Longxueteng—just hearing the name, it sounded like some kind of extremely rare spiritual item.
In fact, it truly was, at least for cultivators. This kind of spiritual plant was incredibly scarce.
But in truth, cultivating Longxueteng wasn’t that difficult. In fact, it was extremely simple.
All it required was watering Longxueteng seeds with Dragon Blood, and it would grow.
This was precisely why cultivators could hardly ever find Longxueteng.
This spiritual plant fed on Dragon Blood, and countless years ago, the Dragon Race had already uprooted it from the land.
“Why is the Magic Path cultivating Longxueteng here?” While following the Protector deeper into the resource area’s Forbidden Land, Linglong muttered to herself.
Even the Protector didn’t know the answer to this question. He was, after all, just a pawn on the chessboard.
All he knew was that Hei Long Gang was cultivating some spiritual item called Longxueteng here, but not why they needed to do so.
He wasn’t even qualified to enter the Forbidden Land. He’d never even seen Longxueteng’s true appearance.
“The Forbidden Land is up ahead, but it’s sealed off by the Sect Leader with an Array. I can’t open the gate.” The Protector led the three of them to an area enclosed by Array formations.
This was Hei Long Gang’s Forbidden Land—a place only the true upper echelons of the sect could enter.
“At least a Ling Wang Realm Array. This won’t be easy…”
Hua Jian sensed the strength of the Array and was just about to say it would be tough to handle, when she saw Linglong casually pull a delicate Small Hand Crossbow from her Storage Pouch.
Without a word, Linglong raised the crossbow and fired a Silver Arrow directly at the Array.
The arrow instantly pierced the Array’s defenses, and then exploded, blasting the entire formation to smithereens.
Seeing the massive Array so effortlessly destroyed by Linglong, both Hua Jian and Taichi wore identical stunned expressions—their mouths agape as if you could fit a whole chicken egg in.
It was destroyed just like that?!
Then why didn’t you use this move when we were fighting earlier? Was it because you thought the opponent was too weak, not worthy of it?
“It’s a special situation now.” Linglong put away her crossbow and explained with a backward glance.
The previous fights had been little more than child’s play. If she used this kind of ‘cheat’ weapon in such a fight, her master would definitely scold her harshly upon return.
But now, it concerned a Dragon Race secret, and she absolutely couldn’t deal with a Ling King-level Array by her own power—so wasn’t this precisely the time to use an external ‘hack’?
In situations like these, Linglong was permitted to use such out-of-scale methods.
As the Array collapsed, everything within the Forbidden Land was revealed to the trio.
The most striking feature, without doubt, was the mass of black-red vines coiling across the ground like venomous snakes.
Wherever these vines spread, the land was stripped of vitality, all plants withered, and every nutrient was drained by the evil, black-red Longxueteng.
“These are just the branches of Longxueteng. Its main body isn’t here.” Linglong glanced at the vines on the ground and swiftly made her judgment.
“I’ll look it up… Longxueteng… Found it!” Hua Jian pulled out her Bestiary to search for information on Longxueteng.
Maybe because it was so rare, she found the entry quickly.
This spiritual plant needed Dragon Blood to grow. It would anchor its main body in Dragon Blood while spreading its branches as far as possible to absorb more nutrients.
It was a highly destructive spiritual item—its expansion was limitless, and if not contained, just one Longxueteng could drain an entire mountain range dry.
The Lingcaifeng Master stressed in the Bestiary: whenever you encounter this spiritual plant, you must destroy it— even if it’s useless to cultivators.
“It can be used as an ingredient in alchemy, for… all very high-grade Alchemy Pills.”
“But the medicinal strength of those pills is too intense—not suitable for cultivators.” Linglong stepped into the Forbidden Land, slicing through obstructing vines with her sword while explaining to Hua Jian.
If the pills made from this spiritual plant were any good for cultivators, would they ever have allowed the Dragon Race to eradicate Longxueteng?
The Dragon Race managed to nearly wipe out Longxueteng precisely because cultivators found it difficult to use.
After accepting benefits from the Dragon Race, they simply turned a blind eye.
Ironically, the Alchemy Pills made from Longxueteng were especially effective for the Dragon Race themselves.
Hm?
Linglong paused abruptly in her hacking motions. Effective for the Dragon Race themselves?
Recalling that mysterious black dragon hiding among the Magic Path, she seemed to understand everything.
No wonder they were cultivating Longxueteng here—it was to make Alchemy Pills!
While Linglong was lost in thought, Hua Jian sneakily summoned her own thin vines and stabbed them fiercely into the Longxueteng at her feet.
She wanted to test whose vines were stronger—hers or Longxueteng’s.
And as it turned out… she was a bit too strong.
Given Hua Jian actively released her vine, it exploded with incredible enthusiasm, rooting itself into the Longxueteng and spreading at a speed even Hua Jian herself found hard to believe.
Would the energy be absorbed into Hua Jian’s body?
No, those invasive roots didn’t do that at all. Hua Jian’s own capacity was too small—if she let all that power flow into herself, she’d burst in a matter of seconds.
Absorbing power and strengthening itself, Hua Jian’s Cai Vine multiplied itself using the energy of Longxueteng, putting on a classic show of “fighting war with war” and a chain reaction.
At first, the vine’s spread was slow, but as it occupied more and more Longxueteng, the Cai Vine’s growth speed soared.
Linglong was busy hacking vines up ahead when she suddenly felt something was off.
The black-red vines that she could previously chop through easily now contained countless tough, slender, colorful threads. Upon closer inspection, she saw these threads seemed to be sucking the vitality out of Longxueteng.
