Chapter 54 Exploring the Ruins 2 Breaking up is impossible!
After glancing at Xu Xing, who was beaming with excitement, Chen Du took the lead and entered the Medicine Valley. He carried his sword and walked among the many high-grade spiritual herbs. He even reached out and picked a Nine-Star Illusion Branch, carefully examined it, and confirmed again and again that there was nothing unusual before finally nodding to Xu Xing.
Xu Xing cheered and immediately plunged into the sea of spiritual herbs and medicines—he was going to make a fortune!
At a glance, it seemed that almost none of the spiritual herbs planted here were below the fifth rank. Xu Xing carefully picked them while mentally calculating what kind of pills they could be used to refine. She hadn't been able to try refining some of the recipes unlocked for her [Medical Skill] because she lacked the necessary materials, but fortunately, this place contained the spiritual herbs needed for several of those pills!
Shen Du stood on a large rock in the herb valley, keeping a close eye on Xu Xing's movements. Herb gathering requires skill, and although he wanted to help, he couldn't guarantee that the medicinal properties wouldn't be lost. Acting rashly might damage the quality of the medicinal herbs, so he stood by and watched for the time being, without going forward to help Xu Xing gather herbs.
He looked around. The valley wasn't large, but the medicinal herbs were surrounded by weeds, as if it had been neglected for years. Could there be clues to the key here?
Suddenly, he noticed something carved on a distant mountain wall. Shen Du repeatedly warned Xu Xing not to go far and to be vigilant about his surroundings. Only after Xu Xing assured him did he go over to investigate. He found dozens of roughly drawn little figures carved on the mountain wall, each holding a long, thin object and waving it around. Looking at a single figure, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but when viewed together…
Shen Du's gaze sharpened. He stepped back a bit and looked at the figures from left to right. He realized that if viewed together, these little figures were clearly performing a sword technique!
He picked it up without thinking and began to imitate the movements of the little figure on the mountain wall. He was deeply immersed in swordsmanship and had an exceptional talent for it. He mastered it after just one round. The swordsmanship was quite profound, but he always felt a strange sense of stagnation when he swung the sword. He practiced it again and finally realized that it was a two-person swordsmanship!
Looking at the rough little figures on the mountain wall again, Shen Du noticed that one of the figures had an extra line behind its head, distinguishing it from the other figures. Because of the long passage of time and the erosion of the mountain wall, he did not react immediately.
But who would inscribe this sword technique around Medicine Valley?
Shen Du searched carefully on the mountain wall and finally found a few blurry small characters in the corner: “Gift…Frost…”. Some of the characters were already indistinguishable, but when he saw the character “Frost”, he suddenly thought of something and immediately turned around to go back to find Xu Xing.
Xu Xing selected dozens of the oldest of each kind of spiritual herb, but left nearly half unpicked. She intuitively felt that this herb valley and the herb field in the Exploration Realm did not belong to the same owner. The different kinds of spiritual herbs in the herb field were mixed together and growing haphazardly, as if it was used to deceive people.
This medicinal valley was clearly planned, with herbs whose medicinal properties clashed far apart, and herbs with similar properties placed in adjacent plots. The distance between each herb was carefully arranged so that they could grow vigorously without competing for nutrients. It was obviously planted by a meticulous alchemist. However, looking at the weeds that had grown due to neglect, Xu Xing thought that the alchemist had probably been gone for many years...
Unbeknownst to her, Xu Xing slowly walked along the herb garden into the depths of the herb valley. She noticed a strangely shaped red spiritual herb beside her and stopped in confusion. What was this spiritual herb? She had never seen it before. Could it be, like the Seven-Leaf Lingzhi, unique to the demon realm?
Xu Xing did not touch it rashly, but instead moved closer to observe the slender leaves of the spiritual herb. He was completely unaware that the soil at the base of the herb was slightly loosened, as if something alive was moving underneath.
