After the continuous mountains and rivers, there was another great canyon.
Crossing the canyon, one would find an endless plain.
Yet even so, the majestic mountain peak at the horizon, resembling a pillar of heaven, remained far beyond reach.
At this moment, several figures descended from the sky, landing on the cliff edge above the great canyon. Their gazes fixed solemnly on the scene within the canyon.
In the canyon, more than ten figures stood motionless in place, like sculptures.
Further ahead of these figures, in a crack in the rock, grew a massive lingzhi mushroom.
The lingzhi was blood-red throughout, fully half a zhang in size, and it radiated a shimmering glow. At the same time, a faint fragrance drifted far away, so much so that even the few cultivators above the canyon could smell it.
“What a rich medicinal fragrance!”
“That lingzhi must be a spiritual herb of extremely high grade!”
A female cultivator’s eyes flashed with greed, and she could not help but speak first.
“Our sect elders long ago said that this Dragon Ruins not only holds strange treasures, but also many rare and precious spiritual herbs. These herbs can even extend lifespan!
Now it seems this is indeed the case. Our opportunity has arrived!”
Beside her, a thin and weak cultivator grinned, looking at the blood lingzhi in the valley with equally fervent eyes.
“It’s a pity none of us understand pharmacology, otherwise we could determine exactly what grade of spiritual herb that blood lingzhi is.”
An elderly cultivator sighed lightly, a glint flashing in his turbid eyes. He spoke slowly, “But since its medicinal fragrance can drift this far, its grade is certainly not low. At the very least, it is a high-grade profound-level spiritual herb, perhaps even an earth-grade spiritual herb!”
Earth-grade spiritual herb?
Upon hearing this, all the cultivators’ eyes lit up!
An earth-grade spiritual herb would be greatly useful even to Core Formation cultivators, and to Nascent Soul cultivators!
“But this spiritual herb probably won’t be easy to obtain. Look at those cultivators in the valley, standing completely still. They must have already turned into corpses!
The danger within is obvious!”
Some cultivators frowned slightly, sensing great peril lurking there.
“Elder Zhang, you have the highest cultivation among us, and you are also the eldest, with vast knowledge and experience. Why don’t you make a decision?”
The red-robed female cultivator spoke faintly, looking towards the grey-clothed elder in the crowd.
“That’s right, Elder Zhang. We all trust you. If you say we go for it, we’ll go for it!”
The other cultivators also turned to look at the grey-clothed elder, their eyes full of expectation.
“I am honoured by your trust, fellow daoists!”
Elder Zhang cupped his hands towards the cultivators upon hearing this. Then he stroked his beard, smiled, and said, “Since everyone thinks highly of this old man, I will reluctantly offer my analysis.”
With that, Elder Zhang paused slightly, organising his thoughts, before speaking gravely, “Although we are a temporary team, every one of you is an outstanding member of your respective sects and schools. Your abilities are all impressive, and together we can be said to cover both offence and defence!
If we truly encounter fortune, even with some risk, it is worth a try.
We entered this Dragon Ruins precisely for such fortunes. If we see treasure but do not take it, it will likely become a lifelong regret.
I see that blood lingzhi is not small. If we can obtain it, we can all share some of the benefits.”
“Moreover, there are so many fellow daoists’ corpses in the canyon that have not yet been buried. Since this old man has encountered them, I would like to do my small part. So what do you all think?”
Elder Zhang chuckled as he spoke, revealing two rows of large yellow teeth, which looked rather eerie.
“Elder Zhang really knows how to analyse!”
The cultivators all subconsciously laughed upon hearing this.
With so many cultivator corpses below, there were bound to be storage bags on them.
That was also a considerable amount of resources!
“There is definitely danger in this canyon, so this old man suggests we first use spirit pets to test the waters. If we can obtain that blood lingzhi just with spirit pets, that would naturally be best.”
Soon Elder Zhang made the arrangements.
As the senior member of the team, he had some understanding of each member’s abilities.
“Leave this to me!”
The red-robed female cultivator smiled faintly, then took out a transverse flute from the storage bag at her waist and began to play it at her lips.
As the flute sounded, a rustling noise soon reached the ears of the cultivators. Then a several-zhang-long red-banded venomous python emerged from the ground, flicking its tongue, and crawled down along the cliff wall towards the canyon.
