169: Chapter 169 Blue Steel Devouring Vine

Nie Ning did not return to the manor for the next two days, and on the third day, Horun brought news, telling him that Lilith and the others had left Ska City.

Nie Ning couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness and shame in his heart.

Because while promising Norma, it was actually a manifestation of selfishness.

He had been restricted here for too long; he wanted to go out and travel, yet he stayed here because of Lilith.

Or rather, whether he left or not, that invisible shackle was bound to him, and many times he felt a sense of being unable to act of his own volition.

He could persevere for ten or twenty years, but he wasn't sure if he could hold out for fifty or a hundred; he might even develop feelings of resentment because of it.

At this moment, his mood couldn't be described as good or bad, it was more a sense of melancholy and a thirst for strength.

Perhaps if he were stronger, he wouldn't have to think so much, and any troublesome matter could be easily resolved.

...

Night.

Wantai Forest.

Nie Ning held the necklace, his gaze looking into the distance.

Opposite him was a patch of barren, desolate land, with no greenery other than withered weeds.

Lilith had not taken this necklace with her before leaving.

Perhaps she forgot, or perhaps she didn't want it anymore; regardless, the necklace now belonged to Nie Ning.

Last time, he had followed the beam of light from the necklace, but ultimately turned back after encountering the Ethereal Claw-Rending Eagle.

But now, even though he had crossed the Wantai Forest and reached its edge, he still hadn't seen what the necklace was pointing toward.

"It seems the distance is quite far; I probably won't be able to get there in a short time."

Nie Ning pondered for a moment before finally putting the necklace away.

Calculating the time, the Nalaiesi Believers should be returning soon; he needed to send out that 'grand gift' first.

Retracing his original path, Nie Ning soon returned to the Stone Chamber.

His magic stones were nearly exhausted now, and he didn't know when Lida would return; he could only teleport one last time.

He had to hunt enough second-tier exotic beasts, or find two third-tier exotic beasts.

As Nie Ning stepped onto the Teleportation Array, a flash of blue light appeared and Nie Ning vanished.

...

Returning to the Fertile Mountains, Nie Ning stood atop a peak gazing into the distance, listening to the roars of beasts within the forest.

After slightly discerning the direction, Nie Ning headed straight for the nearest source of a beast's roar.

To prevent being targeted by powerful flying birds, Nie Ning flew close to the tree canopy the entire way.

Suddenly, a wave of malice was transmitted to him.

Nie Ning's expression froze slightly as he stopped to scan the surroundings, trying to determine the source of the malice.

Just then, the canopy beneath Nie Ning shifted slightly, and immediately after, a massive dark-red flower bud lunged toward him.

Seeing this, lightning surged in Nie Ning's palm as he hurriedly summoned two Wind-Thunder Blades to slash at the bud.

The flower bud swallowed the Wind-Thunder Blades in one gulp, then spat a cloud of green mist at Nie Ning.

Sensing something was wrong, Nie Ning quickly activated his Ice Wings and flew rapidly upward.

But at that moment, the patch of large trees below began to shake violently.

Immediately, a large number of vines crawled out from within, striking at Nie Ning like venomous snakes.

Seeing no way to dodge, the combat qi within Nie Ning's body erupted; the resulting shockwave blew the green mist away, and he then summoned a large number of Wind Blades to slash at the surrounding vines.

The Wind Blades struck the vines, sending sparks flying; seeing this, Nie Ning's expression changed.

"Green Steel Devouring Strange Vine!"

Without any hesitation, Nie Ning did the opposite of what was expected and charged rapidly toward the large trees below.

Seeing this, the vines turned around and, together with that nearly two-meter-wide flower bud, chased after the diving Nie Ning.

As Nie Ning passed through the leaves below, he hurriedly summoned the Jerky Bear Head from within his body.

The Jerky Bear Head condensed into form and opened its bloody maw, swallowing Nie Ning in one gulp.

The instant the vines were about to catch up, the Jerky Bear Head dove directly into the shadows and vanished.

A hundred meters away, a massive bear head emerged from the shadows on the ground.

As the bloody maw opened, Nie Ning stepped out from the bear's mouth and immediately fled into the distance.

Behind Nie Ning, a large number of vines stood upright eerily; the slightly quivering vines seemed angry that their prey had escaped.

...

After escaping to a distance of a thousand meters, Nie Ning finally stopped with lingering fear in his heart.

"Damn, I was almost scared to death!"

The Green Steel Devouring Strange Vine was a territorial plant with a coverage range of about a thousand meters.

Its vines were harder than steel, and the flower buds emitted a paralyzing neurotoxin; the moment one was touched by it, symptoms of mental trance would appear.

Once bound by it, a continuous stream of hard vines would seize the opportunity to swarm up.

In such a situation, the neurotoxin never missed; being hit meant certain death.

Never mind him; even a fourth-tier creature would likely never return if it entered.

He had wondered why the Wind-Thunder Blades hadn't broken that flower bud; he only realized the problem when he used Wind Blades to try and cut the vines.

Fortunately, he ran fast just now; if he had been any slower, he was afraid he would have become nutrients for those plants.

After thinking it over, Nie Ning didn't dare to continue provoking the Green Steel Devouring Strange Vine.

Covetous as he was, with his strength, if he were entangled by the vines, he would have no choice but to sever a limb to survive; it was simply not an existence he could mess with.

Nie Ning didn't dare to head in that direction anymore.

A thousand meters was only the theoretical range; in reality, the size of such a plant could not be accurately determined.

Moreover, the core was located at the center of the vine area, and since the plant's attacks were based on survival instinct, the determination of malice was very vague; even Malice Perception couldn't detect where the vines would appear from.

"Time to slip away."

The Ice Wings behind Nie Ning flapped as he quickly fled in the opposite direction.

...

Before long, Nie Ning found a second-tier Black Copper Light Bird Insect.

The Black Copper Light Bird Insect was an insect-like exotic beast only a meter in size.

It looked similar to a turtle, with its entire body covered in a dark-gold shell, possessing two pairs of symmetrical wings, no hands or feet, and only a bird-like head.

Its flying speed was extremely fast, and its shell would form a gas shield; when it attacked, the shield would shatter and explode, similar to a self-detonation.

However, due to its hard shell and unique physiological structure, it would absorb the shock from the explosion, so even a close-range blast wouldn't harm itself.

The Black Copper Light Bird Insect was a very troublesome creature.

They usually appeared in groups of three or more; the power of their self-detonation was something even Nie Ning couldn't fully withstand, yet their shells could withstand the attacks of a Second-Tier Wizard.

Unfortunately, Nie Ning had no choice.

It wasn't easy to encounter a second-tier exotic beast; he had to find a way to kill it no matter what.

Furthermore, this kind of exotic beast could create shield explosions, proving it possessed impressive spell-casting control abilities, which was exactly the kind of exotic beast Nie Ning needed.

As long as he could kill and devour it, it would surely improve his meditation speed!

...