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Chapter 385: Underground Ambush
Chapter 385: Underground Ambush
In the small courtyard of the camp.
Several slender, pale red mutant Tu Yin vines moved about freely, their forms appearing and disappearing intermittently. If one didn't pay attention, they would find themselves right in front of you, attempting to enter your body and parasitize.
However, as soon as they drew close, they were firmly blocked by a spiritual energy shield, their efforts in vain.
Lu Chen stood at the edge of the spiritual energy shield, while Feng Yu and another disciple controlled the array, guarding against any accidents.
After Huo Lin'er left, the fellow disciples who returned to the camp in recent days brought back several mutant Tu Yin vines, increasing the number of samples for Lu Chen's research and experiments.
He stepped into the array and let out a low roar at the Tu Yin vines.
His voice resonated like a dragon's, majestic and domineering, instilling an involuntary sense of submission in those who heard it.
When the dragon vines had matured earlier, Lu Chen had obtained a body-refining technique called the Tai Xu Hua Long Pian from the sphere of light. Through diligent practice and the fresh blood contributions of countless dragon-like creatures in the Thousand Dragon Lake, he had achieved a deep level of proficiency in this technique, and his low roar carried a hint of dragon's might.
As the roar swept through, the freely moving and mysteriously behaving mutant Tu Yin vines seemed to be stimulated. They instantly calmed down, their slender vines curling up to form a pale red tuft of grass.
"As expected, sound wave attacks are particularly effective against these mutant Tu Yin vines," Lu Chen mused.
He continued to observe the Tu Yin vines that had curled up into balls, filled with emotion.
Half a mark later, the Tu Yin vines slowly relaxed and began to move cautiously, searching for a parasitic target.
Feng Yu and the other disciple beside him saw this and realized that Lu Chen had made a qualitative breakthrough in his research on this mutant spiritual plant. They congratulated him one after the other.
"Congratulations, Brother Lu! You've overcome yet another type of mutant spiritual plant."
"Brother Lu, you're truly the most renowned spirit herbologist in our sect. Solving this difficult problem in just a few days—I believe even those from the Ling Xiao Sect's camp would feel ashamed in comparison."
Although the two had long ago realized Lu Chen's profound understanding of spiritual plants, witnessing it again firsthand still filled them with excitement and surprise.
"We can inform Sister Huo Lin'er and the others now," Lu Chen said calmly as he took out a transmission talisman to inform Huo Lin'er of his discovery: that the mutant Tu Yin vines in their non-parasitized state feared sound wave attacks.
After resolving this problem, Lu Chen's research task became much easier, and he shifted his focus to exchanging spiritual plants.
On this day, he arrived at the camp of the Wan Shou Sect.
The Wan Shou Sect was famous in the cultivation world for their domestication of demonic beasts. When it came to knowledge of spiritual plants, they naturally couldn't compare to the neighboring Ling Xiao Sect, which was perfect for Lu Chen's intentions to scavenge any overlooked opportunities.
"Sister Long, what do you think of my proposal?" Lu Chen asked the tall and slender female cultivator with a delicate appearance. Knowing her straightforward nature and dislike for beating around the bush, he directly stated his purpose.
"Alright, then let's proceed with the exchange of certain varieties of spiritual plants as you suggested, Brother Lu." Long Miao Miao might not be good at other things, but she could at least copy what others did.
The Ling Xiao Sect and the Tian Jian Sect were exchanging mutant spiritual plants, and the Wan Shou Sect, situated right next to them, was naturally aware of this. They even knew exactly which spiritual plants were being traded.
Lu Chen, of course, was delighted with this arrangement. He took out the mutated spiritual plants that the other party needed and obtained the spiritual plants he desired in the Wan Shou Sect's camp, returning with a plentiful harvest.
As night fell,
The Cloud-Treading Lynx's pair of emerald green eyes stood out strikingly in the darkness, coldly scanning the surroundings. Its gaze occasionally landed on Lu Chen, who was cultivating with utmost focus.
