Danger! Danger! Danger-!

"Your guess was right."

Yi Wood's voice suddenly grew distant and hollow, as if it came from the end of time, tinged with a desolate chuckle.

"I've long heard that your Phoenix Clan is favored by the Heavenly Dao. Now that I've seen it for myself, it's true indeed!"

"Even though your sacred physique could not be reforged with my Wood Qi, you have a Calamity Beast at your side to counter the blood resentment Qi mixed within it, clearing the way for your Dao Path!"

Feng Zhuo made no comment. This old piece of wood had never told the truth from the start.

The Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine fed on blood resentment and wielded it as a blade.

As a fellow being from High Antiquity, how could it have been utterly powerless to resist, allowing Yi Wood to suppress it for ten thousand years?

He should have realized it sooner.

This so-called Divine Tree was nothing but an empty shell with a fine exterior.

Yanba sprang into action. The Heart-Scorching Flame became a curtain of fire, shielding Feng Zhuo behind it as the chains of his nine tails clattered. "The old thing really was up to no good!"

"Must you put it so harshly?"

The last green leaf on Yi Wood's trunk drifted down, burning to ash in midair before it reached the ground.

Its voice suddenly twisted, madness suppressed for ten thousand years bursting from its aged tones. "Ten thousand years ago, I too was a cultivator who sought answers from the Heavenly Dao! I stood guard over a vicious creature for this world through countless seasons..."

"Now I merely wish to borrow the body of a heavenly genius and tread the immortal path once more... What wrong is there in that?!!!"

"Ridiculous."

Feng Zhuo suddenly scoffed and raised his foot, crushing a Soul-Devouring Vine seedling that had burrowed out of the ground.

The foul-smelling sap on his boot sole dragged a long, bloody streak across the ground. "If you could truly suppress that vicious plant, how could you have been eaten away into this state?"

Crack-

Yi Wood's trunk shook violently, its rotten bark flaking away to reveal a shocking truth.

The heartwood that should have gleamed like jade had long been riddled with holes, each one holding a curled, twisted resentful spirit.

These translucent souls constantly tore at Yi Wood's trunk, releasing silent wails into the air.

It had long been an empty shell! It could not possibly last until the secret realm closed; its allotted span was ending now!

A cold light flashed in Feng Zhuo's eyes.

The Divine Sense of this ancient Divine Tree had long been corroded and tainted by the Soul-Devouring Vine's blood resentment Qi.

No wonder it was so eager to seize a body...

"So that's how it is."

A wisp of flame sprang to life at his fingertip, burning a vine that tried to coil around his ankle to ash.

Under the Heavenly Dao's restrictions, Yi Wood's spirit truly had no other means at its disposal besides that broken branch with the Soul-Transferring Incantation hidden inside it.

All he had to do now was wait for this ten-thousand-year contest to reach its end and watch Yi Wood and the Soul-Devouring Vine perish together.

Then... he would subdue the newborn seedling of the vicious plant.

Feng Zhuo's lips curved coldly. He still intended to contract the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine.

However much truth there was in Yi Wood's words, as long as he succeeded in contracting the Soul-Devouring Vine and found a way to wield such a vicious creature... today's peril would ultimately become a stairway to the heavens!

Hum-

A Divine Sense barrier suddenly spread out, shutting away Yi Wood's dying curses and wails.

The red-robed youth stood with his hands behind his back, quietly awaiting the fortuitous opportunity meant for him.

As for whether Yi Wood had willingly helped the Heavenly Dao suppress the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine for ten thousand years,

or had been a human soul in life, forced to remain imprisoned in a Divine Plant and suppress the Soul-Devouring Vine for the Heavenly Dao,

neither had anything to do with Feng Zhuo now.

Another month passed...

When Feng Zhuo tumbled out of a spatial rift, his left arm was nearly black.

The Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine's seedling coiled within it, occasionally thrashing in sudden struggles, only to be forcibly suppressed by the invisible power of the contract.

Feng Zhuo's red robes had already been vivid, but now they were soaked in blood, dark as rust.

He landed heavily on a layer of decaying leaves in the Green Wood Illusion Forest, scattering a cluster of firefly-like spiritual lights.

Mist drifted through the forest, and the low growl of a Demon Beast came from the distance.

Feng Zhuo coughed up a mouthful of blood and struggled to prop himself up.

The blood in his palm was dark purple. The Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine's blood resentment poison was close to seeping into his meridians.

Yanba emerged from the spirit beast pouch, his demonic flames dim. He too had clearly suffered grievous injuries.

He warily surveyed their surroundings and said in a low voice, "Master, this place..."

Feng Zhuo pulled at the corner of his mouth, his voice hoarse. "...Find somewhere first, and suppress... this thing."

He staggered to his feet, his red robes hanging down. Drops of blood fell onto the dead leaves, corroding them and giving off wisps of black smoke.

The contract with the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine had finally been made!

But how to suppress it afterward remained a problem.

