Li Feng stomped his feet and shouted, "Your Yunhai Sect is the largest sect on Tianyu Mountain, wealthy beyond measure, and your storage pouch is packed with countless magical pills and elixirs—how can you not have even a scrap of food on you?"
Shan Yundi replied slowly, "Our daily meals are handled by disciples. I... naturally do not carry food around with me."
With her aloof and proud nature, she would never admit that she was a pampered maiden who merely reached out her hand for clothes and opened her mouth for food, completely incapable of even boiling a pot of rice porridge.
Seeing that Shan Yundi did not seem to be lying, Li Feng felt a chill run straight through his heart.
Could it be that he, a transmigrated Chosen One, was actually going to starve to death here?
He sat limply on the grass and let out a long sigh toward the heavens.
Looking at the dejected Li Feng, Shan Yundi—the icy beauty of the mortal world in everyone's eyes—broke all precedent and offered a word of comfort.
"You... you don't need to worry either. We will definitely find a way out of here."
"I hope so."
Li Feng's spirits were not high at all.
At that moment, Shan Yundi spoke up again. "Young Master Li, why did you come to Yan Nangui?"
Li Feng glanced at her, his tone turning rather strange and sarcastic. "You think I wanted to come? It's all your Yunhai Sect's doing. It was bad enough that you occupied Tongtian Peak, the main stronghold of our Changsheng Sect, but every year you also force us to pay you three hundred spiritual stones, or else you threaten to drive us out of Tianyu Mountain.
To earn enough spiritual stones in a short time, I had no choice but to come here and hunt Beast Demons.
When you think about it, it's truly laughable. Eight hundred years ago, at the height of the Changsheng Sect's glory, we ranked first among the top ten immortal sects of the Mortal World, and the entire Tianyu Mountain belonged to us.
Yet now, the Changsheng Sect has fallen to the point of paying rent just to scrape by and survive on Tianyu Mountain. Heh, oceans change into mulberry fields, and everything in the world is different..."
Shan Yundi was obsessed with martial arts and lived entirely for cultivating immortality. Aside from cultivation, she was completely indifferent to everything else in the outside world.
Her understanding of the Changsheng Sect was limited solely to the fact that it had been very glorious eight hundred years ago and was now down and out.
Faced with Li Feng's mockery, Shan Yundi calmly replied, "That is simply the way of the world: the strong prey upon the weak, and the fittest survive. Back then, your Changsheng Sect also rose gradually from a small sect, driving out or annexing every single cultivation sect on Tianyu Mountain before you could achieve your three thousand years of glorious history. Is that not so?"
Li Feng opened his mouth, but found himself unable to retort.
In the end, he could only squeeze out: "Immortal Fairy Shan, you never have to worry about food or drink, nor do you need to pay tribute stones. Why on earth would you enter such a perilous place?"
Shan Yundi fell silent for a moment, appearing to hesitate.
In the end, however, she spoke up. "My cultivation has hit a bottleneck, and for the past several months I have made virtually no progress. There is a rare heavenly treasure here in Yan Nangui that can help me break through this barrier, so I came to take a look.
I simply didn't expect to startle the two overlords of this place—the fierce beast Zhu Yuan and the divine bird Tianzu—and end up hunted by them."
"Oh! So that mysterious giant bird hiding in the air is called Tianzu..."
Li Feng suddenly understood.
Just hearing the name sounded extremely overbearing. Fortunately, Shan Yundi had warned him earlier, otherwise the two of them might have long since turned into a pile of bird droppings for the divine bird Tianzu.
He asked, "Immortal Fairy Shan, do you know what is going on with this Tree Demon?"
Shan Yundi wore a thoughtful look, then nodded. "This should be a Cloud Pine Tree Demon, which has been recorded in the archives of the Yunhai Sect.
This tree demon has lived for at least ten thousand years. Because it cannot move and only captures animals passing by its side for food, its reputation is far from matching those of the fierce beast Zhu Yuan and the divine bird Tianzu.
