Crunch, crunch.
Footsteps landed softly on the thick fallen leaves.
As the sound gradually became clearer, three figures emerged from the mist.
They hurried toward a pile of rotten leaves, looking at the dark, coral-like branches growing amidst them. Even Danchen, a delicate person, couldn't help but show a puff of anger.
"Damn it! Someone got there first again."
From her words, it was clear that this wasn't the first time such a thing had happened.
The Wanyao Mountains lived up to their name, boasting an innumerable number of medicinal herbs, not to mention handfuls.
However, as they delved deeper, the three discovered that most of what remained were low-grade herbs. The higher-grade herbs had already been harvested, leaving behind pits and holes everywhere, as well as bare branches like the ones before them.
Chen Guan had found over ten plants of the thousand-year-old jujube jade vine, but without exception, they had all been plucked out.
The same was true for the fire mica vine Cao Ying had requested.
The same thing happened with the iron pomegranate Danchen needed now.
"I heard from some alchemists earlier that the demon beast king deep within the Myriad Medicine Mountains plundered most of the herbs and stored them in his palace. I imagine these are its masterpieces. It would be a waste of time and energy to search for what it missed. Let's go and negotiate directly with it,"
Chen Guan said, recalling some details.
Cao Ying and Dan Chen had no better solution and could only nod in agreement.
However, thinking of the strength of the demon beasts deep within, they couldn't help but feel a little worried.
"The demon beasts here are relatively low in intelligence, but those at the peak of level seven or even level eight are probably comparable to humans. I hope they won't be too hostile to us."
Cao Ying sighed softly. While this journey might be risky, she had to go to complete the mission.
The best outcome was probably a massacre.
"Don't worry, Senior Sister, I'm here."
Chen Guan wasn't that worried. Whether he treated it with courtesy or with force, he wasn't afraid of a single level eight demon beast.
Cao Ying chuckled and nodded, feeling a little more reassured.
Her gaze grew firmer.
As the most highly regarded core disciple of Danta, she wasn't without a hidden weapon.
Without further ado, the three of them reached a consensus and abandoned their search. After checking their maps, they headed northeast.
With incredible speed, they reached their destination in just half an hour.
This was the highest peak in the Wanyao Mountains. From mid-air, one could clearly see a massive stone hall.
More precisely, the tall, closed hall gate. The entire hall was practically embedded within the mountain, resembling a dungeon in a game from the outside.
It truly was…
Two ferocious, seventh-tier monsters crouched before the hall gates.
Such beasts would be considered dominant elsewhere, but here, they were reduced to mere gatekeepers…
While the intelligence of the Wanyao Mountains' monsters couldn't keep pace with their increasing strength, this alone demonstrated the power of the beasts within this hall.
Upon seeing the unfamiliar faces of Chen Guan and the other two, the two demon beasts bared their teeth, a glint of brutality flashing in their eyes. Their muscles tensed, and they rose to pounce.
Chen Guan remained unfazed, his immense spiritual power emanating from him.
The two demon beasts felt as if an invisible mountain were bearing down on them, their intelligence telling them that if they continued to make trouble, they might die. They whimpered, tucked their tails between their legs, and lay down, still baring their teeth, yet displaying a hint of ferocity.
"Junior brother's spiritual power is growing stronger,"
Cao Ying and Dan Chen, who were following behind, noticed with amazement.
"A slight breakthrough. Senior Sister and Dan Chen aren't far behind either."
With their talents, if Chen Guan ignored other factors and continued to cultivate normally, he would most likely catch up before reaching the Heavenly Realm.
This was a fact, and all three of them saw it clearly.
Therefore, despite their amazement, Cao Ying and Dan Chen did not lose confidence, but secretly resolved to practice even harder in the future.
After a brief response, Chen Guan turned toward the front hall door, his voice enveloped by his spiritual power, and shouted loudly,
"Friends within the hall, please come out and talk. The three of us are all eighth-grade alchemy masters, and we're here to make a deal with you."
This statement was 70% true.
He wasn't entirely sure of Dan Chen's alchemy skills, but he was at least at the peak of the seventh grade; otherwise,
Cao Ying wouldn't consider him a match. Waves of sound, deliberately controlled by Chen Guan, reverberated throughout the room.
Soon, a terrifying aura like the abyss suddenly emanated from the hall, crushing the three people like a collapsing mountain.
