?The Demonic Beast Wu Long was looking at was an ape-type beast with a large frame and crystal protrusions from its shoulders and head.

It was a beast species known for its tremendous strength part of which stemmed from its bloodline.

‘Heh, this one should do’

He chuckled and moved forward, not using the lightning as he already accumulated some damage from using it before and tested out everything he needed for the moment, only using his regular speed with a movement technique which was by no means slow.

“Falcon Talon Piercing Strike!”

Wu Long’s spear headed right for the beast’s throat as it tried to stand up from lying position, alerted by his sudden appearance. .𝒎

He did not give it any chance to fight back, instantly piercing it’s throat and then drawing it right after, blood immediately gushing from the gaping wound.

“Instant Penetration Enhancement”

At the same time he withdrew the spear, his left hand sent four needles of a considerable size, more resembling thick and incredibly long nails, covered in Spiritual Qi that moved in circling motion as if a drill to the joints connecting to the beast’s arms and legs.

“Great Wall Palm”

The left hand which went forward to launch the needles then turned into a palm and launched the familiar to the ladies behind technique, but what surprised all of them, Hua Ziyan included, was the way the palm’s strength was accurately controlled and restrained, only pushing the beast to fall on it’s back instead of bringing further damage or even any real pressure.

It was as if it simply touched as a normal hand would when it pressed against a flat surface, and then pushed.

He jumped on its chest while the beast was falling down, accelerating it’s fall and simultaneously made a fast cross cut over its heart with the spear blade, getting on one knee and putting his left hand near the wound right at the moment the beast’s back touched the ground.

A special technique using his Spiritual Qi and Soul Power to collect the beast’s blood began circulating, with a jar appearing near him from his Spatial Ring.

“…!”

But then, as his Spiritual Qi and Soul Power made contact with the heart of the beast, a sound of a heartbeat resounded in his ears as he felt the Blood Rune give a reaction for the first time, beginning to slightly buzz.

Wu Long’s mind stirred, the always calm eyes slightly widening.

He stopped circulating the technique and the Rune immediately ceased reacting, returning to being idle and unresponsive.

He hesitated for a moment, as his head rushed with thoughts.

It was the first time he felt the Blood Rune activate, and he could feel that through this he could possibly peer into how he could interact with it, or at least get some clues. But he did not know if it was safe to do something with it.

If it directly absorbed this beast’s bloodline it could contaminate his own, with the method of mixing that he never experienced. What’s more even when he was experimenting, he never took the bloodline as it was since it required an alchemist to process it first.

‘It is a risk…’

There was also not much time to think since the blood of a beast of this level was only effective while it was still alive.

It was why he slayed the beast with a method that would give him some time before it actually drew it’s last breath, moved so fast to collect it, and required a special technique to extract it and would then need to seal it until it was actually used.

“…haa~…”

‘…this bloodline is far too bad to take such risks with, I would need to experiment with a better one or at least that would not have adverse effects next time’

He finally made a decision, and used the technique again. The Rune began to buzz once more, but he did not engage, only using the technique to collect the blood into the jar as he planned initially.

He then sealed the jar with talismans and several sealing techniques, and put it away into the Spatial Ring. Turning to his companions he saw the looks of admiration at the sequence of moves he performed earlier that seemed to be flowing, every action leading to the next, and chuckled, leading the group further.

They stopped on their way a few more times as he collected some more samples from suitable beasts, ignoring the ones which species he already collected.

As they approached another, slightly larger crater, he slowed the group down once more, and as they saw the inside from an elevated spot nearby they marveled at the sight.

There was a small forest inside the crater, the center being a large rock, very similar to the one they saw before but much larger in size, and paler in color.

“S-so pretty!”

The ladies exclaimed, as Hua Ziyan’s eyes glinted with a wondrous light.

The whole thing looked like an oasis of lush green in the middle of snowy ice lands, enchanting with its appearance full of life and welcoming warmth. A difference in temperatures above created moisture, and a perpetual rainbow could be observed over the forest.

“I-is there another Earth Flame there?”

“Hahaha, no, this is just a normal Red Heat Stone, of a lesser quality though, so the heat it gives off is weaker. But that in turn allowed for those trees to grow”

One of the Core Disciples asked with wonder and he shook his head with a light laugh.

