Only now did Xu Ziqing realize that he was still within Yun Lie’s arm. Though he liked being close to his senior brother, this was hardly an appropriate place or time.
He released his grip and recalled the Qingyun Needles, leaving them floating protectively around him.
Yun Lie said, “Ten Thousand Snakes Valley.”
Xu Ziqing nodded seriously. “Yes. I’ll be careful.”
This was indeed Ten Thousand Snakes Valley.
On the fragmentary map Xuan Ze had displayed, several demon-beast dens were marked in red within the tiger-shaped mountain range.
One of them was Ten Thousand Snakes Valley.
Xu Ziqing now realized how powerful the suction inside the dark passage had been. Though the group had entered together, they had been scattered. If he had not clung to Yun Lie, even the two of them might have landed apart. The mountain range had not looked particularly large on the map, but now they could not even see its end.
Finding the others across such a vast territory would be difficult.
But there was no time to dwell on it. Despite the circle of sword intent protecting them, the poisonous snakes gathered in greater numbers, piling into small mountains of writhing bodies. Their tongues flickered and their poisons combined into clouds of venomous mist!
None of the snakes in Ten Thousand Snakes Valley were ordinary animals. Even the weakest were first-rank demon beasts. Innumerable greater and lesser leaders occupied the ranks above them, culminating in a pair of royal snakes called the Yin-Yang Mother-and-Child Snakes. Male and female, these two lustful creatures were at the peak of sixth rank, just short of advancing to seventh-rank demon serpents comparable to Nascent Soul ancestors!
Fortunately, Xu Ziqing possessed a single Wood spiritual root. The Wood qi emanating from him could filter out poison, allowing him to endure. Without it, the mist would have invaded all seven apertures the moment he landed, poisoning him internally and killing him on the spot.
Even so, they could not stay here long.
Yun Lie led the way. Sword intent guarded his body as he flicked his fingers, releasing innumerable thin white strands into the air. They were supple yet razor-sharp: sword qi projected from his body.
Every snake struck by the threads was cut down. Blood mingled with poisonous qi, making the stench even sharper.
Xu Ziqing was not idle. He followed Yun Lie closely and sent his Qingyun Needles out to kill snakes. Though he was less effortless than his senior brother, he cleared obstacles swiftly, allowing both men to advance faster.
Who knew what other dangers awaited within the secret trove? They needed to conserve true essence wherever possible. The snakes attacking them were mostly first-, second-, or third-rank beasts, and their numbers were the only real threat. Both wanted to leave the valley quickly without disturbing the royal pair.
They followed the cliff walls. When they encountered snakes of fourth rank or above, they did not kill them, instead repelling them with sword intent.
Both martial brothers understood that the royal snakes had bred here for years. They might ignore the deaths of low-ranked offspring, but fourth-rank and higher creatures undoubtedly held some standing among their descendants. Killing many would draw the royal pair out to investigate. Leaving the stronger snakes unharmed was safer.
Sure enough, after advancing five or six li quietly, they passed through Ten Thousand Snakes Valley and reached a marsh.
A species of one-eyed crocodile lived in the swamp and was exceptionally bloodthirsty.
The brothers did not fear them. These crocodiles merely guarded the royal snakes’ territory and did not exceed fourth rank. Their greatest skill was manipulating the marsh to seize passing prey.
Xu Ziqing did not even need Yun Lie’s help. He released the pressure of his Essence Transformation cultivation, and the fourth-rank beasts dared not surface.
They rose on the wind and crossed the swamp. After another two li, they approached the lair of the Thousand-Faced Bats.
The demon beasts in the mountain range each occupied a separate territory and generally did not interfere with one another, but their domains adjoined in a continuous chain. Anyone wishing to leave the mountains had to pass through them in succession. It was not that the brothers refused to fly over the peaks, but the map warned that anyone who rose high above the range after entering it would be regarded as an enemy by numerous high-rank demon beasts and attacked en masse.
Faced with that danger, they could hardly behave recklessly. They had to proceed on foot, rising only a zhang or so on the wind when necessary, and even then with the utmost care.
The mountain ahead was not especially sheer, but hundreds or even thousands of cave mouths riddled its slopes.
The holes ranged from large to small, like a beehive, and waves of unrestrained ferocious qi flowed from them. Countless vicious creatures clearly lived inside.
The Thousand-Faced Bats were certainly no harmless beasts!
The moment the brothers steadied their footing, before they could react, a black cloud floated from the smaller caves.
Xu Ziqing looked carefully and discovered that it was no cloud at all. It consisted of countless palm-sized bats with pitch-black bodies, blood-red eyes, and two rows of fangs. Their faces resembled human faces, making them extraordinarily hideous.
The cloud swept toward them, closing several zhang in an instant and growing clearer.
