By now, Bai Long who had already scaled three fourth of the mountain from the bottom up had not just obtained all the herbs he needed but even more.Still, Bai Long who had made up his mind that this one trip would be his only trip for the day wasn"t willing to leave so quickly.
Not after he saw that at least.
A Yin Lotus.
Floating at the centre of the small pond, the lotus which was pitch black in colour all over looked like a forbidden flower which would curse anyone that plucked it.
But, that mysterious and soul-stirring aura the black flower had around it made everyone want to pluck it even if that was the last thing they would do.
For Bai Long, it wasn"t the mysterious and intoxicating feeling which was making him want to try and possess it at all cost, rather it was the fact that the Yin Lotus was one of the items which could be used to make the flood dragon bone wine he makes taste even better.
Using both the petals and seeds would make the wine taste so much better as well as increase the benefits it given everyone that consumes it.
This was why Bai Long was lost in thoughts over whether he should try and take that Yin Lotus or not.
He could clearly sense that the terrifying beast resting on this mountain was placing a lot of attention on this particular flower, and the second he picked it would be when it attacked him.
And given his strength, Bai Long had zero confidence in even pus.h.i.+ng a beast which was in the Qi Celestial Realm back much less defeat it and come out as a victor.
Also, he didn"t forget the fact that the area he could run around wasn"t that huge and therefore it wouldn"t be too hard for that beast to catch him.
After all, he couldn"t give up on the three years he could still spend here just in exchange for something like the Yin Lotus which he wanted to use to add flavour to the flood dragon bone wine.
But at the same time, Bai Long"s greed wasn"t allowing him to just let the flower go and walk away.
Thus, in the end Bai Long decided that he"d just risk it and take the flower away.
As for what happened next, he would either try and lose it or lure it into another one of the mountains and make it fight against another one of the beasts which were just as strong as it and use the opportunity to escape.
Either way, Bai Long had made up his mind to take that Yin Lotus away with him at all costs.
To do this however Bai Long needed to be very quick because by even going close to the ice-cold pond the Yin Lotus was floating inside of would cause the beast to turn alert and appeared near him immediately.
This was why Bai Long directly used the Death Steps without the slightest hesitation.
Appearing inside the pond because that was the closest place near the lotus where there was a shadow, Bai Long who used the shadow of a nearby tree to transport himself inside the pome savagely gripped the stalk connected to the Yin Lotus and ripped it away.
After all, he didn"t have any need for the Yin Lotus other than its petals or seeds due to which he didn"t need to keep the stalk or anything safe or even treat it gently.
Hastily placing the Yin Lotus inside his Ring of Darkness, Bai Long began using the Death Steps in quick succession to first leave the pond and then the mountain itself.
Because the very moment he appeared inside the pond, Bai Long found the terrifying presence of the beast lock onto him.
That"s why he knew he couldn"t waste a single second in escaping.
In fact, other than when Bai Long was pa.s.sing through the shadows, every time his body reappeared in the outside world the terrifying presence would once again immediately lock onto him which completely destroyed the possibility of escaping from the beast using any ordinary means.
Thus, just as Bai Long was about to start moving in the direction of the closest mountain which had a similar beast in the Qi Celestial Realm living on it, he noticed a group of cultivators moving not too far from him.
This was when a smile appeared on Bai Long"s face as he started moving towards them, appearing behind the group using a single jump Bai Long who had removed one of the many seeds of the Yin Lotus threw it in the middle of the group.
Once he did that, even though Bai Long had a desire to wait and see what the beast that was chasing him so silently without making any noise was, and what it would do to this group, Bai Long chose to leave without the slightest hesitation.
After all, remaining here in this same place meant nothing less than that beast figuring out it was him who possessed the complete Yin Lotus and resume chasing him.
...
In less than a few seconds after Bai Long who appeared like a ghost threw a seed of the Yin Lotus in the middle of the group ran away, a presence which made the group of people so scared that one of them even p.i.s.sed their pants.
The terrifying presence wasn"t like anything else they had sensed until now. It was not only strong but there was something very sinister about it that everyone found it hard to even breathe without looking over their shoulders.
What appeared after the presence however was something even scarier.
With a size bigger than the flood dragon, there was a pitch-black coloured snake who looked like his venom was enough to poison not just living creatures but things like mountain and kingdoms as well.
So, if just seeing it was so terrifying, what would it be like when it attacked them and swallowed all of them inside its mouth in one go?