In a secluded mountain hollow, Song Changsheng casually snapped the root of a second-grade low-tier Heavenheart Herb and placed it into his Spatial Pouch, then continued on his way.
This was his third day since leaving the herb garden, and the journey had been eerily quiet. Not only had he not seen a single person, he hadn't even encountered a rabbit.
He suspected there might not be any animals in this realm at all. Otherwise, these spirit herbs growing wild wouldn't have thrived so well.
"Only about ten hours left… and still three hundred li to go. Looks like I'll need to pick up the pace." Song Changsheng mentally calculated the remaining time and murmured to himself.
Although this world was perpetually bright, like eternal daytime, the sky was a constant gray, with no sun, moon, or stars no actual night.
Thus, he could only make a rough estimate of how much time was left around ten hours.
With his speed, covering three hundred li wouldn't even take an hour, but the herbs along the way demanded a lot of time. Any further delay might cost him the chance to compete for the Stalactite Spirit Liquid.
With that thought, Song Changsheng increased his pace significantly, only stopping for second-grade herbs and ignoring anything of lesser value.
Suddenly, he froze in place, sniffing the air curiously. "What's that smell? So fragrant… could it be some kind of rare spirit herb?"
His curiosity was immediately piqued. After confirming the direction of the scent, he used his movement technique and sped toward it.
As he crossed a pile of scattered rocks, the fragrance grew even stronger. The scent seemed to lift his exhaustion, making him feel refreshed. That only strengthened his belief that something valuable lay ahead. He quickened his steps.
After about fifteen minutes, Song Changsheng finally spotted a purple-pink spirit flower on a mountain slope. It stood barely two feet tall, with one flower and two leaves, a thin stem swaying gently in the wind.
For some unknown reason, the moment he laid eyes on it, a deep craving surged in his mind as if a starving wolf had suddenly come upon a plump sheep.
"What is this? How can it make me feel this way?" Song Changsheng frowned deeply. He had never heard of such a strange spirit flower.
He spread out his divine sense and confirmed that there was no apparent danger, then cautiously approached. Though his eyes remained fixed on the flower, his fingers were secretly forming a spell ready to respond instantly if something went wrong.
But nothing did. He got within a zhang (about three meters) of the flower without any issue.
"Seems I was overthinking," Song Changsheng eased up slightly. His habit of remaining highly alert when encountering unknown things had served him well so far. After all, better safe than sorry.
As he reached out to pull the flower out by the roots, something felt wrong. The soil was too loose!
Immediately sensing danger, he tried to leap back but it was too late.
A black bead suddenly shot out from who-knows-where, exploding above his head in a foul-smelling cloud of smoke.
Song Changsheng's expression changed dramatically. He quickly formed a Spirit Shield to block the black smoke, then pulled out his treasure gourd and sucked all the smoke into it.
"Who's there?!" he shouted angrily.
Swish, swish, swish!
From a thicket not far away, three figures burst out, surging toward him with powerful spiritual energy.
Song Changsheng's eyes narrowed, and his sword-like brows furrowed. He quickly recognized they all were from the Earthfire Sect, and among them was none other than Chang Tianhua.
The three formed a pin-shaped formation, surrounding Song Changsheng, but made no immediate move.
"You little bastard, I've finally caught you," said Chang Tianhua, holding a folded fan and glaring at Song Changsheng with burning hatred in his eyes.
"How long have you been tailing me?" Song Changsheng wasn't flustered despite being surrounded. He frowned and asked calmly.
"Heh, for you, I didn't even bother with the sect's herb garden," Chang Tianhua said proudly. "We've been on your tail since the moment you left the garden."
Song Changsheng raised an eyebrow. He had assumed that Chang Tianhua would wait until the scramble for the Stalactite Spirit Liquid to make his move when everything was in chaos.
He hadn't expected him to abandon even his sect's assigned mission just to follow him.
Glancing around, Song Changsheng suddenly let out a soft "Hmm?" His gaze fell on a thin, middle-aged man and he said, "Aren't you Zhang Zhiyuan? So even Earthfire Sect's senior brother has joined in just to kill me? Seems you've given up on competing for the Stalactite Spirit Liquid, huh?"
There weren't many people from the Earthfire Sect that Song Changsheng would recognize, but Zhang Zhiyuan was one of them. He was also one of the top contenders for the Stalactite Spirit Liquid.
If he was still here at this point, then it was clear they had abandoned the fight for it.
Zhang Zhiyuan's expression turned sour, and he bit his lip without replying.
Seeing this, Song Changsheng suddenly understood so this guy wasn't here by choice.
He then turned his gaze to the last person. The man was completely cloaked in black robes, concealing his face, but the aura he exuded was even stronger than that of the pampered heir, Chang Tianhua not some average cultivator.
"Damn it, you still have time to size people up?" Chang Tianhua shouted angrily. "Attack!"
