Chapter 50 Jade Serpent Orchid
Just as they entered the region, Ye Fan and Pang Bo were shocked. Hundreds of Poison Serpents similar to the first one they’d seen were all here spitting out poison that rotted the forest. Bird and beasts roars came from deeper within as a countless number of large ferocious beasts lingered within the forest.
For some unknown reason, they didn’t attack each other. More and more a.s.sembled in this region, like a surging tide of ferocious beasts.
Many vicious birds circled around in the sky, all of which had bodies several meters long. Their large bodies covered the sky in darkness.
“What happened?”
Ye Fan and Pang Bo were both extremely startled by what they saw. An ocean’s worth of beasts birds had a.s.sembled in this region, all disturbed and restless.
Ye Fan observed them for a short while and said, “I think they were all running away from something deeper within the ruins.”
“Because of the Lightning Bird and the Scaled Ape King fighting, these vicious beasts were all alarmed and ran out?”
“It’s hard to say. Even if beast kings were fighting, it wouldn’t cause this many strange and spiritual beasts to be frightened off.”
“How can we get through this many beasts? They’re packed so close together it’s like they’re a river blocking our path.”
“Let’s find somewhere to detour past them. This is definitely a good opportunity. Once we are past them it’ll definitely become empty. There are definitely some supreme beast kings fighting deeper within the ruins or some other unforeseeable event that caused all the ferocious beasts to run out to the fringes.”
The two of them took a ten-kilometer detour before they found a cliff that they climbed up using the vines. After climbing to the top, they followed the old vines to smoothly arrive at the depths of the jungle, avoiding that river-like ma.s.s of ferocious beasts.
“This place is really quiet!”
This region was filled with ancient towering trees and old vines, as well as lush and wild vegetation. However, it was completely silent. It seemed as if all the creatures had already run away from here. There were no sounds, it was just like the silence of death.
“What happened in the depths of the ruins? Even if there were beast kings fighting, it wouldn’t cause such a thing. There definitely must be some other cause! Otherwise, there’s no way all the other ferocious beasts and birds would all run from here.” Ye Fan and Pang Bo were both startled. But in the end, they still continued forward. After walking more then ten kilometers deeper, the ancient trees became even more towering and imposing, and the air became much more primal.
HIIiiiSSSsssssSSSsssss…
Serpentine noises came from within the stony forest. A five-colored vapor pervaded the air, and a fishy smell would occasionally float over.
“A giant snake!” Pang Bo quietly exclaimed.
Within the stony forest, a huge and brightly scaled serpent that was twice as thick as the one they had seen on the forest’s edge appeared. A poisonous five-colored vapor was continuously emitted from its mouth, and it appeared extremely restless.
“It’s definitely not an ordinary snake; there’s a jade horn on its head!”
Its whole body was covered in gaudy palm-sized scales that flickered in the sunlight. A jade horn continuously glowed on its head, seeming to be absorbing threads of light rays into its head.
“This horned snake has already Awakened. It understands it needs to absorb the energy of the sun and moon; if it were to continue and eventually give birth to claws, it would become a legendary Flood Dragon.”
It wasn’t that all the beasts had fled; some of the more powerful creatures had stayed. However, this huge serpent seemed very uneasy, as if it wanted to leave but hesitated.
Suddenly, a m.u.f.fled sound came from deep within the ruins, sounding like the beating of a huge drum as it reverberated in the distance.
For some unknown reason, when Ye Fan and Pang Bo heard this m.u.f.fled sound, their hearts began to become a bit uneasy. And as for that serpent, its whole body began to uncontrollably tremble before it abruptly and quickly charged deeper within the forest.
“Snake cave!”
This was its lair. In its nervousness, it fled deep within that pitch-black hole. The five-colored vapor and fishy smell dispersed, and the stony forest finally became cleared up.
“This should be the Jade Horned Serpent that the lecturing Elder spoke of!” At the beginning, the two of them didn’t make any connection to it, but once the poison gas dispersed and they saw the pitch-black snake den they immediately thought of it.
“I remember the lecturing Elder talking about it before. The Jade Horned Serpent is an old serpent who has absorbed the sun and moon’s energy for over a hundred years before growing its horn. The spiritual medicine ‘Jade Serpent Orchid’ grows within its habitat...”
The two of them might have some memories, but they weren’t that precise. The lecturing Elders didn’t just teach mystical arts. The Elder has also taught other subjects, such as cultivation manuals, weapons, and spiritual medicines. Ye Fan and Pang Bo were focused on cultivation, so they hadn’t spent too much time on this other knowledge. But they had crammed quite a bit of information into their head for this exercise, or they wouldn’t have been able to quickly identify the medicinal herbs.
“It’s the Jade Serpent Orchids!”
