Chapter 76: The Red-Faced Ghost King Teng

  Everyone took a break and wanted to get through this sultry noon, so they all took out their own things and started eating.

  Qing Kuang had been still for half a day, and Ximen Lingfeng asked her in confusion, "Qing Kuang, why aren't you eating?"

  The lightly insane one who had been meditating with his eyes closed finally opened them and said, "I have nothing to eat."

  "How can there be nothing to eat? I saw you brought a lot of food at first!" At the beginning, it was also inspired by her that they brought more things, thinking that they were all dispensable, but unexpectedly, they really came in handy.

  "It's all gone."

  When they heard this, Ximen Qingxue and the others suddenly felt heartbroken. They really didn't know how she had been living these past few days or how long she had gone without food. And when they saw that she still had a child in her arms, they all gave their own things to her, anyway they couldn't finish eating them themselves.

  "Thanks." She wouldn't have dared to ask for it herself, but since they offered, she wouldn't refuse either.

  "Who's being formal with whom? You're still being polite with us, come on and eat!"

  While eating, she couldn't forget about her family's food, and as soon as she brought out the delicacies and Chuxue, they immediately caught everyone's attention. Beidong Xiner and Huangfu Mingjia took a liking to them right away.

  "Wow, Light, is this your pet? So cute!" Then she reached out her hand to touch it.

  "What's wrong with this little tiger? It looks so weak!" Huang Fu Ming Jia said, and was about to pick it up. It's really unknown whether she would dare to hug if she knew it was a divine beast.

  Warning: Do not let the glutton speak, just let it go out and find something to eat.

  "Huh? Light, where did she go?" Beidong Xiner looked at a black shadow flashing by, and the beast pet was gone. She asked in confusion as soon as she saw those big eyes, she liked them. They also had contract beasts, but they were all so big, rarely seeing ones that could be held in their arms.

  "This little cub is acting strange, isn't it sick?" Huangfu Mingjia held the small tiger in her arms and noticed its abnormal behavior.

  "Ah, Chuxue's eyes can't see." He brought back the little tiger cub and continued to feed it the milk from before. Chuxue, who had returned to its master's arms, let out two cries of "waah waah", finished being spoiled, then went to lick up that bowl of milk.

  "It's called First Snow! How fitting! What was that black one just now? I wonder if it's called Black Coal, hehehe..."

  "That's just Gluttony, don't go near him, his claws are very sharp." Upon hearing her words, Licht thought to himself that if he were to call Gluttony "Black Coal", he wondered if he would get angry.

  "Lightly insane, I really didn't know you had a pet beast. I thought the magical beast you raised would be something tall and powerful, like a wolf, lion or tiger. Hmm, of course this little tiger will grow up too, it's just these eyes..." Ximen Linfeng also sized up the little tiger that was eating. These words were heard by Chusnow, who rushed towards Lightly insane and shouted.

  "Master, don't lose me, don't lose me..." The pitiful voice echoed in her mind, and she gently patted his head to comfort him. The little guy rubbed against her hand and then lowered his head to drink milk again.

  "Lightly insane, Ximen said it right, you should contract a large demon beast too, and it can protect you well. Otherwise, I'll go back and let my father help you take care of it." As for this matter, Dongfang Qi took the initiative to take it upon himself.

  "Lightly crazy, you're heading east, that's right, don't forget what his family does!" Ximen Rongxue put her hand on her shoulder and said with a raised eyebrow, but before she could be pleased for half a moment, her hand was slapped down by Xuanyi. Thinking of Lightly Crazy's protective appearance, he didn't bother to "argue" with the child.

  "Dongfang, thank you for your kindness, but my contract beast still wants to find its own way."

  "It's alright, after all it's your contract beast, of course I'll prioritize your thoughts. I'll just help you keep an eye out." Dongfang Jue didn't mind the casual rejection and instead kindly promised to help her search.

  At this time, Gluttony dragged a demon beast back, and such a small one dragged a giant fire chicken that was five times bigger than him. The onlookers were amazed.

  Bei Tang Xiner looked at it fondly and wanted to hold the pastry in her arms, but then she thought of Zhong's warning and carefully withdrew her hand, gazing at it with envy.

