Lu Qing was awakened by a violent impact. The flying boat rocked unsteadily, and the few individuals woke up one after another, unaware of what had happened.
They got up and paced back and forth uneasily, yet did not dare to open the door to look at the situation outside.
Before long, a disciple arrived inside the room while the scenes outside flashed past in a blur, with thick vines extending outward.
The newcomer wore a yellow robe, his expression showing a hint of panic: “You all stay right here and don’t move; just remain at ease.”
Every single room had a disciple guarding it, while the rest were outside. The shaking grew increasingly intense until they lost their footing and were instantly sent flying to crash onto the ground, with some even slamming directly into the windows as cries of pain suddenly erupted.
[Withered-Green Demon, Bone-Refining Stage level.] The system provided the answer. [The mortals and cultivators aboard this flying boat possess spiritual roots. If devoured by the Withered-Green Demon, it can break through to the Demon Core Stage.]
In this game, both demons and devils possessed bizarre realms. Demons had to reach the Transformation Stage before they could take on human form; by this point, the demon already possessed a demon core, and after gaining the ability to transform, it would move about among human populations.
Lu Qing sat with his back pressed against the wall, lowering his eyelids as he questioned via mind-to-mind thought: “The flying boat is full of cultivators, so I still shouldn’t expose myself. I think those cultivators should have the ability to handle this.”
[The host is overthinking things. A demon at the Bone-Refining Stage possesses extremely formidable strength and defense; the cultivators aboard this flying boat cannot handle it,] the system said coldly.
This statement instantly made Lu Qing’s temper flare up as his brows knitted together tightly: “I’ll be exposed let me observe a bit longer.”
Short of absolute last resort, he would never expose himself. Besides, he possessed a wood spiritual root, and although he had two initial dharma artifacts, how was he supposed to explain them if others found out?
He hated trouble.
Bang,
The flying boat was struck, sounding almost as if something were cracking, and the disciple guarding the doorway wore a grave expression.
Someone inside the room had already begun to weep it was the female cultivator harboring the water spiritual root, whose name was Wu Shuangxue.
“Are, are we going to die here? What on earth is happening outside?” Her eyes widened wide, filled with terror.
“We’ve encountered a demonic entity,” the yellow-robed disciple wiped his face, his expression ferocious. “Damn it, how could we encounter a demonic entity right when we’re close to the Shifang Realm?”
Heartbeats surged violently within the room, accompanied by weeping and fright. The disciple grew irritated and restless from these noises.
“Shut up!” The yellow-robed disciple glared fiercely at them before pulling open the door.
Swoosh,
The moment the door swung open, a cyan withered vine pierced straight through his abdomen, fresh blood dripping down as dazzling red stains trickled along the vine.
“Ah” The four individuals screamed one after another, their shrieks piercing their eardrums as they huddled together, their terrified eyes staring fixedly at that vine.
The redness from that fateful night rushed to the forefront of his mind, causing Lu Qing’s face to turn pale and a churning sensation to roil in his stomach.
The withered vine was not satisfied with just acquiring spiritual roots and spiritual power, turning its attention instead toward the trembling group inside the room.
Seeing the withered vine about to approach the four of them, the rat-eyed man viciously kicked the youngest child aside with a swoosh, piercing straight through the abdomen of the half-grown boy who possessed a gold spiritual root.
The withered vine successively gouged out the spiritual roots of two people and devoured the cultivators’ spiritual power. The withered cyan vine began to gleam with a luminous green radiance, appearing exceptionally eerie.
Because of the betrayal from one of their own, the remaining two scrambled away from the man on all fours.
Lu Qing was somewhat distant from them a distance of two steps. Wu Shuangxue was closer to him, crawling over to his feet and grabbing tightly onto his leg.
Wu Shuangxue’s face was covered in tear tracks, her eyes of survival locked onto him with a desperate gaze as her lips parted and closed: “Save… save me.”
Lu Qing smiled at her, the corners of his lips curving slightly, leaving Wu Shuangxue stunned in expression.
Before Wu Shuangxue could recover her senses, Lu Qing yanked his leg free from her grip, offering an apologetic smile: “Apologies, I am not a cultivator; I cannot save you.”