That was why I overlooked its existence. If I had thought of the Cloud Pine Tree Demon right away and fled instantly, we would not have ended up in this state."
Li Feng turned to comforting Shan Yundi instead.
Yet his comfort stemmed from inner guilt.
After all, he was the one who had patted his chest and declared that the area around the large tree was safe, only to be slapped in the face immediately.
At that very moment, the pool of green, viscous liquid in front of the two suddenly began to change.
Wisps of green, thread-like strands—scarcely thicker than a strand of hair—began to emerge from the green pool.
Not just a few dozen, but densely packed masses of them.
The two had been so engrossed in talking that they failed to notice the change in the pool.
They only realized the danger when those tentacle-like green threads wrapped tightly around their ankles.
Startled, Li Feng immediately thrashed his legs in an attempt to shake off the green threads.
To his surprise, despite looking so thin, the green threads were exceptionally tough; no matter how wildly he kicked, he could not break free.
Worse still, tiny barbs were growing along the surface of the green threads.
A sharp pain struck instantly, but the sensation was merely caused by the tightening of the threads. Within a single breath, a wave of numbness followed right behind.
"It's poisonous!"
Li Feng was terrified.
He cursed himself inwardly for being an idiot.
This was the stomach of Granny Tree Demon; the entire tree demon must rely on these green, viscous fluids to provide nourishment.
There had to be a digestive system unique to the tree demon here.
Otherwise, how could every animal or human captured inside be digested? Surely they couldn't all just starve to death inside the tree demon's belly.
In a panic, Li Feng immediately drew his broken sword and slashed wildly.
Sure enough, after two or three hacks, the fine-threaded tentacles were severed.
However, the numbness in his left ankle grew heavier and heavier, refusing to obey him just like a limb injected with local anesthetic.
The moment Li Feng tried to stand up, he staggered and fell down once again.
Meanwhile, Shan Yundi had also used her immortal sword to cut away the green threads wrapped around her ankles, but she met with the exact same fate as Li Feng.
The numb sensation spread rapidly upward from her lower legs.
Fortunately, Shan Yundi had consumed quite a few spiritual pills and elixirs earlier and had spent an hour meditating and cultivating, so she still had some strength left.
She reached out and rapidly tapped several acupuncture points on her legs in succession, sealing the meridians in her lower limbs to prevent the poison from spreading from her calves to her entire body.
Seeing Li Feng collapse onto the ground and struggle frantically, she grabbed his arm and dragged him backward all the way.
"Don't move around!"
Shan Yundi's movements were as fast as lightning, and she helped Li Feng seal the meridians and vital energy in his lower legs as well.
Chapter 14: The Secret Room Beneath the Tree Demon
Feeling the numbness stop creeping upward, Li Feng finally let out a sigh of relief, though his entire left leg had become almost completely devoid of sensation.
He and Shan Yundi could only sit there, using their weapons and magical treasures to hack at the green threads that continuously closed in while dragging themselves backward, trying to get as far away as possible from that horrifying pool of green slime.
Soon they retreated to the edge, pressing their backs against the wooden wall and gasping heavily for air.
The Tree Demon did not launch a full-scale attack, knowing that the two had already been poisoned; it only needed to wait for the poison to spread through their entire bodies before dragging them into the pool to become its nourishment.
Having had many of its green thread tentacles severed by the pair, the remaining tentacles ceased their advance and instead gathered about four feet away from them, slowly writhing about.
They gave the uncanny impression of horsehair worms crawling out from inside a praying mantis, except that their color was green.
Li Feng and Shan Yundi pressed closely together against the wooden wall.
At that moment, Li Feng suddenly felt a sense of release and was no longer afraid.
After all, having recently experienced death once already, being able to come to this different world and experience airborne flight made this lifetime worth it after all.
Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Shan Yundi's soft hand.
Shan Yundi was startled, and her very first reaction was to shake him off.
She glared at him and demanded, "What are you doing?!"