This herb looks so strange...
Xu Xing stared at the dark red protruding granules on the leaf. Why did it look so ugly? It made him feel a little uncomfortable.
Suddenly realizing something, alarm bells rang in Xu Xing's mind—this was probably a poisonous plant! She immediately got up, wanting to get away, but then she saw a long black worm burst out of the soil from the roots of the plant, heading straight for her face!
Shen Du left the cliff, intending to find Xu Xing, but discovered that she had already left the spot. Judging from the marks on the ground, she must have gone deeper into the valley. He immediately quickened his pace, and just as he caught sight of Xu Xing, he witnessed a thrilling scene!
The worm transformed into a black line, moving at an extremely fast speed. Xu Xing couldn't react at all. Just as it was about to burrow into her brow, a golden light shot out from behind, instantly slicing the worm in two!
The black liquid dripped onto the ground, making a terrifying "sizzling" sound. A large area of soil was instantly corroded. It's not hard to imagine what would happen to Xu Xing if he were actually touched by this insect.
Xu Xing took two steps back, still shaken. Seeing Chen Du walking quickly towards her, she said thankfully, "Thank you..."
The black worm, cut in half on the ground, was still writhing. Chen Du unleashed several sword energies from his fingertips, crushing it into a pulp before finally stopping and coldly glancing at Xu Xing.
This is a Soul-Severing Worm that parasitizes the Soul-Severing Poison Grass. It is extremely poisonous. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator gets in contact with it, he will die within a few breaths and turn into a puddle of pus in a moment, with no chance of survival.
The words of thanks that were about to come out stopped when she saw Shen Du's extremely ugly face. Xu Xing opened her mouth, but felt guilty and did not dare to look Shen Du in the eye. She stammered, knowing that she had been so happy to see so many spiritual herbs that she had forgotten her senior brother's instructions and had gone far away on her own, which was why she had almost lost her life.
Relying on her protective armor plates that could withstand attacks, she acted more boldly. However, the armor plates could not protect against poison, and she could not defend against such a powerful poisonous insect. If her senior brother had not arrived in time, she would probably be in grave danger.
Shen Du's gaze was icy cold as he said in a chilling voice, "You came to the Demon Realm at Senior Fu Shuang's request, and you think it's fun? Seeing so many spiritual herbs, you think you're very lucky, don't you? You have many defensive magical artifacts, so you think you're safe and sound, don't you?"
The usually taciturn senior brother's three consecutive questions stunned Xu Xing.
She had never seen Shen Du speak to her in such a stern tone, nor had she ever been looked at by him with such cold and indifferent eyes.
Still reeling from the near-death experience, Xu Xing was at a loss, stammering as he explained, "No! I, I..."
"Why bother looking for a key? Even if you go back and are punished by Senior Fu Shuang, it's better than being attacked by poisonous insects here and turning into a puddle of pus."
"You said you wanted to cooperate, invest in me, and become a great alchemist. Since you have no regard for your own life, I think there's no need to mention cooperation anymore."
Shen Du's chest rose and fell slightly, and his right hand, which had just unleashed sword energy, was still trembling almost imperceptibly. He stopped looking at Xu Xing and turned to leave.
"Senior brother! Senior brother! I'm sorry, I was wrong, I shouldn't have run away! I'm so sorry!"
How could Xu Xing let him leave like that? She hurriedly chased after him, apologizing repeatedly. Seeing that Chen Du was walking quickly, she rushed over and grabbed his sleeve tightly in her anxiety.
"I'm sorry! Senior brother, please believe me, I promise I won't do it again next time."
Xu Xing looked up at Chen Du with sincere eyes.
This time it was indeed her carelessness. Given a second chance at life, she would cherish it greatly and would certainly not make the same mistake again!
Chen Du paused, but thinking of the ground corroded by the poisonous insects, and the scene that might occur if the venom fell into Xu Xing's body, he closed his eyes, pulled up his sleeve, and continued walking out.
