350: On the Correct Approach to Running Away

Shen Bei, holding the full-length mirror Zhuang Bifan had thrown to him, combined with Zhuang Bifan's shout, knew exactly what he was going to do.

His Hidden Breath Technique could largely avoid being chased by the Black Tiger Vicious Beast, but Zhuang Bifan did not possess the Hidden Breath Technique.

To avoid being targeted by the Black Tiger, there was only one way: to enter the mirror world.

The next moment.

Zhuang Bifan melted into the mirror, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Shen Bei rolled his eyes.

Damn, he's quite resourceful.

At this moment, all Qi on Shen Bei's body vanished, and he transformed into a human-shaped stone, slowly walking towards the strange forest as if strolling through a market.

The surrounding trees gradually changed their appearance; towering trees slowly disappeared, replaced by banyan-like trees. The trees were not tall, and aerial roots hung down from their branches, densely covering the ground, forming a tangled mess of roots.

Roar.

A roar, and a strong wind surged from behind, uprooting trees. A Demonic Wind howled, and before the Black Tiger Vicious Beast's figure was even seen, Shen Bei's cheeks were already stinging from the wind, as if being buffeted by the biting frost of winter, his skin almost being cut off.

Shen Bei remained unhurried, stopping in his tracks and standing still, watching the Black Tiger Vicious Beast approach.

In the blink of an eye, the Black Tiger Vicious Beast landed in front of Shen Bei.

Its copper-bell-sized eyes stared intently at Shen Bei.

It sniffed its nose, seemingly doubting its tiger life.

In the Black Tiger's eyes, there were clearly two humans invading, but in an instant, they were gone without a trace, all Qi vanished.

Although Shen Bei's posture resembled the human from before, he emitted no vital signs whatsoever; he was just a stone.

The Black Tiger Vicious Beast would not gnaw on stones, doing such a boring thing.

It turned its head to look around, seemingly still trying to find the human scent.

But the next moment.

Extreme terror suddenly erupted in the Black Tiger's pupils, as if it had seen a natural enemy, panicking.

Shen Bei looked at the Black Tiger's expression, tilted his head, wondering if it felt like he had stumbled into some great ominous place?

And the Black Tiger Vicious Beast no longer bothered to search for Shen Bei and Zhuang Bifan, letting out a low growl and turning to flee.

But in the next breath.

In the originally deathly silent dense forest, a surging vitality suddenly exploded. The intertwined roots on the ground instantly seemed to come alive, transforming into countless thick giant pythons, clustering and stacking, forming a python ball, encircling from all directions.

In a flash, before the Black Tiger Vicious Beast could escape, it was surrounded and trapped. There were roots beneath the ground, the aerial roots of the surrounding banyan trees also began to writhe, and overhead, a vast net formed by branches and canopies blocked the sky.

The Black Tiger Vicious Beast was furious and anxious, letting out a roar. The Demonic Wind raged, Demonic Qi soared, like countless blades chiming together, crushing everything. The encircling roots, aerial roots, and branches all turned into dust in this Demonic Wind.

Unfortunately, the Black Tiger Vicious Beast's speed of tearing was fast, but the roots surging from behind were even more overwhelming and endless. The entire forest, at this moment, seemed to have come alive.

The battle turned into a pure war of attrition.

And although Shen Bei had turned into a stone, he was too close to the battlefield and was tightly entangled by a root, bound to a tree trunk, watching the battle not far away with wide eyes.

After about half an hour, only a mournful cry and a shrill scream from the Black Tiger Vicious Beast could be heard from within the cluster of countless roots.

Not long after, the roots that had formed a large ball retreated, revealing a tattered, lusterless black tiger skin draped over a skeletal frame.

Seeing this, Shen Bei knew that there was a Banyan Essence Spirit here, with tentacles covering at least tens of miles.

In the Earth Cave World, there are not only Vicious Beasts, but also Essence Spirits that have been exposed to the essence of the sun and moon, achieving great terror.

These Essence Spirits are different from Vicious Beasts; Vicious Beasts can move, while most Essence Spirits are herbaceous plants that have become spirits, staying in one place, waiting for prey to come to them.

