"I want that one!" Upon hearing Zi Yan speak up, Xiao Yan couldn't help but roll his eyes. This little girl really had an eye for rare treasures—she immediately pointed at the most valuable one. Still, thinking about it, if it weren't for her, he might not have found this place at all. And since the small island held several stalks of Dragon Saliva Fire Spirit Grass, he didn't object.
However, Xiao Yan didn't rush forward recklessly to pick the herbs. He was well aware that any heavenly treasure would be guarded by a magical beast. Just like when he sought the Green Lotus Core Flame, he had encountered the Twin-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent. A rare herb like the Dragon Saliva Fire Spirit Grass couldn't possibly be left unguarded.
With a flick of his finger, a thread of purple-black flame transformed into a high-speed rotating spike that shot toward the seemingly calm lake. As the flame touched the water, the entire lake began to evaporate rapidly. Then, with a thunderous roar, a massive figure burst out from the nearly dried-up lakebed, charging directly at Xiao Yan.
It was a serpent-type magical beast with a deep-blue body. Judging by its aura, it was a fifth-rank beast—significantly stronger than the Twin-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent Xiao Yan had faced in magma. This beast was known as the Qianshui Demon Python, a water-dwelling serpent famed for its incredible stealth, often regarded as a nightmare for those who ventured into the seas.
Had this Qianshui Demon Python been lurking in the ocean instead of this tiny lake, Xiao Yan would have had to rely on extremely refined soul perception to detect it. But now, forced out by the Nine Nether Illusion Flame evaporating the water, it had no choice but to launch a frontal attack.
Just as Xiao Yan was about to activate his Glazed Golden Body to take it head-on, Zi Yan beat him to it. Her tiny fist smashed directly into the python's head, slamming it back into the lake. Then, to everyone's shock, she leaped onto its back and began pummeling it with punches and kicks.
"Are you looking to die? Trying to scare me like that! Do you know if you killed him, I wouldn't have any pills to eat?!" Zi Yan shouted furiously as she assaulted the hapless beast.
Watching the scene unfold—a full-on beating rather than a battle—Xiao Yan couldn't help but sigh. As expected of the Ancient Void Dragon clan, the rulers of magical beasts. Even though Zi Yan's combat style lacked finesse, the sheer power behind her blows was enough to make even a Dou Huang-level expert feel uneasy.
Though both she and the Qianshui Demon Python were fifth-rank magical beasts, their true combat strength wasn't even in the same league. If she had trained in powerful Dou Techniques, her battle prowess would be even more terrifying.
"Zi Yan, bring it up here! Don't kill it!" Xiao Yan suddenly shouted while watching the battered python get crushed under Zi Yan's fury. Since it was a serpent-type magical beast, it could likely be subdued by Qing Lin's Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. The Twin-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent had already fallen to the Dou Zhe level after Qing Lin absorbed its Dou Qi. This Qianshui Demon Python would make a perfect replacement to guard her.
Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Zi Yan grumbled but relented. After all, he was her source of food and pills. She stopped her rampage and dragged the dazed python out of the lake. The rest would be Qing Lin's show. When her pupils emitted a brilliant green glow, the unfortunate beast quickly fell under her control, just like the Twin-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent before it.
After subduing the Qianshui Demon Python, Qing Lin couldn't hide her excitement. With a fifth-rank magical beast under her command, she now had the strength to be considered a formidable presence in the Black-Corner Region. She wouldn't need Xiao Yan's protection for everything anymore. And with the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils slowly draining the Dou Qi of the subdued beast, reaching the Dou Wang level was only a matter of time.
Once Qing Lin stowed away the Qianshui Demon Python, Xiao Yan leapt onto the small island. He first gathered the other herbs growing there, then carefully used a few jade boxes to collect the stalks of Dragon Saliva Fire Spirit Grass, placing each one gently into its container.
Even though he had just secured a batch of extremely rare medicinal herbs, Xiao Yan's expression didn't reveal a trace of joy. Instead, a look of solemn contemplation appeared on his face as he observed his surroundings.
"Young Master, what's wrong?" Qing Lin noticed the change in his expression and quickly asked.
"Nothing. Just… something doesn't feel right about this place," Xiao Yan muttered after a brief pause.
"What's not right? I don't see anything strange," Zi Yan asked curiously.
"Do you remember the information we got about the Fallen Grounds?" Xiao Yan asked softly. "This place is said to only open once every fifty years. And each time, plenty of people make it in."
"Yeah. So what?"
"That's exactly the problem." Xiao Yan took a deep breath. "If that were really true, there's no way we'd be able to harvest all these herbs."
It was only then that Qing Lin and Zi Yan began to feel that something was off. Every herb in this area was an extremely rare spiritual treasure. If the Dragon Saliva Fire Spirit Grass and the plants on the island were protected by the Qianshui Demon Python, it might explain why they remained untouched. But what about all the other herbs?
"Maybe the previous people picked them and they grew back again?" Qing Lin guessed.
"Impossible." Xiao Yan shook his head and flipped his hand, revealing a red ginseng. "This Crimson Spirit Ginseng—I picked it at the valley entrance. It's at least a thousand years old. In fact, none of the herbs we've collected are younger than a millennium."
That revelation made even Zi Yan fall silent. She had wanted to suggest that maybe no one had ever found this place, but after thinking it over, it made no sense. Over a thousand years—people from the Black-Corner Region would've entered here at least twenty times. Was it possible no one had found this area in all that time?
Xiao Yan had a different theory: perhaps the Fallen Grounds was similar to the Heavenly Tomb—a place where time flowed differently than the outside world. That might explain the abnormal herb growth. However, if that were the case, then the space was likely created by a Dou Di-level existence. And if so, the disturbance caused by its activation should've been far greater.
Even the Heavenly Tomb, a space created by a Dou Di, only had a few times difference in flow rate. But here, if the herbs were truly the result of time differences, the ratio would have to be at least one to twenty. That level of temporal distortion was far more terrifying than the Heavenly Tomb's, making Xiao Yan quickly discard the idea.
(End of Chapter)
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