"Why not?" The disciple sneered, his eyes flashing with mockery. "The White Fairy single-handedly destroyed the guardian beast and killed seven Nascent Soul cultivators. Of course, you deserters wouldn't know that." He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Liu Yingjie and the others, as if enjoying their expressions of impending collapse.
Liu Yingjie was struck dumb, his whole body trembled violently, and all color drained from his face instantly.
He stared intently at the gatekeeper, his cracked lips trembling but unable to utter a word.
The absurd news kept echoing in his mind: Bai Ying single-handedly destroyed the guardian beast? Slew seven Nascent Soul stage cultivators? And even retrieved five Dao Source Fruits?
Every word struck his heart like a heavy hammer.
"Just...just her?" Liu Yingjie squeezed out these words through gritted teeth.
His fingers twitched unconsciously, his nails digging deep into the flesh of his palms, yet he felt no pain.
Seeing this, the disciple's mockery deepened. He deliberately leaned forward and lowered his voice, saying, "The sect leader also ordered that one Dao Source Fruit be given to everyone who went to pick it, and two more be refined into pills and distributed to all the disciples in the sect." He paused deliberately, a hint of pleasure flashing in his eyes, watching Liu Yingjie and the others' faces gradually contort, and continued, "In other words, if you hadn't deserted and fabricated lies saying everyone was dead, you could have received two rewards!"
With a "boom," these words exploded in Liu Yingjie and the others' ears like a thunderclap.
The disciples who deserted instantly turned ashen-faced. One of the younger disciples' legs buckled, and he knelt on the ground. Another clutched his clothes so tightly that his knuckles turned bluish-white.
That's the Dao Source Fruit! A legendary treasure of heaven and earth, appearing only once every hundred years!
Even a tiny amount, the size of a fingernail, would be enough for them to break through the bottleneck that had plagued them for years.
And now, they have missed twice the opportunity!
This realization made everyone's breathing quicken, as if a huge rock was pressing on their chests.
"This is impossible! You're lying to me, aren't you?" Liu Yingjie suddenly sprang to his feet, his hands, veins bulging, gripping the gatekeeper's clothes tightly, his eyes bloodshot, looking like a madman.
His voice was hoarse and shrill, "That Bai Ying looks so weak, only at the late Nascent Soul stage. How could she possibly handle so many Deity Transformation stage experts? You're talking nonsense!"
Liu Yingjie's spittle sprayed all over the gatekeeper's face, distorting his entire face beyond recognition.
"Get out of the way!" The gatekeeper shoved Liu Yingjie hard, and Liu staggered back a few steps before falling heavily to the ground.
"Who cares to lie to you?" The gatekeeper wiped his face with disgust, straightened his torn clothes, and sneered, "Who in the entire sect doesn't know about this now? Even the Grand Elder who was in seclusion was alerted." He looked down at Liu Yingjie, who was slumped on the ground, his eyes full of contempt: "Everyone except you few will get a reward. Alright, I don't have time to waste here with your madness, I'm going to collect my reward!"
Liu Yingjie slumped to the ground, as if his soul had been ripped away.
Boundless regret surged forth like a tidal wave, almost overwhelming him.
Two rewards...that's two Dao Source Fruits!
This realization gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake.
If they hadn't deserted, if they hadn't given false intelligence... they should have had a place among the cheering crowd now.
Images uncontrollably flashed through Liu Yingjie's mind: his cultivation greatly improved after consuming the Dao Source Fruit, he was appreciated by the sect leader, and from then on, he rose rapidly in rank... But now, all of that had become a mirage.
Cheers erupted in the distance as the disciples who had received the pills excitedly discussed their effects.
Someone took it on the spot, and their body immediately radiated a spiritual light, drawing envious exclamations.
This jubilant scene, however, was like a sharp knife, piercing the hearts of Liu Yingjie and his companions.
They stared blankly at the crowd in the distance, their eyes filled with a complex mix of longing and despair.
"What...what did we miss..." a deserter muttered to himself, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably, leaving two clear tear streaks on his dusty face.
The others were also ashen-faced, their eyes filled with despair and regret.
Some people buried their heads in their hands and wept, some sat there blankly, and others kept pounding the ground with their fists until their knuckles were bloody and mangled.
At this moment, they finally realized that what they had missed was not just two opportunities, but a chance to soar to great heights.
Such an opportunity is probably one that one will never encounter again in this lifetime.
Liu Yingjie suddenly let out a painful howl, his voice filled with anguish and regret. He frantically grabbed his hair, as if that could alleviate the pain in his heart, but all to no avail.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on them, casting long, long shadows, much like their endless regret.
In the distance, the laughter from within the sect still echoed, while they felt as if the whole world had abandoned them, and they had missed such a great opportunity.
—
At this moment, Bai Ying was putting the golden toad into her storage bag, and with a light stroke of her fingertip at the opening of the bag, she set up a restriction.
The golden toad wriggled restlessly in the bag, its beady eyes gleaming with a cunning light.
Where is that ancient ruin located?
Bai Ying's voice was as cold as frost, and a wisp of spiritual power lingered around her fingertips.
The golden toad immediately replied obsequiously, "It's just ahead, I'll show you the way right away." Its eyes darted around, and its dark red tongue licked its lips from time to time.
In the darkness of the storage bag, it plotted how to lead this human cultivator into a desperate situation.
After traversing the miasma-filled Swamp of Ten Thousand Poisons, the Golden Toad deliberately led the White Firefly around several dangerous areas.
Poisonous bubbles occasionally rose from the putrid swamp, and twisted poisonous vines lurked in the shadows, ready to strike. Yet, Bai Ying's skirt remained spotless, and she precisely avoided the lurking dangers with every step.
"This is it." The golden toad suddenly spoke, pointing to a stone tablet covered by vines deep in the swamp. It deliberately led the white firefly to a secluded path to the left of the stone tablet, which seemed to be the entrance to the ruins, but was actually filled with killing formations left over from ancient times.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