"Hmph! An eighth-grade alchemy master, so arrogant, and with two women in tow? Is this how you approach this king to negotiate?"
Without giving the three a chance to explain, the tightly closed hall door flew open, and a dark figure flashed out. Even as he spoke, he had already attacked.
Space seemed powerless against this man, who covered the distance of several dozen feet in a flash. Wrapped in a black robe, his fangs and claws bared, his terrifying aura imbued him with a truly... ferocious look!
"Junior Brother, retreat!"
The threat loomed, but Chen Guan seemed a beat too slow to react, standing motionless. Cao Ying, panicked, grabbed his arm and pulled back, simultaneously placing her other hand between her brows.
While she had no idea why this powerful being harbored such deep malice towards them, the situation was urgent, leaving her no time to think and ready to unleash her trump card.
It was at this crucial moment that Chen Guan finally came to his senses.
"Senior Sister, stop."
He gently patted Cao Ying's arm. Instead of retreating, Chen Guan charged head-on.
Even more puzzling to Cao Ying and Dan Chen was the lack of any sign of nervousness on his face, only a smile of relief, a sudden realization. He didn't even activate his Dou Qi.
Bang!
With a muffled thud, the black-robed figure slammed into Chen Guan's arms like a cannonball, as the two women stared in astonishment. The terrifying force could be felt even from several feet away.
"Hiss~ You devil girl, can't you be a little gentler?"
Chen Guan grumbled in frustration as he caught the person lunging at him.
Over a year had passed, yet nothing seemed to have changed.
Still soft, fragrant, and fierce...
"Hey, how did you recognize me?"
Zi Yan swept off her black robe, wrapped her short legs around Chen Guan's waist, and hugged his neck, laughing heartily. A closer look revealed the unwiped liquid at the corner of her mouth.
Clearly, she'd been quite comfortable here.
"You're so fierce, it's hard not to recognize you."
Chen Guan lifted Zi Yan's petite frame and weighed her. Her appearance remained unchanged, but she felt a little heavier.
A slight intuition revealed the immense strength within her, a strength not even Chen Guan could underestimate.
With her Grand Void Ancient Dragon form, having successfully broken through to the seventh rank, few within the Dou Zong realm could withstand a single blow from her unscathed.
The baptism of the Ancient Dragon Clan was truly remarkable!
"Junior Brother, who is this little girl?"
No danger arose. As the little girl fell into his arms, the terrifying aura that had lingered around her dissipated like the wind.
Looking at the two of them, Cao Ying and Dan Chen were both incredibly surprised.
It would be an ordinary encounter, but this was the Alchemy Realm!
Could she also be an alchemist?
Clearly, that was unlikely.
This question, then, became a terrifying one.
Cao Ying couldn't help but develop an interest in the little girl she'd once seen from afar.
Grand Void Ancient Dragon, so terrifying!
"Hey, I'm the legendary Zi Yan, an Honorary Elder of the Heavenly Alliance. Chen Guan is the Alliance Leader, and Sister Dieyi is the Vice Leader. We're family."
Zi Yan glanced at the two women, needing no introduction from Chen Guan. She spoke proudly.
But clinging to Chen Guan, unwilling to come down, even with her face held high, lacked any dignity.
"Zi Yan, hmm, a nice name. I'll remember it. My name is Cao Ying, Chen Guan's current senior sister. This is Dan Chen, also our friend."
Cao Ying introduced them cordially, not resentful of Zi Yan's hint of exclusion.
Acting properly, doing the right thing.
And only those with low self-esteem feel guilty.
Zi Yan nodded gently and didn't reply, but she couldn't help but glance at him furtively.
"Okay, we'll chat later. Let's get down to business first. Zi Yan, why are you here? Didn't the elders of the clan stop you?"
Chen Guan asked knowingly, bringing them back to their senses.
Upon hearing this, Zi Yan's face fell, and seeing the three people staring at her, she pouting and explaining.
"I don't want to stay in the clan anymore. Chen Guan, you don't know how pitiful I am. After going to that... Dragon Island, there are no more delicious pills. Every day those hateful guys have to force me to eat some disgusting things that are so unpalatable."
"I really couldn't stand it, so I ran away secretly. I wanted to go find you directly, but then I thought, you are going to enter the Alchemy Realm anyway, and I happen to be interested in the Alchemy Realm too, so I came here to wait."
