Deep in the Medicinal Garden, Sun Degui tightly gripped a Spiritual Object he had just pried from some mechanism. It was shaped like a stake and radiated a sharp, golden light. A trace of triumphant joy was still on his face.
But that joy didn't last long. It froze in an instant, replaced by utter shock and disbelief.
A skinless, blood-red arm covered in vibrant, flowering branches had pierced through his chest like a phantom.
Its five fingers tightened, crushing his still-beating heart.
"How... How could it be... so fast..." Blood gushed from Sun Degui's mouth as he strained to turn his stiff neck, looking toward his two fellow disciples nearby.
But the sight that met his eyes plunged him into an icy abyss.
One of his companions was locked in the death grip of a skinless flower corpse, its teeth sunk into his neck. Countless tiny roots were emerging from the corpse's mouth, frantically burrowing into the disciple's seven orifices. His body was shriveling at a visible rate.
