After running deep into the forest of the Thousand Root Valley for what felt like hours, Mo Fan finally slowed down. His eyes narrowed. His clothes were torn, his body covered in scratches. He clenched his teeth, pain stabbing from his waist to his chest.
"Damn it... This isn't the way out," he muttered, his breath heavy and fogging in the cold air. "I've gone deeper into the valley… and now I'm lost."
In the distance, faint whispers echoed—like hundreds of tongues hissing behind a veil of fog.
"Come back… come back… fresh blood… fresh soul…"
HSSHHH…
SKRRRR…
HSSHH…
Mo Fan turned quickly, but saw nothing—only hanging roots and thickening mist. A heavy spiritual pressure crept onto his chest. The fog darkened, turning into smoky tendrils that slithered over his skin like worms searching for pores to crawl into.
Suddenly… the ground trembled.
RRRRMM… RRRMM…
"What the hell now—an earthquake?" Mo Fan snarled.
A loud cracking followed, and from beneath the earth, roots twisted violently before exploding outward. A massive creature emerged—half-human, half-root. Its eyes glowed a burning red, its body fused with earth and air itself.
"Fresh blood… fresh soul… You entered without permission… Now you'll be my feast…" The creature's voice creaked like brittle branches slowly snapping.
Mo Fan scoffed. "Eighth level Qi Refining, huh? Thinks he's hot stuff just 'cause he has a root domain. Annoying bastard."
He raised his hand. Black claws erupted from his skin. Black Slaughter Claw pulsed with dark qi. He lunged, slashing at the creature with sheer hatred.
SHRAAAK!!
The outer roots were shredded, but the inner body remained intact. The Devil Root Warden lifted its arm—or rather, a mass of sharpened roots shaped like one—and slammed the ground. Spiked roots erupted from all sides, forming a deadly cage.
WHRRTT!! SKRAAAASH!!
Mo Fan leaped, twisting midair, but one of the roots slashed across his thigh.
SLIIICE!!
Blood sprayed. He tumbled, then slowly pushed himself up. Panting hard.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS FOREST?! It's not a forest… it's Hell's damn anus!!"
The creature approached, its heartbeat pounding like a war drum of death. Mo Fan swung his claw at the roots lashing toward him, but the counterattack came too fast. One thick root smashed into his back—
THUD!!
—crushing bone. He flew through the air, smashing into a dead tree, splintering it.
CRAAACK!!
He coughed up blood.
BLUUURGH!
His vision blurred. The world spun.
"Dammit… I can't even touch its core…"
The Devil Root Warden raised its hand. Barbed roots slithered from every direction, like starving serpents. They surged at the collapsed Mo Fan.
"Am I… gonna die here again? Just like that?"
A low chuckle echoed in his mind. Heh...
"Your body's too weak to win. But if you let me channel a bit of myself through you, we can merge—just temporarily."
That voice—silky, cold, seductive like venom. Long Zhuyin.
Mo Fan rasped a laugh. "Haha... You want inside me? Better bring some spirit lube so I don't chafe."
FWOOM!!
Demonic aura erupted from his body—dark purple, oppressive, thrilling. His eyes lit up in crimson. The claws on his hands grew longer, sharper, almost alive. Black qi pulsed from his pores. But his body also began to crack from within.
"If this plan fails… guess we die together, sweetheart," Mo Fan hissed—but it was Long Zhuyin speaking through him.
The battle turned savage. Claws and roots clashed violently.
CLAAANG!!
SLAAASH!!
THOOM!!
Each step Mo Fan took became a deadly counterattack. He was no longer human—half-demon, half-madness.
The Devil Root Warden whipped a root like a barbed whip.
SWOOSH!!
Mo Fan blocked it, but another root coiled around his neck.
SNAP!!
He was slammed into the ground. The earth trembled beneath the impact. As he tried to rise, another root pierced his shoulder.
THUNK!!
Pinning him down.
"AAARGHH!!" Mo Fan screamed, while Long Zhuyin felt nothing.
"Submit… human…" the Devil Root Warden sneered.
"Submit your ass!" Mo Fan snarled, then unleashed a burst of black qi from his mouth—
HRAAAHHHH!!
—setting the surrounding roots ablaze.
Finally, he leapt onto the creature's head, his demonic claw smashing into its core.