  With these men around, she didn't have to do the skinning and cleaning. Thinking that taking something for nothing wasn't quite right either, she decided to use this roasted meat as an exchange instead! Just as she was about to start roasting, the glutton looked at her with both eyes and went off to catch another one.

  "Huh, how did it run away again?" Looking at the cute and human-like appearance of the raccoon dog, Beidong Xiner felt that she would also want to raise one in the future.

  "This little thing is not enough for him to eat." He said, turning over the turkey in his hand.

  "Haha, you're kidding me! Such a small one can only eat that much!" Ximen Ruxue couldn't help but laugh, thinking that even if he had 180 of such small pets, it wouldn't be a problem.

  Looking at Simen's smiling and carefree face, Qingkuang waited to see his stunned expression. Some people just don't have a good memory, when has she ever miscalculated what she said?

  "Xiao'er, you eat first." She handed over the food she had just received to her precious son and continued with her actions.

  When everyone's food was ready and they were about to eat, the gluttonous eating habits and quantity of food shocked everyone. Ximen Linfeng couldn't even speak properly, "Qingkuang, you... how long has this beast not been fed?" Looking at that little thing pouncing on the turkey like a starving tiger, it was finished in the blink of an eye, without even leaving any bones behind, crunching and munching until it was all gone. The whole big turkey was eaten clean, with just one gulp, Ximen Dashi was so shocked by this scene that he almost choked.

  "Feed every day." Does he think it's so easy to raise a foodie and a big eater?

  "Haha, your pet is quite a big eater, haha...". Ximen Lingshu couldn't help but laugh awkwardly and didn't dare say anything more.

  "Ah, right, what are all of your names? I only know Nan Gong Ao." Not daring to be rude in front of Qing Kuang, Xi Men Lin Xue shifted her gaze to the people standing behind Nan Gong Ao.

  "Oh, I'm Zhou Ming, a three-star Golden Spirit King. Haha, I guess I'm quite weak in front of all of you."

  "My name is Wen Qing, Wood Four-Star Spirit King."

  "I am Liu Song, the five-star earth-type spirit king."

  "My name is Jing Hua, I am a one-star Water Spirit Emperor."

  Several people made introductions, and for the rest of the time, they didn't dare say much more. After all, in front of them were princes and princesses, as well as young masters from several prominent families. They secretly glanced over at a dual-system genius girl on the other side, worried that talking too much would provoke their displeasure. So they tried to minimize their presence, as long as they didn't cause any trouble for them and could safely get through these few days, they were content.

  When the sun was slightly off their heads, everyone had made preparations to set off. But before they were all flustered and didn't know where in Death Valley they should go now either?

  "Where should we go? We're already lost." Ximen Yunshuang looked around in all directions, unable to make up her mind.

  "I still have a vague sense of direction, and now we're probably in the northeast direction of the transmission array." Dongfang Ji patted the dust off his clothes, looking somewhat disgusted.

  "Now we need to decide whether to continue searching for herbs or head back, after all, if we return too late, all our efforts will be in vain." Huangfu Mingbo looked at everyone and then shifted his gaze to Qingkuang.

  "Of course, we're going to find the herbs! Half of the time hasn't passed yet! We should make it in time." Ximen Qingxue's personality was that of a brave and daring person. Anyway, even if the sky fell, there would still be tall people holding it up! He wouldn't worry about it!

  "I think we should find our way back! After all, there may be some dangers on the way back that can't be predicted."

  "Hey, Huangfu, you're just too worried. We have a general direction now and so many people with us, what are you afraid of?" Ximen Lingfeng hooked his neck with one hand, not being serious at all.

  Listening to their opinions, Zhou Ming and others didn't dare speak out, they just obediently played the supporting role.

  "What do you think?" Bei Tang Qi Mo asked, looking at the person who had been silent just now, and others also turned their eyes to her.

  Actually just now Lengkong has been talking with Yaoer all along, roughly she already understood the Death Valley, there is a plant-type divine beast that is convenient.

  "We continue to look for herbs!"

  "Haha, look, look, even Xiao Kuang is on my side." Upon hearing this, Ximen Daxia immediately became arrogant.

  "What's going on with you?"

