Chapter 154 | A Silent Harvest

Chapter 154: 154 | A Silent Harvest

Lin Tian walked through the eastern valley. The spiritual energy here was very thick and clean. He stopped near a patch of black, corrosive soil. In the center of the toxic dirt, a rare herb called the Frost-Leaf Orchid grew. Its pale blue leaves glowed faintly in the dim light.

The soil around the herb was highly acidic. If he touched it directly, the poison would destroy the herb’s roots and ruin its spiritual essence. Lin Tian did not waste time looking for a normal way to dig it up.

He channeled a thick layer of Qi over his boots and hands. He used his spiritual energy to push the toxic dirt away, creating a small, clean space around the roots. He carefully extracted the orchid, sealed its spiritual essence, and placed it in his spatial ring.

He did not stop to admire his work. He immediately looked at the ground.

On the trunk of a dead tree nearby, there were fresh drops of blood.

Lin Tian touched the blood. It was still wet and warm. "Gu Yan," he said quietly. The bloody footprints led deeper into the valley. The trail was very clear. Gu Yan was not trying to hide his path.

In the past, Lin Tian would have just ignored the trail and walked away. But today, he had a better idea. He was an engineer of combat, and he knew how to use his enemy’s mistakes against them.

He took out a small glass bottle from his spatial ring. Inside was a fine yellow powder made from crushed Blood-Attracting Flowers. This powder was highly toxic to humans, but mutated beasts loved the smell. It drove them into a crazy hunger.

Lin Tian poured the powder directly over the fresh blood on the tree. The powder instantly absorbed the blood. It released a heavy, sweet smell that cut through the air.

Next, he took out a low-grade wind talisman. He attached the blood-soaked powder to the talisman and placed it on the ground. He whispered a short command and injected a thread of Qi. The talisman burned quietly, and a small, concentrated gust of wind picked up the heavy scent.

He calculated the wind speed and the distance in his mind. The lizard nest was exactly four hundred meters to the northeast. The wind needed to carry the scent directly into their sleeping hollow without dissipating in the open air.

He adjusted the talisman’s angle by two degrees to ensure the scent trail stayed low to the ground, moving straight toward the beasts. He then took out three more talismans and placed them at different heights to create a layered scent path that would not fade quickly.

***

High up in the canopy, Lady Yun watched the wind carry the scent.

She did not feel admiration for his cleverness. Her mind simply calculated the result. She knew exactly what was waiting in the northeastern hollow. Six Iron-Bone Scaled Lizards were sleeping there. Their scales were as hard as iron, and they were highly aggressive when woken up.

She watched the invisible scent trail drift right into the lizards’ nest. She shifted her position on the branch, her body completely still. She did not need to do anything else. Her Master had set the trap. She only needed to watch it spring.

***

Two kilometers away, Gu Yan and his two juniors were resting in a small, quiet clearing.

Hong was sitting on the ground. His face was completely white, and cold sweat covered his forehead. The beast poison from the boar’s tusk was spreading fast. His thigh was swollen, and dark black veins were visible under his skin, crawling up toward his Dantian.

"Senior Brother," Hong whispered, his voice shaking violently. "The poison is moving up my leg. My meridians feel like they are burning with fire. I cannot circulate my Qi."

Mei sat nearby, holding her sword tightly. She looked at the dark trees with wide, scared eyes. "Senior Brother Gu, we need to find a safe place to heal him. Hong cannot walk much further. If the poison reaches his core, he will die."

Gu Yan paced back and forth. He was very angry, but he was also starting to feel a deep, cold fear. The Secret Realm was too quiet. Every time they stopped, he felt like something was watching them from the dark.

"We just need to rest for ten minutes," Gu Yan said coldly, trying to sound brave. "Then we keep moving. Master needs the Pure-Yang Lotus. We cannot fail."

Suddenly, the wind changed direction.

A heavy, sweet smell drifted into the clearing. It smelled like rotting meat mixed with sweet flowers.

