Immortal Path Space

At this moment, Liang Tan, entangled layer by layer by the Devilish Vine, was filled with despair. It seemed like his luck had taken a turn for the worse this time.

He tried to muster his Spiritual Power several times, preparing to resist, but his Spiritual Power inside was increasingly uncooperative. Every time he managed to activate a bit of his Spiritual Power, it was quickly absorbed by the wooden thorns embedded in his flesh. As a result, he couldn't even conjure a protective barrier anymore.

He felt his essence blood and Spiritual Power being sucked away by the thorns, and his body grew heavier with each passing moment.

Meanwhile, the cultivators who had been watching from a distance, ready to intervene or take advantage of the situation, began to retreat upon realizing that Liang Tan had no chance of survival. They were relieved they hadn't acted earlier.

"What kind of Spiritual Objects were those just now? They were so powerful that even a Golden Core cultivator couldn't break free," one of the cultivators asked his companion.

"If I'm not mistaken, those were Devilish Vines," the companion replied.

"Aren't Devilish Vines considered second-tier Spiritual Objects?" Although he hadn't seen Devilish Vines before, he had heard of them as rare Spirit Plants.

"Devilish Vines are indeed second-tier Spiritual Objects, but those thickest ones must have been at least a thousand or two years old. Devilish Vines that have grown for a thousand years or more have naturally mutated into third-tier Spiritual Objects. Even a Golden Core cultivator would have a hard time dealing with a third-tier Devilish Vine. Liang Tan, caught off guard, flew into the territory of several third-tier Devilish Vines, so it's almost impossible for him to survive."

Seeing these cultivators voluntarily withdraw, Wang Hong and Liu Changsheng had no intention of causing trouble for them. After all, they belonged to different factions. Even if they had the strength to eliminate them now, it wouldn't bring any benefits and would only antagonize multiple factions.

After the Devilish Vine entangling Liang Tan showed no more activity, Wang Hong waited for another two hours before walking alone towards the Devilish Vine.

As he approached, the Devilish Vines that had previously refused to spare any living beings now retreated to both sides, creating a path for him. These Devilish Vines were deliberately planted by Wang Hong to welcome the Golden Core ancestor and could be controlled by him.

He first went to where Liang Tan's magic weapon had fallen and picked up a small knife that was only a few inches long, shining with a cold light. When he held the knife in his hand, it felt icy cold and incredibly sharp. With just a light touch of his finger, he cut a small gash in his hand. Luckily, he retracted his hand quickly; otherwise, he might have lost a finger.

Wang Hong didn't play with it for too long. He put it away and walked towards Liang Tan's corpse.

When he got close, the Devilish Vines entwining Liang Tan voluntarily retreated layer by layer. Wang Hong remained cautious, just in case there was any last-ditch effort from Liang Tan.

After the vines retreated, the withered remains of Liang Tan were revealed, nothing but wrinkled skin covering a skeleton. Wang Hong didn't approach immediately. Instead, he summoned his Flying Sword and severed the head from the corpse with a swift stroke.

Suddenly, a plume of black smoke rose from the severed head and lunged towards him. Wang Hong attempted to cut through the smoke with his Flying Sword, but it had no effect. As the black smoke neared him, desperation set in. In his palm, a ball of flames emerged, ready to confront the approaching darkness.

When the flames met the black smoke, there was a sudden burst, as if pouring oil on a fire. The flames burned intensely, engulfing the entire black smoke.

The fire emitted piercing screams as its shape constantly twisted and changed. At times, it resembled the form of Liang Tan, and at other times, it reverted to its normal flame shape.

After several moments, the fire gradually diminished, leaving only a quiet flickering flame in front of Wang Hong.

He carefully observed the flame for any abnormalities and, finding none apart from its increased size, he calmly collected it.

Wang Hong thought to himself, "That was close! The black smoke just now was likely the manifestation of Liang Tan's soul. Golden Core cultivators possess powerful Nascent Souls, and even after death, their souls can be formidable."

After a Golden Core cultivator dies, their soul can linger for a considerable time. They can either be reincarnated, losing all their power and memories, essentially becoming a new life. Alternatively, they can choose to possess another being, retaining some of their power and most of their memories.

Liang Tan had probably intended to possess Wang Hong. He had been waiting for Wang Hong to approach before making his move. However, Liang Tan didn't anticipate Wang Hong's cautiousness, and when faced with a lifeless corpse, Wang Hong still chose to attack with his Spiritual Weapon from a distance. This forced Liang Tan to reveal himself prematurely.

After destroying Liang Tan's soul, Wang Hong cautiously approached his remains. He removed the Storage Bag hanging from Liang Tan's skeletal body and then set the corpse on fire, reducing it to ashes.

Returning to his cave mansion, Wang Hong emptied Liang Tan's Storage Bag. The various treasures inside the cave dazzled Wang Hong. It was evident that a Golden Core cultivator's wealth was substantial.

The quantity of mid-grade Spirit Stones alone numbered five hundred, equivalent to five million low-grade Spirit Stones. There were also three million low-grade Spirit Stones. Wang Hong was content with this harvest of Spirit Stones.

Among the items, Wang Hong found a Jade Box. Upon opening it, he discovered a three-tier Spiritual Herb named "Nine-leaf Purple Grass" with a medicinal age of nine hundred years. This herb was required for refining third-tier Pills known as True Essence Pills.

"Excellent! Excellent!" Wang Hong exclaimed. True Essence Pills were used by Golden Core cultivators to enhance their power. The Spiritual Herb needed for refining True Essence Pills was extremely rare, often requiring cultivators to search for many years.

To his surprise, he had obtained one without any effort. Wang Hong was satisfied and planted the Spiritual Herb in his personal space, where it would produce seeds in another hundred years.

Continuing his search, he found several bundles of silk, likely spun by unknown spiritual silkworms. When he tested them, the silk was soft and tough, suitable for refining robes or armor.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a substantial quantity of silk, just enough for a few handkerchiefs. Wang Hong pondered why a grown man would need handkerchiefs.

He collected the silk bundles and continued searching, discovering several excellent refining materials for tools.

In one wooden box, he found many tiny eggs, oval-shaped and slightly larger than sesame seeds. Although Wang Hong was knowledgeable and well-read, he couldn't immediately identify the type of eggs or what creature they belonged to. He could only guess that they were some kind of insect eggs.

He moved all the eggs to his personal space but took precautions by surrounding them with a spiritual energy barrier. Just in case these eggs hatched into harmful pests, with the accelerated time within his personal space, he could be dealing with a daily pest problem in no time.

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