"You're not sorry to me."
Xu Xing stared blankly at Shen Du's resolute back as she walked away without looking back, feeling bewildered. Was this the perfect business partner she had finally managed to win over going to break up with her?
Although it was called a collaboration, her senior brother had always helped her more. He had long since paid back the spirit stones she had given him to rent the Void Peak. Not to mention that her senior brother had saved her life several times, the fact that he had given her a place to live on the Profound Sword Peak was a great help.
Being by Shen Du's side was the most relaxing time for Xu Xing. She didn't have to worry about any danger or anything. Since leaving the Jade Cloud Sect, her excessive curiosity had led her to treat this mission as a leisurely trip. In reality, she was just taking advantage of her senior brother's willingness to accompany her and did whatever she wanted.
Chen Du has always been the one to accommodate her.
If Shen Du is no longer willing to compromise, where will she find another investment partner who is both capable and good-tempered?
Xu Xing pursed her lips. Since she couldn't catch up with Chen Du, she simply stopped chasing him. Instead, she squatted down, hugged her knees, buried her head between her arms, and faint sobs could be heard.
She felt an indescribable sadness. Thinking of the cold gaze Shen Du had given her earlier, Xu Xing felt a tightness in her chest. But at this moment, she had not yet realized what was truly hurting her, and thought it was because she had lost a very good senior brother.
After all, how can one become a skilled alchemist without ensuring safety? Without the aid of the Transcendental Transformation Technique, the difficulty increases significantly.
Thinking that her senior brother had abandoned her and left, saying that they were going to break up, which meant that she would have to find a way to get out of the Exploration Realm on her own, what would she do if she couldn't get out with her current cultivation level?
Xu Xing became increasingly heartbroken as he thought about it, and tears soaked his sleeves.
"Why are you crying?"
The voice of the returning ferryman was still cold, but it carried a hint of helplessness.
Xu Xing paused, his eyes darting around, and suddenly he had an idea. Not only did she not look up, but her sobs grew even louder.
Senior brother, I'm so sorry! In order to salvage the precarious partnership, she had no choice but to resort to "moral blackmail"!
"Waaah, I... I just wanted to gather more high-grade spiritual herbs to refine pills that my senior brother could also use."
"..."
"Waaaaah, not only did I almost get poisoned to death, but my senior brother also abandoned me."
"..."
Chen Du squatted down and gently patted her back, his movements a little stiff. "I didn't leave, don't cry."
Seeing his softened attitude, Xu Xing's lips, hidden between his arms, curled up slightly, but he still kept his head down, sobbing in a muffled voice, "Then you promise that you will never think of breaking up again! And you will never abandon me!"
"...Okay, I won't say those things again. I'm sorry."
Xu Xing immediately seized the opportunity, sniffed, and looked up, "Senior brother agreed! Does that mean you're not angry anymore? You don't blame me?"
A strange feeling flashed through Shen Du's mind, but when he saw Xu Xing's red eyes, the feeling quickly disappeared. He pursed his lips and said in a low voice, "I don't blame you."
"I shouldn't have walked away just now. I'm sorry, it won't happen again." Although Shen Du was a little angry at Xu Xing's carelessness, he was even angrier that he almost failed to save her.
Before he even realized it, Xu Xing had become the person Shen Du wanted to protect the most, and he couldn't bear to see her get hurt in any way.
Seeing that he had not only calmed down but also apologized to him, Xu Xing still looked aggrieved, but he couldn't help feeling happy inside.
Why look for anyone else? There's no one easier to "fool" than Senior Brother Chen Du!
Breaking up is out of the question!
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Author's note: Shen Du: Let's break up.
Xu Xu: Waaaaah!
Shen Du: ...I'm sorry.
Xu Xu: Hehe!
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(The original description of Xu Xu's sudden "crying" was not precise enough, so I made some minor revisions.)
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