Red Crystal Root Tendrils

The Blood-Sucking Vine's movements seemed to revolve around a "Center of the Circle."

Following the direction Liang Yunkai pointed, Qin Heng indeed spotted a dark red vine as thick as a water bottle hidden amid the bushes, like a python slithering in stealth.

All the vines were branches split off from that Main Root, one becoming ten, ten becoming a hundred, forming a great net of vines covering a radius of dozens of meters.

The fire burned, leaving the Blood-Sucking Vine nowhere to flee. Pressed by the blazing flames, it retreated step by step and curled into a ball.

The green vines that had originally spread in all directions gradually contracted, like a spiderweb kneaded into a clump.

Sizzle, sizzle~

Part of the vines' ends caught fire. Even a Demon Plant could not withstand the assault of flames.

Before high temperatures, carbon-based lifeforms were all fragile. Even Martial Gods and Beast Gods could only resist ordinary flames; they would still die if exposed to the tens of millions of degrees Celsius at the center of a nuclear explosion.

"I wonder how much growth in strength the Blood-Sucking Vine's Main Root can bring us..."

Everyone in the team eagerly awaited the result.

However, the flames still needed some time to burn.

They waited beyond the fire line, from three o'clock until four, then until past five.

The sun was nearly setting, yet the Blood-Sucking Vine had still not been completely burned to death.

Its body had already been swallowed by flames. The entire vine was burning, like long worms struggling in vain.

Sections of vine gradually burned into charcoal and snapped apart. Of the originally dense mass of vines, ninety percent had been destroyed.

But... it seemed impossible to burn all of it to death.

The flames slowly died out. The grass had long since turned to ash, and the distant trees stood bare and lonely, too far away for their fire to reach the Blood-Sucking Vine.

Once the Blood-Sucking Vine's own green leaves and thin vines had been burned away, there was nothing left to feed the flames, and the fire naturally went out.

Qin Heng could not help sighing. "Even that couldn't kill it. Demon Plants really are tenacious."

Liang Yunkai chuckled. "But that's all it has left. We can easily deal with those remaining vines."

Liang Yunkai had placed the greatest hopes on the Blood-Sucking Vine. He had provided this information and knew the most about it, and he dearly wanted to experience the "Pseudo Divine Medicine" Senior Sister Chen Yu had spoken of for himself.

"Let's go."

The Blood-Sucking Vine no longer posed much of a threat. Fewer than five vines remained, each less than twenty meters long. With the seven-person team's strength, they could easily take it down.

"Move."

Qin Heng and Liang Yunkai moved first, approaching the Blood-Sucking Vine's Main Root together.

Huang Jiancheng and the others followed close behind, each gripping a sharp blade with fierce momentum.

Whoosh!

As if sensing Qin Heng and the others closing in, the Blood-Sucking Vine suddenly moved, actually choosing to attack first!

Three pale red main vines as thick as forearms sprang up like nimble snakes, lashing toward Qin Heng and Liang Yunkai.

"Be careful," Liang Yunkai warned.

Qin Heng said nothing. All his strength gathered in his hands as he brought his battle saber down in a vicious slash.

Pfft!

The pale red vine broke at once, its severed end smooth and even.

He lunged forward, then slashed three more times in rapid succession. The Blood-Sucking Vine's tendrils fell to the ground in segment after segment.

The Blood-Sucking Vine could not speak, but judging from the way it thrashed wildly, it was probably in terrible pain.

"Don't give it a chance. Cut off its Main Root directly!" Liang Yunkai said.

Qin Heng chuckled. "I suppose I'm avenging Wang Peng, too. If Wang Jianming finds out, should he thank me?"

With that, his hand rose and his blade fell.

Smack!

All the Blood-Sucking Vine's tendrils were severed, leaving only a Main Root less than two meters long, hard as steel.

This Demon Plant, which had hunted countless animals in the mountains and forests, had finally lost all ability to move and become an ordinary vine plant.

The seven people gathered around it.

"Pull it out and see how many red tendrils there are," Liang Yunkai said.

The Main Root above ground was not actually a root, but a "trunk." The root tendrils underground were the true treasure.

