Chapter 181: Blood Curse Demon Vine

Inside a cabin of the San Alliance's dharma ship.

Upon learning that even the rightful Alliance Leader, Huo Qianqiu, had perished, Qin Ming couldn't help but ask, "Ah? Alliance Leader Huo has also fallen? Could it be that a Tier-3 Demon King has also appeared?"

Li Yuanqing ordered spiritual tea to be served, personally poured a cup for Qin Ming, and only then sighed, shaking his head as he countered with a question, "Fellow Daoist Qin, do you still remember? During the incident on Thousand Leaf Island, who was the primary culprit?"

"That would naturally be Zhao Wuyang, Zhao Wuji, and the other remnants of the Zhao family," Qin Ming answered almost instinctively.

Upon saying this, he suddenly realized!

"Could it be that the demonized Zhao Wuyang has returned?"

Li Yuanqing nodded. "Exactly! Moreover, this 'Zhao Wuyang' is not the same as that 'Zhao Wuyang'; he is not merely demonized."

"Rather, he has been parasitized by a Tier-3 demonized mutant species. Its power is terrifying to the extreme; no one within the entire Immortal Realm of the Lingxi Archipelago can withstand it. If not for the reappearance of this demonic plant, even facing a much larger beast tide, our San Alliance would not have retreated so quickly."

"Elder Zhou Ping and Alliance Leader Huo encountered this demon during a defensive battle, which led to their misfortune, falling into its maw."

Hearing this, Qin Ming was secretly alarmed in his heart. He had personally witnessed the possessed Zhao Wuyang back then; that eerie and unpredictable divine ability could easily slay even a False Jin Dan Laozu, far beyond what ordinary cultivators could resist.

However, this was not much different from what he had guessed at the time—it was actually parasitization by a demonized demonic plant.

"Alas! Elder Zhou Ping and Alliance Leader Huo both fought valiantly to resist the demonic beasts, only to die in vain at the hands of this demon; it is truly lamentable!" Qin Ming sighed sincerely from the bottom of his heart.

Through a year of buying and selling pills with Zhou Ping, after prolonged contact, he had come to greatly respect this person's integrity.

Although Zhou Ping was not acting for some grand cause of life and death for the entire Immortal Realm, but merely for the responsibility resting on his own shoulders, he dared to take enormous risks, traveling along the death line of the Lingxi Archipelago to transport supplies, instead of fleeing immediately like other cultivators.

This alone was quite admirable.

Then he asked again:

"Does Fellow Daoist Li know the origin of this demonic plant?"

Hearing this, a trace of hatred appeared on Li Yuanqing's steady face. "Speaking of which, all of this is the fault of the Zhao family."

"This demonized mutant species is called the 'Blood Curse Demon Vine.' Originally, it was a mid-grade Tier-3 spiritual plant with high potential that spontaneously developed spiritual intelligence. After being soaked in demon blood from the demon cave on Thousand Leaf Island, it gradually demonized into a demonic creature, capable of continuously advancing by specifically consuming the essence blood of cultivators."

"Its growth speed is truly horrifying. According to intelligence gathered at great cost, its current state has reached a cultivation level comparable to the peak of the early Jin Dan stage."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming curled his lips and secretly thought: How is this somewhat similar to my own natal spiritual plant, the Longevity Vine? "Originally, this demonic plant itself did not possess the ability to move, but after demonization, it can parasitize cultivators or demonic beasts, using the host to move freely; the stronger the parasitized host, the stronger the demonic plant's abilities become."

"Initially, the Blood Curse Demon Vine parasitized the False Jin Dan Laozu Zhao Wuyang, but after the beast tide erupted, this demonic plant somehow found a Tier-3 early stage Howling Moon Demon King and secretly parasitized it."

"Now, the entire Thousand Leaf Island has been reoccupied by this fiend, which has gathered tens of thousands of demonic beasts under its command, entrenching itself on the spiritual island to hunt cultivators and gather blood food."

"The Zhao family clearly knew that a remnant demon cave existed within Thousand Leaf Island and that a demonic vine had been born there, yet blinded by greed, they not only concealed this information but also attempted to control this demon."

