Chapter 166: Seizing the Heavenly Spirit Fruit! The terrifying bear demon!

Duanling Mountain Range, outer perimeter.

The air was filled with the damp scent of rotting leaves, mixed with the faint fragrance of wild flowers, and occasionally birds would sweep over their heads, emitting a few short, sharp cries.

Jiang Ye and the others carefully wove through the lush forest.

The fallen leaves under their feet were piled high like a mountain, soft to step on, emitting a faint rustling sound.

Zheng Feng led the way in front.

However, the mountain was truly too vast, and even though he had been here once, it was difficult to remember the route clearly.

Zheng Feng took Jiang Ye and Zheng Hui around in the mountains for half an hour.

Aside from encountering some wild beasts, they hadn't even seen the shadow of a demonic beast.

"How is it, Xiao Hui, have you smelled the scent of the Heavenly Spirit Fruit?"

Zheng Feng stopped, his voice tinged with a bit of anxiety.

Zheng Hui twitched her nose a few times and shook her head helplessly: "No..."

There was a hint of fatigue in her dark, round pupils.

However, she also knew her brother was very anxious, so she didn't say she wanted to rest, just pursed her lips and forced herself to keep her spirits up.

Jiang Ye stood at the back, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings, a flash of thought in his aged eyes.

He looked at Zheng Feng's anxious appearance and then at Zheng Hui's tired little face, and spoke softly, with a steadiness that made people feel at ease:

"Disciple Zheng, since we have already arrived here, there is no need to rush for this moment; sometimes being too anxious leads to chaos."

"We have been traveling for a day; let's rest for a while, have dinner, and then continue searching."

Hearing this, the anxious Zheng Feng took a deep breath, and his tense face gradually relaxed.

He closed his eyes, suppressed the restlessness, and came to his senses.

Because the Heavenly Spirit Fruit was too precious, even he, who was usually steady, had lost his composure.

"Elder Jiang is right; I was too impatient."

Zheng Feng gave a bitter smile and shook his head, "Then let's find a place to rest and eat something."

He turned around, his gaze scanning the surroundings, looking for a suitable clearing.

When Zheng Hui heard they were going to rest, a flash of light finally appeared in her tired eyes, and a smile appeared on her small face.

She looked at Jiang Ye with some gratitude, then quickly followed her brother's footsteps, her pace a bit lighter than before.

Afterward, the three of them found a sheltered clearing and sat down to eat their dry rations.

Once they reached the Duanling Mountain Range, even in the outer area, they didn't dare to light a fire.

In this deep mountain forest, firelight would not only attract demonic beasts but could even attract some ill-intentioned martial artists.

Here, strange martial artists were just as dangerous as demonic beasts.

About half an hour later.

The twilight had completely faded, and night had fallen.

Jiang Ye and the others finished resting and, borrowing the faint moonlight, began to weave through the forest again.

This time, compared to his previous impatience, Zheng Feng had a bit more steadiness.

The three of them walked through the forest unhurriedly for a while when Zheng Hui's expression suddenly changed, her small nose twitching violently, and a look of surprise suddenly burst forth in her dark, round pupils.

She couldn't hide her excitement and exclaimed: "I smell the scent of the Heavenly Spirit Fruit!"

Hearing this, Jiang Ye and Zheng Feng were immediately energized, "Where?!"

Zheng Hui pointed to the southeast, her eyes full of excitement: "Over there!"

"Let's go!"

The three of them immediately accelerated, pushed aside the branches and leaves, and ran toward the southeast.

The further they went, the more Jiang Ye, whose five senses had been greatly enhanced, keenly felt that the air was becoming fresher; after inhaling it into his lungs, his body felt a sense of comfort, as if every pore was stretching.

This aura was different from the ordinary fragrance of grass and trees in the mountains.

He instantly realized that this should be the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

"No wonder this place can grow Heavenly Spirit Fruit and have demonic beasts..."

Jiang Ye thought to himself.

If ordinary people lived in such a place, their lifespans would be extended quite a bit.

As the three of them continued to move forward, passing through a dense thicket, the view suddenly opened up.

A deep valley came into view.

The valley was surrounded by mountains, like a giant palm holding this piece of land in its center.

The valley was filled with white mist, glowing with a faint silver radiance under the moonlight, like a fairyland.

"We're here! This is it!"

