The feeling was truly unpleasant, as if there was something wrong with the flowers in the air. Ye Tiancheng's system couldn't identify what they were. Suddenly, the five soldiers collapsed, foaming at the mouth. Had they been poisoned?
Ye Tiancheng mentally questioned the system, but it remained silent, offering no reply. Ye Tiancheng felt incredibly frustrated, lamenting that even the system had its off days.
"Can this thing be more reliable? It always slacks off at crucial moments."
Clearly displeased, Ye Tiancheng had no choice but to accept the situation. If the system couldn't help him identify the poison, he wouldn't be able to solve the problem. Now, he was alone. While this place wasn't entirely unfamiliar, the pervasive scent was too strong, and he couldn't possibly know every corner.
Lack of knowledge meant absolute danger. He didn't want to perish in this mysterious place.
What he thought always surfaced in his mind, those chaotic thoughts like lingering nightmares.
"You need to be careful. Unexpected dangers will surely appear around you."
As he spoke, a wave of worry washed over his face. The system had finally spoken, but its words offered no reassurance to Ye Tiancheng.
"You scoundrel, why did you suddenly speak and scare your father to death?"
"Can't you show this system a little more respect? When others get a golden finger, they always encounter deities. You always treat this system like trash. Therefore, this system will punish you to let you know the consequences of offending me."
So, the system wasn't ignorant of the poison; it wanted to punish him! Ye Tiancheng felt both helpless and furious. Yet, he believed he could thrive without the system's assistance. After all, he was a renowned physician before, capable of easily curing many difficult illnesses. As a doctor, would he be intimidated by a mere poison?
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng didn't need its help and eagerly went searching for the poison source.
As long as he could find the flower emitting the fragrance, he could find the antidote.
Ye Tiancheng would not easily devalue himself. Since he had already spoken, begging the system again would only make him a laughingstock. Ye Tiancheng didn't overthink it. He never easily bowed to anything or anyone who dared to oppose him; this was his ingrained temperament, a trait he would never change.
Living in this world without any temper was like eating without spices – how dull!
"So, you've ended up in this state, and you refuse to repent. Truly, you're as stubborn and foul as a rock in a latrine."
The system wanted to persuade Ye Tiancheng to turn back, but once he made a decision, he never regretted it. Even if a wall stood before him, he wouldn't turn back; all he could do was smash through it.
"I'll show you what 'this great master' means."
With that, he began to search his surroundings. Finally, by a small stream, he discovered a flower as large as a bowl, blooming a vibrant red. These flowers resembled beauty’s embrace, yet they were not.
"Hiss..."
Suddenly, several fist-sized spiders scurried out from beneath the flowers.
The spiders were ferocious. Upon sight, they spat out fine white silk.
The silk filled the air, weaving a net that descended upon Ye Tiancheng.
Facing this sudden attack, Ye Tiancheng certainly wouldn't surrender. He hadn't flinched when facing much larger spiders before, let alone now.
A strange object appeared in his hand – the Flame Blade, a weapon he had obtained earlier.
He swung it towards the sky, the flames tracing a beautiful arc, leaving trails with his movements. The flames incinerated the spider silk.
Seeing that they couldn't defeat Ye Tiancheng, the spiders turned tail and fled. Their eight legs scraped noisily against the ground, and in an instant, they vanished into the grass.
"Did you think you could escape this great master's pursuit just like that?"
Ye Tiancheng chuckled, a sinister smile playing on his lips.
His Flame Blade pursued them, landing in the grass. A crisp cracking sound was heard, followed by a splash of green fluid. One spider was cleaved into pieces.
With the spider in pieces, the remaining spiders knew hiding in the grass was futile and began to flee to new locations. However, none escaped.
After he eliminated them all, Ye Tiancheng collected their silk and hard exoskeletons. These were excellent medicinal ingredients; they couldn't be wasted.
Having finished this, Ye Tiancheng went to investigate the vibrant red flowers. He had never seen such a plant before.
From their petals emanated the same strange scent he had smelled earlier.
Ye Tiancheng knew it was the poisonous gas emitted by these flowers that had incapacitated the five soldiers.
He examined the flowers closely but found no clues. Not knowing what kind of flower it was, he couldn't concoct an antidote. Suddenly, remembering the spiders, a flash of inspiration struck him. He reasoned that poisonous animals growing in a place with potent poison must be the very thing that counteracted it. Thus, he took out the spider silk and exoskeletons, found a pot, and boiled them.
Steaming water vapor rose from the pot, dispersing into the air. The flowers seemed to sense this aroma and instantly withered.