  "Today is the fourth day of our trial, we will continue to find herbs and crystal nuclei for three more days, then we will head back."

  "Three days? If we only return in three days, won't it be too late?" Huang Fu Mingbo voiced out everyone's concern.

  "It won't work, it's definitely going to be too late, so now the most important thing is to find herbs and crystal nuclei." With a rough idea in mind, she decided to give it a try.

  "Alright, we believe you!" Even though she was the youngest and most reckless, she dominated everyone, and her decisions had never gone wrong, enough to make everyone convinced.

  Seeing these young masters agree so quickly, without any opinions, they were all extremely curious about this girl. And the child in her arms, just now heard that the child called her mother, having a child at such a young age?

  Ignoring their sneaky glances, following You'er's hint, they quickly got a direction, "Let's go this way."

  Even though Death Valley has many dangers, they are mitigated by the crowds. Even if you encounter some small difficulties, it's just a fright and soon becomes safe again.

  As they walked deeper into the Death Valley, the sunlight grew scarce, and the surroundings were dense with trees. Green snakes slithered up the trunks, occasionally spitting out their tongues and making hissing sounds. Even from a distance, they could still hear the roars of magical beasts; the ground was littered with white bones, the remnants of magical beasts, accompanied by a putrid smell. Beitang Xiner and Huangfu Mingjia both hid behind their elder brothers, holding onto their arms as they carefully followed the procession forward.

  Although she wasn't afraid, Ling Kuang was still on high alert at all times, after all, it was her who brought these people here, so she had to be responsible for their safety. She switched Huìér from her left hand to her right and focused intently on the surroundings.

  Lurking in the shadows, a jungle killer is watching these ignorant humans who have invaded its territory, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and kill.

  "Ah~" Beidong Xiner slowed down slightly, and before she could take another step, her feet were tightly bound and she was dragged to the ground.

  "Xīn'ér!" Watching his own sister being taken away, Běi Táng Qī Mò's gentle appearance completely disappeared, and he rarely appeared flustered.

  "Brother, brother......" Seeing himself getting farther and farther away from the crowd, Beidong Xiner cried out in panic, his voice trembling with tears.

  Everyone who heard the cry turned around, only to see a thick red vine wrapped around her ankle, about to pull her back. But what kind of danger was lurking in the grass behind her?

  Beidong Qimeng rushed forward, pounced on her and grabbed her hand, trying to pull his sister back. However, he didn't expect the tendril's strength to be incredibly great, not slowing down in the slightest, dragging both people backward together.

  Ximen Yunfeng saw this and directly summoned a gust of wind to try and rescue them, but the vines were not harmed by the wind at all, only leaving marks behind as they dragged the two away even faster.

  "Chase!" The lightly mad face turned cold, surprisingly it was Red-Faced Ghost King Teng!

  Led by her, the crowd passed through the obstacles one by one, even ignoring the scratches caused by those disorderly tree branches.

  "Brother...... brother......"

  "Don't be afraid, Xīn'ér!" Looking at his pampered younger sister being beaten until she was covered in bruises and scratches, with several bloody gashes on her face, Běi Táng Lǐ Mò became even more anxious, tightly grasping her hands to give her the strength to hold on.

  Always tracking the vines to a more humid place, everyone finally saw the scene in front of them. A huge flower over five meters high, with three petals, and under the petals was a giant flower sac, the gorgeous red color made people's hearts tremble, and on each petal there was a curved black spot, looking like a smiling face, but that smile looked sinister. Under the flower was a thick stem, like several ropes twisted together, constantly tightening, and behind the entire flower were countless red vines crawling in all directions, waiting for prey to come and satisfy their gluttony.

  At this moment, the tendril that had been entwining Beitang Xiner all along excitedly writhed on the ground with an even faster speed, accompanied by Beitang Xiner's cries of surprise.

  Everyone took out their own skills, wanting to save their companions. Spiritual power surged forth, attacking the hard red vines. However, this action undoubtedly enraged the Red-Faced Ghost King Vine. Hundreds of vines suddenly danced wildly like a group of demons, each one whipping through the air and attacking the crowd. At the same time, the three flower petals smiled even more radiantly. "Ah, so much flesh! It can finally feast to its heart's content!"

