My Taoist companion just wants to welcome and refuse

Shifang Pavilion is located in the western suburbs of Jinlian City. The patriarch who chose the site must have kept a close distance from the bustling world of Jinlian City based on the principle of observing the world.

There is a dangerous dense forest in the middle, which is difficult for ordinary people to cross.

The mountain gate of the resident faces south. Since the thieves brought back a strange disease, which spreads very quickly and is difficult to cure, many people in the whole of Nanfeng have been killed because of this, and no one approaches the western suburbs easily.

It was dawn and dusk, and the night and morning light were blurred. A line of solemn black cloaks passed through Jinlian City, where the sky was not yet clear, leaving an afterimage of the dark night that had not yet faded.

Xia Qi led the demon hunters through the dense forest in the western suburbs.

Along the road, there are layers of greenery, intertwined roots and vines, winding pools, dark branches and leaves that block the skylight, and everything you can see is vigorous and crazily growing, but it looks cramped and depressing.

On the way, there were many corpses of treasure hunters, which were devoured by insects and beasts, and their limbs were broken.

The silhouettes of people walked with their breath, turning into a shadow among the dense tree shadows, so quietly that no sleeping creatures were disturbed.

In less than a moment, everyone got out of the dense forest that obscured the sun, and the Shifang Pavilion was within sight.

Looking up, Xia Qi and Fu Wanju were taken aback.

Xia Qi imagined the appearance of Shifang Pavilion. It must occupy a large area and be extremely luxurious.

But what can be verified now seems to be only "covering a wide area"——

I saw the palace-like buildings not far away, tall and broad, almost filling the field of vision, but now they are covered with forest green vines, densely covered.

Those rhizomes and branches are thick and thin, as if with a strong possessive desire, they firmly hug every inch of the perimeter of the resident, leaving no gaps.

If the resident is a living thing, it must have died under such a gangrene restraint and suffocation, it makes people's scalp numb for no reason.

Xia Qi waved the crowd to a halt, stopped on a boulder, and looked not far away for a while: "Plants are different."

Fu Wan frowned, and put his hand on the handle of the knife at his waist: "I have inquired in Jinlian City. After Xu Shen left Nanfeng, these vines seemed to break out of the ground overnight and imprisoned the resident. It must have encircled the treasure. Get up. It is said that the surviving treasure hunters also failed to pass through these vines, and only tried to enter from the periphery, and they fell in."

"Confinement," Xia Qi stared at the front, thinking about these two words in his heart, and said, "If it was done by the people behind the scenes in the station, these vines will protect it."

Fu Wan frowned and pondered: "Did you expect us to find Nan Feng? But this person has such a great ability. It's fine to refine and resist demons, but what's the principle of manipulating plants?"

Xia Qi's eyes moved over the dense vines inch by inch: "I'm afraid it's not an ordinary plant. Brother, I have a guess. Tell me... what happened to the survivors who didn't come back?"

Fu Wan was taken aback for a moment, and immediately understood what he meant. His eyes also fell on those clumps of vines, and his eyelids twitched: "You mean, it's like Zhou Lin... The demon seed parasitizes the human body and grows into a vine after sucking nutrients. The magic vine, and the final form is to become a living vine?"

After this discovery, Xia Qi looked carefully at the vines, and found that the vines that looked like vipers moved slightly in the absence of wind, exhaling and inhaling like a sleeping flesh and blood body.

He gasped: "In this way, so many vines can be grown in a short period of time... Maybe the victims are not only people who come to hunt for treasures, but also spirit beasts and demon cultivators who have been transferred through the Spirit Appreciation Society-the soul refines the demon, and the body nourishes it." Demon... hiss, it's very scheming."

The morning wind gradually picked up, carrying a stinky smell from the resident, rushing towards the face together with the moist and warm wind, like the breath of a giant beast after devouring carrion.

Fu Wan, who didn't have breakfast, just felt that he had lost his appetite: "No wonder the treasure hunters showed their abilities and never returned. Isn't it just to give away food if you go deep into it rashly?"

Xia Qi frowned and watched for a moment, put on his hood and prepared to act, he made a gesture, and the demon hunters behind him quickly stood by.

His voice was low: "It's weird here, just do a little exploration around the periphery, don't go deep, don't spread too far." Speaking of this, he remembered the strange disease Su Ling said, turned around, and looked deeply He glanced carefully at the demon hunter behind him, "Everyone wear black cloaks tightly, and retreat if there is any abnormality, and those who come have to go back."

Everyone responded neatly and solemnly, and instantly turned into black shadows and disappeared in place.

Xia Qi's figure also disappeared from the boulder, and appeared in front of the tangled vines in an instant.

The thick and thin rhizomes are mottled and moist, and the cracked white marble steps can be vaguely seen among the intertwined roots. Presumably this direction is the entrance.

