There are many barriers set up, indicating that someone wants to conceal a huge secret.
"I've slept enough. Let's go inside now. Let your little phoenix scout ahead. We'll follow after it."
The little phoenix is currently small, making it easy to slip through small gaps. It can also detect dangers ahead. If there is any danger, it can stop immediately, preventing Ye Tiancheng and Lin Xue from suffering any losses.
Even if they are not harmed, both of them would expend a considerable amount of spiritual energy to resist any unknown possibilities. However, if these are detected in advance, all that spiritual energy can be saved.
Lin Xue made a gesture to the little phoenix, and it began to scout. After flying a certain distance and confirming there were no dangers, Ye Tiancheng and Lin Xue immediately followed. Any unusual activity would not escape the little phoenix's sight.
After walking for a while like this, the little phoenix suddenly stopped and hovered in one spot for about a minute.
Then, it suddenly turned back and flew to Lin Xue's shoulder.
"Master, there seems to be a problem ahead. Otherwise, the little phoenix wouldn't have alerted me."
With the confirmation that there was a problem ahead, Ye Tiancheng first used a surge of true qi to probe. He discovered an obstruction ahead – a very large beast.
Ye Tiancheng's true qi was directly swallowed by the beast. Although only a little true qi was used, the beast's strength must be considerable, otherwise, it wouldn't have swallowed it directly.
"Let's test it out. This beast should be guarding the fragments of the Fuxi Qin. The guardian beasts before were all more powerful than the last. I suspect this one is no simple matter. We must be extremely careful, or we might be consumed by that power."
As soon as Ye Tiancheng finished speaking, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. The beast had unleashed a powerful sonic wave.
The sonic wave caused intense headaches. Ye Tiancheng could no longer resist. After resisting with his true qi for a while, he finally crouched down on the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Ye Tiancheng was already quite resilient. If his willpower were not strong, he would not have lasted this long and would have collapsed much earlier.
"Master, let me help you. With me here, I won't let anyone harm you."
At the critical moment, Lin Xue stepped in front of Ye Tiancheng and began to fight the beast. Ye Tiancheng wanted to release his power, but he struggled to get up, and his vision became increasingly blurred, making it impossible for him to see anything clearly.
"Xue'er, don't push yourself too hard. If you can't win, run."
After Ye Tiancheng spoke, he finally couldn't hold on and fainted. In the last second before he lost consciousness, he saw Lin Xue fighting the beast. Although Lin Xue looked delicate, she fought ferociously, with every move being fatal.
When Ye Tiancheng woke up, he had been moved back. He found himself in an uninhabited village.
"Xue'er, how are you? Where are you?"
He remembered seeing Lin Xue fighting the beast, suspended in mid-air, engaged in a fierce battle, just before he fainted.
Now that he was awake and couldn't see her, he was extremely worried. He kept calling out Lin Xue's name, hoping to see her appear.
After calling out for a long time, Lin Xue finally appeared. "Master, don't worry about me. I'm fine. It's just that during the fight with the beast, I didn't gain any advantage, so I'm a bit weak now. But give me some time, and I should recover soon."
Ye Tiancheng could see that Lin Xue's complexion was pale, indicating that her condition was not optimistic. Since she needed to rest and he couldn't help, he could only stay there and rest as well.
What was particularly strange was that there was food in the house. Ye Tiancheng was initially hesitant to eat it, but then he thought, "I'll just eat it. It's probably not poisoned." He took a small bite to test it, intending to stop immediately if it was poisonous.
After taking a bite, Ye Tiancheng felt no abnormalities for half an hour. He figured it was safe enough and began to eat heartily. He even sent some to Lin Xue.
"Xue'er, you've worked hard too. Eat something to replenish your energy."
Lin Xue was indeed hungry. She had brought some compressed biscuits, but they were all gone. Now, seeing some cold biscuits, she found them quite delicious and started eating.
"They're quite tasty. The people here must have run away after cooking. It seems they're really afraid to see us. But it doesn't matter. As long as they don't attack us, we'll mind our own business."
Lin Xue, such a gentle girl, finished the food in just a few bites, which astonished Ye Tiancheng.
"If you're hungry, eat more. There are biscuits over there. Although they don't look very appetizing, they should be filling."
After they finished eating, Lin Xue suddenly remembered a book she had read.
"I remember now, Master. If I want to obtain the fragments of the Fuxi Qin, I must defeat the guardian divine beast. But even with our combined strength, we are not enough. We can find some supplements to eat. We should go to the rainforest. There are many strange plants there, some of which can increase spiritual power."
Ye Tiancheng found Lin Xue's suggestion useful. Now that they could obtain the Fuxi Qin fragments by defeating the beast, and they were so close to the Fuxi Qin yet unable to obtain it, Ye Tiancheng was very unwilling.
If they left like this, Ye Tiancheng would feel regretful. Since there was a way, they should try their best to explore it. It was better than giving up directly.