"Causing such a calamity for the Immortal Realm, they truly deserve to die ten thousand deaths!"

After listening to Li Yuanqing's words, Qin Ming also frowned tightly, not expecting the origin of the Blood Curse Demon Vine to be so significant.

In fact, he had also learned from the Tier-3 Spiritual Gu Zhishi inheritance that some special spiritual plants might directly become spiritual treasures upon maturing, or awaken spiritual intelligence, but such spiritual plants are rarely seen.

Suddenly!

Just as he was recalling that Spiritual Gu Zhishi inheritance.

Qin Ming suddenly remembered something and said with a grave expression, "This is not good! This demonic plant is entrenching itself on Thousand Leaf Spiritual Island and refusing to leave; it likely has another purpose!"

Hearing this, Li Yuanqing was instantly stunned.

The intelligence he had just relayed was gathered at great hardship through the sacrifice of countless cultivators' lives; could Fellow Daoist Qin discern this demon's intentions just by hearing him recount it once? But then he thought again, the other party was a Spiritual Gu Zhishi famous throughout the Immortal Realm of the Lingxi Archipelago and would not speak recklessly.

So he hurriedly asked, "Fellow Daoist Qin, do you understand this demonic vine? What is its purpose?"

"As for how this demon operates, Qin Mou does not know much."

"But what I do know is that once a spiritual plant of mid-grade Tier-3 or above awakens spiritual intelligence, it will seek an opportunity to produce its first batch of spiritual seeds within a short period."

"If my prediction is correct..."

"This Blood Curse Demon Vine should be preparing to nurture demonic seeds; once there is enough blood food, new demonic vines will be born!"

"The speed of demonic seed condensation varies depending on the potential and quality of the spiritual plant itself, but generally, it occurs within fifteen years."

"However, there is good news: before the demonic seeds are born, unless there is a special reason, this Blood Curse Demon Vine will not easily leave Thousand Leaf Spiritual Island."

Just as Qin Ming finished speaking.

Only the sound of "Pata" was heard.

The teacup in Li Yuanqing's hand inadvertently fell to the ground.

One demonic vine was already unmanageable; if several more were to appear, wouldn't the Lingxi Archipelago be finished? "F-Fellow Daoist Qin, are you speaking the truth?" Li Yuanqing asked with a tense expression.

Qin Ming nodded with absolute certainty. "Eight or nine times out of ten, this is the case."

"By the way, Fellow Daoist Li, now that even a Tier-3 demonic plant like this has appeared, why are the Jin Dan Laozu of the Wei State Immortal Realm paying no attention to this at all?"

"And why is there no support coming from the Canghai Immortal City either?"

Qin Ming was also extremely puzzled in his heart; since the existence of the demonic vine had been discovered, why not eliminate it as soon as possible? If one Jin Dan cultivator couldn't defeat it, surely a group attack would win, right?

Li Yuanqing smiled helplessly and bitterly. "Fellow Daoist Qin, you do not know; this beast disaster is no small matter. Every family is exhausted running around, unable to spare hands to attend to this side."

"The moment I discovered this matter, I reported it immediately to Lei Yuanzong and Canghai Immortal City."

"But for some reason, there has been no response to this day."

"Alas! Isn't this precisely why Li Mou is planning to go to Canghai Immortal City personally, to meet True Person Canghai and explain the severity of this matter?"

Hearing this, Qin Ming nodded thoughtfully. "Qin Mou also happens to have business requiring a trip to Canghai Immortal City."

"That is perfect then; Fellow Daoist Qin, please come along," Li Yuanqing said, his expression relaxing slightly as he extended an invitation.

"Very well."

"By the way, I must congratulate Fellow Daoist Li on your formal promotion to the rightful Alliance Leader of the San Alliance," Qin Ming said with a smile on his face, clasping his hands to offer congratulations.

Hearing this, Li Yuanqing revealed a helpless expression and smiled bitterly. "Fellow Daoist Qin, do not mock me; if Alliance Leader Huo had not perished and no one else could fill this position, I would not have forced myself to take it up."

"Fellow Daoist Qin is a Grand Alchemist, so you may have noticed that my cultivation was forcibly elevated during a battle with demonic beasts by relying on a Realm-Breaking Pill. Alas~"

"My foundation has been damaged; my path of cultivation ends here for this life."

