novelraw Chapter 231 - 99: [Third Watch]
Chapter 231 - 99: [Third Watch]
Gu Qingqing and Jun Wu were in harmony, while Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu, upon seeing this scene, huddled together, occasionally glancing at Gu Qingqing and Jun Wu, with strange smiles on their faces, followed by bursts of laughter.Yue Zhao’s eyes flickered, he took out a bottle of Spiritual Dew, took a sip, and looked towards the small stream nearby.
Nan Hua fanned himself, looking at Jun Wu with a faint smile and squinting his eyes, his expression somewhat dangerous.
Mu Chen, for some reason, felt a bit overwhelmed, squinting his eyes, he simply looked away.
Recently, Gu Qingqing had been well taken care of by Jun Wu, and she had gotten used to it, feeling nothing unusual. Jun Wu noticed the looks from Nan Hua and the others, only glancing at them. Realizing that Yue Zhao and Mu Chen had both looked away, the smile on his lips deepened, directly ignoring Nan Hua’s expression.
After resting for a quarter of an hour, Gu Qingqing and the others set off again, heading deeper into the forest.
When they entered, it was still noon in the Secret Realm. After walking for a while, the sun in the Secret Realm was already setting, and the forest grew darker. They not only had to find the wooden token but also a place to rest before nightfall. This was the Secret Realm, and they were in the forest, which was not only home to spirit flowers and herbs but also demon beasts, making the forest unsafe at night.
After walking for half an hour, they found three more wooden tokens and then arrived by a lake.
Calling it a lake might be an exaggeration; it was more of a pond, not very large, and the water seemed not particularly good, somewhat murky. However, the focus of Gu Qingqing and the others was not on the water quality but rather on the lotus flower in the center of the water.
The lotus flower had not yet bloomed, mere a fiery red bud standing upright in the lake, with circular lotus leaves large enough for one person to lie on, dark green and nearly covering the entire water surface, yet there was only one lotus flower.
A gentle breeze blew by, and a faint fragrance lingered at Gu Qingqing’s nose. She was momentarily dazed, but when she snapped back to reality, she immediately looked warily at the bud on the lake.
"There’s actually a seventh-grade Red Blood Lotus here, it’s about seventy percent there," Mu Chen remarked with burning eyes, looking at the bud in the lake with emotion.
The Red Blood Lotus is a seventh-grade Spirit Flower, rare due to its special growing conditions. Mu Chen had once bought one at an auction for a hefty price of one hundred thousand top-quality Spirit Stones, which pained him for a long time. Unexpectedly, he saw one in the Secret Realm.
The Red Blood Lotus is a primary ingredient for the Youthful Appearance Pill, and its fragrance exerts a dizzying effect, being highly toxic. It lures people close with its scent, poisons them, and then drains their blood to nourish itself.
Looking at the state of this Red Blood Lotus, it wouldn’t be long before it bloomed. Without looking, you could guess that the lakebed was full of the skeletons of demon beasts; otherwise, the Red Blood Lotus couldn’t have grown so well!
"Seventy percent, a good thing indeed. Let’s look for the wooden token quickly," Gu Qingqing, initially wary of the Red Blood Lotus, became as enthusiastic as Mu Chen, her eyes fixed on the Red Blood Lotus.
In her eyes, the Red Blood Lotus was no longer just a Spirit Flower or Herb but a golden opportunity to earn points, which naturally excited her greatly.
"Hold your breath, everyone. The scent of the Red Blood Lotus is poisonous," Mu Chen, seeing Gu Qingqing so excited, found it amusing but didn’t forget to remind the others.
At his words, Yue Zhao and the others immediately became alert, promptly holding their breath as instructed by Mu Chen.
Fortunately, their cultivation was high enough that they would not suffocate even with prolonged breath-holding.
"Let’s retreat for now; once the Red Blood Lotus blooms, we can pick it before finding the wooden token. This thing is one of the main ingredients for the Youthful Appearance Pill, and once refined, it can be given to Geng Geng as candies," Mu Chen suggested, retreating first.
Upon hearing this, Yue Zhao and the others were visibly tempted, especially Jun Wu, who might have leapt toward it had the Red Blood Lotus already bloomed.
Once they retreated a dozen meters, the scent diminished somewhat. Gu Qingqing thought for a moment and took out the model of a pavilion that Senior Brother Si had entrusted to her before they entered, activating it and setting it on the open ground.
"Wow, Senior Brother truly cares for you, Geng Geng, to even give you this thing," exclaimed Nan Hua, astonished as he looked at the pavilion in front of him.
