As the snow-white stream of light passed over Withered Wood Abyss in the Western Wasteland, Yuan Hao suddenly halted his escape light. His monkey eyes darted about, warily scanning the area below.
Unlike the reddish-brown rocks of the Golden Metal Stone Forest, the ground of Withered Wood Abyss was covered in a thick layer of decaying leaves, soft as a sponge when stepped on. Faint green spiritual plant essence seeped faintly from beneath the leaves, yet was shrouded in a layer of gray-black demon qi—as if a dirty veil had been draped over the vitality.
The surrounding withered trees twisted like ghostly claws, their branches wrapped in black demon silk. Occasional withered leaves fell, instantly wilting and turning to ashes the moment they touched the demon qi.
"Whoa, this place is even creepier than I imagined!" Yuan Hao slung his innate stone staff over his shoulder, quietly landing on a thick withered tree. He dipped his fingertip into the soil beneath the decaying leaves, and earth-element spiritual energy spread along his finger—there was still residual life aura of the spiritual plant tribe in the soil, but it was as faint as a dying candle flame. "The spiritual plant tribe members must be hiding nearby."
Just as he was about to leap down, he suddenly heard a faint rustling sound from below. Yuan Hao quickly held his breath, concealing his figure in the tree's shadow.
Three seemingly withered "Withered Leaf Vines" suddenly moved, their tendrils snaking toward him, the tips glowing with a faint toxic light—they were actually "Camouflage Vines" used by the spiritual plant tribe for vigilance!
"Don't attack! I'm here to help!" Yuan Hao jumped down hastily, holding up his innate stone staff, fearing being entangled by the vines. "My name is Yuan Hao! I came with Ao Xuan and Cang Lie! You know Cang Lie, right? The White Tiger Overlord of the Western Wasteland! Ao Xuan is the East China Sea Dragon King—we're here specifically to wipe out the demon cultivators in the Western Wasteland!"
The vines paused. Several green-robed creatures emerged from beneath the decaying leaves—they had human bodies with wooden arms, their hair was green vines, and their faces were covered in dirt. They were clearly survivors of the spiritual plant tribe.
The leading elder had a broken vine wrapped around his arm, still stained with black demon qi. He stared at Yuan Hao warily, his voice hoarse. "You say you came with Lord White Tiger and Lord Dragon King? Do you have proof?"
Yuan Hao slapped his forehead, quickly pulling the Water Spirit Talisman Ao Xuan had given him from his chest. The talisman glowed with faint blue spiritual light, still retaining traces of Ao Xuan's water fortune Dao rhyme. "This is a Water Spirit Talisman from Fellow Daoist Ao Xuan! He said if I met fellow Daoists from the spiritual plant tribe, showing this would prove I'm not an enemy! Did you lose the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire? We're here to help you get it back!"
At the mention of the "Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire," the elder's eyes changed instantly. His green pupils filled with grief and anger. "How do you know about the Sacred Fire? Could it be... you've seen the demon cultivators who stole it?"
"I haven't met them yet, but we dealt with a Demonized Rock Lizard at the Golden Metal Altar and found out it was the work of demon cultivators under Luo Hu!" Yuan Hao leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Tell me—how was the Sacred Fire stolen? How many demon cultivators are there?"
The elder sighed, leading Yuan Hao deeper into Withered Wood Abyss. The farther they went, the thicker the spiritual plant essence beneath the decaying leaves became. Tiny green moss began to appear on the ground—"Guiding Moss" nourished by the tribe's remaining essence, recognizable only to them.
"Three months ago, a group of black-robed demon cultivators broke into Withered Wood Abyss." The elder's voice trembled with fear. "Riding on demonized Bone-Corroding Vultures, they carried black jars that absorb spiritual energy. As soon as they entered, they used demon qi to break our illusion formation."
"Our clan leader led us in resistance, but the demon cultivators' black jars could absorb spiritual plant essence. Many clansmen withered away after being drained. To protect the Sacred Fire, the clan leader detonated his own spiritual plant origin, allowing the rest of us to escape."
Yuan Hao's eyes blazed with anger, his veins bulging as he gripped his stone staff. "These demon cultivators are too ruthless! Where did they take the Sacred Fire?"
"They should have gone toward the Demon Gold Cave." The elder pointed northeast, where the demon qi was thicker. "When we escaped, we saw the demon cultivator group heading for Burning Gold Valley. The golden metal spiritual veins there have been contaminated by demon qi, turning into the Demon Gold Cave. Inside lives a demon bird that can spit golden blades—the Demonized Golden-Winged Roc you mentioned, right?"
Yuan Hao nodded, about to speak when he suddenly heard a crisp crack behind him. He spun around to see a jet-black "Demonized Bone-Corroding Vine" darting out from beneath the decaying leaves. Its vines were wrapped in black demon silk, and the tip still had half a leaf from the spiritual plant tribe—clearly a spy left by the demon cultivators!
"Be careful! This is a demon vine cultivated by the demon cultivators—it can absorb spiritual plant essence!" The elder exclaimed, raising his hand to summon vines, trying to entangle the Demonized Bone-Corroding Vine.
But the demon vine was extremely fast, dodging the vines and lunging straight for the elder's chest—where he hid a pale green "Spiritual Plant Pearl," the core of the tribe's remaining spiritual plant essence!
"I'd like to see you try!" Yuan Hao reacted instantly, swinging his innate stone staff infused with earth-element spiritual energy toward the demon vine. As soon as the staff touched the vine, the earth-element spiritual energy spread along its length, suppressing the demon silk tightly.
