Immortality Cultivation

Fang Hao emerged from the mountain hollow, setting his sights on the general direction of the "heaven-reaching pagoda" at the center of the Secret Realm, and hurried along. He didn’t dare fly too high for fear of becoming a target, so he stuck to the treetops or ducked through mountain gullies. With his Divine Spirit Steps complemented by the fragments of the Shadowless Evasion Technique he had just begun to grasp, his figure was as elusive as a ghost, making it impossible for ordinary Demon Beasts to detect him.

After traveling for most of the day and crossing a barren stone mountain, the view before him suddenly opened up. A massive valley lay ahead, filled with misty Spiritual Qi and covered in a carpet of colorful, exotic flowers and rare grasses. Many were precious varieties seldom seen in the outside world, and their medicinal fragrance was so refreshing that a single breath made him feel invigorated.

"Eh? This place... could it be the ’Hundred Flowers Medicinal Garden’ marked on the map?" Fang Hao stopped in his tracks, his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes scanning the valley. He was quite surprised; the scale of this medicinal garden was much larger than he had imagined, and it appeared remarkably well-preserved, unlike the previously plundered Meteor Star Lake medicinal garden.

"Since I’m already here, it would be a sin against the heavens not to go in and take a look!" Fang Hao rubbed his hands together, his heart itching with anticipation. There was no rush for the heaven-reaching pagoda; it wasn’t going anywhere. But the treasures in this medicinal garden were first-come, first-served! What if he could find a few medicinal herbs to refine and increase his Golden Core Stage cultivation, or some other good things?

He cautiously slipped into the valley from a spot where the terrain was slightly gentler. Once inside, good heavens, the Spiritual Qi was so thick it was almost condensing into water! The soil beneath his feet was black and oily, clearly extremely fertile. The various Spiritual Plants grew incredibly lush, with high maturity and excellent quality, leaving him dazzled.

"I’m going to be rich, I’m going to be rich..." Fang Hao drooled slightly while remaining vigilant, his Divine Sense scanning around like a searchlight. A prime location like this couldn’t possibly be without Demon Beasts guarding it, nor could it have escaped the notice of others.

Sure enough, before he had gone very far, he heard the sounds of a fierce battle and the roars of a Demon Beast coming from up ahead!

"Someone’s here!" Fang Hao’s heart tightened. He immediately suppressed his aura and, crouching low, crept forward silently under the cover of the waist-high flowers and grass.

Hiding behind a cluster of giant mushrooms emitting a blue glow, Fang Hao poked his head out to look. In a clearing ahead, three men and one woman were surrounding and fiercely attacking a massive Demon Beast! The Demon Beast looked like a giant hedgehog, but it was covered in greenish-black scales, and its back was filled with sharp quills flickering with thunderous light. Its fangs protruded outward, and its saliva sizzled as it dripped onto the ground, corroding small pits. Its aura was impressively that of a Rank 4 Low Grade beast!

"It’s a ’Thunder-Armored Fierce Beast’! This thing is not to be trifled with!" Fang Hao recognized the Demon Beast; it had thick skin and tough flesh, and it could discharge electricity. Even Cultivators of the same rank would find it a headache to deal with.

Looking at the four Cultivators again, they were wearing uniform blue-and-white martial attire, with a small sword pattern surrounded by a bolt of lightning embroidered on their sleeves.

"People from the Thunder Sword Sect of Jizhou?" Fang Hao raised an eyebrow. The Thunder Sword Sect was a major sect in Jizhou, famous for its lightning techniques and swordsmanship, and its strength was not to be underestimated. Among these four, three were in the Early Golden Core Stage and one was at the Great Perfection Foundation Establishment, and their coordination was quite seamless. Their sword techniques were sharp and infused with lightning, making the Thunder-Armored Fierce Beast roar repeatedly in anger. It had sustained many wounds, and several of its lightning-flickering quills had been severed. However, the Thunder-Armored Fierce Beast’s defense was too strong, and they couldn’t take it down quickly.

Fang Hao’s gaze swept across the area, and he understood why they were fighting this beast so desperately. Not far behind the Thunder-Armored Fierce Beast grew a small patch of purple bamboo. In the middle of the bamboo grove were three Spiritual Plants that were entirely purple-gold, with leaves shaped like lightning bolts and several fruits surrounded by lingering thunder light at their tips!

