"Kill people?"
Ye Wangchuan turned his head in confusion, looking at Li Luo.
Wait, what?
You, the Child of Fortune, are asking me, a major villain, if we can kill more people?
Are you really the Child of Fortune?
"Kill one person, and I'll give you three Cultivation Pills!"
Li Luo extended a finger as she spoke.
Ye Wangchuan shook his head, refusing sternly.
"No, the opening of the secret realm lasts at least seven days, and there won't be any exits during that time. We can't waste our energy on pointless battles."
"Alright then..."
Li Luo sighed in disappointment.
But there was nothing she could do.
After all, Ye Wangchuan was the one doing most of the fighting, and she couldn't force him to engage in battles.
Soon, Ye Wangchuan and Li Luo arrived at a forest.
"This place is relatively secluded. Let's rest here for a while," Ye Wangchuan said as he casually swung his spear, cutting down a hundred-meter-tall tree and using the fallen trunk as a bench to sit on.
Li Luo nodded, about to take a break.
At that moment, she suddenly remembered the task the system had just given her: "Defeat enemies and obtain treasures."
"Obtain treasures..."
As she pondered, her gaze fell on a vibrant flower beneath the tree.
She crouched down, plucked the flower, and stored it away.
[Ding! Host has picked a Calming Flower, worth 5 silver coins. Villain Emotion Points +0.05.]
"Woohoo!"
A look of joy quickly spread across Li Luo's face.
She turned to Ye Wangchuan and said, "Ye Wangchuan, try picking one of those fruits beside you!"
"Huh?"
Ye Wangchuan looked at her in confusion but reached out and plucked the fruit.
[Ding! Host's companion has picked a Forgetfulness Fruit, worth 10 silver coins. Villain Emotion Points +0.1.]
"Wow! Ye Wangchuan! Stand up, let's gather more of these things together!"
Li Luo exclaimed, then began excitedly scavenging the forest.
She wouldn't let go of any flower or fruit she came across.
Ye Wangchuan watched her with a look of exasperation, then glanced at the materials she had gathered.
Every single one of those materials was something the Ye family stored by the tens of thousands of tons.
The Li family probably didn't lack such things either.
He couldn't understand why Li Luo was so obsessed with gathering these items.
After a moment, Ye Wangchuan spoke up, "Stop picking. What if you attract attention? Your family doesn't need this stuff anyway."
Li Luo replied, "Ye Wangchuan, for every five gold coins' worth of materials you gather, I'll give you one Cultivation Pill."
Ye Wangchuan sighed, "Fine. Even a mosquito's leg has meat on it. I'll reluctantly gather some."
Hearing Li Luo's offer, Ye Wangchuan immediately stood up.
He then swung his spear, and with a single sweep, another hundred-meter-tall tree was cut down.
Ye Wangchuan walked over, holding his spatial ring, and stored the fallen trunk along with its fruits into the ring.
After all, the space inside the ring was more than enough to hold an entire spirit mountain, let alone a few measly hundred-meter trunks.
As Ye Wangchuan stored the tree away—
[Ding! Host's companion has gathered a large amount of materials, worth 200 silver coins. Villain Emotion Points +2.]
Li Luo cheered, "Woohoo!"
Soon, Ye Wangchuan and Li Luo were frantically looting the forest.
As they continued, Li Luo suddenly noticed a dark cave in the distance.
"Ye Wangchuan, there's a cave here."
"Hmm... let's check it out," Ye Wangchuan replied after a moment of thought.
Based on his past experience reading novels, caves in secret realms like this usually housed powerful enemies and rare opportunities.
It seemed Li Luo's Child of Fortune aura was starting to kick in.
With that in mind, Ye Wangchuan took out his spear and a candle, leading Li Luo into the cave.
...
...
Inside a damp, dark cave.
Liu Han walked with echoing footsteps.
The only light came from the faint glow of vines clinging to the rocks.
Liu Han moved forward in the darkness, step by step.
"Old Qin, where is this place?"
"I can't quite remember. The last time I entered this secret realm was nearly ten thousand years ago. But I do recall that this cave was highly contested," Old Qin replied, lost in thought.
Just then—
"Help! Someone, please help!"
A woman's desperate cries echoed from deep within the cave.
Liu Han frowned and began walking toward the source of the sound.
Old Qin's voice, filled with concern, spoke up, "Many demons and monsters disguise themselves as crying women or infants to lure humans into traps. I advise you not to go further. The risk is too great."
"It's fine, Old Qin. I'll just take a look and scout the path," Liu Han replied.
Soon, Liu Han reached the vicinity of the cries.
He tore a few glowing vines from the cave walls and threw them toward the sound.
The faint light illuminated the source of the cries.
There, a young girl with a deep gash on her leg lay helpless on the ground.
In front of her, a twenty-meter-long serpent flicked its tongue, slowly closing in on the girl.
The girl nervously tried to back away but found herself trapped with no escape.
The serpent revealed a sly grin, opening its massive jaws as it lunged toward the girl.
"Hiss—!"
"Ahhhh!"
At the critical moment—
Thud!
A rock struck the serpent's head.
"Hiss?"
The serpent froze, turning its head in confusion.
Seeing that it was just a human without even the first level of cultivation daring to attack it, the serpent grew furious.
"Hiss—!"
It coiled its body, then suddenly lunged toward Liu Han with explosive force!
Liu Han was shocked by the serpent's speed.
He quickly drew a sword, attempting to block the attack.
Liu Han swung the sword, striking the serpent's head with all his might.
Clang—!
Sparks flew as the sword struck the serpent's scales, but the blade chipped with a large notch.
Liu Han was stunned.
Thwack!
The serpent flicked its tail, striking Liu Han's shoulder.
Boom!
Liu Han was sent flying, crashing into the cave wall and embedding himself slightly into the stone.
His arm, struck by the tail, hung limply at his side like mud.
The force of the blow surged through his body, combined with the impact.
"Ugh!"
Liu Han spat out a mouthful of blood.
A single strike to his arm had nearly killed him.
This serpent was at least at the mid-level of the first cultivation stage!
How terrifying!
"Hiss—"
The serpent, seeing Liu Han on the brink of death, grinned sinisterly as it slowly approached him.
It relished the feeling of toying with its prey.
Liu Han frowned, wanting to resist, but he could barely stay alive, let alone fight back.
"Damn it! Is this where my journey ends? But I... I can't accept this!"
Liu Han roared in anger.
Inside his clothes, Old Qin sighed.
"It seems I'll have to use that technique..."
Before Old Qin could finish his sentence—
Boom!!!
A spear shot through the air, mercilessly crushing the serpent's head!
Boom!!!
The spear slammed into the ground, causing the entire cave to tremble!
Liu Han and Old Qin stared in shock at the scene before them.