Chapter 57: Controlling Shadowy Thorns

Li Feifei's hand holding the fruit froze midair; the ease and comfort on her face instantly solidified, replaced by a hint of surprise and wariness, and she instinctively looked at Li Qingxuan.

Li Qingxuan still wore a gentle smile, quietly waiting for Li Feifei to finish eating and get dressed.

He suddenly stood up; the princess held Li Feifei as they walked toward the city wall.

The thin morning sunlight struggled to penetrate the grayish mist outside the fortress, barely illuminating the area at the base of the city wall.

Li Feifei's heartbeat skipped a beat.

Behold, the deep purple tangled veins that had quietly spread only in the shadows of the fortress base overnight exploded like a frenzied blood-vessel network, rapidly expanding far beyond!

They were no longer underground bulges but had turned into thick branches, writhing and twining like living things, growing wildly!

The surface of those deep-purple vines was covered with a fine, scale-like dark pattern that refracted an eerie sheen in the dim light.

Most chilling of all, the vines' tips were not tender shoots but tiny mouthparts that constantly opened and closed, like poisoned weapons!

Shadowy Thorns! They had grown even thicker overnight!

【Weird Creature: Shadowy Thorns】

【Type: Flesh Type】

【Constitution: 542】

【Spirit: 328】

【Grade: B】

【Abilities: Rapid Growth, Sharp Mouthparts, Unified】

【Weak Point: Roots】

【Description: Loyal plant companion, having broken partial growth limits, possessing tenacious growth traits and able to grow by consuming biological flesh】

She clearly sensed these thorns and could even control them to attack.

"Qingxuan…" she whispered instinctively, her voice tinged with surprise.

Her head, nestled in Li Qingxuan's embrace, shot up, eyes flashing with disbelief: "I… I feel it! These thorns… they seem… to be responding to me?"

Li Qingxuan tightened his hold on her arm slightly, scanning the writhing deep-purple vines, his voice low: "Response? Can you sense their condition?"

"Mm!" Li Feifei nodded firmly; that delight swept away her bodily soreness like a spring breeze. She focused her spirit, trying to send a gentle thought toward one unusually thick vine that was slowly clinging to the cold stone wall—the main vine of the thorns.

A surprising scene unfolded: the vine tip, originally bearing a piercing aggressiveness and corrosive aura, with its tiny mouthparts constantly opening and closing, froze slightly the instant it received her thought.

Next, the ferocious, snake‑fang‑like mouthparts slowly closed, the vine's writhing motion visibly eased, and the chilling, viscous sensation lessened a bit—as if a savage beast had been calmed by an invisible hand.

Li Feifei clearly 'peered' into the vine's internal energy flow, which had become gentle; although its deep‑seated dark corrosive nature remained unchanged, under the guidance of her will it retracted its sharpness, revealing a submissive demeanor.

"It's quite obedient," Li Feifei said, her voice trembling with excitement; this was the first time, after her power surge, that she could so clearly perceive her influence over plants, far surpassing the superficial feeling she had when stimulating wheat fields.

This sense of control was both novel and tinged with a shuddering unknown power.

Li Qingxuan stared intently at the vine that had become "docile," his solemn gaze betraying thought.

He could feel that the malice emanating from the thorns was indeed suppressed by Feifei's spiritual power.

"It seems the earlier blood wasn't wasted," he said in a low voice, his tone carrying a barely perceptible exhilaration. "This is undoubtedly a key discovery in how Shadowy Thorns resist threats—these are our frontline warriors; when weird creatures invade, you'll command them to counterattack."

He held Li Feifei's arm more firmly, his gaze sweeping over the deep‑purple thorn thicket below the city wall that had spread like a living forest.

"Their roots are expanding wildly," Li Feifei's voice trembled slightly from concentration; her spiritual power, like invisible threads, probed deeper into the writhing thorn thicket: "I can 'see'… under my guidance, they are growing outward to both sides."

She nestled in Li Qingxuan's warm embrace; her body tensed slightly from intense mental focus, and the soreness in her waist and legs seemed temporarily ignored.

As her thoughts flowed, the thick vine she had selected underwent another change.

The vine, which had merely calmed down, now, in response to the slightest shift of her intent, slowly and precisely extended a short segment toward both sides of the fortress stone wall.

The vine's movement carried the smooth precision of executing a command; its deep‑purple, scale‑like surface glittered with a dim sheen in the thin morning light, and its closed tip, resembling a poised poison fang, temporarily retracted its sharpness.

"Exactly like that!" Li Feifei's eyes blazed brighter; she almost forgot her discomfort, fully focused on "commanding" this thorn: "Left… a bit more left… yes! Stop there!"

She could clearly sense the thorn's internal energy—originally frenzied and brimming with corrosive darkness—now, under her will's guidance, completely tamed, obeying her as naturally as an arm directs a finger.

Although that chilling essence remained, like an undercurrent beneath deep ice, the surface displayed an astonishing, absolute posture of submission.

Li Qingxuan held his breath, his sharp eyes tightly following the moving vine.

He saw the vine, under Feifei's command, eventually hover suspended above a relatively open patch of land outside the city wall.

It no longer clung to the wall, but simply hung limp, its thick trunk's knotted veins faintly undulating—like a soldier awaiting orders.

The surrounding thorn thicket also seemed affected; the faint, teeth‑grating scraping sounds diminished greatly, and the area's writhing became orderly, as if a troop directed by an invisible general stood ready.

"Unbelievable…" Li Qingxuan's low voice trembled with uncontainable shock and a hint of exhilaration.

He tightened his embrace around Li Feifei's arm, giving her silent support and affirmation.

"Feifei, you did well." He gazed at the soothed deep‑purple thorn forest below the city wall; they were far thicker than last night, like living pythons armored in scales, coiled and forming a natural barrier laced with deadly threat. "They will be your most loyal guardians. As long as you are here, this thorny expanse will be the nightmare's start for any enemy daring to approach the fortress."

He lowered his head to gaze at his beloved in his arms, her breathing slightly ragged from spiritual exertion and her cheeks flushed, his eyes blazing: "Your power far exceeds our expectations; now the stronghold is safer than ever."

Li Feifei leaned against his solid chest, feeling his strong heartbeat and the trust and hope in his words; the initial joy of gaining control gradually settled into a weighty sense of responsibility.

She once again turned her gaze to the silently swaying thorn thicket below the city wall; her spiritual power, like a gentle tide, washed over each deep‑purple vine, sensing the terrifying power hidden within their sturdy trunks and their absolute obedience.

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