"The Zhilong Fruit!" The same words had barely surfaced in Han Li's mind when the white-robed young woman cried out in astonishment ahead of him.
Long Dong, the young woman, and the others all wore expressions of delighted surprise — clearly, they recognized this spirit herb as well.
"This is the primary ingredient for the Soaring Dragon Pill, a medicinal pill that only Deity Transformation stage cultivators can use. It fruits once every thirty thousand years, and even consuming it raw will grant sixty years' worth of cultivation effortlessly. To think we'd find a stalk here — and it looks like it just recently ripened. If we can get our hands on it, the fortune would be truly extraordinary." The young woman's eyes gleamed as she murmured to herself.
The white-robed young woman and Long Dong's gazes flickered with undisguised desire. They were clearly tempted as well.
The significance of a primary ingredient for a Deity Transformation stage pill was something even most Deity Transformation stage cultivators themselves would never have the chance to gather. At ordinary auctions, there was no question of anyone auctioning off such a rare heaven-and-earth spirit treasure — at most, high-ranking cultivators might trade among themselves. Otherwise, the True Toad Spirit Blood needed to refine late-stage Deity Transformation pills wouldn't have sent so many cultivators into a frenzied bidding war that day.
The difference between Deity Transformation and Deity Transformation pills might seem like a single tier, but in reality, they were worlds apart.
If a cultivator brought the Zhilong Fruit before a Deity Transformation stage cultivator, the latter would absolutely go wild with joy and produce a pile of Deity Transformation stage pills in exchange without hesitation.
After all, while the Spirit World's Savage Borderlands were rich in heaven-and-earth spirit treasures, medicinal herbs useful at the Deity Transformation stage were still considered scarce. Each discovery required a certain measure of fortune. And some herbs, the moment they appeared or ripened, would attract the attention of powerful beings, making it impossible for them to remain undisturbed for long.
Han Li and his group hadn't ventured deep into the Savage Borderlands in search of rare treasures, yet in only a few months they had first encountered the Thunder Turtle's emergence and now stumbled upon this Zhilong Fruit. Such fortune was absolutely extraordinary. It was common knowledge that many high-ranking cultivators spent decades in the Savage Borderlands without finding anything of use.
"Let's first assess the situation below," the white-browed young man said with a cold snort.
"That giant is a Thousand-Eye Clan member from among the Savage Giants, though all the eyes on its body are silver-white, which means it's clearly not yet fully grown. The lizard may look unassuming, but since it can make the Thousand-Eye Giant so wary, it must be far from ordinary. Either one of those two creatures likely possesses the strength of an early-stage Deity Transformation cultivator." Han Li studied the two monsters below for a long while before speaking in a measured tone.
During his time in Heavenly South City, he had made a point of purchasing several texts related to the Savage Borderlands from the market to prepare for future expeditions. That was how he had immediately identified the giant's clan and made his calm assessment.
Hearing Han Li's words, Long Dong and the young woman — given their backgrounds — naturally knew he spoke the truth. But how could they bear to leave such a treasure, something one might encounter only once in a thousand years? They exchanged glances, and their expressions darkened.
At that moment, a humming sound drifted in from the distance. Han Li and the others turned in surprise toward the source.
On the horizon, seven or eight massive silkworm-like insects had appeared, each roughly two zhang in length. Their bodies radiated multicolored light as they hurtled toward Han Li's group at tremendous speed.
Their approach looked decidedly hostile.
Han Li frowned, but after probing with his spiritual sense, his expression quickly returned to normal.
These giant insects looked fearsome, but the aura they emanated wasn't particularly strong — they posed virtually no threat to his group. Long Dong and the others beside him paid the insects no mind either, preparing to casually annihilate them all once they drew closer.
But then something that startled them occurred.
When the insects were still over a hundred zhang away — passing directly above the giant lizard — the creature's maw opened slightly, and something flashed by in an instant.
One of the aggressively approaching insects flickered strangely and simply vanished from midair.
The swarm erupted into chaos. The remaining insects all began circling in place, letting out piercing shrieks of alarm and fury.
But their panic accomplished nothing. A heartbeat later, another insect disappeared without the slightest warning.
Witnessing this scene, Long Dong and the young woman felt a chill run through them.
Han Li narrowed his eyes, and a faint sliver of blue light flashed deep within his pupils.
In the instant the next insect disappeared, drawing upon the spiritual power of his Bright Eyes, he finally caught sight of what was happening.
The so-called disappearance was actually the lizard's tongue — a nearly transparent appendage — shooting out of its mouth at inconceivable speed, piercing clean through the insect's abdomen, then curling it back down into the lizard's gaping maw. The tongue simply extended so fast that it defied belief, which was why at first glance, the insects appeared to vanish into thin air.
In the blink of an eye, the remaining insects had all been swallowed one after another. Then the creature settled back onto the ground and lay still once more.
But when Han Li fixed his gaze upon the beast, his eyes held an unmistakable trace of dread.