Chapter 415: Warning

The valley was not long, and Shen Daoxing and the others quickly walked out of it. Towering spruce trees stood before them, their dense leaves nearly blotting out the sky, allowing only dappled sunlight to filter down to the ground.

Beneath the spruce trees grew sparse, thorny undergrowth.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind. It seemed perfectly safe.

Suddenly, Wan Hai, who was walking at the very front, shouted, "Watch out!"

Shen Daoxing, Wan Hai, and Tang Yi leaped into the air at the same time.

SMACK!

The next moment, a long, thick vine suddenly dropped from above, slamming down hard on the spot where the three had just been standing.

The three had only just jumped.

WHOOSH!

Another thick vine came whipping viciously at them from the side.

"Thunder Flame Strike!"

Wan Hai shouted, pointing a finger forward. The Flame Thunder Sword suddenly spun out and easily sliced the thick vine in two.

However, by the time the three of them landed, more thick vines were scraping along the ground, slithering toward them from all sides.

"It's a Thorny Demon Soar!"

Wan Hai's expression grew grim. "A demonic beast at the Seventh Layer of the Earth Profound Realm. It's not that strong, but it's incredibly difficult to deal with."

The words had barely left his mouth when a thick vine suddenly rose high into the air and slapped down at them.

"Flame Thunder!"

Wan Hai yelled, and the Flame Thunder Sword spun back toward him. In a flash of light, it split the vine in two.

Just then, a flower bud sprouted from the severed vine. It slowly unfurled, but the blossom that bloomed within was like a giant mouth filled with sharp teeth.

Startled by the sight, Wan Hai grabbed Shen Daoxing and quickly pulled him back.

"Cyan Wind Sword!"

Tang Yi called out softly.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

A dozen or so Wind Blades flew out.

The mouth-like flower was instantly torn to pieces.

But just as that monstrous flower was cut down, the thick vines all around them budded and bloomed, revealing even more brightly colored flowers that looked like giant mouths filled with sharp teeth.

As far as the eye could see, they were everywhere.

"Little Junior Brother, you stay put and don't move."

Wan Hai turned his head and instructed Shen Daoxing, "Yi and I will clear a path."

As he spoke, he reached out and caught the Flame Thunder Sword as it flew back to him, then leaped forward with Tang Yi.

Billowing waves of fire from the Flame Thunder rose up, spreading in all directions under the push of the cyan wind. Wherever they passed, the vines and monstrous flowers were all charred black.

But the Thorny Demon Soar was like a wildfire that could not be extinguished; thick vines lunged at them from all directions in an endless stream.

At that moment.

SQUEAK SQUEAK!

The Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat suddenly poked its head out from inside Shen Daoxing's robes and squeaked, as if telling him something.

After listening, Shen Daoxing calmly raised his head and glanced indifferently toward the distant forest. Then, with a slight blur of movement, he silently slipped away from his spot.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, Pan Cheng and Luo Ying stood atop a towering ancient tree on a small, densely bushed hill, watching from afar.

"They're coming! They're coming!"

Luo Ying's effeminate voice suddenly rang out.

Immediately, the ancient trees in front of them shook as a figure swung over from the distance, moving from trunk to trunk like an ape.

The figure actually had four pairs of long arms and four heads of varying sizes crowded irregularly upon its neck. There were visible stitch marks on its arms and neck, as if it had been pieced together.

It also had a pair of bat-like wings on its back.

The entire thing looked like a monster jumbled together from all sorts of random parts.

When this monster arrived before Luo Ying, it acted with great deference, whispering something to him in a hoarse voice.

Immediately, Luo Ying looked at Pan Cheng with a meaningful, sinister smile. "Senior Brother! They're here!"

Pan Cheng's face was impassive, his gaze icy. "Stick to the plan."

"Yes!"

Luo Ying nodded abruptly, a look of delight on his face.

"Hehehehe, Senior Brother, we should have done this ages ago. In a place like this, we can kill Wan Hai and just blame it on the demonic beasts. No one will ever know. And Senior Brother, you can't be gentle with women. You have to take them by force."

As he spoke, Luo Ying stuck out his tongue and licked his lips. "Hehehehe, as for that outer sect disciple… my Demon Puppet still needs a few more parts. Hehehehe, Senior Brother, I think his sturdy body is the most suitable. You have to leave him alive for me. If he dies, his limbs won't be fresh when I take them."

Hearing this, Pan Cheng silently turned his head to look at the grotesque monster beside Luo Ying. "Don't you dare let that thing out carelessly back at the sect."

"Hehehehe! Don't worry, Senior Brother. Of course, I know that much. I'm only letting it out for a breather because we're out here."

The Blood Fiend Demon Puppet. It was a Secret Technique Luo Ying had chanced upon in a Demon Sect secret realm, forged using the Blood Refining Skill.

Although the method of its creation was a bit gruesome and forbidden by the sect, who would refuse a servant with the power of the Ninth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm?

After all, Luo Ying's own cultivation was only at the Eighth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm.

If it were to suddenly appear during a fight, it would be an absolutely fatal trump card.

It was precisely because he possessed this Blood Fiend Demon Puppet that Luo Ying had managed to claw his way to his current position. That was why he treasured this Demon Puppet above all else.

Luo Ying suddenly burst into laughter for no apparent reason. "Hehehehe, alright, they should be here any second now. Senior Brother, let's make our move!"

With that, Luo Ying looked at his Blood Fiend Demon Puppet. "Demon Blood, lead the way."

The Blood Fiend Demon Puppet immediately moved, spreading its eight arms and leaping through the branches.

Luo Ying watched the Blood Fiend Demon Puppet's departing figure and couldn't help but lick his lips, muttering to himself, "Hehehehe, my little darlings, just you wait. I'll be adding a new brother for you all soon."

But the words had barely left his mouth.

"What did you say you were going to do?"

All of a sudden, an icy voice rang out.

Luo Ying hurriedly looked toward the sound. Before them, a young man in white robes was standing atop an ancient tree, having appeared there at some unknown time.

And that person was none other than Shen Daoxing.

Seeing who it was, Luo Ying was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh. "Hehehehe, so it's that outer sect kid from Wan Hai's team."

He glanced around but didn't see Wan Hai or Tang Yi. "Why aren't Wan Hai and the others with you?"

Then, Luo Ying laughed again. "Hehehehe, I guess they thought you were too weak, just a burden, and abandoned you here. Hehehehe, perfect timing. We were just about to go looking for you."

As he spoke, Luo Ying carefully sized up Shen Daoxing from head to toe, his eyes filled with greed.