At this moment, Su Hao's face was streaked with blood, concealing his features. The three leaders of Qingyu Stronghold didn't immediately recognize him as Su Hao, the third young master of the Su family.
As for Su Ming, who had deflected the arrow earlier, he had already vanished from the stronghold's entrance. When the three appeared, he had sensed their strength - Earth Realm level five. These three posed no threat to Su Hao, as his blood-red vine could easily strangle them.
The most formidable person in Qingyu Stronghold was the rarely seen leader, Du Gu Fan. So, Su Ming entered the stronghold first to find and either control or kill this leader.
"Who am I? Weren't you trying to kill me? Don't you know who I am?" Su Hao wiped some blood from his face as he spoke menacingly.
"Hmm, why does this guy look familiar?" The young archer frowned as Su Hao wiped his face, feeling he recognized him. Upon closer inspection, his expression changed dramatically.
"Third Brother, he's the Su family's third young master, Su Hao! Second Brother took people to ambush him today. How did he end up here?" The archer, Lu Ming, spoke with panic in his voice.
"What?" Hearing Lu Ming's words, the other two tensed up, looking at Su Hao to confirm. They exchanged glances.
"It really is the Su family's third young master!"
Their expressions changed instantly, filled with disbelief. They knew that Second Brother Xiao Hu had gone to ambush Su Hao at Qingyu Gorge today. Xiao Hu hadn't returned, but Su Hao was here, which meant Xiao Hu must have fallen to the Su family.
The thought of the Su family made them break out in a cold sweat. The Su family was an absolutely fierce and domineering clan in Fu City. If Qingyu Stronghold had ambushed someone from the Su family, they would surely be wiped out.
"Damn that Qin Hao!" The three cursed inwardly.
Qin Hao's people had said that Su Hao had been abandoned by the Su family, which was why they had acted. Otherwise, they would have reported to their leader first and waited for orders before making a move.
The three exchanged glances and turned to flee back into the stronghold. They planned to escape through the back and inform their leader who was away, preparing to evacuate everyone.
They didn't flee outwards for fear of a Su family ambush.
"Running away before we've even fought? That requires my permission!" Su Hao's lips curled into a cold smile.
He had already discerned their intentions and wasn't about to let them escape. These three were all Earth Realm cultivators; killing them would earn him Bronze Draw Cards, and the Blood-Devouring Demon Vine could evolve better after consuming their blood.
"Blood-Devouring Demon Vine, deal with these three," Su Hao tossed the vine towards them.
As soon as Su Hao threw it, countless tendrils sprouted from the vine, forming a blood-colored cage that enveloped the three retreating figures.
"Strangle them!" Su Hao commanded as he saw the three trapped in the blood-colored cage.
The cage-like blood vines rapidly began to constrict, attempting to completely envelop the three.
"Break through this thing!" Although they didn't know what the blood-colored vines were, they knew they couldn't let themselves be wrapped up in them.
"Watch me cut it to pieces!" The saber-wielding second-in-command, Li Hu, immediately swung his blade at the blood vines, intending to sever them.
A thick saber aura covered his long blade as he struck the encroaching vines.
After the blade light passed...
The blood-colored vines remained unscathed. After absorbing the blood and flesh of three Earth Realm level five experts and dozens of bandits, the Blood-Devouring Demon Vine's power had increased dramatically. Now, it could quickly dispatch even an Earth Realm level seven warrior.
"This... how is this possible?" Li Hu's face changed as he saw his strike had no effect on the blood vines.
"Watch my Raging Fire Palm!" Sun Wuniang, despite being a woman, practiced a fiery cultivation technique, the Raging Fire Palm.
As she struck out, a flame-like true qi rapidly spread over her palm, striking the approaching vines.
Whoosh! When her palm hit the Blood-Devouring Demon Vine, it instantly burned a hole in the tendril.
"It works! This thing fears fire!" Sun Wuniang's face lit up with a smile.
But her smile didn't last long. The hole she had burned quickly closed up.
At this point, outside the stronghold, the Blood-Devouring Demon Vine had begun to spread frantically. Screams of terror and anguish filled the air.
"It fears fire! A temporary weakness of the Blood-Devouring Demon Vine," Su Hao muttered as he watched Sun Wuniang's flame-like true qi continuously burn holes in the vines.
However, the Blood-Devouring Demon Vine had countless sources of flesh to consume, so even though Sun Wuniang's Raging Fire Palm could destroy some tendrils, it was ultimately useless. The vine was spreading too quickly.
"This...!" Sun Wuniang continued to strike the enclosing vines with her Raging Fire Palm. The other two desperately slashed at the vines with their energy, but they could only delay the vines' approach, not destroy them.
They could only pin their hopes on Sun Wuniang.
"What the hell is this thing?" Li Hu roared, his true qi nearly depleted.
Sun Wuniang's face had also turned pale, having used the Raging Fire Palm continuously, which was taking its toll.
"If this keeps up, we'll eventually be strangled by this thing!" Lu Ming cried out in terror as he fended off the vines.
He had never seen anything so terrifying before.
Whoosh! Suddenly, a tendril with a sharp thorn appeared behind him.
As he was shouting, it pierced directly into his body.
"Ah!" He let out an agonized scream, reaching back to grab the vine, but it had already passed through his chest and was lunging towards Li Hu beside him.
Li Hu, who had been about to help when Lu Ming was attacked, was caught off guard as the thorn passed through Lu Ming's body and into his own chest.
"Ah!" Li Hu also cried out in pain.
"Hah!" Sun Wuniang immediately struck out at the vine piercing Li Hu's body.
Her palm severed the vine, but as she moved to save Li Hu, three more thorned tendrils appeared around her.
The first vine shot towards her head, while the other two aimed for her chest and the arm she had just used to attack.
Sensing the threat, Sun Wuniang turned and struck out with her palm, trying to block these attacks.
Squelch! The vine pierced straight through her attacking arm. Sun Wuniang screamed in pain, and the other two vines took advantage, piercing her skull and body.
After dealing with Sun Wuniang, the Blood-Devouring Demon Vine quickly gathered around the three bodies, enveloping them.
It rapidly strangled and devoured them.