The Ancient Cultivator's Cave Abode

Just as Su Ruanruan was about to strike, the Soul-Devouring Vine on Feng Zhuo's left arm suddenly erupted!

"Ah-!"

A wisp of Blood Resentment Qi darted out like a venomous snake and coiled around Su Ruanruan's wrist in an instant!

She screamed and sprang back, but it was already too late. The bitterly cold resentment Qi had already begun eating its way up Su Ruanruan's meridians!

Web-like black lines quickly appeared across Su Ruanruan's beautiful cheeks. Her skin withered and cracked at a visible rate, and threads of blood seeped from her pores.

"My face... my face!"

Su Ruanruan clutched her cheeks in terror, her voice as shrill as a vengeful ghost's.

Feng Zhuo watched coldly, without a ripple of emotion in his heart.

The backlash from the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine was merely its Blood Resentment Qi attacking any living thing that came near, without distinction.

For the hatred of the past and the grudge of today, he would use this Blood Resentment Qi to exact a little repayment for now!

Su Ruanruan staggered backward. No longer bothering to keep up her pretense, she stumbled away.

The moment after she left, Feng Zhuo could finally hold on no longer. Darkness swallowed his vision, and he fell completely unconscious.

A green figure silently leaped down from the treetops.

Nangong Tang crouched beside him, a Green-Eyed Golden Toad perched on her shoulder, its scarlet tongue slowly retracting.

"Tsk, you're badly hurt."

Muttering to herself, she kindled a wisp of dark green flame at her fingertip and gently pressed it against the Soul-Devouring Vine on Feng Zhuo's left arm.

The vine markings recoiled slightly, but did not fall completely dormant.

Nangong Tang pursed her lips, took a jade-green pill from her robes, and stuffed it into Feng Zhuo's mouth.

"You're lucky you ran into me."

She hoisted the unconscious Feng Zhuo onto her shoulder and vanished into the forest like a ghost.

Feng Zhuo woke to the faint, bitter fragrance of medicine.

He opened his eyes to find himself in a crude stone cave. Several glowing vines clung to the walls, casting a dim blue light over everything.

The Soul-Devouring Vine was still coiled around his left arm, but the piercing pain had eased considerably.

Someone had temporarily suppressed the backlash for him.

"Awake?"

A clear voice sounded beside him.

Feng Zhuo turned his head and saw a girl of about thirteen or fourteen sitting cross-legged beside a fire, casually roasting a skewer of mushrooms.

A Green-Eyed Golden Toad perched on her shoulder, its deep green eyes fixed on him.

Someone from the Purple Yang Pill Sect.

Feng Zhuo pushed himself upright, his voice hoarse. "...Thank you."

Without looking up, Nangong Tang casually tossed him a waterskin. "It's too soon to thank me. The Soul-Devouring Vine inside you is only quiet for now. It hasn't been dealt with completely."

The water was warm and carried a faint hint of spirit medicine.

Feng Zhuo took a sip, and some of his spiritual power returned.

He raised his eyes, studying her. "Why did you save me?"

"Of course it was because-"

Nangong Tang suddenly leaned closer, her almond-shaped eyes astonishingly bright. "Of the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine inside you!"

She produced a dagger from somewhere and gestured with it eagerly. "It's my first time seeing a real Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine! How about letting me take a little piece to study? I'll only cut out a tiny bit of flesh. I promise it won't hurt!"

Feng Zhuo looked at her expressionlessly.

"...Fine, forget it if I can't."

Nangong Tang pursed her lips and sat back down to continue roasting her mushrooms. "Still, you're lucky you ran into me. Any other disciple of the Pill Sect would have been completely consumed by the Blood Resentment Qi from the Soul-Devouring Vine in your left arm long ago, let alone saved you."

Feng Zhuo was silent for a moment. He did not probe into how Nangong Tang had suppressed the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine, merely saying, "What do you want?"

There was no kindness in the world without a reason, especially not in this world.

Nangong Tang blinked. "Simple! Once your injuries heal, come with me somewhere."

"Where?"

"Deep in the Green Wood Illusion Forest, there's an ancient cultivator's cave abode."

A wisp of green flame sprang from her fingertip, illuminating the sly look on her face. "There might be something inside... that can completely resolve the Soul-Devouring Vine's backlash."

Feng Zhuo's eyes flickered.

