Chapter 417

Chapter 417: Treasure-Hunting Mouse

If given another chance, Cui would definitely retreat with his fellow brothers without looking back.

After all, if it weren’t for the recent arrival of those two senior brothers, they would have surely lost the battle. Not only would they have lost the spiritual plants, but they might have also suffered the loss of one or two brothers.

Now that he thought about it, his previous actions were undeniably impulsive.

While he enjoyed befriending talented disciples for his own future, he should have prioritized his own survival when making connections.

However, he had no choice now. Thankfully, luck was on his side.

Because of this, he could not let Ji Yang leave just like that, as it would mean that all his previous investments had gone to waste.

After all, with Ji Yang’s Golden Core Stage, wandering around in this secret realm’s middle level could easily lead to his demise.

Since he had already invested, he might as well see it through, directly bringing this Junior Brother Ji safely out of the secret realm, maximizing his investment. Even if Junior Brother Ji didn’t turn out to be a dragon among men, with the support from Jingtan Peak, he wouldn’t do too poorly.

As long as he brought this Junior Brother Ji out safely, this investment would never be a loss.

Such thoughts flashed through Cui’s mind, and his smile grew even gentler.

In response to Cui’s warm invitation, Ji Yang smiled and said,

“Then I will trouble Senior Brother Cui to take care of me.”

Seeing Ji Yang agree, Cui nodded with a smile.

He had worried that Ji Yang’s pride would prevent him from wanting to travel with them, so it was fortunate that this Junior Brother didn’t overhear the other brothers’ conversation; otherwise, he really wouldn’t have known how to handle it.

At that moment, the other brothers had also restored their magical power. Naturally, they had heard the discussion between the two and Cui’s invitation.

However, Ji Yang’s inclusion caused their expressions to change slightly.

What if he was a talented disciple? He was still only at the Golden Core Stage, and given that this was the middle level of the secret realm, every opponent here would at least be at the Spirit Transformation Stage. Some ferocious beasts even reached the Void Refinement stage. Ji Yang’s strength would only be a burden to them.

Moreover, this disciple actually dared to hope for a share of their fortunes; why should they share their opportunities with a Golden Core Stage cultivator like Ji Yang? This made two of them visibly displeased, wanting to say something.

But before they could speak, Cui’s Transmission echoed in their ears.

After hearing the message, the others exchanged glances and said nothing more, though their brows were still furrowed, clearly holding onto some grievances.

Cui’s message contained nothing else; he simply informed them of his willingness to share his share of the benefits with his senior brothers.

Clearly, Cui was prepared to protect Ji Yang by himself, so the others had no further objections. However, they felt that Cui’s actions were unworthy, and they began to voice their opinions.

“Only Senior Brother Cui could be this generous.”

“That’s true, but not everyone understands gratitude; right?”

“I’m just afraid some people don’t know how to appreciate good fortune!”

…

“Ahem, have the brothers restored their magical power enough? Shall we set off now?” Cui quickly interjected.

Ji Yang pretended not to hear the sarcasm in their words or Cui’s hidden Transmission, maintaining an attitude of indifference.

Of course, Ji Yang didn’t have to follow them. The reason pushing him to stay was for other reasons.

On one hand, he wanted to accompany them to gather spiritual plants. Although Ji Yang had a mighty primordial spirit energy, he was not particularly skilled in this area.

On the other hand, Ji Yang planned to gather some information about the essence of the Way from Senior Brother Cui.

Moreover, he wanted to take the opportunity to repay the favor for the booklet that had helped him. If he had acted earlier, it wouldn’t have been so complicated, but the involvement of the other two had disrupted his rhythm.

“Alright, my magical power has mostly recovered. What about the other junior brothers?”

Hearing Cui’s words, a Late Spirit Transformation disciple spoke up.

The others responded accordingly.

After taking the Recovery Pills, although their magical power hadn’t fully returned to peak condition, they had regained about seventy to eighty percent. The remaining energy could be replenished while traveling, using the spiritual energy from the heavens and earth around them.

With the spiritual energy content in the middle level of the secret realm, it wouldn’t take long. This saved time would also allow them to better find opportunities.

After some discussion, the group set off again.

With the addition of the two new members and Ji Yang, the team quickly grew to seven people. This size was considerable; as long as they didn’t encounter a Void Refinement stage cultivator or a ferocious beast, they would be a formidable force in this middle level of the secret realm.

The method the group used to seek opportunities surprised Ji Yang.

Among them, a disciple from the He Dao Sect, surnamed Ma, had a treasure-hunting mouse.

As a spiritual beast, this mouse wasn’t particularly powerful in battle and could even struggle against ferocious beasts of the same level. However, it had a unique ability: it could sense areas rich in spiritual energy, allowing them to find corresponding opportunities.

The drawback was that it couldn’t use its ability for extended periods. After using it twice, it needed to rest for some time.

Additionally, not every use guaranteed finding something valuable; it could also lead to dangerous situations.

Even so, the group relied on this mouse and discovered numerous opportunities, though these opportunities paled in comparison to those found by the Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators.

“Eek eek eek!”

Soon, under the guidance of the treasure-hunting mouse, they arrived at the edge of a dense forest.

Seeing the mouse calling out continuously towards the depths of the forest, the front-most members looked inward.

One sharp-eyed brother quickly spotted an opportunity and exclaimed in delight,

“Pepperwood Grass!”

Everyone followed where he pointed within the forest and soon spotted a special spiritual plant at the center.

This was a shrub-like spiritual plant, green in color with spikes all over; it was a high-level spiritual plant that could increase a cultivator’s chance of breaking through their realm.

The higher the cultivator’s level, the weaker the effect, but even so, this plant was relatively rare among high-level spiritual plants and held significant value.

Most importantly, at the center of the forest, it wasn’t just a single Pepperwood Grass; there were several of these plants in sight.

This discovery excited the group, as if they could harvest them all, the rewards would be substantial.

However, adhering to the principle that opportunities come with dangers, they did not act recklessly. Instead, they released their primordial spirit energy to conduct a further investigation of the forest.

This cautiousness was not excessive; it was based on the experiences they had accumulated before.