The last time he had seen this pavilion model, he admired it and had tried to ask Si Lin for it after leaving the Rong Family’s Trial Land, but Si Lin hadn’t given it to him. He hadn’t expected it to be given to Gu Qingqing. Of course, he didn’t harbor any jealousy; if it were him, he too would give it to Gu Qingqing.
"Senior Brother was afraid I’d rest poorly inside, so he gave it to me," smiled Gu Qingqing at Nan Hua, recalling Si Lin’s instructions. "If Third Senior Brother likes it, I could lend it to you."
Of course, giving it away was not an option, as it was a gift from Si Lin to her. Even though it was hers after being given, she knew it would displease Si Lin if she gave it to someone else. However, lending it to Nan Hua for a few days wouldn’t be a problem.
"You keep it; I have one," teased Nan Hua, patting Gu Qingqing’s head with a cheeky grin.
Gu Qingqing clasped her head, puffed up her cheeks, and glanced at Nan Hua. After he looked away, she released her hands and turned towards the others.
"Let’s rest here. We can search for more wooden tokens nearby and wait for the Red Blood Lotus to bloom," proposed Gu Qingqing, leading the way to the pavilion.
Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu opted not to rest inside, instead looking for traces of the wooden token nearby, as did Mu Chen and Yue Zhao. Even Jun Wu, sent by Gu Qingqing to search for wooden tokens, joined them, leaving only Nan Hua and Gu Qingqing resting inside the pavilion.
Indeed, there were more wooden tokens nearby. Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu each found a three-point token, while Jun Wu found a five-point one, and Mu Chen and Yue Zhao discovered one worth four points.
Time ticked away, the sun gradually set, and even though they were by the lake where there were fewer trees making it brighter than other places, the surroundings were now quite dark.
In contrast, the scent of the Red Blood Lotus grew more intense. Mu Chen had recently found a Detoxification Pill in the Qiankun Ring, just enough to neutralize the toxicity of the Red Blood Lotus’s scent, which Gu Qingqing and the others had taken. Thus, even with the fragrance being quite strong, it had little effect on them.
However, the same could not be said for the nearby demon beasts.
As the fragrance intensified, numerous demon beasts appeared near the lake.
There were third-rank Red-maned Pigs, fourth-rank Ink Cloud Leopards, fifth-rank White Frost Wolves, sixth-rank Flame Lions, and even a seventh-rank Black-bearded Bear.
The eyes of these demon beasts were not their original color but red, as if they’ve lost their sanity, swimming towards the center of the pond.
The lake water didn’t look deep. As the demon beasts approached the Red Blood Lotus, the redness in their eyes intensified, but their movements slowed down, finally collapsing just a few centimeters away from the Red Blood Lotus, falling onto the emerald green lotus leaves.
The lotus leaves burst into a red light, and immediately, fine red threads, as thin as blood vessels, spread from the leaves, penetrating the demon beasts. The bodies of these beasts shriveled visibly, while the red hue on the Red Blood Lotus became denser, its fragrance stronger, evidently having absorbed nourishment.
In the afternoon, it was still a bud, but now some petals had unfurled, and it looked like it wouldn’t be long before it fully bloomed.
The demon beasts came one after another, poisoned by the fragrance of the Red Blood Lotus, becoming its nourishment. As Gu Qingqing and the others watched by the pool, their expressions were grim.
They were used to grand scenes, but seeing the corpses of these demon beasts wither made their scalps tingle.
"It’s the first time I’ve seen the Red Blood Lotus suck blood, and it’s truly spine-chilling," Mu Chen said, his eyes fixed on the Red Blood Lotus, sighing.
"No wonder the books don’t have much good to say about this plant, and the Demon Path likes it so much. It’s because of this." Yue Zhao said, seemingly enlightened.
He remained composed, his smile unchanged, just waiting for the Red Blood Lotus to fully bloom.
"Suddenly, I feel like I don’t want to take the Youthful Appearance Pill anymore. Senior Brother Si, isn’t there an elixir that could replace the Red Blood Lotus?" Gu Qingqing felt that if she took the Youthful Appearance Pill, she would recall this scene and might throw up, losing her appetite, she asked Mu Chen.
"I haven’t really refined this elixir before, you know we don’t really need it. Once we’re out of here, I’ll research it to see if I can make any improvements." Mu Chen turned his head, gave Gu Qingqing a glance, and after pondering, said.
"No need to force it, I don’t think I’m at the age where I need a Youthful Appearance Pill, so there’s no rush." Gu Qingqing knew that altering the Elixir Recipe was challenging, afraid that Mu Chen might stubbornly work on it for her, she quickly said.
