Starting as a spiritual plant master, may I eventually become the master of all lands.

Beside the stream, there grows a huge banyan-like sacred tree.

This tree is twenty or thirty feet tall, with lush branches and leaves. As soon as you get close, you can feel wisps of spiritual energy.

Three cultivators, two men and one woman, stood under the tree. Judging from their attire, they appeared to be disciples of some sect.

The two men, one at the seventh level of Qi Refining, and the other, like the woman, at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

The three people examined the spirit tree with different expressions.

"Senior brother, look! There are quite a few spiritual fruits up there, and many of them are still ripe."

The woman excitedly pointed to a branch above her head.

Sure enough, on the many branches of the tree hung clusters of small, green fruits, each about the size of a grape.

A small portion of them were bright red.

"This should be a kind of spirit banyan fruit. This fruit can increase one's cultivation level by a trace," the man at the seventh level of Qi Refining pondered for a moment and said.

"Then let's pick all the ripe ones, eat some, and take some back to our master."

The woman said with a grin.

"Senior brother, junior sister, this fruit must not be picked, much less eaten!"

The person at the sixth level of Qi Refining shook his head vigorously.

"Oh dear, junior brother, you're always so forbidding this and that, what's wrong with this fruit? Tell me," the woman said angrily.

The man at the seventh level of Qi Refining sneered:

"Junior brother, this is the Kongsang Mountains. Even Master has never been here before. I've done some research, and there are many strange spiritual plants and trees here, but this is clearly a spirit banyan fruit. How can it be different from those outside?"

"What Senior Brother said is correct. This is indeed a Spirit Banyan Fruit, but it is a rare second-tier Bee Banyan Fruit!"

Do you know how this bee-shaped fig tree is pollinated?

"Why are you bringing up pollination? We're not from Vine Flower Valley, why would we care about these things!" the woman said unhappily.

"If I'm not mistaken, there's a parasitic bee inside each of these bee fruits."

These parasitic wasps lay their eggs inside, and incidentally pollinate this banyan tree.

Unlike other sacred trees, the pollen of the bee fig tree is found in its fruit.

It has a symbiotic relationship with these parasitic wasps. Think about the consequences if you eat them!

"It is a person at the sixth level of Qi Refining," said solemnly.

"This..." The woman's face turned pale, and for a moment she didn't know whether to believe it or not.

The person at the seventh level of Qi Refining frowned for a moment, then looked up at the fruit above:

"Let me take one off first, and I'll know immediately."

After saying that, he patted his storage bag, produced a dagger, which flew up to a tree branch and brought down a red fruit.

The red fruit fell to the ground, and the man then directed his dagger to cut the fruit in half, his expression changing drastically.

Sure enough, there was a small demonic insect inside. This demonic insect resembled a bee, but its aura was that of the early stage of the first rank!

Inside the fruit are white, tender pulp particles; only by careful examination can one vaguely discern that each particle is different.

Because some of the particles look like insect eggs mixed in!

The three looked at each other, momentarily at a loss for words.

The person at the seventh level of Qi Refining brandished a dagger and charged straight at the demon bee.

The demonic bee flapped its wings and flew away quickly.

"Pretty fast!" He was somewhat surprised and put away his dagger.

I looked at the bee-shaped fig tree again, thinking that perhaps I could take some out without breaking the fruit. I'm sure I'll find a solution then.

"Senior brother, junior sister, that's all I know. There might be other dangers."

We've already collected quite a few spiritual plants, and we still have plenty of time, so let's not linger here!

The person at the sixth level of Qi Refining was uneasy.

"Senior brother, let's listen to your junior brother and go quickly," the woman agreed.

The person at the seventh level of Qi Refining nodded, somewhat reluctantly saying, "Fine!"

The three then quickly left.

However, what they didn't notice was that the first-stage level 1 demon bee was lying motionless on the back of the person at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

……

In a dense forest, every tree was exceptionally tall.

One tree was particularly unusual because dozens of corpses of varying sizes were hanging from its branches.

These corpses included demonic birds, demonic insects, demonic beasts, and even two human cultivators.

They seem to have been deliberately placed here.

Behind the branches, at the fork in the trunk, lies a nest built of spiritual herbs, branches, and bones.

It is about eight or nine feet in size, resembling a treehouse.

Suddenly, the nest split open, and something sprang out from inside.

A six-foot-long demonic bird, its claws gripping the tree branch firmly, hopped toward the corpse.

This monstrous bird has a hook-shaped beak, grayish-white feathers, and black wings and a long tail.

It glanced at the corpses on the branches, randomly picked one, grabbed it with its sharp claws, and carried it back to its nest.

Thirty feet below the tree, four cultivators were hidden, and judging from their attire, they were all disciples of the Beast Taming Sect.

"Senior brother, this butcher bird is already at the late stage of Tier 1, and it will take quite a bit of effort to deal with it."

One of the monks whispered.

"We don't need to deal with the bird; we just need to find a way to distract it and take the chicks away from the nest."

Another person said.

"Take out some ordinary first-tier demonic birds that you caught a few days ago, feed them Spirit Control Pills, and you can control these demonic birds for dozens of breaths."

I used them to lure the bird away, and then used the Flying Talisman to catch the baby bird.

You all stay here to protect me. Once I succeed, we'll use the Earth Escape Talisman to escape!

Did you understand?

A cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining gave the order.

The others nodded and began to prepare.

……

In a hidden cave, the entrance was blocked by a huge rock.

Three people were sitting around inside: Zhang Lao'e, Zhuang Xiuya, and Yu Banji, all members of the Changshao School.

In front of the three of them was a large pot boiling over. Old Zhang was holding a long-handled ladle and stirring the ingredients in the pot, which smelled delicious.

"Wow! Senior brother, your culinary skills are getting better and better. You're not far from becoming a second-tier culinary chef, are you?"

Zhuang Xiuya stared intently at the large pot, swallowing hard.

"The main reason is that the ingredients from the Kongsang Mountains are so good," Old Zhang said in a deep voice.

"Senior Sister is the best. The three of us will just coast along here, making a living and not worrying about any sect missions. Countless people have died outside."

Yu Banji stared at the cave wall with his cross-eyed eyes.

Zhuang Xiuya glanced at him and snorted:

"Didn't you insist on picking that Flame Flower just now?"

Let me tell you, that Flame Flower should be at the third tier; it looks so tempting.

But if we try, one of the three of us might have to be a scapegoat. Think about it, do you want to give it a try, or just give up?

Old Zhang's face twitched, and he looked thoughtful.

Yu Banji chuckled awkwardly, "Ahem! If you ask me, I'd better forget it. I can't bear to part with you all."

"You still can't bear to part with us, so naturally the one with the lowest cultivation level will be the scapegoat," Zhuang Xiuya said, rolling her eyes at him.

Upon hearing this, Yu Banji's expression froze. Before he could say anything, a fourth voice suddenly came from inside the cave:

"Hehe, how about I be the scapegoat?"

"Who goes there!" Sanqin suddenly jumped up in alarm and shouted angrily.

Suddenly, the ground bulged at the edge of the cave, and a person emerged.

"Brother Meng?"