Li Feng smiled. "We're in this state, what else could I possibly do to you? I was just thinking that we could keep each other company on the road to the Yellow Springs after we die. Do you really want to go drink Meng Po's soup all by yourself?"
"The road to the Yellow Springs? Meng Po's soup? What does that mean?"
Only then did Li Feng remember that he was no longer on Earth.
Only the descendants of Chinese civilization on Earth knew about the road to the Yellow Springs and Meng Po's soup; very few people among Western nations knew of it, let alone anyone in this otherworldly realm.
With a chuckle, Li Feng explained, "In my hometown, there is a legend that after a person dies, their soul enters the underworld to undergo reincarnation. The path leading into the reincarnation tunnel is called the road to the Yellow Springs.
This road is long and cold, and lonely wandering ghosts drift along it, experiencing endless solitude.
At the end of the road to the Yellow Springs sits Naihe Bridge, and upon the bridge stands Meng Po, who gives every soul about to be reborn a bowl of soup of forgetfulness.
Once you drink Meng Po's soup of forgetfulness, you can forget all the worries, memories, loves, and hatreds of your past life, and then you can proceed to be reincarnated..."
Shan Yundi had never heard such a story before and found herself somewhat mesmerized.
She muttered to herself under her breath, "The road to the Yellow Springs? Naihe Bridge? Meng Po's soup? Is there really a bowl of Meng Po's soup in this world that can make one forget all sorrows and romantic attachments?"
Perhaps she was too lost in thought, or perhaps she believed the story Li Feng told and feared drifting alone along the road to the Yellow Springs; in any case, when Li Feng grabbed her hand again, this time she did not pull away.
Seeing those small green tentacles slowly closing in and probing once more, Li Feng knew that the time limit for the two of them had arrived.
He prepared to find a comfortable posture in which to die.
He rubbed his back back and forth against the wall, but none of the positions felt very comfortable.
He pushed hard backward, and suddenly, the wooden wall behind him gave way with a loose shift.
Li Feng thought it was just his imagination, but the very next moment, the wooden wall at his back collapsed inward.
There seemed to be a large space hidden inside.
Caught entirely off guard, the two of them—leaning as they were against the wooden wall—tilted straight backward and tumbled down.
Amidst their startled cries, Li Feng's macho pride filled him with an intense urge to protect Shan Yundi as a frail maiden.
He wrapped his arms tightly around her.
This was a downward-sloping tunnel, pitch black without a single shred of light.
Clasping each other, they cried out and tumbled all the way down.
Fortunately, this sloping tunnel was not very long; after rolling for about seven or eight seconds, they reached the bottom.
Enduring excruciating pain all over his body, Li Feng struggled to climb up from on top of Shan Yundi.
Because of the paralytic poison in his system and the tumbling he had just endured, his body was weak, and the moment he tried to get up he nearly fell over again.
Subconsciously, he reached out a hand to steady himself and keep from falling back down.
As a result, his palm pressed down upon a soft mound of flesh.
Immediately followed by a piercing shriek from Shan Yundi.
Li Feng instantly realized that his palm had pressed directly onto Shan Yundi's chest.
He hurriedly pulled his hand back and scrambled a bit to the side.
Stammering, he rushed to explain, "I... Fairy Shan... I didn't mean to... It's too dark here... I couldn't see a thing... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't crush you, did I?"
Explanation was one thing, but it couldn't stop his mind from lingering on the soft sensation he had just felt.
A moment later, a faint flame suddenly flared into existence.
It turned out that Shan Yundi had taken a fire starter out of her storage pouch.
The light of the fire starter was not particularly bright, but it allowed Li Feng to clearly see Shan Yundi's blushing, angry cheeks, as well as the palmprint stain he had just left on the front of her chest.
Shan Yundi lowered her gaze to look at the clear palm print on the clothing over her chest, then looked at Li Feng, and finally at his right hand, which had nowhere to rest.
Her icy gaze made a chill run straight down the back of Li Feng's neck.
Li Feng assumed that this young woman, whose virtue he had just compromised, would run him through with a sword.
