Guardian Spirit Beast

Over the next four days, Xie Cheng led the team deeper south by more than two hundred li.

The deeper they traveled, the more frequently signs of spirit beasts appeared, causing Xie Cheng to become even more cautious. However, in a mountain range teeming with spirit beasts, completely avoiding them was impossible.

Along the way, they encountered several waves of spirit beast attacks. Fortunately, they had strength in numbers, and with everyone working together to fight back, they handled every encounter without major incident. A few individuals suffered minor injuries, but they healed quickly after taking Rejuvenation Pills.

Shi Yu quietly sensed the fire spiritual energy in the air, noting that the strange sensation of restlessness was becoming increasingly pronounced.

“I'm getting closer to the volcano.”

She calculated that at this pace, she should find a way to leave the team in two days and head toward the volcano on her own.

By now, all traces of the market behind them had vanished. Around them lay a vast, desolate wilderness with no sign of human habitation, filled only with lush green foliage as far as the eye could see. Layer upon layer of mountain peaks stretched into an endless sea of trees, and from deep within the mountain range, the roars of spirit beasts echoed one after another.

After dealing with two more attacking spirit beasts in quick succession, the group's good luck finally ran out. Four or five cultivators in the team suffered fairly serious injuries.

Since Shi Yu intended to find an opportunity to leave the team later, she had no desire to draw attention to herself. Thus, unless a situation was dire, she mostly slacked off and rarely took action.

Still, since she was benefiting from the convenience of traveling with the group, slacking off did not mean abandoning her responsibilities—she kept a close eye on the safety of her employer, Xie Zhixun.

As the group passed through a dense forest, Xie Cheng was leading the three Wu brothers—the highest-cultivation members of the group—to clear a path up ahead. Suddenly, a sharp screech rang out overhead. Looking up, they saw a massive avian spirit beast spread its wings and swoop down at them.

The beast's feathers gleamed with a metallic sheen, and its beak was as sharp as a steel blade.

“It's coming this way.” Shi Yu was startled. She quickly grabbed Xie Zhixun beside her and leaped to the side to avoid the attack. Relentless, the spirit beast locked onto them as if targeted, opening its beak to snap at them.

Noticing the spirit beast's blood-red eyes and erratic demeanor, resembling an animal in heat, Shi Yu twitched her lips and turned her gaze to Xie Zhixun.

He was clutching a freshly uprooted spirit plant tightly in his arms. Shi Yu resisted the urge to facepalm. That was a Passion-Enticing Flower, whose pollen exerted an irresistible attraction on spirit beasts.

And Xie Zhixun, reckless and utterly oblivious to the situation, was covered in its pollen.

Seeing no way to dodge again, Shi Yu had no choice but to execute 《Lesser Swallow Steps》, carrying Xie Zhixun behind the spirit beast in the nick of time.

A curved dagger slid into her palm, surging with spiritual energy as its edge reflected a razor-sharp gleam. Before the spirit beast could react, she spun around and cleanly slit its throat with a single slash.

Blood spouted forth, staining the surrounding foliage red. The spirit beast let out an agonized cry before collapsing onto the ground with a heavy thud, moving no more.

Xie Cheng rushed over in a hurry, not expecting that a crisis would occur in the short moment he had left Xie Zhixun's side. If Shi Yu had not reacted so quickly just now, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

“Thank you, little fellow Daoist, for protecting him,” Xie Cheng said, cupping his hands in gratitude with an embarrassed expression on his face.

Meanwhile, the decisiveness and reaction speed Shi Yu had just demonstrated made the surrounding rogue cultivators view her in a whole new light.

“To strike so quickly, fiercely, and precisely at such a young age, without a hint of hesitation—tsks.”

“Remarkable!”

“How strange. It's the same 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 and 《Basic Saber Art》, yet when this little fellow Daoist executes them, they look extraordinarily smooth and natural.”

Among cultivators, strength was always revered. Though Shi Yu had only acted for a few brief moments, it was enough to make everyone take notice.

She merely offered a casual smile at the surrounding praise, displaying neither pretension nor arrogance, and simply instructed Xie Zhixun to brush off the pollen of the Passion-Enticing Flower.