He reached out to touch the hilt of the sword, and at the same time carefully scanned his eyes with his spiritual sense, and immediately noticed countless signs of life in front of him—not the silent life of plants, but the sound of blood flowing through the blood vessels, driving the muffled beating of the heart .

The ear could not detect this movement, only under the concentrated attention of the spiritual consciousness, it was like a rustling whisper, almost covering the entire garrison, deep and wide without end.

In the sultry morning light in Nanfeng, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Xia Qi's back instantly.

I didn't expect such a weird scene before I came here.

The Shadow Ring showed that there were no abnormalities in the demon hunters around him, and Xia Qi lifted the light, making the black cloak cover his whole body.

He bent over a few vines and got into a gap that allowed one person to pass through, as quietly as if he was afraid of waking someone up.

The vines on the top of the head and the body cover the sky, and the damp and rancid smell is strong. It can be vaguely seen that there are damaged cloths on the ground, which are probably the clothes of the vines before they were alive.

The unreceived spiritual consciousness kept reminding him that he was surrounded by many "people", and every few steps he went in, the whispers became more and more intense, and he began to have a subtle sense of being spied on.

The corridor became narrower and narrower. Xia Qi took a quick visual inspection. If he moved forward and the vines suddenly pressed down, the space would not allow him to cut them off with all his strength.

He rationally chose to go back, and just as he was about to turn around, he heard a weak murmur in front of him, and he couldn't help but pause.

That moan was extremely painful, like whimpering, intermittent, and it was still the voice of a child.

The depth of the tunnel is dark and deep, like the throat of a giant beast waiting for its prey to take the initiative to drill into it.

Xia Qi was taken aback when his cautiously penetrated consciousness touched the low moan, and realized that he was really a mortal child.The other party's breath is weak, if he doesn't care, he will become one with these plants in the near future.

He left a teleportation talisman on the spot, and continued to probe into the deep and narrow passage.

Demon hunters are very good at lurking, and Xia Qi's forward movement failed to disturb a single leaf, but the path kept going downwards and became narrower and narrower—the possibility of breaking through the air continued to decrease.

A moment later, Xia Qi crawled forward in the cramped corridor. The deeper he went, the more the plant vines around his body felt like flesh and blood, which was quite creepy and disgusting...

At this moment, Jiezi suddenly connected to his consciousness, and a familiar voice sounded from the sea of ​​consciousness, his tone was a bit serious because of worry: "Ah Qi didn't return all night, where are you?"

Xia Qi paused, another layer of cold sweat broke out on his back, he hurriedly replied: "Senior brother and I are investigating a place, this place is weird, don't be distracted, I will talk to Bo Lan after we go out..."

As soon as the words fell, he noticed that Qingyan's spiritual consciousness spread from the mustard seeds.

The people on the other side of the Sea of ​​Consciousness saw where he was, and seemed to take a slow breath, but before they could speak, Xia Qi suddenly noticed that the whispering around him seemed to be stimulated, and it turned into a scream, Like ecstasy and fear, his scalp went numb for a while.

And the vines also began to tremble and slide, as if they were about to come alive!

Xia Qi cried out badly, if the vines on the top were pressed down, he would be buried alive in an instant.

But since the vines are awake, there is no need to worry about it so much.Lianguang pulled out of the sheath sadly, and split the vines that were not fully awakened in front of him, and he immediately saw a child who was entangled by the vines.

The sharp sword light cut through the front to block, he picked up the unconscious child by his side, and the teleportation amulet on his fingertips brightened, teleporting him back to the place where he should have returned in an instant.

The sword in his hand was fast and sharp, splitting through the vines that came rushing like vipers, and broke through the thin plants.

Wisps of water splashed across his cheeks, and he thought it was plant juice, but he smelled blood mixed with the rotten branches and leaves, and the touch of the sword cutting through the vines in the dark was like cutting off flesh and blood limbs.

He couldn't help frowning deeply.

The people on the other side of the Sea of ​​Consciousness realized that Xia Qi was in danger for no reason because of their investigation, and instantly realized where the other party was, and said in a deep voice, "A Qi, I'm coming."

Xia Qi flipped the sword under the sword, except for the bad smell and the sharp shouts from all around, there was nothing difficult to deal with, so he comforted him: "I can handle it, Bo Lan just wait for me to come back, we should retreat..."

As soon as the words fell, the Shadow Ring seemed to be mocking his underestimation of the enemy. Tiao Tiao saw an abnormal message and fell into the sea of ​​consciousness. It was the demon hunters on the periphery who discovered that the vines had come alive and began to attack people.

The last sword pierced through the air, and Xia Qi's awe-inspiring eyes were reflected on the sharp edge of the sword. He shook his black cloak, and the dirty blood rolled down along the scales, with the child under his arm rolling down safely.

Using the Shadow Ring to send out the retreat message, he saw the quiet and dormant vines start to shake, and immediately dodged to the entangled demon hunter to come back for help, and they broke through and evacuated together.

