Somewhere in the Demon Realm.

Xie Jingshan had obtained a Golden Leaf given by Jiang Yuebai from the Divine Tree, allowing him to freely enter and exit various places in the Demon Realm. As long as he didn’t step into forbidden areas or infringe upon the territories of other clans, no one would stop him.

Despite his curiosity about the Demon Clan, the thought of Jiang Yuebai ’sleeping’ in the room behind him gave him a sense of urgency.

"I can’t wander around aimlessly; I must seize the time she’s not cultivating to concentrate on my own cultivation. Regardless of her progress in Demon Art, I must reach the Mid-Stage Golden Core before her."

With this thought, Xie Jingshan gave up the opportunity to explore the Demon Clan, working diligently every day, meditating at night, and practicing swordsmanship by day.

He stayed right outside the room where Jiang Yuebai ’slept,’ not moving a step away.

*

As soon as Jiang Yuebai stepped into the Ten Thousand Wood Forest, she first saw the tangled roots below the ground, belonging to different plants. Some of them interfered with each other, while others tangled together, penetrating deep into the groundwater and occupying almost all the space underground.

Those roots all gave Jiang Yuebai a sense of danger, and as soon as she approached, tendrils from several roots shot towards her.

Jiang Yuebai quickly retreated, watching as the different tendrils entangled and strangled each other, suffering mutual damage.

The road ahead was blocked, so Jiang Yuebai had to emerge from the ground, hiding beneath a thick layer of fallen leaves, venturing into the depths of the Ten Thousand Wood Forest.

Along the way, she pondered a lot. Since she wanted to be a plant, she couldn’t just be the Cloud Mushroom Grass; she wanted to experience the survival paths of various grasses as much as possible.

Earlier, Tian Nanxing had promised her some Spirit Plants for grafting, urging her to explore the forest herself to learn about the different Spirit Plants. If she fancied any, she could tell Tian Nanxing, and he would help her exchange a segment with a higher cultivation Grass Demon.

With her current Demon Power Cultivation, she could only graft one more Spirit Plant. It wasn’t until her Divine Soul and Demon Body perfectly matched, and she underwent the baptism of Emperor’s Liquid to truly reach the Divine Elixir Realm, that she could continue grafting.

Moreover, regarding the Divine Ceremony, every clan would select a demon below the Divine Elixir Realm, and the Grass and Wood Demon Clan would hold a contest in the Ten Thousand Wood Forest for this purpose.

Even with the backing of the Divine Tree and Tian Nanxing, she still needed to win the respect of others.

Woo~

The sound of a deer echoed, and Jiang Yuebai sensed the ground vibrating as the White Vine poked its head out from the fallen leaves.

Currently, she resembled a snake more than a plant. Consistently wandering without taking root quickly depleted the White Vine’s energy. If she couldn’t plunder nature’s spiritual energy, she wouldn’t be able to sustain such long-distance travel.

Jiang Yuebai heard the sound of footsteps on fallen leaves getting closer, shortly followed by a shadow descending from above, reviving the memory of being hit into the mud by a monkey. Jiang Yuebai immediately tightened her vines, backhanded, and lashed out with a whip.

Snap!

With a whimper, Jiang Yuebai swiftly escaped the shadow’s range before turning back to look.

A pure white deer halted in the distance, its face marked with traces of the mud flung at it by her lash. Its antlers grew skyward, resembling tree branches.

Several flower vines twined around them, blooming colorful little flowers, attracting butterflies that danced around its antlers. The entire deer gave Jiang Yuebai an aura that felt both natural and sacred, inexplicably stirring a desire to worship within the grass.

Woo~

The white deer loomed over Jiang Yuebai, slowly advancing with cautious steps. Jiang Yuebai, captivated by the aura around the white deer, momentarily forgot to dodge.

The white deer lowered its head, sniffed Jiang Yuebai, and suddenly opened its mouth to bite her.

Snapped back to reality, Jiang Yuebai used the Little Demon Technique: Flower Powder!

Caught off guard, the white deer inhaled a noseful of pollen and began sneezing incessantly, startling the butterflies near its antlers into flight.

Jiang Yuebai quickly turned and fled without looking back, racing towards the place where spiritual energy was densest according to her perception.

Gradually, Jiang Yuebai sensed more and more Divine Thoughts, growing increasingly noisy, akin to a marketplace.

"Another beautiful day today~"

"Bees, bees, come quickly~"

"Can’t those pesky bugs find another plant to munch on?"

"That’s my prey! You little thief!"

"The wind’s picking up, children, time to go, venture into your own domains and expand our clan’s might depends on you."

For the Demon Clan, Divine Thoughts are essentially intentions, requiring no translation for their meaning among themselves.

Yet Jiang Yuebai, with her Human Clan mindset, subconsciously translated these intentions into human language once they entered her Sea of Consciousness.

