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However, just as he was feeling pleased, a demon radish nearby suddenly opened its mouth and lunged to bite him.

Shi Wuming stared blankly.

Shi Wuming turned and ran, but the fluttering hem of his robe was caught by the demon radish, followed by a bite on his shoulder. He let out a howl of pain.

The demon radish also let out a gurgling shriek.

Thousand-Thread Vines shot out, and Wen Qiao swiftly pulled the wailing Shi Wuming free.

At that moment, the demon radishes yanked themselves free, stubby radish legs sprouting as they charged toward the group.

Wen Qiao and the others had no choice but to draw their weapons and start hacking at the radishes.

A spiritual sword struck a demon radish, producing a metallic clang. Wu Xiongan exclaimed in surprise, "These demon plants have tough skin!" Initially expecting them to be as easy to slice as ordinary radishes, they instead encountered demon radishes with ironclad defenses.

Even cultivators at the Yuanchuang Stage couldn't cut through them. They had no choice but to resort to fire talismans.

Fortunately, the instinctive fear of fire remained in these plants. The hopping demon radishes retreated, keeping a wary distance while glaring hungrily, poised to strike the moment they dared approach.

"Use fire to clear a path!" Ning Yuzhou decisively declared, pulling out several fire talismans and activating them to form a talisman formation.

The fire formation surged forward, carving a path of flames ahead.

The group sprinted along the burning path.

Though getting singed by flames was unpleasant, it was still better than being bitten by those iron-jawed demon radishes.

The demon radishes kept their distance, seething as their delicious prey escaped. They hopped frantically in pursuit.

Shi Wuming spotted one demon radish with half its teeth missing—undoubtedly the one that had bitten him earlier. Without hesitation, he grabbed a blast bead and hurled it at the creature.

The demon radish swallowed it whole and even had the audacity to belch.

Suddenly—*BOOM!*—the demon radish exploded, sending chunks of radish pulp flying everywhere. Wen Qiao summoned her Thousand Mechanism Umbrella to shield everyone from the raining debris.

Shi Wuming couldn't help but marvel, "These demon radishes have absurdly tough hides! Even with formations, blast beads can blast craters, but this one swallowed it and only turned into radish scraps—without harming the others nearby."

This proved that the defensive capabilities of these demon radishes rivaled Yuanchuang Stage cultivators.

"One blast bead for one demon radish is too wasteful," Wen Qiao remarked coolly—though she immediately tossed another blast bead into the gaping mouth of an oncoming demon radish.

Ning Yuzhou maintained the fire formation to clear their path, chuckling, "Plenty to spare."

With the fire talisman formation blazing ahead and blast beads eliminating threats, they narrowly managed to escape the demon radish field.

Beyond the radish field lay other dangerous, flesh-eating demon flora. The moment they appeared, another wave of vicious attacks ensued.

Ning Yuzhou continued directing the fire talisman formation, while Ning Jichen guided the unarmed Wen Yi, keeping pace with his son. He occasionally hurled thunder talismans, diamond talismans, and other high-damage charms at their surroundings. The others guarded the flanks, employing every means necessary to fight their way forward.

Only the little *qilin* remained unnoticed by the demon plants, weaving untouched through the fray.

Aside from its armored puppet body, the little *qilin* lacked offensive abilities. It could only use its tough body to ram aside attacking flora.

After several days, they finally emerged from the dense demon plant forest.

Everyone looked filthy and exhausted—even Wen Yi, who had been shielded in the center and barely fought, was caked in dirt, a complete mess.

They glanced at each other and collapsed into exhausted laughter.

Though every step was filled with tension and danger, the intense battles left them pumped and deeply satisfied.

Ning Yuzhou gazed at the gray mist ahead and said, "Let's rest for a while before moving on."

The others naturally had no objections. After the tense battles, exhaustion inevitably set in, and they truly needed a break.

With no safe resting spots nearby, Ning Yuzhou immediately set up a defensive formation. He assigned the tireless Little Qilin to keep watch while the others seized the moment to replenish their spiritual energy.

Wen Yi slumped weakly against the ground, her complexion worsening once more.

The single Yin-Yang Nirvana Pill had given her only a sliver of life, and now, having lasted this long, the life force within her seemed to be draining rapidly again. She felt an overwhelming urge to succumb to sleep—one she might never wake from.

"Hey, wake up!"

Wen Yi slowly opened her eyes, staring blankly at the woman poking her, and murmured, "I'm so tired... Let me sleep for a bit..."

"Don't sleep! You might never wake up again."

Wen Yi remained silent, but her expression seemed to say, "So what?" She was supposed to be dead already—she didn’t want to hold on any longer.

"Don’t you want to see Leng Yi?"

Truthfully... not really.

She whispered inwardly, "What good would it do?" He was the young master of Tianshu Palace, born lucky. Even if he had chosen to come to the Netherworld, he had his own path to walk. They were from two entirely different worlds—their paths were never meant to cross. Whether they met again or not made no difference.

As these thoughts drifted through her mind, her consciousness gradually faded, slipping into darkness.

Wen Qiao bent down and hoisted the limp body from the ground.

The others watched with complex expressions. Wu Xiongan couldn’t help but ask, "Is... is she dead?"

Though Wen Yi had been dead weight, neither Wen Qiao nor Ning Yuzhou had complained. Moreover, they had the capability to carry two such burdens, so the others kept their mouths shut. In truth, their safe journey thus far was largely thanks to Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou—especially Ning Yuzhou’s endless supply of Spirit Restoring Pills, spiritual tools, talismans, and formations. Without these resources, they would never have made it through so many perilous zones unscathed.

Wu Xiongan and the other three had faced countless dangers in their cultivation journeys, but never had they fought so freely—with pills, talismans, weapons, and formations at their disposal, they could battle without restraint, unburdened by fear of surrounding threats. No matter what obstacles they encountered, they felt unstoppable.