"..."

Ever since Li Yuanqing learned from Qin Ming that the Tier-3 demonic vine would mutate and produce demonic seeds within a short time, his entire being had become restless.

Qin Ming's words seemed to truly add frost to the other's already freezing situation.

The atmosphere inside the private room fell into a heavy silence.

For a moment, Qin Ming did not know how to begin comforting the other; even if he faced a third-rank demonic vine himself, his only option would be to turn and flee, utterly powerless to change anything.

The Dharma Ship flew through the sky for a period of time, encountering no troublesome demonic beasts along the way.

More than two hours later.

They arrived above Canghai Immortal City, but the scene that followed...

... caused everyone on the Dharma Ship to startle in shock! Outside Canghai Immortal City...

... thousands upon thousands of beasts in a tidal wave fearlessly charged again and again at the high-grade third-rank great formation surrounding the immortal city.

The great formation emitted a blue, misty curtain of light, from time to time releasing powerful spells that rained down upon the beast horde below.

Boom—boom—boom! Countless low-rank demonic beasts instantly turned into a rain of blood.

"Kill!"

"Slaughter these beasts!"

Outside Canghai Immortal City, dazzling spells filled the sky, while the roars of beasts and the killing cries of cultivators shook the heavens, and the pungent smell of blood was everywhere.

Vast numbers of demonic beasts, like a surging tide, came wave after wave, as if they could never be killed off.

Moo! Bang-bang-bang! Just at this moment...

... the earth shook, accompanied by a earth-shattering roar, and suddenly three enormous demonic beasts, over ten zhang tall, appeared in the far rear of the beast horde.

They were three Mountain-Spanning Giant Elephants brimming with thick earth-type demonic power! The giant elephant demons whipped up a fierce wind and began charging wildly toward the crowd of cultivators, their thick limbs trampling and their trunks sweeping horizontally, indiscriminately smashing forward in a berserk rampage!

In an instant, flesh and blood flew everywhere, the scene resembling a living hell on earth.

"Ah!"

A cultivator let out a miserable scream as his entire body was pierced through by an elephant tusk, his internal organs spilling out before his breath vanished instantly.

Several cultivators, their faces filled with terror, had just flown into mid-air when they were struck by a massive elephant trunk; living humans were instantly snapped in half at the waist, spraying blood as they fell.

Even more cultivators died miserably under the feet of the Mountain-Spanning Demon Elephants, crushed to death alive.

Immediately afterward, the countless demonic beasts following behind swarmed up, like wolves starving and desperate, frantically gnawing on the corpses of the cultivators.

To demonic beasts, the flesh and blood of cultivators contained spiritual energy and were likewise a great tonic.

Qin Ming raised his eyes to gaze at the area outside the city, his face filled with shock! If not for this rare trip out, he would never have known things had become so chaotic.

"Sigh! Did I come out too early? I feel I still need to return to the island and hide for a while."

Li Yuanqing also stood stunned in place, speechless for a long time.

He had originally come to Canghai Immortal City to seek reinforcements, but looking at the scene before him now, he felt it would be a blessing if the immortal city did not come begging him for aid instead. Just at this moment...

... among the crowd of cultivators on the city walls, a familiar figure appeared within Qin Ming's line of sight.

Lu Liang, holding a golden fly-whisk spiritual artifact, was locked in a fierce struggle with two Leopard-Scale Demon Beasts at the early stage of the second rank.

With a wave of his hand as he formed seals and cast his spell, dozens of powerful golden ribbons of light shot forth from the fly-whisk, slaughtering all the surrounding demonic beasts.

Furthermore, he struck one of the Leopard-Scale Beasts in the abdomen, sending it flying dozens of zhang away; with a "Bang!" it crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, two more second-rank great demons with formidable auras surrounded him.

Lu Liang immediately began to lament his plight.

"Hah!"

Not far from Lu Liang, a delicate feminine shout rang out; a graceful figure was seen maneuvering nimbly while controlling a golden needle spiritual artifact, transforming the needle in her hand into countless streaks of golden light that stabbed toward an opposing Crimson Flame Demon Falcon.

