Chapter 481: Wild Ancient Forest

Lu Sangjiu considered Lin Qiu’s several Magic Treasures and the simpler Cultivation Techniques she had already learned, then replied, "My defense and speed are decent, and my combat skills are passable. If you two don’t mind, I can play a support role."

Mu Lin nodded. "That’s acceptable."

"But I have to be clear upfront. When a real fight breaks out, we might not be able to look out for each other. Don’t pin all your hopes on us."

Lu Sangjiu nodded in complete agreement. "The feeling’s mutual. But since we’re teammates, we should still help each other when we can. We shouldn’t be too distrustful, right?"

Mu Lin nodded in acknowledgment. "Next is the issue of distributing what we find. I believe we can distribute it based on contribution."

"If something can be split evenly, and we all contributed, then an even split is fine."

"But if it can’t be split evenly, we’ll divide it based on the extent of each person’s contribution. Is that acceptable?"

Lu Sangjiu nodded readily. "No problem!"

With everything agreed upon, there was nothing more to say. Mu Lin stood up. "Then let’s set out!"

The place they were headed was called the Wild Ancient Forest because it was overgrown with Wild Ancient Wood.

The Wild Ancient Wood itself wasn’t of much use to Cultivators, but its fruit held a tremendous attraction for demon beasts.

When the fruit ripened, it would attract countless demon beasts to forage. Moreover, once the fruit fell to the ground, it served as excellent fertilizer, nourishing the other Spirit Plants in the forest.

This led to the Wild Ancient Forest being overrun with demon beasts, making it several times more dangerous than other places.

But at the same time, the Spirit Grass and Spirit Fruits within were also far more abundant than elsewhere.

Furthermore, because the Wild Ancient Wood’s fruit had a near-hypnotic effect on demon beasts, the ones in the Wild Ancient Forest showed no interest in other Spirit Plants. Their hearts and eyes were set only on the Wild Ancient Wood fruit.

Therefore, the Spirit Plants and Spirit Fruits inside usually remained largely undamaged. As long as one had the skill to enter, they could generally reap a handsome profit.

It seemed this was common knowledge, so although Lu Sangjiu was unaware, she didn’t dare show it. By asking indirect questions and listening to the other two converse, she gradually pieced together the general situation.

Initially, she had been clueless, going along simply because she trusted Lie Rufeng and figured any place he wanted to go must be good. But now, she truly understood the allure of the Wild Ancient Forest.

’In that case, there are probably a lot of Cultivators inside.’

They would have to face not only the rampant demon beasts, but also many other Cultivators.

’This really is "seeking wealth in the midst of danger"... and it’s especially dangerous.’

Despite realizing the dangers, Lu Sangjiu had no intention of backing down.

’Cultivation is, by its very nature, an act of defying the heavens. How could I shrink back at the slightest setback?’

’Just do it!’

Before reaching the Wild Ancient Forest, the trio traveled for about three days.

Along the way, they deliberately worked on their coordination, finding quite a few demon beasts to practice on.

During her year of secluded cultivation, Lu Sangjiu had already learned to separate the different types of energy within her body.

If she wanted to disguise herself, she could isolate her Spiritual Energy and use it exclusively, and no one would be able to spot anything unusual.

Of course, using only Spiritual Energy would greatly diminish her strength.

But this suited her just fine. It allowed her to appear as an ordinary Earth Immortal Level Cultivator in front of Lie Rufeng and Mu Lin, rather than a powerhouse capable of fighting above her level.

Although their last encounter had shown Lu Sangjiu that Lie Rufeng was a decent person, they had already agreed to a clean slate, with no debts owed on either side.

’If I reveal my identity this time, who knows how Lie Rufeng will react?’

’Even if he wouldn’t think of turning me in for a reward, he’d definitely know about the trouble that follows me and might not be willing to team up with me.’

So, no matter what, hiding her identity was for the best for everyone involved.

’We’ll cooperate for mutual benefit, and when it’s over, we’ll go our separate ways as if we’d never met.’

After three days of practice, everyone had a much deeper understanding of each other’s combat styles.

Lie Rufeng was the team’s strongest fighter, at the Early Stage Heavenly Immortal realm. Mu Lin was a Late-stage Earth Immortal, and Lu Sangjiu was a Mid-stage Earth Immortal.

Although Lu Sangjiu’s cultivation was the lowest, she was quick-witted and had many tricks up her sleeve.

Playing a support role, she could perfectly keep pace with Lie Rufeng and Mu Lin. Overall, their teamwork was quite good, and everyone was rather satisfied.

With their practice more or less complete, they arrived at the outskirts of the Wild Ancient Forest at noon that day.

Gazing at the dense cluster of towering trees before her, a hint of curiosity flickered in Lu Sangjiu’s eyes.

’So this is Wild Ancient Wood? It doesn’t exist in the Lower Realm. This is my first time seeing it. What a magical kind of tree.’

’The fruit is useless to human Cultivators, yet it’s only useful to demon beasts and Spirit Plants. How interesting.’

However, from what she’d heard Mu Lin and Lie Rufeng say, it was extremely difficult for these trees to grow. You basically couldn’t find groves of Wild Ancient Wood in the outside world.

She wondered how long it must have taken for a large-scale Wild Ancient Forest like this one in the Secret Realm to evolve.

Even though this was just the outermost edge, they could already see quite a few demon beasts moving about.

However, the three of them had used a Secret Technique to conceal their auras, so these low-level demon beasts on the periphery didn’t notice their presence.

They avoided these demon beasts and started heading deeper into the Wild Ancient Forest.

As they walked, they saw many demon beasts guarding the bases of Wild Ancient Wood trees, drooling as they waited for the fruit to ripen.

Of course, they also saw many growing Spirit Plants.

Just as expected, the Spirit Plants here were growing exceptionally well. However, most were just common medicinal herbs. Even if they grew a bit better here, they weren’t anything particularly rare.

Therefore, Cultivators from the Qiyue Sect like Lie Rufeng and Mu Lin looked down on them.

Since they showed no intention of picking them, Lu Sangjiu didn’t hold back. She picked everything she came across, not missing a single chance to fleece the sheep.

Lie Rufeng said nothing about her stingy behavior, but Mu Lin was somewhat disdainful.

"Lin Dao You, the good stuff is deeper inside. You don’t have to pick every single one of these."

"One good item from inside is worth ten or even a hundred of these."

Lu Sangjiu felt no shame at all. "Mudao You, you just don’t know the hardships of a Loose Cultivator. What can I say? I’m too poor, so I can’t let a single one get away."

"Don’t worry, I’m fast. You two go on ahead. I definitely won’t slow us down!"

She wasn’t lying. She had Lin Qiu’s speed-enhancing belt, which was a Magic Treasure. Plus, her own movement technique was decent, so while she was busy harvesting, she never once asked them to stop and wait for her.

So, Mu Lin couldn’t say much more, only tossing out coldly, "Then do as you please!"

But the peace was short-lived. After venturing a bit deeper, they began to encounter High-level Demon Beasts that their concealment technique couldn’t completely fool.

Just then, a Black Wind Beast discovered their tracks and took the initiative to attack!