31: Sunset Valley

Luo Linger put her hands on her hips and glared vaguely in the direction of Cloud Bamboo Peak.

She turned her head, and her eyes sparkled again:

"Never mind, never mind. The lotus dew is the priority. I'm definitely helping with this.

"Keep the warm sun jade on you. I'll also teach you a set of 'Wood Spirit Absorption Technique.' It's the safest way to collect the lotus dew. Let's get ready and leave."

After leaving the territory of Hundred Flowers Peak, Luo Linger patted her Storage Pouch and summoned a cyan wood kite, which was her flying Magic Treasure.

The wood kite wasn't large, only spacious enough for one person to ride comfortably, and Spiritual Light flowed across its surface.

"Come on up!" Luo Linger lightly jumped onto the wood kite and waved at Lin Feng. "Sunset Glow Valley isn't close. How long would it take to walk there?"

Lin Feng jumped onto the wood kite as instructed, standing behind her. The wood kite dipped slightly, then steadily ascended, turning into a cyan rainbow as it flew toward Sunset Glow Valley.

The low-altitude wind brushed past their cheeks, and below them, mountains and gradually sparse Sect buildings sped by.

Luo Linger seemed very adept at piloting the wood kite; she controlled the direction while still having the focus to point out specific landmarks below and talk to Lin Feng.

"Look at that crimson slope over there," she pointed to the lower right. "That's where 'Fire Floss Grass' loves to grow. Don't let the barrenness fool you; after the rainy season, you'll see a beautiful red carpet of it. But that grass is fierce; picking it directly will burn you. You need Ice Silkworm Silk Gloves..."

After flying for nearly half an hour, the surrounding scenery gradually became desolate, and the Spiritual Qi grew increasingly restless and uneven. Ahead, a valley covered by a faint mist and featuring strange, rugged terrain appeared—it was Sunset Glow Valley.

Luo Linger controlled the wood kite, slowly descending to a relatively flat area just outside the valley entrance.

"We can only go this far." She put away the wood kite and explained, "The terrain inside Sunset Glow Valley is complex, and there are many turbulent flows. Plus, I heard some areas still have residual ancient Restrictions. Flying recklessly is asking for trouble. We have to walk in."

She looked at the increasingly thick mist deep inside the valley: "This place... feels strange. The Spiritual Qi fluctuations are chaotic. Revered Master warned me before that some places deep inside Sunset Glow Valley are very sinister, where Yin and Yang are unbalanced, and she forbade me from blindly venturing in."

"Your Revered Master is..." Lin Feng asked, following up on the conversation. He didn't know much about Hundred Flowers Peak.

"She's my current Revered Master, True Person Zi Yun." She waved her small fist.

"That old lady always says I'm not steady enough and that all I do is mess around with strange, unorthodox spirit plantss all day, not acting like a proper Cultivator.

"But how would she know that those strange spirit plantss can save lives at critical moments!

"Just like the 'Dream Lulling Flower' that can paralyze Yao Beasts last time. If I hadn't planted it beforehand, I would have been flattened by the protecting Fire Rhino when I went to collect the 'Crimson Flame Fruit'."

The further they walked, the dimmer the light became, and the number of twisted dead trees increased.

When the Deep Pool, completely shrouded in grayish-white mist and so silent it made one uneasy, finally appeared at the end of their vision, Luo Linger subconsciously stopped and drew a sharp breath.

The pool water was like an enormous, polished piece of black jade, set between pale white strange rocks, without a single ripple, and seemingly bottomless.

"This is the place..." She stepped closer to Lin Feng. "It feels... so oppressive, completely devoid of life. It's not a place where ordinary spirit plantss can grow at all."

Lin Feng nodded. The dead silence and coldness here far surpassed what they had felt outside the valley.

He tried to slowly extend his Divine Sense toward the pool water, but his Divine Sense was like sinking into a swamp; it couldn't extend more than a zhang before it became impossible to advance further.

