Breaking free from the snake horde, they burst out of the dense forest.
Xiao Li carried Dan Chen and hurried to a safe area.
"Those few snakes shouldn't be able to catch up."
Xiao Li glanced behind him, seeing no trace of the magical beasts.
He was quite confident he could shake off those large snakes.
"Then, Young Master Xiao, can you put me down?" The girl in his arms asked softly and timidly.
Her voice was the softest Xiao Li had ever heard, sweet and gentle, making one's heart stir just by listening to it.
Coupled with Dan Chen's naturally petite and lovely appearance, it evoked an even stronger urge to protect her.
"Ahem, mainly Miss Dan Chen is too light; it's very comfortable to hold her, so much so that I'm a little reluctant to let go," Xiao Li said with a generous laugh.
Although he said that, he still put Dan Chen down.
"I didn't expect Young Master Xiao to be such a person..." The girl lowered her head slightly, her cheeks flushed.
She wasn't angry; she just felt Xiao Li's words were too direct, making her very shy.
"What kind of person am I?" Xiao Li asked with a smile.
"So... frivolous."
"I'm not frivolous; this is called appreciating beauty. Miss Dan Chen is so lovely and beautiful; I think any man would feel something," Xiao Li chuckled.
Dan Chen opened her mouth to retort but didn't know what to say, eventually falling silent again.
Only a faint blush remained on her cheeks, making her look exceptionally pretty.
"I won't bicker with Young Master Xiao anymore. Thank you for saving me. After we get out, I will properly repay you... But for now, I still need to continue searching for medicinal ingredients." Dan Chen felt she couldn't win an argument with Xiao Li.
So she found an excuse to leave.
Watching her retreating figure, Xiao Li's lips curved into a smile; he didn't pursue her.
Such things should be done in moderation. At least he had now left a good impression on Dan Chen and had saved her twice, making her owe him a favor.
The situation was quite good.
"I also need to continue searching for medicinal ingredients."
Xiao Li looked at the map in his hand and continued flying towards his next target location... Throughout the entire Dan Realm, all contestants were frantically searching for the medicinal ingredients required on their mission scrolls.
At the same time, some people took a different approach, not searching for the ingredients on the mission scroll, but rather simply looking for medicinal ingredients in the surrounding area.
The medicinal ingredients on the mission scroll were high-grade and difficult to find.
Some people knew they couldn't find them, or even if they did, they wouldn't have the ability to achieve a good ranking in the final stage.
Therefore, they simply took advantage of the many rare medicinal ingredients in the Dan Realm and frantically harvested them.
This way, even if they couldn't achieve a high ranking in the Pill Gathering, at least their participation in this Pill Gathering wouldn't be in vain.
There were quite a few people with this idea, so much so that a trend even emerged within the Dan Realm, with many people searching everywhere for medicinal ingredients instead of executing the mission.
Many even fought fiercely to snatch medicinal ingredients.
Of course, such people were ultimately a minority.
Most people still wanted to find the medicinal ingredients as much as possible and successfully pass the second stage.
The Myriad Medicine Mountain Range is located in the center of the Dan Realm.
It is home to the most medicinal ingredients in the entire Dan Realm, and most people's mission maps would highlight the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range.
Here, almost everyone could find the medicinal ingredients required for their mission.
The prerequisite was that they could enter the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range.
Although it contained a large number of medicinal ingredients, it also had countless ferocious magical beasts.
Xiao Li encountered some magical beast sneak attacks during his flight, but he easily instantly killed them all.
Finally, he successfully arrived at the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range.
At this time, many people had gathered in front of the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range, presumably all wanting to go in and find medicinal ingredients, but none dared to enter.
Xiao Li looked around; there were no familiar faces in the crowd.
Cao Ying, Song Qing, and others were not here; they probably hadn't arrived yet.
Xiao Li didn't pay attention to these people but flew towards the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range himself.
Those people naturally didn't dare to enter because of the ferocious magical beasts within the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range.
But Xiao Li was not afraid; in the entire Dan Realm, there were no magical beasts that could threaten his safety.
"I remember that all the medicinal ingredients in the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range were stolen by a magical beast, right?"
"Let me see where that magical beast is..."
Xiao Li was about to release his powerful soul power to search for the target.
Just then, a series of explosions suddenly erupted from a mountain peak not far ahead, followed by a terrifying aura fluctuation.
"It seems someone has already broken in and started fighting."
Xiao Li immediately flew towards the direction of the commotion.
Soon, he saw several figures battling fiercely in mid-air.
To be precise, five people were ganging up on a magical beast.
The five people were Xiao Yan, Song Qing, Dan Chen, Dan Xuan, and Cao Ying.
And the one being ganged up on was a magical beast—an Ancient Dragon Bear!
Although it was five against one, Xiao Yan and the others didn't gain much of an upper hand.
The Ancient Dragon Bear was a genuine eighth-tier magical beast, with strength comparable to an early-stage Dou Zun.
Among Xiao Yan and the others, only Xiao Yan was a Nine-Star Dou Zong, while Song Qing, Cao Ying, and the rest were low-star Dou Zongs.
Their combined efforts could indeed fight the Ancient Dragon Bear, but defeating it would be quite difficult.
Of course, if it were a life-or-death struggle, Xiao Yan and the others would still have a chance of winning.
However, it hadn't reached the point of risking their lives yet.
"Flame Splitting Wave Ruler!"
Xiao Yan held the Heavy Xuan Ruler, and a blood-red flame rose, transforming into a giant ruler wave that slashed towards the Ancient Dragon Bear.
"This is... a Heavenly Flame, right?"
"The flame is blood-red, carrying a violent aura like a magical beast... It looks like it should be the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame, ranked twenty-second on the Heavenly Flame Ranking."
"Little Yanzi is impressive; he can even find other Heavenly Flames." Xiao Li was a little surprised.
Xiao Yan truly lived up to his role as the protagonist in the original work. Even if he wasn't the protagonist now, his luck was still there.
Without the Green Lotus Heart Flame, fallen heart flame, and sea heart flame, he could still find other Heavenly Flames.
Song Qing and Cao Ying and the others also decisively joined forces, unleashing fierce Dou Qi that collectively slammed into the Ancient Dragon Bear's body.
Boom!
Suffering such a heavy blow, the Ancient Dragon Bear felt intense pain, letting out an angry roar. Its aura surged again, actually rising from a One-Star Dou Zun to a Two-Star Dou Zun!
"All of you must die!"
It was completely enraged!
Its figure immediately shot out.
Song Qing and Dan Xuan couldn't react in time and were the first to suffer, being heavily sent flying.
Next was Xiao Yan; although he blocked a punch from the Ancient Dragon Bear with his Heavy Xuan Ruler, the powerful hidden force still pushed him back.
Finally, the Ancient Dragon Bear flashed in front of Cao Ying and Dan Chen, unleashing both fists.
At this moment,
"True Dragon Roar!"
A loud shout rang out, followed by a sound wave like a true dragon's roar that crashed into the Ancient Dragon Bear, sending its massive body flying...