The speed at which the vines dragged him was extremely fast.
Chen Ye felt as if lights and shadows flashed before his eyes as he swiftly passed through the thick, sticky green miasma.
In an instant, he was pulled to the core area of the valley.
Here, the miasma was much thinner, and a huge pit appeared before him.
At the edge of the pit, several main vines thicker than water tanks were coiled like giant pythons, gnarled and rooted deep into the ground.
But at this moment, the main vines were dull in luster, with many parts covered in dry, cracked scorch marks or deep bite marks.
"This is... not only attacked by a cultivator but also by a demon beast."
Chen Ye’s face turned serious.
Indeed, the spiritual essence radiating from the Tao Stele of the Wood Domain was too tempting, attracting all kinds of people and beasts.
Although in the Songyang Cave Heaven, the Man-eating Vine clan could peacefully enjoy the Tao Stele of the Wood Domain.
However, calling the Songyang Cave Heaven dangerous was an understatement compared to the Three Thousand Great Mountains.
Moreover, the layers of restrictions in the Wood Domain, appearing to limit the Man-eating Vine clan, in a sense, also protected it.
"Squeak! Squeak, squeak!" The little white fox struggled out from Chen Ye’s arms, calling continuously.
The vine heard the sound and began to squirm, extending a small tendril that kept shaking.
The little white fox jumped out from Chen Ye’s embrace, approached the tendril, and kept chirping incessantly.
"Little White, feed it this pill."
Chen Ye said softly to the little white fox, taking out a small jade bottle from his bosom.
Inside was a Second Tier Healing Elixir called the Hundred Wood Ginseng Pill, obtained from Pharmacist Xu of the Medicine King Valley.
It was expensive, and Chen Ye only had this one bottle left.
The little white fox nodded repeatedly.
It took the Hundred Wood Ginseng Pill from Chen Ye’s hand and tossed it toward the body of the Vine King.
Although the Vine King had no consciousness, it knew this was good stuff.
As the vine squirmed, it extended a tendril deep into the pill bottle, absorbing the pill.
For ordinary cultivator, just swallowing one pill would quickly heal physical injuries, but the Vine King’s body was so large it needed to consume a whole bottle.
Soon, the Vine King’s body visibly healed quite a bit.
"Hiss..."
Chen Ye clicked his tongue in amazement, this demon plant’s evolutionary direction was truly bizarre, capable of growing so many tendrils.
If used to punish a bad child like Zhang Chuxi who loves to lie, it would certainly be a sharp tool!
Quickly, a chill ran down Chen Ye’s spine.
He shouldn’t have had such thoughts... It must be from inhaling too much miasma, causing his mind to become confused.
Chen Ye steadied his mind and said to the little white fox:
"Little White, quickly have its kin enter my Spirit Beast Bag... As for the Vine King, transform into tendrils and hide on me!"
The little white fox quickly relayed the message to the Vine King truthfully.
The Vine King indeed listened to the little white fox’s words.
Immediately, the vines in the entire pit squirmed crazily, finally transforming into a small tendril, with a five-pointed star painted on it.
Chen Ye had always thought tendrils were just the Vine King’s transformation, in fact, this was its true form.
He reached out to take the tendril, and it wriggled flexibly into his clothes, where he could feel something indeterminate moving inside.
Chen Ye’s scalp tingled immediately.
One must know,
if the Vine King had evil intentions, it could easily take his life...
Fortunately, this demon plant had basically no intelligence, obedient to the little white fox, it probably wouldn’t harm him.
Just to be safe, Chen Ye planned to learn a contract method someday to simply contract the Vine King directly.
Thinking this way, he became thrilled—if the Vine King could transform into tendrils hidden on him, wouldn’t that mean he could use the Vine King’s tendrils to attack anytime, anywhere?
This would be even better than a Second Tier top-grade magical treasure!
Chen Ye felt a thrill in his heart: "Little White, is the Vine King male or female?"
The little fox squatted on the ground, its big tail swayed confusingly: "Squeak?"
"Ahem. Just asking out of curiosity." Chen Ye put on a righteous expression.
The little fox looked at Chen Ye suspiciously and began to explain.
It turns out, strictly speaking, the Man-eating Vine clan has no gender.
Or rather, this clan is all female and can give birth to offspring on its own.
It doesn’t develop thoughts like ordinary demon beasts. In fact, there’s no difference from regular plants.
It’s just that, long exposure to Spiritual Qi and the Tao Stele of the Wood Domain developed some minimal wisdom, much like a spiritual artifact gaining a spirit.
Chen Ye felt relieved after hearing this.
If the Vine King had thoughts and was male, wouldn’t it be equivalent to having a man always on him?
Luckily, the Vine King averted all of this.
Truly a top-notch contract beast...
Subsequently,
Chen Ye smoothly stored all the other members of the Man-eating Vine clan into the Spirit Beast Bag.
Currently, all Qi Cultivation-stage demon vines of the Man-eating Vine clan were wiped out.
Only four Foundation Establishment Stage Man-eating Vines were left, which could easily fit into the Spirit Beast Bag.
As for the Tao Stele of the Wood Domain, it was even simpler, just store it directly in the Storage Bag.
In addition,
Chen Ye discovered that the Vine King seemed to have undergone some mutation, as no other Man-eating Vine could transform into tendrils, except for it.
"Hmm? If it were just a transformation technique, by rights, the Foundation Establishment Stage demon vines should be capable of transforming... Why can only the Vine King transform?"
Chen Ye pondered secretly as he felt the tendrils on him.
It was only then that he realized, perhaps the tendrils are the mutated true form of the Vine King.
This form allowed the Vine King to break free from the constraints of demon plants and move more freely.
Chen Ye mused over the cool and slippery feeling of the Vine King’s tendril in his bosom, his thoughts racing.
Forcibly taking it would be too conspicuous and leave hidden risks, especially since Luo Heng had already identified him...
"Little White, tell the Vine King."
Chen Ye quickly whispered to the little white fox on his shoulder,
"Have it make a big commotion now, feign an attempt to break free and escape. Let those few vines struggle desperately, collapse a few rocks, then suddenly retract its aura to create an illusion that it’s already fled."