Of course, some Essence Spirits can move, but very slowly.

And after Shen Bei escaped into this place, besides the banyan trees, he couldn't even see a single weed; birds and beasts were extinct, and the sound of insects was absent. How could he not know that this was a Essence Spirit tree demon, and it was already strong enough to devour all life and vitality here?

After a battle, the strange forest became quiet again.

Shen Bei also broke free from the roots' bondage and landed on the ground.

Looking back at the Black Tiger Yao Beast, its fur had lost its luster, and its bones seemed to have decayed for thousands of years, losing all value as Materials.

The Black Tiger Yao Beast's Qi and essence, its entire flesh and blood, had been purified and completely devoured.

“What a waste…”

Muttering to himself, Shen Bei looked at the Banyan Essence Spirit again, and his eyes grew greedy.

“Old Bi, do you think this bark has any value?”

Shen Bei asked Zhuang Bifan in the mirror.

Zhuang Bifan replied confidently: “Definitely. Essence Spirits are not very common, and the Materials obtained domestically are not many. We can collect some and study their uses later.”

“You're just trying to trick me.”

Shen Bei walked past the Banyan Essence Spirit, talking to himself.

Although Shen Bei had asked the question, he wasn't foolish enough to peel the Banyan Essence Spirit's bark.

If he so much as touched it, the Banyan Essence Spirit wouldn't care about anything, and would even smash him to pieces, even if he were a stone.

He couldn't touch it. He honestly suppressed his greed and just needed to pass through this area and move forward quickly.

“Look at you, you asked the question, and you're calling me a trickster?” Zhuang Bifan's tone was somewhat displeased.

Shen Bei's expression changed repeatedly, but he finally said calmly: “Shouldn't a good friend add a reminder?”

“Aren't you very fierce?”

“Fierce doesn't mean invincible.”

“At least half invincible.”

“You understand PUA.”

Zhuang Bifan scoffed and stopped talking.

Shen Bei carried the mirror and walked through the strange forest for about an hour before the scenery changed.

Actually, if Shen Bei had fully unleashed his power, this distance would have been a trivial matter of three to five minutes.

But because he had to maintain the effect of the Hidden Breath Technique to prevent being sensed by the Banyan Essence Spirit and avoid having his essence and blood drained, he could only inch forward step by step.

It must be said that while the Hidden Breath Technique was useful, its drawbacks were also extremely obvious.

That is, moving around was like a great-grandmother using a crutch.

The journey was as slow as a snail.

After completely leaving the Banyan Essence Spirit's root range.

Zhuang Bifan jumped out of the mirror.

Originally, Shen Bei wanted to throw the full-length mirror to Zhuang Bifan.

Zhuang Bifan waved his hand: “Keep it on you, so I can run away anytime.”

Shen Bei: …

Damn you.

How can you say that so righteously, without blushing or a racing heart?!

Shen Bei gave him a contemptuous look: “Coward.”

“I admit it.” Zhuang Bifan said with extreme thick skin.

In this great being's enchantment, the beginning was an Eighth-Rank Vicious Beast; who knew how many dangers lay ahead.

Being prepared to run was the smartest choice.

The two laughed and cursed along the way, unknowingly arriving at a swamp. They stopped, and Shen Bei looked at the swamp, frowning slightly.

The swamp looked ordinary, but it was covered in thin mist and exuded miasma. Just standing on the edge and sniffing it caused a slight feeling of dizziness.

Shen Bei was certain that this miasma was not poisonous gas, otherwise he would definitely not have felt dizzy.

He strained his eyesight again, but could not see any sign of life inside. The sparse aquatic plants all exuded a deathly stillness.

Based on previous experience, such a place definitely held great danger; either the swamp itself was incredibly dangerous, or there was something terrifying within it.

The two discussed for a while and decided to bypass the swamp, going around it from the side.

Half a day later, they finally rounded the swamp, but when they looked up, their faces froze.

The few trees on the left, and the faintly visible traces, even the distribution of aquatic plants and puddles in the swamp, were exactly the same as what they had seen before.

They had returned to the starting point again!