Form-Shaping Grass

"Cao Family Sister, isn't this a little too risky?"

Atop the tallest mountain in the center of the Pill Realm, Dan Chen looked at the enormous cave before them and felt the pressure within growing stronger. Her brows furrowed slightly.

"Your strength hasn't even reached the Dou Wang level, and I only recently broke through to Dou Ling. Brother Xuan is only a two-star Dou Wang."

"But the King of Demonic Beasts in this place is a Seventh-tier Magical Beast!"

A Seventh-tier Magical Beast was the equivalent of a human Dou Zong expert. If three Alchemists with strength around the Dou Wang level really ran into one, it would be no different from courting death.

"My teacher told me that the Seventh-tier Magical Beast in this place is a Mysterious Armored Dragon Turtle."

Cao Ying cautiously hid in the woods outside the cave, her eyes sweeping the surroundings warily.

Dan Xuan stayed close behind Dan Chen, guarding her without a moment's pause, afraid that anything might happen to his younger sister.

"The Mysterious Armored Dragon Turtle is usually a loner. According to the Pill Tower seniors who opened this place long ago, it was badly injured when it broke through to the seventh tier."

Cao Ying quietly shared what she knew with the two of them.

As Xuan Kongzi's disciple, she knew quite a bit about the secrets of this place.

"But most importantly, the Mysterious Armored Dragon Turtle is guarding a pool of Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk. It's an incredible treasure for us Alchemists."

Dan Chen and Dan Xuan exchanged glances, and each saw a flicker of interest in the other's eyes.

They and Cao Ying were all from the Five Great Clans of the Pill Tower. They certainly weren't sheltered novices.

Still, Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk was indeed a rare Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure.

Legend had it that this treasure only formed when Mysterious Yellow Earth Qi deep underground gathered for more than ten thousand years and condensed into a liquid.

It could be used to refine certain seventh- and eighth-grade pills, and drinking it directly could also enhance one's soul power.

"If Senior Xuan Kongzi knows about this, why didn't he arrange for someone to come and get it?"

Dan Xuan couldn't help asking.

"What kind of person do you take my teacher for?"

Cao Ying shot Dan Xuan an exasperated look.

"Though the Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk is precious, is it really worth the trouble of having my teacher send someone to get it?"

At this, Cao Ying gave a quiet snort.

"My teacher once said that every wondrous treasure of heaven and earth has someone destined to obtain it. As it happens, this Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk is probably the greatest stroke of fortune in this place."

"So, are you two going to help me seize this opportunity?"

As she spoke, Cao Ying gazed intently at the siblings before her.

Dan Chen and Dan Xuan exchanged a glance. After a brief silent discussion, Dan Xuan gritted his teeth and said,

"Let's do it. But you have to tell me how we're supposed to deal with that Seventh-tier Mysterious Armored Dragon Turtle."

Cao Ying took a jade bottle from her Nakai Ring and blinked at him.

"This is Soul-Bewildering Saliva, refined by an elder in my family. It's enough to keep a Seventh-tier Magical Beast unconscious for more than three hours."

"With this, we can take the Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk from the cave."

Cao Ying was extremely meticulous. She had made all sorts of preparations and plans before even coming to this place.

"If you've got everything prepared, why do you need our help?"

Dan Xuan was older, and tended to think more deeply about things, so he pressed her for an answer.

"The Mysterious Armored Dragon Turtle rarely leaves this cave, and someone has to feed it the Soul-Bewildering Saliva."

A helpless look flashed across Cao Ying's face.

"I've been wandering around this place for ages. Maybe I've just been unlucky, but I haven't run into a single member of the Cao Family."

"Besides, you Dan Family Siblings are both talented. I consider you rivals in the art of alchemy."

"And since I happened to run into you, I thought I'd ask you to work with me."

Three members of the Cao Family had entered this place, including Cao Ying.

But they had all been sent to random locations, and despite searching for months, Cao Ying hadn't found a single member of her family.

"So you want me to go in and drug the Mysterious Armored Dragon Turtle?"

Dan Xuan pointed at himself, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"Of course. Of the three of us, you're the strongest. You should be at the three-star Dou Wang level by now, right?"

Cao Ying raised her chin, wearing an expression that said it was only natural.

"Besides, I'm the one who came up with the plan and prepared the Soul-Bewildering Saliva."

"You're the strongest man here. You can't expect me to send your sister and myself—two delicate women—to do something so dangerous, can you?"

"Delicate women..."

Dan Xuan's mouth twitched slightly.

Among the younger generation of the Five Great Clans of the Pill Tower, he might not like admitting it, but Cao Ying was universally recognized as the most talented and the most formidable.

His younger sister might have been able to match Cao Ying in alchemy talent, but she was nowhere near her when it came to scheming and strategy.

"Are you going or not? Give me a straight answer."

Seeing that Dan Xuan was still hesitating, Cao Ying raised her willow-like brows and impatiently urged him on.

"I'm going. Fortune favors the bold. Why wouldn't I?"

Dan Xuan gritted his teeth.

"But the Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk inside must be split equally among the three of us."

"Fine!"

This deal clearly put Cao Ying at a disadvantage, but she still agreed.

"I'll leave my sister in your hands. I'm going in to check things out."

Dan Xuan gave Dan Chen a slight nod, then took the jade bottle from Cao Ying. His wings of Dou Qi spread, and he flew toward the cave.

Dan Chen said nothing, watching the direction Dan Xuan had flown with a worried expression.

"Dan Chen, you don't need to worry so much about your brother."

Seeing the look on Dan Chen's face, Cao Ying yawned.

"I refuse to believe the Dan Family didn't give you something to protect yourselves when you came here."

"Besides, you have Teleportation Jade Talismans. If anything goes wrong, Dan Xuan can use one to leave at any time."

Dan Chen said nothing, only pressing her lips together.

The two waited patiently outside the cave. Since this was the territory of the Seventh-tier Magical Beast, the Mysterious Armored Dragon Turtle, no foolish Magical Beasts came to cause trouble.

In fact, as long as the Mysterious Armored Dragon Turtle didn't appear, this place was much safer than most of the other areas in this realm.

"Why has Dan Xuan been in there for so long?"

Cao Ying glanced at the sky, her expression growing a little tense.

"Whether he succeeded or failed, he should have come out by now."

Beside her, Dan Chen looked even more worried. Her small hands were clenched so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.

"Boom!"

Just then, a dull crash suddenly rang out from inside the cave.

Both of them felt the ground beneath their feet shake violently.

Before either of them could react, Dan Xuan had already flown out on his wings of Dou Qi.

His face was pale, and there was a smear of blood at the corner of his mouth and across his chest.

"Run! The Mysterious Armored Dragon Turtle has awakened its Bloodline Power!"

Dan Xuan's shout exploded in their ears.

"The Soul-Bewildering Saliva didn't work on it."