But this Three-Colored Scent-Tailed Pig could only go so far; it was ultimately unable to escape its destined demise.
Hundreds of black, pointed thorn vines lashed out like whips on the ground, recoiling and springing upward. They swiftly swept towards the Three-Colored Scent-Tailed Pig once more. By the time the pig tried to evade, it was already too late.
...
Just then, Wu Tao, who had been observing from the sidelines, waiting for an opportunity, finally made his move.
Wu Tao retrieved the "High-grade magical artifact, Fire Crow Flame Fan" from his storage bag, which he had previously acquired from some unfortunate soul.
After infusing it with sufficient spiritual energy, Wu Tao fanned it with all his might. The surrounding area immediately became engulfed in scorching heat and flames, transforming into a deep crimson sea of fire.
Dozens of fist-sized, fiery red crows let out a cry within the raging inferno, their forms taking shape.
Subsequently, the fiery red crows precisely targeted the roots of the Ghost Blood Demon Vine and attacked.
...
On the other side, the Three-Colored Scent-Tailed Pig, seeing that escape was impossible, let out a scream. Its intense survival instinct drove it to struggle desperately.
However, those hundreds of black, thorned vines had already begun to touch its fur.
The thorns on the black vines started releasing a slow-acting toxin, temporarily paralyzing the Three-Colored Scent-Tailed Pig's body. The suction cups on the vines had also begun to drain the pig's blood.
At this very moment, the fiery red crows, one after another, descended from the sky, their claws firmly grasping the black vines.
With a "hiss" and a "sizzle," the black thorned vines beneath the fiery red crows' claws immediately turned scorched yellow. A surge of fire-attribute spiritual energy burned fiercely along the vines.
In an instant, the parts of the black thorned vines exposed above ground became a blaze of fiery red light. A scent, both sweet and scorched, then diffused into the surroundings.
After a short while, all the black thorned vines that had emerged from the ground met the same fate, turning scorched yellow.
Seeing the smooth progress, a hint of a smile appeared on Wu Tao's face. However, with many black thorned vines still intact underground, he dared not let his guard down.
He formed hand seals, pointed forward, then swiftly retracted his hand, exclaiming, "Explode!"
Before his voice faded, dozens of fiery red crows began to self-detonate where they stood.
The self-detonation of the fiery red crows unleashed immense fiery power, engulfing everything around in a raging inferno.
...
"The power of this High-grade magical artifact, the Fire Crow Flame Fan, is still not great enough," Wu Tao mused, standing aside. He watched as the sea of fire raged for a few seconds before disappearing and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
After all, it was merely a High-grade magical artifact, and the power of its fire-attribute spiritual energy was rather ordinary.
Although the intense sea of fire only lasted for a brief moment, Wu Tao's objective had largely been achieved.
Wu Tao walked towards the scorched black thorned vines, extended both hands forward, palms facing down, fingers spread. He then tensed his body, his muscles bulging, his arms emanating a dazzling golden-yellow light.
With his full strength, Wu Tao began to pull, stepping firmly and slowly dragging the Ghost Blood Demon Vine backward.
The massive root system of the Ghost Blood Demon Vine, hidden underground, began to tighten. The compressing, shrinking vine seemed to sense the approach of its doom and struggled even more fiercely.
Wu Tao's brow furrowed slightly. He had not expected the Ghost Blood Demon Vine to possess such tenacious vitality. It was less like a tree demon and more like a powerful beast with flesh and blood.
However, for Wu Tao, it was merely this. He did not wish to delay any longer, lest he inadvertently attract others. If that happened, not only would he fail to obtain his prize, but he might even lose his life.
With the immense power erupting from Wu Tao's extraordinarily strong body, under his full exertion, the entire Ghost Blood Demon Vine, along with the soil entwined by its roots, was wrenched from the ground.
The incredibly vast root tendrils of the Ghost Blood Demon Vine, like a small mountain, were densely and haphazardly piled on the ground.
...
Half an hour later, Wu Tao held in his hand a piece of pitch-black root, slightly over half a meter long, resembling a withered tree, occasionally flashing with purple spots of light, mysterious and unfathomable.
"Black as ink, heavy as stone, shaped like a withered tree, flashing with purple light." It was undoubtedly a premium Ghost Blood Crystal Root.
