After Xia Yuanqiu withdrew, Liang Ji and the others returned to Medicine Mountain and divided up the supplies and treasures they had scavenged earlier.
There were seven kinds of Spirit Medicine and Spirit Roots, two Spirit Springs, one Spirit Fire Seed, three kinds of Medicinal Mud Spirit Seeds, one Alchemy Furnace, and three Pill Recipes.
After a brief discussion, the three agreed that Peng Yue's Ice Soul Serpentfolk had undoubtedly contributed the most in this battle, so she got first pick. She took three kinds of Spirit Medicine and Spirit Roots, one Spirit Fire Seed, one kind of Medicinal Mud Spirit Seed, and an Alchemy Furnace.
Clearly, Peng Yue planned to train alchemists among her Vassals.
Liang Ji and Fang Xiaohan split the remaining treasures evenly, each receiving two kinds of Spirit Medicine and Spirit Roots, one Spirit Spring, and one kind of Medicinal Mud Spirit Seed.
As for the three Pill Recipes, each of their Vassals made a copy, and they shared them.
After dividing the treasures, the three teams continued on. The remaining Spirit Medicine, medicinal mud, and Spirit Springs on Medicine Mountain had all been cut off from their roots and would soon die.
It wasn't worth Liang Ji's Vassals wasting time gathering them. These things were low-tier consumables, after all, and they could be bought in bulk with Star Coins in the Star Alliance.
Moreover, this star was only the Natal Star of a First-Order Star Lord. The consumables grown here could only be used on a Natal Star; they couldn't be taken to an external Main Star or used in the Star Alliance.
As mentioned earlier, it took at least the Natal Star of a Second-Tier Star Lord to cultivate first-order spiritual consumables that could then be harvested and used on a Main Star or in the Star Alliance.
In the end, they'd gotten this rare chance to enter the star of a fallen Star Lord for the trial and scavenge its treasures. Naturally, they needed to spend more time and effort searching for foundational treasures like Spirit Roots and Spirit Seeds. How could they waste time on low-tier consumables that weren't even worth Spirit Stones?
As they continued along their route, Fang Xiaohan's Shadow Serpentfolk scouted ahead for treasures. The three found a mineral deposit and an orchard, and from them they each obtained a Bronze Ore Mother Spirit Seed and a Wind Apricot Spirit Root.
But after that, the resource sites the Shadow Serpentfolk found had all been breached by others, who had taken the Spirit Roots, Spirit Seeds, and other treasures.
Quite a few Vassal teams had entered the Natal Star of Star Lord Chen Yuan for this trial, most of them belonging to the strongest students in the Star Lord Classes of the ten high schools.
As Liang Ji and the others scavenged resources and treasures, the Vassals of other Star Lords were doing the same.
"I don't think we need to keep searching like this." After they found yet another resource site that had already been breached and stripped bare, Fang Xiaohan offered her opinion. "By now, most of the resource sites across this star have probably been picked clean."
"What's left should be the core homeland of this star's Feathered Serpentfolk. There ought to be more treasures there. It's also the core of this star's Spirit Vein, where Spirit Stones can be mined!"
Fang Xiaohan continued, "After scouting and measuring the land for some time, my Vassals have more or less pinpointed the location of the core."
At once, Liang Ji replied, "Then let's go."
Peng Yue nodded in agreement beside them.
Fang Xiaohan said, "Good! But that place is also bound to draw everyone's attention. Most of the Star Lords' Vassals participating in this trial will probably head there. A chaotic battle may break out, so we need to be ready."
Liang Ji and Peng Yue nodded, their expressions turning grave.
Since entering this trial star, they had fought only once, against the team led by Xia Yuanqiu's Vassals. They had won, but only by a narrow margin.
That alone showed that among the Star Lords in this trial, they weren't strong enough to crush everyone.
If a chaotic battle broke out and they handled it poorly, they could suffer heavy losses and a crushing defeat. Not only would they fail to collect treasures and Spirit Stones at the core, they might even lose what they'd already found.
Liang Ji in particular had realized during the earlier battle against Xia Yuanqiu's Crimson Serpentfolk that his own mutated Vassals still fell somewhat short of the top pay-to-win student teams from the ten high schools, both in equipment and combat strength.
A chaotic battle against those top pay-to-win teams would put him at a serious disadvantage.
His Half-Dragonfolk Vassals might even be the first to suffer heavy losses and be eliminated.
To make up for that disadvantage, the only option was to coordinate well with Peng Yue's and Fang Xiaohan's Vassal teams in battle.
Peng Yue's Ice Soul Serpentfolk and Fang Xiaohan's Shadow Serpentfolk had both received plenty of investment and each had their own strengths, but neither could crush every opponent.
Only by fighting together as three teams would they stand a better chance of defeating their enemies and winning. Their earlier battle against Xia Yuanqiu's Crimson Serpentfolk had already proven as much.
So the three teams followed the Shadow Serpentfolk's directions toward the core homeland of this trial star's Feathered Serpentfolk, while repeatedly drilling their battle coordination along the way.
After several days of travel, the three teams finally reached the core homeland of this star's Feathered Serpentfolk.
It lay among the largest mountain range on the star, atop its tallest peak.
The Feathered Serpentfolk were of the Wind Element and had wings that let them fly through the sky, so they had settled atop the tallest peak in the star's largest mountain range.
The place truly did gather the star's Spirit Vein and spiritual energy, making it ideal for the Feathered Serpentfolk to breed, grow, and thrive.
When Liang Ji and the others arrived, they could already see fighting and slaughter erupting around the tallest peak from far away.
Fang Xiaohan was especially surprised. "Among the Star Lords participating in this trial, are there others who found this place before my Shadow Serpentfolk? More than one, even?"
"Looks like we really can't underestimate these people."
When the ten high schools in Xiūshé City arranged the Star Lord students' trial, they naturally strove to make it fair, impartial, and transparent. When they transported the Star Lord Vassals into the trial star, they placed them all at roughly similar locations, far from the star's core.
Among these Vassals, those without skill in stellar surveying, land measurement, and scouting might not even find this place before the trial ended.
That was part of the trial itself.
Fang Xiaohan's Shadow Serpentfolk excelled at surveying the stars, measuring the land, and finding their way. They had been quite confident in those abilities.
So when they discovered that other Star Lords' Vassals had already arrived here first—and that there was more than one team—how could they not be surprised?
As they had discussed and practiced beforehand, the three teams didn't approach the fighting or join in. Instead, they stopped to regroup, while Fang Xiaohan sent her Shadow Serpentfolk to scout the surroundings and assess the battlefield.
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without peril.
Thanks to all the readers for your tips and support with monthly tickets!
Before you continue