“…*snif* *snif*… something… smells very… very nice… so sweet… there are fruits! Let’s go get some of those fruits!”

One other Core Disciple suddenly took a whiff of an aroma carried by a gust of wind, and her cheeks instantly became rosy. Her eyes captured red juicy and delicious looking fruits resembling apples hanging off the tree branches.

Some others behind her also showing the slightly ensnared look as they felt the aroma and looked at the fruits.

A formless wave of Soul Power came from Wu Long followed by a Spiritual Qi wave with profound flow, and the eyes of the ladies which began emptying became clear again while their feet which already went up to take a step and launch a movement technique froze.

“…Huh?… What was I…?”

The disciples looked slightly dazed and disoriented while Wu Long set up another translucent barrier around them with a new set of talismans.

“This is…”

Seeing that, Xue Bing, looked at Wu Long with an alarmed gaze, receiving a nod from him in return.

“A predatory plant called the Sanguine Bloomfruit Tree…it’s seed must have flown in with the chunk of earth that crushed here”

He lightly explained, pointing to the earth beneath the trees which was covered in roots and tall grass, but when they took a closer look was actually full of decaying corpses of the Demonic Beasts under.

“M-my apologies!!! Thank you so much for saving me! It almost turned really bad!” .

“M-me too!”

“Me as well!”

The disciples gasped and quickly bowed to him as he waved his hand with a light smile.

“Haha, no need to apologize. I should have warned you about it, the wind seems to have brought it’s hallucinogenic scent over further than I expected”

As he was speaking the disciples still looked a little guilty.

“Sh-should we move away from it?”

One of the disciples who was almost caught up in a tragic accident slightly fearfully looked at the crater full of greenery, no longer finding it a small paradise-like view.

“Hmm, while it is certainly dangerous, as long as you know how to approach them and take measures it does not have any actual fighting potential.

That grass actually is also part of the roots of the trees, has a powerful sleeping poison and sharp blades so anything attracted by the scent and fruits is simply hurt with no defenses and falls asleep, with the roots slowly growing into the flesh.

The fruits you see are actually quite valuable, so collecting them would be a good idea, not to mention that I am interested in something within the trees as well”

He smiled with understanding, retrieving a set of talismans and letting a set of four to float in front of each of them.

“This will block any scents, and the other three will enhance your Protective Qi, though the Spiritual Qi consumption would be quite high”

Wu Long explained the uses of the talismans, and the ladies looked at each other, nodding since he was the one interested in the area.

They moved closer, and then began collecting the fruits, spreading not far, so that they could all see each other while Wu Long and Hua Ziyan approached the tree bark.

“You’re not going to collect fruits?”

“I wanted to see if I could help you. If it is not something hard to do I can watch how you do it and go for the other trees”

She smiled, causing his eyes to fill with tenderness.

“You really are so lovely, Ziyan”

“…”

Her eyes widened and then filled with joy and a storm of more emotions while he smiled at her.

“Hmm, it is not actually that hard, you find a spot like this and cut in with a jade knife, don’t forget to put a jar under…”

He then turned to the tree, cutting into a certain part and a translucent natural oil began seeping into the porcelain bottle.

“… and as always, don’t drain everything. Once you get about this much, turn the knife like this and use a few leaves of the tree itself to plug the wound”

He then demonstrated his explanations to her as she carefully watched. They then moved to the next tree where he watched her do the procedure, at one point approaching right behind her and holding her hands from behind when he saw her slightly awkwardly do some moves, which brought a blush and a happy smile to her face.

Xue Bing’s eyes reflected this while the other disciples were busy collecting the fruits, as unknown thoughts swirled behind the icy appearance.

They have collected only about half the fruits off of each tree as Wu Long instructed, since the trees depended on them to attract their prey, while Wu Long and Hua Ziyan swiftly collected the oil.

The group then moved out, as the disciples gave him most of the fruits they collected even though he only wanted to accept less than a quarter, but buckled under the adamant insistence.

They spent a bit less than two hours in that forest, so by the time they moved out the light of the sun has already became brighter in between the other horizon and the shattered world above.

And even though they still had the whole night to get back even if they did not make it by evening, they hurried to the mountain not making stops for any beast blood anymore, only willing to make a short stop if they found something very valuable.

𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