The disciple from Shengye Sect, spared from the catastrophe, collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. Just as fear was starting to take hold in his heart, he suddenly heard a clear voice.

"The danger has been removed. Since you have crushed the Jade Scroll, you should hurry back to the Flying Boat and not linger in the woods."

"Ah, yes, the disciple understands. Thank you, senior, for saving my life," the disciple from Shengye Sect regained his composure and hastily bowed in the direction of no one in particular.

Although he received no response, he did not dare stay any longer and quickly left the area. Behind him, a dark purple vine slowly writhed, soon sucking a giant python dry into a mummy.

In midair, Yuan Ming, piloting the Jade Shuttle, sent a soul crow to follow the disciple, shaking his head with a hint of emotion.

Over the past three days, he had already rescued seven disciples from the Shengye Sect. Many of them, like the one just now, let their guard down due to the allure of rare spiritual medicines and ignored the dangers around them.

These disciples from Shengye Sect were all officially admitted into the sect after passing the Sect's trials and the Spirit Root test. Since stepping onto the Immortal Path, they had always been cared for by masters and elders, knowing the dangers of the Cultivation World only through hearsay without any real experience.

Because their sect excelled in alchemy, they had abundant resources. Whether it was cultivation techniques, magic artifacts, or elixirs, these disciples lacked for nothing except actual combat experience. It was no wonder that they were known for not being adept at fighting.

For these disciples, their trials were like leisurely outings. During the day, they searched for herbs, and at any sign of danger, they called for an elder. At night, they set up camp, chatting and laughing, cozy and affectionate with each other.

Watching these Qi Refining disciples, Yuan Ming felt a mix of emotion and envy. When he had started on the Immortal Path, he began as a Beast Slave, fighting for his life daily in the treacherous mountains of the Southern Border, never sure if he'd see the next day, let alone experience such joyous ease.

As he reflected, Yuan Ming quickly took out a magic artifact used for locating the Jade Scroll.

The artifact was now emitting a glaring red light. Yuan Ming immediately started casting, pinpointed the location of the distress signal, and once again steered the Jade Shuttle toward that direction.

In a valley.

Amidst intermittent howls, dozens of blue-black demon wolves surrounded many Shengye Sect disciples, ceaselessly seeking opportunities to attack.

The area was crowded with most of the trial-participating disciples. Their abilities were strong, generally above the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining. Facing the onslaught of demon wolves, they coordinated well with each other and fought evenly matched.

Though the demon wolves were also Level 1 Middle Stage, their coordination was extremely impeccable. Whenever a demon wolf was gravely injured and repelled by the disciples, another would immediately fill its place.

As the disciples' mana gradually depleted, the number of demon wolves remained unchanged.

But this was not their most pressing concern.

Not far away, a Second Level demon wolf as tall as a man, its eyes gleaming eerily, swung its tail out of nowhere. Two azure Wind Blades suddenly flew towards He Wendao, who was in front of it.

Seeing this, He Wendao quickly formed a hand seal, and the ground beneath him trembled. A wall of earth swiftly rose, shielding him.

The hastily formed earth wall was incredibly fragile. Though it blocked the Wind Blades, it shattered into pieces the next moment.

Amidst the flying dust, a blue-black wolf shadow lunged out from the broken fragments, charging straight at He Wendao.

He Wendao's face turned pale, with seven or eight Level 1 demon wolf corpses already lying around him, seemingly drained of much mana. Yet facing this critical situation, he did not dare to relax. With a flip of his right hand, he slammed a talisman onto the ground.

Dozens of sharp earth spikes erupted from the ground. The approaching demon wolf hastily dodged, but its skin was still torn by the spikes, causing blood to flow profusely.

But this only intensified the demon wolf's ferocity. It halted its charge, its forepaws digging into the ground, its back arching as it lowered its head slightly before violently raising it, baring its bloody jaws as a piercing howl instantly echoed through the valley.

As the sound waves vibrated, the earth spikes emerging from the ground shattered one by one, and He Wendao's vision darkened, his footing becoming unsteady.

Gleam flashing in the demon wolf's eyes, it pushed off with its four limbs, soaring high into the air, and pounced toward He Wendao.

At that moment, a vine-like figure dropped from the sky. Numerous dark purple vines swiftly extended, intertwining to form a large net that intercepted the demon wolf.

Yuan Ming, piloting the Flying Shuttle, arrived just in time. As the Hua Zhi intercepted the demon wolf, he also jumped off the Flying Shuttle.

"Are you alright?" Yuan Ming asked with concern.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Hagon, for your help," He Wendao steadied his head and bowed to Yuan Ming.

"It's nothing. Elder Lu and the others have arrived; this place should be safe now," Yuan Ming said.

As he conversed with He Wendao, two streaks of light flew across the sky.

Yuan Ming looked up and saw Bai Ye and Lu Shen had also arrived. He simply instructed Hua Zhi to exert itself and did not summon his magic artifacts to fight at full strength.

The demon wolf was no match for Hua Zhi, and with the addition of two Foundation Establishment cultivators into the fray, it was quickly defeated, its head twisted off by Hua Zhi in death.

"Fellow Daoist He, how did you end up in such a sorry state?" Lu Shen jumped down from the Flying Artifact, frowning as he looked toward He Wendao.

