Zuo Fulan’s words were like a thunderbolt out of the blue. Out of caution and responsibility for the disciples of Shi Yang Sect, even without evidence, Ying Qi and the others decided to send some people back to check the situation.
Ying Qi, being of the metal attribute, wasn’t fast, and Li Jiyun, with an earth spiritual root, wasn’t good at traveling quickly either. So, the task of leading the team back to investigate fell on Li Xibai. She had a special attribute beyond the five elements, a wind single spiritual root, and was famous for her speed.
Of course, Lou Shuangzui wasn’t on the list of investigators. Even if trust wasn’t an issue, his mixed spiritual roots at the early Golden Core stage weren’t fast enough. Moreover, neither Li Jiyun nor Ying Qi trusted him.
However, none of them suspected that the person secretly following the team was Lou Shuangzui. After all, doing such a thing in the inner circle would be too difficult for someone at the early Golden Core stage. Besides, Lou Shuangzui had been inseparable from them these past few days, and Ying Qi was confident in his own strength, believing he could keep an eye on Lou Shuangzui.
Because of this, Shi Yang Sect’s progress was delayed, and for some reason, Tiandao Sect didn’t leave first either. Instead, they found a place a bit further away to rest and recuperate.
Time quickly reached dusk.
The upside-down forest was dyed orange-red by the setting sun, with mist faintly lingering among the trees, entwining the branches and leaves. Through the thin mist, one could vaguely see some white bones and remnants.
As Li Xibai and the others returned to the camp, the forest gradually became lively. Lou Shuangzui also awoke from a day-long state of meditation. He looked up and wasn’t surprised to see the girl’s face looking quite bad.
Her brown eyes appeared extremely dull, and her complexion was as pale as if covered with a layer of white ash. The outer disciples behind her all looked terrified.
Ying Qi looked at her, already having a premonition in his heart, but still asked, “How is it?”
Li Xibai shook her head. The girl’s black hair was wet with sweat and mist, sticking messily to her face. “Not good. I scouted ahead for about five days’ journey. We should indeed be followed, as all the trees along the way have withered, and no other creatures survive, just like when we first entered Hongxiu Forest.”
“But…” She pursed her lips, her already pale lips gaining a bit of color. “That person probably stopped following us two days ago because the Hongxiu Forest we’ve passed in the last two days hasn’t withered.”
However, it’s only possible that they stopped following. Whether they’ve left, are hiding in an unknown dark place, or have taken another route, they don’t know and can’t be at ease.
Ying Qi frowned, his eyes darkening. His fingers anxiously rubbed against his sword. “We’ll reach the center in at most another day. We can’t give up on the Luoxia Drunken Fruit now.”
“Just some sneaky scoundrels…” He gripped the sword hilt tightly, his tone firming up. “Let’s keep going. Anyway, the highest cultivation level among those who entered this time is only mid-Nascent Soul. I can handle it, no need to be afraid.”
Li Jiyun seemed to have other concerns. He glanced at Lou Shuangzui, who was behaving quietly and obediently like a quail, but ultimately said nothing more and nodded.
Yes, only one day left. They couldn’t just watch all their efforts in this secret realm go to waste. No matter how many concerns they had, as long as there was a chance, they had to fight for it.
It was precisely this kind of determination that allowed humans to seize their destiny from the ravages of demons and ghosts over several eras. And now, even the Heavenly Dao favored the human race.
But no matter how determined they were, everyone still felt anxious. So, they traveled much faster, and even the sound of conversation gradually disappeared, leaving only the dull sound of footsteps in the team.
The outer disciples acting as scouts peeked around the edges, taking turns on watch, alert and serious.
In this atmosphere, they reached the center near the Luoxia Drunken Fruit even half a day earlier than planned.
Although Tiandao Sect arrived a bit later, they weren’t too late. There were also some scattered cultivators and sects who were still unwilling to give up. Seeing the two major sects arrive, they didn’t plan to leave either.
The Luoxia Drunken Fruit ripened at dusk.
At that time, the sky looked like it was set ablaze, with orange-red and golden-purple interwoven across the horizon, even the flowing clouds wrapped in molten gold edges.
The setting sun hung on the distant mountain peak, pouring its last beam of light onto the earth, dyeing the river surface into flowing amber, and even the shadows of the trees along the road were stretched long, coated with a layer of warm, scorching halo.
The wind carried the residual warmth of the day, and the fragrance of the Luoxia Drunken Fruit, like lychee and floral scent, gradually intensified, sweetly lingering at the tip of the nose.
The heartbeat grew louder, crashing into the orange-red sky, drumming between the eardrums.
When the last trace of red faded from the fruit, with a “crack,” the branch could no longer bear the weight of the fruit, allowing the long-awaited success to fall—
It was unclear who made the first move, but spells and sword lights flew everywhere, with the brightest undoubtedly being Ying Qi’s sword aura.
The long sword, like a silver snake coiling around the wrist, swept out, the sword aura carrying a fierce wind, carving a deep mark on the ground, lifting fallen leaves and stones, even splitting the air in two.
In the chaos, Li Jiyun could only follow the dazzling sword edge, trusting that Ying Qi wouldn’t mistake the enemy’s position, so he just needed to attack alongside him.
Meanwhile, Li Xibai led the outer disciples to resist the enemies, delaying the steps of other sects and scattered cultivators.
