"Brother Vaughn, there's still no news from Brother Joe Di. Could something have happened to him?" Joe Di hadn't sent any messages for two days, nor had he contacted any of them, which made Liana Quing quite anxious.
Although they were only two or three hundred zhang away from Joe Di, at Nightlake, anything beyond twenty zhang became a blur. They could see Nightlake itself, but it was only a hazy outline.
As for shouting loudly, anything over a hundred zhang couldn't be heard at all.
Vaughn Che was silent for a long moment before he spoke, "Originally, we were supposed to leave and rest before nightfall today. Now that there's no news from Brother Joe Di, I'm very worried. In this place, if you lose your ability to move, you're doomed. Let's wait one more night. If there's still no word from him by tomorrow morning, we'll withdraw and rest for a day."
Vaughn Che was worried that if Joe Di was seriously injured by Nightlake, he wouldn't be able to find anyone to help him out. Since he'd invited Joe Di to join the team, it was only right that they help each other.
"Alright, we'll wait one more night then," Liana Quing agreed, having intended to suggest the same.
......
Joe Di once again stood by the edge of Nightlake, next to a stalk of red Firegod Herb. As night fell, he could clearly see the Firegod Herb growing within the lake.
This time, Joe Di decided to simultaneously use the Genesis Body Codex and the Soul Tempering Technique, then snatch the Firegod Herb from the lake as quickly as possible.
He didn't try using a claw-shaped artifact for harvesting. According to the World Tome, to preserve the medicinal properties of the Firegod Herb at the moment it leaves the soil, it must be picked by hand.
Besides, Joe Di suspected that even using a claw-shaped artifact to harvest Firegod Herb would still result in a shock to his spiritual sea.
When the Genesis Body Codex and Soul Tempering Technique had circulated through three cycles, Joe Di plunged his hand into the lake water at maximum speed.
The sizzling sound and a terrifying impact on his spiritual sea surged forth. In that instant, Joe Di managed to grab a stalk of red Firegod Herb and quickly placed it into a jade box.
He looked at his own hand—much of the flesh had been corroded, a shocking sight. Yet Joe Di breathed a sigh of relief; as long as he could harvest the Firegod Herb, it was worth it. With his body cultivation technique, his hand would recover in at most one night. Of course, that was provided the lake water didn't corrode his bones. If the bones were damaged, then his hand would truly be ruined.
After two hours, Joe Di didn't dare to keep fishing for Firegod Herb. His hand bones had started to turn gray, and if he put his hand back into Nightlake, he couldn't guarantee it wouldn't be destroyed completely.
Fortunately, in those two hours, Joe Di managed to obtain five stalks of red Firegod Herb and ten stalks of half-red Firegod Herb.
Plus, he still had several hundred stalks of green Firegod Herb on him. These would be enough for his cultivation for a while. Once he used them up, he could return to Nightlake for more.
After storing these fifteen hard-earned Firegod Herbs in the jade box, Joe Di found a safe spot to activate the Genesis Body Codex and heal his injuries.
The night passed in a flash. When Joe Di opened his eyes, daylight had already broken.
It was time to head back. For now, Joe Di didn't plan to return to Nightlake anytime soon. As for Vaughn Che and the others, he could simply give them a few dozen stalks of green Firegod Herb when the time came.
......
"Brother Vaughn, Brother Joe Di still hasn't come out..." Liana Quing spoke, her face tinged with purple.
Her spiritual sense was the weakest, and they should have left before nightfall yesterday. They'd stayed an extra night just to wait for Joe Di, but the corrosive effect on her spiritual sea by Nightlake was making it hard for her to hold on.
Vaughn Che could see that Liana Quing was struggling, and truthfully, he was having a hard time himself. He glanced in the direction where Joe Di had disappeared two days ago and sighed, "Let's go. We'll head out first and see what happens."
Just as Vaughn Che finished speaking, a violent burst of true essence exploded, and all three instinctively looked over.
During the search for Firegod Herb at Nightlake, no one dared to fight. Spiritual sense couldn't be extended here, and anyone who forced it—did they have a death wish?
Soon, Vaughn Che changed his mind. He saw dozens of blurry figures rushing over.
Not only were people fighting here by forcibly extending their spiritual sense, but some were even using it to travel. Did none of them care about living?
"Brother, should we go take a look? It's only thirty-four zhang away from us," Liana Quing couldn't help but suggest.
With so many people heading to one spot, there was a good chance something valuable had appeared.
"Let's go check it out. If anything happens, we'll retreat immediately," Vaughn Che said decisively, seeing more and more people gathering. Those people were coming from afar, while they were so close to this spot.
The three quickly reached the site of the fight. When they saw what was inside the huge basin, they were stunned. They could see at least a dozen Firegod Herbs, scattered about, suggesting there were even more inside. In one puddle, there were two stalks of half-red Firegod Herb—the fight was over these.
