After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Ling regained consciousness. He didn't know where he was; the surroundings were a hazy gray, seemingly deep within a rocky cave. At this moment, he was suspended in mid-air, his body entangled with dark brown vines. He struggled for a while, but the vines were wrapped tightly, preventing him from escaping. These vines seemed to have reverted to ordinary vines, remaining still no matter how much he twisted. Although the vines were no longer moving, they were incredibly tough, and he couldn't break free with his strength alone. Zhang Ling felt that he was still holding his long saber, but his whole body was bound, and he was suspended in mid-air, unable to exert any force. A faint blue-green light emanated from the surroundings, which was why he could see things clearly. Looking around, he was startled. Before him was a hideous head; upon closer inspection, it was a monkey. This monkey was also bound by vines, its face twisted, and its body had many black bloodstains. It had obviously been dead for some time, as if strangled to death by the vines. Looking around, he could see many vines hanging down from above, interspersed with animal corpses. He could see at least twenty or thirty corpses, including mountain rats, monkeys, gray wolves, and two large beasts, one of which was the tiger he had seen before. Zhang Ling felt a chill in his heart. He looked down, and the sight made his face turn pale. A large number of white bones were piled up in a chaotic and staggering amount.
The space here seemed very large, like a natural cave. Not far away was a long, strip-shaped object emitting a faint blue-green light, its original form unclear, but it looked like a vine. The glowing vine coiled around a black boulder, moving in a rather eerie manner. Another moving vine, and it was glowing too. Could this vine be controlling the other vines to capture prey? Zhang Ling was lost in thought, after all, this glowing vine was so strange; it seemed to have become an evil spirit. This was a vine monster. In the village, he had heard old people tell stories about gods, immortals, ghosts, and monsters, including tree and mountain spirits. In some deep mountains and old forests, plants and animals could absorb the essence of the sun and moon to become monsters. Some great demons could even transform into human form. Zhang Ling's mood was extremely complicated at the moment. Ever since he encountered that group of bandits, he had been running away, first from the bandits, then from the wolves, and now from the vines. For a time, he felt disheartened and had no hope of escaping the vine monster. Suddenly, he saw the glowing vine wrapping around a wolf carcass. The sound of bones grinding constantly echoed, and Zhang Ling's pupils constricted as he witnessed a terrifying scene. Every so often, the glowing vine would command the black vines to lower some animal corpses, then grind them into a pile of minced meat, which it would absorb. This vine was eating animals. This way of dying made Zhang Ling's face turn pale. These animals were already dead and had no feeling, but he was still alive. To be strangled, crushed, and have his bones broken into minced meat by the vines was something no one could accept. Time passed slowly in this torment. Zhang Ling watched in despair as the animals were absorbed by the vines one by one, his expression long since numb. Suddenly, he felt the vines on his body move; he knew it was his turn. With a thud, the vines on his body loosened, and he fell to the ground. The fall made his head spin and his eyes see stars. Fortunately, he wasn't far from the ground, but he had been bound by the vines for who knows how long, and now he felt uncomfortable all over, and his body was no longer under his control. He lay on the ground, unable to get up for a while, while the glowing vine moved towards him like a giant python. Observing the vine up close, Zhang Ling's face was extremely pale. The vine was a good seven or eight zhang long and as thick as an arm. In a flash, it was before his eyes. "Move, move!" Zhang Ling roared in his heart, rolling to the side to dodge the vine's attack. The glowing vine seemed to be conscious, shrinking back for a moment and then circling around him. Zhang Ling struggled to stand up, the long saber in his hand his only reliance. The vine circling him suddenly straightened half of its length, the long vine danced around, making a series of whooshing sounds.
