Just as everyone was barely steadying themselves, filled with high spirits, a disciple’s voice trembled:
"Xu, Xu Master... look over there... what is that?!"
A young disciple standing on the flank pointed to the edge of a nearby moss-covered monument.
Upon hearing this, everyone felt a jolt in their hearts and followed his direction.
Even Pharmacist Xu was startled, focusing his vision to see.
At the top edge of the monument covered with moss, a tendril-like thin vine was quietly emerging, swaying gently.
This was originally nothing remarkable, but on its surface, there was a crooked, white star-patterned mark!
Pharmacist Xu let out a sigh of relief, admonishing, "It’s just an ordinary demon plant..."
But before he could finish,
the base portion of the monument covered by thick moss suddenly writhed violently and then arched up!
Shhlaa—!
The seemingly solid "stone skin" of the "monument" split open on both sides like soft mud, creating a huge gap!
Within the gap, it was not hard rock at all!
But a layer of tough, thick, and resilient vine skin covered with deep dark green patterns!
This wasn’t a broken monument at all!
This was clearly a massive, ancient demon-eating vine disguised as a monument!
The vines they thought were the main vine were merely exploratory branches extending from this ancient vine disguised as a monument!
The true predator had always been lurking like a gigantic sea monster under a reef, only exposing a little bit of its disguise, watching all their performances!
"Ugh..." The disciple who had warned Pharmacist Xu earlier emitted an inarticulate sound from his throat and staggered back, collapsing to the ground.
Pharmacist Xu’s face turned ashen, devoid of any color, leaving only a deathly pale.
The joints of his fingers gripping the purple jade flute cracked with sound, the spiritual light flashing intermittently:
"It’s just a Foundation Establishment demon vine, quickly form an array..."
But this was only the beginning.
Shhlaa... shhlaa... shhlaa...
A dense, tearing sound like ripping cloth echoed from all around, from the forest surrounding them.
The disciples of Medicine King Valley were like startled birds, looking around in horror!
Surrounding them, the previously quiet and variously shaped monuments...
Whether half-collapsed or relatively well-preserved.
The thick moss and climbing vines on their surfaces were all frantically wriggling and peeling off!
Behind the stone skin, without exception, were all vine skins of demon-eating vines.
This was actually a colony of demon-eating vines!
The desperate screams of the Medicine King Valley disciples had not yet fallen when an ear-piercing "crack" suddenly echoed from behind the monument where Chen Ye and Zhiwei were hiding!
Chen Ye’s hair stood on end in an instant!
He quickly looked down, only to see the thick moss beneath his feet boiling violently like hot water.
The broad leaves of ferns he had previously calmed with his Spirit Plant Cultivator techniques were curling upwards frantically.
Dense cracks spread rapidly like cobwebs, deep within the cracks, the ghostly green vines writhed like living snakes.
The monument that sheltered them was also shockingly one of the ancient demon-eating vines disguised as a trunk!
Chen Ye’s mind went blank, leaving only two icy words: It’s over!
He had not realized that inside this monument was also a Spirit Plant.
No matter how skilled he was in Spirit Plant Techniques, he was merely a Qi Cultivation cultivator, incapable of detecting the deliberate concealment of such a terrifying existence.
He could no longer care about staying hidden, grabbing the stunned Zhiwei and holding her protectively in front of him!
His other hand reached for the little white fox.
This white fox was alive but was like dead, turned into a little stiff fox, possibly frightened out of its wits.
But at this moment, Chen Ye was too slow to escape to care about the little white fox’s feelings.
The spiritual power beneath Chen Ye’s feet exploded, and he was about to retreat with the two little ones in tow, regardless of everything.
Poof!
Along with the splatter of dirt and decayed leaves, the demon-eating vine suddenly burst out from the ground.
Chen Ye, holding Zhiwei and the little white fox, stumbled out from behind their hiding monument.
Exposed in front of the Medicine King Valley crowd and the countless vine monuments with gaping mouths around them!
"Could it be that I, Chen Ye, will fall here?"
Chen Ye held the two little ones tightly, muttering to himself.
However,
the anticipated thunderous strike did not descend.
The demon-eating vine behind them not only did not attack them but instead exuded a chaotic consciousness.
"Could it be that it’s been disturbed by my Spirit Plant Technique?" Chen Ye took a deep breath, seeing hope, and continued to tirelessly use the Spirit Plant Technique to soothe the demon-eating vine.
But on the other side, the Medicine King Valley did not even have this moment to breathe!
"Ahh—Master Xu save me!" A disciple closest to a vine monument crack tried to rush towards Pharmacist Xu.
Shhh shhh shhh—!
At least five vine whips shot out from the clefts of the closest vine monuments to him in an instant!
The speed was beyond the limit of the naked eye’s capture.
The disciple’s body was instantly pierced through the limbs and chest by five vines shooting from different directions, and a horrifying suction erupted from within, flattening his full body like a deflated balloon without even giving him time to scream.
The five vines were quickly pulled back, tossing his shrunken corpse aside like trash!
"No! No—!"
"Run! Run!!"
"Escape!!!"
Witnessing their fellow disciple instantly turned into a dessicated corpse, the remaining disciples of Medicine King Valley went mad, scattering in all directions.
"Hold steady, form the Golden Soup Array!" Pharmacist Xu’s eyes widened in fury, struggling to command the disciples.
He shouted loudly, the purple jade flute in his hand burst out with brilliant azure light, instantly enveloping all the remaining disciples within a spiritual barrier!