"Hmm, don’t worry, I know what I’m doing." Mu Chen immediately understood Gu Qingqing’s concern and smiled as he reassured her.
While the two were talking, the seventh-level Black-bearded Bear was also absorbed by the Red Blood Lotus, and the red on it grew even denser. Under Gu Qingqing’s watchful eyes, its flower slowly bloomed.
The fully-bloomed Red Blood Lotus was incredibly beautiful, completely fiery red, unlike ordinary lotuses. It had ten petals, each uniquely charming, standing in the water like a maiden.
"Now!" Mu Chen shouted in a low voice and darted towards the Red Blood Lotus.
Gu Qingqing and the others composed themselves, following closely behind Mu Chen, flew towards the Red Blood Lotus.
The Red Blood Lotus not only had a toxic fragrance, but its stem was also poisonous. Mu Chen wore gloves made from Thousand-year-old Ice Silkworm Silk, designed to resist the stem’s toxins, crafted by Si Lin specifically for Mu Chen’s safe harvesting.
Mu Chen flew to the Red Blood Lotus, momentarily dazed at its sight, but quickly regained focus. In that instant, the blood-red threads on the lotus leaves surged towards him. Ignoring them, he rushed directly for the Red Blood Lotus.
Behind Mu Chen, Yue Zhao and the others saw the blood threads. Yue Zhao extended his hand, the Flowing Light Zither appeared in it. With a gentle stroke, invisible Sound Blades flew out, cutting through the blood threads, helping Mu Chen dodge the crisis.
Gu Qingqing and the others also wielded their weapons to sever the threads attacking them. However, the blood threads did not retract but quickly extended again, attacking once more.
Mu Chen focused solely on picking the Red Blood Lotus while Gu Qingqing and the others helped clear the blood threads to prevent them from attacking Mu Chen.
Soon, Mu Chen reached the Red Blood Lotus stem, his expression turned fierce, and he decisively pinched off the flower, placing it in the prepared Jade Box, quickly securing it in his Qiankun Ring.
Once the Red Blood Lotus was picked, the blood threads paused briefly, then swiftly vanished, and the entire pond of lotus leaves withered instantly, revealing a small wooden block between the stem and leaves of the Red Blood Lotus, which Mu Chen swiftly grabbed.
Returning to the poolside, Mu Chen showed the wooden token in his hand to Gu Qingqing and the others. As expected, a "Seven" was inscribed on it.
"The first seven-point wooden token, not bad at all." Gu Qingqing glanced at the token, a smile appearing on her face, nodding in approval.
The others were also satisfied, knowing that the higher-level tokens were fewer; acquiring one meant fewer for others, naturally bringing them joy.
Back at the pavilion, after dinner, Nan Hua set up an Array beside it, only then did they go to rest.
...
On the other side of the forest, Lin Xian’er and Zhao Yan’s team encountered a sixth-level Spirit Flower Purple Ghost Flower.
The Purple Ghost Flower was guarded by a sixth-level demon beast, the Xiangyun Leopard. For Lin Xian’er and her team, the sixth-level beast was no match; they easily killed it, but after retrieving the wooden token, they encountered another team.
These people also saw the fallen Xiangyun Leopard and the yet-to-be-picked Purple Ghost Flower. The leader’s eyes flickered. Lin Xian’er noticed and quickly went over to pluck the Purple Ghost Flower.
"This flower was found by us. You can leave." Zhao Yan approached Lin Xian’er, standing in front of her, watching them cautiously, her voice chilling.
The leader was named Xie Heng, a disciple of the renowned Sword Cloud Sect. Hearing Zhao Yan’s words, his eyes showed slight displeasure, but he recognized Zhao Yan and Lin Xian’er, aware of their identities, and didn’t confront them openly.
"Miss Zhao, it’s a misunderstanding. We came due to the sounds of battle, seeing everything settled, we’ll take our leave." He spoke with a smile, making a respectful gesture to Lin Xian’er and her team, and signaled his junior brothers to depart.
After completely leaving Lin Xian’er’s line of sight, one of the men beside him asked, "Senior Brother, why didn’t we wait a bit longer and seize their token?"
"That team was from the Lingxi Sacred Land, led by Lin Xian’er and Zhao Yan, direct disciples of the Sacred Land. Do you think we would have gotten away easily by robbing their token?" Xie Heng asked coldly, his expression impatient.
Hearing this, the man was slightly startled, clearly not expecting them to be disciples of the Lingxi Sacred Land.