Mei sniffed the air, her face turning pale. "What is that smell? It smells like a beast lure."

Gu Yan stopped pacing. His eyes widened in shock. "Blood. It is our blood, mixed with a strong lure."

His mind raced. Who left this? Was it Lin Tian? He had warned that boy before entering the realm, but he never thought Lin Tian would dare to attack them directly. But who else knew their exact location?

Before he could shout a warning, the trees around them exploded.

Crash!

Six massive Iron-Bone Scaled Lizards burst from the undergrowth. Their metallic black scales reflected the dim light. Their yellow eyes were locked directly on Hong.

The smell of his poisoned blood had driven them into a blind rage. Thick, acidic drool dripped from their jaws, hissing as it hit the grass and burned holes in the ground.

"Ambush!" Gu Yan roared. "Form a circle!"

But they were too tired and too hurt. Hong could not stand up. His leg completely gave out, and he collapsed into the dirt. Mei tried to pull him back, but a lizard lunged at her. Its heavy, spiked tail smashed into her side, sending her flying into a tree. She dropped her sword and cried out in pain, clutching her cracked ribs.

"Mei!" Gu Yan yelled. He swung his sword, sending a massive wave of fire Qi at the beast. The fire hit the lizard’s scales, but it only made it angrier. The thick armor easily blocked his attack, and the beast snapped its jaws at his face.

The lizards did not attack randomly. They ignored Gu Yan and charged straight for Hong. The blood-bait on his wound was driving them crazy.

One lizard lunged forward and bit down hard on Hong’s calf.

"AHHH!"

Hong screamed in absolute agony. The sharp teeth crushed his bone and tore his flesh. Black blood sprayed across the grass. The beast shook its head violently, tearing a massive chunk of meat from his leg.

"Get away from him!" Gu Yan pushed his Qi to the absolute limit. He used a high-level sword technique, cutting the lizard’s head off in one strike. The heavy head rolled away, but the body kept twitching. The other five lizards were already swarming them, their claws scraping against the rocks.

"Run!" Gu Yan grabbed Hong’s collar and dragged him. "Mei, cover our back! We have to run right now!"

They ran blindly into the forest. The lizards chased them, hissing loudly and snapping their heavy jaws. Gu Yan threw three explosive talismans behind him to slow the beasts down. The loud explosions shook the ground and filled the air with smoke, buying them a few precious seconds.

They did not stop running until their lungs burned and the hissing of the lizards finally faded into the distance. Hong was completely unconscious, his leg ruined. Mei was crying silently, her arm hanging limply at her side.

Gu Yan fell to his knees in the dirt, gasping for air. He looked at the dark forest. His mind was breaking. The beasts had tracked them perfectly.

"They are hunting us," Gu Yan whispered, his eyes wide with deep paranoia. "The beasts are tracking our blood. Someone... someone is leading them to us! Lin Tian... that bastard is playing with us!"

***

Far away in the east, Lin Tian stopped walking.

He felt a series of violent Qi fluctuations in the northeastern sector. It was the heavy, chaotic energy of multiple high-tier beasts fighting. Mixed within that chaos was the faint, fading aura of Gu Yan’s fire-attribute sword Qi.

Lin Tian’s lips curved into a very faint, cold smile.

The trap had worked perfectly. The Iron-Bone Scaled Lizards had found their prey. Gu Yan’s team was now completely crippled, their spiritual energy drained, and their minds filled with terror.

He did not think about going to help them. He did not feel any pity for Gu Yan. They were weak, and in the Secret Realm, the weak became food. He had simply accelerated the natural order.

Lin Tian turned his back on the northeastern sector. His mind immediately shifted to the next variable. With Gu Yan’s team crippled and their Qi depleted, they would no longer be able to compete for the Pure-Yang Lotus. Elder Liu’s last hope was officially dead.

She would have no choice left.

Lin Tian took out a clean cloth and wiped a speck of dust from his sword hilt. The real game was just beginning.