They hadn’t discussed it, but despite arguing a few days ago, they were still perfectly in sync at this critical moment.
“Got it!” The chaos ended with Ying Qi’s voice. He didn’t know when he had obtained that precious, heavy seed. As his words fell, Shi Yang Sect’s disciples gathered around him, each holding their weapons, forming a circle around Ying Qi.
Seeing this, the scattered cultivators, who had little hope to begin with, could only take a last reluctant look before hurriedly turning to leave—they didn’t want to give the major sects a chance for retaliation. Even though sects rarely did so, they had nothing and couldn’t afford to gamble on so-called moral forgiveness. Besides, leaving earlier gave them more time to gather resources. Even if they couldn’t get the Luoxia Drunken Fruit, getting something else would still be good.
Tiandao Sect still had some strength to compete, though the hope was slim. Zuo Fulan merely curled his lips in a half-smile, his vacant eyes inadvertently sweeping over the vine on Ying Qi’s wrist that blocked the miasma.
“Let’s go, we won’t fight for this,” he raised his hand, and Tiandao Sect’s disciples, without any dissatisfaction, quickly followed him away.
But it wasn’t until their figures completely disappeared from perception that Ying Qi dared to breathe a sigh of relief.
However, he clearly relaxed too soon.
The red embroidered tree roots wrapped around everyone’s wrists, which blocked the miasma, suddenly broke, leaving only a nearly black, thin, and strange vine.
Before the hallucinations accompanied by poisonous mist could crazily attack, Ying Qi barely managed to raise his hand to create a small barrier, just enough to cover himself and Li Jiyun beside him. Even with only a few people left, with Ying Qi there, they should have had a chance to fight back, but the person who left the hidden hand clearly wouldn’t give him that chance.
A sharp pain shot through his wrist as the strange vine broke through the spiritual power barrier while Ying Qi was distracted, creating a small wound. Although Ying Qi quickly used spiritual power to break the vine, it was… too late.
The poison instantly eroded his vitality, and Ying Qi could feel his strength growing weaker, even the barrier starting to waver. Li Jiyun’s condition wasn’t much better, but the chief disciple of the sub-peak still gritted his teeth, transferring his spiritual power to him.
“Wen, Yu, Yao!”
There were very few people who could tamper with this thing. Even though Li Jiyun had checked it several times without finding anything unusual, even secretly swapping materials and finished products, he was now certain who had done it.
Sure enough, a low chuckle came from behind the bushes. Wen Yuyao, who had disappeared during the fight, emerged from behind, facing the incredulous gazes of all the Shi Yang Peak disciples who were still struggling to stay conscious or not fall into illusions. He looked at Li Jiyun’s pale face and curled his lips in amusement.
“So pathetic, Senior Brother Li~”
This phrase was used by Li Jiyun in a sarcastic tone when he suspected Lou Shuangzui a few days ago, and now it had come back to him, thrown at him with a suggestive tone.
In fact, tampering with the wristbands was unnecessary. Lou Shuangzui just didn’t want to reveal too early that those he had treated would still have residual poison as a backup plan.
Today was the tenth day, and the effect of the Xiuqiu Cluster Fruit had gradually faded. The first to reveal its true form in front of Shi Yang’s disciples were those golden eyes.
Poisonous, with a mocking smile, eyes filled with ambition and a bloody aura like a snake.
Lou Shuangzui touched the corner of his eye, suddenly smiling. He extended his hand, and with a flick of his finger, the rapidly growing poison caused the disciples below the Golden Core stage to faint instantly. Even the few inner disciples who hadn’t fainted weren’t far off, and Ying Qi had to use his sword to barely support himself.
Young Master Ying looked particularly furious. He had been watching so closely these past few days, yet in the end, such a mistake occurred, leading to a complete failure. He bit his cheek hard, tasting blood, and in the blood-filled air, he opened his mouth fiercely.
“Fine, very fine, just you wait!”
He stared at Lou Shuangzui’s golden eyes like a vengeful wolf.
But Lou Shuangzui didn’t intend to pay attention to him at this moment. The chief disciple of Sword Peak was annoyed by the uninvited guest, frowning slightly. He leisurely turned his head, dodging an attack from the shadows.
Looking over, it turned out to be Xue Chengming from Shanhe Sect. He had been driven away by Baihua Sect and Xie Weining’s joint efforts, and had no choice but to change his target. When he hurriedly arrived here, he hadn’t expected to see such a favorable situation, and was overjoyed.
Shi Yang’s prodigies seemed about to fall, and the Luoxia Drunken Fruit was actually in the hands of someone at the early Golden Core stage. Not to mention that Xue Chengming was now at the mid-Golden Core stage, even if he and Lou Shuangzui were at the same cultivation level, he still had his followers to help.
So the man grinned hideously, “Fellow Daoist, I cherish beauty and can’t bear to hurt you. If you know what’s good for you, hand over the Luoxia Drunken Fruit.”
But upon hearing this, Lou Shuangzui merely glanced at him lazily, his golden eyes filled with a familiar and detestable contempt for Xue Chengming. The beautiful, snake-like man laughed lightly.
“Idiot.”
Author’s Note:
Poison attribute is high attack, low defense. In terms of fighting, it can even compete with a fully-powered Ying Qi across cultivation levels, so Xue Chengming, who is only one stage higher, definitely can’t beat him.
P.S. Sorry for the delay again, I’ll adjust by tomorrow, I promise!