Immortal Venerable of the Beast Race
Chapter 422 - 330 Biyu Peach_1

Chapter 422: 330 Biyu Peach_1

A continuous range of red mountains stretched across the land, with tufts of crimson fire clouds floating high in the sky.

A deafening explosion resounded, and a massive red mushroom cloud shot into the sky, highly conspicuous.

In the depths of the mountain range, Shen Long stood in an open area, with the Iron Tail Scorpion and the Hundred Eyes Cicada by his side. Hundreds of thousands of spirit ants floated in mid-air while the bodies of numerous four-winged fire ants littered the ground, along with some Gold-Winged Fire Ants. Three giant four-winged fire ants lay on the ground, each with a huge bloody hole in their head, lifeless.

Shen Long hadn’t expected to encounter a swarm of four-winged fire ants, as many as three of them at the fourth rank, all slaughtered by the Gold-Winged Fire Ant Queen.

He had twelve third-rank late-stage four-winged fire ants, and compared to the third-rank Gold-Winged Fire Ants, these twelve four-winged fire ants were faster and had stronger defenses.

Shen Long released the Green-Eyed Spiritual Fox, which came to the bodies of the fourth-rank four-winged fire ants and sniffed lightly a few times, remembering their scent.

There were too many enchantments here. The Hundred Eyes Cicada couldn’t see too far, and Shen Long’s divine sense was also somewhat restricted, only able to extend out for one hundred and fifty li.

He gathered the higher-rank four-winged fire ant bodies and took the spirit ants back into the spirit beast bag.

The Green-Eyed Spiritual Fox moved towards the west, followed closely by the Iron Tail Scorpion, with Shen Long and the Hundred Eyes Cicada right behind them.

After a span of time enough for a cup of tea to pass, Shen Long appeared in an underground cave larger than ten acres, filled with rolling heatwaves.

The uneven stone walls bore some golden-red specks of light.

Shen Long picked up a fist-sized piece of ore and observed it carefully.

"Golden Flame Jade, it’s actually this kind of artifact refining material."

Shen Long nodded, releasing the spirit ants. They swarmed to the stone wall and began to bite eagerly.

The Gold-Winged Fire Ant Queen and the twelve four-winged fire ants had strong jaws, swiftly biting off large chunks of Golden Flame Jade and swallowing them. The third-rank Gold-Winged Fire Ants couldn’t eat nearly as fast as the four-winged fire ants.

Shen Long wielded the Zizhu Blade, hacking it against the stone wall, emitting a muffled sound like the clash of metal.

A quarter of an hour later, the Gold-Winged Fire Ant Queen let out a piercing scream and sprayed out a swath of golden flames onto a section of the stone wall, which began to melt. The twelve four-winged fire ants came to help.

Shen Long was somewhat surprised; it seemed the Gold-Winged Fire Ant Queen had discovered something valuable. What could it be that excited it so much?

With the concerted efforts of the twelve four-winged fire ants and the Gold-Winged Fire Ant Queen, it wasn’t long before a piece of golden crystal caught Shen Long’s eye.

Within the golden crystal, one could see a ball of golden flame, as if it were a fierce fireball.

"Golden Flame Crystal!"

Shen Long was overjoyed.

Golden Flame Jade could be used to refine fire attribute Dharma Treasures, while Golden Flame Crystal could be used to refine Spiritual Treasure, far more valuable than Golden Flame Jade.

A Golden Flame Jade vein might give birth to a Golden Flame Crystal, and he hadn’t expected to find one here.

Shen Long manipulated the Zizhu Blade to remove a millstone-sized piece of ore from the wall, which would have to be refined to extract the Golden Flame Crystal.

He increased his attack strength, urging the spirit ants to work harder.

After less than half an hour, Shen Long gave up; he hadn’t found a second Golden Flame Crystal, so it seemed it was just good luck.

He was satisfied nonetheless; this piece of Golden Flame Crystal was not small and more than enough to refine a fire attribute Spiritual Treasure.

