Gou Zai Fei Men made up myths

After half a day of exploration, the three of them followed a relatively safe path and arrived at the edge of a relatively intact group of buildings.

A moon gate covered in ancient vines appeared ahead, and a faint, refreshing medicinal fragrance wafted from inside, making the spiritual energy much richer.

"There's a medicinal herb garden!" Wang Hu sniffed and exclaimed in surprise.

Su Xiao gestured for silence, carefully approached the moon gate, and peered inside through the gaps in the vines.

Inside the gate was a garden of about an acre in size. Although it had been abandoned for a long time and overgrown with weeds, many spiritual herbs were still growing tenaciously. Some of them were even more full of spiritual energy, and it was clear at a glance that they were ancient and of great value!

In particular, a "Frost Marrow Grass" with a pure blue body and leaves like ice crystals, and a cluster of "Dragon Blood Fruit" bearing pale golden berries, made Su Xiao's heart race! These are rare main ingredients for refining high-level pills!

However, in the center of the herb garden, a huge creature was lying on the ground, emitting a deep snore.

It was a monster that looked like a giant lizard, but was covered in crimson scales, had a single horn on its forehead, and a tail like a steel whip!

The demonic aura it emitted had reached the peak of the early stage of the second tier! Equivalent to a human cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining! It was none other than the guardian of this herb garden—the Crimson-Armored Unicorn Lizard!

"A second-tier demonic beast!" Shi Tie gasped, his expression turning serious. With the combined strength of the three of them, the chances of winning against a second-tier demonic beast head-on were extremely low, especially since the beast had the advantage of terrain.

"What should we do, Senior Sister Su? This monster is not easy to deal with, maybe... we should just give up?" Wang Hu was having second thoughts.

Su Xiao's sharp gaze swept across the entire herb garden, his mind racing. A direct confrontation was definitely out of the question, but giving up now would be a real shame.

She noticed that the red-armored unicorn lizard seemed to be in a semi-dormant state, cultivating with the help of the spiritual energy in the herb garden.

Moreover, there are several broken stone carvings and low walls on the edge of the herb garden that might be useful.

"We have a chance!" A decisive glint flashed in Su Xiao's eyes as he whispered, "Senior Brother Shi, Wang Hu, listen to my plan! We'll outsmart them!"

She quickly devised a plan: "Senior Brother Shi, you have the highest cultivation level, so you should restrain it head-on! No need for a direct confrontation; just provoke it and lure it towards the ruined 'Spirit Gathering Array' base on the east side of the herb garden! The terrain there is relatively narrow, limiting its movement!"

"Wang Hu, you're in charge of harvesting! The key is the Frost Marrow Grass and the Dragon Blood Fruit. Once you have them, retreat immediately. Don't be greedy! I'll use an illusion array to cover you!"

"An illusion array?" Shi Tie and Wang Hu were both taken aback. When did Senior Sister Su learn how to set up an array?

Su Xiao took out several small array flags and a few low-grade spirit stones. These were simple "small illusion array" plates that Zhao Qingyan had specially prepared for her. Although they could not trap the enemy, they could create some visual and sensory interference to buy her a little time, which should be enough.

"I'll give it a try! Time is of the essence, stick to plan!"

Shi Tie had unconditionally trusted Su Xiao and nodded emphatically, "Okay! I'll go distract that big guy!"

The "Giant Spirit Shaking Mountain Technique" circulated within his body, his blood and qi surging. He burst forth from behind the moon gate, his heavy iron rod pointing at the red-armored unicorn lizard, and let out a thunderous roar: "Hey! You stupid lizard! Behold the might of your Grandpa Stone!"

The sleeping red-armored unicorn lizard was startled awake, its scarlet eyes snapping open instantly as it let out an angry roar!

It recognized the uninvited guest who had invaded its territory, and its huge body stood upright, rushing towards Shi Tie with a foul stench!

"Well done!" Shi Tie dared not take the attack head-on. He used the Flowing Cloud Step, his body nimbly circling around, fighting and retreating at the same time. He kept hitting the ground or the stone pillars next to him with his heavy iron rod, making loud noises to attract the attention of the monster and slowly lead it to the designated eastern area.

At the same time, Su Xiao quickly planted the array flags near the western entrance of the herb garden in specific positions, embedded them with spirit stones, made a hand seal, and shouted in a low voice: "Concealment, activate!"

A thin mist rose up, enveloping the entrance area and slightly distorting the light, making it difficult to see the details inside.

"Wang Hu! Hurry!" Su Xiao shouted in a low voice.

Wang Hu was already poised to strike, darting into the herb garden like a nimble cat, heading straight for the Cold Marrow Grass and the Dragon Blood Fruit! His movements were swift and gentle, as if afraid of startling the demonic beasts.

