Wei Yunxi recalled the map she had purchased of the Baohua Mountains' outer region, then roughly circled an area in her mind.
"Senior Brother Long, based on the direction you mentioned, there are two places with large patches of Fire Dragon Grass."
"Exactly. That's why I chose to follow them instead. One area is guarded by a swarm of Tiger-Headed Wasps. The other is at the edge where the outer region nears the inner. There's a high chance of encountering second-rank beasts there, so it's risky. No way to know which spot they went to pick the Fire Dragon Grass."
Yunxi frowned in thought, then said, "Based on what I know about Senior Sister Qin Tongshuang, they most likely headed toward the inner edge. Precisely because that area is dangerous, fewer Qi Refinement cultivators would dare go deep, meaning more Fire Dragon Grass would be left untouched.
Also, first-rank Fire Dragon Grass is of little use to second-rank beasts, so the plants in that area are probably older. For a sect mission, collecting older specimens would yield greater contribution points. That would definitely be her top choice."
Long Daoyu glanced at her and said, "Looks like Little Sister Wei came well prepared for this mission."
Yunxi nodded. "I originally took this mission to look for a missing friend. Later, when I learned there was a chance to travel alongside Martial Uncle Sheng, I made extra preparations. I can't afford to embarrass myself in front of him."
"You're absolutely right. Then let's pick up the pace."
Long Daoyu, unwilling to lose to this junior sister, especially in front of his idol, sped up. After entering the mountain trail, he applied a light-body talisman and quickened his steps. Yunxi, meanwhile, utilized her Thousand Shadows Riding the Wind technique, drawing on the surrounding wind spiritual energy to carry herself forward.
With a clear direction in mind, their speed increased. After an hour, Long Daoyu came to a halt. Yunxi stopped beside him and asked, "Senior Brother Long, why are we stopping?"
"They're just up ahead. We shouldn't follow too closely. Let's take a short rest, we've been moving nonstop for an hour."
"Alright."
Yunxi nodded, then carried her spirit sword as she circled the area, checking for danger. Once she was sure it was safe, she activated a defensive formation disk and sat down, pretending to take a pill before meditating.
Long Daoyu sneaked a glance at her and secretly massaged his aching calves. Even with talisman assistance, his legs were sore. Yet somehow, Little Sister Wei seemed completely fine.
Yunxi had her eyes closed in meditation, but her spiritual sense remained alert. She noticed his small movements, but said nothing. They were only temporary companions, after all.
One was here to chase a "star," the other to avoid trouble and search for a friend. For now, their goals aligned. That was enough.
At that very moment, the Qin Tongshuang Wei Yunxi was worried about was deep inside a shadowy cavern. She sat cross-legged, infusing spiritual energy into a large egg the size of a washbasin. Beside her, Mu Ningzhu was doing the same.
If Wei Yunxi's cousin, Wei Yunqing, were here, she would have recognized Mu Ningzhu as the one who had once humiliated her during a challenge at the outer three peaks. Back then, she had taunted Ningzhu, only to be completely shut down. Now, Mu Ningzhu had already reached the early Foundation Establishment stage. If Wei Yunqing knew, she might have a breakdown.
Qin Tongshuang, too, had advanced to the eighth layer of Qi Refinement. Gaining two layers in three years showed she had worked hard. Yet this time, teaming up with her senior sister for a training mission had led to them being trapped.
The cold detachment on Qin Tongshuang's face was beginning to crack. As she infused spiritual energy into the egg, she whispered,"Senior Sister, the deadline is almost here. What do we do?"
Mu Ningzhu sighed softly. "I could escape on my own, but I can't take all of you with me. If I provoke that three-headed snake and it kills everyone, what's the point?"
"Then what, just sit here and wait? Once the time runs out, if we haven't hatched its eggs, we'll die anyway."
Ningzhu could understand her junior sister's anxiety and tried to calm her. "Just hold on a little longer. I'm sure the sect has received my distress signal. More and more disciples are being captured. The more who go missing, the more likely the sect will realize something's wrong. They'll send someone stronger to find us. We just have to endure."
Qin Tongshuang sighed and continued pouring spiritual energy into the egg. They had been at it for over half a month and not even a single scale had hatched. She was beginning to suspect these eggs were dead. But she didn't dare voice that thought in front of the second-rank three-headed snake, lest it devour her on the spot.
The other disciples in the cave clutching eggs all wore the same hopeless expressions. If this went on, they would eventually run out of spiritual energy and die. Their only hope was for the sect to send rescuers, and soon.
Elsewhere, Sheng Yuhong was searching for clues near a patch of Fire Dragon Grass. But the area had been severely damaged, and very little useful evidence remained. In the end, he took out the Backtrace Mirror borrowed from the sect and channeled his own spiritual power into it, attempting to recreate the moment of the incident.
However, due to his limited strength, many images flashed by too quickly to make out. He only caught a brief glimpse of a second-rank three-headed snake capturing his fellow disciples before a sharp pain flared in his dantian, forcing him to stop.
Sheng Yuhong reached up and retrieved the mirror hovering above the Fire Dragon Grass, pale-faced, and quickly returned it to his storage pouch. Then he swallowed a restorative pill to begin recovery.
Five junior sisters immediately surrounded him, forming a protective circle while he meditated. They had also seen the image in the Backtrace Mirror. At least now they knew what had taken their fellow disciples. Once their senior brother recovered, they would begin tracking the three-headed snake's trail.
Not long after Sheng Yuhong's group departed, Long Daoyu and Wei Yunxi arrived at the same Fire Dragon Grass patch.
Seeing the half-destroyed field of herbs, Yunxi felt a pang of regret. Fire Dragon Grass was the main ingredient in refining Fire Dragon Pills. As the name suggested, these pills replenished fire spiritual energy and were especially useful for cultivators with fire roots.
Even for those without fire affinity, the pill could temper the body. It was essential when training in frigid environments, acting as a vital warming medicine.
"Little Sister Wei, since we're here anyway, let's not go back empty-handed. We should at least pick a few. Better than returning with nothing."
Long Daoyu felt it was a waste too, and this time, he and Yunxi were on the same page.
"Senior Brother Long is right. These Fire Dragon Grass specimens are quite mature. Martial Uncle Sheng might overlook them, but we won't."
"Well said, Little Sister Wei."
The two split tasks, one keeping watch while the other harvested.
Fortunately, Yunxi had come prepared. She wasn't short on jade boxes for storing herbs. She picked only the oldest Fire Dragon Grass she could find, but didn't forget Long Daoyu either, sharing the haul evenly.
Just as she was storing the jade box in her pouch, disaster struck.
A snake tail burst out of the ground and coiled around Wei Yunxi, dragging her underground in an instant.
"Senior Brother, help!"
Yunxi shouted as she was pulled below.
Long Daoyu froze in shock, hastily tossing out an attack talisman. Unfortunately, it only blew the remaining Fire Dragon Grass into the air, doing no damage to the snake tail.
His face paled. He quickly raised his hand and launched a distress signal into the sky.