Chapter 141: Sacrifice

In the empty space right next to the forest, Su Chen continued to harvest Vicious Beasts like they were ripe fruit.

When the gap in strength was big enough, battling really was as easy as picking fruit.

If it weren’t for the fact that he was worried of stirring up too much of a commotion and drawing out the Demonic Beast inside, Su Chen probably would’ve just charged in without even using the Beast Drawing Incense.

After the incense had burnt out, he had basically wiped out all of the Vicious Beasts near the periphery of the forest.

Su Chen entered the forest and began harvesting Wind-Extinguishing Grass.

Concocting Advanced Wind-Type Medicines required Wind-Extinguishing Grass that was at least ten years old.

Wind-Extinguishing Grass itself was not too rare, but those that had lasted for more than ten years were hard to find simply because they fetched quite a high price. One or two Wind-Extinguishing Grasses could be worth hundreds of Origin Stones.

But within this forest, ten-year-old and above Wind-Extinguishing Grasses were not rare at all, and there were even quite a few that were over a hundred-years old. There were no grasses older than that, however, because Wind-Extinguishing Grass usually could only survive for a hundred years or so.

Su Chen began to quickly harvest the Wind-Extinguishing Grasses without hesitation.

These were all treasures.

There were two main kinds of treasures that could be found within ruins. One type was the relics left behind by previous occupants, while the other type was the countless flowers and herbs that had grown in a naturally-preserved environment.

The latter could sometimes be even more valuable than the former. After all, the left-behind relics might not be worth anything anymore after tens of thousands of years, while flowers and herbs could grow without limit.

That didn’t mean, however, that ten-thousand-year-old herbs would be everywhere.

It was impossible for ten-thousand-year-old herbs to exist in a place where the ecosystem was complete. Vicious Beasts weren’t stupid either, and any treasures like them would be eaten almost immediately.

However, hundred-year herbs were still quite commonplace.

Su Chen really did find quite a few good things.

For instance, he found some Clamoring Hawk Bells, some Jade Conch Spices, and a plethora of other herbs that he hadn’t been able to deduce the presence of. Now, however, they had become Su Chen’s spoils.

Earning unexpected spoils was to be expected. After all, there was no way that the documents could include every possible valuable item inside. However, for these unexpected spoils to be put to use required some luck.

As he harvested more raw ingredients, countless recipes and formulas flashed through his head.

To him, the best outcome was one where the ingredients that he had discovered could be used to concoct some kind of medicine, regardless of what kind.

If he wanted to, he could also pair them with the ingredients he already had on hand.

The worst-case scenario was that these medicinal herbs could only remain as raw ingredients, unable to be utilized.

Su Chen diligently searched every corner of the forest, not letting anything escape his vision.

After scouring the forest’s outskirts and taking his spoils, Su Chen lit a second stick of Beast Drawing Incense.

He followed this pattern and continued to slowly advance.

As he accumulated more and more spoils, the number of medicines that Su Chen could concoct also began to grow.

However, most of them were low-tier medicines. Not many could be used to make high-tier medicines.

Just as he was getting into the swing of things, however, he saw a plume of smoke suddenly billow into the sky.

That was the message talisman Su Chen had left behind in the cave. Its activation meant that the person there was in dire straits and was willing to expose themselves to get Su Chen to come back.

Su Chen turned around and ran back to the cave as quickly as he could, keeping an eye out for any ambushes on the way.

Even though Ferocious Race members weren’t particularly bright, they had learned how to set ambushes and other relatively simple tactics after battling the human race for so many years. However, alchemy and Origin Formations were still too difficult for them.

As he returned to the cave, Su Chen found two students waiting for him there.

One was called Jiang Hanfeng and the other was called Pi Yuanhong. Jiang Hanfeng was an eighth-year student who specialized in Origin Formations. Pi Yuanhong was a tenth-year student who specialized in identifying medicinal herbs. However, this “specialty” didn’t actually mean anything when it came to him. He had merely chosen it as a stopgap measure because the training had forced everyone to choose a specialty. In fact, his skill in alchemy couldn’t even really compare to Cloud Leopard’s, let alone Su Chen’s.

He had one true strength: battle.