Qin Heng grabbed the thick dark red vine and exerted force with both arms.

The result... even after using all his strength and sinking both feet into the dirt, he still could not pull it out.

"It's rooted pretty firmly. Help me out!"

Seeing that he could not manage alone, Qin Heng did not stubbornly force the issue and called his teammates over.

The two-meter-long main trunk was just enough for all seven people to get a grip on.

The seven of them pulled together with all their might.

Crash~

The Blood-Sucking Vine was immediately pulled out by half a foot. The soil split apart, revealing the roots beneath with perfect clarity.

"Looks like there are quite a lot. Keep going!" Liang Yunkai's face lit up with delight.

"One, two, three, pull!"

"One, two, three!"

The seven worked as one, exerting force again and again. After no small amount of effort, they finally uprooted this devilish vine entirely.

The Blood-Sucking Vine's roots were exceptionally lush, so numerous they could not be counted, like a thick, dense mass of human hair.

These roots could be divided into three types. One type consisted of fine roots responsible for drawing water and nutrients from the soil. They were as thin as hair and densely packed; most had been torn off and left in the earth.

Another type consisted of thick roots responsible for gripping the ground and stabilizing the plant. They had burrowed deep into the soil and were even sturdier than the main trunk above ground.

The third type was made up of translucent red crystal roots, where energy was stored after absorbing animal blood and Cosmic Energy.

This was where the Blood-Sucking Vine's value lay!

Liang Yunkai crouched down to inspect them carefully, the delight on his face growing stronger and stronger.

"One, two, three..."

After counting for a moment, he announced the number to everyone. "There are nine Red Crystal Roots. It's nine years old!"

Qin Heng asked curiously, "How long can one crystal root save us from cultivating on our own?"

"That depends on one's absorption efficiency," Liang Yunkai replied. "Senior Sister Chen said that for martial artists with average or below-average aptitude, one crystal root can save roughly three weeks of hard work and increase strength by twenty to thirty kilograms. But if someone with high aptitude eats one, their strength can increase by thirty to fifty kilograms. The greater the talent, the better the absorption."

"So that's how it is." Qin Heng understood.

The energy contained in a crystal root was fixed, but each person absorbed it with different efficiency.

Those with blocked meridians might only absorb ten to twenty percent of the energy, while those with completely open meridians could absorb more than fifty percent, perhaps even higher.

As for completely absorbing one hundred percent, that was impossible. Energy would inevitably be wasted during conversion. Not even a Martial God could perfectly absorb the energy of an object.

"There are nine root tendrils. How should the seven of us divide them?"

At that moment, a problem arose.

No matter how they divided them, there was no way to distribute them evenly.

And crystal roots could not be split apart. Each was a whole; once broken, its energy would rapidly dissipate. It had to be swallowed whole.

Everyone looked at one another.

Very quickly, the answer emerged.

Huang Jiancheng said, "Qin Heng discovered the Blood-Sucking Vine, so he deserves the greatest credit and should take one extra. Liang Yunkai understood the Blood-Sucking Vine's secrets and shared the information with us, so he should also get an extra root."

"Mm, I agree."

"I agree too."

"Let's divide them that way. We only chopped down some trees and set a few fires, yet we still get a root. That's already pretty good."

No one objected to this method of distribution.

Although everyone craved greater strength and wanted to take everything in one gulp, they all knew that would never work. If internal conflict broke out, no one would be able to bear the consequences.

A nearly even distribution was already the best possible outcome.

Liang Yunkai carefully plucked the crystal roots off one by one.

These roots were only as thick as straws and about thirty centimeters long. At their front ends was a dark red "button," the Blood-Sucking Vine's energy filter.

If they were removed from that spot, their energy would not immediately dissipate, and they could be stored for some time.

Once the crystal roots were distributed, everyone was delighted.

When it came time to give Qin Heng his share, Liang Yunkai specifically reminded him, "Take only one first. Use the other in a couple of days, so your body doesn't fail to absorb it and waste the energy."

"Mm, thanks for the reminder." Qin Heng smiled.

But inwardly, he thought, With my fully open meridians, I probably don't need to wait. I should be able to absorb them directly.