Among the five individuals, only Lu Qing had appeared completely composed from start to finish, which naturally caused Wu Shuangxue to place a certain amount of reliance upon him.
The smiling-eyed man glanced around the room before ultimately choosing to press close to Wu Shuangxue’s side. The other person’s complexion shifted slightly, rising to his feet with a gloomy expression.
Having finished absorbing the spiritual power and spiritual roots, the withered vine turned its focus toward the four-person group consisting of Lu Qing.
All four stiffened all over, the fear in their hearts magnified infinitely.
The smiling-eyed man was named Gong Ya. Judging by his attire, his family ought to possess some financial foundation.
The rat-eyed man was named Li Feng, hailing from a backwater village just like Lu Qing.
Gong Ya wore a smile on his face, though vigilance lurked within his eyes as he stared unblinkingly at the withered vine without daring to move a muscle.
Even Wu Shuangxue covered her mouth tightly without daring to let out a single sound, let alone Li Feng, who was terrified of death.
Yet the withered vine showed no interest in them; its tip stretched out right in front of Lu Qing and stopped moving, leaving the four of them trembling with fright.
The withered vine was roughly as thick as an adult’s arm, and its tip resembled an undeveloped baby’s hand, carrying a hint of softness.
Seemingly sensing something, the withered vine suddenly coiled around Lu Qing’s waist and then retracted toward the outside of the doorway.
Lu Qing was dragged away. Passing the doorway, he got smudged all over with blood, while Wu Shuangxue’s scream was cut halfway short when Gong Ya clamped a hand firmly over her mouth.
The situation outside was extremely grim it could only be described as tragic. Whether on the deck or the walls, blood was spattered everywhere, and the corpses on the ground were tattered and ruined, their abdominal spiritual roots gouged out by the withered vines. Looking further outward, the entire flying boat was wrapped in layers of withered vines, trapping them inside like fish ready for the slaughter of the Withered-Green Demon.
“Lu Qing!” It was Baili’s voice. Baili flew over, his longsword slashing against the withered vine and producing a clang sound, revealing just how incredibly hard the exterior of the Withered-Green Demon was.
“Senior Brother, I’ve come to assist you!” Gao Qiu shouted loudly, leaping into the air as spiritual power reinforced his flying sword to strike at the vine.
Provoked into fury, the withered vine cast Lu Qing aside, and several withered vines launched counter-attacks against Baili and Gao Qiu.
[Host, are you still not going to make a move?] the system chimed in. [If you still don’t make a move, everyone will die here, and the host’s mission will be judged a failure. Mission failure means the host can never return, and dying in the game means the host dies in reality.]
A trace of anger flashed in the depths of Lu Qing’s eyes: “Dammit, are you overestimating me too much? I’m currently a mortal; even they have no way to handle this, what kind of way could I possibly have?”
Moreover, this Withered-Green Demon didn’t even have a demon core yet how was he supposed to kill it? Could a game be the same as reality? In a game, he could slaughter everything in sight, but right now it was reality; what was he supposed to use to kill it? Use that hair ribbon or use that folding fan?
If he remembered correctly, the Withered-Green Demon wasn’t even the final boss, but even so, it possessed two lives.
When a game becomes reality, alterations are bound to occur. In the game, perhaps destroying the Withered-Green Demon’s roots anchored in the soil would suffice. But this was reality, and with this Withered-Green Demon being so colossal, where on earth was he supposed to find roots in the soil?
“Lu Qing, what are you daydreaming for? Hurry back to your room!” Gao Qiu roared angrily without turning his head.
Gao Qiu and Baili were covered in dust and dirt, and even Elder Tang was as well. Dodging the withered vines on all sides while trying to rescue them, they inevitably got struck by the vines.
Lu Qing got to his feet, and as the flying boat swayed, his balance failed him, causing him to topple directly outward past the edge of the flying boat.
At that exact moment, the hair ribbon detached itself, and the silver thread drifted downward, concealing itself within the white mist.
“Lu Qing” Baili’s expression changed drastically as he lunged forward in a flying dive. Immediately following came Gao Qiu’s furious roar: “Senior Brother, have you lost your mind!”
