The day after encountering Su Meiren and her group, Qing Xuanling and Xuan Dan continued deeper into the Scarlet Forest. After ten days of travel at a cultivator's pace, they had covered over a thousand kilometers—nearly fifteen hundred.

  They now stood before a cave hidden behind dense shrubs over two meters tall. They had only discovered it because Xuan Dan had suddenly caught a strange scent.

  "Xuan Dan, are you sure it's here…?" Qing Xuanling asked doubtfully. "I sense the aura of a mid-stage beast inside."

  Xuan Dan also swallowed hard. "Yes, I'm sure—I smelled a high-grade spirit herb! It must be one of the hidden effects of my divine talent!"

  "Even so…" Qing Xuanling frowned. Though a first-level high-grade spirit herb could sell for thirty spirit stones, the danger was too great. They had only ever faced weak mid-stage beasts or ones that had just advanced. They had never confronted a mid-stage beast at its full strength.

  "What are you hesitating about?" Xuan Dan had far fewer doubts than Qing Xuanling. "As you said—cultivation is a fight against the heavens! With that herb, the time we'll need to spend in this cursed forest will be greatly reduced!"

  Qing Xuanling eyed Xuan Dan's reddened eyes suspiciously. 'Wait—she's not just excited about holding a high-grade spirit herb for the first time…?'

  However, before Qing Xuanling could say anything, Xuan Dan had already darted into the cave.

  "This damned incarnation is going to get the primary body killed!" Qing Xuanling's eyes nearly popped out as she quickly chased after Xuan Dan. She couldn't let her die! Who knew if she'd be able to create another incarnation later!

  The cave's interior was surprisingly deep—nearly two hundred meters. Natural light didn't reach inside, so Qing Xuanling had to light a torch to see. In the distance, she could also see Xuan Dan's torch flickering.

  "Xuan Dan, damn it—come back here and at least let's think about how to defeat that mid-stage beast!" Qing Xuanling shouted in exasperation.

  Surprisingly, Xuan Dan had actually stopped. Qing Xuanling sighed in relief and quickly caught up to her.

  "Hey, pill idiot—finally came to your senses…" Qing Xuanling touched Xuan Dan's shoulder, but noticed she was staring fixedly at something ahead. "What are you looking at…"

  Qing Xuanling's mouth fell open. She was staring at a serpent over four meters long and as thick as two human bodies. Her face paled. The serpent was coiled around a four-petaled purple flower.

  "A Four Spirits Flower…" Xuan Dan's eyes sparkled with excitement. "It was in the book Madam Yechan gave us! Each petal of the flower contains a vast amount of spiritual energy that cultivators can easily absorb!"

  "It's one of the rarest medicinal herbs—selling for two hundred spirit stones per petal!"

  Qing Xuanling stared incredulously at Xuan Dan, who had dared to shout right in front of the serpent. She finally understood why her divine talent had "fanatic" in its name.

  'This girl is truly crazy for alchemy! Even willing to risk her life!'

  She began to regret bringing Xuan Dan along…

  "Sssss…"

  A deep chill ran down Qing Xuanling and Xuan Dan's spines. The serpent had opened its eyes. The beast flicked its tongue as it eyed them hungrily.

  "Hey, Xuanling…" Xuan Dan turned toward Qing Xuanling. Her eyes had returned to normal. "I think we're screwed, right?"

  Qing Xuanling closed her eyes and shouted. "Obviously!"

  The serpent, covered in dark green scales that gleamed in the torchlight, began slithering toward them. Qing Xuanling gritted her teeth, thinking of what to do. But after deep consideration—given their current situation—she could only reach one conclusion.

  "Xuan Dan—get ready to fight! Tonight we'll feast on serpent meat!" Qing Xuanling's blue eyes shone with determination. "It's her or us—so make sure you give it your all this time!"

  Qing Xuanling quickly circulated the cultivation technique she'd received from her family—the Five-Axis Rotating Art, a method only cultivators with complete spiritual roots could use.

  The spiritual energy in the air was absorbed by her body, transformed into Qi, and channeled into her Dantian. At the same time, she activated the only battle art she knew—the Iron-Cutting Sword Art, which she'd purchased over a year ago for sixty spirit stones.

  'Let's see if those scales are stronger than iron!'

  Qing Xuanling charged fearlessly toward the serpent as it slowly slithered forward. Xuan Dan watched her charge in confusion—until she finally snapped back to her senses.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "Damn it! How did I freeze like an idiot?!" Xuan Dan gritted her teeth and quickly followed. "Well—I've been wanting to eat serpent meat for a while anyway!"

  Both knew a beast this large would catch them instantly—retreat was not an option. Better to go down fighting than turn their backs on that serpent.

  Qing Xuanling reached the serpent first and struck with her Iron-Cutting Sword Art—but the serpent suddenly lunged, its massive jaws gaping wide, ready to swallow her whole.

  She immediately retreated, narrowly escaping death. At that moment, Xuan Dan appeared and, using the same sword art, struck the serpent's massive body squarely with her blade.

  Clang!

  A loud metallic ring echoed through the dark cave. The serpent hissed and whipped its tail like a lash toward Xuan Dan. She threw herself to the ground just in time to evade the blow.

  Qing Xuanling seized the opening and aimed for the serpent's eye—surely that couldn't be as tough as iron! But the serpent reacted too quickly. Its eyelids snapped shut, and her sword only left a faint white scratch.

  "Haha... I see your scales are indeed harder than iron..." Qing Xuanling smiled weakly before being sent flying by a brutal headbutt.

  Thud!

