282: Chapter 276 So noisy!

The first day passed quickly amidst this tense and busy harvesting.

The Ancient Spirit Clan's luck was quite good.

Aside from that Two-headed Venomous Snake, they hadn't encountered any overly powerful Yao Beasts.

Their herb baskets were gradually filled. Various poisonous grasses and Spirit Medicines, rarely seen in the outside world, brought joyful smiles to everyone's faces.

Night fell.

Nighttime within the forbidden zone was even more dangerous than the day.

The vengeful spirits and ghostly entities that had been lurking underground began to stir restlessly.

Gu Shan found a leeward col, scattered Ghost-repelling Powder, and set up a simple defense Formation, letting everyone take turns resting.

Chen Zhiwen did not sleep.

He sat cross-legged on a giant boulder, eyes closed to rest his spirit.

In this place filled with Death Qi, his Chaos Art actually circulated several points faster than it did in the outside world.

Chaos encompasses all things; whether it was Spiritual Qi or Death Qi, before Chaos, both were mere nourishment.

“Interesting.”

Chen Zhiwen sneered inwardly.

If Daoist Tian Xuan really relied on absorbing the Death Qi here to heal his injuries, then the old fellow had likely already fallen into the Demonic Path, becoming something neither human nor ghost.

That was fine, too.

Killing him would carry even less of a psychological burden.

...

The next morning.

The group set out once again.

After a night of recuperation, although everyone was somewhat tired, their eyes were filled with a longing for the harvest.

Today, they planned to venture a bit deeper.

They traveled for about two hours.

An open wetland suddenly appeared ahead.

Upon the wetland grew vast patches of blood-red flowers.

Each of these flowers was half a person tall, with petals that looked as if they were formed from condensed fresh blood, emitting an eerie glow within the gray mist.

“Is this... ‘blood soul flowers’?!”

Grand Elder Gu Feng's beard trembled with excitement, and his voice even changed pitch.

“So many! It’s actually an entire field of blood soul flowers!”

“Heaven blesses my clan! Heaven blesses my clan!”

blood soul flowers, a second-tier High Grade Spirit Medicine, were the primary ingredient for refining ‘Soul Strengthening Pills’. They were hard to find in the outside world and worth a fortune.

In the flower field before them, there were at least a thousand stalks!

This was an unimaginably massive fortune!

If they could bring them all back, the Ancient Spirit Clan wouldn't have to worry about Cultivation resources for the next ten years!

“Quick! Move! Harvest them all!”

Gu Shan’s eyes were also bloodshot as he roared excitedly.

All the Ancient Spirit Clan members instantly seemed as if they’d been injected with chicken blood, frantically pouncing toward the flower field.

Even the usually steady Gu Shan couldn't resist personally joining the harvest.

Chen Zhiwen stood to the side, watching the excited group, but his brow furrowed slightly.

It was too smooth.

Abnormally smooth.

A place where such Heaven And Earth Treasures gathered was usually guarded by powerful Yao Beasts, or... had already been targeted by other forces.

Just as the Ancient Spirit Clan members were joyfully harvesting.

Suddenly.

A series of piercing whistles rang out through the air!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Over a dozen poison arrows flashing with green light shot out from the mist across the wetland!

“Ah!”

Several screams rang out.

Three Ancient Spirit Clan members who were bending over to harvest herbs couldn't dodge in time and were struck by the poison arrows. They collapsed on the spot, their faces instantly turning pitch black; they were clearly afflicted by a lethal poison.

“Enemy attack! Defend!”

Gu Shan reacted extremely quickly. With a roar, he swung his giant axe, knocking away the two poison arrows aimed at him.

All the Ancient Spirit Clan members quickly gathered together, forming a back-to-back defensive Formation, looking toward the direction the arrows came from with a mix of shock and fury.

The gray mist churned as three groups of people slowly walked out.

The group on the left was dressed in black, holding soul-summoning banners. They were the remnants of the ‘Black Wind Stockade’ that Chen Zhiwen had taught a lesson to before.