Ye Fan and Pang Bo were very excited, so they went to the entrance of the pitch-black snake den and saw strange plants around the size of a palm. The plants were a sparkling white, like jade, and if you didn’t look closely you might mistake them to for three white serpents. A couple jade-white leaves hung from them, and at the top was a glistening jade-white orchid.
The three plants were very bizarre, but they were clearly extraordinary. Specks of light roamed around them, and a faint fragrance floated over.
“It’s definitely the Jade Serpent Orchid!”
When they saw the Jade Serpent Orchid, it was like the Elder’s words were once more ringing in their ears, and the two of them immediately recalled the value of this precious item.
It was reported that while the serpent was drawing in the sun and moon essence, the serpent den’s surroundings would be covered by dense Spiritual Qi; however, normal plants couldn’t bear it. Even spiritual medicines would turn to dust if they had to stay within it for long periods of time. Only one kind of bizarre orchid was capable of surviving. While the snake would absorb the sun and moon essence, the orchid would also absorb some of it, and after hundreds of years of absorbing Spiritual Qi, it would have condensed an enormous amount of sun and moon essence. Its shape would change to something serpentine, and so it was named the Jade Serpent Orchid.
It possessed an extraordinary ability to detoxify, and could resolve almost all poisons in the world. Since it grew beside the snake den, it also had a toxic nature that required other detoxifying spiritual medicines to balance within it. Other than this, since it also absorbed the sun and moon essence along with the snake, it also possessed an extremely large amount of Life Qi, and thus it was very popular among cultivators.
The two of them restrained themselves from impulsively running in. It was said that the serpent had prepared this orchid for itself. When the Jade Serpent Orchid appeared exactly like the serpent, it would swallow it. If anyone had any intentions towards the Jade Serpent Orchid, the serpent would definitely protect it with its life.
“It has already transformed into the Jade Horned Serpent, but the Jade Serpent Orchids have yet to completely change to become like it. Therefore, they’re still not completely mature.”
“How can we manage to pluck them…?”
“I bet that it’s probably scared right now because of that m.u.f.fled sound. It’s just hiding deep within the cave and doesn’t care to come out. If we slowly sneak over, we should be able to pluck it.”
“That doesn’t sound that safe. We should first wait a bit. If that sound once more comes from the deeper parts of the ruins and we’ll quickly rush over, pluck it and immediately run far away.”
“Ok, then we’ll just patiently wait for now.”
After the two finished discussing it, they concealed themselves within the forest. Although they didn’t know what was happening within the depths of the ruins, they both felt that whatever was happening should still be going on and that that m.u.f.fled sound should once more ring out.
As expected, less than thirty minutes later, the m.u.f.fled sound once more successively sounded three times. Ye Fan and Pang Bo’s hearts became uneasy. The sound gave them a strange feeling they didn’t really understand, and even their spirits seemed to tremble.
The two of them recollected themselves and quickly charged in and plucked the three Jade Serpent Orchids that were on the outer reaches of the snake den. They didn’t look back as they quickly rushed back into the stony forest.
They ran several kilometers before stopping. A rumbling sound came from behind them, and that region of the stony forest trembled as if there were an earthquake; obviously, the old snake had charged out.
Dong…
Another m.u.f.fled sound came from within the depths of the ruins. Ye Fan and Pang Bo’s hearts both violently trembled and their chest began to hurt. But it was also due to this sound that the forest where the old snake was once more calmed down.
“Wow, we actually succeeded. I was really afraid that that old snake would come chasing after us. After all, it’s already absorbed enough essence to Awaken, and even a strong person wouldn’t want to fight with it, let alone us!” The two of them sat on a large piece of bluestone, their backs dripping with cold sweat.
The two of them carefully examined the Jade Serpent Orchids in their hands. They truly did appear life-like and similar to the old serpent. Even the stems seemed to have lines that appeared like scales. Its whole body was glistening bright, and a refres.h.i.+ng fragrance filled their entire body.
“It’s a shame it hasn’t completely matured…”
“Be happy with what you have. This kind of opportunity can only be found, not sought for.”
“It’s said it has condensed a large amount of Life Qi. I wonder whether its effect lives up to its reputation.
“We can find a safe place and give it a try.”
No matter how they messed around, the two of them would never go exchange this Jade Serpent Orchid with the Elders just for Hundred Herb Liquid. This kind of item was definitely much stronger than the Hundred Herb Liquid, which was just the refined essence of a hundred normal herbs.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo used vines to climb up a cliff. Here, the vegetation was very verdant, but it was completely silent without the slightest presence of beasts.
“Take the Jade Serpent Orchid. In a bit, we won’t have to worry about any poisonous bugs or plants.”