Yun Lie’s gaze chilled. He swept out a sword aura three zhang long, and the bats fell like withered leaves, so densely that they sounded like rain. More dark clouds poured from the caves. A cold gleam flashed in Yun Lie’s eyes, and his sword intent crushed them all into a bloody mist!
Seeing his senior brother’s composure, Xu Ziqing remained calm. He multiplied his Qingyun Needles into hundreds and sent them forward like a driving rain to collide with the bats.
But though the needles were a group-attack technique, their number was insignificant compared with the swarms. They killed many creatures but could not substantially reduce Yun Lie’s burden.
Xu Ziqing’s gaze turned cold. They were already inside the secret trove, with only his senior brother beside him and demon beasts filling the valley. What reason did he have to conceal his abilities?
He raised his arm and circulated his technique. Thirty-two blood vines surged out and rooted themselves in the ground, spreading a forest of writhing tendrils across a radius of ten zhang!
The Bloodthirsty Demon Vine was no longer what it had once been.
After the trials on the Savage Beast Plains and years of growing accustomed to Xu Ziqing, it had grown much stronger. Golden Blood Grass had only recently been successfully planted within his dantian and had not yet matured, but its long association with the vine had already provided some benefit.
Thus, although the demon vine had not developed additional branches, its existing tendrils had become much thicker. The leaf buds along their length were now the size of fists, while the largest at the tip was already as wide as a bowl. The dense, sharp teeth within were plainly visible. It was acquiring the terrifying features of that legendary ancient monster.
Yun Lie saw Xu Ziqing release the vine and withdrew his own sword intent. He shifted nearer until he too stood within the surrounding tendrils.
Rongjin had long been familiar with Yun Lie, so without being ordered, it refrained from attacking him.
Xu Ziqing was shaken by his senior brother’s actions.
In the past, he had always relied upon Yun Lie’s protection. If his vine could resolve this danger, would that not mean he had protected his senior brother for once?
For all his gentle temperament, he was still a man with courage and fighting spirit. Seeing Yun Lie trust him enough to withdraw only made him more determined.
Xu Ziqing’s expression turned solemn. Pointing with two fingers, he commanded, “Go!”
Rongjin seemed to cheer. Its vine whips flew so wildly that half the sky appeared to turn crimson.
The Thousand-Faced Bats were only first-rank demon beasts. Their strength lay in their astonishing numbers and ability to reproduce. When a colony attacked, even Golden Core cultivators could be overwhelmed. Protective artifacts might withstand the collisions for a few days, but eventually the cultivators would be devoured, bones and all.
Unfortunately for the bats, they had encountered their natural enemy. The Bloodthirsty Demon Vine had long since fused with Xu Ziqing’s dantian as his life-bound wood, intimately connected to his cultivation and functioning almost like another manifestation of his mind. Releasing it cost some true essence, and its ferocious aura was frightening, but otherwise it had distinct advantages.
Once its body emerged and rooted in the ground, it could draw upon the earth’s energy to sustain itself, requiring little further true essence from Xu Ziqing.
That was one reason The Great Art of Myriad Woods Heart-Planting was known as a legendary art that defied heaven.
There was no need to worry that Rongjin would exhaust itself while enjoying its feast.
Yun Lie had withdrawn his attack and let Xu Ziqing take over precisely because he understood this.
The vines thrashed freely. The swarming bats hurled themselves forward like moths toward flame, eager to devour the two young cultivators whose blood and qi were so rich. But the vines stopped them at the perimeter. Any bat that touched a leaf bud was swallowed instantly, dissolving into blood that satisfied the demon vine’s hunger.
Accustomed to eating anything they pleased, the bats had finally met their nemesis and become food themselves.
Xu Ziqing concentrated fully, unwilling to let even one bat slip through.
But a colony of Thousand-Faced Bats naturally had a king. The largest cave housed a bat king at the peak of sixth rank. Behind him were dozens of consorts, fifth- and sixth-rank females with even stronger venom and voracious appetites.
The king sensed his descendants’ deaths and realized that more than half had been killed. When he emerged with his consorts and saw the demon vine slaughtering the colony, his fury was boundless.
Having already refined away the transverse bone in his throat, the bat king could speak human words. He roared, “Human cultivators! You dare destroy my kind! I’ll drain your flesh and blood, torture your souls, and deny you reincarnation!”
He had a half-human form, a muscular dark blue-black body, and a pair of wings a zhang long. His face was ugly rather than handsome.
His dozens of consorts also spread their wings. They had snow-white skin, beautiful faces, and brilliant green eyes of alluring charm. Yet their bare, delicate arms ended in hooked iron claws, and two three-cun fangs protruded when they opened their mouths, revealing their hideous nature.
Xu Ziqing had no intention of recalling the vines merely because the king threatened him. Yun Lie, meanwhile, stepped upon his sword intent and rose into the air.
Holding a spirit sword, the white-clad cultivator swept coldly toward the bat king.
“Bat demon, meet your death.” His voice was icy, his killing intent piercing.