“Hua Jian, was this you?” Linglong instantly found the culprit—this could only be the work of one person!
Hua Jian shrugged innocently. “I just wanted to try it. Didn’t expect it to work so well.”
She’d already withdrawn her main vine, but the roots embedded in Longxueteng kept on ravaging without further support, battering Longxueteng till it was utterly defeated.
“And this method is way easier than you slaving away at cutting vines.”
Hua Jian pointed at their feet.
“Why are these black vines blooming?” Taichi delivered a perfect assist just then.
At the trio’s feet, the once fearsome black vines were shriveling up, and one after another, beautiful little colorful flowers burst through the black vine’s skin, showing off their beauty in the sunlight.
A fresh floral scent drifted through the air, instantly lifting one’s spirits…
There had been nothing like this in the Forbidden Land before—instead of flower fragrance, there was always a faint blood-stench, weighing heavily on the heart.
But as the bloodvines bloomed, the stench vanished, replaced by a sweetness that would cheer anyone’s heart.
It also distracted people from just how bizarre this scene really was.
With the three as the center, the black-red vines withered and bloomed rapidly outward, the speed so fast it was like a wildfire; in the blink of an eye, the black vines at their feet had become a sea of colorful flowers.
And that was only the beginning. Once the near vines bloomed, the distant ones followed suit.
Colorful threads spread inside Longxueteng, draining its vitality, bursting into bright little flowers.
“Faster than you chopping, right?” Hua Jian lifted her chin at Linglong with pride.
She’d solved the blocking Longxueteng so easily—surely Linglong couldn’t complain.
Besides, she hadn’t absorbed Longxueteng’s power, so Linglong had even less reason to object.
In such a mood, Hua Jian was naturally proud and fearless.
Her thinking was sound. Linglong truly couldn’t find fault with Hua Jian’s actions.
She couldn’t scold Hua Jian for doing a good job, could she? That would just make her look like a jealous senior sister.
“Mm. Let’s head to the center of the Forbidden Land. That’s where the real core lies.”
Hua Jian had already wiped out all the Longxueteng branches. Next was to find Longxueteng’s main body at the heart of the Forbidden Land.
“Hua Jian, Taichi, be mentally prepared.” On the way there, Linglong seriously warned Hua Jian and Taichi.
“What kind of mental preparation?” Hua Jian asked, puzzled. She’d seen her fair share of storms—what could possibly scare her now?
Seeing Hua Jian had no idea what they were about to face, Linglong sighed softly and explained, “To cultivate Longxueteng, you need Dragon Blood. And where does Dragon Blood come from?”
Right, where does Dragon Blood come from? Only from dragons themselves!
Behind the growth of every Longxueteng was the unjust death of several dragons. Would the Longxueteng here be any different?
Of course not.
Hua Jian understood Linglong’s point. “So we’ll be seeing a dragon soon?”
“A dragon?!” Taichi was far more shocked than Hua Jian. She was a total rookie, her knowledge of dragons limited to legends and stories.
So learning she was about to see a real dragon, her heart was a wild jumble of astonishment and excitement.
Amazed that she’d see a dragon, delighted… that she’d see a dragon.
In that instant, she genuinely felt she’d chosen the right person to follow in Hua Jian. In just a few days, she’d witnessed things she never dared dream of.
It was a dragon!
“But that dragon’s condition won’t be good—it might already be dead.” Linglong doused their enthusiasm. The way the Longxueteng thrived meant the dragon feeding it would be in terrible shape.
This wasn’t a symbiotic relationship like Dream Butterfly and Illusory Dream Flower—this was predation!
“So that’s the mental prep? I think I can handle it… wait, do you guys smell something rotten?”
Hua Jian was about to say her heart could handle anything—but halfway through, a light breeze carried a putrid stench that made her stomach churn.
Ugh, what smells so bad?
Linglong sniffed, her expression grave as she nodded.
Only Taichi looked around in confusion—why couldn’t she smell anything?
“This smell… that dragon must be doomed.” Linglong sighed. It was the scent of decay, which meant the dragon’s body was rotting—death was at hand.
“If we hurry, maybe we can still save it. Let’s go!” Hua Jian, however, wasn’t too discouraged. After all, they didn’t know for sure if the dragon was dead.
Maybe they could still save it?
Linglong and Taichi hurried after Hua Jian, and as they went deeper, the stink grew so strong that even Taichi finally caught it.
“This stench—the dragon here must be dead!” Taichi called, pinching her nose.
At first she doubted Linglong’s dire prediction, but now she felt even that was optimistic.
She was sure there was no “good fortune” left here at all.
“The color of the Longxueteng has changed. Watch your step—Longxueteng is highly aggressive,” Linglong warned.
No sooner had she spoken than a Longxueteng, which had been lying quietly on the ground, suddenly sprang up.
The tip of the vine split into a huge, four-petaled mouth, lunging at Hua Jian.
If it bit down, Hua Jian would have to rename herself as Hua·Jian.
“Coming for me, huh?” Hua Jian was prepared. As soon as the Longxueteng attacked, she shot out her own thin vine in response.
It was a battle between two plants, yet both moved as flexibly as venomous snakes.
Longxueteng twisted, seeking a gap in Hua Jian’s defense; Hua Jian’s vine wove into a net, blocking every opening.
Only when Linglong drew her sword and chopped through the Longxueteng was the stalemate broken—neither side gaining the upper hand.
“It has at least Ling Wang-level defense. My vine couldn’t pierce its skin at all.” Hua Jian wiped her forehead, her earlier quick reflexes hiding how close she’d danced on the edge of death.
One misstep and her head would’ve been bitten off!