A sudden surge of killing intent made Yan Jiaojiao's breath hitch. Her steps faltered as she stopped, cautiously gazing ahead while her peripheral vision tracked the movements around her.
The jungle, which had been filled with peaceful birdsong and fragrant blossoms moments ago, fell into an eerie silence. Not even the sound of the cold wind rustling through the leaves could be heard.
"Who's there? Come out, this venerable one demands it!" Yan Jiaojiao called out, her voice ringing.
She detested sneak attacks and underhanded tactics from behind.
However, her only response was a violent rustling of leaves. The spiritual woods, which had been moving slowly, suddenly seemed to have their speed accelerated. They began to spin rapidly, encircling Yan Jiaojiao at their center.
With one hand, Yan Jiaojiao formed five fire talismans and assumed a defensive posture.
If it were her in the past, dealing with these deceptive spiritual woods would have been effortless. Now, however, she had to be alert to handle them.
Indeed, in the next second, the branches of those spiritual woods grew several meters long. Their sharp tips twisted, and they lunged frantically towards Yan Jiaojiao, about to pierce her through with their dense array.
To Yan Jiaojiao's eyes, the speed at which these branches attacked was slow. She could clearly see the trajectory of each one.
Yet, her body couldn't keep up with her eyes. Even as Yan Jiaojiao desperately mobilized her physical functions, her spiritual energy was insufficient to support her.
Consequently, what Yan Jiaojiao had envisioned as a stylish leap turned into a clumsy roll on the ground, barely evading the spiritual woods' initial assault.
Damn it!
Yan Jiaojiao was annoyed, but the spiritual woods didn't give her time to curse fate. Their next attack followed swiftly, their first strike having missed.
From her prone position, Yan Jiaojiao raised her hand and threw the fire talismans. They struck the sharp tips of the trees, igniting a burst of flames that rapidly spread upwards along the branches. In moments, the flames engulfed the spiritual woods in the front.
Yan Jiaojiao seized the chance to catch her breath and immediately rose from the ground. With her right hand, she threw another series of talismans.
As each talisman landed, clumps of earth rose from the ground, forming a continuous earthen wall along the direction Yan Jiaojiao threw them, effectively isolating the burning spiritual woods on the other side.
For a moment, crackling sounds filled the air, carrying only the smell of burning wood.
Yan Jiaojiao let out a cold laugh. "I intended to act discreetly, but you low-tier spiritual woods dared to plot against this venerable one. Then, you shall be reduced to ashes."
With that, Yan Jiaojiao didn't look back. Her steps quickened as she headed towards the location of the Dan-Breaking Grass.
Once the fire started, the Yan family would surely be alerted. Yan Jiaojiao had to obtain the Dan-Breaking Grass before they arrived.
In a short while, Yan Jiaojiao was only three hundred meters away from the Dan-Breaking Grass.
From afar, Dongfang Cangwu watched the rising flames, his gaze inscrutable.
With a thought, rustling sounds erupted around Yan Jiaojiao.
Here we go again.
Yan Jiaojiao immediately sensed the anomaly. The sounds were coming from all directions. As she focused, she saw that the ground was swarming with poisonous insects, snakes, and rats!
Yan Jiaojiao frowned. This was, after all, the Yan family's back mountain. Although the spiritual mountain harbored many spiritual herbs, spiritual beasts were rarely seen.
Now, the person targeting her could only muster these disgusting little creatures.
Unfortunately, they had miscalculated. Yan Jiaojiao's innate aura was not merely for show.
Yan Jiaojiao concentrated and willed her dissipating beastly aura to surge outwards from within her.
The snakes and rats on the ground were insignificant. With a sweep of Yan Jiaojiao's eyes, the dense shadows scattered.
"Tricks of the trade."
Yan Jiaojiao was about to mock them when she suddenly lost her balance, her body sinking downwards.
A swamp!
It turned out the poisonous insects, snakes, and rats were just a diversion. The aim was to surprise Yan Jiaojiao and engulf her with the instantly materialized swamp!
One of the reasons the back mountain was declared a forbidden area was the presence of countless spiritual essence swamps, large and small. Once someone fell in, they would be firmly held.
Unless one possessed extraordinary cultivation to escape the spiritual essence swamp, ordinary cultivators, even if they exhausted their spiritual energy, could not break free. All their techniques would be like hitting cotton, only to have their spiritual energy absorbed by the swamp.
With her past life's experience, avoiding such spiritual essence swamps was child's play for Yan Jiaojiao. She hadn't expected to be tripped up here, with a swamp teleported directly beneath her.
By the time Yan Jiaojiao reacted, it was too late. The swamp, as if possessing countless tentacles, dragged her further down.
A hint of panic flashed through Yan Jiaojiao's mind.
If it were her from her past life, she would not have taken teleportation techniques seriously. But her current self was a mere cripple. Facing a cultivator capable of large-scale teleportation, her chances of survival were slim to none!
Yan Jiaojiao dared not delay. The most crucial thing now was to escape the swamp. With that thought, she formed a shield talisman and threw it towards the swamp beneath her feet.
Her feet immediately found solid ground. Before Yan Jiaojiao could relax, the condensed earth was instantly diluted by the swamp, turning back into a pool of mud.
Yan Jiaojiao was already submerged up to her waist.
Far away, Dongfang Cangwu watched Yan Jiaojiao's desperate struggle, his eyes growing colder.
This woman was simply courting death, venturing into a forbidden area with such pathetic, powerless skills.
However, the beastly aura she had briefly exuded was surprising. Pity, she was about to die.
With that thought, Dongfang Cangwu no longer lingered. He indifferently shifted his gaze to the Dan-Breaking Grass.
The Dan-Breaking Grass was nearing full maturity. Its long, spreading leaves intertwined elegantly, emitting a faint green glow. The emanating spiritual energy grew more potent, waiting only to reach its peak before being harvested and consumed.
The light continued to grow, finally erupting into a dazzling display. In the next second, the Dan-Breaking Grass fell into Dongfang Cangwu's hand.
As the spiritual energy of the Dan-Breaking Grass dispersed, Yan Jiaojiao, trapped in the swamp, naturally felt it.
Yan Jiaojiao looked up, staring fiercely in the direction of the Dan-Breaking Grass.
The key to altering her fate was within reach. This venerable one cannot die here!
Gritting her teeth, Yan Jiaojiao pulled out a stack of talismans and hurled them into the swamp as if they were free.
Earth shields, wood shields, rock shields...
Yan Jiaojiao cycled through them, using the momentarily solidified ground beneath her feet to frantically climb upwards.
But just as Yan Jiaojiao managed to free more than half of her leg, the swamp seemed to be activated. It clung tightly to Yan Jiaojiao with immense force, pulling her back to her original position!
Damn it, that person is making a ruthless move!
Realizing this, Yan Jiaojiao dared not pause. Gritting her teeth, she spat hatefully, "Just you wait, you'd better not let me catch you!"
Her hands did not stop as she formed ancient seals. The sky above Yan Jiaojiao churned with clouds, and a beam of light descended from above.
At this critical moment, Yan Jiaojiao could only utilize all her skills, unhesitatingly mobilizing her last bit of divine consciousness and performing a summoning technique.
As she formed the seals, Yan Jiaojiao couldn't help but mutter, "Not Xiao Hei, not Xiao Hei..."
Please, summon a fierce beast for this venerable one, preferably one that can immediately rescue me from this filthy mire!