The demon hunters cooperated tacitly and were well-trained, and everyone immediately returned to the boulder where they had looked at the station before.

No one was injured, and there was no danger.

Xia Qi first ordered everyone to use the exorcism charm to burn the devil energy all over their bodies to prevent the devil from invading, and only then did they investigate the unconscious child.

The child was more than ten years old, but he was overly frightened and weak. He breathed a sigh of relief, fed the child a pill, and told Fu Wan what he had seen and heard before.

Fu Wan's investigations were basically the same. Fu Wan frowned: "According to the distance you traveled, I'm afraid you haven't even reached the length of the steps of the main hall, let alone penetrated deep into the interior. There are too many magic vines, and it's extremely weird. If you want to It must be too much trouble to go this way.”

Xia Qi looked at the Shifang Pavilion not far away, and saw that the shaking magic vines had subsided, and it seemed that the intruders could not be found, so they continued to sleep.

If he forced his way through the main entrance, he might be consumed if he couldn't enter the main hall.It seems that Cang Cheng can only look forward to finding another way from the black market.

The child in Xia Qi's arms suddenly woke up coughing, and everyone's eyes came together.

The child opened his eyes, looked at Xia Qi out of focus, and moaned like a mosquito: "Uncle..."

Xia Qi: "..."

So invisible?

The child woke up slowly, and coughed violently again. His body had been backlogged by vines before, so his chest must have been uncomfortable.

After recovering, he looked at Xia Qi in confusion and fear: "Where is my uncle..." His eyes looked around in horror, and when he saw the station not far away, he recalled bad memories, his face turned pale suddenly, and he shrank Hui Xia Qi was trembling in his arms, calling "Uncle" repeatedly while chattering his teeth.

Xia Qi coughed quietly, with a serious look on his face: "Don't be afraid, you are already safe, what are you doing here?"

The child held on to Xia Qi's clothes tightly, as if he had found a savior, and said eagerly, "You are also here to hunt for treasure, have you seen my uncle? Half a month ago, uncle and his partner went to hunt for treasure and came back. I bought some things, and gave me a treasure," he said, and he took out a piece of unattractive metal, and held it tightly, "but Uncle fell ill that night and couldn't wake him up... In the middle of the night before yesterday, He left the house suddenly, no matter how he was called, I ignored him, I could only follow here... Uncle went into the bushes, and I also went into the bushes... I don't know anymore..."

The grove the child mentioned was the residence of Shifang Pavilion wrapped in vines, and his uncle should be a treasure hunter planted with demon seeds.

Xia Qi took a closer look at the metal in the child's hand, and found that it was a fragment of a magic weapon, which could form a protective barrier around the holder, so that the child avoided the demon seeds from falling into the body and escaped catastrophe.

After pondering for a while, he asked, "The treasures brought back by your uncle are some magical artifacts?"

The child thought for a moment, then nodded.

Xia Qi and Fu Wan looked at each other and came to a conclusion.

As a treasure hunter, the child's uncle was not looking for the treasures in the Shifang Pavilion, but the property left by the monks who died in the middle of the Shifang Pavilion and the surrounding areas.

It is more convenient to collect money without going into danger.

But Uncle was infected with the demon seed just by touching the corpse... It was indeed Uncle when he went back, but it was not that Uncle who lay there for a few days without medical treatment, got up and returned to the station.

No one can enter the Shifang Pavilion resident, but there are countless treasure hunters like "Uncle", which is the reason why Jin Liancheng's strange disease spread.

Xia Qi suddenly realized something, and his expression suddenly became solemn, he handed the child to a demon hunter, walked aside with Fu Wan and said, "Senior brother, after Xu Shen's death, there may not be as many plants around the residence as there are now. "

Fu Wan's solemn eyes fell on the station in the distance: "I think this strange disease is not only to make people comatose, but after they are deprived of consciousness by the demon seed, they manipulate their bodies back here and become plants guarding the station."

Xia Qi snorted, feeling more and more troublesome: "The demon seed is spreading too fast. If all the people carrying the demon seed in Jin Liancheng return to the station, even if they don't need to go through this road, if they want to meet the people behind the scenes , they are no small obstacle.”

Time is running out, and a quick decision must be made.

Seeing that everyone was silent, the child hurriedly shouted: "You guys still have to go in, please, I can give you all of Uncle's things..."

Xia Qi paused, and said softly: "Your uncle will not come back again, I'm sorry, we can't save him, but we will send you back safely."

The child was stunned for a moment, but there was no sadness on his face, but he was extremely eager: "It doesn't matter if Uncle is alive or not! Uncle gave me this thing, so I didn't die in the strange tree. Help me find Uncle's body." ...Such fragments must still exist, so I can also go treasure hunting...I will give you a lot of money!"

Xia Qi was stunned for a moment, turned his head to look at the fever and greed in the child's clear eyes, and frowned silently.

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Sorry for the typo! _(:з」∠)_