Conflict

While Xiao Yu hid away to recover, fierce clashes erupted between elite disciples at several other well-known locations where mature spirit herbs grew!

After all, there were only a handful of places where the ripening of spirit herbs could be predicted accurately. Conflict between the various sects' "experts" was inevitable!

In a secluded valley northeast of Xiao Yu, three people were locked in a standoff over two fruits growing on a small tree.

The two fruits were the size of fists, with pale yellow skins that gave off a faint halo in the sunlight. A rich, unusual fragrance wafted from them. Clearly, these two Heavenly Spirit Fruits were already ripe.

In front of the Heavenly Spirit Fruit tree lay a massive green wolf over ten feet long. Its millstone-sized head was nowhere to be seen, and it had clearly been dead for some time.

Not far from the wolf's corpse, three people in different attire stood in a triangle. None made a move, seemingly deeply wary of the other two.

"What do you want? I killed this Gale Wolf all by myself. Are you planning to steal these Heavenly Spirit Fruits from me?" At last, one of them spoke, his face full of anger.

The speaker was a young man in yellow, around twenty years old, with ordinary features and a short, stocky build. He held a black spear in one hand and a black-and-red gourd in the other. Spiritual light shimmered over both artifacts, marking them as top-grade artifacts at a glance. No wonder he had managed to kill that high-grade demonic beast, the Gale Wolf, on his own.

"Benefactor Li, I never expected us to meet again. We truly share quite a bond of fate!" This time, the speaker was a middle-aged Daoist wearing gray robes, with an antique longsword strapped to his back.

The Daoist had an upright face and the ethereal bearing of an immortal. Yet he completely ignored the young man's challenge and instead exchanged pleasantries with the other man, an elder in blue.

"Indeed, I never expected to run into you here either, Fellow Daoist Wu!" The elder leaned on a green walking stick and had a kindly, approachable face. He spoke to the middle-aged Daoist with perfect composure, likewise sparing the young man not so much as a glance.

The yellow-clad young man from Yellow Maple Valley immediately flew into a rage. Gifted from childhood, he had cultivated his foundational technique to the thirteenth layer at a young age. Wherever he went within his sect, people showered him with praise. How could such humiliation at these two men's hands not fill him with hatred?

He was about to spit out a few threats to express his fury, but before he could speak, the Daoist and the elder's next exchange made his expression change drastically.

"To avoid giving trouble time to grow, let's catch up later. There are two Heavenly Spirit Fruits here, just enough for us to split evenly. How about one each?" Unwilling to risk any further surprises, the elder immediately proposed joining forces with the Qingxu Sect Daoist opposite him to divide the spirit fruits.

The middle-aged Daoist showed no hesitation at these words and nodded his agreement.

"That suits me perfectly!"

The young man in yellow heard every word of their exchange, and shock and fury surged through him!

Although he was somewhat conceited, he knew that with the two men joining forces, he stood no chance against them alone. Yet he could not bear to abandon the spirit herbs that were almost within his grasp!

After rapidly turning the matter over in his mind, the young man suddenly shot backward toward the two Heavenly Spirit Fruit trees. He intended to snatch one fruit and immediately flee, leaving the other for the two men to fight over.

"You're courting death!"

Unfortunately, the two men gave him no such opportunity. The moment the young man moved, the gray-robed Daoist's face darkened. He formed a hand seal and sent the longsword on his back flying out. It turned into a streak of yellow light that shot straight toward the young man.

The yellow streak was astonishingly fast. In just a few flashes, it overtook the young man despite setting off later and intercepted him, blocking his path.

The elder in blue raised his hand and hurled his walking stick, which turned into a streak of green light that hurtled toward the young man.

The young man was horrified. This artifact was so fast! He could no longer afford to pick the spirit fruit,

He raised his hand and sent his black spear forward to meet it while retreating rapidly. Apparently, realizing his plan was hopeless, he intended to flee for his life. "Young friend, it's too late to think of running now! Leave your little life here. Those two artifacts in your hands will be just right for Fellow Daoist Wu and me-one each!" Before the young man had retreated even two steps, the elder's unhurried voice came from behind him, sounding as though it were right beside his ear and frightening his soul nearly out of his body!

His face deathly pale, the young man in yellow glanced back. Sure enough, the elder stood barely ten feet away, smiling at him as the green walking stick in his hand erupted with intense green light and swung toward him.

Pale-faced, the young man sent his gourd into the air. A string of enormous fireballs spewed from it to meet the elder's walking stick.

At the same time, he spun swiftly and changed direction, trying to keep fleeing. But the gray-robed Daoist brought out a horsetail whisk, which transformed into countless fine strands that filled the air and blocked his escape.

"If you won't leave me a way out, I'll fight you to the death!" He immediately pulled all manner of talismans and artifacts from his storage pouch and hurled them at the two men, concentrating his attacks on the Daoist as he tried to break through them one at a time.

Then a fierce battle erupted between the three...

A quarter of an hour later, the young man in yellow was ultimately overwhelmed by superior numbers and slain by the combined efforts of the Daoist and the elder.

"Hahaha! Fellow Daoist Wu, we've made quite a haul this time! Let's divide the spirit herbs and artifacts. I hope we'll have another chance to work together!" Looking over the ravaged battlefield, the elder in blue laughed heartily and made his proposal.

The Qingxu Sect Daoist gladly agreed. Each took one Heavenly Spirit Fruit and one top-grade artifact, along with a share of the other valuables, and they immediately went their separate ways.

The same thing was happening in several other places at the same time.

Outside a stone hall on a ridge of the Ring-shaped Mountain, four people had split into two sides and were fighting with various artifacts.

One side consisted of two breathtakingly beautiful women in white palace gowns, both disciples of the Covering Moon Sect.

One of them, a stunning woman with bright eyes, pearly teeth, and beauty worthy of a celestial maiden, controlled several ice-crystal longswords. They filled the air with crystalline light and waves of cold, leaving the two men opposite her drenched in sweat and blue-faced under her onslaught.

The other lovely woman beside her controlled two flying sword artifacts, one blue and one white, assisting with the attacks!

Their opponents, however, belonged to different sects.

One was a man in patterned clothes who sheltered behind a diamond-shaped shield while commanding a huge white bear to desperately fend off the stunning Covering Moon Sect woman's ice-crystal swords. A closer look revealed that he was Zhang He from Spirit Beast Mountain, who had fought Xiao Yu when they entered the bronze gate.

The other was a handsome, upright young man. Judging by his green robes, he was probably a disciple of the Blade Transforming Dock.

Two blood-red flying daggers danced before him, radiating bloody light. They were clearly top-grade artifacts. Yet these two impressive artifacts could now do no more than form a pair of wheel-sized, blood-colored light screens in front of him, laboriously holding off the attacks of the ice-crystal swords and the blue and white longswords.

"Stop! We admit defeat! Qin Xian'er, Ling Yue, you win. The spirit herbs inside this stone hall are yours!" The young man from the Blade Transforming Dock truly could not hold out any longer and finally became the first to concede.

Hearing this, Zhang He said nothing, merely staring at the women opposite him with an unwilling expression. Still, he summoned the giant white bear back to his side, clearly accepting the young man's words.

"Hmph! At least you know what's good for you. Now get lost!" the stunning woman named Qin Xian'er said coldly.

At her words, both Zhang He and the young man from the Blade Transforming Dock turned livid. Yet they could only cast another reluctant glance at the stone hall before leaving with aching hearts, disappearing behind the rocks without a trace.