Pi Yuanhong possessed the Genesis Split-Toothed Beast’s Bloodline. This was one of the eight Demonic King Bloodlines among the forty students who entered the ruins. It possessed incredible combat ability, making him one of the few students who could face a Ferocious Race individual head-on.

But at this moment, Su Chen saw that Pi Yuanhong was covered in blood and on the verge of dying.

Upon seeing Su Chen, Jiang Hanfeng wailed, “Third Senior Brother, you’re finally here. Eighth Senior Brother has been wounded; we’ve been waiting for you forever.”

Jiang Hanfeng was by nature a jokester. He had a carefree personality and easily made friends with everyone.

After the instructors distributed the student numbers, Jiang Hanfeng basically began to call the other students by “Senior Brother” or “Junior Brother” based on their student numbers. The instructors hadn’t assigned the student numbers by seniority but rather strength, attitude, etc. Jiang Hanfeng’s naming convention threw everyone for a loop.

For instance, even though Pi Yuanhong was older than Su Chen, Jiang Hanfeng had basically turned Pi Yuanhong into Su Chen’s younger brother.

However, it sounded much better than just calling someone “number so-and-so”, so everyone tacitly agreed to it.

Today, however, Jiang Hanfeng, who was normally joking around, was bawling.

Su Chen hurried to Pi Yuanhong’s side. After he sent a strand of Origin Energy into Pi Yuanhong’s body, his expression instantly tightened. “He has four broken bones, some of his internal organs have ruptured, and he is experiencing a backlash from an Origin Energy imbalance...... If this continues, he will without a doubt die!”

Pi Yuangon’s wounds were much more serious than they appeared!

Pi Yuanhong’s lips cracked in a smile. “There was nothing we could do. We ran into three Ferocious Race youths all at once.”

He could still smile about it.

“A one-on-three? No wonder he was injured so badly,” Su Chen sighed.

Su Chen understood how powerful the Ferocious Race youths were.

“It wasn’t a one-on-three; I was there too,” Jiang Hanfeng interjected.

Su Chen sighed, “If you weren’t there, your Eighth Brother might have had it a little easier.”

Jiang Hanfeng was like Zhao Xin. He was much weaker than Pi Yuanhong, and he probably really was a burden during the battle.

There was nothing that Jiang Hanfeng could say.

Pi Yuanhong interjected, “Zuo Ningdang was there too.”

Su Chen froze in place. “He didn’t make it?”

Pi Yuanhong shook his head.

Su Chen’s heart sank.

Zuoning was a tenth-year student and ranked twenty-third, but his true strength was higher than that. In addition, he had a simple and honest demeanor and carried himself like a gentleman. If anyone needed his help, he would do his best to be of use.

Unfortunately, he was the first one to depart since entering the ruins.

Even though he had known that not everyone could leave the ruins alive, he still felt a wave of sorrow wash over him when he heard about the loss of his comrade.

Jiang Hanfeng’s playful demeanor completely vanished. He muttered, “If I was just a bit more powerful or hadn’t been a burden, perhaps 23rd Senior Brother wouldn’t have died......”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Su Chen patted his shoulder. “You have your task. If you don’t want Zuo Ningbai’s death to be in vain, do what you need to do.”

“But we haven’t even gone to the mountain yet. What can we do?” Jiang Hanfeng said, pouting.

“You can be useful here too. Old Eight’s wounds are too serious, and he won’t recover from medicine alone. All that we can do now is cut him open, suture his internal organs, purify his blood, and adjust his Origin Energy flow. This requires my absolute concentration, and I must not be disturbed. The use of the talisman will definitely attract the attention of other Ferocious Race youths. Their noses are also very sharp, and they will be able to pick up the scent of blood when I cut him open, causing them to be led here. Thus, I need you to set up a concealment formation to prevent the Ferocious Race from finding this location.”

“But I am not that proficient in concealment formations; that’s Senior Brother Ma’s specialty......” Jiang Hanfeng still wanted to explain.

“Number 33!” Su Chen said harshly. “I cannot hope that the people I need will appear by my side in my moment of need! If you don’t want your Eighth Senior Brother to die, then you must give it everything you have! Whether we can save him or not depends on you!”

Jiang Hanfeng’s heart trembled. He nodded his head, dazed.