More than ten three-horned savage beasts stirred restlessly ahead. Yun Lie stood to one side and did not intervene.
Xu Ziqing stood quietly behind, watching the creatures surge forward, his heart perfectly calm.
Then he extended one hand.
As his five pale fingers curled, true essence resounded, and a blood-red seed appeared in his palm.
The seed fell to the ground and quickly sank into the soil. An instant later, a sharp cry sounded, and dozens of blood-red vines burst from the earth with a roar!
Every vine was dozens of zhang long and as thick as a bowl. They were exceptionally hard. When one happened to strike the ground, it cracked soil and stone, revealing astonishing power.
The vines swept forward like a great tide, pressed closely together like a thick carpet, and plunged straight into the savage-beast herd. In an instant, every three-horned beast was pierced by at least two vines. Their hides split, and within a few breaths their flesh and blood had been drained dry!
Xu Ziqing stretched his right arm forward. All the vines returned, carrying the beasts’ inner cores in their coils. Once he had collected the cores, they suddenly shortened and thinned until they disappeared underground. They reverted to a single red seed, which Xu Ziqing caught in his palm before it vanished.
This ability to manifest the demon vine from its seed was something Xu Ziqing had suddenly comprehended after Rongjin developed thirty-two branches. It seemed to be a mystery contained within the Great Art of Myriad Woods Heart-Planting, naturally emerging in his mind for him to cultivate when he reached a certain stage of the art.
As Xu Ziqing’s life-bound wood, Rongjin was the very foundation upon which he cultivated this great art. Once the life-bound wood acquired the divine ability to manifest from a seed, all his secondary and subordinate woods could use similar abilities as well. One could only imagine the power this cultivation art would possess when practiced to its highest level!
And that was precisely what Xu Ziqing relied upon.
After withdrawing Rongjin, he turned toward Yun Lie. “Senior Brother?”
Yun Lie nodded slightly. “Rongjin’s power is now useful in earnest.” Then he glanced over Xu Ziqing. “How is the blood-malice qi?”
Xu Ziqing felt as though that one glance could see through every layer of him, inside and out. He immediately grew bashful and uncomfortable.
He was rather ashamed, but he really had felt a flicker of romantic longing… He promptly suppressed it.
Steadying himself, he smiled. “The malignant qi of three-horned savage beasts can no longer harm me.”
The higher Xu Ziqing’s cultivation rose and the more branches Rongjin developed, the more dispersed the blood-malice qi gathered from its meals became. Its influence upon him diminished accordingly, and he could resolve it completely in little time.
Only when Rongjin consumed a Golden Core Perfected One would the resulting ferocious qi still require him to take down the Bitter Bamboo Flute and play a tune to dispel it.
Yun Lie knew he never exaggerated. He nodded. “Remain mindful of it yourself.”
Xu Ziqing’s heart stirred, and the smile upon his face became even gentler. “Yes, Senior Brother.”
At that moment an eagle cried high in the sky, followed by the sound of wings cleaving the air.
Xu Ziqing smiled and looked up. A magnificent eagle clothed in golden feathers swooped downward, glittering with brilliant light. Perched atop its huge head was a small white bundle, no larger than a pellet by comparison, making the sight both comical and adorable.
Chonghua was a demon beast. Although it had become Xu Ziqing’s companion, its bestial nature should not be entirely suppressed. Accordingly, he had been allowing it to fly over the plains during the past few days, surveying the land from above and gaining experience.
Hu Xue’er was already remarkably cunning for her young age. When Chonghua was released from its Beast-Controlling Token, she naturally refused to remain shut inside alone. Somehow, through begging and wheedling, she had persuaded the eagle to carry her on its back and take her circling through the sky.
Xu Ziqing did not know why they had descended now, but he stretched out his right arm and waved toward them.
The next instant, Chonghua swooped down to land.
A powerful rush of air swept outward, blowing the surrounding wild grass aside in a violent tangle.
Chonghua spread its wings like clouds hanging from the heavens, casting a broad shadow. Its talons gripped the earth firmly, their steel-like strength crushing a great mass of soil and stone.
Hu Xue’er kicked with her hind legs and sprang straight from the eagle’s back.
Xu Ziqing sighed helplessly and raised both hands, catching her with ease.
Whatever the eagle and fox had communicated to one another earlier, Chonghua now returned to the sky, leaving Hu Xue’er behind.
Xu Ziqing’s lips curved. “Have you grown tired of flying, Xue’er?”
The little fox twisted and wriggled, her round black eyes bright with intelligence. Suddenly she leapt to the ground again and caught her master’s trouser leg between her teeth.
Xu Ziqing did not know whether to laugh or sigh. “What is it?”
Hu Xue’er pulled with all her might, her four short legs straining, yet could not move him in the slightest. She grew so anxious that she began crying “Wuu, wuu!” over and over.
Xu Ziqing understood. “…You want me to follow you?”
Her eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded.
Xu Ziqing crouched and picked her up again, then asked Yun Lie, “What do you think, Senior Brother?”
Yun Lie glanced at the fox, his expression unchanged. “Heavenly Foxes have keen senses. She must have discovered something.”
Xu Ziqing smiled. “Then let’s follow her.”
Yun Lie agreed.
Only then did Xu Ziqing stroke the cub’s fluffy head. “You can’t pull me along. If you want to show us the way, why not use your tail? It will be much clearer.”
Hu Xue’er’s eyes shifted thoughtfully, and she immediately lifted her long white tail.
