78: Chapter 78 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, the Ancestor Follows Behind!

The silence of the canyon did not last long.

After a rustle of robes breaking the wind, the figure of Patriarch Qin Hai reappeared at the entrance of the canyon.

He did not act immediately; those gloomy eyes swept repeatedly over every rock and every bush in the vicinity.

Finally, his gaze fixed on the empty canyon entrance.

"I wonder which Fellow Daoist from Huoyang Commandery is here? Please, come out and have a word."

The voice was not loud, but it carried the vigorous Spiritual Qi of a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, echoing outside the canyon.

Behind the boulder, Huangfu Yunni's heart instantly jumped to her throat, and she instinctively held her breath.

A warm, gentle hand lightly touched the back of her hand. It was Huangfu Yunshang, who shook her head slightly at her sister and signaled for her to look at Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng was still leaning against the rock, even adjusting to a more comfortable position. He made a gesture for them to watch the show quietly, his face wearing an expression of calm detachment, as if watching a good play.

He naturally trusted the methods of Yao Shifei.

This old fox is acting.

Sure enough, after Patriarch Qin Hai called out, he stood where he was, waiting motionless.

One breath, two breaths...

A full quarter of an hour passed, and apart from the sound of the wind and insects, there was no response.

Patriarch Qin Hai's tense shoulders finally relaxed slowly, the corners of his mouth lifting imperceptibly, before he immediately returned to that cold and hard expression.

It seems I was overthinking it.

He turned around and looked at the clansman who had been waiting with his head bowed, Qin Ming.

"Qin Hao, that brat, is young after all and too reckless; he nearly ruined my grand plan."

Patriarch Qin Hai's voice carried a touch of well-measured regret, but deep in his eyes, there was only the gloom of a plan disrupted.

"Now, I will go in myself to lure that beast away, and you must seize the opportunity to go in and pick the Spiritual Plant."

He emphasized his tone, speaking word by word.

"Remember, you do not have much time, you must be fast! The future of the Family rests on you and me!"

On Qin Ming's face, the excitement of being entrusted with an important task by the Patriarch flashed, mixed with fear of the unknown. He nodded heavily: "Rest assured, Patriarch! Qin Ming will spare no effort!"

"Good!"

Patriarch Qin Hai stopped wasting words, his figure flickered, and he rushed into the purple miasma again.

Only a few breaths later.

"Roar—!"

An angry roar resounded through the entire forest!

The savage and violent aura contained in that roar made the faces of the Huangfu Sisters behind the boulder turn pale.

Immediately following, there was the roaring sound of True Qi colliding violently, and intense impacts came from the depths of the canyon!

The next moment, a figure in extreme disarray rushed out of the canyon at an astonishing speed!

It was none other than Patriarch Qin Hai!

At this moment, his clothes were torn, his hair crown was crooked, and a trace of blood hung from the corner of his mouth; he had clearly suffered a great loss in the momentary clash just now.

And behind him, a behemoth was in hot pursuit!

It was a snake-like giant beast covered in emerald green scales, with two fleshy short horns on top of its head, and its belly was highly distended; it had clearly just swallowed Qin Hao and had not yet digested him.

Green Scale Flood Dragon!

It was precisely because of this that Patriarch Qin Hai had not been slapped to death in one blow.

It was just that its huge vertical pupils were locked tightly onto Patriarch Qin Hai, filled with tyranny and rage.

"Is… is this a Tier 3 Demon King?" Huangfu Yunni's voice was trembling.

Just looking from afar, that terrifying Spiritual Pressure made her feel as if she could barely breathe.

And Patriarch Qin Hai actually dared to provoke such an existence!

"He cannot hold on much longer," Huangfu Yunshang, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. Her voice was very soft, but very certain.

"Look at the spiritual light on his body; it has already begun to become disordered. It is clear that he has used some secret technique to burn his essence blood to forcibly increase his speed."

Jiang Feng heard this and glanced at her approvingly.

As expected of White Two; her brain is indeed more useful than her noisy sister's.

Huangfu Yunshang was right; this old fellow Patriarch Qin Hai was indeed risking his old life.

