Chapter Eighty: The Delicate Vine

Sacrificing oneself to the heavens was a noble act, yet Ning Xianyu had no idea what heaven was being appeased, nor why such a sacrifice was necessary.

When she asked the Demon Lord, he fell silent for a long while, then suddenly said, “Do you know why that demonic creature in the Demon Realm behaves so obediently?”

“Huh?”

Ning Xianyu thought of the huge red sphere. “What do you mean?”

He didn’t answer, but continued, “Do you want to know where those powerful cultivators disappeared to?”

“Where did they go?”

“They sacrificed themselves to the heavens.”

His words were as nebulous as clouds and mist, revealing nothing, and he refused to elaborate further.

Ning Xianyu listened, perplexed, unable to grasp the truth, left only to ponder on her own. If the demon’s docility was connected to these cultivators sacrificing themselves, could it be they were all sent to the demon? Did the demon devour them?

The thought frightened her. So many experts willingly letting themselves be eaten, all to soothe the monster? Impossible. The cultivation world was usually full of scheming and ruthless brawls—how could they be so selfless?

Besides, this was a progression story with the male lead at its center; snatching people and treasures was the norm, not a line of powerful figures waiting their turn to feed themselves to a demon. The thought was absurd.

She dared not imagine such a scene, partly out of fear it might be true. If even the greatest cultivators couldn’t defeat the demon, and could only placate it by feeding themselves, what would happen once the demon grew stronger? Would anyone survive?

Troubled by these thoughts, Ning Xianyu fell silent for a moment, desperately calling out to the system in her mind, hoping it would respond. But the wretched system had vanished, offering not the slightest reply.

She couldn’t help but wonder if the system had made some mistake and fled. How disloyal.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan directed her to walk out of the mist, but after only a short while, he suddenly called out, “Stop!”

“To the left!”

By now, Ning Xianyu had developed a conditioned reflex; she immediately moved to the left.

“Draw your sword!”

She drew her sword and blocked to the side.

With a clang, she knocked something to the ground.

Curious, she crouched to look and discovered a magical weapon that resembled Little Li’s flying dagger—shining silver, and very sharp.

She picked it up and stuffed it straight into her storage pouch.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan stared in disbelief. “You didn’t even check what it was before stashing it?”

Where had she learned this habit of picking up things—was she a beggar before?

Embarrassed, Ning Xianyu replied, “I’m used to it.”

Whenever something dropped, she’d grab it without a second thought; it was pure reflex—leaving it behind would be strange.

As she spoke, she sensed another attack coming.

She discovered her new sword was immensely powerful, so she swung it about like the golden staff, dazzlingly fast.

The sound of clanging metal echoed incessantly, and soon a pile of flying daggers was scattered on the ground.

She picked them up one by one, stuffing them all into her storage pouch without hesitation.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan instructed again, “Use that technique.”

That technique was the only one Ning Xianyu knew—bursting her spiritual power with all her might.

She ignored direction, unleashed her spiritual power in full, and with a sudden surge, blasted the mist apart. In the distance, she heard someone cry out in surprise.

“Pursue!”

She had no choice but to rush after them.

Outside, by the lakeshore, Lin Kaishu and the others were gathering water plants.

Beast creatures were territorial, so each area typically had only one dominant beast. Since the local beast had just been eliminated, there would be no foolish newcomers for a while, allowing them to collect safely.

At that moment, they sensed a violent surge of spiritual energy and stopped, turning as one toward the misty swamp.

The mist was blown away by powerful spiritual force, and faintly they glimpsed someone inside, with a cat perched atop their head.

Soon after, that person quickly departed, heading far away.

“Is that Senior Aunt Xianyu?”

“It seems so. Is she chasing someone?”

They could do nothing to help, nor dared to approach.

Neither the poisonous mist nor the spiritual power she displayed were things they could endure.

Better to keep collecting water plants; these could be sold for plenty of spirit stones.

Someone asked, “Senior Brother Lin, what should we do after we finish collecting?”

The team leader had run off, and there was no telling when she’d return—what were they to do?

Lin Kaishu replied, “Let’s continue exploring on our own. Senior Aunt Xianyu will come back.”

Although she seemed unreliable, he just couldn’t believe she was truly irresponsible.

Some already regretted following Ning Xianyu—she was powerful, but rarely intervened. Such a mighty cultivator must see them as ants, indifferent to their lives and deaths.

Meanwhile, after chasing for a while, Ning Xianyu never caught her quarry, instead running headlong into a forest.

This forest was especially beautiful, draped with all manner of colorful vines, like strings of candy beloved by children—utterly charming.

She admired their appearance, thinking she could take some back to weave a chair, or perhaps a summer mat.

“Don’t touch anything. These are Jiao Jiao Vines.”

“Huh?”

“Jiao Jiao Vines?”

Such a strange name—hearing it from the Demon Lord’s mouth made it bizarrely adorable.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan was speechless, explaining gruffly, “The person who discovered these vines found them especially coquettish, so named them Jiao Jiao Vines.”

Ning Xianyu looked at the countless colorful vines hanging around her, thinking it made sense for such cute things to act spoiled.

“How do they act spoiled?”

With a wicked grin, Xuan Yuan Tunhan said, “Go ahead and touch one, try it.”

Try it... Try it, my foot—she wouldn’t dare.

Judging by the Demon Lord’s tone, these vines were far from simple. The prettier a thing was, the more poisonous it tended to be; best not to touch them.

She carefully stepped back, avoiding every vine.

But the vines were already creeping up behind her, and as she retreated, suddenly they wrapped around her waist.

She drew her sword to cut them, but her arms were quickly bound as well, and soon she was suspended in midair, limbs spread wide.

“This pose is too bizarre. Ancestor, help!”

She struggled, but the vines only tightened.

And these vines were shameless—worming under her clothes, winding around her body, and, more bizarrely, tickling her.

Ning Xianyu felt utterly humiliated—damned vines! She’d never had anyone scrub her back in a northern bathhouse, yet here these wretched things were taking liberties.

She burst forth her spiritual power, hoping to shatter the vines.

This move had never failed her.

She unleashed her power, shaking the vines throughout the forest, sending them flying—but after the chaos, the vines neither broke nor retreated.

Horrified, Ning Xianyu saw all the vines lift their heads and shake wildly, and in a daze, she thought she heard them screaming.

Oh no—she’d enraged them.