"Watch out!" Ling Yunhe's warning sounded in her ear. Mo Tiange instantly flashed away from her original position. Looking down, she saw the spot where she had been standing completely covered by a surge of black qi. Then, the black qi slowly dissipated, vanishing without a trace.
This was their tenth day inside the Carefree Valley. They had already searched most of the Inner Valley. Half a day ago, Ling Yunhe had finally sensed the location of the Carefree Fruit, and the group was now heading toward the destination.
The place they were currently in was a bizarre Black Qi Swamp—dark, oppressive, and filled with countless floating black liquids and gases. Even these Core Formation cultivators couldn't figure out what exactly this stuff was; they only knew it was poisonous. Originally, they had thought the swamp was too dangerous and wanted to find another route, but the place Ling Yunhe ultimately sensed was deep within this very swamp. With no other choice, they had to grit their teeth and enter.
The swamp was extremely strange. Here, they couldn't fly; all flying magical treasures were useless, and even levitation was impossible. To make matters worse, the swamp was home to a kind of monster, about the size of an otter, covered in black scales of incredible hardness. It moved freely through the swamp, and if an attack missed, it would immediately transform into black qi and escape, giving them a major headache.
In terms of raw power, these outstanding Core Formation cultivators wouldn't normally fear such monsters. But these creatures were too cunning. In the swamp, they were hampered and could only remain constantly vigilant and cautious.
Yang Chengji frowned, deeply frustrated. "I really want to dig three feet down here and tear these damn things to pieces!"
Hearing this, Mo Tiange gave a bitter smile. Wasn't that exactly what everyone else was thinking? These people weren't afraid of combat or direct confrontation, but they absolutely detested this situation where they couldn't land a hit, couldn't kill the enemy, and were constantly harassed.
In such circumstances, their attention was frequently divided. Over time, this could make them less alert. Just yesterday, Ling Yunfei had almost fallen victim. Fortunately, Ling Yunhe had been keeping his spirit beast, the vulture, out on patrol, which had saved Ling Yunfei's life in time. But even that spirit beast had been injured and had to be recalled into the Spirit Beast Bag to rest.
Then there was Tian Can. In a moment of carelessness, he had punched at one of the monsters, only to get entangled by black qi, nearly ruining his hand. The black water in this swamp had an unknown composition with extremely strong corrosive properties. If it splashed on you and wasn't dealt with promptly, it would corrode the flesh. This was another reason they were so hampered and had to be extremely careful even when using their magical treasures.
Guided by Ling Yunhe's sensing of the Carefree Fruit's location, they moved through the swamp with heads bowed and extreme caution, their progress agonizingly slow.
The most leisurely among them was Tian Zhiqian. Among the group, his combat strength wasn't remarkable, but he was a formation master. In this spiritually chaotic Carefree Valley, his role was irreplaceable. Therefore, everyone prioritized his safety. At the moment, he only needed to stabilize the surrounding spiritual fluctuations.
Several hours passed like this. Even Tian Can grew impatient. "How much longer do we have to walk?"
Ling Yunhe stopped, sensing briefly before replying, "The spiritual treasure's aura isn't too far from here. At our current speed, barring any surprises, we should reach it in half a day."
"Fine," Tian Can endured, rewrapping his injured area, and followed.
"Fellow Daoist Tian Can," Tian Zhiqian glanced at his hand and asked, "How is your injury?"
"A bit troublesome," Tian Can said with a frown. "I really don't know what the hell this stuff is."
"Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Tian Can," Ling Yunhe turned his head. "After we return, I, Ling, will find a way to treat your injury."
Tian Can snorted through his nose. "No need. If I can get back, I have my own methods."
Faced with his discourteous attitude, Ling Yunhe just smiled and said nothing, turning his attention to dodging another monster that had appeared at his feet.
At that moment, Mo Tiange looked up at the boundless Black Qi Swamp and suddenly had an ominous premonition.
Corrosive black qi, elusive monsters, and the Carefree Fruit... Why did this combination feel so sinister? Wasn't the Carefree Fruit supposed to be a spiritual object? Why would it hide in such a dark, gloomy place like the Black Qi Swamp? Wasn't it afraid of being corroded?
Feeling uneasy, she carefully scanned her companions on this expedition. Ling Yunhe was leading the way seriously. Tian Zhiqian kept glancing at the jade plate in his hand, muttering under his breath. Tian Can and Yang Chengji were frowning. Ling Yunfei walked with his head down, cautious. They all seemed normal.
"Feifei, is there really a spiritual object nearby?" she asked via divine sense to Feifei, who was hiding in the Spirit Beast Bag.
After a moment, Feifei's yawn and a muddled retort came back. "What?"
"...Were you sleeping?"
Feifei yawned again. "What else is there to do? It's so boring in the Spirit Beast Bag. It's dark; besides cultivating, you can't do anything. Why don't you come in and try it?"
"..." Come to think of it, Mo Tiange was also curious. Why couldn't people enter Spirit Beast Bags? Spirit beasts and humans weren't fundamentally different...
"...What is it, anyway?"
After a moment of random thoughts, Feifei's impatient voice brought her back. She repeated her question. "Is there a spiritual object nearby?"
