Chapter 301: Meeting on a Narrow Path

Mei Zhen looked at the rows of third-grade Orchid Heart Flowers, frowning in contemplation.

“Elder Mei, if it weren’t for Ye Yuan, we wouldn’t have gotten even a single third-grade Orchid Heart Flower. He only took five, which isn’t too much,” Mo Yuntian stepped forward and said, seeing Mei Zhen frown.

Mei Zhen was taken aback, then smiled bitterly: “Yuntian, what are you saying? I’m not complaining that Ye Yuan took too many, but rather that he took too few. But I’m not in a good position to decide this, so I hesitated.”

He then turned to Ye Yuan and said: “How about this: I’ll take the remaining third-grade Orchid Heart Flowers for now, and when we return, I’ll report today’s matter to the Sect Master and ask him to give you a few more.”

Ye Yuan waved his hand: “No need, five are enough. Elder Mei, please collect them quickly; we should set off.”

Since Ye Yuan said so, insisting further would seem affected, so Mei Zhen had to collect all the remaining third-grade Orchid Heart Flowers.

These third-grade Orchid Heart Flowers were a main ingredient for the third-grade cultivation pill, Dingyuan Pill. Five plants were enough for Ye Yuan to refine over a hundred pills, sufficient for the short term.

After collecting all the third-grade Orchid Heart Flowers, the group from Nethercloud Sect began to advance deeper into the secret realm.

After the incident with the Mandala Flower Sea, no one dared to be careless. They remained alert all the way, and fortunately, no major problems arose.

Ye Yuan, with his keen eye, did manage to find some relatively rare second-grade herbs along the way.

However, after the Orchid Heart Flower Sea, they never encountered any third-grade herbs again.

On the road, the usually silent Ti Wujiu suddenly asked Ye Yuan: “Junior Brother Ye, you said earlier that these Mandala Flowers were grafted. Doesn’t that mean the flower sea had an owner? Could this secret realm…”

At Ti Wujiu’s words, everyone, including Mei Zhen, was startled.

Using Mandala Flowers to cultivate third-grade Orchid Heart Flowers was a grand undertaking! And this was still at the outermost edge of the secret realm.

Li Changyu had also mentioned that there were even many fourth-grade herbs in the secret realm!

If the secret realm truly had an owner, then everyone was in danger. A force capable of such a setup was likely even stronger than the Heavenly Qian Sect!

Earlier, everyone had been so shocked by Ye Yuan’s revelation about the third-grade Orchid Heart Flowers that they had overlooked this issue.

Now that they thought about it, cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.

Could it be that the Southern Domain harbored such a powerful force?

Ye Yuan smiled: “Senior Brother Wujiu is indeed meticulous. This place was indeed once owned! But that was a long time ago.”

Hearing the first half of Ye Yuan’s words, everyone’s hearts skipped a beat. After hearing the second half, they finally relaxed.

But the sudden reversal left them feeling breathless.

“What do you mean by that, Junior Brother Ye?” Ti Wujiu pressed.

“After absorbing enough Yuan energy, graded herbs reach a saturation point. The Yuan energy here is abundant, so it can maintain the herbs in their mature state. But those familiar with herbs can discern the age difference. These third-grade Orchid Heart Flowers are about several thousand years old. If this place had an owner, they wouldn’t have left these flowers abandoned for so long,” Ye Yuan explained.

Ye Yuan’s familiarity with herbs was beyond what others could imagine. With just a brief observation, he could determine the age of these Orchid Heart Flowers, hence his certainty.

“Moreover, this place has clearly been desolate for a long time, overgrown with weeds and infested with demon beasts. It definitely isn’t owned. If I’m not mistaken, this might have been a herb garden of some sect in the past, but something happened to the sect, leading to its abandonment. That sect was likely much stronger than the current Heavenly Qian Sect!” Ye Yuan stated his judgment.

Mei Zhen and the others nodded inwardly. This analysis was very reasonable and dispelled their concerns.

Since entering the secret realm, everyone had unconsciously come to regard Ye Yuan as their pillar.

When encountering problems, their first thought was not to consult Mei Zhen but to ask Ye Yuan.

Strangely, no one found this inappropriate, including Mei Zhen himself.

…

The Nethercloud Sect group did not move quickly.

Two days later, they arrived at a dense forest.

“Look! Isn’t that the fourth-grade herb, Vermilion Lotus Ice Heart Fruit?” A Nethercloud Sect disciple spotted a vermilion fruit not far away and exclaimed in surprise.

Fourth-grade materials were strategic assets for the major sects in the Southern Domain! Even the Heavenly Qian Sect would go crazy over them.

Earlier, Tian Feng had nearly exhausted Nethercloud Sect’s fourth-grade herbs to refine the Seven Profound Soul Subduing Pill, which was why he was under so much pressure.

Now, seeing a fourth-grade herb, the Nethercloud Sect disciples couldn’t help but get excited.

The disciple was about to pick it when Ye Yuan grabbed him.

“Senior Brother Pang, don’t go over!” Ye Yuan said solemnly.

“What?” Senior Brother Pang was startled, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Under Ye Yuan’s guidance, they had already avoided several deadly situations along the way!

So when Ye Yuan stopped him, Senior Brother Pang immediately realized his recklessness and broke out in a cold sweat.

This secret realm, as the Heavenly Qian Sect had said, was full of heavenly treasures everywhere. But obtaining them came at a bloody cost!

Over the past two days, the Nethercloud Sect group had encountered many quasi-fourth-grade herbs, but each was surrounded by extreme danger!

Even a Condensation Crystal realm martial artist could die on the spot with a single misstep!

Yet Ye Yuan had led them to avoid danger time and again, so far without a single loss!

At first, when Ye Yuan stopped them from collecting herbs, they were somewhat dismissive.

Ye Yuan even used his Pure Sandalwood Fire Lotus Avatar to test a few times, and the results made everyone’s hair stand on end.

After several such incidents, everyone realized how crucial Ye Yuan’s presence was!

Without Ye Yuan, they might have lost half their numbers in just these two days. That would have been an unbearable loss for Nethercloud Sect.

Ye Yuan was extremely familiar with the habits of these herbs. Some had companion beasts, some had companion poisons; one misstep could be fatal.

Just now, Senior Brother Pang, excited by the fourth-grade herb, had almost forgotten the previous dangers and rushed over.

“The Vermilion Lotus Ice Heart Fruit has a companion demon beast called the Seven-Colored Poison Spider, whose venom is extremely potent! The spider is very small and hard to detect. If bitten, a Condensation Crystal realm martial artist would die from the poison within a few breaths!” Ye Yuan said gravely.

Senior Brother Pang gasped, cold sweat streaming down again.

“Who’s there!” Just then, Mei Zhen suddenly shouted.

“This kid is indeed strange, even knowing about the poison spider! Hah, you haven’t lost a single person yet—it must be thanks to this kid! Heh heh, kid, I told you not to let me run into you in the secret realm!”

“Wang Fan!” Several figures emerged from the woods. Seeing them, Mei Zhen frowned.