'My Divine Sense is completely suppressed...'

His heart sank. He secretly circulated the heaven-stealing vine, and four Spiritual Tendrils silently submerged into the deep bottom of the Deep Pool.

Amidst the chaotic, cold and gloomy aura, an extremely faint energy fluctuation was precisely captured and amplified by him, pointing towards a certain spot at the bottom of the pool.

'The moonlight soul lotus. It is indeed here.'

Almost the moment he locked onto the location of the soul lotus, undisguised scraping sounds of branches and leaves, along with crude laughter, came from the dense forest to the side and rear. Several Spiritual Power fluctuations rapidly approached.

"Big Brother, this damned place is really cold as hell. Is the news reliable or not? Don't make us brothers run this trip for nothing." A sharp voice complained.

"Shut up. How could the clue I bought for a huge price be fake? They all say the precious 'moonlight soul lotus' in the Deep Pool of Sunset Glow Valley is about to mature. That's a treasure for nourishing the Divine Soul. As long as we get it, we brothers will be rich."

Another person fawned, "Big Brother is right. Once we get the lotus dew, maybe we can Breakthrough the Bottleneck. Then, let's see who dares to look down on us."

Another person sneered, "Heh, even if it is real, in this godforsaken place, is there anyone else who could find it and try to steal it from us? Unless it's those Sect Disciples whose noses are sharper than a dog's..."

"Sect Disciples?" The one called Big Brother snorted coldly.

"Those hothouse flowers are nothing without the Sect's protection and Medicinal Pills.

"They're all arrogant. If any blind fool bumps into us, it'll be a good chance to let them see the skills we brothers earned by licking the blade's edge."

Lin Feng's eyes instantly turned icy, and he shielded Luo Linger behind him.

'A group of Loose Cultivators... They're well-informed, but their tone is even bigger.'

Luo Linger also heard those words; her cheeks puffed up with anger, and her hand was already resting on the Storage Pouch at her waist.

The group of Loose Cultivators walked out of the dense forest at that moment and saw Lin Feng and Luo Linger by the Deep Pool.

"Hey! Big Brother, there really are two little fat sheep from a Sect who got here first." The sharp-faced, monkey-jawed Cultivator chuckled strangely.

The burly man leading them spat and stared intently at the Deep Pool: "Brat, girl, did you hear what your grandpas just said? If you know what's good for you, scram immediately. The treasure in this pool belongs to this daddy. Don't force your grandpas to act."

Lin Feng's eyes narrowed instantly. He assessed the situation, grabbed Luo Linger, who was still fuming and wanting to retort, and yelled softly, "Go!"

Before his voice faded, he pulled Luo Linger and leaped backward. With two splashes, they decisively plunged into the black cold pool. Two small splashes erupted, and their figures were quickly swallowed by the dark pool water.

"Damn it! Those two little brats are quite slippery." The burly man rushed to the edge of the pool, looking at the calm, bottomless water, and cursed loudly.

He tried to probe with his Divine Sense, but it was similarly blocked by the viscous, cold, and gloomy power, making it impossible to penetrate deeply.

Another Cultivator asked hesitantly, "Big Brother, should we... follow them down?"

"Follow my ass. This damned pool water is extremely sinister. We'll just wait here." The burly man felt a little unnerved watching the dead silent pool water.

"How long can they last down there? They'll have to come up for air eventually, right? When they do, we'll be waiting, well-rested, heh heh..." Another Cultivator laughed sinisterly.

The Scar-faced Burly Man thought this made sense and laughed menacingly, "Good. Stay here and guard this spot for this daddy. Don't let them sneak away elsewhere. I want to see how long they can endure down there."

The group of Loose Cultivators then spread out around the pool, each finding a place to sit, their eyes maliciously fixed on the black surface of the water.

Meanwhile, beneath the Cold Pool.

Bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped them from all directions.

The warm sun jade on Lin Feng's chest immediately emitted a soft white light.