To lure away this Green Scale Flood Dragon, the price he paid was far greater than it appeared on the surface.

Patriarch Qin Hai's figure traced a miserable arc in the air, sweeping past the canyon entrance. His eyes swept quickly toward Qin Ming, and he roared a single word with all his might.

"Go!"

Qin Ming understood instantly and hesitated no longer. Steeling his heart, he flashed his figure and rushed into the miasma-filled canyon entrance.

He did not know.

Just at the moment he moved, three blurred figures wrapped in rich, fresh herbal Qi followed silently behind him.

As for the Huangfu Sisters, whom Jiang Feng jokingly called Red One and White Two, they were ordered to stay put and not move around.

Inside the canyon, there was a hidden world.

The space was not large. In the center was a deep, emerald-green pool, with mist swirling above the water. Every wisp of mist was pure Spiritual Qi, and taking a deep breath of it made one feel refreshed.

In the very center of the pool, there was a stone platform protruding from the water.

A strange plant, crystalline and translucent all over, was growing quietly on it.

It was only three inches tall and had nine leaves. Each leaf had naturally formed, profound patterns, and a faint seven-colored fluorescent light flowed around its body.

Tier 4 Spiritual Plant, heavenly spirit herb!

"heavenly spirit herb!"

The moment Qin Ming saw that Spiritual Plant, his breathing stopped, and only endless greed and fanaticism remained in his eyes.

He could no longer care about anything else, pouring Spiritual Qi into his legs, and he lunged toward the stone platform in the center of the pool!

As long as he got it, the Old Ancestor of the Family would be able to reach the Golden Core!

He, Qin Ming, would be the greatest contributor to the Qin Family!

However, just as his body leaped into mid-air, his fingertips trembling slightly from excitement, at the very moment he was about to touch the heavenly spirit herb.

A vast Spiritual Pressure descended suddenly!

That power was not a restriction, but a pure deterrent, causing his body to freeze in mid-air due to instinctive fear, unable to move even a single finger.

Qin Ming only felt a chill shoot from his tailbone straight to his crown, and the blood in his whole body froze.

He had not even had time to react.

A shadow, fast to the extreme, flashed past his side.

He only felt his vision blur, and the heavenly spirit herb on the stone platform, radiating seven-colored precious light, vanished into thin air!

The Spiritual Pressure dissipated along with it.

"Splash!"

Qin Ming lost his balance and plunged headfirst into the cold, biting pool water.

He scrambled to poke his head out of the water, wiped the water droplets from his face, and stared blankly at the empty stone platform, his mind a blank slate.

Where is the herb?

Where is that big... glowing Tier 4 Spiritual Plant of mine?

Everything happened too strangely and too quickly, making him even suspect if he was hallucinating because he was too nervous.

Outside the canyon, in a hidden corner.

In Jiang Feng's hand, he was holding the shimmering heavenly spirit herb.

The rich medicinal fragrance and pure Spiritual Qi rushed towards him; just smelling the scent made him feel the Spiritual Qi in his body become a bit more active.

"Beautiful!"

He could not help but whisper in admiration.

This Patriarch Qin Hai, sacrificing clansmen, burning essence blood, risking his old life to lure away the Yao Beast, and what was the result?

He made a wedding dress for me!

This feeling is simply more satisfying than killing him with my own hands!

He turned to look at Yao Shifei and lowered his voice.

"Fei'er, please work hard a bit more; keep us hidden, and do not make too much noise."

Yao Shifei nodded slightly, her fair hand raised lightly, and an even richer fresh herbal Qi blended their figures and auras completely with the surrounding environment.

After doing all this, Jiang Feng found the most comfortable position, leaned against the rock, and carefully placed the heavenly spirit herb into a specially made jade box.

Then, he looked with great interest in the direction where the Green Scale Flood Dragon had disappeared.

The big show has just begun.

He could hardly wait; he wanted to see with his own eyes Patriarch Qin Hai return with half his life left, only to find that after working hard for so long, he had not even managed to get a single strand of the herb, and finally had to face a Tier 3 Demon King that had been completely enraged after being toyed with...

What a wonderful expression that would be.