However, Shan Yundi merely glared coldly at Li Feng for a moment without saying a word, handed the fire starter to him, and then opened her own storage pouch to rummage around for something.
Soon she retrieved several fish-oil candles from her pouch, used the fire starter to light two of them, and this pitch-black, mysterious space was finally revealed before their eyes.
Because both of them were afflicted with the Tree Demon's paralytic poison and could not move, they could only sit in place and survey this underground cavern.
Calling it a cavern wasn't entirely accurate; judging by the slate-paved slope they had rolled down from, there were distinct signs of artificial construction here.
The space did not appear very large. The ground beneath their feet was dirt, while the surrounding walls were built from stacked stone bricks, quite unlike the wooden walls of the Tree Demon.
This place seemingly no longer lay inside Granny Tree Demon's body, but rather deep underground beneath the tree demon—and moreover, it looked very much like a tomb chamber.
Yet no coffin or sarcophagus was to be seen.
Only in the central position could they see a one-meter-high stone platform, upon which someone appeared to be sitting.
The reason it looked like a tomb chamber was because right in front of the stone platform stood a stele resembling a tombstone.
Both Li Feng and Shan Yundi felt a deep sense of astonishment in their hearts.
Li Feng spoke up first, his voice tinged with nervousness. "How could there be a place like this right underneath the Tree Demon? And... is that someone sitting up there? Fairy Shan... this... this place isn't haunted, is it?"
Having experienced so much in Yan Nangui, he had long since lost the arrogance and self-confidence of a superman, feeling convinced that this place was absolute danger.
Shan Yundi looked around the environment. Cobwebs were spread everywhere across the chamber, and it was filthy; it was obvious that this place had not been opened for many years.
She channeled her spiritual sense to sweep over the figure upon the stone platform, yet she detected no aura of life.
Therefore, Shan Yundi spoke slowly, "This place should be where some master of the past passed away and sat in transformation. Rest assured, this place is far safer than the surface."
Hearing this, Li Feng felt slightly more at ease.
He asked again, "Fairy Shan, do you have any miraculous pills or elixirs to neutralize the demonic poison in our bodies?"
Shan Yundi replied, "The poison of the Tree Demon only has a paralytic effect and is not fatal. I can already feel the poison in my legs slowly weakening; it shouldn't be long before we regain our sensation."
"Should? Don't give me 'should'! Can you give me a definite answer?"
Chapter 15: Fairies Bite Too
Shan Yundi rolled her eyes and ignored this stinky man who had taken advantage of her.
Instead, she sat cross-legged in meditation and circulated her internal energy to purge the poison from her body.
Following her example, Li Feng also began channeling his energy to heal his wounds.
Just as Shan Yundi had surmised, when Li Feng turned his awareness inward to inspect his condition, he quickly saw that the poison in his legs was indeed diminishing.
This stuff acted just like an anesthetic, and now that the anesthetic's effects were slowly wearing off, his body was gradually regaining sensation.
He drove the true essence within his dantian to circulate through his meridians, accelerating the expulsion of the remaining toxins from his body.
Just as most of the poison was being cleared away, a pained groan escaped Shan Yundi's lips, instantly snapping him back to alertness as he quickly finished his exercise and opened his eyes.
Thinking that Shan Yundi had encountered danger.
Upon opening his eyes, however, he saw that Shan Yundi was merely bandaging herself.
It turned out that when the two of them had tumbled down from the Tree Demon's belly earlier, Shan Yundi's previously fractured bones had been displaced once again.
Realizing she wasn't in mortal danger, Li Feng felt a weight lift from his heart.
Looking at the nearby candle, which had already burned down more than half, he realized that a long time had passed while he was focusing on expelling the poison.
Li Feng flexed his legs and feet; that numb feeling had mostly vanished.
He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Fairy Shan, let me help you."
Her face pale with agony, Shan Yundi gritted her teeth and snapped, "Don't touch me! Touch me again and I'll kill you!"