The demon vine hissed in pain, trying to retreat into the decaying leaves. But Yuan Hao stepped on its root, swinging his staff again and smashing the demon vine into pieces.
When the fragments hit the ground, black demon qi emerged. Yuan Hao quickly summoned a wisp of wood-element spiritual energy—a basic wood spirit art he'd learned from Qinghe. Though not proficient, it could temporarily suppress the demon qi. "These demon cultivators are like cockroaches! They even left this thing to guard the place!"
The elder, still shaken, trembled as he held the Spiritual Plant Pearl. "Thank you for saving me! This demon vine is a 'listener' left by the demon cultivators—it can transmit movements here to the demon cultivators in the Demon Gold Cave. We must leave immediately, or the demon cultivators will be here soon!"
Yuan Hao nodded, about to lead the elder and survivors toward the altar when the sky to the northeast suddenly glowed with black-red spiritual light—it was the demon qi fluctuation from the Demon Gold Cave, mixed with the sharp cry of the Golden-Winged Roc. Clearly, the demon cultivators had detected movement!
"Not good! The demon cultivators are coming!" Yuan Hao quickly handed the Water Spirit Talisman to the elder. "You head to the Golden Metal Altar first—I'll lead the demon cultivators away! Take this talisman—if you're in danger, crush it, and Ao Xuan and Cang Lie will come to help!"
Before the elder could object, Yuan Hao had already rushed toward the northeast, earth-element spiritual energy gathering beneath his feet, doubling his speed. "Don't worry! This old Yuan isn't that easy to take down! Hurry and go—don't let my efforts be in vain!"
Watching Yuan Hao's departing figure, the elder clenched the Water Spirit Talisman, turning to the survivors behind him. "Quick! Follow the Guiding Moss to the Golden Metal Altar—find Lord White Tiger and Lord Dragon King!"
The demon qi from the northeast drew closer. Yuan Hao hid behind a withered tree, watching more than a dozen black-robed demon cultivators flying toward him—riding on Bone-Corroding Vultures, their black jars glowing with ghostly light. They were clearly here to search and capture.
Yuan Hao grinned, tapping his stone staff on the ground. Earth-element spiritual energy surged into the earth, instantly raising three ten-zhang-tall stone walls blocking the demon cultivators' path.
"Where did this wild monkey come from, daring to block our way!" The leading demon cultivator shouted sharply, throwing his black jar. The jar sprayed black mist, corroding toward the stone walls.
"This old Yuan is the one blocking you!" Yuan Hao jumped out from behind the withered tree, swinging his stone staff infused with earth and wood-element spiritual energy toward the nearest Bone-Corroding Vulture.
The vulture screeched, hit in the wing by the staff, and fell to the ground with the demon cultivator. The black jar smashed into the earth, its demon qi leaking out and being suppressed by Yuan Hao's wood-element spiritual energy.
Seeing this, the other demon cultivators quickly channeled their demon qi, black mist condensing into countless claws that grabbed toward Yuan Hao. But Yuan Hao remained calm, spinning his stone staff in front of him. Earth-element spiritual energy formed a thick stone shield, blocking the claws. At the same time, he leaped into the air, swinging his staff toward the leading demon cultivator's black jar—the jar was the demon cultivator's magic weapon; once destroyed, his strength would be greatly reduced!
With a crisp clang, the black jar was cracked by the staff. The demon cultivator spat out a mouthful of black blood, clearly injured by the weapon's backlash. Yuan Hao took the opportunity to kick the demon cultivator away, swinging his staff again and shooting down the Bone-Corroding Vultures of two other demon cultivators. Black-red blood splattered on the decaying leaves, hissing softly.
"Retreat!" Seeing the tide turn, the leading demon cultivator quickly ordered a retreat. Yuan Hao did not chase, only sticking out his tongue in a funny face toward the Demon Gold Cave before turning to run toward the altar—he knew his goal of luring the demon cultivators away had been achieved. Chasing further would risk being surrounded, and he hadn't forgotten Ao Xuan's instructions.
As the sun set, Yuan Hao finally caught sight of the Golden Metal Altar. In the distance, he could see the spiritual plant tribe survivors walking toward it, and he let out a sigh of relief.
He quickened his pace, and as soon as he reached the altar, he saw Ao Xuan and Cang Lie coming to greet him.
"I'm back!" Yuan Hao held up his stone staff, a proud grin on his face. "I found the spiritual plant tribe in Withered Wood Abyss and led a group of demon cultivators away! But the Sacred Fire was taken to the Demon Gold Cave—it's with that Demonized Golden-Winged Roc!"
Ao Xuan looked at the dirt and faint demon qi on Yuan Hao's body, raising his hand to purify him with water fortune power. "You've worked hard. The spiritual plant tribe members have already arrived, and their elder is talking about the Sacred Fire. It seems we should head to the Demon Gold Cave."
Cang Lie nodded, his golden metal long sword glowing with faint golden flames at his waist. "The Demonized Golden-Winged Roc occupies the Demon Gold Cave and holds the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire—we can take care of both in one go. We'll set out early tomorrow morning."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Hao's eyes lit up. He slung his stone staff over his shoulder and spun in a circle. "Great! I've been wanting to smash that roc's head in! This time, we'll definitely get the Sacred Fire back and let those demon cultivators know how Impressive this old Yuan is!"