"Wait" Su Mei suddenly called out, her lips stained a little with blood from overexerting herself.
"let's go together!" She said looking at Feng wuji with hope in her eyes
Feng Wuji turned back, surprised. "What?" he asked, his face calm as always.
Su mei took a deep breath and said"I cannot stay here in this condition. There are many dangers around, and I could get hunted by other competitors. Besides, why not go with someone stronger than me?"
"Why would I take you with me, though? It's not like you have anything to offer." Feng Wuji looked at Su Mei, and his eyes burned with intrigue. He was curious why she thought he would ever agree to this demand.
"So you'll let a beauty face danger alone?" Su Mei said, her eyes twinkling. She tried to use her female charm and tried to seduce Feng Wuji.
Feng Wuji just removed his gaze from her and continued his walk.
"You're so heartless, humph!! Wait!! I'll give you a Divine Essence Fruit!" she said as she gritted her teeth. This heartless bastard she thought one day I'll have my revenge
"A Divine Essence Fruit of which nature?" Feng Wuji asked as he turned to face her again, this time with clear interest in his eyes.
To reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, cultivators had to gather the essence of heaven and earth to form a foundation.
However, this was the mundane kind of foundation. Geniuses use the essence of special treasure and the heaven and earth to cultivate unique foundations that gave them special powers at their realm. The Divine Essence Fruit was this kind of treasure, and it was hard to get.
The Divinity Halo Sect doesn't trade it, and only the Dao Maidens are qualified to use it. Su Mei offering the essence was a surprise because of its value.
"A Sun Divine Essence Fruit. Is that good?" she asked with hope in her eyes.
"You seriously think I'll take you with me through a dangerous realm that's been unexplored for thirty thousand years and is full of danger for a Sun Essence Fruit?" Feng Wuji asked her with a blank face but he was in disbelief"is this girl dumb ??"he thought internally.
Su Mei's cheeks turned pink. Indeed, it was stupid to ask for such a request. She bit her lips hard and thought for a while.
"I'll give you three Pure Divine Essence Fruits. Any more than that, and you'll have to leave me here."
"Okay," Feng Wuji said at once and stretched his hands towards her. She grabbed it, and they continued into the forest together.
---
Meanwhile, at the southwest of Feng Wuji and Su Mei, about 200 km away, was a very huge mountain in the middle of a forest. It had a narrow path that went upwards, and its slopes were filled with moss. On this path were two disciples of the Wei Clan, one of the Four Major Clans.
They seem to be engaged in a discussion
"Wei Yu, can you perceive that aroma?" said the younger one amongst them.
"Yes, it smells so refreshing. it might be a treasure we should find the source" said Wei Yu, the one who had a short beard.
"Okay then," the younger one said, and he flew up and raised his hands. A strand of qi came out; it began to glow with a greenish-bluish glow and suddenly flew into the inner parts of the mountain path.
"Wei Shanqi, don't let it go!" the bearded man said as he flew after the strand of qi.
However, Wei Shanqi didn't reply as he had already started chasing after it.
They flew towards a crevice in the mountain that was the size of two human beings. Being fit, they easily entered and discovered a hidden ecosystem there.
At the base of the crevice was a small pool of water that seemed to have gathered from the mountain's veins. At its side were some stones filled with green moss and some small flowering vines of various colors.
At its heart was an average-sized tree that had blue leaves, and it bore some fruits that were a mixture of green, blue, and gold. The fruits were the ones releasing the aroma.
"Wei Yu, I think those fruits are releasing the aroma," Wei Shanqi, the younger one, said.
"Yeah, I think so. They must be treasures to release such an aroma. Let's take them, and later we'll find out their use," Wei Yu said, his eyes flashing with greed.
Wei Yu flew towards the tree and grabbed a fruit. Just as he was about to pluck it, a sound rustled, and from the roots of the tree, some vines emerged. They lunged like serpents and wrapped around his arms and started draining his qi. He tried to run, however the vines wrapped and coiled themselves around his wrist, arms, and chest. They continued to absorb his qi, and then...
"Aaaaaarrggghhhhh!" he screamed, panicking. He said, "Help me, please, Wei Shanqi!" He tried to explode his qi around the area, however the vines just absorbed the volatile qi and continued to drain him.
Wei Shanqi conjured up some qi to gather air and make it the shape of a blade. He sent the blade towards the vine. The blade of wind whooshed through the air and struck the vines, trying to slice it open, but it just bounced back. The vines were very hard and had impeccable defense.
"I'm sorry, brother," Wei Shanqi said, and he quickly flew back to the entrance of the crevice, trying to escape.
However, the small flower vines suddenly enlarged and attacked him too. He wasn't even given a chance as they pierced through his body from his waist.
A spray of crimson blood splashed against the mossy stones as the vines tore through him. They dragged him into a hole that had formed after the vines came up, and the last things he saw were some skulls that looked old, some clothes and armor.
He realized this place had been a den for this vine to devour human cultivators since ancient times, and then his eyes darkened.
"Aaaaaarrggghhhhh! Aaaaaarrggghhhhh! Hel... he..... help me, someone!" Wei Yu's screams echoed around the cave, but no one could hear him.
During the heat of the moment, they had forgotten to activate their tokens to transport them out of the realm, and the vines seemed to enjoy torturing him as they hadn't quickly killed him like they killed his brother.
And just as he was about to die, he heard sounds above him. The vines quickly buried him and returned to their former position, and the cave became beautiful and serene at once.
"Wow, look at those trees!" a voice came from above.