Chapter 883: Both Sides Clash

The Soul-Stunning Incense, refined from hundreds of special medicinal herbs, can daze even those at the Chrysalis Realm. However, once lit, this incense attacks indiscriminately. Given how close these two individuals are, the two saber-toothed spirit tigers might still be fine, but they'll probably pass out first!

"For every medicine, there's a counter. As long as there's a drug, there's a solution. They've likely already taken an antidote, so they won't have any problems!" Zhang Xuan said calmly. Every drug has its counter; no matter how potent the poison, an antidote can be found, let alone something that merely causes hallucinations.

"Hmm!" Everyone nodded.

"Master Zhang, once the smoke enters the cave, the two saber-toothed spirit tigers might be dazed... What should we do?" Dong Xin looked over. The other party had the Soul-Stunning Incense and a Half-Saint expert. Once the two spirit beasts were dazed, obtaining the Crimson Glow Fruit would be inevitable. It would be too late for them to even try to snatch it.

"Strike first... It's best to get our hands on the Crimson Glow Fruit before them!" After a moment's thought, Zhang Xuan said. Heavenly treasures are first-come, first-served. While they were using the Soul-Stunning Incense, if Zhang Xuan and his group got the item first, whatever the other party said would be useless!

"Before them?" Everyone was puzzled. The other party was already at the cave entrance and had released the Soul-Stunning Incense. Even if they rushed over now, they might not only fail to get the Crimson Glow Fruit but also risk being dazed themselves, their lives no longer in their own hands.

"Stay here quietly. If anything happens, find a way to leave and protect yourselves," Zhang Xuan instructed after a brief hesitation. "I'll go around and see if I can find a chance to slip into the cave!"

"Slip in?" The cave was only so big, and the two individuals were already at the entrance. How could he slip in?

"You don't need to worry about that..." Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan offered no explanation. His body flickered, and he darted out, disappearing from their sight in the blink of an eye.

"This..." Seeing him leave, Dong Xin and the others exchanged bewildered glances. They were completely perplexed.

"Let's follow Master Zhang's instructions. If he says so, he must have a way..." After a long moment, Hu Yaoyao bit her lip and said. Given the current situation, they were helpless and could only follow his lead. Considering his past achievements, he might truly be able to surprise them and acquire the Crimson Glow Fruit in advance.

Evading everyone's sight, Zhang Xuan found a spot, sat cross-legged on the ground, and with a thought, his Warlock Soul emerged from his body. In the current situation, the only way to enter the cave unnoticed was with his Warlock Soul. As for "going around," that was just a pretense.

Hovering in the air, the Warlock Soul hesitated for a moment, then took out a bottle of Primeval Heavy Water and had his physical body consume it. It then drew several strands of Heavenly Dao zhenqi from his dantian before putting his physical body back into the Myriad Ant Nest. His physical body had already reached a state of 'no thought, no desire,' allowing it to cultivate independently of the Warlock Soul. This way, no time would be wasted, killing two birds with one stone.

Controlling the storage ring, the Warlock Soul soared into the air, circled above the canyon, and silently descended toward the cave entrance. The cliff face was covered in trees, and a storage ring moving through them would be virtually impossible to detect. Furthermore, the Warlock Soul had reached the peak of the Dimension Shattering Realm, making it exceptionally refined and substantial. Even a Half-Saint wouldn't realize that someone had already arrived at the cave.

Upon entering the cave, Zhang Xuan finally let out a breath and looked inside. The cave was wide and deep, its end out of sight. It was already filled with a thin mist; a single whiff could easily lead to intoxication, making it impossible to escape. In the past, he would have had to be cautious and avoid contact with such mist. However, since his soul had merged with Wei Ruyan, he possessed the abilities of an Innate Poison Soul Physique, rendering these drugs harmless to him.

He moved slowly forward, and after a while, an unusual tree, as thick as a bowl, appeared before him. Its trunk was twisted like a vine, its leaves golden-yellow, and it bore several light-red fruits.

"It seems they're not ripe yet..." A single glance told Zhang Xuan that it would be a while before they matured. Once ripe, Crimson Glow Fruits turn completely crimson and emit a glow. Their current light-red color indicated, as Dong Xin and the others had guessed, that they would need at least seven or eight days, perhaps even half a month, to fully mature.

In front of the tree, a massive saber-toothed spirit tiger lay, over five meters long and two meters tall, exuding a suffocating sense of pressure. Another one occasionally glanced outside, seemingly aware of intruders, its eyes filled with anxiety, as if debating whether to destroy the Crimson Glow Fruits and then escape. At this moment, the smoke from the Soul-Stunning Incense hadn't drifted in, so the two large beasts naturally had no idea that the people outside were already prepared.

"It seems Dong Xin's intelligence was accurate..." He glanced at the tree; there were indeed only ten fruits, and both saber-toothed spirit tigers were at the peak of the Chrysalis Realm. Zhang Xuan nodded inwardly. This woman, despite her carelessness last time, was usually quite reliable. To have investigated so thoroughly, she had likely entered this cave more than once. Although saber-toothed spirit tigers were cautious, they still needed to eat, drink, and relieve themselves. With her strength, she could exploit any moment of negligence to quietly enter and investigate.