It was also a great demon at the early stage of the second rank.

Qin Ming focused his gaze and recognized this woman as Lu Liang's beloved disciple, Lu Wanjun; observing the aura of magic power on her person, she had clearly broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

"So it is her? It seems she successfully advanced after consuming that one premium Foundation Establishment Pill I helped her refine."

Screech! Boom! The Crimson Flame Demon Falcon let out a long cry from its mouth, releasing rings of sound-wave attacks in all directions.

The arc-shaped sound waves, like countless invisible blades, created ripples in the air; wherever they passed, blood sprayed wildly, and nearby buildings were instantly sliced into countless fragments.

The attacks emitted by the golden needle spiritual artifact were directly shattered and vanished completely under the Crimson Flame Demon Falcon's sound waves.

Boom! Subsequently, the demon falcon erupted with blazing crimson demonic flames; spreading its wings engulfed in raging fire, it hurled a massive fireball as thick as a water bucket at Lu Wanjun with terrifying momentum! After casting that previous spell, Lu Wanjun's magic power dropped sharply by one and a half points, and the golden needle spiritual artifact wobbled unsteadily through the air before returning to her hand.

Her delicate brows knitted tightly; facing the incoming fireball spell as if facing a great enemy, she hastily took out a low-grade second-rank defensive spiritual shield to protect her entire body.

Bang! Flames exploded in the sky, and Lu Wanjun's figure was sent flying backward; she stumbled dozens of zhang before finally steadying herself.

Her face turned pale, a trace of fresh blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, and several burns marked her body, but the Dharma Robe she wore underneath had blocked most of the spell's power.

"Jun'er, hurry and retreat back into the city!"

"This wave of demonic beasts is somewhat abnormal!"

Seeing his beloved disciple injured, Lu Liang fought against the demonic beasts while urgently transmitting his voice to Lu Wanjun.

Lu Wanjun was not the type to be pretentious or affected; now nearly exhausted with her resources depleted, upon hearing her master's words, she was just about to retreat backward...

... when suddenly the Crimson Flame Demon Falcon in the sky dove fiercely, whipping up a gust of flame and extending a pair of steel-like sharp claws to grab at Lu Wanjun.

The situation was critical; Lu Liang was entangled by several great demons and completely unable to break free, causing him to break out in a cold sweat! Just at this moment...

... in her panic, Lu Wanjun's gaze accidentally swept past a familiar figure standing on a Dharma Ship in the sky not far away.

Her face instantly lit up with joy as she cried out, "Senior Qin! Save me!"

The moment her voice fell...

... a streak of cyan escape light arrived in an instant; the newcomer was none other than Qin Ming.

Qin Ming could not help but let out a bitter smile; seeing such a situation, he had originally planned to observe the situation for a while and then seize the opportunity to slip away.

He had not expected this girl to recognize him at a single glance.

"Er, so it is Daoist Qin, a Foundation Establishment early-stage spirit plant cultivator; sigh, even if he has come, it will be of no use." Upon seeing someone arrive to rescue them, Lu Liang first showed an expression of relief.

But upon seeing clearly that it was Fellow Daoist Qin, he couldn't help but let out a mournful sigh.

As a second-tier upper-grade spirit plant master who had made his name throughout Yunze Xiancheng, Fellow Daoist Qin naturally enjoyed immense prestige and status.

Yet when it came to actual combat and spellcasting, that spirit plant master fell far short, especially when facing a powerful second-tier great demon! Qin Ming gazed sharply at the Crimson Flame Demon Falcon diving toward him! He pointed a finger skyward and formed the Qingming Sword Seal with his hand.

Hiss! A streak of cyan rainbow light flashed and vanished, transforming into a blade of Qingming sword qi over ten zhang long.

With just one strike, he sliced the demon falcon, wreathed in towering flames, cleanly in two from the middle, causing countless showers of blood rain to sprinkle down from the sky.

"Ah, this..."

Lü Liang stared dumbfounded at the scene that had just unfolded, utterly stunned, and quickly shouted toward Qin Ming, "Fellow Daoist Qin! Quickly, lend me a hand!"

……

(End of Chapter)