In places where spiritual energy is most concentrated, spiritual plants grow more luxuriantly than in other places, and contain more spiritual power, making them more effective when used as materials for alchemy and weapon crafting.
However, since too many cultivators had come to search for treasure before, most of the valuable spiritual plants here had been harvested, leaving only some weeds that could be seen everywhere.
The mountains were covered with lush trees. As Shi Xuan walked through the woods, he couldn't help but sigh again, "We should have put those people in storage bags and hung them up here."
Chen Qi immediately responded, "How about I go down and bring them back, then hang them here?"
The crowd chuckled and nudged Chen Qi a few times, saying, "Chen, can't you use your stubbornness for something worthwhile?"
"Hahaha, Chen Yaoqiang, you go! I support you! If you don't go today, you're not Chen Yaoqiang!"
"Alright, stop trying to frame Chen Yaoqiang. There are probably several groups of people waiting outside. If he goes out alone, he'll never come back, believe it or not."
...
The team members chatted amongst themselves, and it seemed that over time, Chen Qi's initial resistance had turned into acceptance. It just goes to show how powerful habits can be.
As the group chatted and laughed, they heard a faint rustling sound coming from nearby.
"Be on guard!" Shi Xuan immediately stopped smiling. Anyone who dared to come out in front of so many people was definitely not a simple character.
Everyone assumed a defensive stance. Not long after, a small, dark green snake emerged from the forest, flicking its tongue in their direction.
"It's the Soul-Devouring Serpent!"
Such a monstrous beast exists here! The Spirit-Devouring Serpent is a low-level but extremely troublesome monstrous beast, usually appearing in groups. If bitten by it, a person's spiritual energy will gradually drain away until all spiritual energy is gone, and finally, they will be devoured by a group of Spirit-Devouring Serpents.
Sure enough, right behind this snake, a large group followed, so densely packed that it made one's scalp tingle.
"fire!"
As Shi Xuan finished speaking, the fire spirit root cultivators in the team immediately coordinated to release a wall of fire. The spirit-devouring snakes were blocked by the fire wall and retreated.
The original intention was to let the team members come out to advance, but these Soul-Devouring Snakes are chaotic and numerous, only adding trouble.
Shi Xuan made a decisive decision. She took out the puppet sword and then instructed, "Chen Qi, the earthen wall!"
Chen Qi has an earth elemental root. Although he is a formation cultivator, he still has no problem with some basic spells.
Upon hearing this, he immediately cooperated by using earth wall magic to build a defensive line. At the same time, Shi Xuan floated into the air on the puppet sword and threw an explosive pill directly at the other end of the earth wall.
To deal with such low-level monsters, there's no need for the enhanced version of the Bursting Pill.
The number of Soul-Devouring Serpents was enormous, but their combat strength was weak. After being bombed like that, almost the entire army was wiped out. Only a few were still barely surviving, and they were easily killed by the team members.
But soon they discovered that another wave of Soul-Devouring Serpents was following closely behind.
Shi Xuan used the same method to bomb four times before finally eliminating almost all of the Soul-Devouring Serpents.
“Something’s not right,” Zhang Yingxin pondered. “Although I’ve never seen a Soul-Devouring Serpent, according to the records, although they appear in groups, the number of serpents should not exceed one hundred.”
Sun Shaoxing nodded and said, "Something unusual must be going on. Our stronghold must have been disturbed by something."
“Let’s go in and take a look,” Shi Xuan said, “but be on high alert.”
After the Spirit-Devouring Serpent was dealt with, this green mountain remained as tranquil as ever, with the spiritual energy still as abundant as before, showing no signs of anything amiss.
But it was precisely this unusual tranquility that made people feel even more uncertain.
As the team ventured deeper, no more monsters appeared, as if those waves of spirit-devouring snakes were the only creatures in the area.
"Huh?" Shen Wuyang asked in surprise, "Weren't there several groups of people following us just now? Why did they all stop? Are they scared after seeing the first robbery fail?"
“It’s also possible that something is amiss in this mountain, preventing them from following us,” Shi Xuan said calmly. “If that’s the case, shall we continue?”
"Of course we must go!" Chen Qi immediately stepped forward and said righteously, "We cultivators should forge ahead bravely, undaunted by difficulties, in order to achieve our goals!"
His teammates gave him a meaningful look, and another look praising his "strong will".
Chen Qi, with his chest puffed out, was completely unaware.
But he's right. Now that we've come this far, we have to explore whatever lies ahead.
Shi Xuan took out Swiftness Talismans from his storage space and gave two to each person, so they could use them to escape if anything went wrong.
Seeing this, Chen Qi and Sun Shaoxing were not to be outdone, and they also took out some talismans to distribute to everyone. As representatives of the Luoyin Sect, a sect known for its talismans, how could they let their captain personally make even these basic talismans?
Their action immediately awakened Shen Wuyang. He took out two huge boxes from his storage space, threw them on the ground, and said with great extravagance, "Come on, pick whichever you like!"
Shen Wuyang may not have much else, but he has plenty of spirit stones. He's also a weapon crafter, and he usually doesn't bother selling his finished products, keeping them all piled up in his storage space. But now, they've come in handy.
These two large boxes are filled to the brim with magical artifacts! There are defensive ones, offensive ones, and some with special uses. They are dazzling and have everything you could want. It's almost equivalent to the inventory of a magical artifact shop.
The team members didn't stand on ceremony and cheered as they stepped forward to choose. They thought it would be quite good if each person picked out one or two items, but Shen Wuyang gave them a task.
"Each person must pick five items; so many things take up too much space!"
All team members...
They didn't care what space the items would take up in the storage room, but they were happy to complete the task. In the end, each of them chose five magical artifacts according to their own needs.
This is practically a massive giveaway of benefits to our team, and if those smaller teams that followed in to rob us see it, they'll have to reassess their own wealth.
While selecting magical artifacts, Chen Qi muttered to himself, "If I had known, I should have distributed them in front of the Crimson Flame Team earlier. Back then, when the captain gave out a thousand high-grade spirit stones, Ji Lie was so worried that his teammates would ask him for spirit stones too. If we give out some magical artifacts, I wonder if he will just faint."
Shi Xuan sighed and said, "Alas, we are just too kind. We couldn't bear to put Fellow Daoist Ji Lie in a difficult position..."
The rest of the team members... if you had any clear self-awareness, you would know that you are completely devoid of kindness!
But looking at their captain, she really had no self-awareness at all; her expression at that moment was just like a giant, blooming white lotus flower…
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