Chapter 98

"Indeed, they are very good, both in quality and age." Mei Xue was not just being polite to Huang Fei.

He was not the type to speak in formalities; the quality of the spiritual herbs in this Qianye Secret Realm was truly outstanding.

Herbs with a hundred or two hundred years of efficacy were everywhere, and the herbs he used to refine the supreme spirit qi soup were not even in the same league. If these herbs were used to refine the spirit qi soup, it might be enough to buy half a town.

Of course, gathering these spiritual herbs was not an easy task. One must be familiar with the properties of the herbs, the methods of collection, and be cautious of the monsters guarding them.

Whether it was the Zhuhai mountain range or the secret realms, all spiritual herbs of a certain age were inevitably guarded. The stronger the spirit qi of the herb, the stronger its guardian.

Unlike humans, the monsters guarding the spiritual herbs had great appetites and patience, waiting until the herbs reached their peak quality before consuming them.

However, what puzzled Mei Xue was that they had not seen any of the frequent secret realm monsters in the forest for half a day. This situation was far from normal.

Moreover, there was something peculiar about the quality of these spiritual herbs. It wasn't that their efficacy was insufficient, but rather that it was overly abundant, even exceeding the expected efficacy for their age.

"Be careful, something is not right." Li Lao noticed this earlier than Mei Xue.

Although the Qianye Secret Realm was only a fourth-level secret realm, due to the abundant vegetation, the various creatures living here were not few. However, since entering the secret realm, the team had not encountered a single battle.

This situation was far from ordinary. Perhaps a powerful monster from the lower regions had come up and scared away all the creatures living here, otherwise it would be hard to explain this strange phenomenon.

Under Li Lao's warning, the entire team became more vigilant. However, even when they reached the boundary tower connecting the second layer, no monsters appeared, as if all the creatures on the first layer had disappeared.

"This is really strange, where did all the monsters go?" Huang Fei was not here for a tour; he had formed this team to train and prepare for the upcoming Qinglong Academy entrance exam.

Not just him, Dao Wuchang and the Shi brothers also had the same plan, so they specifically chose this Qianye Secret Realm for their training.

"Never mind, maybe a team before us cleared the first layer. Let's go to the second layer." After thinking for a long time, Huang Fei waved his hand and led the team into the boundary tower's teleportation array.

A flash of white light, and the team appeared in the second layer of the Qianye Secret Realm.

However, when they saw the appearance of this layer, everyone involuntarily shivered.

It was so cold.

The world was a pure, flawless white. Snowflakes slowly falling from the sky were so bright that they completely replaced the sun's light, making the entire land bright without a trace of darkness.

Hexagonal crystals fell one by one, piling up into a snow layer that covered the ground, making this world seem exceptionally serene, distant, and untouched.

"What, what's going on?" Huang Fei stared dumbfounded at this pure white world, his mind unable to process it.

Where were the flying leaves of Qianye?

Where were the medicinal herbs and the forest?

This secret realm was called "Qianye" because it was known for its abundance of spiritual herbs and dense forests!

The layer above was still lush with green leaves, but how could the entire world be so different after just one layer?

"Li Lao, what...?" Huang Fei looked at this icy world, completely at a loss, and turned to the team's guide for help.

"..." This time, Li Lao was completely silent.

Clearly, he could not explain the origin of this icy world.

"The second layer of Qianye is not like this." After a long time, Li Lao finally shook his head, giving Huang Fei the answer he least wanted to hear.

This was to be expected; the Qianye Secret Realm was a fourth-level secret realm known for its abundance of spiritual herbs, not this desolate icy world.

In this snowfield, there was not even a single small tree, let alone a forest.

"Be careful, something is coming!" Dao Wuchang's treasure mirror trembled violently, and several ghostly figures floated out, jumping around him in alarm.

"One, two, three, four... No, there are hundreds!" Dao Wuchang looked at his treasure mirror, seeing a large number of unknown creatures approaching.

Soon, everyone knew what they were.

In the heavy snow, transparent ice butterflies were dancing gracefully, their icy crystal wings emitting a cold chill as they flew towards Mei Xue and the others.

The speed of these ice butterflies was not fast, but their numbers were vast. Just the ones they could see numbered in the hundreds, almost surrounding the entire team, creating a suffocating sense of pressure.

"Damn it!" The rough Shi brothers could not hold back. Their muscles began to swell violently, making them look even more imposing.

"Take this!" Shi Da swung his massive fist and struck the elegant ice butterflies.

"What is this!" Shi Er was not far behind, leaping into the air and delivering a powerful spinning kick.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Dozens of ice butterflies were instantly shattered, turning into ice crystal dust that exploded in the air.

"Hahaha, that's all there is to it."

"I thought they were monsters, but they are so weak." Shi Da and Shi Er laughed, their muscles radiating heat that melted the snow around them.

Was it really that simple? Dao Wuchang looked at his treasure mirror, which still showed a dense cluster of enemy creatures, with no reduction in numbers.

Wait, no reduction? Dao Wuchang's face suddenly changed, and he shouted at the Shi brothers:

"Stay away from that dust, they are not dead!"

Shi Da and Shi Er were stunned, not reacting in time. The fragments of the ice butterflies they had shattered were already attaching to them.

The silver ice crystal dust easily adhered to their flesh. In the next moment, dozens of beautiful, transparent ice butterflies reformed—on the bodies of the Shi brothers.

"Ah! What is this!" The strong Shi Da curled up, screaming in agony.

"Brother, it's so cold!" Shi Er shivered uncontrollably, about to fall but frozen in an impossible position—leaning at a thirty-degree angle to the ground, standing on one foot.

What froze them was not someone else, but the ice butterflies attached to their bodies.

Under the terrifying cold emitted by the ice butterflies, the two brothers shrank slightly, their muscles becoming as stiff as beef jerky that had been in an ice cave for a hundred years. They could not even move a finger, let alone escape.

A bone-chilling cold swept through their bodies, freezing their eyes as well. Instantly, two ice sculptures appeared on the snowfield.