Following those Divine Thoughts, Jiang Yuebai saw an emerald lake like a mirror, with lush forests along the shore, flowers blooming, illusions of flowing light, resembling a fairyland.

Flower Demons, Butterfly Demons, and swarms of bee-like insects busily moved about. Various forest demons formed groups, drinking and resting by the lakeside, creating a lively scene.

If she hadn’t miscalculated her route, this should be the Life Lake, Qiye Lake, in the Ten Thousand Wood Forest, the vital place for all clans in the forest to survive.

Centered around the lake, this place is home to more than seventy percent of the plant demon clan in the demonic domain, those who have not yet transformed or reached the spiritual elixir realm.

To survive here, one must first seize a piece of territory; the closer to the lake, the fiercer the fighting.

Because there are no obstructions by the lake, you can better bask in the moonlight. The lake’s moisture is abundant, spiritual energy is rich, and there are plenty of ’offerings’ from demonic beasts to choose from.

The only worry is being trampled or eaten by the demonic beasts.

"... Look quickly, what is that, a white snake?"

"It’s a white vine, an outsider little vine demon?"

"It has the scent of Cloud Mushroom Grass, but how could Cloud Mushroom Grass take on a vine form?"

The flowers and plants swayed in the wind, whispering among themselves, and various divine thoughts scanned over Jiang Yuebai.

Jiang Yuebai, turning a deaf ear, passed through those flowers and plants.

"Ouch! You bumped into me!"

"You’ve startled my bees!"

After circling around, Jiang Yuebai noticed a few old trees near the lake, all entwined with vines. Those old trees only had moss growing around them, without any other flowers or plants.

The old trees seemed weak, but the vines on them had a strong vitality and rich spiritual energy.

When Jiang Yuebai stopped here, the surrounding area was filled with gasps, even the busy flower demons and butterfly demons halted, looking at her in disbelief.

"Is it seeking death, daring to step into the territory of the Stone Dragon Vine?"

"The Stone Dragon Vine is one of the most likely vine demons to be selected for this divine sacrifice ceremony. Its nickname, Ghost Waist, is aptly earned; no old tree demon noticed by it has ever survived."

"It’s a three-hundred-year-old vine demon with fierce toxicity. Last time I touched a bit of it, I nearly lost my spiritual wisdom."

Listening to their discussions, Jiang Yuebai also noticed the swarms of bees collecting nectar elsewhere, not coming near here.

"Cough cough cough~ Little Cloud Mushroom, you’d better root somewhere else; it’s dangerous here."

An old, weary divine thought entered Jiang Yuebai’s sea of consciousness, the White Vine raising itself, the withered tree shaking its leafless branches.

Those vines were tightly wrapped around the tree, coil after coil reaching the treetop, lush green leaves and a multitude of pinwheel-like little white flowers contrasting starkly with the tree’s lifelessness.

Growing up, Jiang Yuebai had seen such scenes in the mountains, recalling elders saying that the green vine and old tree exemplify human love’s entanglement.

But in reality, this is a cruel phenomenon in the forest.

The green vine, weak, entwines the old tree, seizing its sunlight, dew, and nutrients.

Ultimately, the green vine thrives while the old tree is strangled to death.

Even though Jiang Yuebai is a plant now, she retains a hint of humanity, which sympathizes with the weak and reciprocates kindness.

Silently, Jiang Yuebai buries the White Vine in the earth beneath the tree, rooting it firmly. The Stone Dragon Vine is startled; small white flowers tremble, releasing a cloud of pollen as several vines detach from the tree, curling toward Jiang Yuebai.

The slender vines coil around the stem under the Cloud Mushroom Grass leaves like a neck-constricting serpent.

Jiang Yuebai continues stimulating her Cloud Mushroom Grass leaves, provocatively dancing toward the vines.

Plunder!

Before the vines tighten, Jiang Yuebai unhesitatingly activates the "Immortal Grass Scripture," forcibly siphoning the original essence Qi from the Stone Dragon Vine.

The Stone Dragon Vine recoils in shock, but Jiang Yuebai swiftly shoots out the White Vine, twining it around the Stone Dragon Vine.

Come, come, dear friend, let’s hold hands!

[You plundered the essence Qi from the third victim, Stone Dragon Vine, using the Immortal Grass Scripture: Skill Level +666]

[... Skill Level +666]

[... Skill Level +666]

The Stone Dragon Vines on the surrounding old trees begin wilting and withering visibly, the heavily bound old trees break free from the desiccated vines, shaking their withered branches in delight.

The forest, usually bustling at noon, falls silent because of the domineering new white vine outsider, Jiang Yuebai.

As if frozen in time, the flowers, plants, trees, bees, butterflies, insects, and mice all focus their shocked divine thoughts on the walnut-sized tender little grass under the withered tree.

Having drained the Stone Dragon Vine, Jiang Yuebai shakes the mountain, intimidating the tigers, establishing her dominance as the grass ruler, and calmly taking root to officially start her cultivation life as a plant.