Chapter 179: Chapter 120: Five Tokens, Connecting to Wondrous Treasures [Subscribe Requested]_2
After all, even for them, earning tens of thousands of Spirit Coins would require at least six or seven years of good fortune and hard work, without any major expenses in between.
But harvest and risk are relative.
As the victor, Zhou Chun naturally had no issue with any reflections on the matter.
Had he been the loser, it would be others commenting over his corpse.
So, far from being blinded by this significant gain, he was more sober and cautious than ever.
The red-faced elder had been right about one thing.
Zhou Chun\'s unwillingness to take the risk of teaming up with others did not mean the other trial participants wouldn\'t form teams to hunt others down.
Even with Zhou Chun\'s remarkable strength, facing a team of three or more trial participants, it was still uncertain whose luck would prevail!
"It seems I have to change my strategy going forward," he thought.
"It would be best to first try to gather seven Heavenly Spirit Orders, then wander outside and wait, and only on the last day of the trials, go to that seven-story tower to choose the treasures!"
Zhou Chun stroked his chin, quickly formulating a new plan.
He then glanced at the two remaining immature "Soul Heart Fruits" and shook his head lightly. Without damaging the fruits, he left the valley directly.
Only in places as rich in Evil Qi as the Profound Yin Land could "Soul Heart Fruits," these rare heavenly and earthly Spirit Fruits, grow and meet their strict environmental requirements.
And for them to bloom and bear fruit, they needed the nourishment of unusual creatures like the Green-Faced Ghost Ape.
So, it wasn\'t just that Zhou Chun had no way to take the fruit tree out—even if he could, he had nowhere to plant it.
Better to remember this place and see if in the future the younger members of his family might have the opportunity to come back and claim the Spirit Fruit.
Having left the valley, Zhou Chun continued to cautiously explore the mountains.
Half a day later, Zhou Chun suddenly heard the sounds of a fierce battle of magical powers.
When he stealthily approached the area, he only saw a scene of chaos that had been scorched by flames.
In the following two days, although Zhou Chun did not encounter any trial participants, he heard the sounds of cultivators battling many times.
Clearly, as time passed, the cultivators drawing closer to that seven-story tower were more likely to run into each other.
And under the special rules of this place, it was very easy for cultivators who met to engage in life-and-death battles.
That day, Zhou Chun discovered an extremely rare male Fragrant Musk Deer in the forest.
He even risked flying with his artifact for a considerable distance to chase this startled and fleeing Fragrant Musk Deer!
It was no wonder he took such a risk, as the Spirit Spice on the body of the Fragrant Musk Deer was exceedingly rare.
Such a Demon Beast was very difficult to find in the outside world, as they would often be killed for their spice as soon as they were discovered.
And the Spirit Spice from the Fragrant Musk Deer is said to be a Spiritual Object worth its weight in gold.
It has many uses, but for cultivators, the most effective is the removal of Evil Qi.
Yes, the removal of the Evil Qi inadvertently absorbed by cultivators!
This single use alone greatly increased the value of the Spirit Spice from the Fragrant Musk Deer, making it more precious and rare than even Foundation Establishment Pills.
Evil Qi is such that at lower Cultivation Levels, even some contamination doesn\'t seem to have much impact.
But past the Purple Mansion Phase, especially for those cultivators preparing to form their Purple Mansion, it becomes something extremely distressing and abhorrent.
An apt analogy would be that a person with a blocked nose locked outside a latrine wouldn\'t be too bothered since they can\'t smell the foulness of feces and urine without a sense of smell, even though they know it is very stinky.
But lock someone with an even sharper sense of smell there, and even if the stench doesn\'t threaten their life, prolonged exposure could cause unknown mental distress.
Furthermore, for cultivators preparing to form their Purple Mansion, having Evil Qi within their bodies can cause critical failures during crucial moments or even lead to madness.
Because of this, any cultivators aspiring to form their Purple Mansion, if they have not yet purged the Evil Qi, would become extremely eager to acquire the Spirit Spice produced by the Fragrant Musk Deer.
Therefore, Zhou Chun now also harbored a determination to obtain that Fragrant Musk Deer at all costs.
He himself had a Purification Stone Pot, so he didn\'t need the Spirit Spice produced by the Fragrant Musk Deer.
But the problem was that the Spirit Water produced by the Purification Stone Pot was something he didn\'t dare expose to a second person, rendering it impossible to trade for anything.
