Chapter 699 - 698: Blood-Drinking Grass

Chapter 699: Chapter 698: Blood-Drinking Grass

After that minor incident, it was clear just how chaotic this place was. They hadn’t even truly entered and had already run into so many robbers. What would it be like deeper inside? A large part of the Desolate Bone Forest’s danger lay in the sheer number of bandits.

Those who entered alone or in small groups were easy targets. However, you didn’t become a target right after entering, but rather when you were on your way out.

Yi Tianyun and his companion arrived on a phoenix. A phoenix was a Divine Beast, and anyone who could use a Divine Beast as a mount was bound to have a formidable background. That was why the robbers had immediately surrounded them. They just never expected to encounter such a heaven-defying existence who could kill them so easily.

If they had a second chance, they would have run as far away as possible and never come back. It was simply a fatal misjudgment. Seeing how young their targets were, they assumed they couldn’t be too strong. Even if the three Spirit King Stage experts couldn’t win, they thought they could at least escape.

Who would have thought they would be killed instantly, without even a chance to flee? They dared to rob with such impunity largely because this was a desolate wasteland. Even if their targets were disciples from major factions, they weren’t afraid.

There were only two people out here. Who would know if they were killed? Even if someone found out they were dead, they would never know who did it. They had clearly done this sort of thing many times before; their practiced movements said it all.

"The Yin Qi here is incredibly dense. There’s poisonous fog everywhere. A normal Cultivator would have been poisoned long ago if they stayed here for any length of time," Yi Tianyun said, observing their surroundings. The area was filled with a toxic gas—a corpse poison, and a particularly potent one at that.

Anyone below the Core Formation Stage who entered would be walking to their death. That was because those at the Core Formation Stage and above could fly, allowing them to avoid some of it. Anyone with a lower cultivation level would be stuck walking on the ground.

While walking, they would inhale more and more of the toxic gas, making them extremely susceptible to poisoning. If no one was there to rescue them and give them an Antitoxic Pill, they would surely die here.

Even so, many people still ventured inside. Most were ordinary Loose Cultivators who had to take such risks for a chance to break through to the next level.

As they ventured deeper, the environment grew harsher. Though it was daytime, the forest was pitch-black, with a dark fog blanketing the sky above, making the place feel utterly grim.

"SWOOSH!"

Suddenly, countless vines shot up from below, closing in from all directions to seal off every escape route. The next moment, a gout of fire erupted, incinerating the encroaching vines.

The Immortal Fire traveled down the vines, and in the blink of an eye, it burned the entire tree to ashes. As it burned, a piercing shriek echoed out.

The sound was bizarre, like a person being burned alive. But a closer look revealed it was just a large tree on fire, which only made it more horrifying.

"Even the Demon Trees have a cultivation at the Void Spirit Stage or higher. This place really is dangerous," Yi Tianyun remarked, looking at the burning Demon Tree below. He couldn’t help but sigh. ’A perilous land is a perilous land. It’s truly dangerous.’

Anyone below the Void Spirit Stage really couldn’t come near this place. If you couldn’t even handle a single Demon Tree, how could you possibly search for treasure?

It just went to show that not even the sky was completely safe; there were plenty of Demon Trees here. Besides the Demon Trees, he could also see many Demon Beasts lying in ambush nearby. They simply hadn’t pounced because he hadn’t gotten close enough.

The Demon Beasts here were all high-level. The weakest were at the Core Formation Stage, and he had even spotted some at the eighth or ninth level of the Void Spirit Stage. If they were to attack, they would be a fatal threat.

"Yes, it’s too dangerous. I just hope Sister doesn’t run into any trouble..." Shi Xueyun said, her voice filled with worry. The deeper they flew, the more dangerous it felt.

If not for Yi Tianyun’s protection, she would have been trapped here. She was used to acting alone, which meant calling for help was next to impossible. They had hardly seen anyone else on their way, so getting help would have been extremely difficult.

"Don’t worry. I have a feeling we’re almost there. Let’s pick up the pace a bit..." Yi Tianyun held her tighter, and his speed suddenly surged, propelling them forward even faster.

Their previous speed was already fast, but their new speed was simply astonishing.

...

Meanwhile, in the gloomy mountain forest ahead, a stunningly beautiful woman was hiding, her gaze fixed on a pitch-black abyss in the distance. She had been crouching there for an unknown amount of time, completely concealing her aura. It was as if she had merged with the surrounding rocks, making her invisible to any outside observer.

’Why hasn’t it come out yet? It’s been two weeks...’ The woman’s gaze was as sharp as a hawk’s, locked onto the area before her.

Finally, a bloody light flickered ahead, and a small, blood-red blade of grass crawled out from the ground. The woman’s eyes lit up, and her heart began to race, but she did not act immediately.

After crawling out, the blade of grass began to absorb the Yin Qi from the air, drawing it in continuously. It didn’t absorb for long, however, before it noticed several dense clumps of Yin Qi up ahead, which drew its attention.

The blade of grass actually ran over and plunged headfirst into one of the clumps, beginning to absorb it frantically. Like someone who hadn’t had a drink in years, it greedily devoured the Yin Qi.

But before it could devour much, countless rays of light suddenly burst from the ground, forming a sturdy cage that enveloped the blade of grass. Beams of light then wrapped around it, binding it tightly!

The blade of grass struggled, letting out "WHIRR WHIRR" sounds as it released red Blood Qi from its body to corrode the light beams binding it. Under the force of its surging Yin Qi, the beams of light actually began to rapidly dissolve.

At that moment, however, the woman hiding nearby shot out like a sharp arrow, her hands rapidly forming a series of Hand Seals. The great array binding the grass erupted with a dazzling light, wrapping around the blade of grass again and again until it was bound up like a dumpling.

Finally, when the blade of grass was bound so tightly it could no longer move, a look of delight appeared on her face. She hurried over, took out a Jade Box, placed the blade of grass inside, and sealed it.

"Excellent! I finally caught the Blood-Drinking Grass! All these years of effort weren’t wasted after all..." she exclaimed, overjoyed. But just as she was about to put it away, four pillars of light suddenly shot down into the ground around her, forming a cage that locked down the area—in truth, they were four chains.

"Jiao Linghe, we really must thank you for helping us catch the Blood-Drinking Grass. If it weren’t for you, we never would have caught it so easily. We could never have inscribed a Gathering Yin Array like this. It would’ve been incredibly difficult to catch without it."

Just then, four Spirit King Stage experts descended from the sky, each of them eyeing the woman with a sinister smile. And she was Jiao Linghe—Yi Tianyun’s mother!