Shen Long took the spirit ants back into the spirit beast bag, picked up the raw Golden Flame Jade on the ground, and walked out.

The Iron Tail Scorpion led the way, with Shen Long, the Hundred Eyes Cicada, and the Green-Eyed Spiritual Fox following behind.

Upon leaving the mountain range, they were met with a vast, boundless expanse of green bamboo forest.

The Green-Eyed Spiritual Fox let out a deep roar, seeming to have discovered something.

The Hundred Eyes Cicada’s eyes shone with a blinding golden light, but due to the enchantments, it couldn’t see anything past a hundred li.

"It looks like you’ve found some high-age Miracle Elixir, lead me to it," Shen Long commanded the Green-Eyed Spiritual Fox.

The Green-Eyed Spiritual Fox moved towards the northeast, not very fast, with the Iron Tail Scorpion catching up to it, moving side by side.

Meanwhile, the Hundred Eyes Cicada scouted the rear, avoiding enchantments, with Shen Long following.

After over two hours, the Green-Eyed Spiritual Fox stopped. Several hundred zhang ahead was a steep peak with a huge cave at its base.

"A fourth-rank late-stage Strong Golden-Backed Ape! Biyu Peaches."

Shen Long was ecstatic.

The Biyu Peach tree had a growth cycle of one thousand eight hundred years, and the Biyu Peaches were effective for advancing essence’s power, suitable for Nascent Soul Cultivators to consume.

He took the Green-Eyed Spiritual Fox and the Hundred Eyes Cicada back, striding into the cave with the Iron Tail Scorpion burrowing underground, ready to assist.

The cave wasn’t large, and after fifty-odd steps, Shen Long stood in a cave over ten acres in size. In the lower left corner of the cave, there was a tree about three meters tall with blue-green leaves. Dozens of emerald-green peaches hung from it, and a giant Strong Golden-Backed Ape lay beneath the tree.

The Strong Golden-Backed Ape spotted Shen Long and let out a thunderous roar, spewing a yellow sonic wave that charged straight at Shen Long.

Shen Long let out a resounding dragon chant, shooting forth a red sonic wave that collided with the yellow wave, annihilating each other and sending a powerful shockwave that cracked the ground.

The Strong Golden-Backed Ape charged over, moving swiftly.

Shen Long flicked his sleeve, and a giant fireball shot out, hitting the Strong Golden-Backed Ape with precision. The body of the ape was engulfed in flames that blazed with a dazzling yellow light before the flames dispersed.

Shen Long turned and ran. The Strong Golden-Backed Ape, lacking intelligence, unaware of the deceit, gave chase.

He had just fled the cave when his body became incredibly heavy, a powerful gravity pinning him to the ground.

His skin radiated a brilliant red light as red dragon scales sprouted, covering his entire body.

Thick yellow earth spears burst from the ground, striking Shen Long with the sound of metal clashing against metal.

The yellow earth spears left not a single mark on the red dragon scales.

The Strong Golden-Backed Ape caught up, swinging its fists down at Shen Long.

Shen Long threw a punch, colliding with the ape’s fist.

A pitiful beastly howl rang out as the Strong Golden-Backed Ape was sent flying backward, crashing into the ground and creating a huge pit.

Shen Long opened his mouth, and a stream of blue flames shot out, hitting the Strong Golden-Backed Ape precisely, engulfing it as it let out a heart-wrenching scream of agony.

A barrage of red staff shadows swept in, like towering red peaks smashing down on the Strong Golden-Backed Ape.

The ape tried to evade but was struck by a piercing screech that made it feel dizzy and disoriented.

Before it could recover, the Lihuo Stick had already smashed onto its head, causing blood to flow.

The flesh of the Strong Golden-Backed Ape was indeed powerful; withstanding ordinary spiritual treasures was not an issue, but it couldn’t withstand the heavier spiritual treasures.