  They were only a dozen or so people, how could they contend with the countless vines? Those red vines attacked from all directions, and the bigger ones couldn't keep up, not to mention being whipped on their bodies. The Red-Faced Ghost King Vine was dealing with Ximen Qingxue and the others while pulling his siblings towards himself, apparently wanting to taste this appetizer.

  Bei Dao was thrown into the air, Beitang Xiner bit her lip tightly, tears streaming down her face, but she didn't cry out again, distracting them. At this time, Qingkuang took advantage of Guiwang Teng "teasing" Ximen Linfeng and others, sneaking behind it, using his spiritual power to the extreme, aiming at the huge flower bud, directly cutting off two fire blades, intersecting and slashing down.

  The Red-Faced Ghost King Vine was attacked, letting out a mournful shriek. The red tendrils flailed about wildly, completely out of control. No matter how much it screamed, it couldn't stop the fluid from flowing out of the flower sac at an alarming rate. The two openings over a meter long were charred black, and a thick green liquid seeped out, who knows how many vengeful spirits were inside? As the flower sac contracted, it seemed like a severely injured person was gasping for breath violently.

  Don't look at the numerous and hard branches of the Red-Faced Ghost King Teng, its weakest point is actually that huge flower bud! Now that the flower bud is damaged and battered, the Ghost King Teng immediately got angry, apparently ready to go all out.

  But the light was still not enough, and it dodged the flying vines with agility. The spiritual power transformed into a large knife shape again, targeting the previous wound, determined to inflict further injury! The entire Death Valley echoed with ear-piercing screams once more, as the flower bud contracted violently, trying to expel this foreign object.

  It didn't let go of the people at all, increasing its strength to stir them up inside, only making it ache and convulse nonstop. As a result, the Ghost King Vine itself was in danger, how could it still care about those few people? The red vines had no choice but to release them, using all their energy to deal with this human who was harming themselves.

  "Go!" His subordinates dared not be the slightest bit careless, while also paying attention to the green liquid so as not to get it on themselves. Lightly and loudly, he shouted at them.

  "What about you?" The crowd helped each other up, looking at her seriously.

  "I'll be fine, go quickly!"

  When they heard this, Ximen Linfeng and the others exchanged a glance, and Beidong Qimiao even half-carried his sister as he walked away. Seeing that they had gone far enough, Qingkuang increased the spiritual power in her hand once more, delivering the final blow. Still not satisfied, she threw several explosive fire pellets into the flower basket before quickly flashing to the side, picking up her son who was lingering on the tree, and chasing after Ximen Linfeng and the others.

  "Awesome!"

  "It's all right! Don't worry!"

  "It's nothing, let's go!" Listening to the roar behind and the sound of something swooping in, he lightly walked behind them, instantly erecting a barrier that blocked out the pursuing vines. Taking a closer look, this Red-Faced Ghost King Vine was indeed ruthless! Each time it caught up with the pursuing vines, it would dip into the flower sac's juice, clearly intent on putting them to death! This juice contained powerful toxins, and if even a tiny bit came into contact with them, they would be dead instantly.

  Afraid that Qing Kuang's support wouldn't last, Xi Men and the others ran even faster. At this critical moment of life and death, they didn't dare to be careless at all.

  She quietly counted the numbers in her mind, and the time was almost up. Suddenly, a loud explosion sounded from behind, shaking the sky. According to her calculations, the Red-Faced Ghost King Teng should be dead by now.

  "What's that noise? Why did you stop suddenly?" He said, pulling her along as he spoke.

  "Alright, no need to run anymore, it should be dead by now."

  "Dead? Are you referring to that explosion?" As soon as she said this, everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at her.

  "Let's go, now go get the crystal core."

  "Go back? Are you sure?"

  "When did I ever cheat you?"

  Everyone looks at me, I look at you, and we all follow in her footsteps.

  Not long after, back to the territory of that red-faced ghost king wisteria, only to see splashing liquid everywhere, those red vines that were just out of hand were withered and lying on the ground, moving from time to time. The whole scene was chaotic and frightening at first sight.

  "Be careful, don't touch that green liquid, it's poisonous." After reminding them, he slowly approached the shapeless flower bud and picked out a bright red crystal.