The curved blade was sharp and unstained by blood. After warning Xie Zhixun, Shi Yu lowered her arm, her sleeve naturally falling back to conceal the blade as she slipped it back into the Hidden Hatred Flute hidden in her sleeve.

Xie Cheng was already feeling regret over his rash and inexperienced leadership. Listening to Shi Yu, he brushed the pollen off Xie Zhixun and was about to suggest, “Young Master, how about we just—”

Before he could finish, Xie Zhixun's eyes lit up as he spotted another new spirit plant ahead, stumbling over toward it.

The deeper they went, the stronger the spirit beasts became. Xie Cheng hurriedly caught up, sticking closely by Xie Zhixun's side this time without leaving him for a moment, completely handing off the task of clearing the path to the three Wu brothers, who possessed the highest cultivation.

The three brothers looked displeased, but their expressions softened slightly after hearing Xie Cheng promise to pay them extra spirit stones.

Fearing that going further would bring more trouble, Xie Cheng coaxed gently, “Young Master, how about we stop right here?”

Xie Zhixun was currently engrossed in the new spirit plant, completely focused on writing and sketching, paying no mind to Xie Cheng's words.

Just as Xie Cheng was about to persuade him again, he saw his young master's nose twitch. Xie Zhixun's eyes brightened, and putting away his paper and brush, he ran off quickly toward the side.

Xie Cheng hurriedly called everyone to follow. The group chased after Xie Zhixun around two bends, and the view before them suddenly opened up.

A swamp appeared before their eyes.

Shi Yu raised an eyebrow, casting a surprised glance at Xie Zhixun. Though he possessed no cultivation, his intuition and senses were remarkably keen, far exceeding those of ordinary people.

Filled with murky sludge, rotting mud, and a foul aura, the swamp constantly bubbled with sickening squelching noises, giving one the feeling that poisonous insects and venomous snakes could burst out from within at any moment.

This was no illusion; writhing squirming masses were indeed visible beneath the soft earth, sending a chilling shiver down everyone's spines.

Various decaying plants grew upon the soft, muddy ground, interspersed with a few sparse, dead trees. Their trunks were pitch-black and emitted a faint metallic luster, clearly laden with toxin.

Everyone's eyes involuntarily turned toward a withered tree in the center of the swamp. Underneath it sat a large, porous rock, atop which grew a spirit herb roughly a foot and a half tall.

The spirit herb's stem was jointed like bamboo, and its branching twigs held a cluster of fingernail-sized fruits. A quick glance revealed roughly ten or so fruits, their color transitioning from pale red to deep crimson, clearly on the verge of ripening.

Even Xie Cheng, who knew nothing of spiritual plants, felt his eyes light up at the sight. “Dragon Bamboo Grass!”

Dragon Bamboo Grass was a Tier-2 spirit herb that grew exclusively in toxic swamps. Its fruit, the Dragon Bamboo Fruit, was extraordinarily beneficial to Qi Refining Realm cultivators; rich in spiritual energy, consuming a single raw fruit was equivalent to a month of hard cultivation.

If one could consume and refine all ten-plus fruits, it would grant over a year's worth of additional cultivation compared to others.

In the path of cultivation, taking one step ahead meant staying ahead at every step. The eyes of the twenty-odd cultivators present burned with desire, and the atmosphere instantly turned subtle and tense.

Shi Yu's fingers twitched slightly; she too felt a surge of temptation.

She mused internally, There are many people here with higher cultivation than mine. Even if we get the Dragon Bamboo Fruits, I doubt there will be any left for me to share, but...

Once this batch of Dragon Bamboo Fruits ripened, who knew how many years or decades it would take for the Dragon Bamboo Grass to yield fruit again? Naturally, no one else would bother paying attention to the plant itself.

However, Shi Yu possessed the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell. If she could transplant it into the medicinal field inside the Fate-Tapping Bell and nourish it with the life force of the Life Spring water, the time required for it to bear fruit again would likely be drastically reduced.

Her thoughts racing, Shi Yu cast her gaze toward the bubbling swamp.

A spirit herb of this level was bound to have a formidable guardian spirit beast lurking nearby.