Chapter 975: A Way Out

In an instant, the man-eating flower's colossal maw swallowed the entire underground space, leaving no one who had been scrambling for the Earth Spirit Grass Fruit to escape.

The entire event occurred with such suddenness, and the flower's size was so overwhelming that even Gu Li, a member of the Giant Spirit Race, appeared diminutive in its presence.

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, the entire grassland had been reduced to a vacuum, leaving a massive crater on the surface.

The giant man-eating flower went through the motions of chewing and swallowing before slowly retreating back into the earth.

Moments later, a slender bamboo shoot emerged from the ground, and a muffled, mechanical voice echoed through the air:

"You may digest everything except the saintess of the Flying Spirit Clan."

As the words faded, the bamboo shoot retracted into the earth, leaving the giant man-eating flower to refine all the people it had just devoured.

Soon, the area fell silent again. If not for the massive vacuum crater on the surface, it would have seemed as if nothing had happened at all.

Darkness surrounded Li Qing, and the slick, clammy sensation filled his body. He hadn't lost consciousness, but he was far from feeling well.

The interior of the man-eating flower was cramped, with earth and shattered rocks pressing in on all sides, compressing Li Qing's body.

Fortunately, the Golden Thread Treasure Robe protected him, preventing any serious injuries.

"What rotten luck! I've only been in the Heavenlight Secret Realm for a short time, and I've already been eaten twice!"

Pushing aside the thick earth in front of him, Li Qing rubbed his forehead, a bitter smile playing on his lips.

His situation was dire. This man-eating flower undoubtedly belonged to the Tree Demon Clan.

The Tree Demon Clan was a super-powerful race on the Tonggu Continent, rivaling the Giant Spirit Race. Their clan was guarded by a great ascension realm ancestral tree.

Even though the Giant Spirit Race had many vassal races like the human race, they could only maintain a balance of power with the Tree Demon Clan, a testament to the latter's formidable strength.

"I'd suspected something was amiss earlier. The sudden appearance of this opportunity seemed suspicious. Experts from various races were present, yet the Tree Demon Clan was conspicuously absent."

"It seems this opportunity was indeed a trap set by the Tree Demon Clan. Such cunning and foresight..."

Even so, Li Qing didn't regret coming. The Earth Spirit Grass Fruit was crucial to him, a key to his cultivation at the divine transformation stage.

But how could he resolve this situation?

The fact that this man-eating flower dared to swallow so many divine transformation experts from various races was proof of its immense confidence. It clearly wasn't afraid of being overstuffed.

Soon, the surrounding earth began to press in on Li Qing, and highly corrosive, slippery liquid seeped into the soil.

The man-eating flower was about to digest them, using them as nutrients.

Having already experienced being swallowed once, Li Qing remained calm. He tried to sense his current condition.

His fleshly body was intact, his divine soul stable, and his mana flowed without hindrance.

"Good. It's not as extreme as the Spirit Devouring Beast's stomach. At least I can still mobilize my mana."

With that, Li Qing channeled his mana to form a protective spiritual light around his body, isolating himself from the corrosive liquid.

But he soon discovered that the liquid was far from simple. The protective spiritual light clinging to his body began to dissolve and crumble.

"Hiss! As I suspected, it's not that simple."

These viscous fluids were actually refining his spiritual power, and the more they refined, the more they multiplied.

Inside the man-eating flower, he was also cut off from the primordial qi of heaven and earth, leaving him with only his own mana to rely on.

If this continued, the balance would shift. Even the most powerful cultivators, with their vast reserves of mana, would eventually be drained dry, leaving nothing but a skeleton.

He had to escape this place quickly!

"I probably can't just brute-force my way out like last time. This colossal man-eating flower... I wouldn't be surprised if it could devour a Void Refinement Realm expert."

Li Qing's eyes flickered. His Kunpeng divine power was running low. He had used a significant amount to kill the Griffin Clan, and the journey had depleted the rest, leaving him unable to unleash his full power.

In the next moment, Li Qing activated the four streams of spirit fire within his body to protect himself.

To his dismay, the viscous fluids were completely resistant to fire. Even the spirit fire dissolved, its mana completely absorbed.

"If all else fails, I'll have to retreat into the World of Eternal Night for refuge."

"I just wonder if I'll still be inside this man-eating flower when I return from the World of Eternal Night."

Li Qing remembered the rules of interdimensional travel clearly: you always return to the exact place you departed from.

So, as long as he waited for this massive man-eating flower to leave, he could then return from the World of Eternal Night and escape.

But there was a problem: he had no idea when the flower would leave.

Having devoured so many powerful beings from various races, the digestion process would inevitably take a long and arduous time. He suspected the man-eating flower might remain rooted in place until it was guided out.

In that case, only two outcomes remained: either he'd be trapped in the Heavenlight Secret Realm until the next opening, or he'd leave with the flower and find himself deep within the Tree Demon Clan's territory.

Neither prospect seemed particularly appealing.

"Hiding in the World of Eternal Night can only be a last resort. Before that, I must find a way to fight my way out."

Li Qing forced himself to think calmly, desperately seeking a means of escape.

"First, I need to find allies to cooperate with. On my own, even using every trick in the book, I doubt I can breach the man-eating flower's defenses."

"Second, I must find a way to resist these corrosive secretions. If my mana is depleted, I'll be truly trapped."

With that, Li Qing began experimenting with various methods to counter the highly corrosive secretions, but none of his efforts proved effective.

The protective spiritual light of the Golden Thread Treasure Robe offered decent resistance, but activating this earth-grade spiritual treasure consumed a significant amount of mana. This was clearly not a sustainable solution.

His brow furrowed, Li Qing suddenly recalled the stomach he had obtained from the Spirit Devouring Beast he had slain earlier.

"The Spirit Devouring Beast's stomach is peculiar, possessing exceptional resistance to spiritual energy. Perhaps it can withstand the man-eating flower's digestive fluids."

With this thought, Li Qing hastily retrieved the Spirit Devouring Beast's stomach from his storage bag. He draped the thick, spacious stomach over himself and allowed the viscous fluid to seep through.

Hiding within the Spirit Devouring Beast's stomach, Li Qing waited quietly. After a long while, he discovered that the man-eating flower's digestive fluid was utterly ineffective against the creature's stomach!

"It works!"

Seeing this, Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

If that was the case, he didn't need to worry too much.

With the Spirit Devouring Beast's stomach protecting him, he wouldn't have to worry about his mana running out. He could now focus on finding the others trapped inside the man-eating flower.