Chapter 10

"Are we going to die?"

Lichen raised his head to the sky, and at this moment, he was surprisingly clear-headed. He knew that with their strength, facing such a large number of wolves would mean certain death.

Instinctively dodging the demon wolf's bite, he felt a coldness on his forehead, as if blood was trickling down.

In an instant, the green wolf that was about to bite Lichen froze, the cold green light in its eyes instantly fading. Its fur bristled, and it slunk away with its tail between its legs, whining.

Not just this one, but all the other demon wolves and the entire wolf pack vanished in an instant, fleeing much faster than they had come, leaving the three of them stunned. They plopped to the ground with a thud.

The tension that had kept them on edge was now replaced by overwhelming fatigue, making them feel drowsy.

They exchanged glances, each seeing the suspicion in the others' eyes. However, none of them noticed the thin gray mist floating in the dim night sky, slowly drifting toward the scar on Lichen's forehead.

Even Lichen himself did not notice the invisible airflow, nor did he notice that the scar, which had been torn by the demon wolf's claws, was now rapidly healing.

He only felt the fatigue in his body gradually dissipate, and a faint, uncertain thought flashed through his mind.

"Quick, come in, there's a cave entrance here!"

Suddenly, a hurried shout snapped the three of them out of their daze, and they dragged their weary bodies toward the crack.

"Junior Brother Lichen, give me a hand!"

Inside the cave, the stout Pang Wenshan was stuck in a rock crevice, flailing and unable to free himself.

"Hey!"

Lichen pulled with all his might, eventually stepping on a protruding rock to exert more force and finally pulled him out. However, he couldn't stop himself from being crushed beneath Pang Wenshan.

"Ha ha!"

Chu Ziyun, who was waiting for the two, laughed uncontrollably, her usual cold and elegant demeanor completely gone.

"Quick, come in!"

Zhang Futong's voice echoed from the front of the rock crevice, and the three of them hurriedly got up and ran forward.

After a dozen or so paces, they reached a narrow area. On the rock wall, there was another cave entrance, wide enough for a person to pass through. They bent down and entered, and the space suddenly widened. Inside, Zhao Shanshan and the others had already lit some firewood, illuminating the area brightly.

What made their breathing quicken was the dozens of shiny spots in the small cave, emitting a soft, captivating light.

"This... This is Essence Stone!"

Chu Ziyun quickly approached, looking at a thumb-sized, eight-sided, milky white crystal with a green tinge embedded in the rock, and murmured.

"Essence Stone!"

Everyone exclaimed in surprise.

Essence Stone is a precious treasure that contains refined elemental energy. It can only be found in special mineral veins. Even a powerful sect like the Xuan Yun Sect has only a few low-grade veins within its territory.

At the Condensation Breath realm, martial artists cannot extract elemental energy from Essence Stones, but carrying one can nourish the body and accelerate the condensation of inner breath, making it even more valuable than a Breath Gathering Pill.

Essence Stones are divided into four grades: low, middle, high, and supreme. Judging by the quantity and quality here, they are clearly low-grade Essence Stones, the lowest grade.

In such a desolate place, it's unlikely to produce high-quality Essence Stones. If not for the remote location and the fact that the elemental energy here is extremely condensed, making it hard to detect without special methods, they might not have found it.

"Look, there are a few medicinal herbs here too!"

On the other side, Zhao Shanshan pointed to a few plants with palm-sized green leaves, her eyes sparkling.

"Flame Lotus, Sun Fragrance Grass, Spirit Cloud Mushroom, all first-stage second-grade medicinal herbs!"

Lichen recognized them at a glance, thanks to his years of experience as a medicine slave, frequently entering the Li family's pharmacy.

"We're rich, we're rich! With so many treasures, we'll soon enter the Inner Sect!"

Zhang Futong's face was full of joy, and he couldn't stop exclaiming.

The others, though slightly more restrained, were clearly also very excited, as evidenced by their trembling shoulders.

"Over here too!"

