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墨書 Inktalez
Central South Wilderness.
In the deep of night, a full moon hung in the sky, casting silver light over the mountains. The forest canopy was bright, but the woods below were dark as pitch. Many flickering green eyes, resembling fireflies, opened and closed in the darkness.
A gentle rumbling sound rolled softly in the throat. The night was tranquil, and the sound was sweet and soothing, causing many small creatures to slow their movements and perk up their ears to listen.
Suddenly, the rumbling turned sharp, culminating in a piercing scream. "Goo... ah," it abruptly stopped.
Silence enveloped the forest.
The great banyan tree hung down with nearly a hundred aerial roots, appearing like pale hanged men swaying slightly in the wind.
Under the banyan tree, a small fire crackled. Li Hong, Chuxiong, and Chu Xi sat cross-legged beside the fire, eyes closed, hands forming seals resting on their knees as they each practiced their respective cultivation methods.
The Southern Wilderness was known for its abundant Li Fire Aura, a common knowledge in the Cultivation World. Since entering this vast expanse of the Southern Wilderness, Chuxiong and Chu Xi had spent most of their time cultivating. What surprised Li Hong was that he discovered the Five Elements Spiritual Energy here was denser than any place he had visited in Middle-Earth, almost indistinguishable from that in the Nine Li Cave Heaven. This discovery filled Li Hong with joy, and he found himself diligently cultivating just like Chuxiong and Chu Xi for most of his time.
The rest of his time was spent searching for herbs.
It turned out that since Six Thousand Years Ago, the leaders of the Nine Major Sects of the Immortal Sect had privately reached some sort of understanding. The position of Sect Master could only be filled from within the Nine Major Sects, and it was absolutely forbidden for the leader of Heavenly Grain to simultaneously hold the title of Sect Master. Subsequently, each Sect Master inherited a top-secret mission: to develop various essential elixirs for the Immortal Sect that did not rely on using Celestial Herb as the main ingredient. The constant dependence on Elixir by Heavenly Grain had put everyone in the Immortal Sect in an uncomfortable and dissatisfied position.
Changing the formula for elixirs was a daunting task that required secrecy from Heavenly Grain, yet could not be done without their profound research insights into medicinal properties and elixirs.
Spies undoubtedly played a significant role in this matter; whether through coercion or bribery remained unknown, but it was certain that each Sect Master had placed their own people within Heavenly Grain.
Year after year, a new elixir formula was finally developed successfully. The then Sect Master immediately dispatched trusted aides to search for the primary sources of ingredients for changing the main medicine in the formula, which ultimately pointed to the Southern Wilderness.
Under deliberate protection, these primary ingredient sources were concealed with hidden restrictions to prevent destruction by wild beasts. After so many years, these herbs might have proliferated abundantly or encountered some issues. This time, Li Hong aimed to locate those primary ingredient sources that had been protected by restrictions years ago.
There was a small issue. A trusted confidant of the sect leader was targeted by the Demon Sect while laying down Restrictions on their way back to the Central Plains. After sending back a vague letter written in cryptic language that resembled celestial scripture, they vanished without a trace. After so many years, part of this letter has been deciphered, but it lacks detail. Therefore, this time, Li Hong and the others were not only gathering herbs but also searching for medicine.
At dawn, the three of them opened their eyes and concluded their meditation simultaneously.
Before them was a thick white mist, rich in moisture; taking a breath felt like inhaling water. Li Hong shook his long robe. Flames erupted from the Fire Rat Robe, causing the tiny droplets of water covering him to vanish.
Chuxiong and Chu Xi also activated the Li Fire Scripture, causing their body temperatures to rise sharply. White steam billowed from their heads, and in an instant, their clothes were dry.
Chu Xi smiled and said, "Let's search to the south today."
"Okay," Li Hong replied loudly.
"As long as it's what Chu Xi says, you agree. Big brother, I look down on you," Chuxiong teased.
Chu Xi's face turned slightly red; she turned and walked away. The Silver Moon Robe shimmered brightly, and she disappeared into the thick mist. Her voice echoed from afar: "I'm going to find some refreshing fruits."
The Southern Wilderness produces various unnamed fruits that are fragrant and sweet. Every morning during their travels, they would munch on a few to satisfy their cravings, aptly named "refreshing." The only trouble was that the jungle here was too dense; finding fruit trees truly required Sun Wukong's fiery eyes.
Li Hong was still uneasy and said to Chuxiong with irritation, "The Southern Wilderness is dangerous; we should go together."
Extinguishing the half-red and half-white embers, the two chased after Chu Xi's aura and soared into the sky.
The vast green stretched endlessly; wherever they looked was a sea of undulating forests in varying shades of green. As the sun rose higher, the milky white mist enveloping the Southern Wilderness gradually evaporated, and visibility began to clear.
Chu Xi's figure had become a small white dot floating above the green forest sea. Li Hong transformed into a streak of golden light and appeared next to Chu Xi in an instant.
However, Chu Xi pointed downwards about ten miles away and said, "There are fruits over there; let's go take a look."
Li Hong focused his gaze and indeed spotted a faint red dot among the sea of green, which must be a fruit tree.
He called Chuxiong, and the three of them hurried over.
As they got closer and examined it carefully, they were astonished.
What they thought was a fruit tree turned out to be countless fire-red ants, each the size of a fingernail, clustering on the trunk and branches of the large tree. From above, they looked just like red dots resembling fruits, truly deceptive.
Chuxiong's eyes lit up. "Watch this!"
