Chapter 865: The Two Sides Clash

The Soul-Stunning Incense is refined from hundreds of special medicinal herbs, capable of knocking even Cocoon-Sealing realm experts unconscious. But this incense, once lit, attacks indiscriminately. With the two of them so close, perhaps before the two Saber-Toothed Spirit Tigers are affected, they themselves would be the first to faint!

“Medicines interact, some complementing and some counteracting each other. As long as there is a medicine, there is a way to counter it. They have likely taken an antidote and are not worried about any problems.”

Zhang Xuan said calmly.

Every medicine has its counter. No matter how potent the poison, an antidote can be found, let alone something that merely induces hallucinations.

“Mm.” Everyone nodded.

“Master Zhang, once the smoke enters the cave, the two Saber-Toothed Spirit Tigers will likely be knocked out… What should we do?” Dong Xin looked over.

The enemy had Soul-Stunning Incense and a Half-Saint expert. Once the two spirit beasts were knocked out, obtaining the Red Firefly Fruit would be inevitable. Even if they wanted to snatch it, it would be too late.

“Strike first… Better to get the Red Firefly Fruit before they do!”

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xuan said.

Heavenly treasures go to those who arrive first. They might be using Soul-Stunning Incense, but as long as they themselves got the item first, no matter what the other party said, it would be useless!

“Get there first?” The others were puzzled.

The enemy was already at the cave entrance and had released the Soul-Stunning Incense. Even if they rushed over now, they might not only fail to get the Red Firefly Fruit but also risk being knocked out, their lives beyond their control.

“Stay here quietly. If anything happens, find a way to leave and protect yourselves. I’ll circle around and see if I can find a chance to sneak into the cave.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Zhang Xuan instructed.

“Sneak in?”

The cave was only so big, and the two were already at the entrance. How could he sneak in?

“You don’t need to worry about that…”

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan did not explain. His body flickered, and he dashed outward, disappearing from everyone’s sight in the blink of an eye.

“This…”

Seeing him leave, Dong Xin and the others looked at each other, bewildered.

“Let’s follow Master Zhang’s instructions. Since he said so, he must have a plan…”

After a long while, Hu Yaoyao gritted her teeth and said.

In the current situation, they were helpless and could only listen to him.

Given his past deeds, perhaps he could indeed do the unexpected and obtain the Red Firefly Fruit ahead of time.

…

Evading everyone’s sight, Zhang Xuan found a spot, sat cross-legged, and with a thought, his soul left his body.

In this situation, to enter the cave undetected, he could only rely on his soul.

As for going around, that was just an excuse.

Hovering in the air, his soul hesitated for a moment, then took out a bottle of One-Yuan Heavy Water for his physical body to consume, and extracted several strands of Heavenly Dao true qi from his dantian before storing it all in the Thousand Ant Hive.

His physical body had already reached the state of no-thought, capable of cultivating independently from his soul, which allowed him to save time and do both without conflict.

Whoosh!

Controlling the storage ring, he rose into the air. His soul bypassed the canyon’s upper reaches and silently descended toward the cave entrance.

The mountain walls were covered with trees. A storage ring moving among them was impossible to detect. Moreover, his soul had reached the peak of Void Step realm, round and full. Even if a Half-Saint were present, no one would know that someone had already arrived at the cave entrance.

Whoosh!

Entering the cave, Zhang Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked inside.

The cave was spacious and deep, with no end in sight. It was already filled with a thin layer of smoke. Inhaling it would easily lead to intoxication and inability to extricate oneself.

In the past, encountering such mist would require caution and avoidance. But now, having merged his soul with Wei Ruyan, he possessed the ability of the Innate Poison Soul Body, rendering these drugs ineffective against him.

Moving forward slowly, after a while, he indeed saw a strange tree as thick as a bowl appear before him.

The trunk twisted like a vine, the leaves golden yellow, and on it hung several light red fruits.

“It seems they’re not ripe yet…”

After a glance, Zhang Xuan knew that there was still some time before they ripened.

When the Red Firefly Fruit ripens, it turns entirely crimson and emits a fluorescent glow. Now it was only light red, indicating that, as Dong Xin and the others had guessed, it would take at least seven or eight days, or even half a month, to mature.

In front of the tree lay a massive Saber-Toothed Spirit Tiger, over five meters long and two meters tall, exuding a suffocating pressure.

Another one was occasionally looking outward, seemingly aware that someone had arrived outside. Its eyes showed anxiety, as if it was hesitating whether to destroy the Red Firefly Fruit and then flee.

At this moment, the smoke of the Soul-Stunning Incense had not yet drifted in, so the two large beasts naturally did not know that the people outside were well prepared.

“It seems Dong Xin’s intelligence is quite accurate…”

With a glance, he saw that there were indeed only ten fruits on the tree, and the two saber-toothed spirit tigers were both at the peak of the Silkworm Seal realm. Zhang Xuan nodded to himself.

This woman, though careless in the previous incident, was usually quite reliable.

To have investigated so thoroughly, she must have entered this cave more than once.

Although the saber-toothed spirit tigers were cautious, they still needed to eat, drink, and relieve themselves. As long as they were negligent, with her strength, she could sneak in and investigate quietly.