Wu Tao glanced at it briefly, a smile appearing on his face. He then extended a finger and lightly drew it across the bark of the root.
A scent, seemingly like blood but without the腥味, and fragrant but not overwhelming, immediately wafted into the air, lingering around Wu Tao's nose and mouth for a long time.
This peculiar aroma caused Wu Tao to involuntarily inhale deeply in a moment of forgetting himself. He then controlled the slight fluctuations of qi and blood within his body, took out a jade box, and carefully stored it away.
Indeed, it lived up to its reputation as a top-quality spiritual root condensed from essence of blood, favored by most cultivators of the demonic path.
Even a mere wisp of its blood essence had made him somewhat restless, feeling an urge to devour it whole.
This craving came from the deepest part of a life form's soul, a fundamental instinct, much like humans' innate craving for meat.
...
After some more time passed, Wu Tao walked until he reached a clear small river. Beside him lay a corpse that had been dead for a long time. Judging by the style of clothing, it appeared to be one of his fellow disciples.
However, the fatal wounds on this fellow disciple were quite peculiar. They did not seem to be the result of a cultivator's spells or artifacts. His chest was torn and bloody, his death gruesome.
It looked as if he had been instantly attacked by a carnivorous beast with sharp claws and teeth, and then torn to death with brute force.
Thinking of this, Wu Tao instinctively took a few steps back and pondered in silence for a while.
"Jade River Silver Arrow Fish," the name suddenly flashed in Wu Tao's mind. The Jade Fruit Forest was inherently a perilous place. Although it was rich in spiritual energy and abounded with various spiritual herbs and rare plants, it was also an ideal location for demonic beasts to build their nests.
His fellow disciple's left hand still clutched an unactivated talisman, his face filled with panic and terror. Scattered around the corpse were several small, pure silver grasses. Wu Tao recognized them as Silver Dew Ganoderma grass.
Silver Dew Ganoderma grass was one of the most crucial spiritual herbs for refining Foundation Establishment Pills.
It seemed this person had also come to the Jade Fruit Forest to gather herbs and search for treasures, only to meet a miserable end at the jaws of a beast, unable to even unleash his protective talisman and magical artifact.
The tragic state of this fellow disciple struck a chord with Wu Tao, chilling him to the bone. He gained a more direct understanding of the dangers within the entire Yellow Extreme Great Unity Secret Realm.
Wu Tao expertly searched the fellow disciple's corpse, not overlooking any corner. Although the disciple's spiritual power was not high, his storage bag should contain some spirit stones and magical artifacts.
Even a mosquito's leg is still meat.
After scavenging all items of value...
Confirming that the corpse held no further worth, Wu Tao raised it with one hand and then lightly tossed it. The corpse traced a parabolic trajectory, falling directly into the small river.
The river water gurgled, the surface calm, showing no signs of abnormality. Until a few seconds later...
Plop...
Fish after fish leaped out of the water. Although standing far away, Wu Tao's divine sense clearly observed them.
Each silver fish was about a finger's length and width. At first glance, they looked no different from ordinary small fish. However, upon closer inspection, one could see their eyes protruding and glowing blood-red, their teeth particularly sharp, and their bodies harboring not insignificant spiritual power.
In a blink of an eye, this school of Jade River Silver Arrow Fish reduced the corpse to a skeleton, not a scrap of flesh remaining.
Witnessing this, Wu Tao gasped. Although these demonic beasts were not of high level, they were gregarious. A nest of Jade River Silver Arrow Fish numbered at least in the hundreds, even thousands, and they were fierce and fearless.
Let alone himself, even a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment stage would be helpless against them in water, left only to wait for death.
Standing by the riverbank, Wu Tao remained in thought. The path through the water was blocked, making crossing impossible. Fortunately, the Jade River Silver Arrow Fish could not ascend onto land.
As long as one did not foolishly walk along the riverbank like the unfortunate fellow earlier, the school of Jade River Silver Arrow Fish would not leap into the air to attack passersby. By maintaining caution and vigilance for surrounding dangers, one could preserve their life here.
Wu Tao spent several days in the Jade Fruit Forest, meticulously scouring nearly all the valuable items within. Then, he turned and departed.
He hurried to other locations, searching for heaven-and-earth spiritual medicines and various treasures.
...
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