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“Ugh…”
A piercing, agonized scream echoed through the vast sky as the ancient corpse, shrouded in black mist, tumbled continuously. Countless tendrils of black demonic mist surged toward the golden radiance, trying in vain to extinguish it.
The golden divine radiance flickered subtly—it seemed incredibly weak—but when the black demonic mist rushed toward it, it proved utterly ineffective, being annihilated on the spot.
“Ah…”
The black mist on the demon’s body darted about chaotically, utterly disorderly, as the golden divine radiance nearly melted its form completely. In an instant, the demon’s aura weakened to the extreme, almost on the verge of destruction.
It appeared frenzied. As it looked at Tian Fan, lying in Zi Ying’s arms and barely clinging to life, its blood-red eyes filled with terror. With great difficulty, it crawled up from the ground and dashed straight into the depths of the island, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
“Little Tian Tian, you—you mustn’t scare me!”
The Shangguan brothers stared dumbfounded at everything, not knowing what was happening, until Zi Ying’s anxious voice reached them, snapping them back to their senses.
“Brother Tian Fan, how are you?!”
Shangguan Yunfeng was shocked and crouched beside Tian Fan. The three of them joined forces, channeling their divine energy into Tian Fan’s body as if risking their lives. At that moment, Tian Fan’s complexion turned unbelievably pale—like a blank sheet of paper, devoid of any color—as the demon’s palm strike had nearly shattered all the meridians within him.
“Wuwu, Little Tian Tian, don’t die—wake up quickly.”
Zi Ying’s voice was choked with emotion, her eyes red, as a shimmer of purple radiance emanated from her body, enveloping Tian Fan.
At the same time, within Tian Fan’s sea of consciousness, a brilliant glyph emerged from its depths, emitting a faint halo of golden light that spread to every corner of his body.
“Ahem…”
The Shangguan brothers were extremely anxious, not knowing what to do, so they frantically channeled their divine energy into Tian Fan.
Zi Ying’s eyes were already brimming with tears, and at that moment, Tian Fan finally uttered a sound—a gentle cough.
“Little Tian Tian!”
Zi Ying was immediately overjoyed, and the three of them redoubled their efforts to channel divine energy into him. With the protection of ancient divine inscriptions combined with their robust power, Tian Fan finally awakened, slowly opening his eyes.
“Uh…”
When Tian Fan woke up, he found that his entire upper body was resting against Zi Ying’s embrace. He immediately struggled, trying to stand up.
“Don’t move, this is fine, it’s okay…”
Zi Ying whispered softly, her little face turning as red as a tomato, almost as if it were about to drip with juice.
Tian Fan’s head rested against Zi Ying’s chest, and a gentle fragrance wafted into his nostrils—refreshing and even more alluring than the Tianlan flower. As the three continued to channel divine energy into him, his complexion gradually regained a healthy, rosy glow; his injuries were nearly healed.
“Alright, that’s enough.”
Feeling that his meridians were gradually regaining strength, Zi Ying nudged Tian Fan and whispered softly.
“Mm, just let me lie here a bit longer…” Tian Fan, still resting against Zi Ying’s chest and savoring the gentle aroma, closed his eyes slightly, clearly enjoying the moment.
Smack!
Three black lines appeared on Zi Ying’s beautiful forehead.
Shangguan Jingyi, acting even more directly, slapped Tian Fan away from Zi Ying with a single blow.
“Uh…”
Tian Fan came to his senses, almost wanting to slap himself—he’d gotten so carried away as to say something that was clearly an overt attempt to flirt with Zi Ying.
The sky gradually brightened as the morning sun appeared, and the entire island was bathed in a soft layer of golden light.
After the incident with the red-haired ancient corpse, the group knew that the road ahead might be even more dangerous. Nevertheless, Zi Ying was determined to press on, because if she couldn’t obtain the rare treasure, the family’s venerable ancestor would have at most one year left to live.
Although the old man took everything in stride, Zi Ying couldn’t accept it. So kind-hearted that she couldn’t bear to harm even her enemies, how could she stand by and watch her beloved family member march toward death? She was determined to secure a sacred fruit.
Even though the sun hung high in the sky, the island’s forest remained shrouded in dense fog. They walked several more miles in, and soon could see only about thirty meters ahead.
During this time, the four proceeded with extreme caution, every step calculated—not only were they worried that the demon might return, but they also feared encountering other terrifying things.
After who knows how long, not far away they finally spotted a massive mountain peak, majestic in its presence, with a multicolored radiance flickering over it.
“That’s it!”
Zi Ying exclaimed happily. She had read the ancient texts of her family, and the description matched the scene before her exactly. The group immediately quickened their pace and headed in that direction.
“So tall…”
When they reached the foot of the mountain, they finally saw its true form. The mountain bore countless notches from blades and swords, likely left long ago. At its base, they discovered several withered bones riddled with fine marks, even featuring tiny, thumb-sized holes. Upon closer inspection, they realized these were bite marks—yet clearly not from humans or beasts.
Shangguan Jingyi, being a bit too curious, lightly touched one of the bones. Instantly, it turned to ash and scattered on the ground. Although this yielded no useful information, it did indicate that the bone had been there for a very long time.
“Be careful!”
They warned each other and bypassed the area of withered bones, continuing their ascent toward the mountain peak. None of them noticed that within the heap of ashes, a small package the size of a thumb slowly bulged outward before sinking back in.
The four discovered something odd: once they reached this area, they could no longer fly. Even Zi Ying, who had attained the Hunyuan Secret Realm, wasn’t spared—some force from above was suppressing them.
After much hardship, they finally reached the mountaintop, each one wide-eyed in shock. Just a few dozen meters ahead, several thick, ancient vines—as thick as an arm—coiled around a peculiar little tree that somewhat resembled a divine phoenix. It branched into seven limbs, each robust and ancient, with broad leaves lush and green, resembling human palms, as if several multi-armed little beings were standing there. At the tip of each branch hung a crystalline fruit, each one distinct, emanating a shifting, multicolored glow.
Even though the fruits were still quite far away, the group could already smell an incredibly rich fragrance that nearly made their mouths water.
“It smells amazing! I’ve never seen a fruit with such an intense aroma—this must be the sacred fruit! Truly extraordinary!”
Shangguan Yunfeng remarked. Zi Ying, the most excited of all, was about to step forward when rustling sounds arose. The soil around them began to tremble rapidly, and small earthen mounds the size of a thumb sprang up one after another.
“Ah!”
Zi Ying screamed, instantly pulling Tian Fan in front of her. All around, one after another, blue beetles the size of a thumb emerged from the soil, chirping incessantly as they swarmed toward the group.
Before long, the group felt their scalps go numb as countless insects—at least tens of thousands—surrounded them, forming an impenetrable barrier.
“Pfft…”
A blue beetle leapt up, and Shangguan Jingyi raised his hand to swat it. However, a horrifying event occurred: the beetle pierced directly through his palm, gnawing away at the bone inside and leaving a small hole that went all the way through. Fresh blood flowed out, making everyone’s scalp go numb and their hairs stand on end.
What on earth was this creature, capable of so easily piercing the body of a cultivator at Cloud Heaven Peak? Even more terrifying was the fact that there were tens of thousands of these insects…
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Check out my other projects: Roughly an Isekai Hypnosis Story (er0-novel 😉
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