Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

Mira's eyes narrowed as she analyzed the enormous plant before them. It was unlike anything they had ever encountered before. The monstrous plant was at least five meters tall, its massive maw filled with razor-sharp teeth, and its vines writhed with a malevolent intelligence.

"Everly!" Nova cried out, rushing forward with her spear to sever the vines that had entangled her friend. However, before she could even get close, more vines shot out of the ground, wrapping around her legs and pulling her back. Poison leaked out onto Nova's skin, wiggling its way into her body, but she didn't have time to worry about that.

"Get away from it!" Mira commanded as she stomped on the ground, sending a wave of ice toward Everly, freezing the vines that hand entangled her. As she clenched her fists, the frozen vines exploded into a shower of glittering ice crystals, liberating Everly from their grasp.

However, as soon as she destroyed the vines, they regenerated almost immediately.

Nova, who had vines around her legs, lit up like a blazing inferno, reducing them to ash, before jumping back to dodge another incoming attack. Though, her movements were slightly slower than before.

Rhydian, Seraphina, and Rayna joined the fray, trying to cut through the vines, but it seemed that for each vine they severed, two more took its place. The monstrous plant was relentless in its assault.

"Fuck! What the hell is this thing?!" Seraphina yelled as she deflected an onslaught of tentacle vines with her shield. Her sword hacked and slashed them into little pieces, but doing that seemed only to create more problems.

Eden, who had been knocked aside earlier, scrambled to her feet, her face pale but her eyes full of determination. Despite her disgust for the creatures in the forest, she knew that she couldn't stand idly by while her friends were in danger.

Pulling out her bow, she manifested an arrow out of wood using her Qi and shot it toward the plant's maw.

It looked like it was going to hit, but when it was just a meter away, a wall of vines stood in the arrow's path, blocking it.

"Tch." Eden clicked her tongue, knocking another three arrows. Firing them, she repeated this process, not allowing it a second of rest, but it was as if each vine had a mind of its own.

Every arrow she shot was blocked with perfect timing and accuracy, making it hard for Eden to gauge its weaknesses.

Closing her eyes briefly, she tried summoning her power over nature, attempting to take control of the monstrous plant. However, the malevolent aura that permeated the Forbidden Forest seemed to protect the creature, making it impossible for her to exert influence over it.

"Damn it! What do we do?!" Nova yelled, struggling against the vines around her. She wanted nothing more than to light this thing ablaze, but they also came here, not wanting to cause a huge commotion.

What if the Toxic Blade Sect came running after them? What if the stronger beasts deep in the Forbidden Forest came out of their holes after sensing a disturbance?

They were not ready to handle the consequences of revealing their presence for all to know. At least, not yet.

Mira examined the plant, her mind racing as she tried to come up with a plan. Then, a thought struck her. "It must have a weakness! If I had to guess, it would be on its main body! Find it!"

Now with a plan, the girls launched a coordinated assault on the monstrous plant. They needed to find its weakness before it overwhelmed them with its relentless attacks.

Rhydian took to the air to gain a bird's-eye view of the situation.

Although the fog hindered her sight, she wasn't far enough away that it blinded her completely.

From above, she spotted a pulsating, bulbous mass near the base of the creature, partially hidden beneath layers of vines. It throbbed with a sickly green glow, and she could sense dark energy radiating from it.

Vines shot out of the ground toward Rhydian, but she dodged them with ease.

'I think I see it! The weakness is at its base!' Rhydian thoughts/intentions leaked into Mira's mind before she dived down to attack it.

However, Rhydian's attempt to attack the plant's weak point was met with fierce resistance.

Every time she neared the pulsating mass at its base, a swarm of vines would rise to intercept her, lashing out with frightening speed and accuracy. The creature was well aware of its vulnerability, and it would do anything to protect it.

"Rhydian found something! There's a bulb at the base of the plant, covered in a thick layer of vines! That must be where the core of this thing is!" Mira yelled, informing the others.

The girls sprang into action, focusing their attacks on the base of the monstrous plant. However, the plant seemed to be aware of their intentions and fought back even more fiercely than before. Vines whipped around with increased speed and strength, striking and entangling the girls with brute force.

