326: Elixir of the desert, fire to burn away sins

Spirit Realm.

Yellow Sand Territory.

The vast, boundless sea of sand stretched on endlessly; as far as the eye could see, there was only yellow sand, without a trace of green.

It was also a desert of despair.

However, within the dry yellow sand, there was a Spirit Medicine capable of helping people regain vitality and extend their lifespan—the flame ganoderma.

Even for someone at death's door, taking a single bite could keep them alive.

Its price remained consistently high, and it was often unavailable even if one had the money, attracting countless Spirit Tamers and evil spirits to go there.

Shi Muqing was dizzy from the scorching sun, and her lips had developed layers of dead skin due to prolonged dehydration; her originally charming face was now only about 80 percent of its former beauty.

Over the past three days, she had only drunk one pot of water, and she felt as if every cell in her body was craving moisture.

"No, I cannot collapse! If I fall, my brother is completely finished."

"Shi Muqing, you can do this! Stand up, you must find the flame ganoderma."

She kept encouraging herself, and just as she was about to collapse from exhaustion, a flash of fiery red caught her eye.

In the vast yellow sand, something red the size of a finger appeared before her.

The flame ganoderma!!!

Shi Muqing felt as if she had seen an Oasis and immediately pulled out a jade box.

The flame ganoderma looked just like an adult's finger, and since it grew in the desert, it should have been easy to harvest.

That was merely an illusion.

Its root system was extremely developed, rooted deep in the desert, capable of spreading dozens of meters down.

Shi Muqing's ancestral spirit was a long-tailed cat in the Early Stage of the Bright Moon Realm.

It hugged the Spirit Medicine with both paws and pulled with all its might; even as an agility-type ancestral spirit, its strength could reach over forty thousand jin, not inferior to most excavators.

Meow...

Blue veins bulged on the long-tailed cat's paws as it let out a pained cry, but it still couldn't pull out the Spirit Medicine.

Not enough strength!

Shi Muqing pursed her lips; she had been prepared, taking out a dagger and slicing her palm.

Fresh blood flowed out and dripped onto the desert.

Sensing the moisture, the flame ganoderma began to retract its developed roots, moving toward the "water source" to absorb the liquid.

The long-tailed cat shared a mental connection with its master and immediately reached out its claws to pull hard; it was too late for the flame ganoderma to escape, and it was snatched out, its roots retracting until it was only the size of a palm.

Success!

Shi Muqing carefully placed the flame ganoderma into the jade box and turned to head back.

"Muqing, meeting in this sea of sand—this kind of fate means we are destined to be a pair."

Zhu Yifei was followed by a dozen or so lackeys, all of them looking weather-beaten and disheveled.

"Who is a pair with you? Get out of the way!"

Zhu Yifei's gaze turned cold; he felt that while the "white moonlight" before him was beautiful, she was big-chested but brainless, and blind to the situation.

The lackeys behind him chimed in:

"Big Sister-in-law, hurry up and submit to Brother Fei. He has been accepted as a foster son by Staff Officer Zhu and has infinite glory. If you follow him, you'll have plenty to eat and drink."

"Haha, and that lecherous, greedy brother of yours, who was sucked dry like a mummy by a Tanuki in the wild—he can enjoy the benefits too, maybe he'll live another two years."

"Using the sand as a quilt and the ground as a bed—hehe, how romantic!"

"..."

Zhu Yifei was quite moved by this, but Shi Muqing was so angry that her small face turned red. Knowing there was no one else around, she didn't dare to retort and tried to circle around to leave.

A sharp-eyed lackey asked, "Big Sister-in-law, why is your hand injured?"

?!!

Everyone knew Shi Muqing's purpose, and seeing the wound, they quickly thought of the flame ganoderma.

"Foster Father has accepted three foster sons; if I present this to him..."

Zhu Yifei was instantly tempted; his eyes darted around, and he soon spotted the jade box.

He rushed over, snatched it away, and opened it to see the fiery red Spirit Medicine.

It really was the flame ganoderma!