"As I suspected, the aroma volatilized from the concoction of spider exoskeletons and silk is an excellent detoxifying agent."
Next, Ye Tiancheng poured this mixture into the mouths of the five soldiers. After ingesting it, the soldiers regained their senses.
"Oh my, it was just like a dream."
The first words spoken by the five soldiers upon waking were these. Ye Tiancheng wasn't surprised. While they were unconscious, their cells had battled the toxins, making it feel as if they had witnessed the fight firsthand, hence their waking realization that it was a dream.
"Stop dawdling. It's getting late; let's hurry and find the hunting soldiers."
Ye Tiancheng urged them. The five soldiers immediately straightened themselves and continued to follow Ye Tiancheng.
After walking for a while, they finally encountered an unavoidable battle ahead. A large green python blocked their path.
"Hiss..."
The python's mouth flicked its scarlet tongue.
It looked extremely fierce. If one were to confront it carelessly, death was likely. It seemed impossible to defeat. However, what they didn't expect was Ye Tiancheng leaping forward, striking it with his hand like a blade.
The five soldiers were astonished by Ye Tiancheng's ferocity and violence. He was fighting the green python with his bare hands.
They believed he wouldn't survive, likely perishing on the spot. But to their surprise, when his palm struck, a crisp sound rang out. The python was easily dispatched by Ye Tiancheng.
A deep indentation was left on the python's neck; its bones were completely shattered by Ye Tiancheng. Everyone was dumbfounded, never expecting Ye Tiancheng's hand-blade to be so powerful, even more so than his earlier Flame Blade.
This was because Ye Tiancheng frequently battled pythons and didn't need to use the Flame Blade. As long as he could easily solve a problem, other issues were trivial. The way everyone looked at him changed.
It was precisely for this reason that Ye Tiancheng seemed like a divine being in everyone's eyes.
After dealing with the green python, Ye Tiancheng urgently set his sights on the next objective. This time, he couldn't afford any slip-ups or mistakes. He already had a new plan in mind: to find medicinal herbs and refine healing potions. Future battles would inevitably involve casualties, and without healing medicine, the losses would be greater. None of the soldiers following him wanted to die so quickly; they also wanted to live.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng couldn't be so selfish. He had to find a way to ensure the survival of these brothers who had faced death with him. Previously, he felt he didn't need to care for their lives, but now he had changed his mind. He felt that as long as they followed him, he was responsible for their safety and lives.
If he didn't do this, who would follow him in the future?
Everyone wanted to live.
After walking forward for a while, they finally saw the hunting soldiers lying unconscious.
Ye Tiancheng administered the decoction made from spider silk and exoskeletons to them, and these soldiers awoke.
They felt as if they had dreamed, and upon waking, they felt a sense of disappointment because in their dreams, they had their own constructed worlds. Returning to reality meant returning to someone else's world, a disparity that left them feeling lost.
Ye Tiancheng didn't concern himself with their thoughts, as they were simply people living in this world, unable to choose their own destinies. The difference between living and not living was fundamental. Those living in dreams were even more fundamentally different. With dreams, people had the motivation to pursue them. If people lost these things, life seemed meaningless.
Ye Tiancheng glanced at the sky and realized it was getting late. Returning would be impossible due to the darkness and difficult terrain. They would have to spend the night in the forest and return tomorrow.
Spending a night in the forest was a difficult ordeal, fraught with unexpected dangers. However, everyone seemed unfazed by this, as they had their protector. Even the most perilous situations would be resolved safely in his presence.
Life in the forest was not as difficult as imagined. Under the guidance of Ye Tiancheng, who seemed like a divine being, they soon obtained delicious wild beasts.
He also started a bonfire in an open space, cleaned the animals, skewered them with bamboo sticks, and began roasting them by the fire.
Ye Tiancheng sprinkled salt while roasting, and the aroma of grilled meat immediately filled the air.
In this wild and chilling forest.
At night, a bonfire provided a sense of security. Most beasts feared fire, and as long as a bonfire was lit, they wouldn't approach easily. After all, most animals had fur, which would ignite rapidly upon contact with flames. Thus, these animals greatly feared fire, and their genetic memory also contained this information: never approach fire.
The night passed without incident. The next morning, after breakfast, Ye Tiancheng began collecting herbs in the forest. There were various kinds of herbs, and Ye Tiancheng stored them. Those people only saw Ye Tiancheng constantly collecting herbs but didn't see where he put them. Ye Tiancheng wouldn't tell them, and they wouldn't ask. After all, this was Ye Tiancheng's secret, which outsiders naturally couldn't know.