Chapter 4676 — Joining the Fight

Ahead, the false-man vines blocked the way, and since none of them were willing to simply turn back, they found themselves caught in a dilemma.

Wei Zhao and Huo Yudie, however, were not much concerned. Neither of them had come for this so-called Everlasting Root; they had not even wanted to travel with these people in the first place. Standing at the rear now, they showed not the slightest inclination to step forward and solve the problem.

"Senior Brother Yi, think of something, quick—what are we supposed to do now? Should we take another route?" Yao Jiali asked, all fluster and no poise.

"Another route? How could we? Can't you see the bottomless gorges on both sides? Even if we could find a second path, how long would the detour take? Our time is limited!" Yi Xiaotian shook his head again and again. The Nascent Soul Great Perfection trial lasted a month at most; long as that was compared with the others, it was still strictly finite, and could not bear the slightest waste.

"Exactly. If even this mountain peak harbors such dreadful monsters, who knows what lurks in those sunless gorges? They might well be some mass grave left over from ancient times, with horrors inside beyond imagining—whether the few of us can even get through alive is another question entirely!" Ren Zhongyuan agreed.

"Then we've no choice at all?" Yao Jiali's face had gone somewhat green. The thing that had attacked her a moment ago was only one of the giant vines; now a dense, unbroken expanse of them confronted them—the false-man vines had all emerged from the sand, and these giant creepers blotted the sky and covered the earth, dozens, even a hundred of them. One careless step, and would they not be lashed to shreds?!

"No help for it—there's only this one road, and we can't give up halfway. Let's go!" Ren Zhongyuan drew a deep breath, and the golden bell of protective qi reappeared around his body. Gritting his teeth, he was the first to charge at the false-man vines blocking the way.

Knowing there was a tiger on the mountain, he still headed straight for it—he refused to show cowardice before Huo Yudie, especially with a nuisance like Wei Zhao present. True, the vast gulf between them meant he could never be a rival in love or a competitor, but what if the brat had ulterior motives and seized the chance to belittle him in front of Huo Yudie?

Yi Xiaotian and Yao Jiali exchanged a glance, and with no better option could only follow head-on. Before making her move, Yao Jiali deliberately looked back at Huo Yudie and Wei Zhao, who had fallen behind, and said with a note of mockery, "You two don't mean to just stand there watching and pick up the spoils when it's done, do you?"

Huo Yudie gave a cold snort and, without another word, stepped forward to strike at the false-man vines. Unwilling as she was to travel with these people, she was not yet thick-skinned enough for that—and in any case, they would never simply let her reap the rewards of their labor.

Wei Zhao had assumed that a delicate young woman like Huo Yudie must favor soft, yielding techniques, like the water-snake footwork Yao Jiali had displayed a moment ago; after all, both were from Chenjiao Academy, and their martial arts should not differ much.

Yet the instant Huo Yudie made her move, his eyes lit up. Her technique was elegant, yet swift and decisive—she was more than a match for Ren Zhongyuan and Yi Xiaotian both.

When he saw Huo Yudie, light as a fluttering butterfly and seemingly without effort, cleave a giant vine in two with a single palm strike, Wei Zhao could not help smacking his lips; stroking his chin, he sighed, "You really can't judge a book by its cover."

Watching the four of them dart and soar as they fought the false-man vines, Wei Zhao had no wish to exert himself, yet he was too embarrassed to truly stand by and spectate. With a flicker of movement, he joined them.

It was pure performance, of course. At first glance the giant vines whistled and whipped around him in a show of peril, dangers crowding in on every side; in truth there was not the slightest threat. Butterfly Microstep alone was more than enough to handle it with ease. As for Super Butterfly Microstep, and the still faster Ultra-Limit Butterfly Microstep, bringing those out now would be using a poleaxe to crack a nut.

Naturally, Wei Zhao did not merely dodge. Now and then he would strike—but only when Huo Yudie was in danger, covertly lending her a hand and finishing off a vine or two for her without a trace.

It had to be said that the false-man vines were truly ferocious and terrifying. Even with so many Nascent Soul Great Perfection cultivators attacking in concert, they were instead pinned down hard; one and all were roused to real anger and fighting in earnest, and still the situation could barely be held at even odds. A single slip, and it would be total annihilation.

Wei Zhao took the opportunity to observe closely. Though all four were Nascent Soul Great Perfection, when it came to actual combat, Huo Yudie was the strongest, Ren Zhongyuan and Yi Xiaotian next, and Yao Jiali the weakest.

In mere moments, Yao Jiali took a vicious lash across the back from a giant vine and spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot. Had the azure soft armor not absorbed the greater part of the damage for her, that one blow might have cost her her life then and there.

By comparison, Ren Zhongyuan and Yi Xiaotian, possessing a defensive art like the golden bell of protective qi, coped a little more calmly than Yao Jiali—but not by much. The golden bell could withstand only so much damage, and the might of these giant vines had already reached that threshold; once it shattered, the two of them would fare no better.

Of the four, it was Huo Yudie who shone brightest. She had no golden bell for defense, nor did her footwork twist and warp like Yao Jiali's; yet every stance and every move was beautiful and yet swift to subdue the foe.

Before this, Wei Zhao could scarcely have imagined that a frail young woman who could act coy and cute might fight with such prowess. Whenever a giant vine came near, she met it head-on without flinching or dodging—and already a dozen-odd giant vines lay severed at her feet. That tally was more than the other three combined!

Seeing Huo Yudie's performance, Ren Zhongyuan and the others could not help but feel a little ashamed. If a man were outdone by a woman at a time like this, would people not laugh their teeth out?

Ren Zhongyuan especially—how could he ever again have the face to court Huo Yudie? A single casual remark from her would burn him with shame...

Little did they know that at least half of Huo Yudie's extraordinary tally was owed to Wei Zhao, who covertly finished off vines and broke her out of tight spots. Otherwise she might well have been wounded by now, just like Yao Jiali.

"Ah!" Ren Zhongyuan suddenly let out a maddened roar, and the golden bell of protective qi shrouding his body burst apart with a bang. Within five zhang of him, the giant vines were in an instant shattered to powder—a whole swath of them wiped out at once!

So he's using a killing move now? Wei Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly. He had thought the golden bell was a purely defensive art; he had never expected it could detonate of its own accord! (To be continued.)