Regardless of anything else, Lu Qing and Baili both plummeted off the flying boat together, plunging deep into the white mist.
The connecting region between the Shifang Realm and the mortal world was called Qiongming, which served as the habitat where the demon and underworld races resided and practiced cultivation.
Light was absent here year-round, enveloped in black fog with sticky soil. Leave aside mortals; even Mahayana-stage cultivators would likely shed a layer of skin if they came here.
Fortunately, the place where Lu Qing and Baili fell happened to lie on the outer periphery of Qiongming, featuring a dark meandering river. Pear blossoms bloomed in abundance along the riverbank, presenting an extremely bizarre scene.
Yet Baili had not suffered any entanglement, and his spiritual power had not vanished. Aside from suffering some external injuries, his internal injuries previously caused by the withered vine had completely healed.
Lu Qing lay face-down on the ground, his lower back and hips stained crimson with blood, appearing somewhat startling within the world sunk in white and black.
Baili retrieved an elixir from his storage bag and ingested it before walking over to flip Lu Qing onto his back and wake him up.
Lu Qing opened his eyes in a daze, momentarily under the illusion that he was dreaming. Having so many events occur in the span of just a few short days, he acutely sensed that something was amiss.
“Immortal Elder Bai.” Lu Qing offered a weak smile toward Baili, carrying a trace of apology on his face: “Apologies for dragging you down with me.”
Maintaining a calm expression, Baili produced another elixir, deliberated for a moment, and then snapped it in half to hand to Lu Qing: “This is a Breath-Nurturing Pill, which can treat both internal and external injuries; ingest it first.”
Lu Qing did not refuse. He was aching severely all over, and after ingesting the Breath-Nurturing Pill, the pain across his body slowly receded.
Baili handed him a talisman: “This is a cleansing talisman; you’re very dirty.” The talisman pressed against Lu Qing’s shoulder, and the dirt and stains on his body instantly vanished.
Lu Qing was quite astonished: “This talisman is actually quite handy.”
“This is Qiongming; we won’t be able to leave for a while.” Baili stood up to survey his surroundings, explaining: “Qiongming is the junction point between the Shifang Realm and the mortal world, and it’s the territory of the demon and underworld races. We won’t be in danger as long as we don’t venture deep inside, though I wonder if Elder Tang…”
He was an outer sect disciple, and although Lu Qing possessed a wood spiritual root, he hadn’t formally entered the sect yet nor taken a master. The prodigies of the Lingyao Sect lacked neither him nor Lu Qing. In a dangerous and treacherous place like Qiongming, where even Mahayana-stage cultivators wouldn’t dare venture, he had no idea whether he would even be able to return alive to the Lingyao Sect.
Moreover, what puzzled him most was the demon’s attitude toward Lu Qing. On the flying boat, those withered vines had almost exclusively targeted spiritual power and spiritual roots. Why had the withered vines specifically spared Lu Qing and tried to abduct him instead?
A scrutinizing gaze fell upon him. Raising his eyes to lock onto Baili, Lu Qing smiled amicably: “Does Immortal Elder Bai have doubts?”
Baili’s lips moved, but ultimately he held back the question. With a cold face, he said, “Your aptitude is good; you’ll likely find a good master, so you don’t need to address me that way. In the future, we’ll be fellow sectmates, and ranked by aptitude, perhaps I’ll even have to call you Senior Brother.”
“Is that so?” Lu Qing didn’t mind it, letting out a soft sigh: “Then Junior Brother Bai, what do you think we should do right now?” He gazed toward the direction where the silver thread extended, furrowing his brow slightly: “What kind of demon was the demon on the flying boat?”
“According to records, the demon that attacked us was a Withered-Green Demon. It breaks through realms by devouring the spiritual power and spiritual roots of cultivators.” Baili’s expression stiffened slightly as he explained.
“How we can leave specifically still depends on whether Elder Tang and the others can slay the withered demon.” Baili produced a voice transmission talisman, attempting to transmit a voice message to his master.
The injected spiritual power flickered once, and an aged voice came from the other end of the voice transmission talisman.