Shen Long produced a Green Jade Vase, capturing the spirit soul of the Strong Golden-Backed Ape and placing its body inside his storage bag.

He entered the cave, plucked all the Biyu Peaches, used the Qinglian Vase to transplant the Biyu Peach tree, and left the area.

A day later, Shen Long arrived at the base of a steep peak. A white fog covered everything above the midpoint of the mountain, obscuring the situation further up.

A blue stone staircase began at the base of the mountain and stretched to the midpoint. The stairs were covered in moss and showed many cracks, indicating their ancient existence.

"This is the place," Shen Long muttered to himself, his expression grave.

The Hundred Eyes Cicada’s eyes shone with glaring golden light, allowing it to clearly see a vast estate at the mountain’s summit.

"Thousand Herbs Garden! It sounds like the name of a Spirit Medicine Garden. Could there be rare spiritual medicine here?" Shen Long wondered aloud.

He commanded a level-three Puppet Beast to ascend the mountain. With just one step, the beast became immobile.

"Powerful gravity restriction! Just as I thought."

Shen Long was not surprised. He recalled the level-three Puppet Beast and headed towards the blue stone stairs himself.

As soon as he set foot on the stairs, he felt as heavy as billions of pounds. He snorted coldly, sprouting red dragon scales all over his body as he quickened his pace.

After about thirty steps, his face turned beet red, feeling as if he was shouldering a Sky-Supporting Peak, weighing trillions of pounds.

It should be noted that he had taken many body-forging miracle elixirs, and his physical strength was greater than that of a late-stage Barbarian Cultivator of the same level, yet he could barely stand it. It was no wonder that the Barbarian Cultivators couldn’t withstand it either.

He took out the Magnetic Origin Bead and invested a spell into it, turning the bead into a thick golden light that enveloped his entire body.

With the pressure gone, he sped up his steps.

Reaching the mountaintop, the gates of the Thousand Herbs Garden were firmly shut, with a substantial golden light covering the entire estate.

Shen Long breathed out a stream of blue flames, which landed on the golden light and caused it to emit a wisp of blue smoke, dimming its spiritual light.

He brought out the Lihuo Stick and struck the golden light.

The Lihuo Stick hit the multi-colored light, shattering it like a bubble, and a rush of pure spiritual energy surged out.

Shen Long’s divine sense flared, scanning the entire Thousand Herbs Garden.

His brows furrowed slightly. There were no aged spiritual medicines in the Thousand Herbs Garden, not even a single Spirit Fruit tree. It seemed someone had been here before.

He arrived at the entrance of a resplendent hall. A plaque with the words "Thousand Herbs Hall" in golden script hung above the door.

The door was cracked open, evidently visited by others before.

Shen Long released the Hundred Eyes Cicada, whose eyes lit up with blinding golden light, detecting no abnormalities within the hall.

Shen Long commanded a Giant Ape Puppet Beast to enter, and following a spell, the Puppet Beast stepped into the Thousand Herbs Hall, finding nothing unusual after a full circle inside.

Only then did Shen Long proceed in. To his left, there was a blue stone corridor with the Giant Ape Puppet Beast leading the way, and Shen Long following.

Before long, they reached the end, where three open stone chambers appeared before Shen Long.

The first chamber contained a silver formation spanning over ten zhang, with not a single Spirit Stone on it. The second chamber was completely empty, while the third contained a human skeleton draped in a tattered gold robe, with a flickering golden Array Plate next to it. The plate’s surface had eighteen indentations of uniform size, each holding a stone. One of the stones was absorbing nature’s spiritual energy.

"Spirit Gathering Stone!" Shen Long exclaimed in surprise.

Spirit Gathering Stones were a special kind of Spirit Stone. Once the spiritual energy in ordinary Spirit Stones was depleted, they were rendered useless, but when a Spirit Gathering Stone’s energy ran out, it could slowly replenish itself by absorbing nature’s spiritual energy.