After binding with a genius, I became an immortal by exploiting loopholes.

Chapter 141 Investigation

Lu Qingchen remained vigilant.

Having experienced an attack at Qingmu Manor, he had long since developed the habit of always keeping a portion of his consciousness alert to his surroundings under any circumstances.

When the dark figure burst out of the bushes, his fingertips were already glowing with a bluish light.

The second level of the Green Wood Sword Technique—Sword Qi Residue.

The first sword energy shot out silently, striking the attacker's wrist precisely.

The hidden force exploded in the meridians, the attacker's wrist went numb, and the poisoned short blade flew out of his hand, drawing an arc in the air before diagonally embedding itself in the soil a few steps away.

But Lu Qingchen did not stop. The second sword energy followed closely, aiming straight for the man's throat.

A look of surprise flashed in the attacker's eyes, and he quickly dodged to the side.

The sword energy grazed his neck, leaving a bloody mark. The blood droplets that seeped out were shaken into a bloody mist by the residual force of the sword energy.

He abandoned Zhou Ming and his gaze fell on Lu Qingchen, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

He gathered spiritual power at the fifth level of Qi Refining in his palm and struck out with it.

The palm strike was chilling, carrying a suffocating aura, exactly the same technique used by the scarred man last time.

Lu Qingchen neither dodged nor avoided.

He raised his left hand, and the wood elemental energy intertwined in front of him to form a pale blue oval shield.

The moment the palm strike hit the shield, the light barrier trembled violently, and the patterns on its surface lit up simultaneously, dispersing the chilling palm force into several tiny streams of spiritual energy that slid outwards along the patterns on the shield.

The shield itself only emitted a dull tremor, but did not shatter.

Less than 20% of the palm force was transmitted to Lu Qingchen through the shield, which he forcibly withstood with his physical body—he felt a slight tightness in his chest, but his steps remained steady.

He took a step back, using the momentum to his advantage, and then focused his sword energy again in his right hand.

This time, he didn't hold back.

More than three hundred strands of pure energy in his dantian vibrated simultaneously, and a highly refined azure sword light shot out from his fingertips.

The sword energy traced a straight path through the air, moving so fast that the attacker, having just regained his footing from the shockwave of the shield, had no time to defend himself.

The sword energy pierced through his chest.

The sword tip pierced through the attacker's back, drawing out a cloud of blood.

But this was only the first layer of damage—the sword energy did not dissipate after penetrating the enemy's body, and the hidden force left inside exploded a few breaths later, instantly destroying the meridians in his chest cavity.

The attacker spat out a jet of blood, the fierce look in his eyes froze into disbelief, and then he lost all his luster and fell backward to the ground.

Lu Qingchen gasped for breath and looked down at his chest.

Although the shield absorbed most of the force of that palm strike, the residual force still left a bruise on his chest, and his ribs ached faintly.

This was the first time he had faced an attack from a cultivator head-on, and also the first time he had killed someone.

Zhou Ming snapped out of his shock and quickly walked to his side. Just as he was about to speak, Lu Qingchen waved his hand.

"Destroy the root core first."

Liu Wenhua's gold-plated short spear was ready to be used.

A flash of golden light, and the short spear pierced the center of the black nodule.

The nodule emitted a sharp hiss, a sound like fingernails scratching a stone slab, piercing the eardrums painfully.

The dark red lines suddenly lit up, and then the entire nodule shattered into a pool of black pus.

The pus seeped into the soil, and the surrounding Soul-Eating Vines simultaneously lost their power, collapsing limply to the ground. The viscous black sap on their surface quickly dried up, turning into a grayish-white powder.

The root cores of the other two groups were also destroyed in succession.

Lu Qingchen did not relax.

He sensed through the Earth Vein Spirit Embryo that there were even more root cores moving towards this side from a more distant place—the first batch was just the vanguard, and the real offensive had not yet begun.

Just as he was about to issue a warning, a dark golden light pierced the night sky.

Elder Han's escape light landed at the entrance of the village, and the bronze mirror hung above his head, its dark golden light illuminating half of the night sky.

Immediately following was Elder Zheng's azure escape light, which brought a gentle breeze when it landed, scattering the remaining fragments of the Soul-Devouring Vine in all directions.

After Elder Han landed, he glanced at the battlefield. The bronze mirror spun, and wherever the dark golden light swept across, the remaining Soul-Devouring Vines withered and died as if all their life force had been drained, turning into a pile of grayish-white powder.

The withering power of the Sujin Spirit Path is the nemesis of these evil creatures that live by devouring life force.

Elder Zheng then formed hand seals, and the life force of the Azure Path transformed into a light blue rain of light, which fell on the spirit field that had been destroyed by the Spirit Devouring Vine.

The withered roots of the sacred rice, nourished by the sunlight and rain, began to revive faintly—though not completely.

It has returned to normal, but at least some parts have been saved, and it can sprout again next year.

"The other six villages were also attacked at the same time."

Elder Han put away the bronze mirror, his stern face appearing particularly solemn in the moonlight.

"Cuiping Manor suffered the heaviest losses, with Zhou Ping seriously injured. Baiguo Manor's spiritual fields were mostly destroyed. It's fortunate that your Qingmu Manor was able to preserve its main force."

Zhao Demao immediately reported to the two elders that Lu Qingchen had discovered the root core.

Elder Han turned around, his cold eyes falling on Lu Qingchen, his gaze scrutinizing him.

"How did you discover the root nucleus?"

Lu Qingchen calmly delivered his prepared explanation: He had spent a long time in the fields, so his perception of changes in the earth's atmosphere was more acute than others.

As soon as those vines appeared, he felt that they didn't crawl over from the outside, but grew out from underneath.

Since it grows from the bottom, it must have roots.

By inducing the flow of air in the opposite direction, the location of the root nucleus can be roughly determined.

Elder Zheng nodded slightly.

Elder Han's gaze lingered on Lu Qingchen for a moment, but he did not ask any further questions.

After clearing out the remaining enemies of Qingmu Manor, Elder Zheng pulled Elder Han aside, his expression grave.

"This attack was definitely not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Seven manors acted simultaneously, and the number of Soul-Devouring Vines used must be at least several hundred. There must be a dedicated cultivation base behind this."

Elder Han nodded and said in a deep voice, "During the pursuit, I discovered that the spiritual energy fluctuations of these Soul-Devouring Vines are of the same origin as those of the Soul-Eating Insects. Perhaps they are both derivative techniques of some kind of spiritual path."

He looked at Lu Qingchen, "Can you sense the direction from which the spiritual energy of these Soul-Devouring Vines originates?"

Lu Qingchen closed his eyes, pretending to be sensing something intently.

In fact, the root network of the Earth Vein Spirit Embryo had already transmitted this information to him.

He opened his eyes and pointed northwest.

"there."

That direction is far from Qingmu Village, and also far from Wild Wolf Valley and Misty Ravine; it is a desolate mountain range deep in the mountains, where no one has ever set foot.

Following the direction indicated by Lu Qingchen, Elder Zheng investigated for two days and finally discovered a clue in a secluded canyon more than a hundred miles away from Qingmu Village.

The canyon entrance is extremely narrow, with the mountain walls on both sides almost closing in, and the top is completely obscured by layers of dense, impenetrable tree canopies. If not for following the earth's energy...

Following the unusual direction, even flying over the canyon, it was difficult to detect the hidden world below.