Glistening white milk.

Tantalizing sweet scent.

That was the impression that lay upon everyone's eyes as they stared at Liu Xun's hands.

Myriad Spirit Spring Milk.

An extremely rare and unique existence written in ancient records.

It is said that it condenses only in spirit pools and lakes that have matured for over 10,000 years. There is also the need for there to be a presence of strong qi reservoirs and even so, the chances of this wonder of nature forming were still minuscule.

The 'Legendary' suffix in front was not a laughing matter either, as this represented the peak among the top quality of Spirit Spring Milk that could be obtained. Ordinary low-quality spirit spring milk will already easily drive Bone Tempering and Organ Refinement(4th and 5th tier) cultivators crazy. High-quality ones would probably pull Core Inversion(6th tier) cultivators into the fight. Legendary quality? Who knows when has such a treasure been found...perhaps even Nascent Formation (7th tier) or even Mortal Severance (8th tier) ancestors would rise to bring about a war.

This glistening white milk is the pure condensation of spirit qi by nature that is most easily absorbed by cultivators, even better than most treasures and pills. Due to the natural phenomenon, faint dao enlightenment could also be obtained through its consumption. Legendary quality spirit spring milk has an effect that could work up to the upper cultivation realms, thus why Nascent and Mortal Severing seniors would be willing to risk it all for such treasures. Despite the small jug being far from sufficient to obtain significant gains, its value could easily exceed the value of the entire White Blossom City itself. This is acknowledging that the entire country has no known cultivators who reached the upper realms.

The value of this milk towards the group itself was seriously speaking not that significant. Since all the cultivators were in the lower realms, the efficacy on usage was basically a plain waste. It could still be used as a bartering tool for benefits with other seniors. However, which senior would not question the source of this precious treasure. This trade is likely to bring more misfortune in the future. Therefore, this sign-in gift is really a hot potato to hold onto.

Looking at everyone's covetous eyes, Liu Xun felt deeply unsettled as he slowly and warily placed the jug into the spatial bag. The atmosphere between the group was rather tense, leaving behind a really awkward scene of silence.

Most of the seniors including Senior Qin and Gan gave a light embarrassed cough as they regained their composure. Senior Xuan himself did not seem to pay any attention to the jug. Liu Five, however, was still having an unsettling sharp glint buried deep in his eyes. It is unknown who may have ill intentions hiding behind their supposedly innocent and dignified facade.

Most of the juniors do not know the significance of such a treasure and thus apparently did not seem to be that blinded by greed. At most, they looked like they were just attracted to the spirit milk due to its innate nature of being one of the most attractive treasures to cultivators. Langsheng was staring with mouth drooling hunger as expected of the glutton, while Waner and Ruoxue just seemed faintly curious before diverting their attention towards other things.

Although the spatial bag was not his, Liu Xun had to admit it was a much safer choice placing it inside compared to leaving it open and vulnerable in his yellow cloth sack. Anyways, the awkward situation was shortly diffused as the group then began to set off from the small valley through the mountain ravine. The journey had to continue on after all.

--

Squawk. Screech.

The foreign sounds of life began to flood the group as they left the large ravine. Looking back, the tall mountain that was hiding such a paradise was a rather well-concealed area. The method of entry seemed to have arrays that deterred intruders subconsciously.

Upon returning back to the outside world, the feeling of suspense and wariness once again flushed the group. There could be an ambush lying at every corner and it could happen at any unexpected moment.

The group slowly advanced yet again with their arrowhead formation. The seniors took the front and flanks, while the juniors guard the core and back. The only slight difference this time would be that the core also had the silver-haired Millie who was walking along with the group. She plays a vital role in guiding the team towards the Yin Frost Basin as she was quite familiar with the jungle as well as its landmarks.

This had helped to significantly reduce the time needed to travel as the group no longer had to solely rely on Senior Gan's wooden spirit compass. The old man was slightly disgruntled by the fact that his usefulness was diminished. However, he could now focus more on his surroundings instead of just his spirit compass compared to before with this new voluntary guide.

Liu Xun slowly advanced along with the group with cautious steps. Beside him was Millie who seemed to be walking with a carefree expression. It is unknown why the fur-clothed lady treated adventuring in the wild as a relaxing task, but the rest of the group was not in the mood to question her choice as long as she does her job well. After all, she was responsible for her own safety at the end of the day.

A thought suddenly struck Liu Xun, as he realized that he had been preoccupied for the past few days and had not checked his actual progress in cultivation through the system. He could generally feel his growth every day, but the actual quantification of his strength is mainly measured from the status menu.