On the east side of the herb garden, the battle between Shi Tie and the Crimson-Armored Unicorn Lizard had reached a fever pitch. That monster possessed immense strength, sturdy scales, and could even spew scorching fireballs from its mouth!

Shi Tie brought the movement techniques of the "Flowing Cloud Dao Body" to their extreme, like a butterfly flitting among flowers. He was in grave danger under the ferocious attacks of the demonic beasts. His heavy iron rod collided with sharp claws and fireballs, producing a deafening roar!

He was completely at a disadvantage and could only barely hold on. Several charred marks and bloodstains had appeared on his body, but his eyes remained fierce as he clung tightly to the monster.

"Senior Brother Shi! Retreat!" Seeing that Wang Hu had successfully harvested two main spiritual herbs and was quickly gathering several other good auxiliary herbs, Su Xiao immediately sent a telepathic message.

Upon hearing this, Shi Tie swiftly swung his staff to deflect the monster's claws, using the force to fly backward while simultaneously throwing several Explosive Flame Talismans at the monster!

"Boom boom boom!" The explosions temporarily halted the monster's pursuit.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shi Tie used his Flowing Cloud Steps and charged towards the Moon Gate without looking back. The Crimson-Armored Unicorn Lizard was furious and gave chase!

Just as it was about to burst through the moon gate, Su Xiao changed his spell: "Illusion!"

The mist enveloping the entrance suddenly thickened, and the red-armored unicorn lizard rushed into it, instantly losing sight of Shi Tie. The scene before its eyes changed, as if it had fallen into an endless jungle, and it angrily charged around, but could not find an exit for a while.

"Let's go!" Su Xiao pulled up Wang Hu, who had just finished collecting herbs and was looking excited, and joined up with Shi Tie who rushed out. The three of them retreated quickly along the way they came without hesitation!

The roar of the monster behind them gradually faded away only after they had run several miles. The three of them finally breathed a sigh of relief after taking refuge in a relatively sturdy dilapidated temple.

"Haha! It worked! Junior Sister Su, your illusion array is really amazing!" Shi Tie was covered in injuries, but he was so excited that his face was flushed. His eyes shone as he looked at the spiritual herbs that Wang Hu took out.

Wang Hu was also very excited, and he carefully placed the harvested spiritual herbs on the ground.

Besides the Cold Marrow Grass and Dragon Blood Fruit, he also picked several good-aged "Purple Monkey Flower" and "Ground Spirit Mushroom", reaping a bountiful harvest!

Su Xiao's face was slightly pale. Setting up and maintaining the illusion array had taken a toll on her spiritual energy, but seeing the results, she smiled with satisfaction.

She first carefully examined Shi Tie's injuries. Fortunately, most of them were superficial wounds. After applying wound medicine and resting for a while, he was fine.

"Come on, let's divide the spoils!" Shi Tie rubbed his hands together, eager to get started.

Su Xiao waved his hand and said, "No rush. According to the sect rules, what we get from going out must be distributed in a unified manner. The Cold Marrow Grass and Dragon Blood Fruit are the most valuable items this time, and they need to be handed over to the sect. The sect leader will decide whether to give them to us or exchange them for contribution points."

"The remaining spiritual herbs can be distributed according to need. Senior Brother Shi, you contributed the most and were seriously injured, so you can get a larger share. Wang Hu was responsible for picking them, which is also commendable."

Although Shi Tie coveted the two main medicinal herbs, he knew the rules and grinned, saying, "I'll do as Junior Sister Su says! You decide how to divide them!"

Wang Hu offered no objection whatsoever: "It's entirely up to Senior Sister Su to decide!"

Finally, Su Xiao carefully put away the Cold Marrow Grass and Dragon Blood Fruit, preparing to hand them over.

Then the other spiritual herbs were divided into three portions. Shi Tie got one portion of Purple Monkey Flower for healing and strengthening his body, Wang Hu got one portion of Earth Spirit Mushroom to aid his cultivation, and Su Xiao himself only took one portion of ordinary auxiliary medicine.

The entire allocation process was fair and orderly, and both Shi Tie and Wang Hu were convinced of its fairness.

Looking at the spirit herb in his hand, then at Su Xiao bandaging Shi Tie's wounds, and recalling their shared battle in Black Mountain City and their clever acquisition of the spirit herb today, Wang Hu felt a surge of warmth in his heart and sincerely said:

"Senior Sister Su, Senior Brother Shi, following you out has truly broadened my horizons... truly broadened my horizons! From now on, I, Wang Hu, will follow you!"

Shi Tie laughed heartily and patted Wang Hu on the shoulder: "Good lad! You have good taste! Following me and Junior Sister Su, you'll definitely be treated well!"

Su Xiao smiled slightly, feeling gratified. Through this collaboration, the tacit understanding and trust between the three had deepened even further.