Let The Blood Flow
The voice was coming from what seemed to be behind the tree. Or perhaps it was the voice of the tree itself... Not much time was given for anyone to make a good guess as to which of those two propositions was correct, as the voice laughed and palms were clapped together.
“My apologies to you all~ It is my bad that I took upon this forsaken technique of all things, but your blood shall help me finally leave this place for good! Now… Fall and slaughter each other! Last one standing gets to leave with their life and everything the dead ones own on their person!”
Without warning, vines, roots, and all sorts of plant-based objects surged out from the deep chasm. No one was quick enough to dodge or defend themselves. All were tangled and brutally dragged down into the depths… Linfeng was separated from Mala, screams and shouts sounded out from all over the place, bouncing against the wall to create a deafening cacophony of fear and dread.
...All until Linfeng was suddenly thrown to the ground, but instead of harsh stone, his body felt the touch of short, soft grass and dirt. The darkness slightly weakened as small lights shone to life. The bottom of the chasm was a vibrant ecosystem–Which was certainly uncommon. This world was full of surprising and often seemingly nonsensical things, but a lush environment similar to what was on the surface, thriving underground without light, was definitely odd at a glance.
‘This place is rich in ambient energy… Everything is booming with energy. Is it nature energy?’
Linfeng’s cultivation made him more akin to a brute. He needed to focus on fighting and having sex to progress his cultivation, so he wasn’t exactly well-learned about how to differentiate different kinds of energy. However, nature energy was fairly well-known, and seemed to make the most sense for what was happening here.
‘The voice… For some reason, I struggle to remember how it sounded exactly, but… It talked as though it belonged to a cultivator looking for a breakthrough. It clearly wants to finish up cultivating a restrictive technique of some kind… Does it belong to an ancient cultivator who has been stuck here for years, or to someone who simply made a choice they regret?’
Considering that this forest seemed to have only become so bizarrely dangerous recently, it might be more likely that the second option was true. Nonetheless, this person was clearly quite powerful. No one–Not even Linfeng–Had been able to react to the attack, and subsequently, his great strength had been meaningless. The roots that had wrapped around him had been far too durable.
The prospect of a difficult confrontation made his blood boil with anticipation. It seemed like his constant ventures looking for fights to satisfy his desire for strength had turned him into a battle-seeker.
However, he had to focus on finding Mala. The twink was a crafty bastard who was awfully good at sneakily slithering around, but he was a non-cultivator weakling. He could easily be overpowered, and considering the sort of characters that had been dragged down here alongside both of them, it could mean rather unsavoury things.
‘I can’t let any of these unwashed bastards put a hand on him. He is mine’
I always knew you would turn out to be a twink lover, Linfeng
‘Been a while since you last spoke unprompted, System. I suppose you feel like commenting on my current predicament or something like that? Well, it is pretty obvious that I am waist-deep in mud mixed with shit right now’
‘The bandits don’t scare me too much. But that… Plant cultivator, I suppose… Is clearly way stronger than any enemies I have faced so far. Apart probably from Anoteros, but it wasn’t a fight at all’
You are dealing with what is most likely a cultivator who specialises solely in nature energy. I wasn’t able to sense a firm presence myself. It is likely that all other energies within their body have been replaced with nature energy. So in this environment, things like mana sense are useless, and of course, it means that they can hide far more effectively than most
Though–Since they controlled these roots with such strength and precision, it isn’t unlikely that they are a spell cultivator. A fight in close quarters might just be to your advantage… Granted that you can close the distance in the first place
‘Right… Let’s get an idea where that cultivator is, and also… The bandits will be annoying’
Linfeng narrowed his gaze as a rugged-looking man came stumbling out of pricking nettles, cursing under his breath before he noticed Linfeng standing a distance away.
“Ah shit… You don’t seem like a bandit, kiddo. What a shame! Stretch out your neck so that I can kill you quickly, alright?”
“Are all bandits delusional like you?”
Linfeng rushed at the bandits. The man was startled by the speed and blindly swung his machete through the air, only to have his arm grabbed and promptly snapped like a piece of celery. He dropped his weapon, but it never touched the ground.
The young cultivator grabbed it and promptly cleaved down on the bandit’s head, splitting his head in the middle down to the nose.
He twitched for a few moments before growing still.
‘If these bastards are all so aggressive, then the plant cultivator will get what they want soon enough…’
Indeed, as soon as the bandits died, roots burst out of the ground, crushing his body before dragging it into the soil. Their captor was feeding from this, and apparently, there were enough people to their taste down here for them to free themselves from whatever restrictive technique they were practising.
Once this happened, their power would probably increase as well, which didn’t bode well if Linfeng wanted to fight.
I would say that just being the last one standing could be enough, but I doubt they will actually keep their word anyway
‘More importantly, I want to get out of here with Mala. Hopefully, he doesn’t get hurt. His arm only recently healed fully. He’ll get quite mad if something else happens…’
Don’t you like it when he’s mad? Don’t you find him cute when he is upset?
‘Aherm… I still don’t want him to get hurt’
Linfeng moved rapidly. He ran into a few more bandits, but they weren’t even cultivators at all, so he easily crushed them without even slowing down. He continued until he reached what seemed to be the pillar of stone upon which the great tree throned. Huge roots covered the ground here, some even twisting upward before digging into the stone walls.
The light was far brighter here.
He spotted several other individuals.
It seemed like everyone had been shoved down different tunnels, and those who emerged now were here because they had slaughtered everyone else. Most of them were covered in blood.
These were the strongest bandits that had been lured to the forest, most of them leaders... Well, former leaders now that their men were all dead.
“Guys, I doubt the fucker will actually let anyone leave. Why don’t we team up to murder that-”
A vine wrapped around his neck, tightening so strongly that the bandit’s head was sent flying away from his body with his face still stuck in the midst of speaking. He didn’t even know what hit him.
“Well… The message is clear. Our best chance is by killing each other, I suppose”
“The thought of winning only to probably be killed anyway is annoying, but it is the only option that at least has some chances of working”
Linfeng looked up.
‘Hopefully Mala was able to hide…’