The dense foliage had completely sealed Lin Lei in on all sides, the air thick with the scent of grass. "Crack, crack~~" — the roots and stems squeezed together with desperate ferocity, and the pressure in that instant was so immense that even Lin Lei's expression changed.
"With this squeezing pressure alone, an ordinary Saint Realm powerhouse would be crushed flat," Lin Lei thought to himself.
This plant life-form was dozens of times more terrifying than the one on the second level! Lin Lei didn't dare hold back.
"Break!" The glow of the Violet Blood Sword flared to life—
Where the blade passed, space stuttered and overlapped, spatial blades forming along its edge. Though those grass roots and stems were more than ten times tougher than the plant vines on the second level, they were still torn apart like strips of cloth before the Violet Blood Sword.
*Boom!*
Severed roots and grass leaves flew in every direction as Lin Lei shot out from the dense prison of foliage like an arrow.
"Boss, I'm fine!" Off in the distance, a sphere of grass leaves dissolved to reveal a hole, and Bei Bei emerged, black light coursing over his body.
"Bei Bei, what was that move?" Lin Lei felt a surge of joy in his heart.
"I'm a god-level magical beast — the 'God Devouring Mouse,' you know." Bei Bei raised his small head proudly. Then he noticed the scene not far away — a massive sphere formed of countless grass leaves clearly encased someone, and from within it, a faint white glow was leaking out.
"Boss, Desley's in trouble." Bei Bei instantly recognized that aura of light as Desley's.
Lin Lei noticed it too. Without hesitation, he flew straight over, extending his soul power to see clearly what was happening inside — Desley's body was clad in a faint suit of light armor protecting him everywhere, and numerous white arrows of light had materialized around him, frantically attacking the surrounding grass.
Unfortunately, those roots and stems were simply too tough.
"Whoosh!" The Violet Blood Sword swept out, and with just a few flashes of eerie violet light, the roots were severed.
Desley broke free and, seeing Lin Lei, immediately said, "Thanks. Those monster leaves are incredibly tough. My instant-cast ninth-level magic couldn't even scratch them. I'd have been in real trouble without your help."
A red glow flashed, grass leaves scattered, and Tulley stood in midair gripping that divine red curved blade. With this blade in hand, Tulley was truly a force to be reckoned with. He bellowed loudly, "Who's there? Stop lurking in the shadows! If you've got the guts, come out and fight fair and square!"
*Boom!* Another sphere of grass leaves burst apart, and Laseford emerged, wrapped in swirling cyan light.
One powerhouse after another broke free.
However, Olivier's situation was far from good.
Having just been trapped and squeezed by those countless grass leaves before he could fight back, Olivier suddenly realized—
All the roots pressing against him had begun sliding rapidly, and those grass leaves and stems were lined with razor-sharp thorns. This rapid sliding motion... was like a farmer's saw, the serrated edges of leaves and roots scraping across his body nonstop.
In an instant, Olivier's skin was cut open.
"Hmph." Olivier's gaze turned cold.
"Whoosh!" A dazzling burst of light erupted, sending shattered grass leaves and roots flying.
His black-and-white streaked hair billowing, Olivier stood in midair gripping the Frost Sword. Yet there was a trace of blood on his body. He thought to himself in alarm, *Those saw-like thorns are formidable.*
Thirteen powerhouses now hovered in the air. Desley surveyed their surroundings and let out a breath of relief. "Good — no one's dead."
Olivier glanced at a human Saint Realm powerhouse beside him. The man's abdomen already bore a massive wound. "Carosa, that was close. You nearly lost your life." The man called Carosa let out a shaky breath. "I nearly did. Those serrated thorns were just too vicious. If I'd reacted any slower, those branches would've extended inside my body."
"Extended inside the body?" Lin Lei, Faen, and the others felt a chill run through them at the thought.
If those branches entered a person's body, the grass would almost certainly shred their organs to pieces in an instant.
"Don't move." Desley flew over to a human powerhouse and began casting healing magic.
This Carosa was one of the three powerhouses in the second group.
Those three were: the human powerhouse Carosa, Olivier, and a magical beast — the king of the Black-Armored Giant Scorpions. Black-Armored Giant Scorpions were typically ninth-level magical beasts, so for this one to have cultivated to the peak of the Saint Realm was truly extraordinary.
"I hate running into these plant life-forms the most." Lin Lei looked down at the scene below.
The ground below had become an endless expanse of desert. The original "oasis" had completely vanished, leaving only broken grass leaves and severed roots. Lin Lei had just witnessed with his own eyes that the unbroken leaves and roots had all burrowed beneath the sand.
"Let's move on," Desley said. "If that plant life-form doesn't keep pestering us, there's no point wasting time with it. What matters now is finding the entrance to the eighth level."
"Let's go." Lin Lei and the others all nodded.
The thirteen powerhouses ignored the plant life-form and flew rapidly into the distance, beginning their search across the endless desert.
"There's another oasis up ahead," Faen said with a frown, his voice carrying.
Lin Lei looked carefully. Sure enough, in the far distance a vague patch of green was visible. As they drew closer, everyone could clearly make out the enormous oasis. Having been through this before, no one dared let their guard down.
"Let's not get too close," Rosalyn said, shaking her head. "Stay away from it. That kind of monster is extremely hard to deal with."