The vines felt pain and quickly retracted.
Gu Sheng stared at his palm, frowning - with his newly tempered body, he only left a few white marks on the vines.
"Master, it's not good!"
Spirit Embryo Incarnation finally broke through the magma barrier and came over, with a rare hint of panic in his voice.
"There are hundreds of these monster plants rising at the bottom of the lake!"
Gu Sheng mentally explored downwards, and sure enough he felt dense bloody vines coming upwards, and the life force in the magma was being devoured crazily.
"Let's go!"
Spirit Embryo Incarnation will float up if you hold Gu Sheng.
"Our movements are limited in the magma and we are no match for them!"
Gu Sheng however remained motionless, staring at the vines that were attacking again.
In the viscous magma, his movement speed is indeed much slower than the outside world, and the speed of these demonic plants is astonishingly fast.
"Wait."
Gu Sheng observed while dodging.
"I seem to have seen the attack methods of these vines before."
In the lava lake, the red magma flows slowly, making the entire lake bottom a scarlet color.
Gu Sheng is suspended in the middle of this lake of death, surrounded by dense vines twisting and swimming in the water, making a hair-raising "hissing" sound.
"Whoosh——"
A black shadow came through the water, so fast that it almost tore through the water.
Gu Sheng Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the vine striking towards his chest with thunderous force, carrying the sound of a sonic boom.
"Well done!"
Gu Sheng did not dodge or dodge, he raised his right hand, and Gang Qi condensed in his palm, instantly turning into a three-foot Qi sword.
The sword's edge was cold and piercing, slashing against the vines.
"Qiang!"
The sound of the clashing of golden swords exploded at the bottom of the lake, and the air sword collided with the vines, causing a string of sparks to fly.
The seemingly soft vine was not damaged, but it made Gu Sheng's wrist numb from the shock.
"So hard?"
Gu Sheng raised his eyebrows slightly, with surprise in his eyes.
"Be careful!"
Innate Spirit Embryo exclaimed in his sea of consciousness.
"You pissed them off!"
Sure enough, this blow seemed to have stung a hornet's nest.
Countless vines that were originally just swimming slowly suddenly rioted and swept towards Gu Sheng from all directions.
Their speed in the water is astonishingly fast, far exceeding the limit of the Earth Martial Realm warriors, and they form an airtight surrounding network in the blink of an eye.
Gu Sheng Looking around, I saw squirming vines all around, front, back, left, right, up and down. It was so dark that it made my scalp numb.
The surface of those vines was covered with fine barbs, glowing with a metallic cold light under the reflection of the magma.
"Now we're in trouble"
Innate Spirit Embryo's voice was solemn.
"The hardness of these vines is comparable to black iron, and there are so many of them. Fighting forcefully is not an option."
Unexpectedly, instead of panicking, Gu Sheng's eyes lit up and a smile appeared on his lips.
"That's it. It's Heavenly Demon Vine!"
"Heavenly Demon Vine?"
Innate Spirit Embryo said doubtfully.
"What's that?"
Gu Sheng explained quickly in the sea of consciousness while carefully observing the gradually tightening vine surrounding network.
"I have seen records in Grotto-Heaven ancient books. Heavenly Demon Vine is an ancient alien species. The seeds are extremely difficult to germinate and can only grow in places with extremely rich life energy."
His eyes scanned the thin life energy around him.
"This lava lake should have had the majestic vitality after Divine Phoenix died, but now it is so thin, precisely because it was absorbed by Heavenly Demon Vine."
"What now?"
Innate Spirit Embryo said anxiously.
"The vines are already surrounding us!"
Gu Sheng looked calm.
"Now that you know what it is, it's easier to deal with it."
Before he finished speaking, he focused his eyes, and the mental power in the sea of consciousness formed an invisible barrier outside his body, covering exactly one foot around his body.
Something amazing happened.
The vines that were rushing towards him suddenly stopped in mid-air, as if they had been immobilized.
They swayed gently in the current, but no longer moved forward, as if they had suddenly lost their target.
"This"
Innate Spirit Embryo was stunned.
"Why aren't they moving?"
Gu Sheng chuckled.
"Heavenly Demon Vine has no intelligence and acts entirely on instinct.
They feed by sensing the breath of life, and targets with stronger vitality are more attractive to them. "
He pointed at his mental barrier.
"Now that I have isolated all breath, in their perception, I am no different from a stone."
Innate Spirit Embryo suddenly realized.
"That's it! You know a lot, kid."
"Walking around the world, I've seen a lot."
Gu Sheng has memories in his eyes.
"Actually, I have been looking for a living Heavenly Demon Vine, and I didn't expect to find it here."
With that said, he began to swim slowly towards the depths of the lake. The mental barrier moved with him, like a transparent protective cover. Wherever he passed, the vines retreated, as if he were a red-hot iron.
"What are you going to do?"