"Go!" Vaughn Che charged in without hesitation. They had come here for Firegod Herb, and after more than two days, the three of them had only found one. With so many here, not fighting for them would be foolish.
The fighting soon died down. All the cultivators endured the risk of their spiritual sense being corroded, silently snatching up Firegod Herb.
As more people arrived, the number of Firegod Herbs in the basin dwindled.
"Quing, Stone, let's go." When cultivators at the Void Spirit Stage showed up, Vaughn Che knew it was time to leave. Staying any longer would be pointless.
Although Liana Quing's face was purple, her eyes sparkled with excitement. She had gathered twelve Firegod Herbs—enough to join the inner ranks of the Five Grand Sects.
It wasn't just Vaughn Che's team; other groups also prepared to withdraw. They didn't even know what Firegod Herb was for—just having more than ten stalks was enough for them.
"Leave? You think you can just walk away? Whoever tries, I'll kill them." An icy voice chilled everyone fighting over Firegod Herb, like a bucket of cold water poured over them.
"It's the Radiant Squad and Sundown Squad..." someone trembled as they revealed the identity of those blocking the way.
The captain of the Radiant Squad was Rafael Ren, a formidable cultivator at the ninth level of the Soul Ancestor Stage, while the Sundown Squad's captain, Ian Lin, was even stronger—second level of the Void Spirit Stage.
These two squads were infamous in Sunset City, known for killing countless lone or weaker teams. With them blocking the way, who dared make a move?
Everyone had rushed here, their spiritual sense already heavily corroded. Faces were tinged purple, and with these two squads blocking the way, there was no option but to hand over everything.
Vaughn Che and his companions looked even grimmer. Vaughn Che knew what the Radiant Squad was up to, so he had never planned to stay the full three months at Nightlake. As soon as a month was up, they would leave.
Now, his plan was clearly ruined. Blocked by Rafael Ren, who knew they had a large stash of Firegod Herb, escape was impossible. Rafael Ren kept them around just to have them collect the herbs for free.
"Brother Lin, I want to kill three people first." Seeing everyone too afraid to leave, Rafael Ren cupped his fists to Ian Lin. What disappointed him was that the one person he most wanted to kill was missing.
Although Rafael Ren was only at the ninth level of Soul Ancestor Stage, Ian Lin was still wary of him. Rumor had it Rafael Ren had a brother on the Sea List.
Cultivators on the Sea List are the elite of the Central Realm. Unless there was deep hatred, even True Transformation cultivators wouldn't dare provoke them. No one could predict how far these people would go.
"Go ahead, Brother Ren," Ian Lin smiled faintly and gestured.
Rafael Ren would kill a few people first, as a warning to the rest.
"Vaughn Che, you little ant, how dare you steal business from my Radiant Squad, even using us to find teammates? Are you tired of living, or do you just not respect us at all? Kneel before me, hand over your storage rings, and each of you break an arm—maybe then I'll let you live." Rafael Ren stood before Vaughn Che's group, his tone mocking.
As he spoke, his magical treasure—a twin-headed horse—hovered above his head.
Radiant Squad had seven members in total. Rafael Ren blocked Vaughn Che, while the rest cut off their escape.
They were at the edge of Nightlake, and even with extraordinary means, Vaughn Che's group had no way to escape.
"Hahaha..." Vaughn Che laughed loudly. "Your Radiant Squad has killed countless innocent cultivators in Sunset City. Our team used to have four people—Tong Fei died at your brother Shawn Ren's hands. Don't think I don't know. Even if you don't come for me today, one day I'll return for revenge. You want me to kneel and beg? You're not that important, Rafael Ren."
"Oh, didn't expect you to be so clever, even knowing Tong Fei died by my hand," Shawn Ren sneered from beside Rafael Ren.
"Enough talk. If we're fighting, let's fight." Ben Stone, usually quiet, summoned his magical treasure, showing no intention of begging for mercy even in the face of death.
"Since they're asking for death, kill them all..." Rafael Ren had no intention of acting himself.
"Let Joe Di show you who’s really courting death." Before Radiant Squad could act, Joe Di landed beside Vaughn Che.
"Joe Di? Why are you here?" Vaughn Che was moved, but sighed inwardly. The three of them were doomed—he didn’t want Joe Di dragged into this mess.
Joe Di opened his hand, and the Azure Veil Blade appeared in his palm. He laughed, "Since we're a team, we face things together. If I hid behind my teammates, I wouldn't be Joe Di."
After saying this, Joe Di looked at Rafael Ren. "I was about to leave, and you just got lucky. But you insist on seeking death, blocking my teammates before I go. So, let me give you a piece of advice..."
Joe Di didn't act immediately; he was watching the reactions of the others. If he was wanted, someone here would know. Now that he revealed the Azure Veil Blade with its red tassel, there was bound to be a stir.