no sign of healing and was rapidly worsening.
But she had no time to worry about that. She rushed down to find Cao Jingyin, and the two of them fled together, desperately trying to escape the pursuit of the vine demons driven mad by the raging fires.
(End of Chapter)