"When I arrived, I only saw disciples of your Sect being attacked by a pack of wolves. I had just dealt with a few when unexpectedly another Second Level demon wolf lurking in the shadows caught me off guard, and I got a bit injured. I am ashamed," He Wendao said with a bitter smile.

At this point, Bai Ye also helped the other Shengye Sect disciples deal with the remaining Level 1 demon wolves, leading them over.

"How did you all get in here?" Lu Shen asked.

"Reporting to the elder, yesterday, the disciple accidentally discovered an injured demon wolf. While pursuing it, I inadvertently entered this place and found several Wind Orchids deep in the valley. Since there were quite a few demon wolves guarding outside at that time, the disciple stealthily retreated, and later gathered other fellow disciples, intending to eliminate the demon wolves together. However, for some reason, the number of demon wolves today seems to be twice as many as what the disciple had seen," Xu Tian, his face filled with bitterness, explained to Lu Shen.

"Wind Orchids? These are high-level Spirit Grasses rarely encountered once in hundreds of years, not just one but several. Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?" Lu Shen, startled, asked in surprise.

"This disciple assures there's no falsehood," Xu Tian guaranteed.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Shen asked Xu Tian to lead the way to the place where the Wind Orchids grow, with the rest of the disciples following behind.

The group then delved deeper into the valley and soon, in a depression deep in the valley, saw seven or eight small flowers emitting a faint silver glow.

Lu Shen's face showed delight as he quickly walked towards the Spiritual Medicine.

He Wendao and Bai Ye also followed closely behind him, the former's eyes widening slightly, an expression of amazed admiration on his face.

As for Xu Tian and other disciples, they stayed outside the depression, not daring to approach without Lu Shen's command.

"Fellow Daoist Hagon, aren't you coming over to take a look? This is the Wind Orchid, a high-level Spiritual Grass rarely seen in hundreds of years," He Wendao turned his head toward Yuan Ming, who was standing not far away, and asked.

"Hagon, come and look at the Wind Orchids, we're in luck. This is one of the primary ingredients for making Foundation Establishment Pills, can't believe we found it here," Bai Ye then said.

Driven by curiosity, Yuan Ming walked over and, still two to three dozen yards away from the Wind Orchids and leveraging the superior Divine Power of a Soul Cultivator, detected something unusual about this Wind Orchid.

The wave of Spiritual Power from this Wind Orchid wasn't emanating from the plant itself but from beneath the ground, with a clear and steady rhythm. Could it be that this flower's root system was different, possessing especially strong Spiritual Energy?

"Who was the first to find the Wind Orchid? We must reward them greatly once we return to the Sect. The main materials for Foundation Establishment Pills are becoming increasingly scarce," said Lu Shen, reaching out toward one of the Spiritual Medicines as he spoke.

At that moment, Yuan Ming suddenly felt a faint gust of wind at his side, and out of the corner of his eye, he spotted He Wendao, who had been just behind him, now transforming into a blur as he swiftly moved away.

"It's a trap!" Yuan Ming immediately roared.

As he shouted the warning, he quickly retreated backward, simultaneously calling for Hua Zhi to come to his aid.

However, it was ultimately too late.

Just as Elder Lu Shen, his face full of surprise, grasped the Wind Orchid, the Spiritual Medicine instantly turned into specks of flying ash and disappeared, with the other surrounding Spiritual Medicines vanishing as well.

At the same time, the ground trembled slightly, and streaks of turquoise lightning surged from beneath the earth, forming a Thunder Array about ten yards across that surrounded the three of them.

Despite Yuan Ming's swift reaction, he ultimately couldn't escape the perimeter of the Array. As he tried to exit, a rising net of electricity blocked him, and he was struck by a flash of lightning from a Thunderbolt Whip before he could get close.

With a "crack,"

Yuan Ming hastily activated the Snake Scale Soft Armor for defense.

After a burst of electric sparks, Yuan Ming was thrown back, his chest clothing scorched and torn, revealing the Snake Scale Soft Armor underneath.

Looking at Yuan Ming and others trapped in the center of the depression by the Thunder Array, some of the Shengye Sect disciples standing outside turned pale with fear, many scrambling and rolling as they ran towards the valley exit, while only a few disciples like Xu Tian and Luo Xing'er remained, some panicking uncontrollably, others too shocked to rise.

Xu Tian nervously watched the Array in the depression, tightly holding Luo Xing'er's hand, equally at a loss.

"What's going on?" Bai Ye scanned the surroundings, and noticing that He Wendao was nowhere to be seen, he exclaimed in surprise.

"We've been set up. The Wind Orchids were illusory bait created by an Illusion Technique, and the earlier demon beast was purposely used to lure us here. There's something wrong with He Wendao; we've walked into an ambush," Yuan Ming quickly explained as he got up.

"A mere Array thinking to trap me?" Elder Lu declared. He formed hand seals with one hand and slammed the other onto the ground. From his palm, a circle of earthy yellow halo lit up, rippling outward in all directions like water waves.

As the halo expanded, the ground began to tremble violently, as if a massive force was spreading from beneath, aiming to directly destroy the base stones of the Array buried deep under. When the yellow halo reached the boundary of the Array, the ground trembled violently once more.

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