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

The thorny bush, a spiritual plant, is itself non-toxic. It has a symbiotic relationship with thorny forests.

The thorn forest absorbs a unique spiritual energy emitted by it, which prompts it to release its own poisonous miasma.

In turn, the thorn forest provides some protection and serves as a barrier.

However, the fruit of the thorny throat tree is extremely poisonous.

Song Chuan couldn't guess whether the fruit was contaminated by the poisonous gas from the thorny forest.

However, if that's the case, then the thorny wood has no toxicity at all, which is really strange!

Tier 3 spiritual plants are not something that Qi Refining cultivators would be familiar with.

As a first-tier spirit plant master, he could at most know some common second-tier spirit plants.

The tasks assigned to Master Kuzhuo and Duanmu Jingyi broadened his horizons considerably.

It is extremely helpful to one's skills as a spiritual plant practitioner and one's future spiritual path.

The universe is interconnected, and even the most intelligent human race cannot know all the wonders of the world.

Let alone a lowly Qi-refining cultivator like him, even high-level cultivators have died at the hands of unknown spiritual plants and demons.

He looked at the three fruits on the thorny tree and sighed.

This spirit wood is not an earth-attribute spirit plant, so the other Qi-refining cultivators that Duanmu Jingyi sought out must also have this task.

She can't put all her eggs in one basket.

Moreover, when she found Song Chuan, he was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Duanmu Jingyi didn't necessarily expect him to complete many tasks; rather, he was simply placing a gamble.

Before others can find it, I must strike first.

If enough tasks are completed, you might even receive extra rewards, such as asking Duanmu Jingyi for another Foundation Establishment Pill?

"Fellow Daoist Ji, besides being highly poisonous, the sharp thorns on the Throat-Piercing Fruit will burst out as soon as they sense a cultivator's magical power."

Its power surpasses that of a top-grade first-tier talisman, and it's lethal upon contact with blood!

Song Chuan suddenly said to Ji Shuren.

"Uh? I knew these spikes would attack cultivators, but I didn't expect them to be this powerful! I've learned a lot."

Ji Shuren's face showed surprise, and he said with lingering fear.

"If these spikes come into contact with ordinary magical artifacts, the potent poison on them will cause irreparable damage."

"Then let's think of a way to make those thorns sprout first, avoid them, and then pick the fruit?"

"Hehe! Good idea, but I want to pick whole fruits, so this method won't work."

Song Chuan shook his head, then continued:

"One more thing, these fruits must be picked all at once. If they are picked one by one, the remaining ones will attack on their own!"

Ji Shuren considered himself to have some knowledge of spiritual plants, but he never expected that this third-tier Thorn Throat Wood would be so strange.

He truly admired the plant masters of Wisteria Valley.

Logically speaking, a Qi Refining cultivator shouldn't be familiar with high-level spiritual objects. Even if Song Chuan is in the Vine Flower Valley, he is definitely not an ordinary spiritual plant master!

No wonder this person dared to travel alone; not only was his combat strength extremely high, but he also knew the habits of third-tier spiritual plants like the back of his hand.

He glanced at Song Chuan, a hint of envy and fear in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Song seems to already have a method. May I ask what you require of me?"

"Now that you're in the Kongsang Mountains, you should have some useful tools for gathering spiritual plants, right?"

Ji Shuren suddenly smiled awkwardly and took out a pair of silver silk gloves.

Song Chuan took one look, paused, and his expression turned unfriendly: "This wouldn't have been obtained by you killing the cultivators from Vine Flower Valley, would it?"

Ji Shuren quickly waved his hand: "Of course not, they sell them in the market! When entering the Kongsang Mountains, the gear from Tenghua Valley and the pills from Xuanhu Pavilion are essential items."

"That's good, that saves me a lot of trouble. Put on your gloves and gather all your magic. Come with me." Song Chuan nodded.

He took out three wooden boxes and, with Ji Shuren in tow, carefully walked step by step toward the Thorn Throat Tree.

A moment later, the two arrived under the fruit.

Song Chuan handed a wooden box to Ji Shuren, and then placed two wooden boxes at his feet.

"I'll pick these two that are close together. As for the other one, you watch the moment and pick it at the same time as I do."

Song Chuan solemnly gave his instructions.

Ji Shuren sighed and nodded.

Just as Song Chuan was about to grab the fruit stem with both hands at the same time, he suddenly heard a cry of "Ouch!"

His expression changed, and he turned to look.

Ji Shuren's leg was pierced by a thorn that had grown out from the ground.

In an instant, Ji Shuren's face began to darken.

Song Chuan glared at him: "Don't use your magic! And don't open your storage bag! Did you keep the pills with you at all times?"

Ji Shuren's face darkened, and his expression became even more unpleasant.

"With my senior sister..."

Before he could finish speaking, Song Chuan pinched a pill in his hand and shoved it directly into his mouth.

"Uh, thank you, Fellow Daoist Song. I was being reckless," Ji Shuren said with a wry smile, his words slightly slurred.

"Hurry up and finish picking the fruit, then go outside and use your internal energy to expel the poison. Watch carefully!" Song Chuan shouted.

He stretched out his hands and grabbed the stem of a thorny fruit in each hand.

Just then, Ji Shuren also grabbed the stem of another fruit, and the two of them pulled together to pluck the thorny fruit.

Song Chuan breathed a sigh of relief and put the fruit into the wooden box.

Ji Shuren quickly packed the fruit and handed it to Song Chuan. Song Chuan nodded in satisfaction and put it into his storage bag.

However, using the storage bag naturally requires magic power.

Song Chuan thought that everything was fine after picking the fruit, so he didn't use the Concealing Breath Bead. Unexpectedly, the Thorn Throat Tree suddenly shook, causing the surrounding thorns to tremble as well.

"Run!"

Song Chuan grabbed Ji Shuren's arm, summoned the stone shield magic weapon, and ran outside with him.

During this time, countless thorns struck the stone shield's defensive barrier, but they were all blocked.

Luckily, he was quick-witted. If he had hesitated even for a moment and hadn't had time to use his magic weapon, he would have been in big trouble.

After picking them all, this happened again. I don't know if Duanmu Jingyi thought these thorns weren't very powerful and didn't need to be mentioned, or if she didn't know either.

This is a total rip-off!

After walking several dozen feet, the trembling thorns behind them had disappeared from sight.

After traveling for another half an hour, they finally emerged from the forest.

Gao Ping and his junior sister kept looking into the woods, their eyes filled with longing.

Upon seeing Song Chuan and Ji Shuren emerge, the two men's faces lit up with joy, and their hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, were finally put at ease.

They were also worried that Ji Shuren might be harmed by Song Chuan while he was alone with Song Chuan, or become a scapegoat for Song Chuan harvesting third-tier spiritual plants.

"This is not a place to linger. There is a valley about a hundred feet to the northeast. Let's go there. Fellow Daoist Ji has been poisoned, so you should also use your internal energy to force it out," Song Chuan said calmly.

"What? Junior brother has been poisoned?" The woman's expression changed.

"Fellow Daoist Song has already given me the elixir in time, and the poison has been suppressed, so there's no need to worry," Ji Shuren immediately explained.

Song Chuan strode forward, ignoring the three of them, and walked ahead.

Ji Shuren nodded to the two men, gave them a wink, and then followed them ahead.

Gao Ping sighed, "Let's go, junior sister!"

The woman's face was heavy. She glanced at Song Chuan's back, her heart filled with helplessness and bitterness, and silently took her steps.