Treasure Gathering Immortal Furnace

Lu Fan's first impression of the three was quite good; they didn't seem to be the scheming, manipulative type.

Of course, these are just guesses, but Lu Fan wouldn't be so completely wrong about Ye Lingxi as he was about to be.

"I am... Li Niu. I greet you three fellow Daoists," Lu Fan said slowly, cupping his hands as he entered.

Since it was their first collaboration and the place was Qianfeng City, which was unfamiliar to him, Lu Fan was hesitant to reveal his real name directly, so he used the name Li Niu.

Then the old man stood up and began to introduce them: "I am the Daoist Crimson Eyebrows, an expert in formations; this is Fellow Daoist Fu Qing, an expert in puppetry; and this is Fairy Yueyao, an expert in talismans."

After the old Taoist priest named Chi Mei finished his introduction, Fu Qing, who was holding a sword, slowly cupped his hands, and Yue Yao, who was sitting to the side, also stood up and respectfully returned the greeting.

Upon hearing Chi Mei's introduction, Lu Fan first looked at the young man named Fu Qing. He was dressed like a chivalrous swordsman, and Lu Fan assumed he was also a sword cultivator, but it turned out he was a puppeteer.

When Fu Qing saw Lu Fan staring at him, he grinned and said, "Fellow Daoist Li, don't be surprised. Everyone who travels knows that sword cultivators are not to be trifled with, so I prepared this outfit. In reality, I know nothing about swordsmanship."

"They do look intimidating," Lu Fan chuckled.

At this moment, Red Eyebrow stepped forward and said, "Now that we have found the last fellow Daoist, let's get down to business."

After Chi Mei finished speaking, the beautiful woman standing to the side stepped forward, took out a contract from her storage bag, and said, "Four seniors, this is a blood pact guaranteed by the Wanmeng Chamber of Commerce. You can read the terms first, and after confirming that everything is correct, each of you pay twenty spirit stones and then drip your essence blood."

Lu Fan slowly leaned closer and began to look at it. There were only three clauses on this blood pact.

First: After forming a team, the four players must not fight among themselves.

Second: If danger arises, assistance must be provided within one's capabilities; otherwise, it may be abandoned.

Third: Apart from the treasures they are looking for, if other treasures are discovered, whoever finds them first gets to keep them, and others are not allowed to compete for them.

The blood oath lasts for three days. If any of the above three rules are violated within three days, the blood oath will surely backfire.

After reading it, Lu Fan pondered for a moment.

The first rule can limit their ambitions. The second rule is that if the danger they encounter is not particularly serious, it is not a big problem for them to take action. However, if the danger they encounter is beyond their capabilities, it is reasonable for them to turn around and leave.

The third point is also fine. Overall, with these three restrictions, there's basically nothing to worry about.

"No problem, I'll go first." Red Eyebrows paid twenty spirit stones, then flicked his finger, and a drop of blood fell onto the blood pact.

Fu Qing and Yue Yao then took out spirit stones and dripped their own essence blood onto them, and Lu Fan naturally followed suit.

After all four dripped their blood essence, the blood pact immediately ignited and then transformed into four blood streaks that flew to the wrists of the four people.

This also means that the blood pact will remain in effect for three days.

"Alright, now that we've signed the contract, we'll share the same fate for the next three days. We must work together to explore the Misty Forest," Red Eyebrows said slowly.

"When do we set off?" Lu Fan asked.

"Let's set off while it's still early," Fairy Yueyao said slowly.

The others nodded and left the Wanmeng Chamber of Commerce one after another, heading towards the misty forest.

On the way to the mist forest, Lu Fan talked with the three of them and found out their purpose in going deep into the mist forest.

This Crimson Eyebrow has been stuck in the late Foundation Establishment stage for many years, and his lifespan is running out. He has gathered most of the other materials needed to form the Golden Core, but he is missing the materials to refine the Golden Marrow Pill. He is thinking of entering the Misty Forest to find some spiritual herbs to refine the Golden Marrow Pill.

Fu Qing, having somehow found a fragmented manual on crafting demon puppets, entered the Misty Forest purely to hunt demonic beasts and craft demon puppets.

As for Yueyao, her goal was simple: she wanted the blood and essence of high-level demonic beasts. After all, she was a talisman cultivator, and the blood and essence of demonic beasts were essential for making talismans.

Therefore, all four of them entered the misty forest with different purposes, and the materials they were looking for did not conflict with each other, thus avoiding any arguments over the materials.

After flying for about two hours, the four landed on a mountain peak, below which lay an endless, misty forest.

This is the Misty Forest, which spans one-tenth of the territory of the Great Yan Kingdom and the Wind Kingdom.

"Fellow Daoists, a year ago, I found a raw material for refining the Golden Marrow Pill in the Misty Forest, the Stone Essence Flower, but at that time the flower was not yet mature and could not be picked."

"Now that a year has passed, I have calculated that this flower will ripen today. Let's go and pick it first. Once we have the Stone Essence Flower, I will have no worries and will explore the Misty Forest with you. What do you say?"

Red-browed Master looked at the three people beside him and spoke.

"It's alright. Since we'll be wandering around anyway when hunting monsters, let's go with Master Red Eyebrows," Fu Qing said without any objection.

"I'm fine with whatever you say," Yueyao nodded.

Lu Fan nodded slightly, indicating that there was no problem.

"Alright, then thank you three fellow Daoists," said Red Eyebrows, and set off first, heading towards the misty forest.

After flying for a short while, we arrived at a cliff, where a waterfall cascaded down from a cliff face tens of meters high.

Although the waterfall obscured the view, Lu Fan could still clearly see faint halos flickering within it from time to time, presumably indicating that the Stone Essence Flower was located there.

"Open the water divider flag!"

Red Eyebrows raised his hand and released a small flag, and the originally rushing waterfall seemed to be parted by a pair of invisible hands.

A strange blue flower, rooted in a stubborn rock, is growing tenaciously, and its buds are already half-open, emitting a strange fragrance.

"Haha, as expected, this flower is only a few breaths away from ripening," Red Eyebrows exclaimed with delight upon seeing this, as if the timing of his arrival was just right.

"Then let's wait here, lest someone else take it," Fu Qing said, sitting on a rock beside him, sword in hand.

Lu Fan walked around a few steps, while simultaneously opening his divine sense to closely observe his surroundings.

hum!

Just then, the Stone Essence Flower seemed to have absorbed enough spiritual energy from heaven and earth. Its half-open bud immediately bloomed, and in an instant, a blue halo spread outwards, which was a sign of full maturity.

"Go pick them!" Fu Qing excitedly stood up as well.

Without hesitation, Master Red Eyebrows immediately set off to pick the fruit.

Before Chi Mei could get close, they suddenly heard two whooshing sounds coming from afar. In an instant, they were already close. It was a young-looking late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, a man and a woman.

The two people appeared and immediately landed on the waterfall.

"Fellow Daoist! I have been staking out this flower for many days. Please show mercy," the male cultivator said immediately.

Upon hearing this, Crimson Eyebrows' face darkened: "Staking out for days? Nonsense! I found this flower a year ago, how did it become yours?"