"So, aside from the failed Fire Seeds, there are also imperfect ones. If there are imperfect Fire Seeds, could there be perfect Fire Seeds as well? And what exactly does this 'Sacrifice to Heaven' mean? Surely it can't be that all my teammates have to die for my strength to be enhanced—that would be too much of a loss. And how exactly should a 'teammate' be defined? If whoever I consider a teammate is a teammate, then can I consider enemies as teammates? Kill an 'enemy teammate' and get stronger by one point..." Lin Shen thought greedily.
He studied it for a while but couldn't figure out exactly how to use 'Sacrifice to Heaven.' It didn't seem like an ability he could actively use; he'd only know the effects when it came into play later.
For the remaining time, Lin Shen stayed at home to heal, hoping to have his hands recover before departure.
Every 12 hours, he had to change the medicinal solution, with five bottles required each time to completely soak his hands, which cost him a six-figure sum just for the medicine.
Fortunately, the medications were indeed effective. Although they didn't completely heal Lin Shen's hands before departure, there weren't any major issues left. He could carry heavy objects without a problem. High-intensity fighting was still not feasible for fear that his not fully healed bones might crack again.
Lin Shen brought the medication with him, applying it every now and then, and he should be fully healed in a few days.
During the healing period, Lin Shen fed some low-level Base Mutation Eggs to Death Powder, and it accepted them all, eating twenty to thirty Steel Mutant Eggs provided by Lin Shen.
Thinking that with so many Base Mutation Eggs consumed, it should manifest another talent, yet there was not even a fart—no talent, and not even the slightest change in body size.
Lin Shen began to wonder if Death Powder could only rob talents from creatures that consumed Fire Seed Base Variant Creatures.
By the agreed departure time, Ye brought a Alloy-Level Pet Capsule to Lin Shen, which contained a White Gold Beast.
The White Gold Beast wasn't a particularly rare Alloy pet, mainly praised for its speed and commonly used as a mount.
Many people liked using White Gold Beasts as mounts, not only for their speed, but the creatures were aesthetically pleasing with their snow-white bodies and the single horn on their head, resembling the sanctified unicorns of legend, making them the preferred mount for many beauty enthusiasts.
Lin Xiangdong himself was a beauty enthusiast, and he had a White Gold Beast among his mounts. Ye sourced this particular White Gold Beast for Lin Shen to continue impersonating Lin Xiangdong.
The two White Gold Beasts looked identical, yet Lin Xiangdong's was a 20-speed top-tier mount, while the one Ye found had a speed of 18.4. Although it was slightly slower, it sufficed for the impersonation.
Clad in an Alloy Carapace and bearing a ghostly visage, the White Beast wouldn't be discerned as anyone but Lin Xiangdong without direct confrontation.
When the two of them were about to leave, Wei Wufu followed quietly, not uttering a word, just silently trailing behind Lin Shen.
Ye glanced at Wei Wufu, about to say something, but Lin Shen stopped him.
The trio went to the agreed-upon meeting place together. The Qi and Wang families had already arrived, with Qi Shuheng and Wang Tian'er leading the discussions with Bai Shenfei.
"Is the Lin Family only sending the three of you?" Wang Tian'er asked, frowning at the trio.
"For a mere Gourd Mountain, isn't three enough?" Lin Shen sat atop the White Gold Beast, showing no intention of dismounting.
Wang Tian'er's face darkened, seemingly about to respond when Qi Shuheng gave him a meaningful glance to stop him.
Qi Shuheng said with a smile, "Each family has its own situation. It doesn't matter how many people want to go as long as everyone cooperates."
"Since everyone is here, let's set out," Bai Shenfei said, glancing at Wei Wufu who was following Lin Shen, and chose not to comment further.
She flung a white Pet Capsule, which transformed into a snowy white, jade-like creature resembling both a cow and a Triceratops as it touched the ground.
The crowd looked at her mount with different expressions, clearly recognizing it as a Crystal-based Creature.
"People from Sea Corn Base really are extraordinary; even their mounts are of the Crystal Base Level," Lin Shen inwardly exclaimed.
No more words were exchanged as everyone summoned their mounts, embarking on their journey from the Base in a grand and mighty procession.
Lin Shen curiously surveyed his surroundings. Since he was born, the number of times he had left the Base could be counted on one hand. The world outside was still very novel and interesting to him.
Most places along the road were covered with green vegetation, interspersed with a variety of flowers and undulating "hills." However, on closer inspection, one would realize these "hills" weren't natural hills at all, but buildings covered in greenery.
Over two hundred years ago, this used to be a modern city, but now, it was hard to tell. The occasional visible roads and buildings were dilapidated, many collapsed and overrun or buried by vegetation.
Among the greenery, there were occasionally strange plants with metallic branches and leaves.
Lin Shen knew that these were not metal crafted artworks but real, living metal vegetation.
These were also Base Variant Creatures, but the Base Mutation Fluid within them was extremely scarce and difficult to extract, so they were often cut down and used as materials instead.
The group didn't seem to have much interest in chatting and urged their mounts to gallop across the fields, following Bai Shenfei.
On the way, they encountered some low-level Base Variant Creatures, which all scattered in fright, and they were too lazy to give chase.
