The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 286 - 174 Flower Fragrance_2
"Wipe off the blood and bury them, let’s see which unlucky soul is next," the boss chuckled. At this moment, the skinny bandit dragged both corpses into the thicket, searched them from head to toe, and turned out a pile of assorted junk.
These three bandits seemed rich and imposing as they didn’t even bother with the large silver ingots, only taking the valuables and silver notes, then continuing to meticulously search the remaining items. The one among the trio who had remained silent said, "It’s likely this ring." What he picked up was a silver ring engraved with intricate patterns. Judging by the time, these two were probably the ones who found the first Treasure. They’d hit the jackpot this time!
"Very likely!" The boss took the ring and held it up to the rising sun, suddenly saying, "What a fragrant scent, do you smell flowers?"
With his reminder, the other two couldn’t help but sniff the air, then exchanged glances and exclaimed in unison, "Not good!" They had been in this secret realm for a whole day now, and apart from darkness, filth, and stench, there were no other notable traits; where would flowers come from?
The three were about to reach for their detoxification pills when their limbs stopped responding. Struggling to keep their eyes open, they collapsed to the ground. The skinny one had the strongest will, closing his eyes last, and he saw a young girl with dark skin emerge from the woods where he had tossed the bodies, smiling slyly at them and saying, "Stick ’em up!"
He slurred, "Wha—what is this?"
"Soul Calming Incense." She waved the three thin incense sticks in her hand. "Light one and you’ll sleep sweetly till dawn. Oh, looks like the sun’s already up. Rest well!"
Though there were no flowers in the woods, there was a breeze. The girl judged the direction of the wind, lit the poisonous incense, and let the breeze help fell them.
The skinny one’s mouth twitched and he could no longer speak a word. He knew that closing his eyes now might mean eternal sleep, but he couldn’t resist the overwhelming urge to doze off. In his last moment of clarity, he realized: "Always hunting geese, there will come a day... when the geese peck out your eyes!"
Ning Xiaoxian unapologetically took possession of the bandits’ wealth. Thus, the assets of seven people were now hers. Besides the silver, she took all the other items. Such bulky and noisy items were inconvenient for travel.
Dealing with these three, she would not waste any effort if an easier method was available. While hidden in the woods just now, she had already felt the urge to rub her eyes repeatedly. This was a repercussion of her nerves being highly strung for over ten hours; she needed rest.
She put away the Soul Calming Incense, tied the three men to a tree using the skinny one’s hook and scythe, aware that the best way to deal with them would be to end their lives. But she had never killed before and didn’t wish to start now. The day would eventually come, but she hoped not today.
After all, none of them had seen her true face, she consoled herself.
Continuing her journey through the VIP treetop path, she finally stopped fretting upon finding the straightest tree. Finding a branch dense with leaves, she curled up lightly, took out a blanket from her bag to cover herself, and quickly fell into a deep sleep. She had bought the blanket from the mutual market in Rock City, made of a rare type of wool from the Western Regions with strands only one-fifth the diameter of human hair. The fabric felt like silk but was as light as a cicada’s wings, and the entire Five Feet Square blanket could easily pass through the small hole of the ring she had just acquired. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
Of course, the greatest advantage of this blanket was its chameleon-like ability to change color according to the surroundings. Right now, it turned dark green, camouflaging the girl within very well.
After applying a detoxification ointment against venomous insects and snakes on her skin, she eagerly succumbed to slumber.
Unknown to her, as she slept soundly, the northern part of the secret realm, in a scarcely trodden swamp, suddenly erupted with a large number of bubbles.
In the eastern part of the secret realm, not far from where the Moonlight Cup was placed, the soil on a flat ground quietly shifted, and a hand emerged...
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She did not know how long she had slept; she only knew that upon opening her eyes, she was greeted by the twinkling starlight.
And then, she realized this was serious trouble!
Identifying directions was easy, but keeping track of time was the challenge. She had neglected to consider that time in the secret realm passed differently from the outside world, with shorter days and prolonged nights. Originally, in Pang Hai’s group, there were leaders to keep track of time. Now that she was on her own, how would she keep track of the time? Without a timer, how would she know how long it was until the realm closed?
What to do? She scratched her head. Among the trifles on the bandits, there was no timer. It seemed that they had planned to lie in wait at the entrance, corralling the wind, with no intention of venturing deep into the realm.
Oh well, she would carry on. Having slept, she was reinvigorated, ready to resume her journey with joy.
But as she went, her pace slowed down considerably. The reason was simple—the number of groups under the trees was increasing, forcing her to be extra cautious to avoid detection. It seemed many leaders had chosen the eastern part of the secret realm for their treasure hunt. This was not good news for her.
After another four hours, she finally found the starting point marked on the treasure map. Don’t underestimate this point; from here on out, her treasure hunt really began.
She peered down at the people below and grew anxious.
Starting from half an hour ago, this spot had seen no less than four groups pass by.
This also meant that the route was too crowded, how could she quietly find the Cup? If she obtained the Moonlight Cup and the sound of the Jade Chime rang out in the east, then everyone here would rush to the location. (To be continued. If you like this novel, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)
