Mu Qingyun was shocked. Although she was a disciple of the God Institute and not an alchemist, she was well aware of how precious a Heavenly Flame seed was.
In the immortal world, there were immortal flames, divine flames, beast flames, devil flames, etc. But it was Heavenly Flames that were the most precious existence. These were flames of the Heavenly Daos, spirits born of the qi flow of the Heavenly Daos.
Heavenly Flames were priceless treasures that alchemists dreamed of obtaining. Even with the Pill Instituteâs foundation, Heavenly Flame seeds were extremely precious. Amongst all the people that Long Chen had encountered so far, only the Seven Star Elder, He Ziyu, possessed a Heavenly Flame.
âBrother San, if that Heavenly Flame seed really appears, we arenât able to subdue it. Weâll be incinerated before we even get close,â said Mu Qingyun.
âItâs unknown if the Heavenly Flame seed will even appear. But if it does, it will be in a newly born state with no consciousness. There wonât be any danger. Qingyun put away the flying boat. Everyone is to enter Crescent Moon Valley. There are countless beasts here. There are also plenty of poison bugs around. Everyone must be careful, or you might lose your life at any moment,â warned Long Chen.
Mu Qingyun put away the flying boat. Long Chen led everyone forward slowly. Li Cai brought up the rear with some other experts. After all, their sense of danger and reactions were much better than these disciples of the Unfettered Alliance. This was the only way to guarantee everyoneâs protection.
Suddenly, Long Chenâs hand snaked out and grabbed Mu Qingyunâs sword. Light flashed. A âvineâ beside Mu Qingyun was severed.
That was a poisonous snake camouflaged as a vine. It was killed just as it prepared an attack against Mu Qingyun.
âA Black Fang Viper!â
Mu Qingyun was startled. She recognized this viper. Its poison was horrifying. It had a pair of black fangs. If bit, ordinary antitoxin pills were useless. You would die within a moment of being struck by its poison.
Long Chen resheathed Mu Qingyunâs sword as if nothing had happened and continued onwards.
Zhong Ling and Zhong Xiu looked from Mu Qingyun to Long Chen. That viper had concealed itself perfectly. None of its aura leaked out. But Long Chen had easily killed it before its attack landed. That confidence and ease dazzled them.
âBrother San, how are you so amazing? How did you do this?â Zhong Ling ran over to Long Chenâs side.
âWhen you understand just how precious your life is, you will be able to do the same,â said Long Chen lightly.
âI donât understand,â said Zhong Ling.
âIt just means that I value my life more than you. I wonât let anyone take it from me. For example, in a place where you can lose your life at any moment, I donât have time to chat,â said Long Chen.
Zhong Ling finally understood that he was rebuking her for still wasting time asking questions instead of watching out for dangers on their path. She didnât get angry by this rebuke. She ran back over to Mu Qingyunâs side, keeping her mouth closed.
âAh!â
A disciple suddenly slipped. Half his body sank into the ground, startling everyone. Others quickly pulled on him.
BOOM!
Li Caiâs sword slashed onto the ground. Only then did they manage to pull that person out. There were still tree roots wrapped around his feet. Those roots had been severed by Li Caiâs attack. A blood-like liquid dripped out of the cut.
âItâs a tree demon. Everyone, be more careful. If you had been paying attention, you might not have fallen for its attack. There was someone to save you this time, but you might not be so fortunate next time,â warned Li Cai.
This was a sly kind of tree demon that hid underground. It specialized in laying traps for its prey, which included beasts and humans. It would absorb their flesh as nutrients.
âYes, many thanks, big brother Li Cai.â That disciple was still pale. He had almost died.
There were countless dangers around them. Their nerves were tight. After half a day of travel, the sky started darkening. The forest was shrouded in darkness. The sound of a wild beast would occasionally ring out, raising their hair.
âBrother San, the sky has darkened. Shouldnât we find a place to rest during the night?â asked Mu QIngyun. Just walking around here during the day was frightening enough. Now that it was dark, even she was a bit afraid.
This place was the wilderness. If something happened here, no one would come to save them.
Suddenly, a strange sound came from beneath Mu Qingyunâs feet. She lowered her head and jumped up, grabbing Long Chen.
It was a skeleton. The flesh had already been eaten by wild beasts. Moss had started to grow on top of the bones due to how long had passed. If Mu Qingyun hadnât stepped on it, they wouldnât have known that there was a corpse beneath them.
Mu Qingyun tightly grabbed Long Chenâs arm. Long Chen didnât make a sound. He just stood there. It was only after a moment that Mu Qingyun realized that her actions were inappropriate, and she immediately let go, her face as red as an apple.
Zhong Ling and Zhong Xiu smiled mischievously when they saw that, causing her to be even more embarrassed.
Long Chen slowly knelt down, searching around the skeleton. He found some rotting clothes. There was no way to identify whether it was the robes of someone from the academy.
However, he quickly found the status plate near the corpseâs waist. He picked it up and looked at it.
âItâs a disciple from the Immortal Institute. Furthermore, it was someone from the outer academy just like us.â Mu Qingyun seemed to feel like she had been too embarrassing just now, and brazenly stepped forward to examine the plate.
âA disciple of the Immortal Institute actually dared to come here? They didnât know their own power.â One disciple shook their head, feeling like this person had practically been courting death.
âSomeone who didnât have their own burden wouldnât gamble their life. People who arenât trying are not qualified to mock someone who is risking their life,â said Long Chen lightly.
âYes. Boss San, I was wrong.â That disciple hastily apologized.
Long Chen tossed the status plate to that disciple. âIf you have a chance, return this status plate to the Immortal Institute. Perhaps his father, his mother, his brothers, his sisters were all searching for information on where he was during these years. They prayed for him to return, but regretfullyâŚâ
Long Chen shook his head and continued onwards. After that skeleton appeared, a shadow was cast over everyoneâs hearts. They became even more cautious.
The sky turned darker and darker. It reached the point that they couldnât even see their own fingers when they waved their hands in front of them. Long Chen suddenly waved his hand. A spear was thrown into the forest, followed by the roar of a beast. Some rumbling rang out along with some trees shaking.
The sound gradually faded as the beast fled. Having been struck by Long Chen first, it didnât dare to come over.
They progressed through the darkness for over two hours. Those two hours felt longer than a year to them. Suddenly, they felt that the ground beneath them was no longer soft. Instead, it was rock-like. The air was filled with a burning scent.
âWeâve reached the entrance of Crescent Moon Valley. Everyone can rest,â said Long Chen.