The lynx's eyes showed no change in emotional color, but the two clusters of grayish-white fur on the tips of its ears twitched slightly, indicating that it was currently in a good mood.
The Demon Ghost Vine's gray vines differentiated into segments, resembling countless creeping tendrils that lay motionless on the ground.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, a vine segment perked up and started sniffing around.
Lu Chen was startled awake from his meditative state by the movement of the Demon Ghost Vine. He looked at it in puzzlement as it continued to burrow deeper into the ground.
Focusing his spiritual senses on the gray vine, Lu Chen perceived a thought transmitted by the Demon Ghost Vine.
"Delicious, so much of my favorite food."
"What do you mean? Are there a lot of things that the Demon Ghost Vine likes underground?" Lu Chen wondered aloud.
The vine loved spirit fruits, various parts of spirit plants, and demonic beast meat, and it was also extremely sensitive to spirit seeds. Its reaction indicated that there were numerous spirit plants and beasts approaching the camp.
A sense of alertness filled Lu Chen's mind, and the Fifth-Rank Nurturing Spirit Talisman in his mind glowed slightly, amplifying his spiritual sense as it rushed underground.
Recently, his spiritual sense had been nurtured by the Nurturing Spirit Talisman day and night, and it had improved significantly. In this moment, it finally proved its worth.
With his spiritual sense, Lu Chen perceived a large number of demonic beasts approaching the camp from deep underground.
At the forefront were earth-attribute demonic beasts that specialized in earth escape techniques, tunneling and clearing the way for the rest of the beasts.
Lu Chen noticed that all the beasts had weak auras, which was why they hadn't been detected by the cultivators in the camp until now.
At the same time, he sensed a faint disharmony among the hundreds and thousands of beasts. Their movements were mechanical, and their expressions dull, as if they were acting purely on instinct.
"They seem like puppets. Could these beasts have all been parasitized by the Tu Yin vines?" Lu Chen wondered.
He pulled out the Demon Ghost Vine and handed it a mutated Tu Yin vine, asking, "Are these strange spirit plants' auras present in the bodies of the underground beasts?"
Although the Demon Ghost Vine lacked facial features and limbs, it could still communicate basic ideas. Hearing Lu Chen's question, it nodded vigorously.
"Looks like a feast is coming your way!" Lu Chen said.
He took out his Fourth-Rank Wind and Thunder Sword and affixed several Fourth-Rank Sword Talismans to his body, ready to activate them at a moment's notice.
"There are several arrays set up in the camp, providing good protection from all sides and above. But I never expected such a large number of beast puppets to find an alternative path and launch a surprise attack from underground," Lu Chen remarked with a sigh.
Noticing that Feng Yu and the others, as well as the disciples left in the camp, were still unaware of the situation, he transmitted his voice to them.
"Fellow Daoists Feng and Zhang, wake up. There are beasts attacking the camp."
The two, who had been cultivating diligently, snapped awake at Lu Chen's mental alert. They extended their spiritual senses underground and their expressions changed. They quickly prepared themselves for battle.
"Roar!"
A two-zhang-long earthen yellow earth dragon emerged from the dark red spirit soil, letting out an eager low roar.
Long Miaomiao immediately rushed out of the house and stood before her spirit beast, communicating briefly before her expression changed. Her voice rang out across the entire camp.
"Fellow Daoists, beasts are attacking from underground. There are many of them, so please be on your guard."
Her earthen yellow earth dragon was skilled in earth escape techniques and various earth-attribute magic, so it had quickly sensed the disturbances in the spirit soil.
Although the cultivators in the camp were more adept at nurturing spirit plants and beasts, they were still elite inner sect disciples. Their lack of proficiency in combat was only relative, and they soon prepared themselves to deliver a striking blow to the horde of beasts whose minds were being controlled.
Lu Chen, Feng Yu, and several other disciples who had been healing their wounds in the camp gathered together, their expressions grave.
Feng Yu slapped her storage bag, and a blue spiritual energy shield appeared, enveloping everyone within it.
(End of Chapter)
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