Chapter 114

Almost simultaneously, Shi Ran caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye as the seemingly calm dark-red ground beneath her feet shuddered violently!

A Soul-Eating Vine that had been disguised as dry bone and clung tightly to the edge of a crack in the ground shot up without warning!

It was not a vine, but more like a living creature formed by countless tiny, sharp bone segments linked together; its tip split open into a suction-cup-like mouthpart covered in fine fangs, exuding a nauseating stench, and it lashed toward Shi Ran's ankle like lightning!

It was too fast! Shi Ran didn't even have time to scream; her mind went blank, and the icy chill of death seized her heart. She only saw the fang-lined mouthpart flashing with a deadly cold light in the purple glow, lunging straight at her!

At the critical moment, a piercing green flash tore through the oppressive air!

It was Ling Xiao! He seemed to have anticipated it, his body already swirling like a ghost at the moment of warning; his waist-sheathed long sword was not fully drawn, only three inches out.

Yet those three inches of cold blade, wrapped in his surging spiritual power, struck the Soul-Eating Vine precisely at its 'seven-inch' point—the weakest spot where the bone segments join.

Screech—!

A grating, teeth‑setting sound like tearing rotten leather. The green flash swept past, and the Soul-Eating Vine's tip‑mouth together with a short section of its body was cleanly cut off! At the cut, dark‑green juice oozed out, emitting a pungent sour stench; it fell onto the blood‑marsh below, making a 'hiss‑hiss' corrosive sound as white smoke rose.

The severed vine tip fell at Shi Ran's feet, still twitching wildly, its fangs opening and closing, emitting a faint yet hair‑raising 'click‑click' sound.

The remaining half of the vine recoiled like a wounded snake, darting back into the depths of the crack and emitting a short, sharp hiss that sounded especially shrill across the dead‑silent wasteland.

Shi Ran's heart pounded wildly, almost bursting from her chest; she staggered back a step, slipped again, and nearly fell.

"Careful!" Ling Xiao grabbed Shi Ran and pulled her back, holding her protectively in his arms; his eyes, sharp as blades, instantly swept the surroundings.

That crisp sound and the vines' hiss just now were like a stone tossed into a dead pool; the silence was broken.

Pfft…pfft-pfft…

Around, the rocks that had been merely slowly throbbing and oozing slime suddenly quickened their throbbing pace, as if a sleeping heart had been violently startled!

The slippery moss and writhing fungal mats on the rock surface clearly increased their secretion of slime, even beginning to emit fine bubbles.

From deep within those huge fissures came more rustling, scalp-tingling scraping sounds, as if countless things were awakening and writhing in the darkness.

Even the throbbing flesh-and-metal plants seemed to have their rhythm become disordered and full of hostility.

The malice permeating the air was no longer dormant; it suddenly turned sharp and active, like countless invisible tendrils, bearing a cold scrutiny, greedily coiling toward the two intruding living beings.

Ling Xiao's face turned grim; he pulled Shi Ran behind him, and the Dragon Yin Sword finally left its sheath completely, its silver light flickering, illuminating a radius of several zhang around him and forming a faint yet resolute barrier.

His gaze locked onto the area of violently writhing great blood marsh behind the corpse-bone trees, and onto the shadows of more twisting Soul-devouring vines slowly probing out from several fissures.

"We…are being targeted." Ling Xiao's voice sank to an extreme low, each word seeming to be squeezed from between his teeth, filled with an unprecedented gravity: "Shi Ran…run!"

The echo of Ling Xiao's "Shi Ran…run!" still trembled in the viscous, bloody air, and the entire Bone-devouring Wasteland had already boiled over!

"Roar——!"

A low, rumbling roar, as if from the depths of the Nine Abysses, came not from any visible creature but from the vast blood marsh beneath their feet! The dark red, viscous substance surged upward, forming a terrifying maw several zhang in diameter, its surface constantly churning with bubbles and bone fragments.

Within the maw, a swirling dark-red vortex emitted a soul-shuddering suction, pulling the surrounding air into wails, as if it sought to devour and digest all things.