After resting, it was already dark. Fortunately, the little phoenix had a lighting function. Wherever the little phoenix flew, it was bright. Otherwise, if the two of them had to navigate in the dark, they probably wouldn't be able to see anything and would definitely not venture out at night to seek trouble.
"Your phoenix is truly amazing, so useful. Are there any other phoenixes in the same species? Can you get me a little chick? When the phoenix grows up, I can use it as a divine beast."
"You're thinking too much, Master. Phoenixes are not born from phoenixes but are nurtured by heaven and earth. Therefore, my phoenix doesn't know other phoenixes, nor can it give birth to phoenixes. Mine is a female phoenix. I've heard there are male ones, but they are extremely rare, exceptionally rare."
"That's good. I want a male one. If there were phoenixes, they would be much better than my Nuwa Stone, my Great Green Snake, and my little stones. Those are all unreliable and refuse to come out and help me at critical moments."
"All of this requires serendipity. Don't worry, Master. I will definitely find a way to help you."
Ye Tiancheng was just saying it casually. Such coincidences were rare. Phoenixes themselves were hard to encounter. It was a stroke of luck for Lin Xue to obtain one and sign a contract. He probably didn't have such good luck. Otherwise, their master and disciple's ancestors' graves would be emitting smoke.
"Alright, let's hurry and find some. I see many fruits of various colors glowing in this rainforest. It's not good to just eat them casually. I'll use my true qi, and you use your spiritual power. Let's try to investigate them first before eating."
"This pink fruit looks pretty and glows, seeming to have a lot of spiritual power. Master, you try this one first."
Ye Tiancheng had just spoken cautiously, but when Lin Xue offered it to him, Ye Tiancheng momentarily forgot. The pink fruit did look good, and he directly popped it into his mouth.
"It's really good. It tastes like berries and is very sweet. I suspect this might not be a berry at all. It grows in this special rainforest, looking a bit different from other berries, emitting a faint glow, giving it a particularly delicious appearance. In reality, it might be useless."
"Master, you eat one fruit and observe for ten minutes. If there's no increase in spiritual power, there's no need to continue eating it. It's not good for your body."
"I know."
Ye Tiancheng felt no change. Just as he was wondering if he should try other fruits, if each took ten minutes, he wouldn't be able to try many tonight.
Suddenly, he felt a throbbing pain in his chest, followed by him spitting out a mouthful of blood. Lin Xue quickly used her true qi to protect Ye Tiancheng's heart meridian. He then spat out another mouthful of blood, but this time it was black.
"This fruit looks so lovely, but I didn't expect its toxicity to be so strong. If I had been a little slower, it could have led to a disaster."
Lin Xue felt a chill down her spine, her heart pounding. The fruit's toxicity was terrifying. If there had been even a slight delay in her reaction, it could have been fatal.
"It's alright, your Master isn't that fragile. It's just some fruit. Wait a moment longer, and I can try again."
In front of his disciple, he had to maintain some dignity. Now, he had almost poisoned himself, which Ye Tiancheng found very embarrassing. Not only could he not set a good example for his disciple, but he was also so weak and incompetent. This was like slapping him in the face.
"Master, I'll do it. I have spiritual energy to protect my body. As long as I eat a little less, there will definitely be no major problems."
Ye Tiancheng certainly didn't want Lin Xue to take such a risk. As a master, becoming a coward while his disciple faced danger was unacceptable. It was simply an insult. The main thing was the embarrassment.
"Xue'er, you absolutely cannot risk your life. I know how potent this poison is. We cannot risk your life. You must be careful. Otherwise, if I, as your master, cannot even protect you, what's the point of me living? I might as well die."
"Master, don't say that. You've protected me so well. It's okay for me to take a little risk."
The master and disciple were reenacting a melodrama, each unwilling to let the other step forward. In the few minutes they wasted, the phoenix had already brought over a fruit. The color of the fruit was indescribable, a bit green, a bit purple, and it looked very strange, giving off a poisonous aura.
"This little phoenix is also poisoned. The color looks too strange. No matter what the item, with this color, I naturally think it's poisonous and dare not eat it casually."
This was Lin Xue's true feeling. Since it was her own divine beast, she didn't need to be too reserved. Even if some words were too harsh and shouldn't be spoken, Lin Xue couldn't help but blurt them out.
"Phoenixes are very spiritual. Perhaps without even tasting it, it will know which fruit is beneficial for our cultivation. I'll eat it."
As soon as she finished speaking, Ye Tiancheng had already put the fruit in his mouth. His support for the little phoenix was demonstrated through actions, not just empty words.
"Master, how can you be so bold?"
Amidst her surprise, Lin Xue was naturally still worried about Ye Tiancheng's health. There were ways to deal with other things, but there was only one Master. If he were to be poisoned to death by this fruit, Lin Xue would regret it immensely.