"It’s ’purple lightning thunder bamboo’ and ’thunder element fruit’!" Fang Hao’s eyes lit up! These were truly good things! The thunder bamboo was a top-tier material for refining lightning-attribute Magic Treasures, and the thunder element fruit was a Rank 4 spiritual fruit that could temper the Physical Body and increase resistance to lightning techniques. They were worth a fortune!

"No wonder they’re fighting so hard..." Fang Hao licked his lips, feeling a bit envious. However, he didn’t plan to get involved. The four from the Thunder Sword Sect were strong and coordinated well; it was only a matter of time before they took down the Thunder-Armored Fierce Beast. If he rushed out blindly, it could easily lead to a misunderstanding or even a fight, which wouldn’t be worth it.

He was just about to quietly bypass them to look for medicinal herbs elsewhere when a sudden change occurred!

The Thunder-Armored Fierce Beast seemed to be driven into a corner. It suddenly reared up on its hind legs and let out a deafening roar, as all the quills on its back simultaneously erupted with blinding lightning!

"Not good! It’s going to release ’Mad Thunder Heavenly Prison’! Retreat, quickly!" The leader of the Thunder Sword Sect, the Square-faced Youth, turned pale and shouted sharply!

The four reacted extremely quickly, retreating simultaneously!

But they were still a step too late!

Rumble—!!!

With the Thunder-Armored Fierce Beast as the center, a massive cage of lightning formed instantly, covering an area of dozens of zhang! Countless thick silver lightning bolts, like wild silver snakes, struck everything within the cage indiscriminately!

Although the four from the Thunder Sword Sect retreated fast, they were still struck by the lightning at the edge of the cage! Their protective spiritual light flickered violently, and the weakest among them, the Great Perfection Foundation Establishment Female Disciple, let out a muffled groan as blood seeped from the corner of her mouth, clearly suffering internal injuries!

After releasing its ultimate move, the Thunder-Armored Fierce Beast’s aura weakened significantly, but its fierce eyes grew even bloodier. It stared fixedly at the injured Female Disciple and suddenly lunged forward! It intended to deal with the weakest one first!

"Junior Sister, watch out!" The Square-faced Youth was both shocked and enraged, but his attempt to rescue her was blocked by the dense lightning!

It looked like the Female Disciple was about to meet her end!

At this critical moment!

A faint, barely visible green shadow darted out from the flowers on the side like a phantom, moving with incredible speed! At the very moment the Thunder-Armored Fierce Beast’s sharp claws were about to strike the Female Disciple, the newcomer grabbed her by the waist. Shrinking the Ground to an Inch was instantly activated, and they narrowly escaped the range of the claws!

Simultaneously, the newcomer struck back with a sword! At the tip of the sword, an extremely condensed silver sword light flashed briefly and vanished, accurately piercing the relatively soft gap in the scales under the Thunder-Armored Fierce Beast’s armpit, which had been exposed during its lunging attack!

Pfft!

The sword light entered its body! The Thunder-Armored Fierce Beast let out a cry of agony, and its momentum stalled!

"Who is it?!" The other three from the Thunder Sword Sect were both surprised and delighted, and they hurriedly rushed over to provide support.

After saving the person, the green shadow didn’t linger. With a flicker of movement, it vanished back into the flowers. From beginning to end, it was as fast as lightning, and no one could see the person’s face clearly.

"Junior Sister, are you all right?" The Square-faced Youth supported the shaken Female Disciple and asked urgently.

"I’m... I’m fine... That person just now..." The Female Disciple’s face was pale, and she was still trembling with fear.

"I don’t know which Fellow Daoist came to our aid..." The Square-faced Youth looked in the direction where Fang Hao had disappeared, his expression complex, filled with both gratitude and wariness. The other party’s movement technique was too fast and their strike was cunning; their strength was definitely not weak.

Meanwhile, Fang Hao had already slipped hundreds of zhang away and was hiding behind a large tree, curling his lip. "Damn it, I still couldn’t hold back..." He hadn’t intended to mind other people’s business, but seeing that girl about to die, he had acted instinctively. Fortunately, he had run fast enough not to get caught up in it.

He had just breathed a sigh of relief and was about to continue his treasure hunt when his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes suddenly caught several extremely subtle aura fluctuations deep in the dense forest on the other side of the battlefield between the Thunder Sword Sect and the Thunder-Armored Fierce Beast. They were silently creeping toward that patch of purple lightning thunder bamboo!

"Hmm? There’s another ’oriole’?" Fang Hao’s eyes narrowed.