Xu Ziqing was curious. Where could such a tiny Heavenly Fox be planning to lead them?
Yun Lie and Xu Ziqing walked side by side, following the direction the fox’s tail indicated.
The two had already slaughtered many savage-beast herds in this region of the plains, so few large groups remained nearby. Yet the direction Hu Xue’er indicated did not lead through an area full of slaughtered beasts. Instead, traces of savage beasts grew scarcer and scarcer, until eventually none remained at all.
It was almost as though the beasts had been driven away.
Xu Ziqing formed a suspicion and glanced toward Yun Lie.
Yun Lie nodded slightly.
Xu Ziqing understood. His guess was probably correct.
After they advanced a few more steps, the mist across the plains seemed to thicken.
Gradually it took on the appearance of milk, quite different from the faint blood-red hue characteristic of areas where savage beasts gathered.
The farther they went, the denser the mist became, until it almost swallowed both of their figures.
An ominous premonition abruptly arose in Xu Ziqing’s mind.
Senior Brother!
Before he could call out, someone seized his wrist. Five fingers like steel held it firmly.
It was… his senior brother.
Xu Ziqing relaxed a little. Setting aside his private feelings, he returned the grasp and held Yun Lie’s hand. “Senior Brother, there’s something strange about this mist.”
Yun Lie was clearly beside him, yet his figure was so thoroughly obscured that Xu Ziqing could not make him out at all. But Yun Lie answered his words. “Don’t let your attention wander.”
“I understand, Senior Brother,” Xu Ziqing replied.
Mist this dense could not be ordinary. Having entered it together, they must not become separated if they wished to emerge safely.
Countless possibilities flashed through Xu Ziqing’s mind. Perhaps the mist was a natural barrier, a formation, or some divine ability. Whatever its origin, anything capable of blocking their spiritual senses could not be simple.
They walked for an unknown length of time. Their five senses grew increasingly muddled, and their minds gradually became irritable.
Xu Ziqing quietly suppressed the feeling. He discarded his other perceptions and concentrated entirely on the contact between their hands. His senior brother remained as steady as an immovable mountain. The strength of Yun Lie’s grip was exactly as it had been at the beginning, without the slightest change.
Yun Lie’s composure soon allowed Xu Ziqing to calm himself as well.
Xu Ziqing reflected that he still fell somewhat short of his senior brother’s ability to remain unruffled in the face of unexpected events.
As they continued onward, no matter how tedious and monotonous the journey became, he was no longer shaken.
They walked for a long time afterward, until Xu Ziqing could no longer distinguish the passage of time.
Gradually, however, his five senses began to sharpen again.
Perhaps the mist was thinning? He considered briefly and stopped.
Yun Lie halted at the same instant and said quietly, “Conceal our forms.”
Xu Ziqing was startled. Had his senior brother discovered something?
Yun Lie said, “You possess a cultivation art that conceals auras exceptionally well. In that respect, mine is inferior.”
Xu Ziqing paused. Then he understood, and his astonishment deepened.
Did Senior Brother mean for him to use the Wood-Escape Aura-Concealment Art to merge his aura completely with the surrounding vegetation… and to conceal both of them together?
Their spiritual senses could now extend outward again, but Yun Lie had not released his hand.
Xu Ziqing liked being close to his senior brother and did not take the initiative to let go either. Instead he sent his spiritual sense slowly forward.
Half a li, one li, two li… Not far ahead, the fog grew thinner and visibility improved.
Within the reach of his spiritual sense, Xu Ziqing saw countless green grasses and low trees. There were also many small hills, none as tall as the peaks of their immortal sect, but rare enough upon these flat plains.
Every little hill emanated a faintly ominous sensation.
Demonic qi filled the area, vastly different from the territories where savage beasts gathered.
Xu Ziqing’s suspicion had now been largely confirmed.
Countless demon beasts dwelled on the Savage Beast Plains alongside the herds of savage beasts. This must be one of the places they inhabited. The heavy mist was likely a natural barrier released by those demon beasts, preventing savage beasts, cultivators, and martial artists from entering their territory easily.
Many of the auras within were immensely powerful, exceeding even those of Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie. No wonder Yun Lie was so cautious, to the point of asking Xu Ziqing to employ his strongest concealment technique.
Yun Lie’s aura was, after all, extremely powerful, and his Ruthless Slaughter Sword Intent overwhelmingly domineering.
He also possessed concealment methods, but amid a wilderness filled with grass, his Metal qi was unusually conspicuous. When he concealed himself, he could escape the perception of those at his own cultivation level, but not necessarily of those above him.
Xu Ziqing’s Wood-Escape Aura-Concealment Art was altogether different. It allowed him to merge almost completely with the surrounding plants. Unless someone possessed an even more advanced concealment technique, they would be unable to detect him. This was one of the extraordinary properties of an art derived from a legendary cultivation method.
Demon beasts possessed numerous innate divine abilities, but those abilities were often less unpredictable and sophisticated than the countless arts cultivated by humans.
Xu Ziqing understood his senior brother’s intention at once. He moved a little closer, then slowly released the true essence within his body.
That true essence carried gentle Wood qi. The moment it emerged, it adopted the aura of the surrounding grasses, becoming indistinguishable from them. The Wood qi rose swiftly, and within a single breath it had enveloped both Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie.
To any observer, the two would now seem no different from the endless grass around them. So long as Xu Ziqing could maintain his true essence, no one would discover them, unless that person was a Wood-attribute cultivator possessing an exceptionally high-grade cultivation art.