What was more, Feng Zhuo had not expected that, besides the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine's uncontrollable blood resentment Qi, forcibly making a contract with the vicious plant would also bring a backlash from the contract itself!

Feng Zhuo sat leaning against an ancient tree, his left arm black as ink.

The Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine was growing harder to control, its tendrils writhing like living things. Every struggle tore his flesh, drawing dark purple blood.

His face was deathly pale, cold sweat streamed down his forehead, and his breathing came in heavy, broken gasps. Even his breath smelled of blood.

The spiritual power in Feng Zhuo's body was almost exhausted.

The Everlasting Spring Scripture was difficult to circulate. His Yi Wood Sacred Physique, which had recovered to thirty percent, produced nowhere near enough Yi Wood Qi and was instead being corroded by the Soul-Devouring Vine's blood resentment Qi.

The wood-attribute spiritual power that had once renewed itself without end was now like a dying candle in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.

The third-tier Life-Bound Spirit Fire driven by the Nirvana Heaven-Burning Instruction should have been fierce and domineering, but a lack of spiritual power had left it as faint as a firefly's glow.

It could barely travel through his meridians now and could not completely suppress the Soul-Devouring Vine's rampage.

Yanba rested his lion head on Feng Zhuo's shoulder, his demonic eyes dim. The Heart-Scorching Flame coursing through Feng Zhuo's body was nearly extinguished.

He was a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Demon Beast, yet now he could barely maintain the Heart-Scorching Flame.

"Attacking it on three fronts is barely enough to suppress it..."

Feng Zhuo opened his eyes, a trace of weariness flashing through them. "But it's no lasting solution. A quarter of an hour at most..."

After that, he would no longer be able to suppress the Soul-Devouring Vine.

Before he had finished speaking, a rustling came from the forest.

"Huh? Isn't that... Senior Brother Feng?"

A sweet, clear voice suddenly rang out.

Feng Zhuo looked up to see Su Ruanruan arrive in flowing white robes, accompanied by a cultivator from the Purple Yang Pill Sect.

Her almond-shaped eyes widened slightly, showing just the right amount of surprise. "Heavens, how did you get so badly hurt?"

What terrible timing!

His fingers curled slightly inside his sleeve, but Feng Zhuo showed nothing on his face. "Don't trouble yourself."

"Senior Brother Feng, how did you get hurt so badly?"

As if she had not heard him, Su Ruanruan hurried forward.

Her eyes misted over at just the right moment, as though she were truly worried about Feng Zhuo. "Who hurt you? I'll make sure you get justice!"

She reached out to help him, but just as her fingertips were about to touch him, his icy gaze forced her back.

Seeing this, the male cultivator from the Purple Yang Pill Sect asked in puzzlement, "Junior Sister Su, this is...?"

"Ah, this is my senior brother Feng Zhuo from the Supreme One Divine Sect. His talent is exceptional, but..."

She trailed off, as though she had something difficult to say, then smiled gently. "Senior Brother Chen, could I ask you a favor?"

"I think I saw a Green Spirit Herb up ahead on my way here, but I wasn't sure. Could you help me check?"

The male cultivator suspected nothing. Thinking Su Ruanruan and Feng Zhuo had matters they could not discuss in front of an outsider, he nodded. "All right. Wait a moment, Junior Sister Su. I'll be right back."

Once the Pill Sect disciple had gone far enough away, Su Ruanruan immediately crouched down and took a jade bottle from her Storage Bag. "These are top-grade Rejuvenation Pills..."

Feng Zhuo cut her off coldly. "No need."

Su Ruanruan's eyes reddened slightly, and her voice carried a hint of grievance. "Are you still holding a grudge over what happened at the disciple-taking ceremony, Senior Brother?"

She sighed softly, her tone full of compassion. "Actually, I forgave you long ago."

"That day, you made things difficult for me in front of all the disciples and said my talent for pill refining was mediocre. It truly made me sad for a long time... But I know you're straightforward, Senior Brother. Even if your words were harsh, they were for my own good."

"See? Haven't I managed to refine supreme-grade Rejuvenation Pills today?"

As she spoke, she leaned a step closer, her fingertips brushing her sleeve without a trace.

Feng Zhuo's gaze darkened. He wanted to raise a hand to stop her, but he could not move even a single finger.

He had spent nearly ninety percent of all his spiritual power to escape that space safely.

But because he had forcibly formed a Life-Bound Contract with the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine, the sudden backlash after he left that space made every meridian in his body feel as though it were being gnawed by ten thousand ants.

He had originally been able to withstand the backlash of the blood resentment Qi, but now the spiritual power in Feng Zhuo's body had completely stagnated, and he was close to losing his hold on the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine.

Seeing this, Su Ruanruan did not know what Feng Zhuo had been through, but a trace of hidden satisfaction flashed in her eyes.

Her expression remained gentle as water. "The path of immortal cultivation is long. What does such a small grievance matter? I never took it to heart..."

As she spoke, she edged quietly closer, the poisoned needle hidden in her sleeve poised to strike-