Li Yuerong also made a discovery on the other side, finding more second-grade medicinal herbs.

For a moment, all the young people marveled at their good luck, having just escaped a great danger and now finding such an opportunity, truly experiencing the saying that misfortune and fortune are interdependent.

"Alright, let's collect all the treasures first, then we'll do the rest!"

Pang Wenshan, being the most experienced, took charge. His earlier act of bravery in holding back the wolves had earned him everyone's respect. They all took out their weapons and began digging out the Essence Stones and medicinal herbs.

Wherever Essence Stones are found, the rocks are extremely hard, as the Essence Stones gather elemental energy, making the surrounding rock change in quality. It took them nearly half an hour to collect everything.

"Forty-two Essence Stones, seven first-stage second-grade medicinal herbs!"

Pang Wenshan carefully counted the pile of treasures in front of him. Even with his calm demeanor, his breathing became slightly heavy.

Especially after the intense battle with the wolf pack, he hadn't had time to recover, and the dizziness made him feel a bit lightheaded.

"How should we divide them?"

Zhang Ziliao spoke up. He and Ye Fengyu had blocked the demon wolves that had tried to enter the crevice, both being at the sixth level.

Everyone's eyes involuntarily turned to Pang Wenshan and Chu Ziyun, who were not only the strongest but also the most respected among the group. Their actions had already proven their worth.

"Junior Sister Chu..."

Pang Wenshan steadied himself and looked at Chu Ziyun.

"I trust Senior Brother Pang, and I believe the others do too!"

Chu Ziyun smiled and nodded, but her eyes did not show the same desire for the treasures on the ground as the others.

Pang Wenshan looked around at everyone, and seeing them all nod, he took a deep breath. "Since everyone agrees, I won't decline. Earlier, I, Junior Sister Chu, and Junior Brother Lichen fought off the wolf pack, so each of us gets six. Zhang and Ye, who did a lot at the cave entrance, each get five. The rest of you get two each. As for the seven second-grade medicinal herbs, I propose that Junior Sister Chu and I take them all and give you all ten Breath Gathering Pills in return!"

The cave was deathly silent. After Pang Wenshan finished speaking, no one spoke up.

"Cough, Senior Brother Pang, I'm injured and a burden to everyone. I can't take the Essence Stones!"

Liu Ziqing, sitting on a nearby rock, forced himself to sit up. If Lichen hadn't carried him into the crevice first, he would have been forgotten in the chaos and become wolf fodder.

"No need to say more. We are fellow disciples, all part of the Southern Courtyard. We need to stand by each other. You saw how Junior Brother Lichen, though a servant, stepped up in a critical moment. What does that say? I don't need to explain further, do I?"

Pang Wenshan, with the authority of a senior, looked around at everyone. His blood-stained body exuded a special pressure.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Pang. I didn't contribute much, but I support you!"

Zhao Shanshan, the freckled girl, mustered the courage to speak, her face flushed under the light of the torch.

"I agree!"

"I agree!"

Voices of agreement echoed, and the young men and women looked at Pang Wenshan with respect. Chen Songtai and Liu Chengfeng were the most excited, as they were the lowest in status and cultivation but would still receive treasures.

"Ha ha, good! But don't tell anyone about this. Otherwise, it will attract the attention of Inner Sect disciples, and I can't protect you then!"

Pang Wenshan smiled and warned them.

"That's right. Not just Inner Sect disciples, even the Law Enforcement Team and the Guardian Disciples would be envious. If word gets out, it will bring endless trouble. I hope you all keep this a secret!"

Chu Ziyun's expression was serious. As the top outer sect disciple of the Western Courtyard, she knew this well.

Everyone agreed, knowing that they weren't foolish enough to spread the news of their treasures.

The next morning, they cleaned up the wolf corpses outside. Unfortunately, they only found one not-so-good demon core, so they didn't linger. With such valuable treasures, their top priority was to return to the sect as quickly as possible.

As for He Kongming's mission, though it wasn't completed, it was no longer important.