Thirty thousand contribution points—unavailable even with money!

Zhu Yifei's breathing immediately became rapid.

"No, give it back to me!"

Shi Muqing was frantic; that was her brother's life-saving medicine. She hurried to snatch it back, but how could she compete with an adult man?

As for relying on her ancestral spirit, she couldn't defeat Zhu Yifei either.

Helpless, she knelt down.

"I beg you, give the Spirit Medicine back to me."

Zhu Yifei refused, "Why should I? I found this, and I want to present it to my Foster Father. Brothers, right?"

"Right!"

"Exactly, I saw Brother Fei dig it out with my own eyes."

"Sister-in-law! Although you and Brother Fei are family, you can't snatch away Brother Fei's act of filial piety!"

"..."

Shi Muqing felt cold in her heart. A thousand words eventually condensed into one sentence: "I... I am willing to marry you!"

Such a condescending attitude!

Zhu Yifei's wicked desires flared up, "Damn it, who do you think you are? I want the medicine, and I want you too!"

"You!"

Shi Muqing widened her eyes. Seeing that Zhu Yifei didn't seem to be joking, she pulled out a dagger and pointed it at her own throat, "If you try anything, I will kill myself."

"Tch! Boring! If you don't care about your brother on his sickbed, you should at least think about your parents. I am Staff Officer Zhu's foster son; offend me, and they will die without a burial place!"

Boom!

Shi Muqing felt as if she had been struck by lightning; the sky had collapsed!

The friend she had thought had a decent personality had actually twisted into such a shameless demon.

Swish, swish, swish...

The sound of shoe soles rubbing against the sand approached.

An orange lantern, a moon-white monk's robe, and a bright, bald head walked over from not far away.

A human? A humanoid evil spirit?

Zhu Yifei and the others became instantly vigilant.

"Fire!"

A calm voice rang out. Zhu Yifei and the others felt a supreme, immense terror and immediately summoned their ancestral spirits.

Orange flames shot out from the lantern, growing in the wind, turning into a sea of fire as they rolled toward the group.

The moment Zhu Yifei and the others' ancestral spirits appeared, they felt a pressure far exceeding their own strength and immediately grabbed their masters and fled into the distance.

Shi Muqing gritted her teeth and released the long-tailed cat, which lunged toward the incoming flames, only to find that those flames parted like a tide, avoiding the long-tailed cat.

The long-tailed cat jumped in front of the monk, extending its sharp claws and waving them repeatedly, but they all landed on nothing, as if it were clawing at thin air.

Spirit Domain!

Blazing Sun Realm!

Shi Muqing shuddered, discovering she was completely unharmed. She turned to look at Zhu Yifei and the others; they and their ancestral spirits had all been ignited by the flames.

A chorus of wails.

"Muqing, save me! Save me!" Seeing that Shi Muqing was fine, Zhu Yifei grabbed at her like a drowning man clutching a straw, calling for help incessantly.

The other lackeys also chimed in:

"Help, Big Sister-in-law!"

"Save me, Young Miss Shi."

"Ah~ help, I'm only 19, I shouldn't die!"

"..."

Shi Muqing's lips quivered; seeing the monk slowly approaching, the fear in her heart amplified to the extreme.

Zhu Yifei and the others were quickly burned to ashes, and the jade box did not escape the same fate, but the flame ganoderma inside, scorched by the flames, twisted in pain, leaped into the desert, and escaped disaster.

"The flame ganoderma!"

Shi Muqing quickly ran to the Spirit Medicine, pulled out her dagger, and prepared to draw blood again.

Xu Le shook his head, "Even if its intelligence is low, it wouldn't fall for the same trick twice in one day."

Shi Muqing froze; what about her brother?

Xu Le walked to the Spirit Medicine and grabbed it with force—snap, snap, snap, snap...

Amidst the crisp sounds, the surrounding sand flowed, countless roots were snapped, and the flame ganoderma was pulled out alive.

It could be pulled out by a person; it really was an evil spirit!

The look Shi Muqing gave Xu Le was filled with fear and longing.