"Didn't you notice that the spiritual energy in the canyon was fading?" the black-robed old man suddenly asked.
The big-bearded man and the others were startled. Only then did they realize that the spiritual energy in the canyon was indeed slowly fading. To evade Soaring Heavens Palace's pursuit, they had fled tens of thousands of li before finally reaching North Liang Kingdom. After finding this secluded canyon, rich in spiritual energy, if this place also became a barren wasteland, wouldn't they be forced to wander homeless again? After all, cultivators like them needed sufficient spiritual objects and spiritual energy to continue advancing in their cultivation. Otherwise, once their cultivation stagnated, they would become no different from ordinary mortals after a hundred years, reduced to a heap of withered bones.
"Wherever an anomaly appears, a rare treasure must be found. If we don't search for it now, when will we?" The black-robed old man took one step forward, and his figure had already drifted several yards away.
The Blood Dwarf also came to his senses and nodded. "Geng Lao is right. Let's go!"
The black-robed old man and the other cultivators hurried northwest at full speed. The closer they got to the center of the vortex above the cliff, the denser the fog became.
After running for dozens of li, they saw the enormous white-fog vortex and were instantly filled with astonishment.
But an even more astonished cry came from the Blood Dwarf's mouth. On a small hill ahead, two spiritual ginseng plants grew amid the grass, radiating exceptionally powerful fluctuations of spiritual energy.
"Purple Luo Ginseng!" Judging from the spiritual fluctuations alone, these two Purple Luo Ginseng plants were at least a hundred years old. Almost simultaneously, the few people who saw them grew feverishly excited. Their eyes held nothing else.
Purple Luo Ginseng was the primary ingredient for refining Foundation Establishment Pills. The reason the great sects could pass their legacies down was that they possessed sources of Foundation Establishment Pills. Yet Foundation Establishment Pills were also incredibly scarce, and hardly any ever made their way outside. Thus, for ordinary Rogue Cultivators like them, establishing their foundations was exceedingly difficult. With Purple Luo Ginseng, the other spirit herbs would be relatively easy to gather. Once they established their foundations, they would gain an additional two hundred years of lifespan.
For cultivators like them, who had already reached the Qi Refining Late Stage or Qi Refining Great Perfection, no treasure was more important than a Foundation Establishment Pill. But a new problem soon appeared: there were four of them, while there were only two Purple Luo Ginseng plants!
"Geng Lao, do you know how to refine Foundation Establishment Pills?" The big-bearded man stroked the battle-ax in his hand as he looked at the black-robed old man.
"Do you think Foundation Establishment Pills are cabbages? Only a skilled alchemist might achieve a thirty-percent pill yield. Even a newly initiated alchemist has less than a ten-percent chance of successfully refining one." The black-robed old man sneered.
"What? Refining Foundation Establishment Pills is actually that difficult?" The woman in the green dress, the Blood Dwarf, and the others were all startled.
"Otherwise, we Rogue Cultivators wouldn't be racking our brains to join the various sects." The black-robed old man snorted. "However, if the refinement goes well and the Purple Luo Ginseng is old enough, one batch can produce three pills. But there are four of us, and no matter how formidable an alchemist is, he can't guarantee that both batches will yield Foundation Establishment Pills. Producing even one batch would already be fortunate. Tell me, how should we divide these two Purple Luo Ginseng plants?"
"Naturally..." The woman in the green dress began with a radiant smile, but her gaze suddenly turned cold.
The black-robed old man's pupils contracted, and his figure shot backward.
The woman in the green dress sent her purple silk sash flying, sweeping it toward the big-bearded man.
"Heh heh, you think you can launch a sneak attack on me? Not so easy!" The big-bearded man had been on guard. He swung his great ax, yellow light flickering faintly across its blade, and hacked at the incoming purple silk sash.
Hiss! The sharp ax struck the purple silk sash, ripping it open. At that moment, the Blood Dwarf had already thrown out his twin wheels, which came chopping toward the big-bearded man's back. The twin wheels shot forward like bolts of lightning.
"Geng Lao, if you don't act now, once they kill me, you won't be able to stand against them alone!" Seeing that the Blood Dwarf had joined forces with the woman in the green dress, the big-bearded man's face went pale, and he shouted in panic.
Geng Lao's expression shifted unpredictably as he stood outside the battle. He simply ignored the big-bearded man's peril. Besides, the Blood Dwarf and the woman in the green dress had launched their sudden attack, leaving him no time to lend assistance even if he had wanted to.
"Even if I die, I'll drag someone down with me. You stinking slut, die!" The big-bearded man's face turned ashen before filling with madness. A streak of yellow light flashed as he cast a protective spell on himself. Earth-element cultivators were renowned for their defenses.
With a hiss, the purple silk sash was split open by the great ax.
The Blood Dwarf's twin wheels struck the big-bearded man's sturdy back without the slightest pause. Pfft! Blood sprayed violently from the big-bearded man's mouth, and the yellow light covering his body shattered. At the same time, a needle as fine as an ox hair flew from within the purple silk sash and pierced straight through his chest.
A flash of white light streaked past. The flying wheel circled around the big-bearded man's neck, and a head soared into the sky.
The big-bearded man's head, his eyes still wide with dying resentment, rolled to the ground. The black-robed old man's pupils contracted. He had never expected the woman in the green dress to have hidden a flying needle within her purple silk sash. He had never seen her use such a move before; it truly caught people off guard.
After killing the big-bearded man, the woman in the green dress giggled coquettishly and looked at the black-robed old man. "Geng Lao, tell me—since you can't refine Foundation Establishment Pills, do I still have any reason to keep you alive?"
The black-robed old man calmly replied, "Although there are two Purple Luo Ginseng plants, having one more in hand means one more chance of refining Foundation Establishment Pills. I also don't see any need to share them with you."
The woman in the green dress froze at first. After exchanging a glance with the Blood Dwarf, she immediately threw her head back and laughed, as though she had heard the funniest joke in the world. "Geng Lao, you're only at Qi Refining Great Perfection. Even if you're one or two stages above us, do you really think you have the strength to fight us both at once?"
"Why waste so much breath on him? Kill him!" The Blood Dwarf's face was filled with viciousness. With a wave of both hands, the two flying wheels swept toward the black-robed old man.
"Child's play!" The black-robed old man did not take the twin wheels seriously. He slapped the jade gourd hanging at his waist with his left hand, and a dense cloud of tiny green dots buzzed out. At the same time, he summoned a golden flying sword, which shot toward the Blood Dwarf's twin wheels head-on.
"Shadow Ants? No wonder you're so arrogant. But do you think these low-grade spirit insects can hold me back? What a joke." The woman in the green dress gave a cold shout and flicked her hand. The purple silk sash pierced through the Shadow Ants rushing toward her, caught up with the golden flying sword ahead, and wrapped around its hilt.
"Hurry! I can't hold them off for long." The woman in the green dress was clearly quite wary of these two hundred-plus Shadow Ants, contrary to how effortlessly she had made it sound earlier.
"Got it! Without his flying sword, killing Geng Lao will be as easy as slaughtering a chicken!" The Blood Dwarf let out a strange laugh, looking completely confident.
Clang—
A clear ringing sound echoed. The golden flying sword, its hilt wrapped in purple silk, suddenly trembled. Some golden shell fell away, revealing a pitch-black sword within. It was barely three feet long, yet its might was several times greater than that of the golden flying sword from before. The spiritual pressure radiating from it nearly left the woman in the green dress and the Blood Dwarf unable to breathe.