  She slammed into the cave wall, coughing blood as she forced herself up despite the searing pain throughout her body. Several ribs felt broken—but she charged back toward the serpent. After all, Xuan Dan was still fighting!

  Xuan Dan was barely managing to dodge the serpent's whip-like tail strikes. Just as she was beginning to anticipate its movements, the serpent's head darted forward to strike her.

  "Shit!"

  Xuan Dan threw herself sideways, narrowly avoiding the headbutt. She landed near the torch she'd dropped at the battle's start, snatched it up, and watched fearfully as the serpent slowly advanced. Qing Xuanling was nowhere in sight.

  'Oh no!'

  Tears welled in Xuan Dan's eyes, and the urge to flee surged in her mind. But at that moment—a blurry figure appeared from behind the serpent, climbing onto its body and racing toward its head.

  Xuan Dan's eyes widened. 'That crazy girl actually dared to ride the serpent!'

  Qing Xuanling ignored Xuan Dan's shock and struck with the Iron-Cutting Sword Art. Qi surged down her arms into her blade, coating it with a faint layer of razor-sharp energy—her ultimate move, perfected after months of training. A technique she could only use once with her current Qi reserves.

  Without hesitation, she thrust toward the serpent's eye and stabbed! This time—even as the serpent shut its eyelid—her blade pierced through! Blood splattered everywhere!

  "Shissssss!!!"

  The serpent thrashed wildly in agony. Qing Xuanling nearly flew off but gripped her sword tightly and twisted it deeper into the eye socket. Its remaining eye bloodshot with rage, the beast began madly headbutting the cave walls.

  The entire cavern trembled. This time, Qing Xuanling couldn't escape unscathed. Her grip vanished as her body slammed against the wall, then she was flung again by the serpent's erratic thrashing. She tumbled several times, landing near the cave's center—right where the Four Spirits Flower had been.

  The snake hissed triumphantly at finally getting rid of the annoying fly and slithered toward Qing Xuanling, drool dripping from its jaws.

  Xuan Dan tightened her grip on her sword and rushed to intercept the beast. She also shouted toward Qing Xuanling: "Xuanling—the Four Spirits Flower has gentle energy that can be absorbed even by terminally ill patients!"

  "Eat that thing and get back to the fight quickly!"

  Qing Xuanling's dazed eyes regained clarity. Xuan Dan's words roused her. She pushed herself up and watched half-dazed as Xuan Dan evaded the serpent's attacks—clearly outmatched but smart enough to focus solely on dodging.

  Qing Xuanling staggered to her feet, unwilling to waste the time Xuan Dan was buying her. She lurched toward the Four Spirits Flower just steps away. The serpent, believing her unconscious, hadn't minded her landing so close to its treasure—but that now worked against it.

  By the time the serpent realized Qing Xuanling was moving again, she already held the flower. She smiled and swallowed it whole—root and all.

  The serpent hissed furiously and lunged—but it was too late.

  Qing Xuanling felt an avalanche of spiritual energy surge through her meridians and energy channels. Normally, such an influx would have shattered her energy channels—but the Four Spirits Flower's energy was so gentle it even healed her hidden injuries.

  Most importantly, she felt the bottleneck blocking her advancement to the third layer of Qi Refinement shatter effortlessly!

  She experienced a minor breakthrough instantly!

  "Haha—the heavens truly have eyes!" Qing Xuanling laughed wildly. "I turned danger into opportunity—and now, damn serpent, it's time to turn you into skewers!"

  She thrust her palm into the air as she charged. Xuan Dan's eyes lit up and she immediately tossed her sword. Qing Xuanling caught it midair and activated the Iron-Shattering Sword Art.

  The sharp Qi coating the blade expanded greatly, gaining even keener edge than before.

  But to the serpent, she was merely an ant with a slightly sharper bite. It simply opened its massive jaws, ready to swallow her whole.

  Exactly as Qing Xuanling had anticipated.

  "Ha—as predictable as I expected, brainless beast!" she grinned.

  Without hesitation, she leaped straight into the serpent's gaping maw!

  The move was so sudden the serpent had no time to react. Inside its mouth was narrow and cramped—but Qing Xuanling still had room to move. She immediately thrust her sword upward, slicing through the soft palate and piercing straight into the beast's brain.

  The serpent didn't even have time to hiss before it collapsed, lifeless.

  "That was exhausting…" Qing Xuanling crawled out from the serpent's mouth. "I'm never doing that again!"

  Xuan Dan, who had approached at some point, smiled. "Sure about that? Not only did we get a mid-stage beast corpse, but you also broke through after more than eight months. In my opinion—we had a good harvest~"

  Qing Xuanling huffed. "You seem awfully calm despite losing the Four Spirits Flower. I thought you'd complain about me eating it all."

  "Err… I'm not that unreasonable." Xuan Dan smiled sheepishly. "It was my fault we ended up in this situation. It's already a blessing we're alive. I can't be that demanding."

  "As long as you know it." Qing Xuanling wiped blood from her hair. "Dissect the corpse and look for its core while I heal. I think I've got several broken ribs."

  "At once!" Xuan Dan saluted like a soldier and got to work.

  Qing Xuanling watched her with narrowed eyes before closing her own and entering meditation.

  'Though I already suspected it—Xuan Dan's divine talent affects her personality and even causes side effects like temporary loss of rationality. I'll have to be more careful about that in the future…'

  There were many things Qing Xuanling didn't yet know about her own divine talent—just like Xuan Dan, who occasionally discovered new abilities. That was why she needed to pay close attention to situations like today's to avoid repeating mistakes.

  She swallowed one of the healing pills Su Meiren had gifted her and closed her eyes.