117 Herald of the apocalypse. (1/2)

The quaking of the palace quickly got worse, large cracks spreading across every surface. Thin vines started to poke out from the cracks, causing Li Yang and Fang Ying to guess that the Devil's Grasp Vine had probably already drilled its vines into the entire palace, like termites moving through the walls.

The others didn't know what was going on, but seeing the ugly expressions that Li Yang and Fang Ying wore, they could easily guess that something had gone terribly wrong. After all, the two had stayed perfectly calm even when faced with the panther they just killed, so things must have gone really south for their expressions to twist like that.

They all quickly ran through the hallway and returned to the throne room, Li Yang and Fang Ying taking the lead. They quickly reached the throne room and spotted the three other groups, which hadn't lost nearly as many members as them. Li Yang's narrowed gaze swept over all of them, his lips curling slightly as he cursed.

”What the fuck did you idiots do? Do you have any clue what sort of shit you've pulled?”

He could see that a surprising amount of the people from the other groups looked rather content, they had likely found some nice treasures that they took for themselves, awakening the Devil's Grasp Vine in the process. A female youth from the Tian clan group frowned slightly at Li Yang's vicious tone, berating him.

”You should watch your tone when speaking to your sen...!”

Li Yang's hand grasped her throat before she got to finish her berating, lifting her up from the floor and clutching her throat, a cold stream of energy invading her lungs. A slight sneer appeared on his lips as he glared at her, his gaze slowly moving to the pink-haired leader of the Tian clan group.

”Unless you plan on telling me what sort of shit you've pulled, just shut up. I have no interest in hearing about what sort of 'seniority' you believe you have. You, what the fuck did you do? What sort of items did you pick up? And you better not try to lie to me, I really have no patience for that right now.”

The leader of the Tian clan group frowned slightly at the scene, but not because of how Li Yang was acting, but by the speed he had just shown. The speed he had just used was at a level where even she would have to take him serious, she had been unable to step forward and block him in time. She quickly collected herself, casting a sideways glance at Fang Ying, who had taken a step forward.

”We didn't find anything special, only a few jade slips that can at best be considered a decent find for clans as large as ours. You should be asking the other groups what they found, they seem quite a bit happier than us. Now, unless you want us to engage in a grand brawl, I suggest you let her go.”

The pink-haired leader gently swiped her interspatial ring as she finished her sentence, her eyes narrowing faintly. She also took out the jade slips after she finished talking, proving her words. Li Yang continued to gaze at her for a short second before he gave a wave of his hand, tossing the girl at the leader in a dismissive manner. He then moved his gaze onto the two other groups, his intentions clear. The other groups clearly didn't want to reveal what they had picked up, but after looking at the palace falling apart around them, and the other groups glaring at them, they were forced to respond.

”We found their pill room and managed to acquire a large number of pills, pill recipes, as well as a few materials that can be used to make pills.”

”We found their herb garden, and although practically everything had dried up, we found a plant that had absorbed all the energy of the withered plants.”

While speaking, both groups brought out the items they had picked up, not wishing everyone else to collapse on them. When Fang Ying and Li Yang's gazes landed on the gnarled heart-shaped mass of wood and vines that the last group brought out, both of them clicked their tongues at once.

”A secondary heart, can't believe you managed to find an unguarded one. But well done, you might have fucked us all.”

The man-sized mass of wood and vines was one of the secondary hearts of the Devil's Grasp Vine. They would usually be guarded pretty strictly by the beast, but it seemed like it couldn't properly set up a guard, even an instinctive one, while it was hibernating.

Li Yang and Fang Ying had destroyed a tertiary heart earlier, but those hearts were of lesser importance to the beast, it wouldn't even notice a few of those going missing. But this secondary heart, oh it would notice the moment anything happened to one of these.

The other groups didn't quite grasp the situation, and how dire it could be, but they could guess a little just by seeing how the palace was falling apart, some casting worried glances around them while some glared at the group holding the heart. Li Yang and Fang Ying locked gazes, nodding their heads and then quickly dashing for the palace entrance, they had to see just what the situation was in the rest of the city. The other groups quickly followed, choosing to seek refuge in numbers until they understood exactly what was going on.