Baili explained the current situation. The other end of the voice transmission talisman instructed him to pay attention to his own safety, stating that the matter would be reported to the sect and people would be dispatched to rescue them in two days at the latest.
Baili felt a weight lift from his heart, the burden pressing upon him dissolving invisibly: “You needn’t worry; I will protect you.” If it hadn’t been to protect Lu Qing, he wouldn’t have leaped off the flying boat either.
It was simply a pity that the descent speed had been far too fast, and he hadn’t managed to grab hold of Lu Qing before they both ended up in this ghost of a place.
The temperature was somewhat low with heavy moisture lingering here, causing Lu Qing to shudder involuntarily.
Glancing at him, Baili turned and strode into the woods, leaving behind his words: “Stay right here and don’t move; I’m going to gather some firewood.”
Lu Qing obediently acknowledged: “Alright Junior Brother, thank you for your hard work.”
Baili stiffened his body as he vanished from sight. Lu Qing had the system keep watch on Baili while he got to his feet and followed the silver thread.
“The Withered-Green Demon’s roots shouldn’t be far from here, right?” Lu Qing asked uncertainly.
[Not far. The Withered-Green Demon hasn’t reached the Demon Core Stage yet; in this world where strength is supreme, it doesn’t qualify to enter the depths of Qiongming,] the system encouraged him.
Setting his mind at ease, Lu Qing followed the silver thread and quickly located the Withered-Green Demon’s roots more than twenty meters away. The roots of the Withered-Green Demon were a silvery withered vine whose surface gleamed with silver light, possessing a peculiar, eerie beauty.
The hair ribbon that had detached earlier drifted over, coiled around the Withered-Green Demon’s roots, and squeezed them tightly. Before long, the radiance of the roots was extinguished by the hair ribbon, reducing them to a dried and cracked withered vine.
[The Withered-Green Demon is already dead, and its demonic qi has been absorbed by the hair ribbon,] the system explained. [Once the host begins cultivating, the demonic power absorbed by the hair ribbon can be converted into spiritual power, so the host won’t need to worry about being unable to cope with these dangerous demonic entities in the future.]
Wearing a displeased expression, Lu Qing walked over, bent down to pick up the hair ribbon, and wrapped it around his wrist in the shape of a bracelet matching the size of the withered roots: “Who’s to blame? Isn’t it your fault?”
The system’s voice remained cold: [The host cannot blame me; if anyone is to blame, blame the safety measures of Huanxi Corporation for not being up to standard. Strictly speaking, my appearance is a rescue.]
“Tch,” Lu Qing muttered impatiently, turning around to head back, “Then I’ll thank you.”
After he left, that lifeless set of roots turned into fine dust, scattering into the damp earth, losing even the qualifications to serve as nutrients.
“Where did you go?” Seeing Lu Qing appear, Baili frowned and stared at him: “It’s dangerous here; do you have any idea…”
“To relieve myself.” Lu Qing offered him a gentle smile, his face flushing slightly as he said awkwardly, “I am a mortal; I can’t compare to you cultivators. Eating, drinking, and excreting are human nature.”
Choked by this response, Baili’s expression turned greenish-blue before he turned around and sat down with his back to Lu Qing.
A campfire was already burning on the ground, radiating warmth across his entire body and banishing the damp chill.
Now stranded in the realm of Qiongming and lacking understanding of the situation aboard the flying boat, Baili could only divide his attention between worry and vigilance toward his surroundings.
Having suffered successive shocks and even fainting from a fall from high altitude, Lu Qing now relaxed, perhaps due to having someone nearby, and drowsiness quickly welled up within him.
He sat on a rock, curling his body into a ball as he gazed at the leaping flames and closed his eyes.
Hearing the sound of steady breathing, Baili felt a swirl of complex emotions, forcing him to suppress his doubts until he could clarify them later.
As for right now, his complexion looked somewhat poor. Pear blossoms fluttered down to carpet the ground, with a few resting softly on his shoulders as a sense of sudden intimacy welled up from within.
A murmuring whisper rang beside his ear, sounding distant and near, ethereal and unreal: “Come, child, come to me.”
Come, child, close your eyes, and come to me.