Wherever the red-banded venomous python passed, plants and trees quickly rotted, as if severely corroded.
This scene caused the pupils of the cultivators to contract slightly, and they all grew wary in their hearts.
Only the grey-robed Elder Zhang continued watching with a smiling face.
The red-banded venomous python moved quickly. In no time, it reached the valley, weaving through the crowd, and soon approached near the blood lingzhi.
But at that moment, the red-banded venomous python suddenly stopped, as if frozen in place.
At the same time, the transverse flute in the red-robed female cultivator’s hand suddenly snapped.
“What happened?”
Elder Zhang’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the female cultivator.
Seeing all the cultivators looking at her, the female cultivator smiled and said, “I probably understand the reason.”
“Oh?”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s hearts stirred.
This time, without waiting for Elder Zhang to speak, the female cultivator explained, “There should be some kind of illusion array in that valley. Regardless of human or beast, once trapped in the array, they fall into an illusion.
That’s exactly what happened to my little darling!”
An illusion array?
The cultivators’ eyes flickered upon hearing this. Some even frowned and asked, “Does that mean there are other cultivators in the valley? Is this a trap set by that cultivator?”
“No!”
“My little darling is extremely sensitive to the aura of living beings, but it did not sense any living aura along the way. So I suspect the one who set up this illusion array is not another cultivator, but precisely that blood lingzhi!” the red-robed female cultivator said with a cold laugh.
“How is that possible?”
“It’s just a spiritual herb. How could it set up an array? Has it turned into a demon or something?”
The cultivators all frowned, finding the red-robed female cultivator’s claim untenable.
The red-robed female cultivator did not explain further, but looked at Elder Zhang. After pondering for a moment, he slowly said, “It is not entirely impossible!”
His words immediately drew the attention of the cultivators.
“It’s not that the illusion array was set up by the blood lingzhi itself, but the world is vast and full of wonders. Many dangerous places and domains form naturally, and some spiritual plants just happen to grow in such locations.
Such cases are rare, but this old man has seen one or two in the past.
Rare treasures of the world are favoured by the great dao of heaven and earth, which is why so many spiritual herbs have guardian spirit beasts. Those without guardian beasts mostly grow in perilous environments, which is more conducive to their growth.
This place is exactly such a case!”
The cultivators all frowned upon hearing this, their thoughts varied, clearly not fully believing Elder Zhang’s words.
Seeing this, the red-robed female cultivator smiled and said, “Everyone, I happen to have a method to break this illusion. So why not let this little lady go and pick the spiritual herb?”
The cultivators’ expressions all shifted slightly upon hearing this, and then they all looked at Elder Zhang.
Elder Zhang frowned slightly, but soon relaxed and smiled, “If you truly have such ability, it would be best for you to go!”
“Good, then everyone watch closely. This little lady will now go and pick the spiritual herb!”
The red-robed female cultivator laughed lightly. Then spiritual power surged, and a ribbon from her waist flew out, carrying her directly into the canyon.
The cultivators all watched her intently. When they saw her fly to the crowd without any effect, they immediately frowned slightly.
At that moment, the red-robed female cultivator casually sacrificed an item, which exploded in mid-air.
In an instant, endless grey mist emerged, quickly shrouding most of the space in the canyon!
“Not good, this bitch wants to keep it all for herself!”
“We’ve all been tricked by her. There is no danger in this canyon at all!!”
The cultivators were all shocked and horrified. Then, no longer caring about anything else, they all flew towards the canyon.
Only Elder Zhang stood calmly in place, his gaze towards the group of cultivators filled with killing intent!
He had long seen through the red-robed female cultivator’s motives, but he had not exposed her because he wanted to be the oriole behind.
He wanted the blood lingzhi, and he also wanted the lives of the cultivators and the treasures on them!
However, as Elder Zhang quietly waited for the outcome, he found that after those fellows entered the grey mist, they all fell into deathly silence.
This eerie scene caused Elder Zhang to frown slightly. Then he released his vast divine sense to probe into the grey mist.
“Are you looking for me?”
Soon, a cold voice reached Elder Zhang’s ears, making his scalp tingle.
The next moment, he wanted to turn and flee, but a black banner flew out from the grey mist, directly wrapping around him, then returning to the grey mist!
Everything returned to silence once more.