  "Is it poisonous?" Upon hearing this, the people who were already somewhat disgusted didn't know where to put their feet and stood there motionless, just staring at her as she continued to jump around until she finally obtained the crystal core.

  Successfully retrieved the crystal core, lightly turned around to take a look, indeed! As long as there is Red Face Ghost King Teng in a place, there will definitely be Companion Ghost Grass nearby.

  "Come over here and let's finish gathering these herbs, then we can leave." With that, he led the way to the back.

  Hearing her call, Ximen Qing and the others carefully avoided the sticky liquid and walked towards her.

  "What's this vast expanse of blue grass? It's stuck to the ground and has needle-like leaves, not much different from ordinary weeds!"

  "It's a Ghost Grass, cold in nature. When refining the Five-Piece Condensed Cold Dan, it can enhance the medicinal properties." As he spoke, he squatted down and carefully picked some.

  "This is also a medicinal herb? I really didn't know before, you're quite knowledgeable." In fact, they weren't professional alchemists either. Sending them out to find the crystal nucleus of herbs was already difficult. The crystal nucleus was easier to deal with, after all, it could be seen from the level and attributes of magical beasts. But these medicinal herbs were all common knowledge for them, such rare and unusual ones they really didn't know about. Even if each academy would give them a general introduction to herbal knowledge before coming to try out, who could remember that much?

  "You've got such a big area, when are you going to finish picking by yourself? We'll help you." With that, they rolled up their sleeves and squatted down to lend a hand.

  "Help is fine, but be careful with the leaves. The leaves of this herb are very fragile and if they're touched, they lose their potency." By the time he finished speaking, Qing had already picked several sprigs.

  "No problem, you're still not at ease..." Before he could finish his sentence, the companion grass in his hand almost shattered into powder, leaves scattered all over the floor, and Ximen Ruxue's face turned bright red on the spot.

  Everyone crouched down and joined in. Compared to these big men, the girls were more meticulous and gentle, and they picked very successfully.

  So in this afternoon, all of these companion grasses were taken into their bags by them.

  Under the guidance of Yao'er, Qingkuang led them to avoid danger as much as possible and devoted themselves to finding medicinal herbs. Along the way, they were amazed by what they saw.

  "What's this?" Ximen Qingfeng asked curiously, holding up a section of rotten withered wood in his hand.

  "Withered wood meets spring, it takes over a hundred years to form, can cure white bones, treat external injuries, and also refine the Four-Piece Original Bone Elixir."

  "What about this one?"

  "Starleaf grass, with small and delicate leaves, yellow inside and green outside, has a warm and gentle medicinal property, can be used to refine the Six-piece Nourishing Yuan Dan."

  "This one, this one, it's grown into this shape too? Is it a flower or grass?"

  "That is bitter tongue orchid, a type of flower with a bitter and unbearable taste, which can be used to refine the Heart Protecting Elixir."

  "You're so amazing!" Ximen Qingxue looked at her with admiration, how does someone so young know everything?! It's too depressing!

  "You're quite knowledgeable, can you tell me how you knew that?"

  "Really, you're quite familiar with herbs! How do you know so much about them?" Beitang Xiner picked some more herbs, slowly forgetting the panic from earlier, and looked at her with equal curiosity.

  It's because I'm an alchemist! I'll be refining pills, and it's essential to be familiar with medicinal herbs, of course she wouldn't say that.

  "Because I once read all the books in the Cangshu Pavilion at Yunshu College." Qingkong stood up and rubbed his waist, as if he had been squatting for a long time.

  "Have you finished reading all of them? You scared me! Although Yunshu College can't compare to Imperial College, it's still ranked first among other colleges in the Gaosheng Empire. How could you have read all those books in the library? I wouldn't believe it even if you killed me!" Ximen Linfeng said incredulously.

  "I don't believe it." Looking around, everything had been swept clean. As for Ximen Qing's shout of surprise, she didn't put her mind to it at all.

  "Alright, I also know your temperament. So be honest with me, is it ten years, eight years or five years? No, no, that's too much of an understatement on my part, I'm guessing three years!" He said with a nod, as if to prove that what he said was true.

