Dao Sect

Just as Chen Changqing was lost in his thoughts.

The disciple from Medicine God Valley had already finished counting the spirit stones provided by Qingyang, and with an expressionless face, he took out two talismans.

"These are the two talismans for entering Hundred Herbs Valley."

"Activate the talisman once when you enter, and once when you leave."

"Remember this."

"You only have three days. After three days, regardless of whether you have found the medicinal herbs in Hundred Herbs Valley, you must come out."

"If you do not come out, the mountain-protecting formation will automatically launch an attack."

"At that time, your life or death will have absolutely nothing to do with us, Medicine God Valley."

Qingyang nodded, took the talismans from the Medicine God Valley disciple's hand, and promptly handed one to Chen Changqing.

The talisman felt slightly cool to the touch, with intricate formation patterns carved upon it, and faint spiritual energy circulated within.

It seemed to be used for identity verification to avoid being accidentally harmed by the mountain-protecting formation.

"Junior Brother, let's hurry!"

Qingyang smiled as he looked at Chen Changqing and said.

Chen Changqing gave a soft hum of acknowledgment.

Without any delay, he and Qingyang activated their talismans together and entered Hundred Herbs Valley.

After passing through the mountain-protecting formation, the scene before the two suddenly changed.

They saw that inside Hundred Herbs Valley, ancient trees towered into the sky, spiritual mist swirled, and mountains rolled in the distance.

"What dense spiritual energy of heaven and earth."

Chen Changqing could not help but exclaim.

Just by taking a deep breath, he felt his entire body and limbs become a little more comfortable.

The density of spiritual energy in Hundred Herbs Valley was no less than that of the inner sect of the Mount Shu Sect.

"Junior Brother Chen, I am truly sorry about something."

Suddenly, Qingyang looked at Chen Changqing with an embarrassed expression.

"Hmm?"

Chen Changqing was slightly surprised, and looking back at Qingyang, he asked, "What is it?"

Qingyang sighed and said:

"For inviting Junior Brother Chen to come to Hundred Herbs Valley with me this time, I only brought one hundred spirit stones as compensation."

"I won't hide it from you, Senior Brother is indeed... short on funds."

Upon hearing this, Chen Changqing did not mind at all, waved his hand, and said:

"Senior Brother, you are too serious."

"Even if you didn't offer any compensation, we both came out of the Seven Courtyards of the outer sect, so I would still help you."

"It's just..."

Speaking of this, Chen Changqing frowned and added:

"Since Medicine God Valley dares to open Hundred Herbs Valley to the public, I imagine that most of the good things inside have already been acquired by them."

"Will the item you are looking for be difficult to find?"

After Chen Changqing said this, Qingyang smiled calmly.

The next moment, he waved his hand, and a yellowed map appeared in his hand.

"Junior Brother, I have a detailed map!"

"It records the location of the Three-Colored Flower that I need."

"And that place is extremely hidden; even if the people from Medicine God Valley have already searched Hundred Herbs Valley beforehand, they might not have been able to find it."

"I obtained this map at some cost from an elder of the Shushan inner sect."

Chen Changqing nodded, thinking to himself that Qingyang had certainly made full preparations for this trip to Hundred Herbs Valley.

"Junior Brother, follow me!"

"We will head straight to the location of the Three-Colored Flower."

After a moment of silence, Qingyang said this.

Then, the two did not delay and immediately followed the map's guidance, flying away on their swords.

Before they knew it, two days had passed.

"Senior Brother Qingyang, are you sure the map is correct?"

Chen Changqing raised an eyebrow and asked Qingyang with a puzzled look on his face.

Earlier, the two had arrived at the target area according to the map.

However, after searching for a long time, there was no sign of the item Qingyang needed.

"This?"

Qingyang froze, his face full of bitterness and helplessness, at a loss for words.

Could the elder who gave me this map have been pulling my leg? he wondered.

But upon second thought, he felt that was unlikely.

"Could someone have beaten me to it?"

Soon, this thought sprouted in Qingyang's mind.

After all, many people from other sects entered Hundred Herbs Valley every day in search of spiritual herbs.

It could not be ruled out that the item he needed had already been obtained by someone else.

Thinking of this, Qingyang took a deep breath and said, looking slightly dejected:

"Junior Brother Chen, I'm afraid I have to trouble you to search a bit longer with me."

"Since we're already here, after all."

"Once the time is up, regardless of whether we find it or not, we will leave Hundred Herbs Valley immediately."

Chen Changqing nodded slightly; he wasn't trying to rush Qingyang.

He simply felt that the chances of finding anything by continuing to search like this were slim.

The two then prepared to continue scouting the surroundings, but just then, a sudden change occurred.

"Boom!"

A violent fluctuation of spiritual energy erupted not far ahead.

The commotion clearly indicated that someone was fighting.

Hearing the sound, Chen Changqing and Qingyang exchanged a glance, quickly suppressed their own auras, and moved rapidly toward the source of the battle.

Before long, the two arrived at a valley.

Looking out, they saw two young cultivators locked in a fierce struggle.

One of them wore a cyan Daoist robe, his hands forming seals, with lightning flickering around his body, his aura extraordinary.

The other was dressed in a black robe, with demonic energy surging all over his body.

In particular, his eyes appeared terrifyingly scarlet; he was clearly a member of the Demon Sect.

Furthermore, both youths possessed significant cultivation, both being Core Formation stage cultivators.

Moreover, they were Core Formation cultivators who had condensed over ten thousand strands of true energy.

After entering the Core Formation stage, cultivators would continue to condense true energy; generally, a late-stage Core Formation cultivator would have thirty thousand strands, and only those of genius caliber could continue to condense it, up to a maximum of ninety thousand strands.

Upon seeing the scene before him, Qingyang said with a shocked expression:

"These two are both very strong!"

"They are both mid-stage Core Formation cultivators who have condensed over ten thousand strands of true energy."

"Even within the Mount Shu inner sect, they would be at the level of the top few dozen on the Top 100 Ranking."

As for Qingyang's remarks, Chen Changqing's expression remained calm.

I wonder how many strands of true energy I will be able to condense once I reach Core Formation?

While Chen Changqing was lost in thought, the two youths in the valley fought with increasing intensity.

"Boom!"

"Heaven and Earth Thunder Technique—Break!"

The youth in the Daoist robe roared.

Immediately following, lightning exploded from his palm, transforming into a brilliant thunder dragon that struck directly toward the Demon Sect member.

"Hah!"

The demonic cultivator sneered coldly, and the demonic energy swirling around him surged violently.

In the next moment, the terrifying demonic energy transformed into a hideous demonic shadow, clashing head-on with the thunder dragon.

"Boom!"

"Bang!"

A deafening roar echoed, shockwaves churned, and trees within a hundred-foot radius were shattered to pieces.

Following this, the Demon Sect youth attacked even more ruthlessly.

Soon, he had firmly suppressed the youth in the Daoist robe.

"Take this demonic palm!"

"Boom!"

Seizing an opening in the Daoist-robed youth's defense, the Demon Sect youth struck out with a fierce palm.

"Pfft!"

Caught off guard, the Daoist disciple was sent flying back by the blow, spitting out a large mouthful of blood.