Chapter 271: Chapter 271: Luo Tian Fan-shaped Flower

HUM!

An invisible force enveloped him. Ye Xuan’s mind grew hazy; he couldn’t extend his Soul Sense or Profound Sense. All around him was a uniform, milky-white landscape, making it impossible to get his bearings.

His body was rigid, unable to move an inch within the band of light.

Suddenly, with a BOOM, the white light vanished. His feet seemed to land on something soft.

’Have I arrived in the Floating Light Secret Realm?’

Ye Xuan thought instinctively. Just then, a potent sense of crisis shot up from the soles of his feet.

In that critical moment, Ye Xuan shot into the air without hesitation. Invisible Profound Qi formed beneath his feet, propelling him nearly ten meters forward.

BOOM!

Mud splattered everywhere as a massive crocodile’s jaws burst out from where Ye Xuan had been standing. Its gaping, bloody maw, lined with chillingly sharp teeth, snapped down, splintering several pieces of driftwood.

Having missed, the giant crocodile reacted swiftly, lunging again toward Ye Xuan’s landing spot.

Ye Xuan had no time to think. The Dragon Pattern Sword at his waist flew from its sheath, and a beam of Sword Qi shot across the sky, leaving a bloody gash several feet long on the giant crocodile’s head.

But while the gash was long, it had only damaged the crocodile’s flesh. It didn’t even reach the bone.

The giant crocodile roared in pain. The wound didn’t make it retreat; instead, it ignited its ferocity. Its bell-like eyes turned crimson as its gaping, bloody maw snapped viciously at Ye Xuan.

’What a beast.’ A surge of bravado rose in Ye Xuan.

He stopped dodging. A flash of azure light crossed his eyes as he dove straight toward the giant crocodile’s maw. Simultaneously, a brilliant, earthy-yellow light erupted from his body, revealing his Two-Stars Earth Martial Soul.

BOOM!

Ye Xuan landed inside the giant crocodile’s mouth, his feet braced against its lower jaw and his hands against its upper jaw. The immense power of his Nine Transformations Holy Body surged, preventing the crocodile’s jaws from snapping shut.

"Die!"

Freeing his right hand, Ye Xuan swung the Dragon Pattern Sword, churning it wildly inside the crocodile’s mouth before leaping out.

ROAR!

The giant crocodile let out an agonized howl. Its mouth was a mess of blood, spraying bits of shredded tissue everywhere. Before it could react, Ye Xuan thrust his sword into its eye, piercing straight through to its brain.

After a massive thrash, the aura of the five-to-six-meter-long armored crocodile gradually faded until it was completely still.

Letting out a soft breath, Ye Xuan retrieved his Dragon Pattern Sword. Only now did he have a moment to survey his surroundings.

He was in a dense, swampy forest. Tall trees towered all around, yet the ground underfoot was soft and yielding, dotted with deep pools of sludge.

A bitter smile touched Ye Xuan’s lips as he glanced around.

ROAR! ROAR!

Within a several-hundred-meter radius, seven or eight giant crocodiles had been drawn by the commotion. A vicious light glinted in their eyes as they rapidly crawled toward him.

’My luck is just awful. I can’t believe I fell into a crocodile nest.’

Ye Xuan gave a wry smile.

These armored crocodiles were not high-tiered, only late-stage Tier Three.

Killing one was no problem for Ye Xuan, but he would be overwhelmed by seven or eight at once. After all, he could clearly sense that the Demon Beasts in this Floating Light Secret Realm were much stronger than those of the same tier in the outside world.

’Time to run.’

Drawing his Dragon Pattern Sword, Ye Xuan scanned his surroundings for an escape route. The sight only deepened his wry smile.

Behind the first seven or eight giant crocodiles, another twenty or thirty were slowly crawling forward, their crimson eyes emitting a sinister glow, blocking all paths of retreat.

’Looks like getting away peacefully is out of the question.’

Ye Xuan’s gaze turned cold, his expression growing solemn.

SQUEAK SQUEAK!

Just then, the Little Purple Mink, which had been staying quietly in his Storage Ring, seemed to sense the outside air. It suddenly appeared on Ye Xuan’s shoulder, its purple eyes darting around. A hint of pleasant surprise was clearly visible on its delicate face.

It took a deep breath and gestured with its little paws, clearly reveling in the environment.

Strangely, upon seeing the Little Purple Mink, the seven or eight giant crocodiles that had been about to pounce all froze. A flash of doubt and apprehension flickered in their crimson eyes, as if they were wary of it.

SQUEAK SQUEAK!

The Little Purple Mink now noticed the situation. It raised its brows, narrowed its eyes, and made a series of showy gestures as if to say something.

To Ye Xuan’s astonishment, the surrounding giant crocodiles suddenly turned in a panic. One by one, they dove into the swamp with a SPLASH and quickly vanished.

’What just happened?’

Ye Xuan was completely stunned. The giant crocodiles had actually been scared away by the Little Purple Mink?!

The Little Purple Mink held its head high, gesturing with its paws. It looked utterly smug on Ye Xuan’s shoulder, acting as arrogant as could be.

Its expression seemed to say, ’How about that? Lord Mink is pretty amazing, huh!’

A thought suddenly struck Ye Xuan. Back when he won the stone containing the Little Purple Mink at auction, the auctioneer had said it came from some mysterious secret realm within the Thirteen Nations Alliance.

Ye Xuan hadn’t given it much thought at the time, but looking at the situation now... ’Could the Little Purple Mink be from this Floating Light Secret Realm?’

It wasn’t impossible.

