27: Bloodthirsty Demon Tree, Netherworld Lamp Grass

In a valley filled with the stench of decay, strange ancient trees were everywhere, their fine branches hanging down like vines or ropes.

Beneath the trees, withered bones and severed limbs of Yao Beasts could be found from time to time.

Su Ling walked forward carefully, his footsteps churning up the smell of rot from the thick layer of leaves beneath him.

His two mid-grade magical artifacts, the mysterious armor shield and the black iron flying sword, firmly protected him.

The nether flower and yin gui fungus were both Yin-natured spiritual items, favoring damp, decaying environments filled with Death Qi.

When Su Ling discovered this valley, this was the first thing that came to his mind.

After witnessing a Rank One Yao Beast being bound and devoured by a weird tree, Su Ling considered it repeatedly before finally stepping inside with the utmost vigilance.

Mo Jinghun's mission was the top priority.

Otherwise, even if he made it out alive, he would likely end up dead in the end.

After the blood sacrifice incident, everyone understood that when one's strength was low, they had to prove themselves or be more useful than a corpse.

The forest of weird trees grew denser, and Su Ling inevitably entered the range covered by the branches.

Vine-like branches suddenly raised their tips, striking like venomous snakes.

Su Ling suppressed the urge to cut them with his Flying Sword, instead projecting his mana shield outward to test the strength of the branches' attacks.

Ripples of mana spread out, but the mana shield remained perfectly intact.

He felt slightly more at ease, estimating that the strength of the outer weird trees was only comparable to Rank One Yao Beasts.

They posed no threat for the time being.

He then controlled his Flying Sword, severing all the attacking branches in an instant.

The severed branches fell to the ground and quickly turned grey and withered.

Su Ling's heart stirred, and he pulled one of the branches into his hand.

[Bloodthirsty Tree, Rank One Demon Creature]

"So it's called a Bloodthirsty Tree."

In the distance, a lush and towering giant tree stood tall.

Vaguely, more exceptionally tall trees could be seen behind it.

"I wonder if it's comparable to the Late Foundation Establishment Stage or Core Formation?"

Su Ling's gaze was solemn; if there were nether flowers and yin gui fungi here, they were most likely within the range of those giant trees.

Taking a deep breath, his wind-riding boots emitted a faint green light, leaving behind a trail of phantoms as he flashed toward the distance.

Along the way, Su Ling effortlessly cut down any branches that dared to reach out for him.

It wasn't until he encountered a Rank Two Bloodthirsty Tree, comparable to the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, that his pace slowed down.

Besides stronger branch attacks, the Rank Two Bloodthirsty Tree could also use its leaves like flying daggers.

However, the attack power was still within the mysterious armor shield's endurance range; for Su Ling, it was merely a slight nuisance.

Spending a bit of time, he cut down this Bloodthirsty Tree.

From the core of the tree, Su Ling found a spirit crystal emitting dense wood-attribute spiritual power.

[wood spirit crystal, the mana core of a Rank Two Bloodthirsty Tree]

The Yao Beast manual provided by the Sect recorded that Rank Two Yao Beasts had Yao cores, while those above Rank Three had Yao dans.

For plant-type demon creatures, their cores were collectively known as wood spirit crystals.

Due to the dense wood-attribute Spiritual Qi, wood spirit crystals could be used for refining Magical Artifacts and Medicinal Pills, cultivating spiritual plants, recovering from injuries, assisting in cultivation, and so on.

"It's actually somewhat useful to me."

Su Ling had Gold, Wood, and Lightning triple-attribute Spiritual Roots; the wood spirit crystal was a good match for his attributes, making it easier for him to use than for Cultivators without a Wood Spiritual Root.

With this discovery, he was in no hurry to explore the area where the giant tree was located.

Wind Blade Technique, Dark Poison Vine, Fire Cloud Sword, and Ice Thorn Technique were cast one after another.