Li Feng paid no heed to her threats and directly picked up Shan Yundi's fractured left leg.
Because of the Tree Demon's paralytic toxin earlier, Shan Yundi hadn't felt the pain.
Now that she had purged the poison from her system, she finally realized that her broken bone had slipped out of alignment again.
She wanted to kick Li Feng away, but the intense pain left her utterly powerless to raise her foot.
Gritting her teeth, she watched helplessly as Li Feng removed her shoes and socks, gently rolling her trouser leg up from her ankle all the way to her knee.
His movements were light and slow, as if he were deathly afraid of causing Shan Yundi any pain.
Shan Yundi's lower leg had turned a purplish-blue color, the broken bone pressing against her skin, and her entire left leg was swollen as thick as an elephant's trunk.
Just looking at it made Li Feng hurt.
He raised his eyes to glance at Shan Yundi, whose face was as white as paper as she clenched her teeth to keep from letting out a cry of agony.
This bone displacement was extremely severe; if he forcefully reset it without preparation, wouldn't this young lady be hurt to death?
Thus, Li Feng said, "Fairy Shan, your leg injury is very serious. When I help you set the bone back into place just now, it's going to hurt terribly. You'd better swallow a few pain-relief pills first."
Gritting her teeth, Shan Yundi replied, "I... I've already taken three. Don't worry, this little bit of pain is nothing to me."
Nodding, Li Feng said no more, simply reaching out to gently touch the site of Shan Yundi's fracture.
Then, exerting force with his hands, he snapped Shan Yundi's broken bone back into alignment.
"Ah!"
Shan Yundi let out a shrill scream of pain.
Then, throwing her arms around Li Feng's arm, she opened her mouth and bit down hard.
"Agh!"
This time the cry came from Li Feng.
Though agonizing, he did not push Shan Yundi away right away.
For he knew this was simply a person's instinctive reaction to extreme pain.
He could clearly feel Shan Yundi's entire body trembling and spasming involuntarily.
After quite a while, Shan Yundi's shivering gradually began to subside.
Gasping for breath, Li Feng said, "You can let go now. I need to bandage you up simply, or else it's going to slip out of place again."
Hearing this, Shan Yundi slowly loosened her bite and raised her head.
Seeing that her teeth had actually left two bloody marks on Li Feng's arm, a look of remorse seemed to flash through her eyes.
Straightening her posture, she allowed Li Feng to help her set the broken bone in place and wrap it up with cloth bags.
Only after finishing did he feel a burning pain throbbing along his arm.
Rolling up his sleeve to look, he saw two deep dental impressions biting into his flesh, with plenty of fresh blood staining his arm.
He really wanted to ask Shan Yundi: Were you born a dog?
Yet seeing Shan Yundi's haggard appearance, he forcefully swallowed those words back down.
As a grown man, and in such a life-or-death crisis, he couldn't possibly bicker endlessly with a young woman.
He simply tended to the bite marks and stood up.
Now that the poison was cleared away, he was able to walk once more.
His gaze shifted toward the stone platform not far away.
Clearly, someone was sitting upon that stone platform.
The two of them had been making such a huge fuss here for so long without the figure making the slightest movement, leading Li Feng to conclude that it was definitely a preserved corpse.
Shan Yundi spoke up, "You... help me over there to take a look."
Li Feng nodded.
Although he too figured that the person on the stone platform was a corpse, he wasn't a tomb raider in his past life, and deep down he still felt a sense of dread toward places where dead people resided; left by himself, he truly wouldn't dare to approach it.
Reaching out, Li Feng helped Shan Yundi up, intending to support or carry her.
However, Shan Yundi's leg injury was severe, and the slightest contact made her squeal and cry out in pain.
As a result, Li Feng simply reached out and scooped her up directly into a bridal carry.
Completely stunned, Shan Yundi cried out, "What are you doing? Put me down!"
She was the renowned Fairy Yunshan, the proud daughter of the Yunhai Sect; for over twenty years, she had never been so intimately held by any man.