Yan Jiaojiao hurried along, observing her surroundings.
Spiritual herbs and flowers were abundant in the back mountain of the Yan family, yet even the same type of spiritual medicine she had used for Rong'er was nowhere to be found. Yan Jiaojiao couldn't help but feel that the original owner had been wronged. To obtain that spiritual medicine back then, the original owner had traveled thousands of miles. Little did she know, their own backyard held a patch of it, yet the original owner had never even had the chance to enter the back mountain once! It was suffocating, utterly suffocating! Yan Jiaojiao only wished to find the Duan Dan Cao quickly and beat those despicable people of the Yan family to a pulp, scattering their ashes to the wind.
Since entering the barrier, Yan Jiaojiao had been releasing a faint beastly pressure. After all, she only had a few fragments of her inner core, not enough to support prolonged and intense pressure release. However, this pressure was enough to deter the wild and demonic beasts on the spiritual mountain from bothering her. Yan Jiaojiao walked a short distance peacefully, when suddenly, a vine wrapped around her foot, causing her to stumble and nearly fall.
"Ah!" Yan Jiaojiao let out a soft cry. She finally managed to regain her balance, but the vine had already coiled around her waist and was tightening its grip. "What impudent thing dares to block my path!" Yan Jiaojiao said, preparing to chop off the vine with a wave of her hand. But midway, her hand changed direction and reached for her satchel, drawing out a fire talisman and sticking it onto the vine. She almost forgot that her spiritual power was weak now and she had to rely on external forces.
As soon as the fire talisman touched the vine, sparks flew with a "sizzle," but it didn't harm Yan Jiaojiao at all. In moments, the vine turned to ash. Yan Jiaojiao, now free, patted away the residual ash. She had to admit, the original owner's talisman-making skills were indeed commendable.
After resolving a minor interruption, Yan Jiaojiao continued forward. She was familiar with the spiritual energy of the Duan Dan Cao, and by following its direction, she could reach her destination directly. However, after walking for another half an hour, there was still no sign of the Duan Dan Cao. Something was wrong. Yan Jiaojiao stopped and looked around, then she understood. A group of spiritual trees were about to gain sentience, and they had conjured a "ghost wall" for her! It was not uncommon for things on the spiritual mountain to possess spiritual energy, and for a few plants to develop a shallow sentience, like the vine that had tried to hang her just now. But for all the spiritual trees around to develop sentience and attempt to trap her, Yan Jiaojiao, was indeed a first. It was simply because the original owner's body was too weak now, that even rudimentary spiritual trees dared to bully her.
At the moment Yan Jiaojiao stopped, the spiritual trees beside her moved almost imperceptibly, subtly altering her direction. Were they trying to protect the Duan Dan Cao? Yan Jiaojiao chuckled. It was a pity they had encountered someone like her, who was here to claim the Duan Dan Cao. She then looked up at the spiritual birds circling in the sky. With a wave of her hand, one of the spiritual birds changed direction and flew down, landing tremblingly a few steps away from Yan Jiaojiao. Yan Jiaojiao raised an eyebrow. She could exert pressure on beasts, and naturally, she could understand their thoughts. The spiritual bird before her was repeatedly begging for mercy: "My lord, my lord, I will never dare to spy on you again. You have the aura of a celestial being, and everyone is afraid to approach you. I was forced to come here."
Well, this was an organized and strategic group activity. Yan Jiaojiao thought her pressure would be enough to deter those ignorant beasts, but she didn't expect them to collaborate with the spiritual trees. Such coordinated action must be directed by someone behind the scenes. To deceive the thousand-year-old ancestor with such trivial tricks? Yan Jiaojiao was amused and angered. If she hadn't been afraid that a back mountain fire would create smoke and attract attention, Yan Jiaojiao would have loved to throw a handful of fire talismans and burn all these low-level scoundrels to ashes!
Seeing her killing intent in her smile, the spiritual bird trembled even more violently. She was a girl of only eleven or twelve, yet so unchildlike and terrifying. It truly made the bird extremely scared; it didn't want to die! Fortunately, Yan Jiaojiao knew this was not the time for impulsive actions. She endured, and with a stern face, asked, "Where is the Duan Dan Cao?" The spiritual bird dared not speak. Yan Jiaojiao took a step forward, maintaining her smile: "Burning you alive wouldn't be a problem." The feathers on the spiritual bird's tail almost stood on end. This little girl was too terrifying! "I'll ask again, where is the Duan Dan Cao?" If the spiritual bird had a mouth, its corners would be pulled down to the ground by now. On one side was a terrifying little girl, and on the other was the Demon Emperor, whom they revered as supreme. It was truly in a difficult position! The fire talisman was already in Yan Jiaojiao's fingertips. The spiritual bird flapped its wings and flew, "My lord, please follow me."
With the spiritual bird leading the way, even though the spiritual trees were still moving sluggishly, they could no longer hinder Yan Jiaojiao's progress. The spiritual energy of the Duan Dan Cao had become noticeably stronger. Just as Yan Jiaojiao felt the Duan Dan Cao was within half a li, the spiritual bird abruptly stopped. "My lord, I really cannot go any further," the spiritual bird chirped, "The Duan Dan Cao is just ahead. Please spare my life." Indeed, another pressure was being continuously released here, overbearing and unrestrained. A tiny spiritual bird could not possibly resist the suppression of its bloodline and move forward. Yan Jiaojiao waved her hand, and the spiritual bird immediately flew away at high speed.
Yan Jiaojiao took out a stack of talismans with various functions from her satchel. She was certain that the main culprit releasing the pressure inside was the same dog that had tripped her up earlier! It would not be easy to snatch the Duan Dan Cao from that dog's grasp. As frail as she was, it was better to have a few more talismans for protection.
At the center of the circle within half a li, a man stood with his back to the Duan Dan Cao, silently waiting for the last moment of its maturity to pluck it and consume it, hoping to heal an old injury that had never fully healed. When he sensed the faint pressure from Yan Jiaojiao, he couldn't help but lazily turn his head towards her direction. His peerlessly handsome face, who else could it be but Dongfang Cangwu! Dongfang Cangwu furrowed his heroic brows. After Yan Jiaojiao had fainted earlier, Dongfang Cangwu had rested nearby in the area with the most abundant spiritual energy, the back mountain. The gap in the southwest corner was also his doing. What surprised him even more was the presence of Duan Dan Cao here, which could heal the old wounds he sustained from a millennium of war. However, the Duan Dan Cao still lacked a bit of ripening, which was why Dongfang Cangwu had been waiting here. He never expected that the intruder he had casually instructed the spiritual trees and beasts to block was actually Yan Jiaojiao.
With Yan Jiaojiao's current capabilities, she naturally couldn't sense the presence of the other party within half a li as Dongfang Cangwu could, and was still blindly heading towards the Duan Dan Cao. Lingering presence! Dongfang Cangwu was extremely displeased. He shouldn't have spared her life earlier. A killing intent radiated from Dongfang Cangwu. If he couldn't kill her with his own hands, then in a place he couldn't see, he would let the spiritual beings devour her mortal flesh!