Innate Spirit Embryo noticed his intention and his voice suddenly rose.
"Don't tell me you want to find Heavenly Demon Vine's true form!"
Gu Sheng The corner of his mouth raised slightly.
"That's what it means."
"You're crazy!"
Innate Spirit Embryo almost jumped.
"This is Heavenly Demon Vine! What does the ancient book say?"
"It is said in ancient books that Heavenly Demon Vine has strong vitality and extremely high growth potential."
Gu Sheng replied as he dived, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"If it can be conquered and cultivated, its effect will be as good as that of a magical weapon."
The lava lake is hundreds of feet deep, and the middle layer where Gu Sheng is located is already thin with life energy. The deeper you dive, the weaker the life energy in the water becomes. Obviously, all the energy was absorbed by the Heavenly Demon Vine body at the bottom of the lake.
As depth increases, the water pressure increases and the temperature increases.
Ordinary warriors would have been pressed into meat patties or roasted into mature meat in such an environment. But Gu Sheng's body is surrounded by strong energy, which isolates it from the harsh environment of the outside world.
"Dive another hundred feet."
Innate Spirit Embryo suddenly became nervous.
"Gu Sheng, my spiritual consciousness senses that there are at least a thousand vines around! This number is too terrifying!"
Gu Sheng's expression remained unchanged.
"It doesn't matter, as long as the breath is not leaked, they won't attack."
"What if?"
Innate Spirit Embryo refuses to give up.
"If your mental power barrier fluctuates, or if Heavenly Demon Vine's body is intelligent, these vines can grind you into a pulp in an instant!"
Gu Sheng stopped moving and said seriously.
"The path of spiritual practice is to compete with God for fate. When encountering such an opportunity, how can we give up because of fear of risks?"
Gu Sheng held his breath, his whole body covered with a layer of light blue mental barrier, isolating the hot magma from outside.
He looked through the rolling red magma and clearly saw the wriggling Heavenly Demon Vine.
"The attack power of each vine is no less than the full blow of the Earth Martial Realm peak warrior."
Gu Sheng said silently in his heart.
"Thousands of vines are strangled at the same time. Even the strong ones in the sect have to stay away."
The flow of magma brought up a string of bubbles and brushed against his cheek.
Gu Sheng can feel the ferocious aura exuding from those vines. They seem to be hostile to any life, ready to tear the intruder into pieces at any time.
"But I know your weaknesses."
Gu Sheng The corners of his mouth raised slightly and he continued to dive to the bottom of the lake.
His mental barrier perfectly isolates his own breath, making it impossible for those Heavenly Demon Vine with keen senses to detect his existence.
Above the lake, on the edge of the lava lake.
Zhang Tianxing stood with his hands behind his hands, his red robe rustling in the heat.
He squinted his eyes and looked at Magma Lake, who was gradually calming down, and turned to Xu Hansong beside him.
"That kid is either dead or seriously injured and fled."
Xu Hansong sneered and shook the folding fan lightly in his hand.
"A mere Earth Martial Realm junior dares to play tricks in front of us. Send the order and search the entire Spirit Flame Mountain secret realm!"
The dozens of the Heavenly Martial Realm strong men behind the two people immediately spread out and swept through every corner of the secret realm.
Spirit Flame Mountain The secret realm is not big, but in half a day, these powerful people have completed a carpet search.
"I report to you two adults that there is no trace of Gu Sheng!"
A Heavenly Martial Realm warrior knelt down on one knee to report.
Zhang Tianxing and Xu Hansong looked at each other and at the same time turned their attention to the still churning lava lake.
"Could it be."
Xu Hansong frowned.
"Is that kid still in the lake?"
Zhang Tianxing's eyes were fierce.
"Come here! Find some Body Cultivator strong men and prepare to go to the lake to explore!"
At the same time, Gu Sheng has reached the deepest part of the lava lake.
The temperature here is so high that even the mental barrier begins to tremble slightly.
But what surprised him was that there were no thousands of vines here, only more than a dozen huge intertwined rhizomes, each one ten feet thick, entrenched quietly like a sleeping dragon.
"Is this the root of Heavenly Demon Vine?"
Innate Spirit Embryo's voice sounded in Gu Sheng's mind, with childlike curiosity.
Gu Sheng responded in his heart.
"No, this is just the part that absorbs life force, not the real core."
"Then how do we conquer it?"
The spirit fetus continued to ask, with tension in his voice.
Gu Sheng's eyes flashed.
"I need your help. Control your avatar, simulate the breath of Divine Phoenix, and then try to stay away from here."
"Divine Phoenix breath? That is the breath of ancient mythical beasts!"
The spirit fetus was surprised.
"But... I can definitely try the simulation."
"Very good."
Gu Sheng nodded.
"Remember, once you start, swim up immediately and don't look back."
The spirit fetus was silent for a moment, and then said solemnly.
