After entering the ground, Su Hao could feel the demon vine rapidly multiplying, quickly covering the entire area around him.
"Even in its infancy, this demonic item is extraordinary," Su Hao marveled inwardly.
He looked at the confronting parties. The two death soldiers protecting him appeared pale, seemingly struggling to suppress something, yet their grip on their swords remained steady and strong.
"As expected of family-trained death soldiers, their endurance is truly remarkable," Su Hao thought.
"It's useless," the man in black sneered. "You're only at the third stage of the Earth Realm. You can't suppress my Yin Corpse Worms. Wait for them to devour your internal organs. I'll deal with this kid first, then come for you!"
"Yin Corpse Worms? You're from the Yin Corpse Sect? We're Su family death soldiers, and this is the Su family's third young master. Kill him, and you'll never leave Northwest County alive!" one of the death soldiers declared gravely.
"The Su family? No wonder you have Earth Realm death soldiers. I should thank the Su family. If you hadn't been eliminating people recently, I might not have recovered to this level. But our Yin Corpse Sect doesn't fear the Su family," the man in black replied coldly, approaching Su Hao step by step.
The Yin Corpse Sect, a faction from Southwest County, was slightly weaker than Northwest County's Green Wood Sword Sect. Its members practiced dark and vicious techniques, marking it as an evil sect.
The man in black, named Gu Ming, had discovered an ancient tomb with a fellow disciple at the border of Southwest and Northwest Counties. They intended to cultivate using the tomb's death energy, but unexpectedly found a corpse bead inside.
Gu Ming's greed surfaced, and he ambushed his companion. Though he inflicted severe injuries, his slightly stronger companion managed to slash Gu Ming's chest before fleeing.
Escaping to Fu City, Gu Ming found this graveyard suitable for recovery. He planned to absorb the corpse bead and return to the Yin Corpse Sect after healing, anticipating a breakthrough to the seventh stage of the Earth Realm.
"You!" The two death soldiers protecting Su Hao grew anxious as Gu Ming approached. They wanted to act but found the Yin Corpse Worms intensifying their assault on their bodies.
Without hesitation, they unleashed their full energy to suppress the worms, determined to save Su Hao. As death soldiers, protecting their master was their sole purpose, and they were ready to risk everything.
"Why does everyone want to kill me?" Su Hao thought irritably, his eyes flashing coldly as he commanded the hidden Blood-Devouring Demon Vine to attack the Yin Corpse Sect member.
Suddenly, Gu Ming halted. Something was moving underground. Looking down, he saw blood-colored vines erupting from beneath his feet, instantly entangling him.
"What is this?" Gu Ming's face changed as he saw the vines wrapping around his legs. He summoned black energy to his feet, attempting to shatter the vines, but the energy was absorbed instead.
More blood-colored vines emerged, swiftly covering Gu Ming's body. Feeling a sense of dread, he unleashed his energy, his fingers becoming blades as he frantically slashed at the vines.
But it was useless. The vines suddenly sprouted countless spikes, piercing through his body's energy defenses and devouring his flesh and blood. Within seconds, only a pile of bones remained.
The two death soldiers protecting Su Hao watched the blood-colored vines covering the ground in horror.
"These blood-colored vines are terrifying!" they thought.
Suddenly, two vines shot into their chests. They were alarmed but felt no pain. Instead, the vines pierced through the Yin Corpse Worms in their bodies, extracting them before disappearing back into the ground.
The two men breathed deeply, trying to calm their fears.
Su Hao retracted the blood-colored vine into his palm, sensing its growth. The Blood-Devouring Demon Vine offered to return some of the absorbed energy to Su Hao, but he temporarily declined, knowing a breakthrough now would be ill-timed.
Noticing the terrified coachman nearby, Su Hao coughed and slowly sat up.
"What just happened?" Su Hao asked, feigning ignorance.
"Young Master, we're not sure. That thing was terrifying. We were powerless against it," one death soldier replied gravely.
"Young Master, we should return to the mansion. We were lucky this time. Those blood-colored vines seem to prefer consuming things with heavy yin energy," the other death soldier suggested.
"Let's check the courtyard first. I want to see if Su Ping's body is there," Su Hao said, still intent on finding Su Ping's remains.
Su Hao cautiously entered the small courtyard, finding several corpses inside. In an open room, he discovered Su Ping's partially consumed body. His expression turned cold as he wrapped the body in a cloth from the bed and carried it on his back towards Su Ping's grave.
The previously trembling coachman, now recovered, quickly grabbed a shovel from the courtyard and followed Su Hao to the gravesite.
After reburying Su Ping's body, Su Hao burned some joss paper in tribute. As they left in the carriage, Su Hao heard the system announce the completion of his task, though he didn't feel particularly happy about it.
[Task completed. Reward: 600 check-in points, 6 Bronze Draw Cards. Items have been added to your inventory.]