Seeing the mid-stage Qi Condensation demon python slain, Zhou Yang and the others, whose practical combat experience was limited, all let out a breath of relief.
Feeling the depletion of the Spiritual Power within their bodies, they wished they could immediately sit down and meditate to recover.
Only Fang Ping, who was just one step away from the third Qi Condensation Layer and had more Spiritual Power than the other three, still had a bit of strength left.
Out of caution and to ensure the kill, he channeled his remaining Spiritual Power and delivered two more sword strikes to the demon python. Only after confirming that it was thoroughly dead did he finally set his mind at ease.
Witnessing this scene, Senior Brother Yan could not help but feel moved.
He had not expected this Junior Brother to be so cautious. With that kind of temperament, perhaps he might progress farther along the path of cultivation than other cultivators.
“All right, Junior Brothers, this is not a place to rest. The battle and the smell might attract other Demon Beasts. Let us quickly deal with things here and move to a safer place before resting.”
Senior Brother Yan spoke with great experience.
The fourth-layer Qi Condensation demon python did not have a demon core.
But its snake gall and venomous fangs still had some value. After processing, they could be sold for a few Spirit Stones.
After a quick processing and using a Dust Removal Technique to roughly eliminate the smell from their bodies, the five quickly left the scene. They found a relatively open area several li away and rested for half an hour before resuming their search.
Perhaps that earlier Qi Condensation demon python had been the sole hunter in the nearby territory.
For the next period of time, Fang Ping and the others encountered no more danger.
Until the sky gradually darkened.
The mountain forest at night was far more dangerous than during the day.
If they were Foundation Establishment cultivators, they could extend their Divine Sense outward, and the effect of nightfall would be negligible.
But they were only early- and mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivators with low strength. Searching the mountain through the night under such conditions would be far too dangerous.
For just that little bit of Spirit Stones a year, what was the point of risking their lives?
The five did not even discuss it. After exchanging a glance, they unanimously decided to first find a safe place to spend the night, then continue searching after dawn.
As for the several thousand other outer sect disciples of the Luoyang Sect searching this mountain cliff, aside from the very few who were determined to claim the bounty, almost all made the same choice without prior agreement.
Only the few outer sect deacons patrolling in shifts in the air were burning with anxiety, yet there was nothing they could do but vent their dissatisfaction with these lazy disciples in their hearts.
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In the tedious and dangerous search, several days passed in a flash.
As the search range gradually contracted from the surroundings of the mountain cliff toward its center, the area that needed to be searched visibly shrank, and the disciples’ progress accelerated somewhat.
During this period, Fang Ping’s squad encountered attacks from several Demon Beasts in succession.
However, thanks to the five’s coordination, they resolved them all without serious danger. Not only did they smoothly obtain some Demon Beast materials, but they also collected more than ten stalks of various Spirit Grasses on the mountain.
Though none were valuable, altogether they were worth roughly twenty to thirty Spirit Stones.
Senior Brother Yan, as the main force and the only mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivator, taking fifty percent was not excessive.
Fang Ping and the other three split the remaining fifty percent equally, each earning roughly three to four Spirit Stones, which was already quite good.
This was precisely the main reason many outer sect disciples were willing to risk their lives to go out and hunt Demon Beasts.
“Counting the day we arrived, today should already be the fifth day, right?”
Glancing up at the mountain cliff top that was still somewhat distant, Zhou Yang muttered, exhaustion visible on his face.
Just last night, they had encountered the greatest danger since entering the mountain.
A fifth-layer Qi Condensation demon tiger had launched a sneak attack on them under cover of night.
The one attacked was none other than Fang Ping.
Fortunately, his reaction was quick. He immediately activated his Protection Talisman, forcibly withstanding the demon tiger’s attack, then used a Light Body Technique and a Movement Talisman to maneuver against it, holding out until Senior Brother Yan’s support arrived.
In the end, everyone worked together to repel the demon tiger, avoiding the fate of dying in the tiger’s jaws.
That said, at the time, Zhou Yang had been walking not far from Fang Ping.
If that demon tiger had changed its mind even slightly and attacked him instead of Fang Ping, Zhou Yang believed he absolutely could not have dodged the sneak attack.
After luckily brushing past death, he had actually slept less soundly than Fang Ping last night. Even the Spirit Stones he had earned did not feel as appealing anymore.
His biggest thought now was: Let anyone come, just hurry up and catch that White-Feathered Spirit Crane so everyone can return to the courtyard earlier and cultivate in peace!
“We’ve searched all this way and that White-Feathered Spirit Crane hasn’t shown any sign of movement. Could it have already escaped long ago?”
At this moment, Zhang Feihu suddenly raised a possibility.
With the disciples split into squads to search, gaps between squads were inevitable. Who could guarantee that the White-Feathered Spirit Crane definitely would not use such a gap to escape?
Fang Ping shook his head and pointed at the sky. “The deacons are watching from above, and Elder Wang’s granddaughter also has a spiritual contract connection with it. If that spirit crane really ran far away, she would certainly notify the deacons to readjust the search range.”
Senior Brother Yan also agreed with Fang Ping’s judgment. “It’s most likely still on the mountain. However, today we’ve already searched to the mountainside, and this cliff is quite steep. There aren’t many places left for it to hide. At the fastest, two days; at the slowest, three days. That spirit crane will have nowhere left to hide!”
Having said that, Senior Brother Yan rose from the resting spot and led the others to resume the search.
“Hm, what’s that smell?”
They had barely walked a few hundred steps, passing along a mountain path near the cliff, when a mountain breeze blew over and Fang Ping suddenly caught a faint medicinal fragrance.
“Smell? What smell?”
Alerted by Fang Ping, the others sniffed and also caught the faint scent in the wind.
Zhou Yang thought for a moment and said, “It’s a bit like the fragrance of mountain vine flowers.”
This was a very common plant in the mountains, containing only a trace of Spiritual Qi. It did not even qualify as the most basic Spirit Grass and was completely worthless.
Senior Brother Yan also thought it seemed like mountain vine flowers. But just as he wanted to sniff more carefully, the mountain breeze paused briefly, and that faint medicinal fragrance disappeared again.
He did not think much of it and said, “It should be mountain vine flowers.”
If Fang Ping had not begun studying the Dao of Alchemy, perhaps he would have thought the same.
But Fang Ping, who had recently been studying Basic Understanding of the Dao of Alchemy and had already gained some insight, vaguely sensed that the medicinal fragrance just now was not from mountain vine flowers, but rather from a Grade 1 spirit plant recorded in the text that closely resembled mountain vine flowers yet was far more valuable—the Purple Wisteria Hundred-Leaf Flower!
This kind of spirit plant grew in deep mountains with a certain amount of Spiritual Qi and few traces of human activity. It bloomed only once every few decades and was quite rare.
It could be used to refine multiple kinds of Grade 1 Spirit Pills!
Just one blossom was worth thirty to forty Spirit Stones, more than all the gains they had made over the past few days combined!
In that instant, Fang Ping instinctively had a thought: suppress this matter and monopolize the spirit flower.
But the next moment, such greed was rejected. First, he was not a greedy person; second, this place was not safe. Fang Ping had ridden the Sect’s Cloud-Bearing Beast and had Senior Brother Yan and the others accompanying him to make it all the way here.
If he missed this opportunity, returning here alone by his own power would likely be no easy feat in the short term.
Once he reached the mid stage of Qi Condensation and could pilot a flying Magical Artifact, it would be convenient.
But who could guarantee that, in the meantime, the spirit flower would not be discovered by other cultivators passing by?
After his thoughts raced, Fang Ping made his decision and loudly announced his discovery.