Light came into view as he opened his eyes. Looking up, he saw a tree overhead. The last thing he remembered was collapsing on Yun Xiu.
He sat up and looked around, finding Yun Xiu sitting nearby. He let out a sigh of relief.
Yun Xiu noticed Hun Yu had woken up. She slowly stood and approached him. "Why are you here?" she asked directly.
She had left him in a cave, a much safer place. Why was he here now?
He couldn't tell her the truth—that he would die if he didn't help her obtain the treasure herb. Instead, he said,
"Of course I'm here to help. As an assistant, it's my duty. I may not be strong, but I can certainly use my intelligence to be of some help."
Yun Xiu was curious. Why was he so eager to help her? Was there a reason behind it, or was it pure devotion? She hastily agreed, without thinking too much.
"Alright, but don't drag me back. You'll have to maintain a distance. There should be some strong beast protecting the treasure."
He nodded. He could always find a way to be even a tiny bit of assistance, fulfilling the system mission specifications.
Yun Xiu looked at the night sky. The next day was a full moon night, the night when the treasure would reveal itself. It was her last hope. If it didn't work...
As the night faded and the sun rose, Hun Yu looked at the fresh and clean environment. With some scratches, he stood up.
Yun Xiu, still busy watching the sky, heard Hun Yu call from behind, "Miss Yun, I think we should go up the mountain."
He looked at the huge mountain, realizing that just climbing it would take the whole day. Before they started, Yun Xiu took out a ring and looked at the fox. In the next second, the fox disappeared.
Hun Yu, curious, asked, and she explained, "This is a special tool for storing living organisms. Though not suitable for humans, it is not harmful for beasts."
Hun Yu nodded.
"We should be cautious," she said, but before she could utter another word, they began their ascent.
The day passed unnoticed as they climbed. As night was about to fall, they finally reached their destination.
Yun Xiu arrived first, followed by Hun Yu. As he climbed, his gaze fell on a beautiful scene: a pond with an island in the middle, and on that island, a leafless tree with a single leaf.
He looked at the extraordinary scene before him, feeling the immense energy emanating from the treasure they had been searching for.
Yun Xiu turned to Hun Yu. "You should hide somewhere. I have a feeling something bad will happen, so hide and don't come out."
Hun Yu, confused about where to hide in this vast place, spotted a giant pair of rocks with enough space between them to fit him.
He quickly moved to hide there, peeking out to keep an eye on Yun Xiu, who was staring intently at the tree in the middle of the pond.
She looked around, trying to find any signs of others besides them. It seemed suspiciously quiet. There should be a strong Prana Beast protecting the treasure, she thought.
Minutes passed, and the night grew darker. Yun Xiu glanced at the moon, which was rising higher and higher.
Just as the moon was directly above the tree, the single leaf on the tree began to glow with a blue light, shining brightly as if snowflakes were falling from the moon directly onto it.
As the glow illuminated the area, Yun Xiu smiled. She had come all this way for this treasure. As she walked closer to the pond, a sudden, strong presence rushed toward her.
She quickly backed up, eyes wide with caution.
A massive beast emerged from the shadows. Its body was huge, covered in scales, with the form of a lion and the tail of a snake.
"Human woman," the beast boomed, its voice a gravelly rumble, "you dare covet the treasure of this king? Prepare for the consequences!"
Yun Xiu's hand tightened around her sword hilt. This was no ordinary beast; it was a Prana Beast, likely a Tier 7.
"Poison Lion King, I am here for this treasure. I would be very grateful if you could give it to me." She had guessed correctly—this was the king of the Prana Beast Forest.
The beast scoffed, a sound like wind whipping through a canyon. "Exchange? You trespass on my domain and expect to negotiate with me? You humans and your delusions!"
A sudden gust of wind knocked the glowing leaf from the tree.
The Lion King lunged for it, mouth wide open, but Yun Xiu struck first, her sword hitting the beast and forcing it to stop and defend itself. "YOU! HUMAN!"
Yun Xiu knew she couldn't let the beast have the leaf. It was her only hope.
She attacked with precision, concentrating her qi to strike in every possible way. The beast, though strong, was pushed back.
The beast gathered energy in its paw and swung at Yun Xiu.