Feifei was silent for a while, perhaps sensing. A long time later, it let out a surprised "Huh?" "Strange. In a place like this, there really is one."
"Are you sure?" Mo Tiange pressed.
"...Yes," Feifei stated firmly. "I can sense it. There's an astonishing spiritual treasure aura nearby, but there should be a guardian demon beast around it."
Generally speaking, sentient treasures would have guardian spirits of similar rank nearby. Hearing Feifei say this, Mo Tiange finally believed Ling Yunhe's words. She thought for a moment and asked, "What kind of demon beast? What rank?"
"...Don't know," Feifei said. "This demon beast isn't a spirit beast. Its aura is the same as the aura here."
The aura here? Did it mean this black qi? That was too strange. Guardian spirits protected something because it offered them great benefits, like possibly increasing their cultivation if consumed. But the Carefree Fruit was a spiritual object. What benefit would the creatures of this Black Qi Swamp gain from eating it? Or was it just a coincidence?
Enduring patiently, they walked for another half day. Besides Ling Yunhe, the others also began to sense it.
The spiritual treasure aura—extremely abundant. Only now did Mo Tiange confirm it must be the Carefree Fruit.
Sensing the aura, the six of them suddenly quickened their pace. Sometimes people were like that. Even knowing the target was ahead, when they couldn't feel it, their steps became listless. But when that target clearly appeared within sensory range, it ignited their hidden reserves of strength.
In the murky gray half-air, green light began to appear. At first, it was just scattered specks of glowing light in the air. As they advanced, the light grew brighter and brighter.
"It's right ahead!" Ling Yunhe increased his speed.
As they drew closer, an astonishing tree gradually came into view. The tree was enormous, dozens of zhang tall, its entire body a deep, intense green exuding a rich scent of vitality. It had a sturdy, straight trunk standing upright and broad leaves, each one distinct with clear veins. It stood there quietly, rooted deep in the earth, as if it had been standing there for thousands upon thousands of years. At the top of this tree grew a single green fruit, resting quietly amidst a cluster of leaves.
"The Carefree Fruit..." Ling Yunhe murmured, unconsciously stepping forward.
"Fellow Daoist Ling!" Mo Tiange shouted.
But it was too late. As Ling Yunhe stepped onto the emerald green grass before the Carefree Tree, a black light suddenly shot up from the nearby mire, enveloping him.
Ling Yunhe's reaction was quick; he flashed away in an instant. But even so, much of the black water splashed onto him.
"Ah!" He let out a short cry, shaking his hand.
"Second Brother!" Ling Yunfei ran forward, only to see the left half of Ling Yunhe's body splattered with black water. His daoist robe sizzled, smoking and rapidly charring.
"Brother Ling!" Seeing this, Tian Zhiqian immediately reached into his Qiankun Bag, grabbed a handful of medicinal powder, and sprinkled it on.
Ling Yunhe sucked in a sharp breath. Tian Zhiqian's powder wasn't highly effective, but it at least temporarily halted the corrosive process of the black water.
"Hiss..." The thing that had attacked Ling Yunhe let out a light sound, its pitch-black eyes deep and profound as it stared at the six of them.
Mo Tiange looked at the creature before them. Its body was long, a full ten zhang, covered in black scales. It looked somewhat like a snake, but it had legs and a tail, and its body was thicker.
After pausing for a moment, the creature shot out again like lightning.
Standing at the front was Yang Chengji. He snorted coldly, shook his arm, and a dark light flashed as the Ghost-Faced Banner appeared in his hand. With a flick of the banner, a mass of demonic qi rushed out.
The demonic qi collided with the legged giant snake. The snake's body shook but didn't retreat, still pressing forward.
Seeing this, Yang Chengji was startled. He waved the Ghost-Faced Banner again. This time, the ghost face on the banner suddenly detached, opening its fierce maw wide to bite at the giant snake.
With a "thud," the snake was bitten squarely. But at the same time, the ghost face seemed to be corroded by the black water, emitting sizzling sounds.
"Hmph!" Tian Can snorted coldly and charged forward with his claw-spikes. As a martial cultivator, his movements were extremely agile. Still fuming from nearly having his hand corroded by the black water earlier, he now vented all his anger on this giant snake. He almost turned into a blur, jumping around on the snake's body, his claw-spikes striking the snake's body every time. However, the snake's scales were made of something incredibly hard. Although Tian Can hit his mark each time, he inflicted little real damage.
Mo Tiange watched the giant snake, knowing this was most likely the guardian spirit Feifei had mentioned. But she found it strange. The rank of a guardian spirit was usually similar to that of the spiritual object it guarded. The more precious the object, the more powerful the guardian spirit beast would be. But it was hard to say if this giant snake was truly the guardian spirit of the Carefree Tree.
She couldn't tell exactly how old the Carefree Tree was, but judging from the spiritual energy it emitted, she knew it was already a sentient treasure. And although this giant snake was powerful, its aura didn't exceed the Seventh-Rank; otherwise, they wouldn't have overlooked it.
How could the guardian spirit of a treasure that had already achieved sentience be only Seventh-Rank? Absolutely impossible.