Free Web NovelChapter 342: Chapter 342: Twin Blood Lotus
"Sister, I smell a special scent."
The Dragon Spirit, who was squatting on Song Wanning’s shoulder, suddenly shot to its feet. It pointed a chubby little finger to the right, its eyes shining with astonishing brightness.
Song Wanning, who had been searching for a cave, froze. Braving the bone-piercing wind, she lifted her head and looked in that direction.
"Can you tell what it is?"
The Dragon Spirit shook its head. "No... but it smells really nice..."
It took a deep sniff, twitching its cute little nose.
The Golden Small Sword on her other shoulder sniffed the air as well, looking perplexed. "How come I can’t smell anything?"
’I’ve been outdone by the little guy.’
The Golden Small Sword whined internally. ’If I hadn’t been with Master the longest, I’d probably be the most useless one of the bunch right now...’
’Good thing I was born from Master’s Divine Soul. No matter what, these little guys can’t step over me.’
With that thought, the Golden Small Sword was instantly back to its confident self.
"Alright, let’s go have a look."
Song Wanning mulled it over for a moment and decided to check it out.
After all, the Dragon Spirit was an Innate Spiritual Object. It was entirely possible it could sense other special Spiritual Objects.
So, she immediately changed direction and started making her way through the thick, hazy mist.
The wind was biting, and Song Wanning’s entire body ached fiercely.
She rubbed her arms, trying to find some relief, but it was no use. Her face had been blasted by the wind until it was numb.
The raging wind howled, impairing her hearing and making it difficult to discern any movement in her surroundings.
After struggling forward for over a kilometer, her body was almost completely numb. Her movements were incredibly stiff, and her legs felt heavy as lead.
The Dragon Spirit and the Golden Small Sword were also getting irritated by the wind, grumbling and cursing under their breath the entire way.
Finally, after enduring it for a while longer, they spotted the entrance to a small cave.
"Sister, that’s it!"
The Dragon Spirit instantly perked up, no longer bothered by the biting wind, and zipped toward the cave.
Song Wanning’s spirits lifted as well, and she strode toward the cave entrance.
Meanwhile, Xiao Heyun had deliberately separated from Xie Qinglan and was now pressing forward alone against the frigid wind.
"Host! Host! I’ve found something good!!!"
Suddenly, a sentence from his system snapped the cursing Xiao Heyun back to reality. He was shivering uncontrollably in the wind. ’Damn it all, why am I a metal-attribute Cultivator and not someone with a Mutated Wind Spirit Root?’
"Something good? Where?"
His eyes lit up, filled with greed.
’As long as I get this treasure, I can show it off to everyone when I get out of here!’
"Over there!"
The system immediately marked the direction, its tone smug. "I told you to just follow my guide. See? Now that I’ve leveled up, my functions are even better!"
"We didn’t find this thing last time, but this time I found it! Hahaha..."
There was competition among systems, and this one also wanted to work hard to level up and leave the others in the dust.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t be helping Xiao Heyun so wholeheartedly.
Although it secretly looked down on Xiao Heyun quite a bit, the fact was that he was obedient, which made him a decent host.
"Attaboy, System!"
Xiao Heyun was instantly delighted. Forgetting the pain in his body, he rushed in the direction the system indicated as if he’d been shot full of adrenaline.
...
Inside the cave, the frigid wind was finally blocked out, and a pleasant warmth filled the space.
Song Wanning let out a long breath, her body finally at ease.
Looking around, she saw the cave was filled with lush green grass that gave off a fresh, sweet scent.
It was unlike any cave she had ever visited.
She carefully extended her Divine Sense, only to find it veiled by some sort of floating substance, preventing it from advancing any further.
With no other choice, she had to retract her Divine Sense and proceed on foot, one step at a time.
After navigating a few turns, a small Spiritual Spring came into view.
But that wasn’t the main attraction. The real prize was the Twin Lotus in the center of the Spiritual Spring.
The Twin Lotus was blood-red from flower to stalk, so vibrant it looked as if the color might drip from its petals at any moment, gleaming with a lustrous sheen.
Song Wanning stopped in her tracks, her gaze fixed.
’This is no ordinary lotus flower!’
The Dragon Spirit and the Golden Small Sword were also stunned. One look was enough to know this thing was extraordinary.
"Sister, hurry and pick it! It’s obviously a treasure!!"
The Dragon Spirit’s eyes widened in excitement. Naive and fearless, it wanted nothing more than to rush over and claim the Twin Blood Lotus immediately.
"Wait. Let’s check for any danger first."
The more precious the treasure, the greater the potential danger surrounding it.
But after hiding to one side for a while, she didn’t sense any danger. She then tossed a few pebbles and other objects to test the area, but still nothing happened.
’It seems this place is well-hidden. No demon beasts have discovered it.’
’It’s just, a Spiritual Object like this shouldn’t be...’
Song Wanning frowned. She felt it couldn’t possibly be this simple.
’After all, one glance tells you this is a treasure of the highest order!’
But with the treasure right in front of her, she wasn’t the type to give up over some vague, unfounded worry.
So, after checking her own defenses, Song Wanning flew toward the Twin Blood Lotus.
As an Alchemist, she knew perfectly well that every part of an Innate Spiritual Object like this, from the flower petals to the very tips of its roots, was a treasure.
Therefore, she didn’t dare just yank the flower out. Instead, she carefully slipped into the water, intending to dive to the bottom of the spring and pull it up by the roots.
Once at the bottom of the spring, she quickly discovered that it had already formed a lotus root. And this lotus root wasn’t blood-red, but instead shone with a metallic luster.
When she tried to get a closer look, a stabbing pain shot through her eyes, forcing tears to well up. She had to quickly look away.
At this moment, she had no idea Xiao Heyun was also in Cannibal Valley, and she felt quite pleased with herself. ’To think a Twin Blood Lotus would appear right where I am... looks like my luck is finally turning.’
But regardless, she had to be extremely careful. If she made one careless move and damaged it, she would regret it forever.
Song Wanning held her breath. Not daring to look directly at the glaring lotus root, she began to carefully dig it out, bit by bit.
The lotus root was smooth to the touch, but it was incredibly heavy!
’Something’s wrong.’
Ignoring the pain in her eyes, Song Wanning forced herself to look at the lotus root. But what she saw was a single, blood-red eyeball staring back at her.
The eyeball was bigger than her entire face.
It was just... staring at her ominously.
A chill shot up her spine. Without a moment’s hesitation, Song Wanning drew a dagger and plunged it toward the eyeball.
"ROAR—"
With a furious roar, the entire cave began to tremble violently. The spring water sloshed and crashed against the shore, making loud SPLASHING sounds.
At the same time, an overpowering stench assaulted Song Wanning’s nostrils, so foul it made her eyes stream with tears again.
But she refused to let go of what was in her grasp. Seizing the opportunity, she swung her blade and forcefully severed the connection between the demon beast and the lotus root.
The demon beast, which had been about to make off with the Twin Blood Lotus, was so wracked with pain that its vision went black.
