CHAPTER 328: CHAPTER 328 FORBIDDEN LAND (5)_1

"If you hadn’t relied on these devious methods, would you dare fight us head-on?" Elder Ming bellowed, his face flushed with anger as he spat out a mouthful of blood. SPLASH! It sprayed towards the cave entrance they had just emerged from.

"Five against one, and you call that honorable? Yet I can’t use such ’devious methods’? What a joke," Shangguan You sneered, another ruthless strike sweeping towards the two Elders.

Each time she exerted her full strength, the Spiritual Energy within her body became even more abundant; the previous issue of energy depletion no longer occurred.

"You’re shameless!" Elder Shi strained to block the attack, another mouthful of blood spurting from his lips and spraying down into the cave entrance.

"Compared to you, these methods of mine are nothing," Shangguan You retorted coldly. But as she prepared to engage the two in combat again, several powerful waves of killing intent surged towards her from behind, too quick for her to evade.

Something swiftly coiled around her feet and waist, dragging her entire body down into the large hole she had blasted open.

"AH!" Shangguan You cried out in alarm as her body was pulled into the darkness.

With a few RUSTLING SOUNDS, several black tendrils also wrapped around Elders Ming and Shi, dragging them down into the gaping hole.

They didn’t even have a chance to retaliate before vanishing from sight. Zhuge Yang and Shen Po stared blankly, still reeling from the abrupt turn of events.

Two dark figures leaped swiftly from the shadows. Glancing at the slowly closing black hole, they exchanged a look and jumped in. Just as their figures vanished, the cave mouth sealed completely.

Watching the group being dragged into the hole, Zhuge Yang cried out, "Elder Ming! Elder Shi!"

As his words fell, Zhuge Yang coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed unconscious. Shen Po looked at the fainted Zhuge Yang, then turned to Shen Cheng, who appeared dazed, and pinched his philtrum sharply a few times. Shen Cheng slowly regained consciousness.

"Skeletons! Skeletons! Go away! Stay away! Don’t come any closer! Don’t come closer!" Shen Cheng shrieked, his face deathly pale, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"Shen Cheng, you must move out of the Shen Mansion immediately! That’s no place for you to live. Go now! Right now! Move out!" Shen Po urged, speaking quickly.

"But that place is..." Shen Cheng stammered. Everything he had experienced tonight was more terrifying and harder to accept than anything in his twenty-odd years of life. "I don’t care what it is, just get out of there quickly! You can’t live there anymore!" Shen Po said, then pressed a few points on Zhuge Yang’s body before laying him flat on the ground.

"Alright, I’ll move immediately, I’ll move immediately." Seeing Shen Po’s solemn expression, Shen Cheng nodded. After witnessing such horrifying things, he wouldn’t dare return, even if there were piles of glittering gold. "You must not touch the gold in that secret chamber," Shen Po continued gravely. "It’s guarded by Golden Insects. Those insects are no less dangerous than the ones in the other secret chamber. You’d better remember, what you saw tonight must not be spoken of to anyone. Otherwise, no one will be able to help you. Go now."

He walked towards the sealed cave entrance. What on earth is that black thing? How could it drag in even a master like Elder Meihua? And Elders Ming and Shi didn’t even have a chance to fight back?

Although that thing was fast, I saw it clearly. It’s a black plant. But there wasn’t anything like this in the underground area where we just were, was there?

His face paled and he swayed. Could it be... My blood and Shen Cheng’s blood lured out those insects. So, did the blood of Elders Ming and Shi then lure out this plant from the other side?

Man-Eating Flower... Man-Eating Flower!

Shen Po staggered, his body giving way as he collapsed to the ground.

Shangguan You felt something constricting her tightly. With a flick of her hands, flames erupted from her fingertips, illuminating the space. As she looked at the black things ensnaring her, she couldn’t help but gasp.

My luck is absolutely abysmal!

Slippery black things, covered in countless tendrils, were wrapped around her waist and feet, clinging tightly and dragging her relentlessly down into the abyss.

Screams echoed as Elders Ming and Shi were also dragged down. Shangguan You was slightly better off; the things only gripped her tightly, unlike with the two Elders, where they extended towards their mouths.

For Elder Ming and Elder Shi, the black tendrils were also winding around their chests, and countless smaller feelers crawled over their necks. As the pressure on their chests intensified, copious amounts of blood poured from the corners of their mouths.

As soon as the blood gushed out, the tendrils on the stalks greedily absorbed it. The blood-sucking tendrils, originally black, slowly turned a dark crimson.

The roar of the wind filled their ears as the three of them were rapidly dragged downwards. Shangguan You felt a suffocating pressure on her chest. Seeing the two Elders spewing copious amounts of blood, she frowned, gathered the Spiritual Energy in her body, and unleashed it in a powerful shockwave against the black things.

THUD! The things binding her didn’t loosen; instead, they tightened their grip.

"It’s no use! These things are alive! Once they latch onto you, it’s impossible to break free! They crave blood!" Elder Ming cried out, another spurt of blood escaping his lips, only to be swiftly absorbed by the black tendrils.

"Inferno Fire, burn for me!" Shangguan You commanded with a sharp cry, directing the Infernal Fire Dragon from her hand towards those things. As the flames blazed fiercely, the entire cavern was illuminated.

Seeing the full situation in the cavern clearly, Shangguan You drew in a sharp, cold breath. At the bottom of the pit, a thing with a constantly gaping maw—wasn’t that the Man-Eating Flower she had seen behind the wall on the right?

Shangguan You’s face turned pale as she stared at the sharp teeth in the center of the flower and the black stems that continuously extended to bind them. How did this thing get out?

These slippery things are the stems of the Man-Eating Flower! Good heavens! How many people has this thing eaten? How much blood has it absorbed to grow so enormous?