241: Mysterious Valley, fairy lingzhi flower
Regarding their master's state of anger...
Little Bell had a look of confusion on its face.
It looked toward its companions with a questioning expression.
Coal Ball licked its paws expressionlessly.
The darkness in the distance was reflected in its vertical pupils: "Meow." (Yeah, he was pissed off by a bunch of idiots.)
Lucky Frog nodded in deep agreement: "Gua." (Yeah, no doubt about it, a bunch of morons.)
Although Little Bell didn't know what had happened, seeing that its two companions had reached a consensus, it also nodded: "qiu-mi." (Alright then, I think so too.)
Su Ningyu ignored the encrypted conversation of his three familiars.
He leaned against a large tree, closed his eyes, and began to conceptualize the dance he hadn't finished choreographing yet.
Moonlight spilled down through the canopy, casting mottled shadows across his body.
In the distance, deep within the Gloomy Forest, the faint roar of battle and the howls of familiars could be heard.
That was Xu Jingyu and his classmates struggling.
Slightly further away, Ballot's figure flitted through the night sky, searching for a suitable evolution site for Coal Ball.
This night was still very long.
Ballot didn't make Su Ningyu wait too long.
His figure emerged silently from the darkness.
The eyes behind his sunglasses carried a trace of satisfied light.
He landed in front of Su Ningyu, bowed slightly, and said in a low, certain voice: "Master, I have found a suitable place."
Su Ningyu straightened up from the rock wall and patted the dust off his clothes. "What kind of place?"
"Deep in the Gloomy Forest, there is a hidden valley. The terrain is treacherous, easy to defend and hard to attack, surrounded by mountains on all sides with only one narrow entrance."
Ballot pushed up his sunglasses, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"There is a colony of Sharp-Claw Sparrows in the valley, and nearby are Cave Ghost Pythons, Mountain Wolves, Giant Armored Spiders, and Leaf Mantises—at least four or five familiar colonies are gathered there.
The individual strength of each is not weak; bronze rank is the norm, and many have already reached silver rank."
Su Ningyu's eyes narrowed slightly.
Four or five familiar colonies gathered in the same area was not common in his experience.
Familiars of different colonies usually kept their distance, occupying their own territories and not encroaching on each other.
There was only one possibility that could make them break this tacit understanding: something was attracting them.
"Since you think it's feasible, let's head out."
Ballot nodded, his body shrinking again to transform into a palm-sized mini black dragon, landing on Su Ningyu's shoulder.
He and Lucky Frog sat on either side like two asymmetrical epaulets.
Lucky Frog glanced sideways at Ballot.
Its body trembled slightly as it shifted to the side, making a little room for Ballot.
Ballot thought: Am I really that scary?
The night was deep, and the night in the Gloomy Forest was like a boundless black ocean.
Su Ningyu followed Ballot's guidance, passing through dense forests, crossing streams, and climbing up a steep mountain ridge.
The path became increasingly difficult, the trees denser, and the mist thicker.
If it weren't for Ballot leading the way, he would never have found this place.
At the end of the ridge was a hidden crevice.
The crevice was hidden between the angle of two giant boulders, tightly covered by vines and shrubs; from the outside, it looked like just an ordinary rock wall.
Su Ningyu pushed aside the vines and squeezed inside sideways.
The crevice was very narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass. The rock walls on both sides were covered in slippery green moss, and the air was filled with the smell of damp earth and a certain faint floral fragrance.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, the view suddenly opened up.
Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the clouds overhead, illuminating the entire valley.
Su Ningyu stood at the edge of the crevice exit, looking down at the scene below, his pupils contracting slightly.
This was a hidden valley surrounded by mountains, with steep cliffs on all sides. The cliffs were covered in vines and moss, shimmering with a dark green luster under the Moonlight.
The valley wasn't large, only a few hundred meters in diameter, but the terrain was open. In the center was a flat meadow, with several giant rocks scattered around.
And on that meadow...
At least several hundred familiars were quietly crouching.
Giant Armored Spiders clung to the southern rock wall, their massive bodies almost blending in with the stone. Their eight long legs were curled beneath them, and only those dozen or so dark red compound eyes flickered with a ghostly light in the darkness.
Cave Ghost Pythons were coiled in the low-lying area to the west, their grayish-black scales shimmering with a cold metallic luster under the Moonlight. There were at least five or six of them, ranging in size; the largest one was nearly twenty meters long, its body as thick as a water bucket.
Sharp-Claw Sparrows occupied the rock crevices on the northern cliff, the most numerous of all, huddled together densely, their claws making faint scratching sounds against the rock.
A pack of Mountain Wolves lingered at the forest edge to the east, their grayish-white fur appearing like flowing silver mist in the Moonlight. The alpha was comparable in size to a small calf, its amber eyes fixed intently on the center of the valley.
Leaf Mantises were scattered along the edge of the meadow, their green bodies almost blending perfectly with the surrounding vegetation. If not for their sickle-like forelimbs reflecting cold light under the moon, they would be nearly impossible to distinguish.
There were also some scattered individuals that didn't belong to any colony.
A Giant Scorpion covered in crimson armor, a pitch-black one-eyed python, and a winged Shadow Leopard—each occupied a corner at the edge of the valley, maintaining a wary distance from one another.
Su Ningyu's Spirit Eye operated silently, data streaming across his vision like flowing water.
bronze Rank Five, bronze Rank Seven, bronze Rank Nine.
There were also quite a few Silver Ranks.
The strength of those familiars varied, but none were below the bronze rank.
Several leaders of the Sharp-Claw Sparrow flock had reached Silver Rank Four, even stronger than Coal Ball.
"What are they doing?" he whispered.
Ballot landed on his shoulder, his eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses. "Master, look at the center of the valley."
Su Ningyu's gaze passed over those lurking familiars and landed on the very center of the valley.
There, a flower was blooming.
No, it wasn't currently blooming.
It was about to bloom.
It was a flower Su Ningyu had never seen before.
The stem of this flower was as slender as silk and entirely transparent, as if carved from the purest crystal.
The petals were layered and had not yet fully unfurled, their tips slightly upturned like a young girl waking up.
The entire flower emitted a soft, seven-colored glow. The light wasn't dazzling or ostentatious, yet it possessed a magic that made it impossible to look away.
The air was filled with a faint, indescribable fragrance—not a cloying floral scent, nor a cool grassy one, but a deeper aura that seemed to penetrate the Soul.
Sacred. Mysterious. Pure.
Su Ningyu suddenly realized what this existence was.
The fairy lingzhi flower.
Deep within his eyes, the Spirit Eye swirled.
Sure enough, an information prompt appeared.
[fairy lingzhi flower]
[Status: About to bloom]
[Effect: After consumption, one can obtain the Hundred-Flower Fairy's blessing, becoming immune to all poisons and gaining natural affinity. Can be used in medicine, Artifact Refining, or for nurturing familiars. Can be consumed directly, though this yields the poorest effect. Can be refined into a magic potion for moderate effect. Best results are achieved when used in conjunction with other Heaven And Earth Treasures.]
[Note: A lingzhi flower nurtured by the blood of the Hundred-Flower Fairy. Every fairy lingzhi flower is unique, and every blooming is a miracle. Tonight is its night of miracles.]