He swung his fist and struck the thick trunk of the tree, which was as wide as two people could embrace. A commotion ensued as the red ants rained down like a storm. They scattered everywhere, large in size and numerous, sending shivers down their spines.
Chu Xi felt goosebumps rise on her skin and shouted, "Chuxiong, watch out for the ants!"
Before she finished speaking, Chuxiong was already rising with the Purple Gold Bell hovering above him, not a single ant landing on his head. As he put away the Mysterious Bell, Chuxiong grinned at Chu Xi and Li Hong.
Li Hong slapped Chuxiong on the head. "You little rascal!"
"Hehe, they tricked us; it's good to make them move," Chuxiong chuckled.
Suddenly, Chu Xi exclaimed in surprise, pointing at the big tree. "Look over there!"
With just one glance, Li Hong couldn't help but rush over, crouching close to the tree. The more he looked, the stranger it seemed. "It's a fake tree! There's actually a fake tree here!"
The strangest thing in the jungle was seeing a fake tree. There were countless trees here; nothing was less valuable than trees. Creating a fake tree must be a hundred million times more troublesome than letting a real one grow.
This Fake Tree was crafted so realistically that its trunk was entwined with various real vines commonly found in the jungle. The lush branches towered into the clouds, standing about five feet taller than the surrounding trees. The material used was indescribable but incredibly lifelike.
As he was feeling puzzled, suddenly a thought struck him. Li Hong looked up from under the tree, and a gust of foul wind brushed against his face. He saw a large, white, fleshy object plummeting down from the tree towards him. Startled, Li Hong quickly stepped back ten feet.
With a loud crash, the decayed leaves and soil were smashed into a deep pit, and the white object landed directly at the bottom of the crater it had created. From this angle, he could see that the thing was moving; its surface resembled a woman's skin—white, soft, and smooth—but he couldn't tell what it actually was.
Li Hong steeled himself and said, "I'll go take a look." He cautiously approached the deep pit, taking careful steps.
The enormous white object in the pit sensed someone approaching and began to writhe violently. Suddenly, it raised its head. Li Hong couldn't help but scream, "Monster!"
This creature resembled a woman; its entire body was plump, white, and smooth, yet it lacked distinct limbs or a head. From top to bottom, it was just one long segment that looked like a pillar of white flesh. The two small crimson dots on its protruding chest indicated that it was female. Its neck was slightly narrower, leading to a round head that also had a nose, eyes, and mouth. However, having a bald, shiny "head" with facial features was more frightening than not having them at all.
With large eyes, long eyebrows, and a small red mouth, it actually looked somewhat decent. Yet on top of its white fleshy pillar-like body, it made various strange expressions that became increasingly unsettling the longer he looked.
Li Hong felt goosebumps all over his body uncontrollably and thought to himself: What is this? Could it be a snake demon? As Iridescence flashed in his hand and he prepared to strike down at this white cylindrical monster with his sword, Chu Xi stopped him: "Wait."
She looked up towards the high branches of the Fake Tree and said, "I'll go take a look." She gracefully ascended into the air and disappeared among the dense foliage.
The ground was crawling with red ants, and in the center lay the strange white cylindrical humanoid creature that seemed to be smiling at him. Li Hong felt an intense shiver run through him; disgust made him roll his eyes. He hurriedly said, "I'll go take a look; Second Brother, keep an eye on this monster," and quickly flew upwards.
The jungle of Southern Wilderness could be divided into three distinct layers: low, middle, and high. The lower layer consisted of various weeds and shrubs. The tall trees that formed the forest had extremely high trunks that only branched out at great heights to grow leaves; this branching point marked the middle layer. Climbing vines began to reach sunlight here and desperately climbed upwards with lush foliage. Thus, from this point onward, it became difficult to ascend directly as one had to forcefully push through tangled branches and leaves before finally breaking through to see brilliant sunlight—the treetops fully revealed themselves here in what constituted the third layer.
Although it was a Fake Tree, everything was crafted very realistically. Moreover, the vines in the second layer were genuine plants. Li Hong could have easily set fire to these troublesome branches but refrained from doing so. Instead, he pushed aside the dense leaves and quickly climbed higher.
He soon spotted Chu Xi.
Chu Xi stood on a massive branch resembling a platform at the base of the treetop forks, looking down at something in front of her feet.
Li Hong gently soared behind her and followed her gaze downwards. Upon seeing what lay before her feet, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
There was a small depression, gathering a pool of shimmering liquid. The liquid was quite strange, being a crystal-clear fiery red, resembling a small cluster of blazing flames, radiating a strong Li Fire Aura.
"Jade Liquid!" Chu Xi and Li Hong exclaimed simultaneously.
This was not just any Jade Liquid; it was Fire Essence generated by the Li Fire Aura under certain fortuitous circumstances. Each drop contained a large amount of Fire Spirit Energy, which was extremely beneficial for those cultivating the Li Fire Scripture.
Li Hong quickly took out a small jade bottle. "I'll collect it."
With a flick of his hands, droplets of Jade Liquid were evenly enveloped by his Awareness and floated up, obediently pouring into the small jade bottle.
Counting up to fifteen drops, there was no more Jade Liquid left in the depression.
Li Hong handed the small jade bottle to Chu Xi. "Take care of this; it's very beneficial for you. If I'm not mistaken, this place produces fifteen drops of Jade Liquid every day. If we stay here tonight, we can at least guard it for ten or eight days and gather more Fire Essence."
"I understand what that monster is about now," Chu Xi said thoughtfully, her brows slightly furrowed.
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