ATPnovel Chapter 119 The Great Battle is About to Begin
Chapter 119 The Great Battle is About to Begin
"Senior Brother Pang, this is... a Thousand Nights Flower! It's one of the kinds Elder Huangfu mentioned!" A disciple of the Yandang Sect exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a strange flower growing in a crack in the rock.
"Huh? It really is! Quickly put it away!" Pang Yuan's eyes lit up as soon as he saw the flower, and his expression instantly brightened. He said quickly.
The disciple, without any hesitation, agreed and immediately put it away.
"This should be the central area of the core region. The variety and quality of the medicinal herbs here are far superior to what we had before. Let's split up and search for and collect them."
However, you guys must be careful not to go any further towards the center. Go around there and collect as much as you can, understand?
Pang Yuan muttered to himself for a while, then his face darkened and he gave the order.
"Yes……"
……
"Miss Chen, that vine up ahead must be the Lion's Head Vine, right? It seems to be one of the things the sect leader mentioned." Du Fan and Chen Ru walked side by side, their eyes falling on a tree trunk. Du Fan's eyes flashed, and he said excitedly.
"This should be it. Elder Du has a good eye." Upon hearing this, Chen Ru glanced around and spotted the so-called "Lion Head Vine".
The tip of this object resembled a lion, and its entire body was grayish-green, the same color as the tree trunk it was attached to. It was not easy to spot unless one looked closely.
Du Fan's eyes burned with desire, and he was about to go over when Chen Ru stopped him.
"Elder Du, wait a moment. This vine is similar to the man-eating flower; it is a creature with somewhat low intelligence. Let me handle it."
After Chen Ru finished speaking in a low voice, she waved her arm, and a sword-shaped magical weapon appeared, which she grasped in her fair hand.
The sword is entirely crimson, shimmering with a red light. There are six rings of patterns in the groove of the hilt, with spiritual light flowing around them and a series of humming sounds. It is clearly a mid-grade magic weapon.
She quietly took two steps forward, and suddenly, her beautiful eyes shone brightly. She gripped the red sword and swung it forward, a red beam shooting out from the tip of the sword, instantly slicing off the lion-head vine.
The lion's head let out a sharp hiss, then twisted and fell silent.
"The most valuable part of the Lion Head Vine is the lion head tip; the other vines are not very useful." Chen Ru put away the magic weapon and, with a wave of her hand, put the lion head part that had fallen to the ground into her storage magic item.
"Oh, I see. Thank you for earlier." Du Fan said this, but he was extremely frustrated. He knew that Chen Ru did it all for his own good, but because of this, the lion's head vine no longer belonged to him.
Next, the two continued walking forward, stopping every few feet to gather some produce. Among their harvest were many items that were no longer found in the outside world, making it a truly bountiful haul.
Of course, after the painful lesson of the Lion Head Vine last time, Du Fan learned from his mistakes and became incredibly nimble. His eyes were also flashing with a burning light. As soon as he saw a spiritual object, he immediately took action, bringing his speed, accuracy and ruthlessness to the extreme.
During the subsequent harvest, he didn't give Chen Ru any chance to lift a finger or even speak before he had already taken them all.
Chen Ru was naturally dumbfounded upon seeing this, but after a moment's thought, she smiled knowingly and didn't say anything. She would only offer a word of advice when necessary, but she had no intention of picking the fruit herself.
"Elder Du, this should be the very center of Hundred Flowers Valley," Chen Ru said thoughtfully as the two crossed a stream.
"Yes, that should be the case. If we continue walking, the probability of encountering good things will decrease. We might as well wander around here; we might find some unexpected surprises."
Du Fan sighed, thinking that the harvest from the Hundred Flowers Valley trip was about enough. Even if he encountered some spiritual herbs next, they probably wouldn't be the extremely rare kind.
"Elder Du, we still need to hand over a portion of each of those spiritual plants that the sect leader specified..."
Just as the two were pondering, Chen Ru's expression suddenly became somewhat unnatural, and she spoke indistinctly.
Upon hearing this, Du Fan blushed. How could he not understand Chen Ru's implied meaning? However, he was relieved. Since Chen Ru had said so, she probably wouldn't expose him later.
"Ahem... Miss Chen is right, I am aware of the situation." Du Fan coughed awkwardly and could only say this.
Just as Chen Ru was about to say something, her expression suddenly changed drastically. Her beautiful eyes instantly fell on a certain spot, their light flashing within them, and a look of surprise and uncertainty appeared on her face.
"Miss Chen, what's wrong?" Du Fan noticed Chen Ru's unusual behavior. He could say he knew this woman very well now; she wouldn't be so nervous for no reason. She must have discovered something.
However, when he scanned the area with his divine sense, he found nothing unusual. After a while, a hint of doubt appeared on his face.
"Elder Du, keep your voice down, someone's coming." Chen Ru spoke suddenly, her expression extremely solemn.
