Chapter 302: Drive the Tiger to Swallow the Wolf

The human-faced owl, despite its strength, had low intelligence. It only knew how to use brute force to resist lightning, making it impossible to decipher such an intricate restriction. Fortunately, this allowed spirit herbs like the Dark Vein Ophiopogon to be preserved until now, safe from being consumed by the bird.

Wanderer Yun had his eyes on a spirit herb called the Nine-Petal Green Frost Grass.

After Qin Sang collected the Dark Vein Ophiopogon and placed it in a jade box, he heard rumbles of thunder from the back mountain as he went to search for the Nine-Petal Green Frost Grass. He knew it was Shangguan Lifeng gathering the Bleeding Ghost Mushroom.

The seven spirit herbs were the Bleeding Ghost Mushroom, Nine-Petal Green Frost Grass, Dark Vein Ophiopogon, Misty Herb, Spirit Jade Tree, Blue Dew Epiphyllum, and Ice Spirit Fruit.

Their values varied but were not drastically different. In ancient times, they weren't considered particularly rare spirit herbs, far inferior to the Nine Illusory Heavenly Orchid.

Furthermore, their medicinal effects weren't uniform; each had its own specialization. For someone in urgent need, even a slightly less valuable herb could be more important than others.

However, protected by restrictions, they had remained unpicked for centuries, reaching millennia in age. Coupled with their extreme rarity in the current cultivation world, some even extinct, they had become treasures everyone vied for.

The Bleeding Ghost Mushroom was the most valuable among the seven spirit herbs. Qin Sang, Wanderer Yun, and Ge Yuan all had clear targets, and the White-Robed Scholar dared not contend with Luo Xingnan for it.

Qin Sang recalled what the White-Robed Scholar had conveyed telepathically.

"The Ice Spirit Fruit will suffice for me."

The Ice Spirit Fruit was the least valuable of the seven spirit herbs; this person was indeed not greedy at all.

The Nine-Petal Green Frost Grass had three long, sword-shaped green leaves, resembling three sharp blades. Its leaves appeared to be covered in a layer of morning frost, encircled by faint moonlight, emitting a subtle herbal fragrance.

Qin Sang's knowledge of spirit herbs still lagged behind Wanderer Yun's; he wasn't sure what kind of elixir the Nine-Petal Green Frost Grass could be refined into.

However, having secured the Dark Vein Ophiopogon, Qin Sang was already very satisfied and didn't care about anything else. His immediate concern was how to safely leave the area with the spirit herbs.

With his recent experience, Qin Sang's speed in collecting the Nine-Petal Green Frost Grass was significantly faster.

By then, the distant battle had intensified considerably. Knowing that the Golden Ring Array would eventually fail to suppress the human-faced owl, Qin Sang quickly put the Nine-Petal Green Frost Grass into a jade box and headed straight for where the Blue Dew Epiphyllum grew.

With the Blue Dew Epiphyllum and the Ice Spirit Fruit, he now possessed four spirit herbs.

He and Shangguan Lifeng returned to the battlefield one after another.

Shangguan Lifeng produced the three spirit herbs he had collected. Luo Xingnan tossed the Spirit Jade Tree back to Shangguan Lifeng, kept the other two, and calmly watched Qin Sang hand over the spirit herbs to Wanderer Yun and the others, making no further moves.

"Fellow Daoists, unleash your full power to activate the Golden Ring Array's strongest force. It can trap the human-faced owl for three breaths. Afterwards, descend the mountain immediately; do not delay."

As Wanderer Yun spoke, he frantically channeled spiritual energy into a copper ring. This ring, under his control, resembled the transparent jade of the Four Cloud Divine Restriction and was the core of the entire Golden Ring Array.

At this critical moment, feeling the shared danger, no one, including Luo Xingnan, dared to hesitate. They immediately joined Wanderer Yun in fully activating the Golden Ring Array.

Seven copper rings surrounded the human-faced owl, vibrating continuously and clanging crisply.