She barely dodged the attack, knowing that a direct hit would have seriously injured her. She continued her offense, enraging the beast further.
"You!" it growled, wagging its tail in anger.
Both sides clashed fiercely. Hun Yu, hiding in the crack, watched the battle. He knew that if he ventured out, he would die in seconds from the impact of their fight.
As Yun Xiu and the Poison Lion King exchanged attacks, it became clear that the beast had the upper hand due to its inherent strength and physique. Yun Xiu was being pushed back.
Enraged, the Prana King reared back, gathering monstrous energy.
A beam of crimson light surged from its maw, tearing through the air toward Yun Xiu. She rolled, narrowly avoiding the devastating attack, which left a scorched crater in the ground.
Grasping for breath, Yun Xiu surveyed the battlefield. She was aching, her vision blurred by sweat. But then, an idea sparked in her mind—a gamble fueled by desperation.
She knew she had no other choice. She had to use her ultimate technique, hoping it could immobilize the beast and give her time to flee with the treasure.
She raised her sword high, channeling all her remaining energy into it, towering above the battlefield.
From the cracks, Hun Yu watched the intense battle anxiously. He didn't know what to do. Just as he was thinking, a leaf glowing in a bright blue light flew into his hiding spot.
His expression grew complicated. "Isn't this the treasure we were here for?" he thought.
Before he could ponder further, his attention was drawn to Yun Xiu, high in the sky, holding her sword aloft.
"First move: Slicing the Earth," she muttered as a huge amount of energy gathered at the tip of her sword, shining brightly in green light. She swung it directly at the Lion King.
The Lion King didn't waste time and went on full defense. He sensed that her technique was something he couldn't fully withstand.
As the attack landed, it broke through the Lion King's defenses. Most of the energy was used to break the defense, leaving him slightly injured.
"Hmph! Now die, human woman," he snorted, seeing that her technique only caused minor injuries.
But before he could move, another voice rang out.
"Second move: Wind Killing Sky."
"Third move: Piercing the Heaven."
The Lion King looked on in shock as the continuous attacks came.
Realizing this might be his chance to escape, Hun Yu tightly grasped the leaf in his hand.
Just as Yun Xiu's attack landed on the Lion King, it pushed him into the ground, forming a large crater and destroying the beautiful scene.
As Hun Yu emerged from his hiding spot, his gaze fell on Yun Xiu, who was mid-air. He noticed abnormalities in her as she started to fall. Quickly, he ran and caught her just before she hit the ground.
In the midst of this, he didn't notice a black miasma of energy suddenly emanating from the Prana Beast's core and entering his body.
Yun Xiu, exhausted from her ultimate attack, thought she would hit the ground, but she was surprised to be caught by someone. Opening her eyes slightly, she saw Hun Yu's face and felt relieved it wasn't someone else.
"Let me down. I need to find that leaf. Where did it go?" she said in a low voice, filled with urgency.
Her attack should have at least immobilized the Poison Lion King for at least 20-25 minutes.
"Don't worry, I have it," he said, opening his fist to reveal the leaf, which was shining with an otherworldly blue glow.
She looked at the leaf and confirmed it was the same one.
Hun Yu knew staying here was dangerous. He carried Yun Xiu in his arms and started to run away from the place. She didn't resist being carried, as she had exhausted most of her qi and couldn't walk properly.
As he ran, he noticed a cave near a river.
Although it was close to where the Lion King was, he recalled the saying that the most dangerous place is often the safest. He walked inside the cave and placed Yun Xiu down gently.
He glanced at her. "Is she unconscious?" he thought. She had been awake before; when did she pass out?
"System, can you remove the tracks I left behind and hide our presence?" he asked in his mind.
{Can, but it will cost all the energy points the host possesses.}
He looked at his available 1.2k energy points with a pained expression and hit the OK button. The counter of energy points reached zero.
{All tracks left by the host are cleared, and no one can detect the host and Yun Xiu presence. The condition is that it only works while inside this cave.}
As the system finished speaking, he let out a sigh of relief. Since Yun Xiu was not in a condition to fight or do anything, if that poison Lion King came looking for them, death was certain.
He looked at the leaf he was holding, pondering their next move.