At the same time, "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" dozens of Soul-devouring vines, many times thicker than those that had just attacked Shi Ran, shot forth like bone spears from hell, emitting a piercing shriek as they tore through the air, erupting from all directions and from the bottomless fissures! Their target was clear—the two trapped in the center.

"Ice Stream!" Shi Ran suppressed her surging fear with a crisp shout. The Ice Stream Sword in her hand instantly burst forth with piercing cold light, and visible frost flowers condensed around the blade.

She snapped her wrist, and the Ice Stream Sword traced graceful arcs; icy sword qi surged forth like a solid stream, precisely meeting the several Soul-devouring vines lunging at her.

"Crack! Crack!"

Wherever the Ice Stream Sword's qi passed, the air froze, and the surface of the Soul-devouring vines rapidly coated with a thick layer of ice that glittered with a faint blue light.

The vines' movements suddenly stiffened and slowed; their fine bone joints groaned under the extreme cold. Though not completely shattered by frost, their speed and threat were greatly reduced.

However, the true threat lay in the countless more Soul-devouring vines and that terrifying maw of the blood marsh!

"Dragon Yin!" Ling Xiao's eyes flashed like lightning, his battle spirit soaring. The Dragon Yin Sword in his hand rang out with a clear, exalted sword cry, its blade blazing with light, a faint dragon-shaped wraith coiling around it! Faced with the sky-covering bone vines and the all-devouring maw, he held nothing back, gripping the sword with both hands and pouring his spiritual power into it madly.

He stepped forward fiercely, and the viscous blood marsh beneath his feet was forced open a depression by an invisible sword qi! The Dragon Yin Sword, bearing an irresistible force, unleashed a matchless, fierce horizontal sweep!

"Roar——!"

A clearer, more majestic dragon roar echoed across the wasteland! A huge, substance-like azure dragon-shaped sword qi roared forth from the blade!

The azure dragon formed from the sword qi bared its fangs and brandished its claws, its scales vivid upon its body, carrying an overbearing will to crush all, and it slammed fiercely into the raised maw of the blood marsh and the swath of Soul-devouring vines ahead!

"Boom——!!!"

A deafening roar exploded! The azure dragon sword qi clashed violently with the blood marsh maw! The dark red, viscous flesh-and-blood matter was blasted apart by the violent sword qi, scattering like a rain of filthy blood.

The devouring vortex at the maw's center was forcibly shattered, emitting a painful wail like countless resentful spirits howling. Several of the foremost Soul-devouring vines were directly shredded by the dragon-shaped sword qi into sky‑filled bone powder and dark‑green juice!

Ling Xiao's sword was overbearing to the extreme, instantly clearing a vast area ahead! The blood marsh maw suffered heavy damage, temporarily collapsing and surging incessantly.

However, the cost was also enormous. This move exhausted the spiritual power he had just recovered, leaving his breathing noticeably heavier.

What's worse, the vibrant dragon aura and tremendous roar from the Dragon Yin Sword were like pouring cold water into boiling oil, utterly enraging this silent ancient battlefield!

"Ugh——!"

Around, the huge corpse-bone trees emitted a grating, teeth‑aching sound, their roots dug into the blood marsh writhing wildly, sucking up the foul energy.

The slippery moss and fungal mats coating the trunks suddenly flared with an eerie purple‑black light; several huge, shoulder‑blade‑shaped 'leaves' tore free from the trunks like spinning bone blades, emitting a shrill tearing‑air whistle as they sliced at high speed toward the two! At the same time, countless tiny, white‑bone‑centipede‑like monsters surged out from the fissures in a tide, thick and dense enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Shi Ran had just frozen a few side‑attacking vines with her Ice Stream Sword when she felt a malign wind from above! Looking up, several huge bone blades were already within arm's reach! The Ice Stream Sword's cold range was limited, and in the hasty moment she could not fully fend them off!

The shadow of death instantly enveloped them!

"Fire Crystal Imprint the Void, Primordial Yang Brightness, Cast Fire Ten Thousand Miles, Sweep Away Demons, Go!!!"

In the critical moment, Shi Ran drew a thunder‑fire talisman from memory in the void; as the word 'Go' left her lips, fierce thunder‑flame instantly ignited!