Chapter 51: The Child Chases the Mother, Danger on the Path Ahead

The test questions for this martial exercise truly put Huiwu in a difficult spot; he usually only focused on cultivation techniques and sword arts, and had never looked at those books on medicine and pharmacology.

In fact, he was the luckiest one of all, for just as True Person Danyang had said, he had landed in a place where Spirit Keeper Fruit grew in abundance, but there were not only many Spirit Keeper Fruit here, but also many other Spirit Plants, and in his eyes, these herbs and leaves all looked exactly the same.

Actually, he was not the only one who felt this way; if it were someone else, they would feel the same.

Not to mention the fruits themselves, even the similar broad-leafed Spirit Plants were clustered together in groups, making one's eyes dazzle.

Furthermore, the fruits were even more similar, differing only slightly in size and color.

To say nothing of those further away, even the Mysterious Root Fruit, regardless of its habits or appearance, was identical to the Spirit Keeper Fruit; unless one had been immersed in the art of medicine for many years, one would surely mistake the two.

Just as he was wondering how to distinguish them, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching from afar; the moment he turned his head, he saw Long Qi and Chengkai walking toward him.

Huiwu had originally thought that meeting Chengkai would be somewhat awkward, but he did not expect that after Chengkai saw him, he would take the initiative to perform a Daoist salute.

After the two exchanged pleasantries, they dispersed to pick the Spirit Keeper Fruit.

Like Huiwu, Chengkai was also completely ignorant of pharmacology, and seeing these similar fruits, he was also at a loss; yet looking at Long Qi, he was quickly picking those fruits and putting them into his bag.

Chengkai and Huiwu were both astonished, looked at each other, and finally could not help but ask.

"Uh... Long Qi, that..."

Long Qi heard Chengkai calling him, and as if he knew what he was going to ask, he answered without even raising his head:

"I can't tell these fruits apart either, but anyway, there are bound to be some right ones, so it's better to just pick more and take them out; it's still better than coming out empty-handed."

Hearing him say this, Chengkai was full of surprise: could it be that he didn't hear what the two True Persons, Danyang and Danzhu, said before entering the array?

But Huiwu, after hearing what Long Qi said, felt that there was some truth to it, so he lowered his body and followed suit, picking them as well.

Chengkai hesitated in his heart, not knowing whether to pick or not, but then he heard Long Qi point to the Spirit Plant in front of him and speak:

"Let me ask you, even if you want to distinguish them now, can you tell them apart?"

Upon hearing this, Chengkai squatted down and looked carefully; it was indeed difficult to tell them apart, as the many Spirit Plants before his eyes looked no different from what was drawn on the hanging scrolls in Hufeng Hall.

Looking at the Spirit Plant in his hand, he shook his head helplessly.

Seeing him like this, Long Qi spoke again: "Since you can't distinguish them, then even if the sky falls, you still won't know which is the Spirit Keeper Fruit and which is something else. Instead of standing there doing nothing, it's better to take a gamble and pick everything that looks like it. Didn't True Person Danzhu say before entering the array that the final result would be calculated by points? In my view, the reason why they said that before everyone entered the array is because the true purpose of this martial exercise is not whether one can distinguish the Spirit Plants, but to see if everyone can correctly understand those requirements."

Chengkai heard these words and pondered for a moment, feeling that they made sense, but why was this Long Qi suddenly willing to tell him these things? Just a moment ago on the road, he hadn't said a single word.

And Long Qi, as if he knew what he was thinking, muttered in a muffled voice:

"I just can't stand you standing there like a fool blocking the light and being an eyesore; don't take yourself too seriously."

Chengkai looked up at the blue sky obscured by the Array Formation and couldn't help but laugh: this Long Qi was truly saying one thing while meaning another.

Actually, Long Qi didn't want to be like this, but Lingxiang had specifically instructed him that if he met Chengkai, he should not ignore him and should take care of him a bit more.

Besides, Lingxiang also said that day that it was only because she had been entrusted by Zhaoming Zhenren that she went back to talk to him, and there was really no need for him to care about that matter.

But why did his heart always feel a bit stifled!?

Just as Long Qi was getting angry while pulling at the Spirit Plants, he suddenly felt a heat in his chest, right where his Storage Bag was, in which he kept the Talisman given by Lingxiang.

He hurriedly took it out and saw that one of them was flashing with golden light; he pulled it out and looked at it, feeling it was very familiar. After a moment of recollection, he remembered that time in Cangzhou City—it was the Child-Mother Talisman.

Just as Long Qi pulled himself out of his thoughts, this glowing Yellow Talisman suddenly floated out and flew into the forest while burning; he hurriedly ran after it.

Seeing him like this, although Chengkai didn't know what had happened, he immediately put away his bag and chased after him.

When Huiwu looked up, the two were already nowhere to be seen; he stood up in confusion and looked around, remembered what Long Qi had just said, and then squatted down again to pick the Spirit Plants.

……

The characters in her hand were suddenly glowing with golden light; just as Liu Xia was wondering why, she heard Banxia shout:

"Someone has activated the Mother Talisman!"

Before the words had faded, she saw the Child Talisman float out and fly into the forest; Liu Xia hurriedly ran to follow, but Banxia did not move at all, her face showing a look of difficulty.

Seeing this, Liu Xia hurriedly called to her, but she hesitated for a moment and said:

"That monster is in the forest; if we go in like this, wouldn't we run right into it?"

"But if you stay here alone, aren't you afraid of encountering other monsters? They might be even more terrifying than the one you saw before."

Hearing Liu Xia say this, Banxia shivered instantly, feeling that these words made sense, and hurriedly followed—at least this person still had a Talisman gifted by a great power in his hand!

Zhao Wuyang followed closely behind Xinyi, but his heart kept recalling the things he had just seen.

Those things looked like humans, yet they had non-human faces; some had horns on their foreheads, some had fangs protruding, and some even had six arms, all with terrifying faces.

And those people had fierce glints in their eyes, roaring and charging at them the moment they saw them, as if they wanted to tear them apart; if it weren't for Xinyi Dage's quick reactions, plus the fact that many vines suddenly emerged to block them, they might have lost their lives there.

Could it be that these were also part of the martial exercise's test?

"Those are Demon Race, the lowest level of the Demon Race." Xinyi seemed to know what he was thinking, and while running, he explained to him, "Their bodies are mostly formed by the erosion of Miasma Poison; if you are injured by them, you will be infected with Miasma Poison, and if you cannot be treated in time, you will become just like them."

What? Demon Race? How could there be Demon Race inside Yinyu Peak? Besides, hadn't the Demon Race been repelled a long time ago?

Zhao Wuyang was full of doubt, but then he heard sharp, shrill roars from behind.

"It seems those spirits cannot stop them either." Xinyi said and stopped his steps; Zhao Wuyang couldn't stop in time and bumped into his back, but he didn't move at all.

"Xinyi Dage, why aren't we running anymore?"

Zhao Wuyang was puzzled, rubbed his nose, and poked his head out from behind Xinyi, only to see that there were also Demon Soldiers wandering in front, and upon hearing the commotion here, they all turned their heads to look at them.