KRAK!!
A blast of black qi erupted, destroying the creature's head.
BOOOOOM!!
Toxic root-blood splattered, melting its body into a thick pool of black sludge.
But before the body completely dissolved, a voice echoed from the fog and destruction—bitter, pained.
"Nooo…! I… am the eternal root… I cannot… die to a filthy… humaAAARRRRGHHHH!!"
Its shriek split the air, tearing the silence as if the underworld itself mourned. But soon, it faded… along with the creature's form into ooze.
And from the center of the pool… a purplish-black orb rose. Beating… like a living heart.
"Netherroot Core," Long Zhuyin spoke again.
"That's no ordinary pill. Swallow it recklessly and your organs will explode. But if you use it with me… your body could exceed the limits of normal Qi Refining."
Mo Fan picked it up slowly, his eyes narrowing.
"The darker it is… the sweeter it gets."
He stored it in his qi pouch.
Then, Long Zhuyin murmured faintly, "Su Wan'er… she has a rare constitution… extremely rare, even where I come from."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Mo Fan frowned in confusion.
Long Zhuyin continued, "It's called the Nine Heavens Lunar Spirit Physique. She can absorb lunar qi, heal soul wounds, and amplify holy techniques. Properly refined… she could be the key to breaching the Saint Realm with a mortal body."
Mo Fan scowled. "Refined? You mean… turned into a pill ingredient?"
Long Zhuyin nodded softly. "Yes. She can be used as a pill base to break through the Saint Realm. Or worse… made into a cultivation furnace by a demonic cultivator."
"Furnace? You mean—?"
"Yes. A vessel to drain her strength, qi, and soul completely. Usually, women with such a body… don't survive long." Long Zhuyin sighed, a flicker of pity in her voice for those born with such fates.
"You serious?!" Mo Fan's tone sharpened. He barely knew Su Wan'er, but a strange fondness had already taken root. He didn't want to regret it like back on Earth—when he loved Han Mie but died before confessing.
"The Nine Heavens Lunar Spirit Physique is the perfect bait for evil sects. In history, anyone born with it… was hunted. If she falls into the wrong hands, her fate would be worse than death." Long Zhuyin's voice turned solemn, recalling her past life and the horrors she'd seen.
"But if used correctly—by her own will—it could become the unshakable foundation of her cultivation. Her body could absorb lunar qi at night, purify it into pure spiritual energy, and triple the growth of her cultivation core compared to normal bodies."
"In battle, she can wield moonlight-based techniques to create illusions, accelerate healing, even suppress demonic arts. It's said that during a full moon, she can summon the Lunar Soul Manifestation—a spirit of light that can tear through darkness and shield the soul."
"That's why people seek her out. Not just evil sects, but great clans and powerful sects too. They want her… as a successor, or worse… a tool for breeding talented heirs."
Mo Fan fell silent. His demon eyes glowed sharper than ever.
"Then anyone who tries… I'll send them to hell first."
Long Zhuyin smiled faintly in his mind. "Heh… you're finally showing your horns, kid. But Su Wan'er's lucky she hasn't awakened her physique yet. If she had… and those beyond the Nascent Soul Realm learned of it… her end would be far more tragic than you imagine."
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Thousand Root Forest, Su Wan'er stood frozen at the spot where they had parted. A soft wind stirred her silvery hair.
"Mo Fan?" she called quietly.
But only the fog answered.
Senior Qing Yue emerged from the mist, her steps graceful and composed. "You didn't find him?"
Su Wan'er clenched her fists. "We made a promise… to return to this place. He didn't keep it. He… disappeared."
Qing Yue gazed sharply toward the forest, then let out a long sigh. "This place is no place for ordinary people. Even a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator can vanish without a trace. You knew he was weak. Why place so much faith in him?"
"Because he…" Su Wan'er fell silent, her eyes lifting to the ashen sky. "Because he's strange, foolish, reckless… but he never breaks a promise."
Qing Yue placed a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps in—"
The thick fog rolled like a silent ocean, swallowing all shapes and colors. Black roots stretched wildly from the earth like the hands of corpses clawing their way out of their graves. The air was damp, heavy with the stench of rotting flesh and stale blood. Every breath was torment; every step, a gamble between life and death.