The three of them unleashed their long-prepared spells, which surged toward Song Changsheng.
"Guard!"
Song Changsheng instantly summoned his Water Origin Shield in front of him and rapidly began forming hand seals.
"Water Dragon's Roar!"
A lifelike water dragon emerged behind him, letting out a thunderous roar. The terrifying sonic wave made the spiritual energy of his attackers falter momentarily.
"Sunpiercing Finger!"
Seizing the opportunity, Song Changsheng formed a sword-finger and jabbed toward Chang Tianhua's forehead, his strike glowing with threads of red light.
Still reeling from the soundwave, Chang Tianhua's mind was dazed he couldn't dodge in time.
At the critical moment, Zhang Zhiyuan suddenly shifted his position and threw a punch to block the blow.
When finger and fist collided, a booming shockwave erupted. Song Changsheng staggered back one step, while Zhang Zhiyuan was forced back three before regaining his footing.
Looking down at the finger mark left on his fist, Zhang Zhiyuan's eyes filled with shock. As a cultivator who trained both body and spirit, his physique was as tough as a magical artifact and packed with immense power yet he was still overpowered.
Clang!
A flash of white light suddenly shot from the waist of the black-robed man. Song Changsheng flicked his finger, summoning his treasure gourd, which collided with the incoming weapon. Sparks flew as a tiger-headed broadsword was knocked spinning away.
"Hellfire Heartburn!"
A glint of flame appeared in Chang Tianhua's eyes, and a plume of black fire spewed from his mouth, scorching everything it passed into charred earth.
Song Changsheng's eyebrows lifted. "So it's the Earthfire Sect's secret art. Looks like you're not as useless as I thought."
"But your sect wields fire, and I command it. Let's see whose flame burns brighter today!" Song Changsheng laughed aloud and pointed lightly with his right hand.
The jet-black fire abruptly reversed course, surging back at Chang Tianhua, who recoiled in panic.
"Don't get cocky!"
Zhang Zhiyuan, although irritated with Chang Tianhua, couldn't just watch him die. He summoned a massive battle axe and brought it crashing down with impressive might.
The black-robed man also rejoined the fray, sending his broadsword flying in from the other side. The two of them flanked Song Changsheng, cutting off every possible escape route.
Song Changsheng's gaze sharpened. In that instant, he activated the formation within his body. Yin and yang energy surged forth, forming a black-and-white Taiji diagram in front of him. The axe and sword struck it head-on but could not penetrate.
"What kind of technique is this?" Zhang Zhiyuan exclaimed.
"A secret art can't be taught," Song Changsheng replied coolly. Then he pointed again, causing waves of water to crash upward, forming two vivid dragons that shot toward his attackers from either side.
The black-robed man and Zhang Zhiyuan struggled to defend, retreating under the twin assault. Just as Song Changsheng was about to land a decisive blow, a sharp pain erupted in his dantian and meridians his spiritual power suddenly dried up.
Seizing the opportunity, the two enemies shattered the water dragons and struck simultaneously.
The impact hit Song Changsheng like a bolt of lightning. He was sent flying and slammed hard into the ground.
"What's going on?!" he shouted in both shock and fury. He could feel a strange force flowing through his meridians, sealing off his spiritual energy.
"Hahaha! Didn't see that coming, did you?" Chang Tianhua suddenly appeared, grinning wickedly. "Like the little gift I prepared for you?"
"When did you poison me?" Song Changsheng asked coldly, even as he secretly tried to expel the toxin.
"Poison? Tsk tsk, you think I'd use such a cheap trick?" Chang Tianhua smirked. "You underestimate me, Song Changsheng."
"Not poison?" Song Changsheng frowned. If it were poison, he surely would've noticed.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. "That flower…"
"Oho! Finally figured it out?" Chang Tianhua sneered. "To bait you, I even used a precious Fragrant Convergence Flower. Feel honored, will you?"
Everything became clear.
It wasn't poison at all. They'd used an ingenious method to manipulate the current situation.
The Fragrant Convergence Flower was a rare herb known for preventing Qi deviation. Merely inhaling its scent over time would implant its essence into a cultivator's body. If spiritual energy ever surged out of control, that essence would automatically lock down the flow, preventing internal damage.
Normally, this would be harmless beneficial, even. That's why Song Changsheng never sensed any danger.
But during the intense battle, as his spiritual energy rapidly depleted, the fragrance's lingering essence activated and sealed off his power.
It was an unexpectedly clever trap something that would be hard for most people to even imagine. Even Song Changsheng had to admit it was a brilliant setup.
"This plan wasn't your idea, was it?" he mocked. "You don't have the brains for something this intricate."
"You bastard! I'll kill you!" Chang Tianhua exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"I'll make you wish you were dead!"
He formed a hand seal and once again spewed a blast of pitch-black fire toward Song Changsheng...
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