However, the leader this time wasn't that bald brute, but a withered old man with a sinister expression, his body exuding the terrifying aura of a Golden Core Great Perfection.

The group in the middle were all tall with crimson skin and flame totems painted on their faces. They were another major force of the Southern Wilderness, the ‘Fire Barbarian Tribe’.

The group on the right was a band of mystery men dressed in gray robes, wrapping themselves tightly and only revealing a pair of gloomy eyes. This was the ‘Corpse Yin Sect’, which specialized in the art of corpse driving.

These three major forces had actually joined hands!

Their combined numbers totaled over a hundred, and they were filled with experts!

“Jie jie jie, Gu Shan, your Ancient Spirit Clan's appetite is a bit too large.”

The withered old man from the Black Wind Stockade let out a series of owl-like cackles, his greedy eyes scanning the field of blood soul flowers.

“This blood soul flower field is a spiritual treasure of heaven and earth. Everyone who sees it gets a share. You want to swallow it all alone? Aren't you afraid of bursting your bellies!”

“Old Monster Wang! We clearly discovered this first!”

Gu Shan's face was extremely unsightly as he spoke through gritted teeth.

“Besides, this forbidden zone has no owner. Whoever harvests it first owns it. Since when has there been a rule that everyone who sees it gets a share?”

“Hmph! Rules? In the Southern Wilderness, fists are the rules!”

The leading brute of the Fire Barbarian Tribe snorted coldly, shaking the massive spiked club in his hand, which was still stained with the bloody remains of some unknown Yao Beast.

“Gu Shan, if you know what's good for you, hand over all the herbs you just picked, then get lost with your people!”

“Otherwise, this wetland will be the burial ground for your Ancient Spirit Clan!”

“You people go too far!”

Several hot-blooded young Ancient Spirit Clan Cultivators couldn't stand such an insult. They roared immediately, manifesting their Magical Artifacts to rush forward and fight to the death.

“Seeking death!”

Over at the Corpse Yin Sect, a gray-robed man gave a sinister, cold laugh.

He flicked his fingers, and several streaks of black Corpse Qi flew out like venomous snakes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Before those rushing Ancient Spirit Clan youths could even get close, they were struck by the Corpse Qi. They screamed as they were sent flying back, coughing up black blood and instantly losing their combat capability.

“Stop!”

Gu Shan's eyes were nearly splitting as he hurried to catch his clansmen, only to find that the Meridians in their bodies had been severely corroded by the Corpse Qi. Even if they were saved, they would be crippled.

“You... what cruel methods!”

Gu Shan trembled all over, his heart filled with despair.

The opponent's three major forces had joined hands; there were seven or eight Golden Core Stage experts alone, and dozens in the Foundation Establishment Stage.

While on his side, aside from himself and the Grand Elder being in the Golden Core Stage, the rest were mostly only at the Foundation Establishment or even Qi Refining Stage.

The disparity in strength was too great!

Could it be that today, heaven truly intends to destroy my Ancient Spirit Clan?

“Gu Shan, my patience is limited.”

The withered old man approached a few steps with a sinister smile.

“I'll count to three. If you don't hand over the Spirit Medicines, don't blame this old man for being ruthless!”

“One!”

Terrifying killing intent surged like a tide, pressing down until the Ancient Spirit Clan members could barely breathe.

Despair already showed in the eyes of many clansmen.

“Two!”

The people from the three major forces began to slowly tighten their encirclement. The light on their Magical Artifacts flickered, ready to launch a thunderous strike at any moment.

Gu Shan gripped his giant axe tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hands.

He was making a final struggle.

Should he fight?

Fighting meant death, and not fighting also meant death.

Just as Gu Shan was about to order a desperate final stand.

A flat, even somewhat lazy voice abruptly rang out in this atmosphere of drawn swords and bent bows.

“So noisy.”

The voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

Everyone froze.