Chapter Fifty-Seven: A Chance Encounter?

Everyone waited for quite some time, but there was not the slightest sign of movement. Gong Degang grew impatient; he furrowed his brow and spoke discontentedly, “Brother Li, we’ve been waiting ages, and nothing’s happened at all. Are you planning to snatch the credit for this discovery?”

Li Sibai, hearing this, showed no anger, nor did he even respond. His gaze remained fixed unwaveringly upon that stone. For reasons he could not explain, unease gnawed at him. Staring at the stone, he felt a deep sense of insecurity.

“Brother Gong, step back a bit. Don’t be so hasty. Something doesn’t feel right,” Li Sibai said to Gong Degang.

Gong Degang looked at Li Sibai in confusion, thinking to himself that this fellow must truly intend to compete with him. He glanced at He Tianshu, after all, the captain of their team.

He Tianshu, too, sensed something amiss at first. Yet after waiting a while with nothing occurring, uncertainty clouded his mind. If they continued to wait, it seemed nothing would happen; but lingering here only increased the danger—who could say whether someone else might suddenly appear to fight them for the Ice Spirit Herb?

He Tianshu looked from Li Sibai to Gong Degang, then gritted his teeth and said, “Everyone stay alert. Brother Gong, go ahead and harvest it!”

Gong Degang laughed heartily upon hearing this, inwardly thinking Li Sibai was simply too cautious. Once he picked the herb, he’d see who was right.

Just as Gong Degang bent down to harvest the chosen Ice Flower, three streaks of white light shot out from the nearby ravine. With a loud “bang—bang—thud!”, two streaks were intercepted by Ye Chunqiao’s Soul-Devouring Whip, but the third pierced Gong Degang’s shoulder, and blood spurted out immediately.

The white light had pierced Gong Degang’s shoulder, then flew far before landing in the snow. Gong Degang quickly clutched his wound and looked up; in the distance, a flying dagger lay in the snow, which was already stained red.

Ye Chunqiao hurried over to help Gong Degang with his injury, barely having time to offer a few words of comfort, when three men emerged from the ravine. The leader burst out laughing:

“Hahaha, Brother He, so you’re here searching for the Ice Spirit Herb as well! What a coincidence—we’re after it too!”

He Tianshu looked at him and his heart sank. He hadn’t expected to encounter him here; fate had not spared him after all.

Li Sibai, seeing the three newcomers, was startled—they were all familiar faces.

The leader was none other than Guo Jian, who had previously clashed with him at the sect, and behind Guo Jian were the two men Li Sibai had met at Drunken Immortal Pavilion the other night, suspected to be fellow disciples!

Such a coincidence was almost unbelievable. Li Sibai couldn’t help but snort coldly.

Guo Jian paid him no mind, brazenly surveying He Tianshu and the others. In his eyes, Li Sibai was of no consequence.

Yao Xueqing and the others turned pale at the sight of the trio.

Unable to bear it any longer, Li Sibai spoke in a cold voice, “If you want the Ice Spirit Herb, go pick it yourself. Don’t pretend this is some accidental encounter.”

Guo Jian raised his eyebrows at this. He hadn’t intended to acknowledge the likes of Li Sibai, but seeing the stronger members cowed by his presence, only this reckless youth dared to speak up.

He pointed at He Tianshu and said, “Brother He, who is this? His cultivation seems unimpressive, but his temper is fierce. Such disregard for decorum—tell him who I am.”

Whether Guo Jian truly failed to recognize Li Sibai or was feigning, he addressed only He Tianshu, ignoring Li Sibai entirely.

He then directed the men behind him to go and collect the Ice Spirit Herb. Li Sibai could not stand by; he drew his Profound Ice Sword, preparing to intervene.

He Tianshu saw what he intended and hurriedly stopped Li Sibai, whispering, “Don’t be rash. All three are stronger than us. We can’t fight them head-on.”

Li Sibai begrudgingly retreated, though his heart was unwilling.

Guo Jian seemed to overhear He Tianshu’s words and laughed loudly, “Well said, Brother He. Don’t act impulsively. Though I might spare you out of respect for our master, I can’t vouch for your safety if Sun Bing and Yan Jie—whom you know well—decide to act.” He laughed again.

Li Sibai had seen these two before but had no particular impression.

In truth, Sun Bing and Yan Jie’s strength was similar to He Tianshu’s, both at the fourth level of the Heart String Realm, while Guo Jian was much stronger, already at the sixth level, soon to break into the Cloud Ascension Realm.

Guo Jian had received this same mission and formed his own treasure-seeking team. He had been delayed a day, which is why Li Sibai only saw Sun Bing and Yan Jie at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion that night.

After joining forces, they had not managed to find a way through the primeval forest quickly, and by chance encountered Li Sibai’s group. Seeing their opponents were weaker, they had followed them all the way, and now, at the critical moment, stepped in to snatch the prize—a situation anyone would find infuriating.

At this moment, Yao Xueqing and Ye Chunqiao were seething with anger. They longed to confront these three, but with Gong Degang wounded and He Tianshu yet to speak, they dared not act alone.

He Tianshu understood that, with five united, they might have stood a chance; but now, Gong Degang’s injury widened the gap between their strength and the three intruders. A direct confrontation was impossible. At this point, simply returning safely would be a blessing.

Yan Jie, with a smile, had already drawn a dagger and was approaching the Ice Spirit Herb, intent on harvesting it.

Li Sibai’s expression changed; he pulled Yao Xueqing and He Tianshu back, “Step back,” he whispered.

Ye Chunqiao and Gong Degang, seeing them retreat, instinctively took a few steps back themselves.

Yan Jie paid no heed to what Li Sibai and the others were doing—his sights were set firmly on the Ice Spirit Herb. He carefully crouched down and began digging at the roots with his dagger, intent on pulling it out whole.

But just as his dagger pierced the soil, the stone beside him began to tremble.

With a thunderous roar, the stone let out a terrifying cry, like a tiger’s howl or a dragon’s lament, shaking the heavens and earth.

In an instant, ice and snow tumbled away, and the stone behind Xie Bing transformed into a mighty rock beast!

It stood ten feet tall, resembling a colossal bear, its body made entirely of hard stone.

Such a creature was unheard of—not just for Li Sibai, but even the more seasoned cultivators had never seen such a strange beast. All stood frozen in shock. No wonder there were no other monsters near the Ice Spirit Herb; with this rock beast guarding it, no other would dare approach.