After many twists and turns that lasted more than half the day, by three in the afternoon, they had covered only seventy to eighty miles. Suddenly, a colorful thoroughfare appeared in the mountains ahead. Bai Shenfei stopped at the entrance of this colored avenue.
Everyone else also stopped. Lin Shen looked carefully, only to realize that it wasn't any sort of colorful avenue at all. Rather, it was covered with colorful metal flowers stretching far into the distance, its full length unknown.
"I came here a few years ago. Back then, these colored steel flowers were only scattered sporadically among the greenery, with only a few clusters visible from time to time. In just a few years, so many have grown that they look like a long river," Ye said beside Lin Shen, mainly for his benefit, fearing that Lin Shen might unwittingly reveal himself by not recognizing the flowers.
"Where there are colored steel flowers, there are sure to be Steel Tail Scorpions. With so many flowers here, there must be a significant number of them hidden. We should go ahead and scout it out," Wang Tian'er said to Bai Shenfei.
"That sounds good," Bai Shenfei said, nodding slightly without showing any emotion.
Wang Tian'er, seemingly eager to show off in front of Bai Shenfei, didn't ask for opinions from Qi Shuheng or Lin Shen, and instead sent a Mutator riding a unicorn to scout the way ahead.
After the Mutator's transformation, a steel carapace appeared on his body. Only then did he carefully urge his mount to proceed. The unicorn moved very slowly, its hooves making an uncomfortable screeching sound as they stepped on the colored steel flowers.
He advanced about twenty to thirty meters and still no Steel Tail Scorpions appeared, emboldening him to increase his speed slightly.
After galloping for over a hundred meters and still seeing no sign of Steel Tail Scorpions, the Mutator stopped, turned his mount around, and shouted back, "Boss, there's no sign of Steel Tail Scorpions here."
"Strange, with so many colored steel flowers, there's not even a single Steel Tail Scorpion. Something's off," Wang Tian'er mused.
"Steel Tail Scorpions love the fluid inside the colored steel flowers. While it's not definite that these flowers would have them, the likelihood is very high. Now that there are no scorpions here, there are two possibilities. One, these might not be colored steel flowers but just look similar. The second possibility is that something strange has happened here, preventing us from seeing any Steel Tail Scorpions," said Qi Shuheng. After finishing, he looked at Bai Shenfei and asked, "Miss Bai, is there any way to circumvent this Flower Path?"
Bai Shenfei took out a notebook from her bag, looked at it, and said, "No, we have to go through here."
Everyone turned their attention to the notebook in her hand, including Lin Shen and Ye.
Lin Shen thought, "Does she truly know the way to Gourd Mountain? Could that notebook contain a map?"
"Since we can't bypass it, then we should scout the path more meticulously," Qi Shuheng said, looking towards Wang Tian'er.
Wang Tian'er gave a shout to the man on the Flower Path, and he turned his mount to continue scouting ahead, soon disappearing into the depths of the Flower Path.
They waited for half an hour before the man came riding back at a gallop.
"Boss Wang, this Flower Path stretches over ten miles and ends at a canyon. Beyond that, there are no colored steel flowers," the man reported upon his return to Wang Tian'er.
"Did you see any Steel Tail Scorpions?" asked Wang Tian'er.
"None," the man shook his head.
Wang Tian'er looked at Qi Shuheng, who then instructed one of the Mutators at his side, "You go and scout it as well, but take the other side of the Flower Path."
The Qi Family's Mutator employed his Base Mutation powers, covering most of his body with a steel carapace, and rode an Iron-horned Horse into the sea of flowers.
Since someone from the Wang Family had already scouted the path, the Qi Family's Mutator moved much faster, returning in less than half an hour.
"The Flower Path is over ten miles long, ending in a canyon indeed. Inside the canyon, there are no colored steel flowers. On the way, I encountered no Steel Tail Scorpions nor any other Base Variant Creatures," the man reported succinctly.
"What do you think, Miss Bai?" Qi Shuheng asked, turning to Bai Shenfei.
"The place we want to reach is that canyon. We have no choice but to go through here," Bai Shenfei stated.
"Well then, let's head to the canyon first and see from there. What do you all think?" Qi Shuheng asked, looking toward Wang Tian'er and Lin Shen.
"We have no other choice," Wang Tian'er and Lin Shen had no objections.
The group resumed their journey on the Flower Path. Lin Shen observed the path beneath them. The colored steel flowers were extremely vibrant, each blossom about the size of a fingernail, and the petals were shaped like seashells. The edges were razor-thin, sharp as blades.
Pets with steel bodies could tread upon them without issue, but for creatures of flesh and blood, stepping on them would likely result in immediate injury.
Everyone was on high alert, cautious of any potential problems. Fortunately, having traveled seven to eight miles without incident, it seemed just as the two scouts had reported: there was not a single steel scorpion in the Flower Path, nor other Base Variant Creatures.
They couldn't help but quicken their pace, planning to rush to the valley. Suddenly, they saw the entire Flower Path begin to sway, startling everyone, who quickly halted their mounts' advance.
"Steel Tail Scorpions... so many Steel Tail Scorpions..." someone cried out in horror.
On closer inspection, Lin Shen realized that it wasn't the colored steel flowers swaying at all; rather, countless palm-sized Steel Tail Scorpions had emerged from beneath them, in dense clusters like a river of scorpions—even under their feet.