With a soft snap, Zhang Ling only had time to see a black shadow flash before the arm-thick vine struck him in the waist. Before the pain could register, his body was lifted into the air. Zhang Ling groaned and waved the saber in his hands frantically, slashing at the vine. His desperate attack only left a white mark on it; this little damage had no effect on the vine. The glowing vine tightened little by little, pulling him towards the center. Zhang Ling's eyes were bloodshot as he slashed at the vine again and again, struggling before his death. He knew this would not harm the vine in the slightest, but he still swung the saber wildly. Only in this way could he suppress the fear and dread in his heart. The vine wrapped him up in circles. Zhang Ling's movements became slower and slower, and the hands holding the saber were already covered in blood. "Am I going to die here?" Knowing that today was the day of his death, and that he would be strangled to death by a vine, Zhang Ling's heart was as ashes. With a soft clanging sound, his hands were numb and his eyes flashed. The vine had dragged him to the boulder. His body was already wrapped in several circles of thick vines. His previous attack had inadvertently struck the rock, creating a few sparks. This was unintentional, but the sparks landed on the ground and ignited something. There were many animal hairs on the ground, the remnants left over from the vine's absorption, which ignited upon contact with fire. Instantly, a chain reaction occurred, a spark ignited a few strands of animal fur, and then patches of fire rose on the ground. In a few breaths, fire broke out everywhere. The glowing vine also sensed something was wrong, twisting its vines to stir up dust on the ground. Zhang Ling was also thrown to the ground. However, the monster's actions did not extinguish the fire, but instead made it bigger. The vine was incredibly powerful. Its frantic shaking knocked down many vines hanging from the top of the cave, and the falling animal corpses made the fire even bigger. Climbing up from the ground, Zhang Ling felt dizzy and in pain all over. He didn't know how many bones he had broken. But he was stunned by the situation. The glowing vine was waving wildly like a fiery snake. The fire illuminated his vision. Zhang Ling came back to his senses and wanted to find a way out, but all around, besides the burning flames, there were only some rocks on the ground, with no way out. Was he still going to die? He smiled bitterly, not expecting to be killed by fire instead of the ghost vine. Both ways of dying were terrible. The temperature gradually increased, and flames several zhang high shot up all around. The glowing vine danced continuously, bringing up patches of flame, like a fiery dragon, its momentum astonishing. Zhang Ling slumped down on the big stone, indifferently admiring everything before him. He also noticed that the blue-green light on the vine was constantly weakening. As the light dimmed, the vine also began to burn. Huh! Suddenly, he felt a cool sensation coming from under his buttocks. Zhang Ling shifted his buttocks and looked at the surface of the stone. There were several cracks on the dark green stone, and in one of the cracks was a transparent object, which was emitting a trace of coolness. The temperature around was already very high, but this stone had become cold, which was very magical. He couldn't help but want to pry out the thing emitting coolness from the stone and take a look.
However, the cracks in the boulder were very narrow, and his fingers couldn't fit in. But this gap couldn't stop him. Zhang Ling grabbed the long saber that had been thrown aside. The saber was nicked and curled, but the blade could just be inserted into the crack in the stone. Zhang Ling pried upward with force. Soon, he widened the crack in the stone a little, breaking off many small stones. The thing inside was also taken out. It turned out to be a round, translucent ice cube. The ice cube was a thin layer, seemingly only the thickness of a fingernail. But inside it was sealed a small, earthy yellow bead, only the size of a thumb, which was emitting a trace of coolness. Was this a jade stone? Zhang Ling rubbed the yellow bead in his hand. He heard a rustling sound, and the thin ice on the surface of the bead was rubbed into ice shavings by him. Instantly, his hands were wet, and the coolness on the bead was quickly dissipating. He shook his hand, feeling a little ridiculous. Even if this round bead was a special jade stone, it couldn't help him escape. Zhang Ling slumped back on the ground, preparing to wait for death. The temperature around him was rising rapidly, and a stream of disgusting smoke filled the entire space. He coughed a few times, thinking he was going to die. He turned his head to look at the glowing vine in the distance. He wanted to see if the vine had been burned to death, but looking around, the glowing vine was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, the fire above his head brightened. The vine had reached the top of his head at some point. The vine wrapped around him with flames. At this moment, Zhang Ling felt no fear, but rather a sense of calm. The vine wrapped him up in circles, and Zhang Ling was instantly engulfed in flames, losing consciousness. However, he didn't notice that after the green vine wrapped around his body, a strange blood-red aura lit up.
