Zanxing

Chapter 117 - Fairy Song Vine (2)

After finishing their meal of melons and grilled fish, the group prepared to continue their journey.

As Mu Chengxiao left, he picked all the beauty herbs by Lanjing Lake and stuffed them into his Qiankun bag, likely intending to give them to Liu Yunxin as a gift. Zanxing couldn't figure out Mu Chengxiao's current emotional state. On one hand, there was a subtle atmosphere between him and Meng Ying, and on the other, he still seemed to be thinking about his childhood friend Liu Yunxin. It seemed he hadn't given up on the idea of marrying eight wives.

Continuing from Lanjing Lake, they reached the foot of Wudong Mountain.

Looking up from the foot of Wudong Mountain, the mountain appeared like a whole piece of jade, glowing in the sky. The forest was dense and endless. The mountain was also full of streams and ponds, with waterfalls splashing every few steps. The water was clear, with green pebbles lying at the bottom, emitting a soft light.

Tian Fangfang was mesmerized and picked up two pebbles in his palm, asking, "What is this? Jade?"

"It's stone jade," Meng Ying glanced at the stones in his palm. "It's stone, but it looks like jade."

"If you take this to Huajin Pavillion, it could easily pass for real jade." Tian Fangfang rolled up his sleeves and opened his Qiankun bag to put the stones in. Meng Ying shook his head, "It's useless. Stone jade only glows in the water of Wudong Mountain. Once out of the secret realm, it's just an ordinary stone."

Hearing this, Tian Fangfang stopped his action of picking up the jade and reluctantly withdrew his hand, saying, "That's really a pity."

Wudong Mountain had beautiful peaks, appearing gentle but actually rugged and steep. While climbing, occasionally looking back, one could see clouds and mist swirling around, as if a thousand feet high. Occasionally, birds with long green feathers flew by.

After bypassing a deep pond and walking several miles uphill, they suddenly came across a footprint in the lush greenery. The footprint was as large as a cart, hidden in the dense foliage, likely left by a beast.

"It looks like a tiger's footprint," said Tan Tianxin from Chihua Sect. 

"This tiger must be quite large," Pu Tao looked at the size of the footprint and warned the female disciples of Xiangling Sect, "Everyone, be careful."

"Fellow cultivator Pu, there's no need to worry. We cultivators, are we afraid of earthly beasts?" A disciple from Yinfeng Sect laughed, "If there's real danger, we'll just kill the beast with one strike and make boots out of its skin."

The people of the Yinfeng Sect were always boastful, and others were used to it. However, Mendong, hearing this, hid behind Gu Baiying. He was young and naturally had a fear of wild animals.

Seeing this, Zanxing comforted him, "Don't be afraid. Even if there's a tiger, it's okay. We have a lion here." She picked up Mimi by the scruff of her neck and lifted her into the air, "Barely counts as the king of beasts, right?"

Everyone looked at the bewildered white cat with a bulging belly, falling silent.

Mimi struggled a bit, jumped down from Zanxing's hand, and lazily yawned on the ground.

Gu Baiying said, "Let's go, don't just stand there. The people from Chihua Sect have already gone ahead."

After walking for another two or maybe three hours, the sunlight was not as strong as at noon, casting a broken golden light through the dense branches, giving the forest a fragmented golden hue. The higher they went, the denser the forest became, blocking out the sunlight, and making it more eerie.

In the distance, a winding stream flowed gently.

As they walked a few more steps, they suddenly heard a woman's singing.

The singing was light and pleasant, like pearls falling on a jade plate, exceptionally ethereal in the deep mountains. Just by listening to the singing, one could imagine a beautiful and graceful woman.

The cultivators were first stunned, then became tense, asking, "Who is it?"

"Uncultured," Tan Tianxin sneered, "A bunch of country bumpkins."

Nie Xinghong shook his fan and smiled, "If I'm not mistaken, this should be the 'Fairy Song Vine'."

Fairy song vine?

Yanxing was startled and followed the cultivators forward. Sure enough, they saw a stone wall ahead, densely covered with green vines. These vines seemed to grow without any visible support, covering the entire wall. Scattered among the vines were some light pink flowers, each with only two petals, resembling human lips. At this moment, the flowers were opening and closing as if they were speaking.

The singing was coming from these flowers.

"It really is the 'Fairy Song Vine'," Yanxing murmured.

"Junior sister, what is the 'Fairy Song Vine'?" Tian Fangfang asked.

Yanxing replied, "I once read about it in the sect's library in a book called All Things: Listening to the Voices of Plants. It recorded a hundred types of plants that can make sounds, one of which is the 'Fairy Song Vine'. It's said that these flowers mimic the singing voices of mortal women, with enchanting and beautiful tones that lure people in."

"Really?" Tian Fangfang reached out to touch it. "That's quite rare."

"Don't touch it!" Yanxing warned.

Tian Fangfang's hand trembled, and he looked back in confusion. "Why not?"

"The 'Fairy Song Vine' is carnivorous. It's dangerous to get close."

As soon as she finished speaking, a disciple from another sect suddenly grabbed a bird resting on a nearby branch and threw it toward the Fairy Song Vine.

In an instant, countless vines shot out from the stone wall, wrapping around the bird. Soon, the bird was no longer visible. The light pink flowers, resembling human lips, made greedy chewing sounds, mixed with the soft noise of swallowing.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

After a moment, the vines gradually loosened and covered the wall again, leaving only a few bird bones and feathers in front of the wall. The Fairy Song Vine, seemingly unsatisfied, made a smacking sound and then resumed singing.

The woman's singing was still beautiful, but the cultivators no longer found it fascinating.

If it had been a person instead of a bird, they would have been devoured by the Fairy Song Vine. Perhaps countless cultivators' bones were buried in front of this wall. The more beautiful the singing, the more it sent chills down their spines.

Although the cultivators entering the secret realm were the elite of their sects' younger generation, they were still young and inexperienced. Seeing this vine for the first time, they couldn't help but feel uneasy. One cultivator said, "Fairy Song Vine? More like Demon Song Vine. It's so eerie. We should just cut it down!" He drew his sword.

"Wait," Nie Xinghong stopped him. "The Fairy Song Vine is a vine. Cutting it with a sword won't get rid of it. To completely remove it, you'd have to burn it. But the vines have already covered the entire wall. If you set it on fire, the whole mountain would be gone."

The cultivator reluctantly sheathed his sword, saying, "Lucky demon vine!"