Immediately afterward, countless phantoms erupted, trailing streaks of yellow light that engulfed the human-faced owl. These phantoms merged in mid-air, forming a massive and sturdy copper ring that tightly bound the owl.

The human-faced owl shrieked wildly but could not break free from the copper ring's restraint in a short time.

"Go!"

Wanderer Yun immediately retracted the Golden Ring Array and turned to flee down the mountain.

The others followed closely behind.

Seven escape lights, varied in color but similar in speed, streaked forth. Since there was enough time, Wanderer Yun and Luo Xingnan deliberately controlled their speed, and Qin Sang did not activate his Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman.

The escape lights clearly split into two groups: Shangguan Lifeng and Luo Xingnan were together, while the White-Robed Scholar closely followed Qin Sang and the others, staying near Wanderer Yun.

Both sides subconsciously maintained a distance, not interfering with each other.

Luo Xingnan made no moves until they returned to the restriction.

It appeared Luo Xingnan had accepted the outcome.

At the last moment, they saw the fierce figure of the human-faced owl in close pursuit, but as soon as they entered the restriction, its shrieks instantly faded from their ears.

The human-faced owl did not pursue them into the restriction, which brought a slight relief to everyone, though they were not entirely at ease.

They exited the restriction at a faster pace than they had entered. The exit was ahead; they only needed to pass through the Hooked Serpent's territory to leave the area.

Before anyone could steady themselves, Luo Xingnan cast a cold glance at them, then, without a word, suddenly shot forward with Shangguan Lifeng.

In that instant, his speed reached its peak. Besides him, everyone else was in the early Foundation Establishment stage; logically, no one could be faster than him.

Luo Xingnan's intention was clear: he was employing Yu Kong's strategy of "driving the tiger to devour the wolf"!

Most of the Hooked Serpents had been killed or wounded, and one Hooked Serpent King was severely injured and dying. If they had cooperated fully, using the Golden Ring Array, it wouldn't have been difficult to escape the area without disturbing the serpents beforehand.

A happy ending for all was entirely possible.

But Luo Xingnan was clearly not satisfied with only acquiring two spirit herbs!

Unlike Ge Yuan's shock and fury, Qin Sang and Wanderer Yun showed no panic upon seeing this scene. Instead, they sneered at Luo Xingnan's actions.

No matter how fast Luo Xingnan was, could he match Wanderer Yun's Spirit Bamboo Flying Boat?

"Whoosh!"

A streak of light flew out from Wanderer Yun's palm, growing larger with the wind, revealing the true form of the Spirit Bamboo Flying Boat.

"Hurry..."

Wanderer Yun and Qin Sang flashed onto the boat. Just as Wanderer Yun was about to urge Ge Yuan and the White-Robed Scholar, a familiar shriek suddenly came from above.

Everyone was startled and looked up abruptly.

They saw the restriction above them shaking violently, and a huge black shadow was actually squeezing its way out from within the restriction.

It was the human-faced owl!

The human-faced owl struggled to pass through the layers of restrictions. Its body appeared distorted from the squeezing of the restriction, and its cries held notes of pain, yet it sustained no serious injuries.

Its feathers were incredibly bright, shimmering with an unusual luster, and it was this luster that protected it from being harmed by the restriction.

The fact that this restriction couldn't trap the human-faced owl greatly surprised everyone, but they also immediately realized it was likely a deliberate arrangement by the cave's owner.

After all, the human-faced owl was the cave's owner's guardian spirit beast.

From its vantage point, the human-faced owl let out fierce shrieks. Its eyes, filled with astonishing killing intent, glared maliciously at Qin Sang and the others, bearing an irreconcilable grudge against these villains who had stolen its herbs and injured it.

This was not yet the worst situation.

What alarmed everyone even more was that as the human-faced owl's shriek echoed through the space, the ground began to tremble. A wisp of red mist rose from the abyss ahead, accompanied by a strange hissing sound.

This sound was also very familiar to them.

Without Luo Xingnan's intervention, the Hooked Serpents had already been awakened by the human-faced owl!