Ghost Vine Coils Around Him, Light Orbs Fall All Over the Ground

The soil around the Ghost Vine's roots had already heaved outward.

Jin Ling raised a hand behind Li Zhexian to shield him.

"First, deal with the vine around your neck."

The Ghost Vine's main root pulled free of the ground, and three vine thorns shot toward Li Zhexian's chest.

"Wait until it finishes this move."

Jin Ling halted her hand.

The vine thorns pierced his clothing and struck the golden shield over his chest.

Li Zhexian's back slammed into a tree trunk, and the shield's value had dropped by 3,100 points.

Several orbs of green light fell into the dirt, and one rolled to Jin Ling's feet.

Jin Ling reached out and touched it, and the orb immediately flew into Li Zhexian's hand.

"Other people can see these things too?"

"I told you before that rewards would drop."

"You only said things would drop."

"Rewards are things too."

The Ghost Vine wrapped around Li Zhexian's arm again.

A numbing sensation traveled up his skin, and his fingers gradually lost their strength.

Jin Ling used her hand to chop through two vines, but the Ghost Vine's main root sprayed out a thick cloud of spores.

"Do you see it as a Soul Beast or a sparring partner?"

"Today, it's both."

The spore mist spread along the ground. After breathing it in, several Soul Masters outside the woods fell to their knees.

The man in the lead swept his spear through the mist in front of him and retreated with his teammates behind a tall rock.

"Everybody get down!"

"That child is still in there!"

"He chose to stay behind."

The Ghost Vine's spore mist had already surrounded Li Zhexian, and a bitter taste entered his throat.

His shield's value was dropping continuously, and green lights were falling one after another.

[Green Prize Pool triggered.]

[Reward: Recovery Pill.]

[Green Prize Pool triggered.]

[Reward: Physique Enhancement Liquid.]

A Recovery Pill rolled to Li Zhexian's feet.

He raised his foot and kicked the pill out through the net of vines, sending it to the man in the lead.

"Catch it."

The man reached out and caught the pill.

"You should keep it for yourself!"

"I have more."

Li Zhexian kicked another pill out.

"Hold on to it. After I get out of here, you'll have to pay me back for my wine."

The man did not answer. He turned and put the pill into the mouth of an injured teammate.

The Ghost Vine's root tendrils swept in from behind, wrapped around his neck, and lifted him off the ground.

A system notification then appeared in his sea of consciousness.

[Continuous damage is decreasing.]

[Consecutive attacks from the same attacker. Prize Pool quality declining.]

Li Zhexian coughed out a breath that smelled of raw grass and looked at the dropped items on the muddy ground, where only white lights remained.

"The things it gives me after attacking are getting cheaper and cheaper."

"Have you finally decided to leave?"

Jin Ling's voice came from behind the rock.

"It has no value anymore."

"Do you eat rewards for meals?"

"I still need to earn money for wine."

The Ghost Vine slammed Li Zhexian into a tree trunk.

His five fingers tightened, and the Azure Lotus Sword flew out of the dirt and back into his hand.

"Viewing the Sword While Drunk."

The blade skimmed along the vines, first flicking aside the thorns at his chest, then sweeping upward along the vine around his waist.

The Drunken Immortal Wine Pot breathed out a cyan wine mist, and the vine's force was diverted to the side.

Li Zhexian used that force to spin and sever the root tendril wrapped around his neck.

The net of vines had loosened. He fell into the mud, landing on one knee and bracing himself with one hand against the blade.

More than a dozen vines rose from the ground.

The Soul Masters outside the woods had already gone far away, but the man in the lead turned back and shouted, "Get out of there, quickly!"

"You go on ahead!"

"What about you?"

"I still need a Soul Ring."

A crack split open in the Ghost Vine's main root, and a dark green liquid flowed out.

It pulled back all its vines, and the entire woodland shook along with them.

Jin Ling looked at the crack.

"It's ready to fight for its life."

"Then I'll fight for mine too."

Li Zhexian raised his sword and pointed it at the Ghost Vine.

"Go protect the people behind us."

Jin Ling turned around and stood guard in the direction of the woods' edge.

The Ghost Vine lunged, its thorns stabbing down from every direction.

Li Zhexian touched his toes to the ground and dodged close along the shadows of the vines.

The Azure Lotus Sword flicked aside thorn after thorn, then severed the root tendrils before finally stabbing into the crack in the main root.

After the wine mist entered the root, the Ghost Vine's main root recoiled.

The sound of things snapping rang out repeatedly through the woods.

The vines that had been wrapped around Li Zhexian loosened and fell into the wet mud.

Several root tendrils suddenly sprang out of the ground and shot straight toward Jin Ling.

Li Zhexian turned and ran over.

"Don't touch her!"

The vine tips struck his back, and the shield's value dropped by 2,700 points.

The impact sent him sliding half a step forward, and the Azure Lotus Sword slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

Jin Ling saw him standing in front of her, and her raised hand paused for a moment.

By then, the root tendrils had wrapped around her waist.

Li Zhexian reached out, grabbed the vines, and pulled them aside.

"Why did you stop?"

Jin Ling withdrew her hand.

"Did you just block that attack for me?"

"It was attacking me in the first place."

"Just now, I was clearly its target."

"Even so, it needs my permission first."

Golden light gathered in Jin Ling's palm.

She struck the Ghost Vine's main root with her palm.

The main root broke apart at the crack, and a mass of green lights poured out.

The entire Ghost Vine fell into the mud, twitched a few times, and went still.

Li Zhexian picked up the Azure Lotus Sword, then tucked the orbs of light into his sleeve one by one.

The white lights contained hemostatic powder, while the green lights held Recovery Pills and a bottle of Physique Enhancement Liquid.

After the last green orb dispersed, two pieces of silver fell out.

Li Zhexian picked up the silver and looked at it for a few moments.

"This can buy half a pot of wine."

"Treat your injuries first."

"Check the Soul Ring first."

"You still have vine thorns stuck in your back, and your neck is bleeding too."

"The shield blocked it."

"You say that very fluently."

"Because I need to use it every day."

A pale Purple Soul Ring rose above the Ghost Vine's corpse.

A low growl came from deep within the woods.

The man in the lead turned and began to run.

"Don't touch the Soul Ring!"

"The Ghost Vine was guarding something all this time. Now that it's dead, whatever's in there will come out!"

"What is it?"

"We never saw it with our own eyes. We only heard it!"

The low growl sounded again.

This time, the sound was much closer to them.

In the darkness behind the trees, a second pair of beast eyes lit up.

Jin Ling raised her hand, shielding Li Zhexian.

"Don't move."

Li Zhexian gripped his sword hilt and looked at the Soul Ring above the Ghost Vine.

He had no intention of retreating. Instead, he thought that this battle finally had some value.

"It can come, then."

"What are you going to say to it?"

"First, I'll ask whether it can use more force when it attacks."