  "I don't know how long it was, probably less than a year! I stayed at Yunshu College for about a year and then went to Imperial College."

  "One year! Are you kidding me? Heaven! Open your eyes and take back this demon!" Ximen Qingxue's exaggerated cry to the sky, stamping her foot and clutching at her chest, why didn't heaven give him a brain like that?!

  "Alright, Ximen, stop messing around. You're not unaware of your own abilities, haha. Although I was also startled, after going through so much, how can you still be so uncalm?!" Patting his shoulder, Beidong Qimeng felt sympathetic towards him and gave Qingkuang a look of admiration. Ever since being with this girl, they had been experiencing non-stop excitement and surprises. No matter what even more astonishing things lay ahead, he could handle them calmly! However, not long after, he was frightened to the point of speechlessness.

  "Brother, don't mind him, he's jumping around like a monkey, shut up!" North Tang Xin'er curled her lip in disdain and gave the wailing person a scornful glance.

  "You say it's a monkey? You're the monkey, your whole family is... Cough cough, forget it, I won't stoop to your level. Lightly lightly, you tell me again what this thing is..." Noticing Beitang Qimeng's glance, Ximen Linfeng wisely changed the subject and went to play with Lightly."

  It's indeed thrilling and opportunistic at the same time. The harvest of this afternoon is still quite rich. The sun sets in the west, everyone has been busy for a day, let's call it a day today!

  "Alright, let's find a place to rest!"

  "Yes, it's more dangerous at night, we still need to find a relatively safe place."

  "Let's go by there this afternoon, it's quite open and if there's any danger we can see it at a glance."

  "Alright." In the afternoon when they were searching for herbs, they passed by a small hillside which was suitable for resting overnight.

  Along the original road back, because of walking through once, it didn't take much time.

  "Everyone should not rest yet, we will take turns keeping watch, so that if there is any danger, we can prevent it in time."

  "I agree, but they don't need to for girls." Rubbing his sister's little head, Beidong Qimò also agreed with his opinion.

  "That's fine, let's do it that way! You five go first half of the night, we'll go second half, and after eating, everyone will rest. Do you have any opinions?"

  "No." Zhou Ming shook his head a few times. They were on high alert for the first half of the night, which was good, after all, it was the most tiring time at dawn, and they knew this was taking care of them.

  Everyone had no objection, and the matter was settled. After finishing eating, Qing Kuang wrapped his precious son tightly in his arms, with a glutinous rice ball on his shoulder, which was a bit heavy, but at least he wouldn't be cold.

  Seeing that they were all asleep, Zhou Ming and a few others perked up, usually they couldn't make any contributions, but this time they had to perk up, after all, it involved the safety of so many people! Fortunately, the first half of the night passed peacefully and the handover was smooth.

  Hearing their soft conversation, she quietly turned over and saw that the quilt was still wrapped around her son, then closed her eyes to rest again.

  Before long, Xi Men's voice came over, "Huh?"

  "What's wrong, Ximen?"

  "Look over there." Lowering her voice, Ximen Ruxue was worried about waking them up.

  "There's something shining." Dongfang Jue also looked in that direction, and the bright lights were dazzling in the night sky.

  "Shall we go and take a look?"

  "Never mind, I don't feel safe leaving them here."

  "But..."

  Even if they spoke in a low voice, her keen intuition would not let her fall into a deep sleep.

  "What's going on?" He carefully picked up the little one who was sleeping soundly in his arms, placed her head in the crook of his neck, and felt the warmth of her flushed face from a deep sleep. Only then did he walk towards them.

  "Lightly mad, did we wake you up?" Beitang Qimò looked at her as she approached and pulled away from those sleeping people a bit further.

  "No, I sleep lightly, any sound will wake me up." The little one in his arms shifted uncomfortably and he quickly patted his back, lowering his voice a bit.

  "Hey, look over there! I don't know what's glowing, but we should go check it out." He said with a eager expression.

  Looking along the glowing place, I only saw that among those tall trees, circles of pale purple light were emitted, and there was also a faint white light mixed in. There aren't many things that can emit such light at night!

  "Go on, go on, I'm dying of curiosity."

  "But what about them?" Huang Fu Mingbo looked at those who were asleep.