"Of course, if you're scared-"

"Deal."

Nangong Tang froze, then her eyes curved into a smile. "Straightforward!"

She took out a jade bottle and tossed it over. "Take this medicine first. It can temporarily suppress the Blood Resentment Qi. As for that 'good junior sister' of yours from the same sect..."

She drew out the last words meaningfully.

Feng Zhuo said indifferently, "If she doesn't find a solution within three months, her cultivation will be completely ruined."

How could the Soul-Devouring Vine's Blood Resentment Qi be so easily dispelled?

Outside the stone cave, the night wind swept through the treetops, rustling like whispers.

Su Ruanruan stumbled back to her temporary cave abode. The face reflected in her bronze mirror nearly drove her to collapse.

Her once graceful, fairy-like face was now covered in web-like black lines. Her skin was withered and cracked, with thin streaks of blood seeping out, as though some insidious thing had devoured it.

"System! What's going on?!"

She demanded shrilly, touching the cracks on her face with trembling fingers, only to suck in a sharp breath at the pain.

[Warning: The host has been afflicted by the Blood Resentment Qi of the 'Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine'. If it is not cleared in time, it will taint the host's Spirit Root and cause her cultivation to stagnate.]

The cold mechanical voice rang out in her mind, making her even more irritable.

"Clear it? How do I clear it?!"

She frantically rummaged through her Storage Bag for detoxification pills, only to find that they had no effect.

[Searching the original plot...]

[An ancient cave abode from High Antiquity once opened in the Azure Wood Illusory Forest Secret Realm. It contained 'Spirit-Purifying Mystic Water', which can purify Blood Resentment Qi.]

"An ancient cave abode? Spirit-Purifying Mystic Water? What are those?!"

"And... the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine?"

She murmured to herself, a trace of bewilderment appearing in her eyes. "In the original novel... there was no such thing!"

She clearly remembered that in the book the system had shown her, Feng Zhuo, as the protagonist, had obtained only ten-thousand-year-old Spirit-Cleansing Grass and a basin of thousand-year-old Bell Spirit Milk in the Azure Wood Illusory Forest Secret Realm.

But now, not only did he possess some kind of bizarre black vine, he had even used it to hurt her!

"Was it because of that other transmigrator? Or did my arrival... cause a butterfly effect?"

She murmured under her breath, then shook her head sharply. "No, that's not right! System, search for every mention of 'vines' in the original novel!"

[System searching...]

[Chapter 317 of the original novel mentioned that the master of the Poison Barrier Forest of the Purple Yang Pill Sect once had a disciple named Nangong Tang. She formed a contract with a 'Heart-Devouring Demonic Vine' in the Green Wood Illusion Forest and used it to enter an ancient cave abode from High Antiquity. But because she could not suppress it, she ultimately died in the secret realm, her Dao extinguished.]

[Similarity between the characteristics of the current 'Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine' and the 'Heart-Devouring Demonic Vine': 79%.]

Su Ruanruan's pupils contracted slightly.

"So... what Feng Zhuo has isn't the thing from the original novel, but a more dangerous variant?"

She bit her lower lip, her thoughts racing. "What about Nangong Tang, then? Will she still get it in the end?"

[Conjecture: Based on the plot's corrective force, there is still an 87% probability that Nangong Tang will come into contact with the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine.]

[However, Nangong Tang fell in the original novel because she could not suppress the demonic vine's backlash. The variables this time are unknown.]

"Since the variables are unknown, and I learned about forming a contract with the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine before the other transmigrator..."

Su Ruanruan suddenly sneered, digging her fingernails hard into her palm.

"Feng Zhuo, you think you can ruin me like this?"

She stroked the black lines on her face, her voice soft but laced with venom. "Once I get the Spirit-Purifying Mystic Water... and take your Soul-Devouring Vine, let's see how arrogant you can be!"

She slowly rose to her feet and took a communication jade talisman from her Storage Bag.

"Senior Brother Chen."

Her voice had regained its usual gentle softness, as though the malice from moments ago had never existed. "I just... seem to have stumbled upon some clues about an ancient cultivator's cave abode."

A delighted response came from the other end of the jade talisman, while a cold smile curled Su Ruanruan's lips.

Since the plot had already gone astray, she would bend it back onto the "right track" that belonged to her with her own hands!

Only this time... she would never be the one to lose!