176: Weird symbiosis

However, Lin Ye chose to leave the Cultivators who had just mutated where they were.

As for Tang Fu and Deng Qi, even though Li Xiangyun seemed to be on his last breath, Lin Ye still chose to bring them along.

Lin Ye had a premonition; he felt that Li Xiangyun shouldn't die so easily.

Moreover, the Cultivators of the Big Dipper Star Region had suffered heavy casualties, and he needed the help of Tang Fu and Deng Qi.

And Tang Fu and Deng Qi also proved their normalcy.

After all, when Tang Fu warned Li Xiangyun, Li Xiangyun kept Tang Fu and Deng Qi by his side.

Therefore, if there was a problem with the two of them, Chen Qinghai wouldn't have made a move.

Seeing Lin Ye and the others about to leave, those who were abandoned immediately became anxious.

“Save, save us!” A Cultivator who had recovered his senses saw Lin Ye and the others protecting the Star Bead and retreating, and he stumbled after them, “Brother Lin! Take us with you! Don’t abandon us!”

In response, Lin Ye’s resolve strengthened, because if those people had truly regained consciousness and were unaware of what had just happened.

Then they should have followed him with confusion, as if nothing had happened, instead of begging for mercy.

“Brother Lin, why don’t we…” Someone, unable to bear it, spoke hesitantly.

But more people chose silence.

After all, the scene just now was truly terrifying, and no one wanted to be stabbed in the back at a crucial moment.

Hearing this, Lin Ye did not stop his steps, nor did he look back.

He formed a hand seal with his fingertips, raising a Star Screen to block their path, then he said, “They have already been demonized.”

Lin Ye’s voice was cold as ice, “Take them with us? Who can guarantee they have returned to normal? Go!”

“Lin Ye! You can’t do this!” Another Cultivator lunged to the edge of the light screen, pressing his hands against the light wall, his knuckles turning white from the effort, “We are also victims! Are you just going to watch us die?”

Cries and pleas came from behind, begging Lin Ye to take them along out of consideration for being from the same Star Domain or past friendship.

But the people around Lin Ye either averted their gaze, their eyes flickering, or simply closed their eyes; no one dared to take them.

Thus, the pleas gradually turned into venomous curses.

“Lin Ye, you beast! You’ll get your comeuppance!”

“We won’t let you go even if we become ghosts!”

With that, some people began to attack the light screen.

In a short while, the light screen shattered with a roar, but before they could chase Lin Ye, they collectively left the protection of the Star Bead.

Almost simultaneously, the surrounding black mist surged like startled tides, completely engulfing them.

In the darkness, countless blood-red vines shot out from all directions like sharks smelling blood.

“No~!”

Screams of agony exploded in the black mist, only to be instantly covered by the dull thud of bones and flesh being crushed by the vines.

In just a few breaths, all curses and cries faded into deathly silence, leaving only the faint “gurgling” sound of the blood vines absorbing vital blood, and the eerie red light flickering within the blood-colored fleshy tumors.

Lin Ye glanced back at the area swallowed by the black mist and blood vines, his eyes devoid of any ripples.

Instead, he took advantage of these vines being entangled with flesh and blood, quickened his pace, and disappeared deeper into the dense forest with the people beside him.

Finally, Lin Ye managed to lead the surviving crowd out of the dense forest.

The mist at the edge of the dense forest was torn open by the golden light of the Star Bead, and Lin Ye was the first to step onto the hard ground, letting out a sigh of relief.

The other surviving Cultivators stumbled after him; some collapsed on the ground, gasping for air, while others leaned against rocks, exhausted, trembling as they looked back in the direction they came from.

The screams from the dense forest seemed to still echo in their ears, and everyone’s face was filled with the daze of having survived a calamity.

Lin Ye stood still, slowly turning around.

The dense forest behind him gradually blurred under the shroud of black mist, the outlines of ancient towering trees like lurking behemoths, with occasional flashes of eerie red light between the branches, which were then swallowed by the thick shadows.

Watching this scene, Lin Ye’s mood was complex, without much joy.

After all, the losses this time were too great; the original team of nineteen people was now reduced to only ten, including Tang Fu and Deng Qi.

It should be noted that the Big Dipper Star Region originally had twenty-one people.

Now, without even seeing the Netherworld Darkfire, two-thirds had already been lost, which made Lin Ye somewhat worried about the path ahead.

“The most important thing is still Li Xiangyun…” Lin Ye couldn’t help but feel a bit regretful.

However, he did not intend to stop there; after a period of rest, Lin Ye led the group to continue their journey.

“Boss!”

“Brother Li!”

Tang Fu and Deng Qi reluctantly looked back at the dense forest, but in the end, they helplessly followed the team… Meanwhile, in the deepest part of the dense forest.

A hundred-zhang-tall Jade Root Tree stood like a pillar supporting the sky, its milky-white trunk covered with intricate flowing patterns, as if jade liquid slowly flowed beneath its bark.

Emerald green leaves layered one over another, obscuring the sky above, and the shimmering white spiritual light flowing between the leaves draped down like a curtain, weaving a sparkling net of light on the ground.

The air was filled with a sweet, marrow-like fragrance, and even the humus underfoot carried a faint, warm scent.

In the soil permeated by spiritual light, there even grew several transparent mosses, which would emit tiny specks of light when touched.

Who would have thought that in the deepest, dark, and terrifying part of this dense forest, such a sacred, jade-like ancient tree would grow?

And the main vine of the Blood-Eyed Vine Emperor, which had struck fear into Lin Ye and the others outside, was now coiling tightly around the trunk, climbing upwards like a dark red giant python, amidst the massive root system of the Jade Root Tree.

The main vine was as thick as a water bucket, its surface thorns gleaming coldly under the spiritual light, and each blood-stained leaf intertwined with the Jade Root Tree’s emerald leaves, yet remained distinctly separate.

The chilling bloodiness of the blood vine was isolated by the spiritual light to half a foot away; only at the points of contact between the two could one see dark purple sap and shimmering white jade marrow fluid silently merging, forming strange, two-colored ripples.

As for the ground at the base of the tree, it had long been occupied by the blood vine’s root system, with dark red vines weaving a dense net beneath the soil.

Occasionally, broken tendrils would seep out viscous blood, but when they dripped to the ground, they were quickly enveloped by the Jade Root Tree’s roots, transforming into a wisp of pale purple smoke that was absorbed.

That was the blood vine supplying nutrients to the Jade Root Tree.

The area around the giant tree was the most peculiar transitional zone.

The faint golden protective shield emitted by the Jade Root Tree’s spiritual core formed an invisible barrier here, containing all the light and making its existence completely undetectable.

Inside the shield, the blood-colored pupils of the blood vine retracted their fierce glow, and the red light became dim and soft.

Outside the shield, countless branches of the blood vine extended like slithering snakes into various parts of the dense forest, their red pupils in the fleshy tumors scanning everything vigilantly; any living creature approaching within a hundred zhang radius would be instantly strangled to death.

Vital blood flowed back along the main vine, eventually converging into the symbiotic node between the main vine and the Jade Root Tree.

Just then, the ground undulated, and Li Xiangyun, whom Lin Ye and the others thought might have died, appeared here safe and sound.