  "Or else... wake them all up?" Ximen Qingxue said hesitantly.

  Covered the quilt on Xi'er's head, gently pacing and humming to the little meatball, looking at Ximen Linxue, "Go call!"

  Several people who were sleeping were woken up and immediately became alert. Seeing that there was no danger, they relaxed, "What's wrong?"

  Yawning, Beidong Xiner looked at them in confusion and asked, "Brother, what's going on?"

  "You all get up first, it's unknown what's glowing over there, we're going to go take a look, that's why you've all been called up."

  Rubbing their sleepy eyes, the two girls didn't make a fuss and weren't complaining. Before long, they were wide awake again.

  "Alright, everyone's awake. Let's go take a look first. You guys can make up for the sleep tomorrow." This was said to Zhou Ming and the others, after all they had only slept for one quarter of the night.

  "We're fine." After all, as spirit cultivators, with spiritual energy supporting us, we wouldn't feel too tired.

  Then, except for Xuan Xi who was lying on Qing Kuang's shoulder and that glutton who only knew how to eat and sleep, everyone else got up and walked in that direction.

  Ximen Qingxue just couldn't stop talking, constantly saying: "Qingkuang, what could that be?"

  "Not very clear."

  "Oh no! You're knowledgeable, aren't you? Tell me, I'm dying of curiosity!"

  His voice was a bit loud, and he was stopped by a glance from his wife. He patted their son and kissed his little face until the child didn't wake up, then replied to him, "In this vast world, nothing is impossible. I don't know everything, and all I saw was something glowing, how would I know what it is?"

  "So you know what glows at night?"

  "There are many kinds of jewels, such as night pearls, crystal cores of light system magic beasts, fireflies, and some medicinal herbs that emit light."

  "Don't tease me, how could such a light be emitted from fireflies?" Ximen Ruxue looked as if she was being deceived.

  The farther forward I walked, the more dazzling the light was. Suddenly, the lightly frantic footsteps came to a halt. This fragrance...

  "What's wrong with you, Qing Kuang?" Bei Tang Qi Mo noticed her abnormality and asked softly.

  "It's nothing." She shook her head lightly, but in her heart she was thinking that if it were really as she thought, then she had indeed been very lucky!

  Until they walked to where the light was strongest, everyone couldn't open their eyes. Only then did they look at everything in front of them through the gaps between their fingers.

  What a flower! Only about ten plants can emit such dazzling light? One by one, those faint purple colors are like carved ice flowers. The petals are crystal clear and transparent, with faint purple stripes on the edges, which makes people feel pity. Taking a closer sniff, there is also a kind of refreshing fragrance that touches the heart, making me feel refreshed instantly, even the surrounding air becomes cooler.

  "What a lovely flower is this?" Ximen Qingxue gazed at it in a daze, as if in a dream.

  "Lavender with icy skin!" She thought it was indeed correct, ten of them! This time it's really rich, rich!

  "What is this 'Ice Muscle Violet' anyway? But the fragrance is really wonderful! It's as if my heart and lungs have been cleansed." Ximen Ruxin sighed, taking another deep breath in, exhaling turbid air.

  "A very precious herb, the Ice Muscle Violet is like an ice sculpture, cleverly crafted by nature. It only blooms at night and emits a dazzling purple light. As soon as dawn breaks, it dissolves into water. This treasure is hard to come by, but adding just a small piece of it to a refined elixir can neutralize its medicinal properties, balancing out two incompatible ingredients and ensuring the stability of the elixir. In short, with this Ice Muscle Violet, the success rate of refining an elixir is 100%, and there's no risk of failure."

  "What are we waiting for? Let's go pick some!" Ximen Qingfeng was about to rush out, but was pulled back by Liang Yichun just in time.

  "Don't go!"

  "What's wrong? Is there something else?" Knowing that Xi Men Qing wouldn't pull him away for no reason, Si Men Xue Frost patiently waited for her instructions.

  "Can I trust you?" Looking at those serious eyes, everyone nodded in unison.

  "Of course, lightly insane."

  "Then you help me take care of the child, I'll be back in a moment." Just as she was about to hand over the baby in her arms to them, unexpectedly the little one woke up, blinked his eyes, and quickly came to his senses looking at her.