"Could it be Zi Xun and the others?" Du Fan was taken aback upon hearing this and said in a low voice.
"No, they are from the Wentian Sect. One of them is Ji Tianhe. His cultivation is not weak, so his actual combat strength is probably not much worse than mine. The most important thing is that there are as many as seven of them."
Chen Ru gazed into the distance, a seven-colored light swirling in her pupils, shook her head, and said softly.
"How do you know so much?" Du Fan asked in surprise.
"The cultivation method I practice is a bit special. It includes a special eye-training ability that allows me to see through obstacles and observe the scenery ten miles away."
Chen Ru blinked several times, and the strange light in her pupils disappeared. After her eyes returned to normal, she turned to Du Fan with a faint smile and said this.
"I see. Then let's send a signal to the other disciples." Du Fan suddenly realized, and said after a moment's thought.
"I don't recommend doing that. These people from the Wentian Sect are clearly coming straight for us based on the traces we accidentally left behind."
However, we are not in immediate danger. If we send out a signal, not only will the enemy be able to immediately confirm our location, but it will also delay the other disciples' gathering efforts. Most importantly, if that happens, a fierce battle will be inevitable.
Chen Ru took a deep breath, pondered for a moment, and then said this.
"Yes, that's right. Miss Chen's consideration is very thoughtful. In that case, we will deliberately create some traces to lead these people away while collecting the spiritual herbs, which will also buy some time for the other disciples to gather the herbs."
With less than a day and a half remaining until the seven-day deadline, and given your extraordinary abilities, we can anticipate the enemy's moves, so there shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Du Fan's eyes flashed, and he nodded.
"Alright, let's go around to the rendezvous point first, leave a signal for our junior brothers, and then we'll take the Wentian Sect people around for a bit."
Chen Ru smoothed a strand of hair from her forehead, her beautiful eyes sparkling, and she smiled as she spoke.
……
One day later, amidst a sea of purple flowers.
Chen Ru stared ahead with a cold expression and a gloomy gaze, while Du Fan sighed inwardly. Neither of them uttered a word.
Opposite them stood seven disciples of the Wentian Sect, led by Ji Tianhe. Their expressions were not good either, and their eyes revealed an intense resentment and anger, like flames burning, as they looked at the two disciples from the Qixia Sect.
Come to think of it, after they entered Hundred Flowers Valley, they were repeatedly outmaneuvered, suffering heavy losses, and so far, they haven't even managed to collect a single spiritual herb.
With only half a day left until the end of the Hundred Flowers Valley event, the Wentian Sect members, filled with shock and anger, were naturally seething with rage, with nowhere to vent their frustration.
Ji Tianhe, in particular, was a core disciple of the number one sect in the Nine Provinces. He had been full of superiority since childhood and was a leader among his peers. He originally wanted to make a name for himself in Hundred Flowers Valley, achieve great results, and receive generous rewards upon returning to his sect, laying the foundation for his future Foundation Establishment.
But all of this was becoming increasingly uncertain, and he might even face severe punishment from the sect upon returning. Every time he thought about this, he felt an intense hatred for the people of Qixia Sect, especially for Du Fan, who had humiliated him in front of all the disciples.
With the two sides now locked in a standoff, it's truly a case of enemies meeting with intense hatred.
"I almost fell for your trick. Where are the rest of your Qixia Sect members?" Ji Tianhe glared at Du Fan with resentment, his face turning ashen. He snorted heavily, then turned to Chen Ru and spoke coldly.
"I don't think I need to explain to you. Instead, I'd like to ask you a question: why are you people from the Wentian Sect following us instead of gathering spiritual herbs?" Chen Ru raised an eyebrow and spoke in a deep voice.
"Hmph! You know perfectly well what I mean. Thanks to your Qixia Sect, all of our disciples from the Wentian Sect, except for our group, are missing and their fates unknown. As for gathering spiritual herbs? I believe that if we capture you two alive, the spiritual herbs will naturally follow!"
Ji Tianhe snorted coldly, his sinister gaze sweeping over Du Fan and the other man, a cruel smile appearing on his face.
"Capture the two of us alive? What arrogance!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Ru's face turned cold, her beautiful eyes filled with icy despair. With a tremor of her jade hand, she tightly grasped a crimson magic weapon, and at the same time, a surge of spiritual pressure emanated from her body, instantly enveloping the disciples of the Wentian Sect opposite her.
Upon sensing the immense spiritual pressure emanating from Chen Ru, the disciples of the Wentian Sect all paled in shock, instinctively taking a half-step back as if facing a formidable enemy.
As soon as Ji Tianhe sensed the other party's aura, his heart tightened, his expression instantly became solemn, and his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were somewhat surprised and uncertain, staring intently at Chen Ru.
Although everyone present except Du Fan was at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining stage, and the Wentian Sect had a clear advantage in numbers, Ji Tianhe no longer dared to underestimate them in the slightest.