From the cracks, the darkness becomes increasingly profound as one goes downward. The surrounding space turns pitch black, making it impossible to see even a hand in front of one's face. It's like a deep abyss.
At two hundred and fifty zhang, a golden vein, like the root of a tree, spread downward, shining with gold light like an oil lamp illuminating the surroundings and revealing the figure of Long Aoxiangtian standing on a flying sword.
Chen Mo clutched the hem of Long Aoxiangtian's robe, hanging his head in silence. He felt a fiery pain on his cheeks, all because of that sentence, 'Why is Brother Aoxiangtian's pectoral muscle so exaggerated?' At this moment, there was a bright red and very clear palm print on his cheek.
"Following the geopolitical lines straight down to the very bottom, you can see Golden Cicada Grass. This rare plant appears only once every hundred years. Today is the perfect time for it to bloom. If it's a little later, many people will come……"
Chen Mo pointed to the golden vein and explained.
Long Aoxiangtian nodded slightly, and the speed of the flying sword under his feet increased. Not long after, they saw the golden spiritual herb at the very bottom of the ground vein.
The root stem, about the size of a human finger, was three inches long. Its top resembled an insect's head, and the leaves on both sides looked like the wings of an insect. They shone with a golden light, as if the Golden Cicada was dancing with its wings, like a living creature.
Long Aoxiangtian's heart was filled with joy. He stepped on the flying sword and was about to grab the Golden Cicada Herb. Chen Mo saw this and hastily spoke to stop him, "Wait a minute, I said that there was danger in it. If you go up and grab it directly, before you can pick the Golden Cicada Herb, you will have already lost your life."
Chen Mo's words had an effect. Although Long Aoxiangtian was very eager to pluck the Golden Cicada Herb, he still held back his impulsive urge.
"How should we proceed at this moment?"
"Continue down another ten zhang. First, solve that big trouble before moving forward."
"Big trouble?"
Upon hearing this, Long Aoxiangtian's eyes narrowed slightly. Leaning against her strong warrior vision, she saw a huge creature at the bottom of the ground in an instant. If it weren't for Chen Mo speaking up, she might have missed it.
No wonder Chen Mo said it was extremely dangerous. If she hadn't noticed earlier and rashly picked it up, while the colossal creature below charged up, she might have suffered greatly.
"That's a beast of human level four, a ground dragon, the guardian of the Golden Cicada Herb. If you act rashly, you'll provoke its attack. If you want to safely pick the herb, you need to kill it... I won't accompany you down there any further. Put me on that high platform, and I'll wait for you there."
Chen Mo pointed to an outcropping high platform opposite the Golden Cicada Herb and said.
Long Aoxiangtian nodded slightly, throwing Chen Mo onto the high platform before wielding his sword to attack the ground dragon below. The latter made haste to fall onto the high platform and ran swiftly inside.
On the wall of the platform, there was a small purple flower, about ten zhang from the bottom of the platform. As an ordinary person, Chen Mo could only pick it by climbing with his strength. Fortunately, it wasn't very high, and with the steepness of the wall, it wasn't difficult to climb up by hand.
Chen Mo picked the small purple flower and put it into his bosom. Just as he was about to jump back onto the platform, he suddenly heard a 'boom' behind him, and a figure landed on the platform, raising a cloud of dust.
Zhang Huanzhi, wearing a blue Taoist robe, shook the dust off his clothes and saw Chen Mo staring at him. He smiled back, "The old man calculated a divination before he went down the mountain. There is something related to the qi of the nine states in this crack. If I am not mistaken, it should be the Golden Cicada Herb... Therefore, I intend to take it back to the Tian Shifu."
Zhang Huanzhi bowed and gestured with his hands, announcing his intention to vie for the celestial treasure before engaging in the dispute. Such polite behavior is not often seen.
Before Chen Mo could react, Zhang Huanzhi had already stepped on the ground of the platform and approached the Golden Cicada Herb in the distance.
It seems that the ground dragon, which was engaged in a fierce battle with Long Aoxiangtian, noticed someone approaching the Golden Cicada Herb. It leaped suddenly into the air and lunged at the young Daoist in mid-air.
Long Aoxiangtian looked up, thinking the opponent was attacking Chen Mo, but upon closer inspection, she realized it was a competitor for the Golden Cicada Herb. She did not choose to interfere and allowed it to attack.
The ground dragon moved ferociously, leaping out of the ground with great force. Its mouth, like a bottomless abyss, opened wide, ready to attack the young Daoist. Seeing this, the latter quickly dodged to the side.
Although Zhang Huanzhi had only reached the ninth level of refinement, he was a prodigy of Tian Shifu and possessed many secret techniques that could save his life. Seizing the opportunity as the ground dragon charged towards him, he effortlessly leapt over it and then jumped onto its body. Following this, he reached out to grab the Golden Cicada Herb.
"Don't..."
Chen Mo exclaimed in alarm, but Zhang Huanzhi paid no heed to him at this moment.
Splash
At the moment Zhang Huanzhi touched the Golden Cicada Herb, the golden ground vein suddenly shot out several golden vines, which were covered in thorns, slicing across his body like an octopus' tentacles and leaving several wounds, with blood spurting out.
Zhang Huanzhi was pushed back by the unexpected attack, his body fell vertically, and he trembled in terror as he took out a talisman from his bosom. He was about to use spiritual power when he felt a heaviness in his chest and spat out a mouthful of dark blood. His body was limp, with no strength at all.
"What is this..."
Long Aoxiangtian saw this and her clear eyes widened in shock, her gaze filled with a hint of panic. The vines on that had venom...
"Alas, I told you not to go."
Chen Mo sighed helplessly. The golden vines are the defense mechanism of the Golden Cicada Herb. Any person who gets close to it will be poisoned in an instant, and then, the ground dragon below will seize the opportunity to devour the intruder.
If one has no preparation, even a second-grade cultivator, let alone a fourth-grade one, would be in trouble.
Long Aoxiangtian was relieved that she had not acted rashly and had chosen to heed Chen Mo's words. She stepped on the void and held her long sword, charging towards the heavily wounded ground dragon. In a few attacks, she finally succeeded in completely cutting down the ground dragon.
The massive body fell from the sky, making a loud bang.
Long Aoxiangtian jumped onto the high platform, "Chen Mo, what should we do next?"
At this moment, Long Aoxiangtian had already regarded Chen Mo as the core figure to rely on, doing whatever he said.
Chen Mo took out the purple flower in his bosom and extracted the petal, crushing it into a juice before applying it to Long Aoxiangtian's hand. "The Golden Cicada Herb has a high level of alertness, but it can't resist the smell of this flower. You can use your hand that's been covered with the juice to pick it later. By the way, you should take me down first. If you're late, Zhang Huanzhi might be in danger."
"Good"
Long Aoxiangtian nodded slightly, sent Chen Mo down with his flying sword, and then turned around to pick the Golden Cicada Herb.
Chen Mo saw Zhang Huanzhi's pale face and lips with a hint of purple and quickly walked over to him. He plucked a leaf from the purple flower and crammed it into the latter's mouth.
Zhang Huanzhi moved his mouth slightly, swallowing the petal into his stomach. It didn't take long for his complexion to improve significantly, and even his limp body regained its strength.
"Thank you for your lifesaving kindness."
"No need to thank you, it's just a little effort."
Chen Mo waved his hand lightly and said, "The Golden Cicada Herb is something my friend needs, I cannot give it to Zong Daoist. I apologize for the inconvenience... However, this Golden Cicada Herb is only a remedy for injuries. How could it shake the qi of the nine states? Is it possible that Zong Daoist you have made a mistake in your divination?"
