Seeing Sheng Xia’s expression, Xu Mu felt a little awkward. But treasures were obtained by whoever got them first. It was not like there was any point overthinking it.
He gave her an apologetic smile and stepped forward, blocking Sheng Xia as she approached.
Sheng Xia let out a cold snort and stopped about five meters away, staring icily at Xia Xiaoxue’s outstretched hand.
People who understood nothing would only destroy rare treasures.
The Crimson Flame Flower, once removed from its stem, would instantly turn into an ordinary plant and lose all its value. Of course, it was not something so easy to pick in the first place.
“Aah! It’s so hot!”
Xia Xiaoxue’s shrill scream echoed through the mountain. She clutched her burned right hand and screamed in pain behind Xu Mu.
Sheng Xia’s lips curved slightly.
As expected, it really was the Crimson Flame Flower, exactly as described in the book.
It appeared harmless, but its petals carried an extreme heat like flames. The moment it was touched directly, it would instantly cause severe burns.
Only by uprooting it completely from its roots could it cool down after leaving the soil and become safely usable.
While Xu Mu was hurriedly tending to Xia Xiaoxue’s injury, Sheng Xia lowered her body and rolled forward in a swift motion, reaching the Crimson Flame Flower.
She extended her fingertip carefully, avoiding the petals, and touched the stem. With a single thought, the entire Crimson Flame Flower vanished silently into her spatial storage, where she immediately transplanted it into her black soil.
The carrot seeds she had planted earlier had already sprouted leaves, lush and green, looking full of vitality. At this rate, they would likely mature soon.
This black soil was not only fertile but also had the effect of accelerating growth. Once the Crimson Flame Flower was planted, it immediately thrived, its brilliance even stronger than before. Sheng Xia could not help feeling delighted.
From now on, whenever she found more mutated plants, she would never have to worry about storage. She could simply plant them all in her space.
The moment the Crimson Flame Flower disappeared, Xia Xiaoxue, who had been eagerly waiting for it, let out a ghost-like scream in shock.
Before her voice even faded, a half-human-sized wild monkey suddenly leapt down from a tree several meters away and bared its teeth at the three of them, wildly waving its arms.
Sheng Xia immediately noticed a clearly burned scar on one of its arms.
Her expression turned serious.
She had not expected to encounter a mutated animal on her very first outing, and one as intelligent as a monkey.
This monkey was clearly after the Crimson Flame Flower. It might have even planned to let them pick it first and then snatch it afterward.
Now that the flower had suddenly disappeared, it was furious and began threatening them, clearly demanding they hand it over.
And Sheng Xia guessed correctly. That was exactly what the monkey intended.
Sheng Xia no longer hesitated and turned to run downhill. Monkeys were social animals, and Jinding Mountain already had a known monkey habitat. A single monkey was not frightening, but a whole group would be enough to tear her apart.
Mutated monkeys had immense strength and razor-sharp claws. A single scratch would leave a deep bloody wound.
Xu Mu and Xia Xiaoxue were immediately injured within a single exchange. Xia Xiaoxue panicked and hid behind Xu Mu, only screaming in terror.
Fortunately, Xu Mu was relatively calm. After taking a couple of hits, he quickly picked up a wooden stick and began blocking and counterattacking.
However, the monkey’s agility made his efforts almost useless.
After a brief standoff, the monkey suddenly turned and chased after Sheng Xia instead. In its simple thinking, the lone and smaller target was easier to deal with.
Once the monkey left, Xu Mu and Xia Xiaoxue finally breathed a sigh of relief. Exhausted and hungry, neither of them wanted to stay on the mountain any longer.
“Xiaoxue, your injury needs treatment. Let’s go down the mountain first. We can come back another time,” Xu Mu said.
Xia Xiaoxue immediately agreed, nodding with tears in her eyes. She never wanted to stay in this cursed place again.
There was still over an hour before sunset. The monkey had scratched her several times, and she did not even know if she had caught some strange infection. She only wanted to go to the hospital as soon as possible.
That damn girl must have known something was wrong with that flower and deliberately let her pick it. Now that the flower was gone, it had to be her fault. If they met again, she would not let her off.
The two of them abandoned Sheng Xia and ran down the mountain, even planning to shift blame onto her later.
Meanwhile, Sheng Xia, who was slower than the monkey, was quickly caught.
The monkey bared its fangs, making threatening gestures and shrieking aggressively.
Sheng Xia expressionlessly watched it, her feet steadily shifting as she moved.
The monkey, unable to intimidate her, suddenly lunged forward.
Sheng Xia rolled to the ground to dodge its claws and extended her right hand.
With a sharp crackle of electricity, the monkey convulsed and collapsed onto the ground.
Sheng Xia exhaled and quickly followed up while it was still incapacitated.
It had been worth persuading the outdoor equipment shop owner to let her buy the highest-powered stun baton. The store owner had not exaggerated its power at all.
Following the principle of striking while the enemy was weakened, she waited until the monkey was unconscious before pulling out a kitchen knife from her spatial storage and slicing its throat cleanly.
Her movements were swift and decisive. If Su Mei had seen it, she would have been shocked. The Sheng Xia who normally could not stand blood was now completely expressionless.
The book had clearly stated that once mutated beasts were given even a moment to recover, their claws could pierce straight through a human’s chest in the next second.
It was safer to finish them off immediately.
Suppressing her discomfort, Sheng Xia searched the monkey’s head but found nothing.
A trace of disappointment and understanding flashed in her eyes. As expected, mutated animals influenced by the environment did not contain crystals.
In the original novel, Sheng Xia had once followed teams on missions. Their targets were mutated beasts from other realms.
After killing them, every part of those beasts could be used for trade, but the most valuable part was the crystal inside their brains.
Humans could absorb those crystals directly to strengthen themselves.
Red crystals enhanced reflexes and speed.
Orange crystals increased strength.
Yellow crystals improved defense, even reaching near invulnerability.
Green crystals enhanced healing, allowing wounds to recover rapidly.
Blue crystals improved mental strength, enabling focused concentration, telekinesis, and even psychic attacks.
Purple crystals were the rarest, comprehensively enhancing physical constitution and even extending lifespan.
And transparent crystals, which enhanced spatial abilities, only worked on those with spatial powers. For ordinary people, they merely restored stamina.
Right now, she did not even have the ability to hunt otherworldly beasts. Thinking about it was pointless.
Sheng Xia pulled her wandering thoughts back to reality.
She stored the mutated monkey’s corpse in her space and quickly headed down the mountain toward her midday resting spot.
She planned to collect the Blue Mist Flower and leave immediately. This place was no longer safe, and she did not have the ability to survive here overnight.
Arriving at the resting area, she quickly located the mountain spring and the patch of Blue Mist Flowers.
Excited, she carefully harvested each Blue Mist Flower and planted them into her spatial storage.
She then walked to the spring to wash her hands, and just as she was about to do so, she noticed a small golden object at her feet.