However, the Spirit Spice produced by the Fragrant Musk Deer was different. Not only could it be sold openly and aboveboard, but its price was also extremely high, with one ounce valued at over a thousand Spirit Coins, or even more!
So today, he was determined to capture this Fragrant Musk Deer; no one would be able to stop him!
Two legs can\'t outrun four, and four legs can\'t outpace wings.
Once Zhou Chun activated the Flying Artifact "Silver Rainbow Ruler," even if the Fragrant Musk Deer was incredibly fast, it couldn\'t escape the palm of his hand.
"Gotcha!"
In the sky, Zhou Chun tossed the Locking Gold Ring from his hand, perfectly catching the head of the Fragrant Musk Deer as it ran.
The creature was about the size of a sika deer with no antlers on its head, making it very easy to ensnare.
Then, as Zhou Chun stimulated his mana, the destiny of the Fragrant Musk Deer was soon sealed by the noose around its neck, and it collapsed onto the ground, its legs still defiantly kicking against the earth.
"Baibai, come and quiet it down."
In the forest, after Zhou Chun landed, he tapped the Spirit Beast Pouch and released the Silver Lightning Python Baibai.
Hearing his command, the Silver Lightning Python immediately spat out a silver-white bolt of lightning onto the body of the Fragrant Musk Deer.
It was struck by an electric shock that caused its body to convulse violently, and soon it fell unconscious amidst its own waste.
This brutal electrocution technique had become quite practiced by Baibai after repeated use on those Octagonal Aquatic Deer.
With the Fragrant Musk Deer rendered unconscious, Zhou Chun had Baibai keep watch while he himself began harvesting the Spirit Spice from the musk gland sac beneath the creature\'s abdomen.
The musk gland sac was located under the skin in front of the Fragrant Musk Deer\'s "bell," and before it was opened, not the slightest scent was revealed.
But as Zhou Chun used his fingernail to pry open the sealed opening of the sac, an enchanting scent immediately began to waft out from within.
Upon smelling it, humans became clear-minded, but the nearby Silver Lightning Python Baibai reacted as if it were the stench of feces, writhing uncomfortably and moving away.
Not only did Baibai react in such a way, but within a hundred paces of the Fragrant Musk Deer, all creatures of the snake and insect variety fled hurriedly, trying to avoid the scent.
As it turns out, the Fragrant Musk Deer favored eating snakes and insects, and its Spirit Spice was also cultivated and fermented from the essence of such creatures, making it a natural repellent for snakes.
Upon smelling this scent, demon snakes and demon insects would retreat far away.
"Truly a natural Spirit Spice with an extraordinary effect!"
With an exclamation of admiration, Zhou Chun quickly inserted three fingers into the gland sac, scratching out all the Spirit Spice that had accumulated over many years.
In the end, the Spirit Spice he obtained weighed half a pound!
Hiss, hiss!!
Just as Zhou Chun was joyfully storing the harvested Spirit Spice into a jade bottle and about to sew up the musk gland sac to prevent the scent from continuing to spread, the Silver Lightning Python Baibai suddenly let out an urgent hissing warning sound.
This caused his expression to change dramatically as he quickly stood up, took out his Magic Artifact to prepare for an enemy, and called for the Silver Lightning Python Baibai to return to his side.
After a moment of contemplation, he used a Spirit Beast Pouch he had obtained earlier from an elder wearing grey to collect the unconscious Fragrant Musk Deer.
As he finished these preparations, an ugly-faced man in black clad with a hunchback, suddenly appeared, walking out from the forest leaning on a crutch.
Upon emerging from the forest, the hunchbacked elder glanced first at the Silver Lightning Python Baibai flicking its tongue beside Zhou Chun, then looked eagerly at Zhou Chun and spoke, "Young man, now hand over the Fragrant Musk Deer and the Spirit Spice you just harvested, and I might let you go!"
It turned out that before Zhou Chun had put away the Fragrant Musk Deer, the elder had already seen it through his Divine Sense.
The lingering scent that had yet to dissipate was more than enough for him to deduce what kind of demon beast it was.
However, his tone made Zhou Chun very uncomfortable.
Zhou Chun coldly responded, "What bold words you have!"
He then sneered and said, "And what if I refuse to hand over the items today?"
"Then I shall have to send you on your way to the afterlife!"
The hunchbacked elder let out a low shout and swung his brass-colored crutch at Zhou Chun.