"Now there are two options. First, release the Purple Yang Beast, kill these two on the spot, and openly claim the Red Fire Fruit... This is straightforward, but it would easily expose the existence of the Witch Soul and the Thousand Ant Hive! Second, find a way to ripen the Red Fire Fruit, pick them all, and leave without a trace, avoiding those two master teachers and saving a lot of trouble..."

Zhang Xuan pondered.

Releasing the Purple Yang Beast to kill these two was the most convenient, but where the Purple Yang Beast came from, how he sneaked in, and how to explain it to Hu Yaoyao and the others would be difficult.

"I'll go with the second option!"

After thinking it over, the second option was more appropriate.

After all, this thing was ownerless; as long as he got it, it was his, no need to be polite.

"First, I need to knock these two out..."

Having made up his mind, Zhang Xuan smiled lightly. The Witch Soul retreated a few steps, controlling the smoke of the Soul-Stunning Incense to drift over slowly.

To steal the fruits without a trace, he had to first knock these two big fellows unconscious; otherwise, if they saw the fruits disappear, they would guess the Witch Soul's methods.

The smoke of the Soul-Stunning Incense, silent and stealthy, grew denser under the Witch Soul's control. The two saber-toothed spirit tigers, focused on guarding against the cultivators outside, never expected to be poisoned. Unaware, they inhaled a few breaths, their bodies swaying as if drunk, falling into a hallucinatory state.

Seeing the two big fellows in this state, Zhang Xuan knew they had lost their judgment. He stepped up to the Red Fire Fruit tree.

With a thought, the Heavenly Dao true qi mixed with the earth vein spiritual liquid flowed over.

Hu Yaoyao had said the Red Fire Fruit would not ripen for some time, yet he dared to come, not afraid of delaying the dean's succession ceremony, precisely because he had this ripening method.

Having ripened the Ten-Leaf Flower before, he knew the method. The earth vein spiritual liquid mixed with Heavenly Dao true qi drilled into the trunk. In less than ten minutes, the previously pale red fruits became fragrant, turned a deep red, and emitted a fluorescent glow.

"Ripe!"

His eyes brightened, he swept his hand and collected the ten Red Fire Fruits into a jade box. Zhang Xuan then let out a breath.

Turning to look, he saw the two hallucinating saber-toothed spirit tigers still swaying, not yet awake. Zhang Xuan sighed in relief and, carrying the storage ring, hurried out.

Just as he reached the cave entrance, he saw the two master teachers who had lit the Soul-Stunning Incense walking slowly toward him, apparently wanting to check if the saber-toothed spirit tigers had been affected.

Ignoring them, Zhang Xuan smiled lightly, controlled the ring, and flew straight out, returning to the air shortly after.

Returning to a place where Hu Yaoyao and the others couldn't find him, he released his physical body again and his spirit returned.

While his soul was stealing the Red Fire Fruit, his physical body had already cultivated the Five Radiance Golden Body to the third level.

Reaching this level, his physical strength doubled again, from the previous 8 million ding to 16 million ding!

Adding his soul power and true qi, he now possessed a colossal force of 53 million ding, no weaker than a peak half-saint!

(Half-saint initial stage: 40 million ding, mid-stage: 44 million ding, late stage: 48 million ding, peak: 52 million ding!)

Feeling the surging power within him, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

At the initial stage of the Void Step realm, possessing combat power comparable to a peak half-saint—if word got out, it would definitely stun a crowd.

This was no longer just genius or prodigy; it was a peerless talent.

"Go back..."

Letting out a breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, stood up, and with a flicker of his body, flew toward the place where Hu Yaoyao and the others had been.

Before he even arrived, he felt a violent energy fluctuation, with waves of air blasting outward.

"Damn..."

His pupils contracted, and Zhang Xuan sped up, charging straight ahead. After a few breaths, he saw the previously empty space now filled with chaotic true qi as several people were fighting.

Xue Zhenyang, Hu Yaoyao, Dong Xin, and Long Cangyue were surrounding one of the two men from before, unleashing all kinds of attacks, while the man trapped in the middle, though outnumbered four to one, showed no signs of defeat. Instead, he handled it with ease, forcing the four to use their ultimate moves just to survive.

"That peak Silkworm Seal realm guy?"

Frowning, Zhang Xuan was stunned.

If they were ganging up on that half-saint-level expert, it would make sense for him to fight four alone, but they were actually surrounding a Silkworm Seal realm guy of equal strength!

With equal strength, four of them couldn't even defeat one—was that for real?

Hu Yaoyao, Xue Zhenyang... each of them was a renowned genius at the Master Teacher Academy, and those who could surpass them at the same level were few and far between.

Yet now, the four of them together not only failed to gain the upper hand but were being suppressed at every turn. This guy... was too ferocious!

Looking up, he saw that half-saint expert leaning against a rock, his gaze cold and composed, as if he had no worry that his companion would lose.

It seemed he had great confidence in his partner.

"Stop!"

Seeing that if the fight continued, Hu Yaoyao and the others would surely suffer, Zhang Xuan could no longer hold back. With a loud shout, he flickered and appeared before the crowd.