Spirit Fruit Valley—the name lived up to its promise.
The valley was lush with vegetation, spiritual energy permeating the air, with rare flowers and unusual plants everywhere. Even more exciting were several short trees heavy with vermilion fruits, radiating dense spiritual energy fluctuations—"Vermilion Spirit Fruits" that could rapidly restore spiritual power and even slightly enhance cultivation!
"Wonderful! With these spirit fruits, we can recover from our wounds and exhaustion!" Everyone was overjoyed.
But Dustin didn't let down his guard. He carefully observed the valley's environment, sensing something was off.
This valley was too quiet—abnormally quiet. No birdsong, no insect chirps, even the wind seemed to have stopped.
"Careful, there may be danger." He warned in a low voice.
The moment he spoke, the ground began to shake violently.
A dull rumbling came from deep in the valley, like ten thousand horses charging. Then everyone witnessed a scene that made their scalps tingle—
Countless demon beasts, densely packed, surged from the valley's depths! Iron-Back Gray Wolves, Blazing Mad Lions, Single-Horned Giant Pythons, Flying Yaksha... the variety and sheer numbers were like a beast tide erupting!
"Not good! It's a demon beast stampede!" Adam cried out in alarm.
"Retreat! Fall back!" Margaret shouted.
But it was too late. The beast tide moved too fast, reaching them in the blink of an eye.
They were forced to engage, and a brutal slaughter began.
Margaret's sword light was like snow, desperately cutting down the beasts lunging at her, but there were too many—kill one, and ten more surged forward.
Adam's formations had barely trapped a few powerful enemies before more beasts broke through. The Dragon Guards held their battle formation desperately, but casualties were climbing rapidly.
"Protect the Princess! Protect Mr. Dustin!" Someone roared.
Scarlet stood firm before Dustin, her Liaoyuan spear dancing into a cloud of fire, shredding every beast that came at him.
But her own body was already marked with several wounds, blood staining her robes.
"Scarlet, don't worry about me, go help them!" Dustin urged.
"No!" Scarlet didn't turn her head. "I said no one would hurt you!"
A mid Foundation Establishment Blazing Mad Lion spotted an opening and pounced at Dustin.
Scarlet thrust her spear with all her strength, piercing through the lion, but the effort sent her stumbling to the ground. An Iron-Back Gray Wolf seized the opportunity, lunging with jaws wide open toward her neck!
"Scarlet!" Dustin's eyes nearly split with rage.
At that critical moment, a piercing sword light whistled through, cleaving the wolf in two! Adam rushed over, pulling his sister up and shielding her behind him.
"Brother..." Scarlet gasped.
"Don't talk, get back!" Adam commanded, his sword sweeping continuously to drive back several beasts.
But the beasts kept coming, and everyone was gradually losing ground. Margaret watched her subordinates falling one after another, despair rising in her heart. Were they going to die here?
Just then, Dustin noticed that while the beasts were frenzied, they consistently avoided the cliff face on the left side of the valley. That rock wall was covered in strange patterns, faintly glowing with weak light.
"Margaret! Move toward the left cliff!" He shouted.
Margaret had no time to think it through and ordered everyone to retreat toward the left cliff. They fought desperately, carving a bloody path, and finally reached the rock wall.
Sure enough, the beasts chased them to about thirty meters from the wall, then stopped dead in their tracks, roaring with agitation but refusing to advance another step. They paced back and forth briefly, then retreated like a receding tide, as if fearing something.
Everyone collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, gasping for breath. Headcount: of the original thirty-plus, fewer than twenty remained, and nearly everyone was wounded.
Scarlet was the most seriously injured, a deep claw wound on her back exposing bone, bleeding profusely.
"Scarlet!" Dustin rushed forward to examine her wounds. Though his cultivation was sealed, his medical skills remained. He tore off a strip of his own clothing and quickly stopped the bleeding and bandaged her, his technique practiced and precise.
Scarlet watched his focused profile, feeling the warmth from his fingertips, an unusual flush appearing on her pale face. "Brother Dustin... I'm fine..."
"Don't talk, save your strength." Dustin said softly, his eyes full of concern.
Once the bandaging was done, Dustin finally relaxed, then turned to Margaret: "Margaret, we can't stay here long, but everyone needs rest. I'll go check what's special about this cliff face—why the beasts won't approach it."
Margaret nodded and sent two guards to accompany and protect him.
Dustin walked to the cliff face, carefully examining the strange patterns.
The patterns were ancient and intricate, resembling natural formation runes, yet also like some kind of seal. He reached out to touch them, but the moment his fingertips contacted the patterns, a gentle force pushed him back.
"Behind this wall... there seems to be something." Dustin murmured.
He searched carefully along the cliff face and, in a spot concealed by vines, discovered a hidden cave entrance. The opening was small—barely enough for one person to squeeze through sideways—pitch black inside, with a faint breeze blowing out.
"Should we go in?" A guard asked.
Dustin considered briefly: "Not yet. Let everyone rest and recover first. This cave might be our next way forward, or it might be an even greater danger."
Returning to the group, he shared his discovery with Margaret. She agreed with his judgment and ordered everyone to rest in place while posting sentries.
Everyone consumed the freshly picked Vermilion Spirit Fruits, and their wounds and spiritual energy began recovering rapidly. Scarlet's injuries also gradually healed under Dustin's careful attention and the fruits' assistance.
Night fell, and bonfires rose in the valley. Everyone sat around the flames, relief at surviving mixing with uncertainty about the path ahead.
"Brother Dustin," Scarlet leaned close to him, asking softly, "do you think we can leave this mountain alive?"
Dustin watched the dancing flames and said slowly: "Yes. As long as we're alive, we definitely can."
"But your cultivation..." Scarlet started to say, then stopped.
Dustin smiled slightly: "Having my cultivation sealed doesn't make me useless. I still have eyes, a brain, and all of you. Scarlet, thank you for risking your life to protect me today."
Scarlet's face reddened, and she lowered her head: "I... it's what I should do."
Margaret watched this scene from nearby, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes.
She walked over and sat down on Dustin's other side, handing him a piece of roasted beast meat: "Eat something. We have to keep moving tomorrow."
Dustin accepted it with thanks.
Night deepened, everyone took turns keeping watch, and sleep came heavily. Only Dustin lay awake for a long time, gazing at the ancient patterns on the cliff face, a strange premonition rising in his heart—
This mountain, this trial, seemed far more profound than he had imagined.
And within that profundity, perhaps lay the opportunity to restore his cultivation—as well as even greater danger.
– Marinien
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