"Have you noticed that many of the rare medicinal herbs in this mountain are gone?"
His expression kept changing during this sentence. After the three nodded, Zi Yan smiled like a little fox, with her eyes narrowed into crescents.
"Hehe, that's strange, isn't it? But this kind of thing can only be hidden from ordinary people. It's useless against me. I quickly followed the scent and found the culprit. It was the big guy who lives here. He's actually plundered over half of the rare medicinal herbs in the Myriad Medicine Mountains. How could I tolerate this? So I settled down here."
"By the way, Chen Guan, you seem to need herbs too. Come on, I'll take you in and get them. I'm sure you'll find what you need. But the big guy is a good man, so we can't take too many. We have to leave a few for him."
Nestled in Chen Guan's arms, Zi Yan moved around, waving her hands, as generous as if she were home.
"The big guy? Could it be..."
After a moment's pause, Cao Ying finally realized who the big guy the girl was talking about was.
Zi Yan's next words only confirmed this.
"Yes, the big guy is the boss of this mountain range. All the monsters obey him. He's collected so many rare herbs. I love them."
Chen Guan was already accustomed to seeing those shining eyes.
Cao Ying and Dan Chen burst out laughing, somewhat at a loss for words.
Suddenly, they seemed less afraid of the yet-to-be-met Warcraft King.
Chen Guan, holding Zi Yan in one hand, leisurely made his way to the main hall.
Because of the presence of this figure that even their own boss feared, the two Warcrafts at the hall's entrance trembled in fear, no longer daring to bar their fangs in a ferocious display .
... Inside
the hall.
A vast plaza, the left half filled with a variety of rare medicinal herbs.
In the outside world, these herbs would all be needed to refine high-level elixirs, but here, they were piled up like cabbage, their rich aroma filling the air.
High on the right side of the plaza, a magnificent throne sat atop
it. A sturdy and powerful man sat proudly.
He had endured much injustice from the Taixu Ancient Dragon's clansmen over the past few days, but to escape, and to uphold the guidance of his bloodline, he accepted the consequences.
He also accepted the waste of his collected herbs.
The little girl had brought people outside to steal his herbs again, but he still accepted it.
However, they were just a few human juniors, even if one of them seemed very close to the girl and was a Dou Zong powerhouse, an eighth-grade alchemist, he would never go out to greet them personally.
This was his last bit of stubbornness!
Even if it meant death, he would never bow to humans!
Just as he was thinking about how to maintain his glorious image as the overlord of the Wanyao Mountain Range in front of the humans, four people walked in from the palace gate.
He immediately tightened his face, exuding an air of authority without even being angry.
Such a striking sight was naturally the first thing the four people who entered noticed.
Just as Chen Guan and the other two took in the sight, thinking of going forward to greet them, the girl in his arms twisted herself and led them to the square on the left.
The sight of the medicinal herbs piled up like a small mountain was visually stunning.
Not only Cao Ying and Dan Chen, but even Chen Guan was slightly distracted, and naturally, greeting them was forgotten.
"These are the herbs that the big guy has collected. More than half of the rare herbs in the Wanyao Mountains are here."
Jumping down from Chen Guan, Zi Yan casually picked up an iron pomegranate that Dan Chen needed and stuffed it into her mouth. The hard shell was like nothing in her mouth, and she chewed it a few times and swallowed it whole.
Chen Guan was fine in this situation, but Cao Ying and Dan Chen were stunned.
What a waste!
This iron pomegranate, combined with other herbs, can be used to refine dozens of high-level elixirs!
"By the way, let me introduce you to the big guy."
"His name is Xiong Zhan. He broke through to the eighth level several years ago. He has always wanted to see the outside world. It just so happens that he has some blood connection with my clan, so I promised to take him out later. Although the energy of heaven and earth in this Dan Realm is extremely rich, it is ultimately just a small world opened up by the strong, and it is still broken."
"So, it's a waste if he keeps these herbs and doesn't use them. Chen Guan, just take whatever you need. Don't be polite with him, right, big guy?"
Hearing this question, Xiong Zhan, sitting on the throne, silently touched the storage ring between his fingers, which he had always treated as a decoration, and smiled, his mouth twitching with joy.
"Yes, yes, that's right, that's it."
"You can take whatever you need. I haven't used any of these plants. I just keep them there for your viewing pleasure."
(End of this chapter)