The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

Dragons and snakes are naturally fond of hoarding rare and precious materials, especially gemstones and beads. It is noted on the map of the secret realm that as long as the melody suits their taste, the enlightened dragon and snake will reward them with a bead from their collection.

There are the inner cores of some high-level demonic beasts, and the finest spiritual pearls that clam spirits have stored for hundreds or thousands of years.

Most of the cultivators who came abided by the rules and parted amicably. Those who broke the rules and tried to forcibly kill the dragon-snake to seize the treasures were all swallowed whole by it.

Yan Qing and Yuan Ye were closest to each other. After meeting up ahead of time, they discovered that the dragon and snake were right in front of them. They exchanged a glance, and Yuan Ye took out his Xiqin.

Yuan Ye was indeed talented. He didn't get involved in any of the palace's intrigues and schemes. He went to the theater every day with his birdcage and could remember every tune he heard. But he couldn't rely on the child's deliberate mischief.

As the dragon and snake spoke a phrase, Yuan Ye played a phrase on his zither, perfectly matching the tone and phrasing. He then strummed the phrase together and played it for the dragon and snake again, successfully enraging them and driving them all the way into the forest.

Yan Qing, who was hiding to the side, casually jumped into the Lingxi River and began to scoop up the pearls.

The disciples of the Supreme Sect never follow the rules; if they want to take something, they will take everything in its path.

The elders, taking all this in, thought: ...They truly are worthy disciples of the Supreme Sect.

Some hesitated to speak, but soon they witnessed something even more terrifying.

The female disciple of the Supreme Sect who blew up the Thousand Rock Cave earlier was extremely lucky and found the growing Illusionless Grass.

However, another group of demonic beasts were also watching them intently. The female disciple seemed to be skilled with a whip. The whip was like a hook, and with each flick of the wrist, a clump of spiritual plants, regardless of whether there were any weeds or not, was swept away.

The whips flashed, and in just a moment, the once lush grassland looked as if it had been gnawed by a hundred cows, with not a trace of green left.

Ju Yuan looked pleased. At worst, this small world would remain sealed off for a while longer to allow it to recover. These kids had brought out a bag of seeds with them.

As expected, after emptying the herb mat, Ni Jinxuan took out a handful of seeds and scattered them, then turned and hurriedly left.

Over the course of seven days, she wanted to gather as many spiritual plants as possible for her junior uncle, hoping that some of them would be usable.

Meanwhile, the junior uncle whom Ni Jinxuan was thinking about was still in the vast desert.

"Is Lin Du out of his mind? Did he blow up a hole and jump in? Did he dig a hole and bury himself?"

While complaining, Li Dong couldn't help but want to go and take a look. If all else failed, he could at least fill in some soil.

This desert is indeed excessively barren; you can hardly find any insects. They plan to follow the disciples of the Supreme Sect, since at least they are the most talented and should have some way to go.

Who knew that when he returned, he would see Lin Du jumping into the crater he had blown up.

Lin Du was looking at a bare rock.

The bones on top are clearly fossilized fish skeletons.

The fact that the ice melted first proves that there is something underneath that has a significantly better ability to conduct heat than the soil. Lin Du thought it was a metal array, but now it seems to be stone.

Beneath this desert lies a city wall.

As Lin Du was thinking, she suddenly noticed the sand being thrown down. She looked up and met Li Dong's eyes as he used his sword to push the sand down.

She straightened up, holding the fossil buried by the sand in one hand, casually cast a cleansing spell, and looked at the person caught red-handed with a half-smile.

"Fellow Daoist Li, what is the meaning of this?"

Li Dong thought to himself, what else could I do but bury you?

But he dared not. He couldn't sense Lin Du's current cultivation level, but he hadn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet, while Lin Du was at least at the Qin Xin Realm. He could only stare at that gaze, swallow hard, and say, "My hands are shaking."

Lin Du said "Oh," nodded, then turned around and casually tossed the stone in his hand upwards.

The pit was extremely deep, but she tossed it so lightly that the rock, the size of a human face, flew out of the pit. Li Dong turned and ran, but the rock still hit him on the shoulder with a thud.

He cried out in pain, his body swaying to the side, "Damn it!"

A soft, slow voice reached his ear from below, "My hands are shaking too."

As Lin Du spoke, she leaped into the air, her cloak tracing a graceful arc. She met Ni Si's gaze, then raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

Ni Si took a step back. "Just passing by."

Lin Du nodded, not paying any attention, and turned to leave.

He was clearly a physically weak cultivator, yet even the robust Ni Si and Li Dong struggled to keep up.

Just when they realized they were falling behind, the person in front suddenly stopped.

"I don't remember having two dogs."

Lin Du has always been sharp-tongued, but her natural tone is low, and the ending of her voice rises, so even when she's cursing, it sounds like she's saying something witty.

The two people behind him froze.

"It's just on the way," Li Dong still argued stubbornly.

Lin Du didn't turn around, just said "oh," and then walked straight towards the only plant within her current field of vision.

It was an enormous red willow, so thick that it would take at least ten people to encircle it.

As they approached, Lin Du stopped and waited for the two people behind him.

The two men wanted to stop when they saw that Lin Du wasn't going any further, but since they had agreed to go the same way, they didn't want to be his dogs. So they gritted their teeth, passed Lin Du, and continued walking forward.

"What does it smell like?" Ni Si asked, feeling a strange odor.

Li Dong took a deep sniff. "No, that's what the desert smells like."

Just as they were about to reach the base of the giant tree, a sudden change occurred.

The rustling sound was like insects and snakes crawling in the sand, and then the willow branches suddenly rushed straight towards the two people who had already walked under the canopy.

Lin Du crossed his arms, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes. "Oh ho."

To her surprise, a portion of the menacing branches came hurtling towards her the next second.

Lin Du lightly touched the ground with his toes and quickly leaped backward, casually tossing over a pitch-black "elixir".

With a bang, half of the branch was blown apart, but instead of turning into a blackened tree like a typical fire-burned tree, it looked as if countless scarlet sap had been splattered out.

Lin Du frowned; something was wrong with this tree.

Red willow is a spiritual plant, and its sap is by no means blood-red. When it bursts open, in addition to a strong medicinal and burnt smell, there is also a strong fishy odor.

This willow tree has become a demon, and it must have eaten flesh and blood.

No wonder there are no plants or animals to be seen in this sandy area. This thing doesn't discriminate; it just swallows everything. It's not picky at all; it even eats scum.

She squinted, watching the two people who were clearly no match for the two who were already hanging from the soft yet thick branches. The red willow branches wrapped around their bodies like octopuses, and were still tightening their grip.

Li Dong cried out in pain, and Ni Si also screamed in panic. Then she took out a talisman, channeled her spiritual power, and struggled to raise her arm, sticking it to the willow branch that was wrapped around her.

The next second, flames ignited, and the willow branches emitted a strange and piercing burning sound. It didn't sound like a tree, but rather like a wet pigskin being pressed back and forth on a pot of oil, making a sizzling sound.

Lin Du didn't think she could defeat this thing, so she turned and left, probing her storage ring with her divine sense to look at the things she had packed separately that she might need.

The sand shook in the next instant. Lin Du, who was already on high alert, immediately jumped up when he heard the noise.

Almost at the same moment, scarlet tree roots burst forth from the sand, almost touching the blue figure as they pierced through the air.