Fierce Beasts Retreat, Who Will Claim the Spirit Grass Becomes a Dilemma

When they returned to the rocky valley, night had already fallen. The Chaos Qi in the air carried a faint scent of blood, a trace left by the Chaos Giant Bear. Moonlight filtered through the sparse clouds, illuminating the mess on the ground—the bear's footprints, collapsed rocks, and... the Three-Leaf Golden Ganoderma that had been trampled.

The Three-Leaf Golden Ganoderma was no longer vibrant as before. Its three golden leaves were crushed and tattered, and its roots had snapped, scattering into the dust. However, perhaps due to the resilience of an innate spiritual herb, a few relatively intact remnants still held a faint golden light, hinting at a trace of weak life force.

"It can still be saved!" Su Qingyan's eyes lit up. She quickly walked over, carefully brushed away the dust, and picked up the remaining leaves. She counted four in total: two were relatively complete, while the other two were only half-left, their life force even weaker.

Lin Yue also walked over. Looking at the remnants in Su Qingyan's hand, his heart stirred. Even as fragments, this Three-Leaf Golden Ganoderma was an innate spiritual herb, containing far more energy than ordinary Chaos energy blocks. If he could refine it, it would undoubtedly benefit his cultivation, especially since he had just broken through and needed resources to consolidate his realm.

"These remnants..." Lin Yue was about to speak when Su Qingyan tucked the two relatively complete leaves into her embrace, leaving only the two smaller fragments in her hand.

"These two are mine." Her voice was cold, as if the tacit understanding they shared during their battle in the valley had never existed. "If you hadn't insisted on snatching it, I would have gotten the complete spiritual herb long ago. It's already lucky for you that I'm leaving you these fragments."

Lin Yue frowned, a surge of anger rising within him. "Su Qingyan, can you be reasonable? If I hadn't lured the giant bear away just now, you would have been smashed to death by it. How would you have had the chance to pick up these fragments?"

"So what?" Su Qingyan looked up at him, a hint of mockery in her eyes. "If you hadn't tried to grab the spiritual herb first, would the giant bear have been attracted? In the end, it's your fault."

"You're twisting logic!" Lin Yue was so angry he laughed. "This spiritual herb was ownerless. Whoever got it first, got it. What did I snatch from you? Besides, I didn't hold back during the fight with the giant bear. Why should you take the good ones and leave me with the leftovers?"

"Because I found it first!" Su Qingyan refused to back down, the flames around her reigniting. "I told you, this spiritual herb should have been mine. Leaving you two fragments is already a consideration for our cooperation just now."

Lin Yue looked at the stubbornness in her eyes, and the anger in his heart gradually subsided, replaced by a sense of helplessness. He finally understood that Su Qingyan was completely unreasonable. In her eyes, anything she fancied first had to be hers.

"If that's the case, there's no need to talk." Lin Yue no longer bothered to argue and directly reached for the two smaller fragments in Su Qingyan's hand. "These two are mine, that's acceptable, right?"

"How dare you!" Su Qingyan recoiled sharply, clutching the fragments to her chest, the flames around her burning even brighter. "I told you, this is mine!"

"Su Qingyan, don't push it!" Lin Yue's patience had reached its limit, and the Chaos Qi in his dantian began to circulate. "If it weren't for me just now, you wouldn't have gotten even a single fragment. What's wrong with giving me two now? Or do you think I'm easy to bully?"

"So what if I bully you?" Su Qingyan was also furious. She had already been upset that Lin Yue had snatched a leaf, and now seeing him try to take more, her anger flared. "If you have the guts, come and take it. See if you can get it from me!"

The two were once again at each other's throats, the air thick with tension, as if they would fight at any moment. Under the moonlight, Lin Yue's Chaos energy clashed with Su Qingyan's flames, creating ripples.

Just then, a gust of wind blew, stirring up the dust on the ground and also dissipating some of the anger between them. Lin Yue looked at Su Qingyan's tense profile and suddenly found it somewhat ridiculous—was it really worth another fight over a few fragments? They had just gone through a life-and-death battle, and neither had much energy recovered. If they fought again, they would likely both be injured, a loss outweighing any gain.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart. "Forget it, I don't want to fight anymore. How about this: we split it equally—you take one complete one, I take one complete one, and for the remaining two small ones, one each. Is that fair enough?"

Su Qingyan was taken aback, clearly not expecting Lin Yue to suddenly compromise. She looked at Lin Yue, a complex expression flashing in her eyes as if she were weighing the pros and cons. After a moment, she snorted, "You know what's good for you." With that, she took out a relatively complete fragment from her embrace and threw it to Lin Yue.

Lin Yue caught it, feeling the faint life force remaining in the fragment, and felt a little more at ease. He put the fragment away, picked up a smaller piece, and said, "Then I'll take this one."

Su Qingyan didn't speak. She tucked the remaining small fragment into her embrace and turned to leave.

"Wait." Lin Yue suddenly spoke.

Su Qingyan stopped and looked back at him, a hint of wariness in her eyes. "What else do you want?"

Lin Yue looked at her, pondered for a moment, and said, "Although these fragments still have some life force, most of their energy has already dissipated. Refining them directly might not be very effective. I know a refining method that can preserve the spiritual herb's energy to the maximum extent. Do you want to hear it?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Su Qingyan's eyes. She clearly hadn't expected Lin Yue to voluntarily share a method. She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Tell me."

"It's very simple," Lin Yue said. "When refining, don't rush to absorb. First, fuse the life force within the fragments with your own energy, like... like steeping tea in warm water, slowly brewing it, letting the energy penetrate your dantian bit by bit. This way, you can absorb it to the maximum extent. Rushing for quick results will only lead to wasted energy."

This was actually a method he had come up with while recovering his energy, combining his insights from the Dao Rhyme Fragments. Although simple, it contained the principle of gradual progress.

Su Qingyan pondered. She cultivated the Flame Law and had always pursued explosive power, accustomed to refining resources quickly and decisively, never considering "slow brewing." However, she also knew Lin Yue wasn't lying to her—Chaos energy was inherently violent, and rushing to absorb it could indeed lead to waste or even damage the meridians.

"Thanks." She said in a low voice, so quiet it was almost carried away by the wind. Then, she turned and disappeared into the night like a red streak.

Lin Yue watched the direction she left, smiled, and also turned back towards the cave. Under the moonlight, his figure gradually disappeared into the Chaos Qi, leaving behind the mess in the rocky valley, a testament to the struggle and cooperation that had just occurred.

By the time he returned to the cave, it was deep into the night. Pangu was still sitting on the large rock, his eyes closed, meditating, like an eternal statue.

Lin Yue tiptoed to Pangu's side and briefly recounted the day's events. Finally, he took out the relatively complete Three-Leaf Golden Ganoderma fragment. "Senior, this spiritual herb fragment still has some life force. Would you like to refine it?"

Pangu slowly opened his eyes, glanced at the fragment, then at Lin Yue, and shook his head, gesturing for him to keep it.

Lin Yue didn't insist. He put the fragment away, sat cross-legged beside Pangu, and began circulating his cultivation technique to recover his energy. Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the cave roof, falling on him and Pangu, outlining two serene figures.

He knew that today's events were just the beginning. In this perilous Chaos, his interactions with Su Qingyan would likely continue. And that small spiritual herb fragment might become the catalyst for their next encounter.