Li Xuanqi entered the dense forest. Dressed in snow-white robes, her Immortal Qi flowed around her. Her complexion was as fair as jade, and her loose skirt could not conceal her stunning figure. Her body was shrouded in radiant immortal light, making her appear sacred and beautiful.
She did not search blindly. The prodigies from the major powers all had a sufficient understanding of the Ancient Sanctuary, including this prival forest. Before their departure, their elders had all bestowed them with special thods, and Li Xuanqi was no exception.
She ford a seal with her elegant hands, and the light of runes swirled around her as she summoned a palm-sized Koi Talisman. The talisman ignited, and the small, exquisite koi frolicked in the air, continuously circling as if searching for nearby treasures. This ancient forest was filled with many treasures, so she expected the koi to lead her to one in a matter of monts.
However, a full ten breaths passed, and the koi remained circling in midair. Like a headless fly, it seed to have lost its sense of direction and offered no guidance.
Li Xuanqi stood in disbelief. Could my luck really be so bad that I landed in a spot with no treasures nearby, in an ancient forest that’s teeming with them?
Refusing to believe it, she increased her Mana output. The koi expanded slightly, its senses now able to reach a greater distance as invisible ripples spread out in circles, extending out for three hundred li. Yet, the koi still didn’t react, continuing its circling as if stuck in an endless loop.
Li Xuanqi took a deep breath and changed her hand seals again.
BUZZ!
The light flared, and the koi expanded to the size of a human head, its circling speed increasing.
Five hundred li!
Still no reaction!
Li Xuanqi gritted her teeth. A thousand li!
POP!
The talisman trembled all over before falling to the ground. It bounced twice, then dissolved into a mote of light and vanished. The treasure-hunting Talisman’s energy was completely depleted, and it had found no trace of any treasure.
Li Xuanqi was stunned. What in the world is going on? Is the treasure-hunting Talisman broken?
Deciding not to rely on spells any longer, she stepped onto her Sun and Moon Golden Wheels and flew low to the ground, personally searching for opportunities to test her suspicion.
Before long, she stopped near a lake where the Spiritual Energy was exceptionally rich. At its center, a dense Spiritual Mist lingered, clearly indicating the presence of a rare treasure.
A bright smile blood on Li Xuanqi’s face. It seems the treasure-hunting Talisman really was the problem. As the Saintess of Mount Shu, when have I ever been unlucky?
She did not act rashly. As a chosen daughter of heaven who had once fought alone and slain a Nascent Soul Seventh Layer dragon far beyond her own level, she was experienced and understood that where there are treasures, there are also strange beasts.
She pointed a slender, jade-like arm. The Lunar Golden Wheel spun out, growing as it flew through the air. Its dazzling, pure moonlight transford into an indestructible blade of air that shredded all the giant trees within a hundred zhang of the shore. In the center of the lake, a massive boulder weighing ten thousand jin was lightly grazed by the blade and instantly turned to dust, scattering like snow. The Lunar Golden Wheel circled the lake once, its terrifying blade of air combing through the water from the surface to the bottom, not sparing a single inch of space.
Yet, it failed to kill a single creature. The lake remained perfectly calm. Other than the water having beco a bit murky, there was nothing. Not even a dead fish could be found. It was as if this lake had been devoid of life from the very beginning.
"How can this be?" Li Xuanqi said in surprise. "How can such a treasure growing in the center of the lake not attract any strange beasts?"
A sense of foreboding rose in her heart. She stepped onto the Sun Gold Wheel and rose into the air, passing through the thick Spiritual Mist to arrive at the lake’s center. Instantly, she saw a scene that made her grit her teeth in anger.
On the far shore of the lake lay a gigantic skeleton. She could vaguely make out that it had once been a ferocious Ancient Giant Crocodile. Its body had been as large as a mountain, and even its skeleton was as massive as a small hill. It had been slain here by so unknown person, its flesh and blood completely refined away.
Not only that, but the hide of such a crocodile was extrely valuable, perfect for either refining defensive artifacts or as a dicinal ingredient. That person had even stripped the skin, leaving only the bare skeleton behind.
In the heart of the lake, where there should have been lotus leaves and flowers, now not even a seed pod remained. All that was left was a single, glossy green stem standing there, utterly alone and pitiful beyond words.
Li Xuanqi was both shocked and furious. She was shocked that soone had been able to move about freely before her, snatching the opportunity first. She was furious that this person didn’t have to be so thorough!
Even if they took the lotus flowers, leaving so lotus leaves would’ve been fine!
But no. The perpetrator, whoever they were, had not only stripped the Ancient Giant Crocodile of its hide but had also collected every single fish and shrimp that had existed in the lake, leaving none behind. The fish in this lake, nourished by that lotus for many years, would have undoubtedly had delicious flesh, and a soup made from them would be as potent as a great tonic!
"Who did this?"
Li Xuanqi bit her lip, her full chest heaved as the luminous brilliance of the sun and moon pulsed around her, emitting vast waves of power that blasted the lake’s surface into a towering white surge.
I’ve never seen anyone seize an opportunity like this. Leaving nothing at all for those who co after!
She turned and sped back into the ancient forest, flying at extre speed to seek other opportunities.
Soon, she arrived at the edge of a cliff. The Spiritual Energy here was abundant. A sea of clouds swirled between the mountains, colliding to create residual waves and occasionally whipping up massive storms capable of tearing apart even the most ferocious beasts. Such a dangerous place was bound to contain a rare marvel; this was an unwritten rule of the cultivation world.
Sure enough, at the base of the cliff, by the roots of an old pine tree, she found—a hole!
A Precious dicine should have been there. Judging by the density of the surrounding Spiritual Energy, it might have even been a Holy dicine. Yet, soone had uprooted it completely
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