After playing with her sword a bit more, everyone rested for the night. It was a peaceful night and it was relaxing, something they would need for this next zone.
If the Third Zone had Rank 3 and Rank 4 treasures and monsters, then the Fourth Zone had Rank 5. This particular number was a threshold. Anything above was capable of massive destruction, crushing cities and even small kingdoms. At this rank, such beasts were equal to early Sky Realm Cultivators and would require several high leveled Earth Realm cultivators to kill. Such as the Golden Claw Bear, which was only defeated after falling into a formation and getting surrounded by the 7th Demon Brigade. It was dangerous, much more dangerous.
Once they entered this area, any creature they find should be avoided. If not, they might be chased all the way back or worse, killed.
Everyone awakened to a somewhat cloudy day. There was little sun and no breeze. It had drizzled last night, making the ground soft. It seemed like a slow day, a day where one would have liked to sleep in. Unfortunately, this was no time to relax.
They left the pavilion and walked on a stone pathway. Further and further they walked, the grass began to grow taller, the trees were a little thicker. Before long, the grass reached to their chests and the trees towered above them.
"Look at this!"
Anqing pointed at a bush and took off what seemed to be a berry. She looked in amazement at the brilliant red fruit in her hands.
"This is as big as my hands!"
She looked at everything around her.
"It's all so...big, makes me feel smaller than I already am."
Everyone felt the same. They felt small when they compared to everything else. To be the smallest thing here, it was strange and eerie.
They walked for hours and hours, feeling lost in their surroundings. It was only until the sun fell before they found what they were looking for.
"Hey, isn't that the Violet Cassia Tree?" Xukun called out.
Among the great trees before them was one very unique tree, with a deep purple trunk and violet leaves that shimmered under the moon. On the surface of the trunk was the Purple Adder Moss, it was a similar shade of color to the Violet Cassia Tree but it glowed ethereally.
It wasn't tremendously bright but the moss gave off a gentle glow, just enough to separate it from the trunk.
Reaching the base of the tree, Xukun looked up at the moss over a hundred meters above him. The others joined, staring at the tree.
"Now, its a matter of how we're going to get it", he said.
Purple Adder Moss grew directly on the trunk and never touches the ground. It was a byproduct of the tree, created as a protective layer and a trap. After this moss was poison, any being unlucky enough to have been afflicted would find themselves frothing at the mouth and dead on the ground. Those victims would be rejoin the land and become food for the tree. If they were unlucky, they would meet the same fate.
"Don't worry, my master prepared me for this."
Anqing took out several small pouches from her spatial ring and gave it out.
"These bags all have protective equipment for harvesting. With it, you shouldn't be affected by the moss. We don't need to collect too much, just a kilogram each should be enough."
After receiving her pouch, Ming Yue opened it and took out a pair of white gloves. Blue embroidery decorated the gloves and revealed the words "Poison" on the top of them. Putting them on, the gloves shrank to fit her hands and the blue embroidery glowed for a moment.
A refreshing wave of energy passed through her and she examined the gloves closely.
"Okay, now we should get climbing."
Anqing moved first while the other two looked over their gloves.
Taking out her spear, she stabbed it into the trunk and looked for nooks to grab onto. Starting the climb, she carefully rose up. Ming Yue spoke to her pets, instructing them to stay down here and take watch but to be careful as well.
The two stood guard and watched their surroundings.
Then, Ming Yue started to climb as well. Taking out her dagger, she rose up the trunk, stabbing and looking for footholds. The climb was long and arduous, not to mention it was a tad frightening. The higher they climbed, the smaller everything seemed. It wasn't until Xiao Yin and Hei Yue were dots that they reached the bottom of the moss.
"Is everyone okay? If we want to harvest the moss, we have to shave it off from the trunk. Even though the gloves protect our bodies from the poison, it's a different story if we ingest any of it."
After warning everyone, Anqing began to take off the moss bit by bit with her spear. With the empty pouch in the same hand, the moss fell into the opening. Following her example, the other two started harvesting the Purple Adder Moss.
Ming Yue didn't have much trouble, this wasn't her first time harvesting plants after all.
On the other hand, Xukun had plenty of trouble. Having little to no experience with these types of things, his sword often got stuck cutting into the trunk of the tree than the actual moss. Still, like the others, he managed to collect a kilograms worth of the moss and descended.
"Great! We're finished here! Let's go move deeper into the Fourth Zone now", said Anqing.
She collected the gloves and the pouches of moss before walking further into the area.
"Wait, I thought we were finished here? Once we collect the moss, we're leaving, no?"
Ming Yue was confused, weren't they in the garden for the sake of the the Purple Adder Moss?
Xukun looked at her puzzled expression.
"Well, Anqing has the moss and I got that Metal Dao Root from before. You haven't obtained any significant treasures you know, just some medicinal plants. Besides, we still have a little more than twelve days left, plenty of time."
"Oh, that's true I suppose."
Ming Yue really didn't gain much from this. There was that second dao root but it wasn't really that valuable to her. Still, she was plenty satisfied from the trip. Although she didn't show it, she learned quite a lot from this experience. Although, it wouldn't hurt to explore the more dangerous parts of the garden.
"Then, let's go!"
Xukun followed after Anqing and Ming Yue began to walk as well. Although it was night, they weren't tired and traveled along. Furthermore, it would be troublesome if they attracted anything while they were asleep.
"Wait, isn't that...that's a Immortal Siren Flower!"
Stepping through the tall grass, they walked into an open pasture where the grass grew to their normal size. At the center of it all was a beautiful flower with numerous petals of varying colors. The stem itself was positively glowing and shined under the moonlight.
The treasure was surely a cut above the rest. But that also applied to the beast that guarded it. To their surprise it wasn't an insect of any kind but rather an enemy of insects. It was a bird, a crow to be exact. A great crow whose wings were of two different colors, each overtaking one half of its body.
It slept quietly, nestling around the Immortal Siren Flower.
"An Immortal Siren Flower...", Ming Yue thought.
A Rank 5 treasure that helped to both consolidate and boost ones cultivation. After all, this field was caused by that flower, absorbing the energy around it. If it weren't for it, the area would've looked the same as the others. If she had this, chances were she might be able to break through to the second level. This much shows just how strong it is.
Unfortunately, it was something else that made it a highly sought treasure especially among women.