The two of them talked it over for a while before deciding that Ye Fan should be the first to take it in order to see what the effect was. His physique was special, so he didn’t need to worry about the medicinal strength being too violent and battering his Sea of Bitterness.
Ye Fan bit down on half a Jade Serpent Orchid and the fragrance immediately exploded out, filling the entire mountain with its perfume. His mouth was full of its scent, and he felt that all the pores in his body had opened up. The surrounding Spiritual Qi became even denser, and the remaining part of the Jade Serpent Orchid gracefully released a Life Qi. Tiny multicolored threads circulated, and Ye Fan hurriedly threw the remaining part of it into his mouth before sitting down in the lotus position to begin circulating the Dao Scripture’s mystical arts. He motionlessly sat there like a statue. A short time after, Ye Fan’s breathing suddenly became hurried and his complexion became blood-colored. His pores opened up and his skin became scarlet before specks of light began to overflow from his body.
Pang Bo was very nervous as he quietly watched over him. He felt an extremely powerful Spiritual Qi pounding inside Ye Fan’s flesh.
He could even hear Ye Fan’s blood as it traveled through his arteries. It was like a rolling river as it surged throughout his body, bringing with it an extremely formidable Life Qi. It continuously cleansed his flesh, and his whole body began to overflow with brilliance.
Only an hour later did the noise from Ye Fan’s arteries stop. His breathing gradually slowed down, and his pulse also became more steady. His whole body seemed to possess a much greater spiritual nature.
Boom!
Suddenly, Ye Fan’s Sea of Bitterness exploded out with rays of blazing golden light as well as divine rainbow beams that were bright and dazzling.
“It’s arrived!” Pang Bo exclaimed in excitement.
The last time he had also seen this scene, Ye Fan’s Sea of Bitterness had turned into a golden ocean. The deafening sound of tsunamis cras.h.i.+ng once more loudly rumbled. Angry waves soared and the golden light dazzled. The endless ocean undulated as it engulfed the sky with a blazing divine light.
Rumble…
Thunder rumbled as golden lightning streaked across the sky. Thousands of thunderclaps reverberated across the sky, and the destructive strength contained endless energy as lightning bolts raged.
The golden ocean surged and dashed. Together with the interweaving lightning, it created a bizarre world filled with endless divine light.
The deafening tsunami sounds continued, and even though Pang Bo had already once experienced it, he was still a bit astonished by the golden Sea of Bitterness’s fantastic strength as it continuously shook.
Ye Fan’s Sea of Bitterness was completely bright and resplendent, even causing the surrounding scenery to become covered with divine light.
It was more than four hours before this place returned to calm. The golden light retreated and the deafening sound faded as Ye Fan’s Sea of Bitterness once more became quiet. His whole person seemed to possess an extra immortal quality that was refined and transcendent.
An hour later, Ye Fan finally opened his eyes. His eyes were glowing with a deep divine light, he was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with vitality, and his Qi and blood were vigorously flowing.
“How do you feel?”
“Excellent. My Sea of Bitterness has once more grown!” Ye Fan once more started to circulate the Dao Scriptures’ mystical arts, causing his Sea of Bitterness to light up. The previously sesame seed-sized Sea of Bitterness had now become the size of a soybean, seeming just like a divine lamp as it glowed.
“This speed is really astonis.h.i.+ng!” Pang Bo was extremely happy for Ye Fan, but he also very surprised. This time, Ye Fan had grown his Sea of Bitterness to several times its previous size.
Traces of divine light circulated within his golden Sea of Bitterness, causing every one of Ye Fan’s movements to feel very relaxed. Small divine lights from his Sea of Bitterness were nouris.h.i.+ng his flesh. Ye Fan activated the Dao Scriptures’ mystical arts, causing a golden divine splendor to rush out of his Sea of Bitterness and shoot out from his finger, penetrating into an ancient tree.
Pang Bo immediately became dumbstruck. “You…can fully use…an attack similar to Divine Symbols!”
“As expected, the Jade Serpent Orchid truly is extraordinary. The amount of Life Qi it contains is several times stronger than the dozens of Hundred Herb Liquid I drank previously!” Ye Fan sighed emotionally. This time, the establishment of his golden Sea of Bitterness had been extremely smooth.
Pang Bo was also extremely excited, saying, “The training exercise this time truly wasn’t wasted. These three spiritual medicines are probably worth more than the sum of everyone else’s harvests.”
“I really wonder just what is happening with the depths of the ruins. Should we continue going deeper?”
“Since we’ve already come this deep, we naturally can continue a bit. Who knows what kind of gains we can make, especially with all the beasts gone. Plus, it’s unknown whatever is happening within the depths of the ruins; it might actually be a kind of extremely great opportunity for us.”