System, status.

The progress over the past two to three days was pretty significant as Liu Xun had steadily advanced to the 4th stage. This adventure into the wild had not only provided Liu Xun with various opportunities to hone his battle skills and find treasures, but it had also hastened his qi growth through constant exhaustion during battles. He had also gotten a decent amount of system credit, which leaves him in a fairly comfortable position. Looking at the system inventory, Liu Xun could not help but feel pity.

Items like the Myriad Spirit Spring Milk and Frost Yin Serenity Sword could actually be placed inside this special inventory. However, since Liu Xun did not want anyone else to find out he could store as well as draw other treasures through other means besides signing in. He had always opted to leave most of his sign-in rewards exposed and vulnerable. This is generally applicable for most cases since the draws were not really significant and largely from the trash tier. However, the current reward is really giving him some mixed thoughts on whether he should be using one of his trump cards to guarantee the safety of the jug of precious milk.

Nevertheless, Liu Xun was glad that nothing unpleasant had occurred when he met with the group after drawing the extremely valuable prize. It is not known whether the status quo would be maintained, but this temporary peace is still much better than erupting conflicts due to greed.

Step. Step.

Light footsteps trudged as the group continued to advance into the dark jungle with large canopies covering the bright sun.

--

Staaab.

Wuuwuuu~

A sword flashed as it ran deep into the chest of a green-colored wolf.

Swish.

The silvery-white sword was quickly retracted as it left the lifeless corpse.

Senior Qin lightly flicked her wrist as the blood dripping on the sword was lightly flung away to the surrounding grass.

"Pant-that is the last of them, right?"

She exclaims with bated breath as she looked at her surroundings.

"Umu."

A short and silent reply reverberated from the side as the black-robed monk covered in bandages confirmed her words.

The other seniors were also in equally bad shape as they slowly gathered their breaths. The juniors, on the other hand, were all on the ground as they struggled to catch air. Scratches and superficial wounds could be seen on their arms, legs, and other regions as they battled through a grueling fight. Even Liu Xun was barely standing with the support of his ax, as he panted while looking vigilantly at his surroundings.

The only exception to this scene was probably the silver-haired lady. Despite her modest cultivation level of 8th stage of qi gathering, she seemed to effectively dispatch all the beasts which approached her with swift ruthless efficiency. Chopping down her blade, she ruthlessly culled dozens of beasts as her pure white fur garments started to dye in red. Even so, she seemed to be the least exhausted in the group. It was as expected of a native who was well versed in extended jungle guerrilla fights.

The area was scattered with over a hundred corpses.

Most of the bodies were the same green dire wolves that were seen at the outer periphery of the jungle. There were other small beasts mixed in between them. The grass that the group stood on was already dyed in the color of blood.

--

It was only a short few hours since the group had left the ravine and they had already met such a disaster. The origin of this wave of beasts that attacked, otherwise known as a beast tide, was unknown.

Initially, Millie had a tense change of expression while the group was walking as she gave a sudden warning of danger.

"Do not go in this direction, it will be big trouble."

This had surprised the group as no one else could sense anything out of the blue. Senior Gan even harbored some doubts towards the words of the young lady as he had immense confidence in his wooden spirit compass which had not detected anything. Thus with the consensus among the senior cultivators, the group continued to advance despite the lady's warnings.

The old man had a rude surprise when his spirit compass suddenly detected over a hundred hostile readings appear at once as the beasts started to flood the group and attacked wave after wave. It was only over an hour after that the long battle finally concluded.

"Hmph, that is what you get for not heeding my words."

A soft yet patronizing voice came from the back.

It was easy to tell who had delivered such words as the seniors turned their gazes away from the speaker. The yellow-robed Senior Gan's face was as ripe as a tomato as he swallowed his words while taking in deep breaths. No one was in the mood to argue with her.

It was only after a short break that the group finally regained their bearings. The seniors continued to advance forward, while the juniors slowly followed behind with weary feet.

Ting-ling.

A light bell rang out as the silver-haired Millie follow the group.

No one dared to belittle this qi gathering lady any longer as they advanced forth while occasionally glancing at her as if seeking her approval towards moving in whichever direction. Tracks of torn grass could be seen as the group slowly makes its way into the depth.

Mysticant

A cut-out fight scene. A bit of a pity, but I am not that interested in small fights at the moment. I am more towards character development, you must admit things have been proceeding too slowly. Don't worry there will still be fights when necessary, it is the wilderness after all.