Seeing this familiar valley, a look of joy appeared on Zheng Feng's face, his voice full of irrepressible excitement.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and pointed to the center of the valley:

"Elder Jiang, the Heavenly Spirit Fruit is right in the center of the valley!"

Jiang Ye looked in the direction Zheng Feng was pointing, his eyes narrowing slightly, his gaze piercing through the layer of white mist.

He saw that deep in the mist, there was a small, emerald-green tree, its branches and leaves spread out, its whole body crystalline, glowing faintly under the moonlight.

Hanging on the branches were three fruits the size of longans, crystalline and translucent, like jade carvings, emitting a soft fluorescent light.

Jiang Ye's heart stirred, and he immediately and quietly activated his Fire Eyes.

Red-gold flames flashed in his eyes, and the mist gradually became thinner in his sight, the small tree and the three fruits becoming clearer.

This time he saw them more carefully.

The three crystalline fruits were green tinged with yellow inside, clearly not yet fully ripe.

A flash of understanding crossed Jiang Ye's eyes.

No wonder the bear demon wasn't in a hurry to eat them...

However, this was to their advantage.

"Elder Jiang, the bear demon lives in the cave next to the Heavenly Spirit Fruit."

Zheng Feng pointed to a giant cave in the valley; the entrance was pitch black, like the bloody mouth of a giant beast, emitting a cold and damp aura.

He looked solemn and lowered his voice:

"Last time, I had just stepped within ten meters of the Heavenly Spirit Fruit when the bear demon suddenly rushed out of the cave, giving me a fright."

"In a moment, I will go down first and lure the bear demon out."

"Then, Elder Jiang, you can take the opportunity to pick the Heavenly Spirit Fruit."

As he spoke, he looked at Zheng Hui and instructed her solemnly:

"Xiao Hui, you hide nearby first; after Elder Jiang succeeds, you can come back with him."

This was the plan they had discussed before, which the three of them had rehearsed many times, and now the moment to put it into action had finally arrived.

"Don't worry, brother, I will definitely hide well!"

Zheng Hui nodded heavily, her dark, round pupils full of seriousness.

"Elder Jiang, I'll leave it to you in a moment!"

Zheng Feng looked at Jiang Ye, his eyes full of trust and anticipation.

He knew that in this plan, Jiang Ye was the most critical link.

The speed of picking the fruit determined the success or failure of the entire operation.

Jiang Ye nodded slightly, a flash of solemnity in his aged eyes, and said in a deep voice:

"Disciple Zheng, no matter what, remember that your life comes first!"

"Okay! Then I'm going down!"

Zheng Feng took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently, and then he channeled his True Qi, his figure drifting lightly into the valley.

"Brother..."

Zheng Hui watched Zheng Feng's figure get further and further away, a flash of worry in her dark, round pupils, her small hand unconsciously gripping Jiang Ye's sleeve.

Jiang Ye said calmly to comfort her: "Don't worry, with Disciple Zheng's steady nature, there shouldn't be any problems."

"Hmm! Elder Jiang, then I'll wait for your success!"

Zheng Hui nodded, took a deep breath, suppressed the nervousness in her heart, and then quickly ran behind a nearby thicket, hiding herself completely.

Jiang Ye's gaze followed Zheng Feng's figure closely, watching him speed into the valley, getting closer and closer to the Heavenly Spirit Fruit.

Two hundred meters...

One hundred and fifty meters...

One hundred meters.

Suddenly—

"ROAR!!!"

A soul-shaking roar exploded like a thunderclap, shaking the white mist in the valley violently, and even the gravel on the mountain walls fell down with a rustle.

The next instant.

A black-red figure rushed out of the giant cave, bringing with it a fishy wind and kicking up fallen leaves all over the ground.

Jiang Ye's pupils shrank slightly.

Although he had heard Zheng Feng and Zheng Hui mention the bear demon's terror.

Seeing it with his own eyes was another matter entirely.

He saw that the bear demon was over four meters long, with shoulders taller than a person, like a moving small hill.

Its whole body was covered with black-red, coarse, hard hair, oily and iron-like, glowing with a cold luster under the moonlight.

That pair of blood-red eyes were like two lanterns in the dark, fierce and exposed, full of violence and killing intent.

Every step it took as it ran made the ground tremble slightly, and the heavy footsteps were like war drums, beating on people's hearts one by one.

"What a wicked beast!"

Jiang Ye couldn't help but exclaim in his heart.