Chapter 460: Chapter 451: A Special Immortal Condensing Grass
People who practice cultivate top-notch breath-holding skills. If it had been the former me, I couldn’t have lasted long underwater.
"No matter what, we have to take a look. Senior Brother, let me go."
Zhong Yong looked at Mo Shang.
Just as Mo Shang was about to speak, the sound of bubbling came from underwater.
A wet, dark head suddenly popped out of the water.
Splashes of water flew up.
"Twenty-Nine is back!"
"Junior Brother!"
Everyone exclaimed in surprise.
Twenty-Nine wiped off the obstructive water droplets from his face.
He looked at everyone with a broad smile.
"Senior Brother, I found the place."
Everyone felt a surge of joy.
"Is there really Immortal Condensing Grass?"
Someone asked eagerly.
"I haven’t seen it yet, but the place looks a lot like what Junior Brother Xiao described. It’s just that the dark river is quite deep, requiring a long dive, and I exceeded the appointed time, so I came back first fearing you’d worry."
"How long does it take?"
"About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
"That’s not too bad."
Mo Shang thought for a moment, then said to everyone, "Those who meet the conditions, follow me. Fifth Brother, lead the rest and stay behind in the cave."
The dark-skinned man who was called Fifth Brother felt quite aggrieved.
He wanted to go too, but his body wouldn’t allow it.
He was tall and strong like a rhino.
Whether he could match the breath-holding time was one thing; fitting that body into the pond was another.
Rhino solemnly patted Cheng Xiaoxiao on the shoulder and said seriously, "Little Brother Xiao, help Sixteenth Brother go down and take a look. My underwater skills aren’t good, so I won’t go."
"Tch! Sixteenth Brother, you just can’t get down because you’re too fat, and you say your underwater skills are lacking. Aren’t you embarrassed?"
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Go, go, go, stop speaking such blunt truths."
Rhino awkwardly pulled the person away.
He looked at Cheng Xiaoxiao with a smile, then lowered his head, leaned close, and whispered in her ear, "Senior Brother hasn’t recovered yet. Watch over Junior Brother Xiao a bit. I’m afraid his wound might get infected going into the water now."
"Hm, I got it, don’t worry!"
Cheng Xiaoxiao naturally intended to go explore.
Her underwater skills weren’t that good.
But... that wasn’t a big deal.
The System Mall had a dazzling array of products.
All kinds of diving equipment were available, though she didn’t dare to use them openly. So she went to the back of the group and bought a mini version of the equipment.
It cost her 3700 System Coins.
Luckily, she was something of a small millionaire now, and the price wasn’t expensive.
The equipment was small, and in the dark underwater, not conspicuous. She believed no one would notice since she stayed at the back.
The pool was dark, vision blurry, so she put on goggles.
Cautiously observing the surroundings to guard against any underwater fierce beast attacks.
The underground river was cold and deep, with no fish in sight, aquatic plants swayed at the bottom, drifting with the current.
Underwater was very quiet, no danger encountered.
Except for someone almost unable to hold their breath, quickly supported by two others, causing some disturbance, no other abnormalities occurred.
Everyone surfaced safely.
As they were about to emerge, Cheng Xiaoxiao put away her equipment, held her breath, and successfully surfaced.
She wiped the droplets off her goggles, stared around carefully.
The space here wasn’t very large, with three sides of the cave wall connecting to the deep pool, and only one shallow area with a long passage behind.
Water droplets seeped from the crevices of the rock layers, dripping into the pool.
Cheng Xiaoxiao discovered this was a space she hadn’t been to before, although similar, she was sure it wasn’t, but she didn’t say much.
After coming ashore, everyone carefully observed the surroundings.
No sign of Immortal Condensing Grass found.
The twelve-member team wasn’t discouraged and slowly walked into the passage.
"Stay alert to prevent sudden changes, unprepared for defense."
Zhong Yong directed everyone to prepare for defense.
The passage was dim, humid, and rugged.
Mo Shang coughed twice, pressing his fist to his lips.
"Senior Brother, are you alright?"
"Senior Brother, how are you?"
Concerns voiced one after another.
"I’m fine."
He said, pulling out a brown pouch from his sleeve, untying the strap, with a luminous glow emerging from inside.
It was a Luminous Pearl.
Nobody expected Senior Brother to have such a treasure.
Everyone showed delighted expressions; after traveling such a long distance, soaked wet and without lighting, they could only see vague shadows, but now it was fine.
The gentle glow lit up the dim passage.
Mo Shang raised the pigeon-egg-sized Luminous Pearl high, leading everyone cautiously forward.
After winding through several turns, a faint light shimmered ahead, becoming more exposed.
The space expanded.
Previously only one person could proceed, now three could walk abreast.
"What’s that?"
Everyone looked towards the light source.
It dotted the sides of the cave walls.
Denser in some spots, thinner in others.
Creating a stunning scene, turning the previously dark passage no longer dim.
Everyone slowed their steps, gradually approaching to see clearly, growing from the irregular wall crevices were clusters of green tender leaves, with the core of the leaves’ center like an inverted ’人’ character, trailing two crystalline fruits, the source of the glowing light, warm and bright like fireflies, remarkably beautiful.
"Is this Immortal Condensing Grass?"
"I can hardly believe my eyes."
"The Immortal Condensing Grass in the illustrations doesn’t have fruits."
"But the leaves do look alike!"
Voices babbled, mixed with doubt and astonishment, mostly disbelief.
Finally, everyone turned to Mo Shang.
"The leaves are two and a half inches long, green, long, slightly curved at the end, two layers of leaves on either side, perfectly matching the description. It’s just the unusual middle; perhaps previous masters who picked the Immortal Condensing Grass didn’t do so at maturity, so they didn’t find it. And now, it’s the fruit’s maturity period, so we see a different Immortal Condensing Grass."
"Senior Brother’s explanation makes sense. We don’t understand its growth habits, so we may not see its entirety. Maybe now is the prime harvest season, and the flower-like fruit-like luminescent bodies might have other medicinal values. We’ve hit the jackpot."
Zhong Yong honestly didn’t know how to describe his current feelings.
Excited and passionate, his eyes deeply captivated by the beauty in front of him.
"Right, it must be Immortal Condensing Grass, looking exactly like the illustration, just with an extra flower core. What’s there to be surprised about."
Twenty-Three said, wanting to pick a plant.
"Be careful, don’t hurt its roots and stems."
Zhong Yong reminded.
"Don’t worry, I’m..."
Just as he was speaking, Twenty-Three suddenly withdrew his hand.
Hiss!
"What’s that?"
"What happened?"
"Something bit my hand, there seems to be something on the stem."
Then, he felt his hand go numb, his head becoming dizzy.
What happened?
The blood flowing from the bitten finger appeared to darken, did he get poisoned?
"Not good!"
Just as he wanted to warn everyone, waves of dizziness hit, making the scene in front of him blurry and unreal.