"There are two options now," Zhang Xuan pondered. "First, release the Violet Sun Beast, kill these two creatures on the spot, and openly claim the Crimson Glow Fruit... While direct, this would easily expose the existence of my Warlock Soul and the Myriad Ant Nest! Second, find a way to ripen the Crimson Glow Fruit, harvest them, and leave without anyone knowing, thus avoiding encountering those two master teachers and saving a lot of trouble..."

Releasing the Violet Sun Beast to kill these two creatures would be the most convenient, but it would be difficult to explain to Hu Yaoyao and the others where the Violet Sun Beast came from and how he managed to slip in.

"The second option then!" After careful consideration, the second option seemed more appropriate. Anyway, this item was ownerless. As long as he acquired it, it would be his; there was no need for courtesy.

"First, I need to daze these two creatures..." With his decision made, Zhang Xuan chuckled softly. His Warlock Soul retreated a few steps, then subtly guided the smoke from the Soul-Stunning Incense to drift slowly toward them. To steal the fruits without anyone knowing, he first had to daze these two large beasts. Otherwise, if they saw the fruits disappear with their own eyes, they would suspect the Warlock Soul's methods.

The mist from the Soul-Stunning Incense was silent, and under the Warlock Soul's control, it grew thicker. The two saber-toothed spirit tigers were guarding against cultivators rushing in from outside, never suspecting they were being poisoned. Unaware, they took a few breaths, then their bodies swayed as if drunk, falling into a state of hallucination.

Seeing the two large beasts in this state, Zhang Xuan knew they had lost their judgment. He took a few steps and arrived before the Crimson Glow Fruit tree. With a thought, Heavenly Dao zhenqi mixed with Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid flowed into the tree. Hu Yaoyao had mentioned that the Crimson Glow Fruits' ripening time was uncertain, yet he dared to come, unafraid of delaying the Dean's inauguration ceremony. This was precisely because he possessed the means to hasten their ripening. He had previously ripened the Ten-Leaf Flower and knew the method: the Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid, mixed with Heavenly Dao zhenqi, seeped into the tree trunk. In less than ten minutes, the previously light-red fruits became intensely crimson, emitting a fragrant glow.

"They're ripe!" His eyes lit up. With a sweep of his hand, he collected all ten Crimson Glow Fruits into a jade box, then exhaled slowly.

He glanced back and saw the two hallucinating saber-toothed spirit tigers still swaying unsteadily, not yet sober. Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and, taking the storage ring, hurried out.

Just as he reached the cave entrance, he saw the two master teachers who had lit the Soul-Stunning Incense slowly approaching, seemingly wanting to check if the saber-toothed spirit tigers had succumbed. Ignoring them, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, controlled the ring, and flew straight out, quickly returning to the air.

Once back in a spot where Hu Yaoyao and the others couldn't find him, he released his physical body and his spirit returned. While his Warlock Soul was busy stealing the Crimson Glow Fruits, his physical body had already cultivated the Five Lustrous Golden Body to the third realm. Upon reaching this realm, his physical strength doubled again, increasing from the previous 8 million ding to 16 million ding!

Adding his soul power and zhenqi, he now possessed a colossal strength of 53 million ding, not at all weaker than a Half-Saint peak!

(Half-Saint early stage: 40 million ding; middle stage: 44 million ding; late stage: 48 million ding; peak: 52 million ding!)

Feeling the surging power within him, Zhang Xuan's eyes gleamed. Possessing combat strength comparable to a Half-Saint peak in the early stage of the Dimension Shattering Realm would undoubtedly astound a great many people if word got out. This was no longer just talent or a monstrous prodigy; it was a peerless aptitude.

"Time to go back..." Exhaling, Zhang Xuan suppressed his excitement and smiled faintly. He stood up, his body flickered, and he flew toward the location where Hu Yaoyao and the others were.

Before he even arrived, he felt a violent surge of energy fluctuations, with waves of qi continuously erupting.

"Oh no..." His pupils contracted. Zhang Xuan accelerated, charging straight ahead. A few breaths later, he immediately saw the open area where they had been, now filled with chaotic zhenqi as several people battled.

Xue Zhenyang, Hu Yaoyao, Dong Xin, and Long Cangyue were attacking one of the two individuals from earlier, unleashing a continuous barrage of attacks. However, the person trapped in the middle, despite fighting four against one, showed no signs of defeat. Instead, they fought with ease, forcing the four to use their ultimate moves just to stay alive.

"Is that the guy at the peak of the Chrysalis Realm?" Zhang Xuan frowned, momentarily stunned. If they were attacking the Half-Saint level expert, fighting one against four would be understandable. But they were attacking someone at the Chrysalis Realm, the same level as themselves!

At the same cultivation level, four of them couldn't even defeat one? Was this real? Hu Yaoyao, Xue Zhenyang... each of them was a renowned genius in the Master Teacher Academy, with only a handful of people at their level capable of defeating them. Yet now, with the four of them working together, they were not only failing to gain an advantage but were being suppressed at every turn. This guy... was simply too fierce!

He looked up and saw the Half-Saint expert leaning against a rock, his gaze cold and indifferent, seemingly not at all worried that his companion would lose. It seemed he had great confidence in his companion.

"Stop!" Seeing that Hu Yaoyao and the others would inevitably suffer if the fight continued, Zhang Xuan could no longer hold back. With a loud shout, his figure flickered, and he appeared before everyone.