As Nova continued to battle the poison coursing through her veins, her strength waned with each passing moment. Her movements grew more sluggish, and her friends couldn't help but notice her deteriorating condition. Concern for Nova spurred them into action, increasing their determination to bring an end to the monstrous plant.

With fierce resolve, Seraphina unleashed a mighty battle cry and charged ahead, her sword cleaving through the vines with heightened intensity.

"Raaaahhhh!"

Her shield deflected incoming attacks as she advanced, and her Qi coalesced into a protective barrier around her comrades.

Encouraged by Seraphina's valor, the others followed closely behind, focusing their collective efforts on reaching the plant's pulsating core.

"REEEEEEEEEEEE!"

As they closed in on the core, the monstrous plant emitted a deafening screech, its vines thrashing about with renewed vigor. The plant seemed to be throwing everything it had at the group in a last-ditch attempt to stave off its demise.

With her eyes locked on the target, Mira unleashed a torrent of ice, hoping to freeze the vines and create an opening. However, the plant was ready for her attack, and a wall of vines rose up to block her assault, shattering the ice into tiny shards.

Undeterred, Rhydian swooped down from above, talons outstretched and aiming for the bulbous mass. Nevertheless, the monstrous plant demonstrated unyielding tenacity in its defense. The vines surged upwards to intercept her, coiling around her wings and yanking her backward with force.

The girls found themselves increasingly overwhelmed, the plant seemingly becoming bigger and more powerful by the second.

In a desperate attempt, Everly summoned bolts of lightning around her. As she thrust her palms forward, they rained down onto the mass of tentacles, sending electric shocks through its system, stunning the plant for a moment.

The others seized the opportunity, attacking the base with renewed vigor. With a burst of Water Qi, Mira coated all the vines around the bulb in water and froze a portion of the vines guarding the core. Seraphina, Rayna, and Eden quickly took advantage, hacking away at the frozen vines with their weapons.

The monstrous plant, sensing the danger, redoubled its efforts to protect itself, the vines thrashing wildly in a desperate attempt to fend off the attackers.

However, Nova's eyes lit up as she saw the perfect opportunity to attack!

Gathering a ball of fire at the tip of her spear, she thrust forward while muttering, "Sunfire Sphere Spear Shot!"

The blazing sphere of fire shot out from the tip of Nova's spear, hurtling toward the exposed core with incredible speed. The monstrous plant, caught off guard by the sudden assault, failed to raise its vines in time to block the attack.

Creating a hole in Mira's ice, the Sunfire Sphere Spear Shot connected with the bulbous mass, engulfing it in an inferno of searing flames. The plant screeched in agony as the fire consumed its core.

Within moments, the once fearsome and relentless vines began to lose their strength, dropping limply to the ground as the plant's life force was extinguished. The other girls, battered and exhausted, looked on in awe and relief as the monstrous plant succumbed to the flames.

As the fire died down, the plant's remains smoldered and withered, leaving behind a charred husk. Nova, weakened by the poison, stumbled a little but managed to catch herself. Mira and the others rushed to her side, concern etched on their faces.

"Are you alright?" Seraphina asked.

Nova nodded and took out a pill, popping it into her mouth. Immediately after, strength refilled her as a toxic sludge was expelled from her body.

The girls sighed in relief, seeing that the pills they had prepared beforehand worked.

"We'll have to thank the Sect Master for providing us with these Antidote Cleansing pills when we get back," Eden said, to which the others agreed.

After a brief rest, during which the group replenished their Qi and tended to any injuries, they found that none had sustained severe harm.

Standing back up, the group looked in the direction of what they assumed to be the center of the Forest and sighed.

"Do we have to go?" Eden muttered, still reeling in her experience with that nasty tentacle plant.

Nova snorted, clicking her tongue, "You don't have to, but we will."

Eden just looked at Nova, feeling aggrieved, "...That was a rhetorical question! Of course, I'm still going to go! I'm just not a fan of this environment."

"Then, keep your rhetoric to yourself."

Eden stuck out her tongue at Nova but didn't open her mouth again.

None of them WANTED to be here, but Mira needed help. How could they, as her seniors, not assist her in her time of need?

Thus, with narrowed eyes and raised guards, the girls resumed their journey into the Forbidden Forest, not looking forward to what awaited them ahead.