"I understand."
A hundred feet away, a vague figure suddenly appeared.
It was a Spirit Embryo Incarnation that was seventy percent similar to Gu Sheng, and its whole body began to exude an ancient and noble aura—it was the coercion of the ancient Divine Phoenix!
In an instant, the entire lava lake boiled!
Countless vines strangled towards Spirit Embryo Incarnation at an alarming speed.
Those vines have strange runes on them, and every blow is enough to tear the mountain apart.
Spirit Embryo Incarnation relied on its amazing speed to flexibly shuttle through the gaps between the vines and quickly swim upstream.
The dozen or so huge rhizomes at the bottom of the lake also began to squirm and slowly unfolded.
Gu Sheng Seize this opportunity and continue to dive down.
His feet finally touched the hard bottom of the lake.
"Now!"
Gu Sheng drank in his heart.
As the giant rhizomes move, the central location where they originally occupied is gradually revealed.
There, there is a snow-white mass-like object, exuding a bright luster, gently rising and falling in the magma, as if breathing life.
"This is the core of Heavenly Demon Vine!"
Gu Sheng's eyes flashed with ecstasy.
"Normally it is heavily protected and it is impossible to get close to it. Only when it attacks with all its strength, the core will be briefly exposed!"
The snow-white dumplings exude a faint wave of life, and the texture looks unusually soft, deforming slightly with the flow of magma.
Gu Sheng Transparent ripples appeared between the eyebrows.
His mental power began to split. One part continued to maintain the protective barrier and isolate his own aura; the other part condensed between his eyebrows and turned into countless mysterious formations.
"Secret Technique of Double Consciousness Sea, activate!"
As Gu Sheng drank, those formations intertwined and gradually formed an ancient sigil full of vicissitudes of life.
There are obscure lines flowing on the talisman, exuding an aura that suppresses all things.
"Go!"
Gu Sheng The talisman between the eyebrows slowly rushed towards the snow-white dumpling with the pull of mental power.
Gu Sheng The moment the talisman condensed on the fingertips sank into the snow-white dumpling, the entire bottom of the lava lake seemed to be stirred by an invisible hand.
The ten-foot-thick Heavenly Demon Vine rhizome twisted crazily, with spiderweb-like red blood lines appearing on its surface, making a tooth-wrenching "squeaking" sound.
"It's over, it's over, this thing is going to go berserk!"
Innate Spirit Embryo screamed in the sea of consciousness Gu Sheng, his face turned pale.
"Run! If you don't run, we will have to answer here!"
Gu Sheng however remained motionless, with golden light flowing in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth even curved.
"Why panic? It's done."
Before he finished speaking, the crazily twisting rhizome suddenly froze and avoided the direction of Gu Sheng.
The blood lines on the surface of the rhizome gradually faded away, replaced by a layer of pale golden halo.
"This is this"
Innate Spirit Embryo eyes widened.
"Shhh."
Gu Sheng raised a finger.
The snow-white dumpling suddenly exploded, and a three-foot-long golden light came out of the hole like a spiritual snake, directly hitting Gu Sheng's face.
Gu Sheng did not dodge or evade, and gave a low drink.
"Take it!"
The golden light wrapped around his left arm and turned into a golden and red vine, with a surface as smooth as jade, not even remotely ferocious.
The vine rubbed Gu Sheng's cheek affectionately.
"Heavenly Demon Vine subject?"
Innate Spirit Embryo floated out and poked the vine curiously.
"What about those snarling branches?"
Gu Sheng stroked the vines lightly and said calmly.
"What's in the lava lake is just branches. This is the main body. Without it, those branches will wither soon."
"What a pity those branches"
Innate Spirit Embryo smacked his lips.
"If only I could take them all away."
"Greedy."
Gu Sheng chuckled.
"With this main body, as long as there is enough vitality, new branches can grow at any time."
Surprise flashed in his eyes.
"I didn't expect that the remaining vitality of ancient Divine Phoenix would nourish such spiritual creatures."
The vines seemed to understand his words and twisted happily.
Gu Sheng No longer delayed, he looked up at the dark red magma above his head.
"It's time to go up."
He kicked his legs and shot upward like an arrow.
Golden and red vines automatically wrapped around his waist, forming a layer of protection. Wherever it passes, the magma automatically separates, as if it is afraid of something.
By the lava lake, the atmosphere was so solemn that water could drip from it.
"Waste! It's all waste!"
Xu Hansong kicked the disciple in front of him, his face was terrifyingly gloomy.
"It's been three days and I can't even find a single person!"
Zhang Tianxing stood with his hands behind his back and coldly glanced at Xie Qingxuan and Xie He who were being escorted.
"Last chance. Tell the whereabouts of Gu Sheng and spare your life."
Xie Qingxuan There was blood at the corner of his mouth, but he held his head up stubbornly.