Suddenly, the sky fell and the earth caved in.
All the vines hidden throughout Jade Embroidery Valley burst out of the ground.
They engulfed everyone, from Huang Fangling and the Four Ghosts, who had fled first and already reached the valley entrance, to Cao Jinxing and his two companions, who had been the last to run.
Like an enormous lotus suddenly folding its outermost petals inward, they rolled up the entire Jade Embroidery Valley!
Every living creature within the lotus was enveloped, with nowhere to escape!
The upheaval came in an instant.
The earth roared and collapsed!
Deep fissures split open one after another.
"What the hell is this?!"
"An earthquake!"
"Quick! Run! Get out!"
Caught completely off guard, the two thousand government troops tumbled off their feet and horses, falling into the deep fissures. Men screamed, horses neighed, and wails rose one after another. Their ranks dissolved into chaos and were soon engulfed by the enormous tide of vines!
The scale of it was overwhelming.
Cao Jinxing, Lu Yi, and Master Chongxiao all paled in shock. Beneath their feet, tree after tree sank with the collapsing soil, plunging into the abyss.
Countless vines shot out like venomous snakes.
What was going on? Why was it still the taisui... Had it been transplanted or not? What was the point of Xu Qingwei capturing people? To feed? Or to keep word from getting out and exposing his whereabouts?
A string of questions flashed through Cao Jinxing's mind as the vines attacked.
"Get out of here!"
Master Chongxiao's lightness skills fell short of Cao Jinxing's and Lu Yi's. As the trees beneath him toppled, he was the first to fall.
The change came so abruptly that before Cao Jinxing and Lu Yi could turn back to save him, Master Chongxiao's sleeves billowed.