Snatching Its Neighbor's Life Right Under the Titan Giant Ape's Nose!

Su Chen raised his right hand and clenched his fingers tightly.

Ten Nether Shadow Leopards vanished into the dense fog in an instant. The fallen leaves remained still, and not even the wind stirred.

The clock started.

The Shadow Leopard pack advanced along eight predetermined arcs, evading the Ancient Vine's sensory web and precisely slipping into its blind spots.

At the first minute, feedback came in.

The underground root system was denser than Ling Shuang's intelligence had indicated.

Su Chen remained calm, tapping his fingers four times against his thigh.

It was the signal to increase the dosage.

Chu Yao lay prone beside a fissure in the underground river, the muddy stench mingling with an eerie sweetness.

It was bait secreted by the Ancient Vine, capable of turning anyone who drank the water into nourishment within three days.

Chu Yao pulled the stoppers from three black bottles, and the dark green poison instantly seeped downstream with the current.

At the third minute, the ground began to tremble.

The subterranean rootlets were writhing in agony, and several old trees toppled without warning.

"Four minutes earlier than expected," Ye Linglong reported softly.

Su Chen did not respond. His attention was fixed entirely on the feedback from the Shadow Leopards.

There were seventeen main rootlets. The Shadow Leopards had severed only thirteen; the remaining four were buried too deeply.

"Thunder Eagles, nodes three and seven. Precision strike."

Ten Purple Lightning Thunder Eagles skimmed close to the ground, their wingtips brushing the grass as they evaded the Titan Giant Ape's aerial perception.

Four bolts of lightning split open the earth, and the stench of scorched soil instantly filled the air.

At the fifth minute, the toxin reached the main roots.

The Ancient Vine's outer layer began to wither, but its counterattack followed immediately.

Seven vines as thick as buckets burst from the ground and lashed wildly at Chu Yao.

Like an enraged bull, Jiang Tieyi did not activate his gravity field. With sheer physical strength alone, he grabbed Chu Yao by the back of her collar and rolled sideways with her more than thirty feet away.

The vines shattered the rocks, sending stone chips flying.

"...You pulled my hair," Chu Yao said, spitting mud from her mouth.

"Staying alive matters more," Jiang Tieyi growled.

Su Chen's cold voice came through the communicator with two words: "Continue."

At the sixth minute.

Yan Wuji plunged both hands into the icy underground river.

The Profound Ice Dragon's soul power flowed upstream with the current, freezing it inch by inch and turning the Ancient Vine's lifeline into a river of ice.

This was the hardest step. He had to precisely control his soul power to keep it from dispersing into the tributaries.

At the seventh minute, the underground river ran dry.

The Ancient Vine went completely berserk.

Dozens of vines lashed indiscriminately through the air, while the sounds of trees breaking rose one after another.

"Fearclaw Bears, wedge formation, clear the way!"

Iron Wall led the bear pack into the battlefield, their dark golden claws tearing through every obstacle.

The severed vines sprayed yellow-green fluid, yet regenerated wildly within seconds.

"Its regeneration speed has doubled." Su Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

At the eighth minute, Yan Wuji's freezing reached the core.

The Ancient Vine's regeneration finally slowed.

This was the moment Su Chen had been waiting for.

"Ling Shuang, enter."

Ling Shuang stepped barefoot onto the mud, her ten toes sinking deeply into the soil.

The Heavenly Net Immortal Vine spread from beneath her feet, burrowing into the Ancient Vine's veins like a parasite.

This was not a battle. It was the most primitive form of plunder.

At the ninth minute, they seized forty percent of the control.

The Ancient Vine's attacks on its eastern side froze instantly, as though its vital point had been seized.

"Five Fearclaw Bears, seal off its retreat! Five Fearclaw Bears, focus fire on the main trunk!"

Five Fearclaw Bears firmly blocked the Ancient Vine's path back toward the underground river.

The bear pack struck together. Golden light flashed, and the Ancient Vine's black bark was stripped away in one piece, exposing the pulsating green woody layer beneath.

At the eleventh minute, Ling Shuang's face turned deathly pale.

Mental invasion at this intensity made blood seep from her brow, but the madness in her eyes only deepened.

"Twelve minutes," Chu Yao reminded them.

Only three seconds remained before the deadline.

Su Chen stared fixedly at the churning earth.

At the thirteenth minute, Ling Shuang found the core root ball.

It was a "heart" hidden forty feet underground, covered in tentacles.

"Got you."

Ling Shuang's voice was hoarse as the Heavenly Net Immortal Vine strangled it madly.

A muffled thud came from underground, and the Ancient Vine let out a soundless wail.

All the vines instantly went limp, like a puddle of rotten mud.

At the fourteenth minute.

A pitch-black Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring rose from the remains, so heavy it was suffocating.

Ling Shuang sat cross-legged on the ground and immediately began forcibly absorbing it.

Su Chen glanced at the time.

One minute remained.

"Northeast. A large soul beast is approaching, one point eight li away." Ye Linglong's voice trembled.

One point eight li—at that monster's level, it would take only a few leaps to arrive.

"Everyone, contract into a defensive formation. Thunder Eagles, land and stay silent."

Su Chen gave his final order.

He walked behind Ling Shuang, dropped to one knee, and used his back to block the wind blowing from the northeast.

Or rather, to block the terrifying pressure emanating from that direction.

Thirty seconds.

Twenty seconds.

Ten seconds.

The fourth Spirit Ring completely fused into Ling Shuang's body. Her vines turned dark green in an instant, faintly gleaming with gold.

Heavenly Net Myriad Forms, Leyline Control.

"Go!"

Su Chen did not hesitate in the slightest. He turned and withdrew.

Within thirty seconds, the entire squad vanished into the depths of the forest.

Less than three minutes after they left, a roar powerful enough to shatter eardrums resounded through the valley.

Twenty minutes later, in the safe zone.

Everyone collapsed behind the rocks, Yan Wuji's hands still trembling from exhaustion.

Chu Yao silently bandaged the cracks on Ling Shuang's toes.

"Su Chen," Ling Shuang suddenly said.

"Speak."

"Back there, when you stood behind me, were you trying to die in my place?"

Su Chen lowered his head and drew their retreat route, his tone flat.

"The wind was strong. I was blocking it for you."

Ling Shuang looked at the thorn-slashed wounds on his back and sneered.

"The wind was blowing from the west, and you were blocking the northeast. Does the wind in your home know how to turn corners?"

Su Chen did not answer. He casually flicked a pebble, striking the forehead of the eavesdropping Jiang Tieyi.

Ye Linglong stood atop a high place, her silver hair drifting in the wind.

"The Abyss Seven Generals. Every member has four rings."

She turned around, her scarlet pupils reflecting the rising sun in the distance.

No one cheered, but everyone's gaze had changed.

It was the gaze of a group of mine slaves becoming a group of hunters.

Su Chen put away the map, brushed the dust from his knees, and looked east.

"The rest is over."