The armadillo was holding not only the mountain peak, but also the four cubs curled up on the peak, trembling together.
The four armadillo cubs were several zhang long and looked large, but their scales were semi-transparent, and their eyes were still open, clearly just newborn.
"It turns out what it fought to protect wasn't some rare treasure, but its child." Seeing this scene, Long Chen couldn't help but feel a surge of shock in his heart.
Armadillos are magical beasts. Logically, magical beasts possess a wild beastly instinct; without energy supplies, they may even eat their own cubs.
And this armadillo, knowing it was certain to die, refused to abandon it and escape to protect its cub. This scene shocked Long Chen greatly.
The actions of this armadillo seemed to overturn Long Chen's understanding of magical beasts. When he approached the giant armadillo, it was already severely injured, its scales nearly shattered, flesh turned over, and blood staining the entire mountain.
When Long Chen came before him, he struggled to open his eyes—no violence, no anger, only a pleading gaze.
It glanced at the four cubs in its arms, then gazed at the mountain peak, nodding repeatedly to Long Chen.
Long Chen knew what it meant was that the treasure could be taken away, hoping not to harm its child.
Long Chen climbed the mountain peak and saw a flat area atop it. As soon as he stepped onto the summit, a fragrant aroma hit him, and taking a breath instantly made his pores feel uncomfortable.
"It's the Purple Leaf Orchid Heart Fruit, truly a treasure." When he saw a rare herb about three feet tall, Long Chen couldn't help but sigh.
Its leaves are like swords, each one standing upright. In the middle of the stem bears a fruit the size of a fist, and the enticing fragrance is the very fruit it emits.
The Purple Leaf Orchid Heart Fruit is a sacred medicine. Even if you eat it, even spending time around it and smelling its fragrance can calm your mind and focus, allowing your qi and blood to circulate freely. Whether for healing, enlightenment, or cultivation, it brings tremendous benefits.
Its fruit could even be used to refine various sacred pills. Long Chen had only heard of it before, but had never seen it.
"Whew."
Long Chen picked the purple-leaf lycepin fruit. The moment the fruit was picked, the tree immediately began to wither and turn yellow. It wasn't dead; rather, having lost its fruit, it entered a state of dormancy.
Just like plants and trees in winter, when spring arrives, they will revive and bloom and bear fruit, but the next time it will bear fruit may not be until hundreds of thousands or even millions of years later.
When Long Chen picked the fruit, the giant armadillo's body visibly trembled. It had guarded the Purple-Leaf Orchid Heart Fruit for many years and developed a soul connection with it, seemingly able to sense its pain.
Perhaps it was precisely because of the soul connection with the Purple Leaf Orchid Heart Fruit that its violent nature as a magical beast was changed by the fruit.
"What are you doing?" Suddenly, the Qiankun Cauldron spoke. As it looked at Long Chen, it pried open the armadillo's huge mouth, and its voice was somewhat surprised.
Long Chen didn't answer, but instead tossed the purple-leaf orchid fruit deep into the armadillo's throat.
The armadillo seemed shocked as well, its eyes filled with disbelief. As the Purple Leaf Orchid Heart Fruit entered its stomach, its wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye, new scales sprouted, and its powerful aura was slowly recovering.
"It's a red-armored armadillo." The Qiankun Cauldron reminded again.
"The Red-armored Armadillo has a keen sense for rare treasures and grows by eating various rare medicines.
Its shells, blood, flesh, bones, and internal organs are all rare alchemy materials; the stronger the strength, the more precious it becomes.
This armadillo had already reached the Saint Realm; many parts of its body could be used as medicine to refine sacred pills. Long Chen said calmly.
"So you still plan to let it go?" The Qiankun Cauldron asked in confusion.
"I don't want to let it go either, but I have no choice but to let it go. I can't get past the hurdle in my heart." Long Chen shrugged helplessly.
How could Long Chen know the origin of this armadillo? But when he saw it desperately protecting its child, how could Long Chen bear to kill it?
And if he killed it, those four little armadillos wouldn't survive either. Although Long Chen had never had the slightest fondness for magical beasts, he really couldn't bring himself to do it.
"You humans are truly elusive." The Qiankun Cauldron sighed.
"Yes, human nature is the hardest to fathom—right and wrong, right and wrong, hehe, just let it be!
I am who I am, a different kind of firework. I have the temper to burn heaven and earth and destroy all things, but I also have the silent sentiment to accumulate virtue and do good deeds that nourish all things.
I like to act according to my heart. Hehe, senior, do you think my actions are stupid, whining like a woman, not ruthless enough? Long Chen laughed a bit self-mockingly.
As he spoke, Long Chen approached the Purpleleaf Lyceum Fruit Tree, took out a jade spatula, and slowly dug into the soil, digging the fruit tree out and sending it into the chaotic space.
When the fruit tree entered the chaotic space, it immediately became alert, its withered leaves turning green again, looking vibrant and flourishing.
"No, your human nature is always a mix of love and hate. I saw this world glorify because of you humans, and I saw you destroy it with your own hands." The Qiankun Cauldron said with deep emotion.
"Haha, it's okay. Maybe you can see the glory of humanity once again in me." Long Chen laughed heartily.
"Shouldn't such words be made with a clenched fist, solemn expression, and a solemn oath?" Qiankun Cauldron said.
"Hehe, don't, what if you can't do it? Once you boast, you can't take them back—the taste of being slapped in the face is not pleasant. Long Chen chuckled.
He observed the Purple-leaf Orchid Fruit Tree and found that after entering the chaotic space, it quickly returned to its state before the fruit was taken.
Long Chen began to divide its roots. A purple-leaf ransock tree was split into hundreds of roots.
The roots wither immediately after leaving the mother tree, but once buried in the soil, life quickly appears, and the roots gradually grow and sprout tender shoots.
After finishing all this, Long Chen looked at the armadillo. It had to be said that the Purple Leaf Orchid Heart Fruit was truly formidable. Previously half-dead, it had now regained most of its strength, its wounds fully healed, and its eyes shone with restrained light, as if undergoing some kind of transformation.
"Bang!"
The red-armored armadillo lay on the ground, its head touching the ground, seemingly bowing to Long Chen, its eyes full of gratitude.
Long Chen nodded, jumped onto the top of the Red-armored Armadillo's head, and slowly pressed his large hand on its brow, slowly channeling his soul power.
When Long Chen's soul power was infused into its sea of consciousness, the red-armored armadillo's body trembled slightly, but it did not resist.
Soon, countless images flooded Long Chen's mind, and he jumped up excitedly:
"Wow, there are so many treasures here!"