"Sister, I smell something unusual."
Long Ling, who had been crouching on Song Wanníng's shoulder, suddenly stood up. The little chubby hand pointed sharply to the right, her eyes shining brightly.
Song Wanníng, searching the cave, paused for a moment. Braving the biting cold wind, she raised her head and glanced in that direction.
"Any idea what it might be?"
Long Ling shook her head. "I can't tell... but it smells strangely pleasant..."
She took a deep sniff and twitched her cute little nose.
On the other side, Xiao Jin also sniffed, looking puzzled. "Why didn't I smell anything?"
He felt outdone by the little sister.
Xiao Jin whined softly. If it weren't for having been with the master the longest, he might already feel like the useless one.
Fortunately, since he was born from the master's Primordial Soul, these little creatures could never surpass him. Thinking this way, Xiao Jin felt fully energized again.
"All right, let's go check it out."
Song Wanníng pondered briefly before deciding to investigate first. After all, Long Ling was a born spiritual creature. Perhaps she could sense something special.
Without hesitation, she changed direction and moved toward the hazy mist.
The cold wind was ruthless. Pain stabbed at Song Wanníng's body all over. She rubbed her arms, trying to ease the discomfort, but it was useless. Her face was numb from the chill.
The howling wind muffled all sounds, making it hard to discern movement nearby.
After struggling forward over a kilometer, her whole body nearly went numb. Walking felt stiff and heavy, especially in her legs.
Long Ling and Xiao Jin were equally frustrated, grumbling and cursing all the way.
At last, after enduring the cold for a while longer, they spotted a small cave entrance.
"Sister, it's there!"
Long Ling immediately perked up, no longer bothered by the cold. She flew eagerly toward the cave.
Song Wanníng also gathered her energy and strode toward the entrance.
Meanwhile, Xiao Heyun had deliberately separated from Xie Qinglan, braving the cold wind alone.
"Host, host, I found something good!"
Suddenly, the system's voice snapped Xiao Heyun out of his cursing. The wind whipped at him until he shivered, regretting he was a metal-element cultivator instead of a mutated wind-root.
"Something good? Where?"
His eyes lit up with greed. If he could get a treasure, he could brag a lot after leaving here.
"Over there!"
The system immediately marked the direction with pride. "I told you to work harder on advancing. See, after I leveled up, my functions work better! I didn't find this treasure last time, but this time, I did, hahaha..."
Even systems competed with each other. This one wanted to upgrade and leave those others behind.
That was why it worked so hard to assist Xiao Heyun.
Although it secretly disliked him, Xiao Heyun was obedient enough to be a decent host.
"Good job, system!"
Xiao He Yun's mood lifted instantly. The pain didn't matter anymore. He dashed toward the system's marked direction like he was on adrenaline.
...
Inside the cave, the cold wind was finally blocked. The entire space was warm and comfortable.
Song Wanníng exhaled a long breath, feeling relief spread through her body. Looking around, the cave was lush with green grass and carried a faint sweet fragrance. It was unlike any cave she had visited before.
She cautiously released her divine sense, only to find something floating that blocked her perception. She couldn't advance even a step.
With no other choice, she withdrew her divine sense and proceeded carefully on foot.
After several turns, a small spirit spring came into view.
But that was not the main focus.
At the center of the spring bloomed a twin lotus.
The entire flower was blood red—from the petals to the stem—like it was about to bleed, glowing brilliantly.
Song Wanníng stopped in her tracks, her gaze frozen.
This was no ordinary lotus.
Long Ling and Xiao Jin also froze, clearly impressed. This thing was extraordinary.
"Sister, pick it quickly! It looks like a treasure!"
Long Ling's eyes widened with excitement. Innocent and naïve, she didn't sense any danger and wished she could rush forward and grab the Twin Blood Lotus immediately.
"Wait, let's check for danger first."
The rarer the treasure, the greater the danger surrounding it.
She hid on the side for a while but detected no threats. She even tested the area with stones, still finding no signs of trouble.
"Looks like this place is hidden well, no beasts have found it. But such a spiritual object shouldn't be this easy..."
Song Wanníng frowned, feeling something wasn't right.
This was definitely a priceless treasure.
Yet it sat right in front of her, and she couldn't just give up on it because of some vague worry. Besides, she wasn't the type to back down.
After strengthening her defenses, she flew toward the Twin Blood Lotus.
As an alchemist, she understood that every part of this innate spiritual object—from the flower to the roots—was valuable.
She did not dare pull the flower directly but carefully submerged herself beneath the spring to try and uproot it from the base.
At the bottom, she soon found lotus roots already forming. But the lotus root was not blood red. Instead, it shimmered with a metallic luster.
When she looked closely, the sight was so sharp it made her eyes ache. Tears welled up and forced her to look away.
At this moment, she was unaware that Xiao Heyun was also in the Cannibal Valley, feeling quite pleased inside. The Twin Blood Lotus had appeared near her position—it seemed fate was on her side.
But no matter what, she had to be extremely careful. If she damaged the treasure, there would be no place to cry afterward. Holding her breath, she avoided looking directly at the blinding lotus root and carefully dug it out bit by bit.
However, the lotus root was smooth but very heavy.
Something was wrong.
Song Wanníng ignored the pain in her eyes and looked again at the lotus root.
At once, she met a blood-red eye.
That eye was bigger than her entire face.
It stared at her quietly.
A chill ran down her spine.
Without hesitation, she pulled out a dagger and stabbed toward the eye.
"Roar—"
A furious roar shook the whole cave violently. The spring water splashed wildly against the shore, making a sharp splashing sound.
A strong stench suddenly hit Song Wanníng's nose, causing tears to stream again.
But no matter what, she refused to lose what she had gained.
Seizing the moment, she swung her sword fiercely and severed the connection between the beast and the lotus root.
The beast, preparing to snatch the Twin Blood Lotus, was suddenly overwhelmed by pain, its vision darkening.