  "Mom..." He didn't want anyone else to hold him, only in his mother's arms could he fall asleep.

  "How did you wake up? Aren't you sleeping?" Touching his forehead to see if he has a fever.

  "Mom..."

  "Alright, mother will take you together." Just now I was thinking of handing my son over to them for care so that he could continue sleeping, but now that he's awake, it's better to have him by my side.

  "What are you going to do, you crazy guy?"

  "Don't make any rash moves, you must wait for me to come back, do you understand?" After repeatedly instructing them, seeing them nod, he finally left with a sense of relief.

  "Alright, we'll listen to you." Watching the back view disappearing into the black night, they will strictly follow.

  After a long wait, no one spoke, still staring at the flower in a daze. At this moment, another team of horses arrived.

  "Found it, the glowing one is this flower."

  "I don't know what it is, but this Death Valley is full of treasures everywhere, so this flower shouldn't be ordinary either!"

  "That's right! There shouldn't be anyone around this week, so let's get a head start and strive for first place."

  "Alright, let's do it!"

  Several people are about to pick the flower, Ximen Ruxue and others are anxious, where did Qingkuang go? Why hasn't he come back yet! It's going to be taken by someone else first!

  Before they could even react, they were startled by the screams coming from that direction. Countless brown scorpions emerged from the ground, each as big as a palm, and crawled towards those people. In the blink of an eye, they were poisoned and busy with their injuries. All the scorpions rushed forward, making a rustling sound that sent chills down their spines, causing them to break out in cold sweat, and even hearing the sound of swallowing saliva.

  Suddenly, a voice came from the side, and everyone was startled. It turned out to be Qingkuang. They let out a sigh of relief. "Qingkuang, you scared me to death! Did you already know that such a big scorpion would come out, which is why you told us not to act rashly?"

  "Have you seen the scorpion?" After a careful search, no one was found!

  "Of course!"

  "Has anyone come?"

  "As soon as you left, a group of people came and were instantly devoured, without even leaving any leftovers!" With a lingering fear, she patted her chest, and only after calming down did she cover her nose, "Hmm, what's this smell? What have you brought back?"

  "It's those scorpions' feces."

  "Ah? How disgusting! Take it away, take it away!"

  Those are the Scorching Scorpions, which multiply at an extremely fast rate and have a highly toxic body. They live in places with Ice Muscle Violet, which allows them to control their toxicity and not die from explosion. However, these scorpions are naturally brutal, if anyone or any magical beast tries to pick the Ice Muscle Violet, they will attack in unison.

  "No wonder, you didn't see... Tsk tsk, but what does this have to do with what you took?!"

  "The Scorching Scorpions, due to their toxic heat, have a pungent smell that even they themselves detest. They will discard their own waste far away, at least 100 meters from their lair. If we want to obtain the Frost Muscle Violet, we can rely on this; it's guaranteed those scorching scorpions won't come near."

  "You mean I have to apply this on myself? No way!" Simon shook his head vigorously, he would rather die than do such a thing.

  "Do you still want that flower?"

  "This..."

  "Alright, didn't I tell you not to wipe it on your body?" Along with the handkerchief, throw it away too. It's been smoked for half a day, that's enough. "Let's go pick some flowers."

  "Ah? That's it?" Nothing has been done at all!

  "You really want to apply it on your body?"

  Others shook their heads and followed the light footsteps, although they believed in the girl in front of them, but they really didn't have a bottom line! After all, there was a precedent right there!

  "Hey, hey, wait for me, wait..." Catching up with them, Ximen Qingchu looked around curiously.

  As expected, these venomous scorpions all retreated in disarray. I really didn't think that there would be a demon beast that would disdain itself for being as pathetic as this.

  Looking at the purple violet in front of me, I just wanted to pick it lightly, but as soon as I touched the violet, it disappeared. Thinking about it, it was the same as the last time with the red cloud fragrant fruit. Fortunately, I was facing away from them and holding a child, otherwise, it would have definitely attracted attention.

  They picked seven or eight of them and left two for those venomous scorpions. Only then did Liang Ke call out to everyone, "Alright, let's go!"

  Digression

  Bamboo wants to speed up the plot! ~\（≧▽≦）/~