Su Ling had rarely used these Rank One Spells back in the Underground World.

Now that he had to stay in the Secret Realm for three years, every means at his disposal might prove useful.

Besides, the Sect had already sacrificed so many members; killing a few fellow Disciples in the Secret Realm was nothing.

It was only natural to know a few more Spells!

Su Ling even practiced several Rank Two Spells included in the Vast Sea Art.

Although he didn't have a Water Spiritual Root or Cultivate the Vast Sea Art, he had the support of abundant and extremely refined mana.

The Frost Technique Su Ling cast was thirty percent more powerful than Li Huan's.

With a single strike, he could completely freeze a Rank Two Bloodthirsty Tree with a coverage area of ten square zhang.

With a thrust of his Flying Sword, the entire tree trunk shattered into pieces.

It was perfect for dealing with Bloodthirsty Trees that used leaves and branches for area attacks.

Just as Su Ling was still several li away from the giant Bloodthirsty Tree, intense battle fluctuations suddenly came from ahead.

The branches of the giant tree, which covered a radius of one li, also began to dance wildly.

Su Ling's heart stirred; he activated a breath concealment talisman and quietly crept over... "Zhao Mo, use your movement technique to distract the demon tree!"

"Liu Chuang, I'll handle defense; you just focus on releasing the Fire Snake Technique!"

Three Xuanming Sect Foundation Establishment Disciples in their signature grey robes were battling the giant tree.

One of them, holding a giant shield and a sharp sword, constantly blocked and hacked at the attacking branches while directing the other two to counterattack.

"Liu Chuang, hurry up, I can't hold out much longer!"

The Foundation Establishment Disciple named Zhao Mo moved like willow catkins, dodging back and forth among the numerous attacking branches.

A bronze mirror spun rapidly beside him, adding a layer of mana protection.

"I know!"

Liu Chuang formed hand seals, surging his mana to quickly release several winding fire snakes to meet the falling leaves.

Using fire to counter wood was more effective against the demon tree's large-scale attacks.

Fire-attribute Spells were more effective.

This was the scene Su Ling witnessed when he crept near the trio.

After scanning the surroundings, he immediately understood why these three were unwilling to leave despite the difficult fight.

Beneath this Rank Two Bloodthirsty Tree, which was comparable to the Middle Foundation Establishment Stage, was a sludge swamp ten zhang wide, with a patch of purple nether lamp grass growing in the center.

nether lamp grass favored Yin and devoured souls; it had no medicinal value itself.

However, it was an excellent material for refining High Grade beast soul banners. According to the Sect's contribution points, a single stalk could be exchanged for one hundred points.

The patch before him had dozens of stalks.

These three, all at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, were quite lucky to have gathered together within a day of arriving at the Cuiye Secret Realm.

Moreover, it seemed they knew each other beforehand and coordinated quite well.

Su Ling watched for a while and, seeing they were still handling it, decided to keep waiting.

He wasn't a bloodthirsty person; he just wanted to wait for the right moment while these three cleared the way.

If he found a nether flower or yin gui fungus, it wouldn't be too late to act then.

But just as he made up his mind, the situation in the field changed abruptly.

Sensing that the three insects were not easy to deal with, droplets of blood-red sap suddenly seeped out from the giant Bloodthirsty Tree's bark.

A faint fishy smell, accompanied by a red mist, quickly spread.

Enveloped by the fishy smell, the eyes of Zhao Mo and the others instantly became bloodshot, and their auras began to turn erratic.

"Not good! This mist is poisonous, retreat!"

Zhao Mo, who was closest, stumbled and was instantly sent flying by a dozen branches, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Fortunately, the shield released by the bronze mirror Magical Artifact was strong enough, and this strike didn't cause him much harm.

Crying out in alarm, he quickly scrambled up and fled into the distance.

Liu Chuang and the fellow Disciple responsible for defense also retreated without hesitation.

However, before the three could flee more than ten zhang, their movements became sluggish.