The Thirteen Nations Alliance was in a remote area. While this might not be its only secret realm, there certainly weren’t many—two or three at most.

Statistically speaking, if the auctioneer hadn’t been exaggerating, there was at least a thirty percent chance that the Little Purple Mink came from the Floating Light Secret Realm.

"Little Purple, could this be the place where you were born?" Ye Xuan asked tentatively.

Hearing this, the Little Purple Mink’s smug expression suddenly vanished. It was as if it had recalled something sad, and its usually mischievous look turned dejected.

SQUEAK SQUEAK!

It gestured a few times without giving a clear answer, obviously unwilling to say more.

"Forget it."

Ye Xuan didn’t press the issue. He leaped onto a large tree and gazed into the distance.

The entire Floating Light Secret Realm was hazy, as if shrouded in mist. He could only make out the scenery for several miles.

As far as the eye could see, there were endless, verdant mountain forests.

The only thing that truly moved Ye Xuan was the surrounding Profound Qi. The Profound Qi here was incredibly abundant. With every breath, the Profound Qi in his body would surge, making the pores all over his body open in a feeling of pure bliss.

’Which way should I go now?’ 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Ye Xuan frowned in thought.

SQUEAK SQUEAK!

The Little Purple Mink squeaked twice and pointed in a certain direction.

An idea sparked in Ye Xuan’s mind. Since he didn’t know the lay of the land, perhaps listening to the Little Purple Mink was a viable option.

"Alright, Little Purple, I’ll follow your lead."

Ye Xuan sped off in the direction the Little Purple Mink had indicated.

He only had one month in the Floating Light Secret Realm. He needed to make the most of this time to explore the place thoroughly.

Following the Little Purple Mink’s directions was surprisingly effective.

Along the way, Ye Xuan didn’t encounter any more danger. Instead, he found over a dozen Spirit Medicines.

With his knowledge, harvesting Spirit Medicine in the Floating Light Secret Realm was like putting a fish in water. As he scanned the area with his Divine Spirit Gaze, almost no Spirit Medicine could escape his detection.

However, Ye Xuan didn’t pick every Spirit Medicine he found. For those that were not yet mature or were of little use to him, he not only left them untouched but also carefully concealed them.

In the eyes of an Alchemist of Ye Xuan’s caliber, though Spirit Medicines lacked consciousness, they were still living things. To take everything, leaving nothing to grow, was a reckless waste of nature’s treasures.

As for the Spirit Medicines that were useful to him, not a single one was missed after Ye Xuan passed by.

And with the Little Purple Mink at his side, no treasure could escape its sharp little eyes.

In terms of harvesting speed alone, not even Zhu Tianlan of the Celestial Gold Kingdom could compare. In fact, the speed of several people combined couldn’t match Ye Xuan’s alone.

So far, however, most of the Spirit Medicines Ye Xuan had collected were Tier Two or Tier Three, with only an occasional Tier Four plant.

At Ye Xuan’s cultivation level, Tier Two Spirit Medicines were useless to him personally. But useless to him didn’t mean they were worthless. They would be a considerable fortune for his family.

Still, after several hours without finding any particularly impressive Spirit Medicines, Ye Xuan couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

Just as he was thinking this, his eyes suddenly lit up.

In a swampy area in the distance, a Spirit Medicine that looked like an open fan appeared in his line of sight.

This fan-shaped Spirit Medicine was clearly extraordinary. A dense aura swirled around it, forming a brilliant rainbow of light on its fan-like surface and exuding a mystical, otherworldly air.

"A Luo Tian Fan-shaped Flower!"

Ye Xuan blurted out.

He hadn’t expected it. After searching for so long without finding any special Spirit Medicines, he had turned his head and immediately found one that left even him stunned.

The Luo Tian Fan-shaped Flower was a Tier Six Spirit Medicine, and a very special one at that.

In terms of its effects, the Luo Tian Fan-shaped Flower didn’t actually have any special benefits for a Martial Artist. However, it possessed one miraculous ability: it could enhance the effects of any other Spirit Medicine.

From a Tier One Spirit Medicine to a Tier Nine Holy Medicine, it could amplify them all.

Of course, the degree of amplification for a Tier One Spirit Medicine and a Tier Nine one would certainly be different.

Additionally, the Luo Tian Fan-shaped Flower was an all-purpose Spirit Medicine.

It could substitute for the vast majority of Spirit Medicines in alchemical recipes.

So, even though the Luo Tian Fan-shaped Flower had no specific effects of its own, possessing it meant that if Ye Xuan ever wanted to concoct a special Pill in the future, he wouldn’t have to worry about missing ingredients.

It was precisely because of this characteristic that the Luo Tian Fan-shaped Flower was an incredibly sought-after Spirit Medicine, even among the great powers of the Celestial Profound Continent. It was enough to make many people fight over it.

SWOOSH!

Arriving before the Luo Tian Fan-shaped Flower, Ye Xuan plucked it without hesitation and placed it in his Storage Ring.

Just then—

"Kid, put down that Spirit Medicine in your hand."

A sharp shout suddenly echoed from the distance. With a SWOOSH, two figures flew through the air and stopped about ten meters away from Ye Xuan.

"Kid, we saw that Spirit Medicine you just picked first. Hand it over obediently, and we can consider letting this go."

"Senior Brother, why waste your breath on him? He picked our Spirit Medicine without a word. If we don’t teach him a lesson, people will think the two of us are easy to bully."

The two of them began their harsh questioning the moment they arrived, their words a coordinated attack that immediately painted Ye Xuan as the villain.