It was Asura of Tianshen Technology.
At this moment, he had already led a group into Shennongjia.
Those beside him likely belonged to the same faction as well.
As for the Western faces among them, their exact identities were unknown.
However, one thing was certain: this group had definitely come to Shennongjia with an objective.
After all, in terms of sheer mystery, not just domestically but across the entire modern world, this place was exceptionally renowned. It was entirely reasonable for major factions to set their sights on it in search of fortune.
"Master, should we follow and take a look?" the Golden-Winged Great Peng asked.
"No need. For now, it has nothing to do with us," Lu Yuan replied. Seeing Asura, he could already anticipate that Tianshen Technology had some form of cooperation with foreign factions.
Over this past period, he had also learned relevant information from his phone. Huaxia, the ancient Orient.
Following the New Era, the transcendent had descended, and the path of evolution had opened.
Westerners naturally wouldn't pass up such an opportunity.
Especially after opening his Martial Dao Heavenly Eye, Lu Yuan made another discovery:
Aside from Tianshen Technology, there was another faction entering Shennongjia.
Even more coincidentally, it was another group he recognized—people from Beidou Biology, led by the Ice Fairy, who was as famous as Asura.
Judging by their positions, they were quite close to each other, almost converging, though neither side had noticed the other yet.
Within Shennongjia, a mysterious power seemed to shroud the region, making it easy even for Awakened to lose their bearings upon entering.
All of this had been discerned through the Martial Dao Heavenly Eye, which could see through falsehood and delusion.
"It’s quite lively down there," Lu Yuan mused, though he didn't dwell on it. He continued, "By the way, you mentioned that Shennongjia has something that can purify your bloodline and allow you to evolve again. What exactly is it, or rather, what are the conditions?"
Throughout the journey, he had mostly been familiarizing himself with his own state and the three divine abilities in his grasp. Now that they had arrived, it was only natural to get a clear answer, which would make acting here much easier.
"Master, it is a living creature," the Golden-Winged Great Peng replied after a moment's thought. "In Shennongjia, there is a mutated beast called the Dragon Blood Flood Dragon, which contains an extremely faint trace of dragon blood. The stronger it is, the more dragon blood it possesses. If our Golden-Winged Great Peng clan wishes to purify our bloodline, we must rely on this dragon blood.
"My inherited memories can guide me to creatures containing dragon blood, and I can sense that a Dragon Blood Flood Dragon is in this area."
At this point, it hesitated before continuing, "However, this mutated beast called the Dragon Blood Flood Dragon is usually extremely powerful. When the time comes, I might need your help, Master..."
In truth, the Golden-Winged Great Peng had known all along where fortune could be found. The reason it had never acted and chose to lie low was fundamentally because purifying its bloodline required hunting down mutated beasts that bore dragon blood.
Previously, its strength had been insufficient; coming here would have been little more than serving itself up on a silver platter.
Now, however, things were different.
The Golden-Winged Great Peng knew Lu Yuan's strength very well.
With this master's assistance, things would undoubtedly be much easier.
"I see. In fact, it isn't limited to just the Dragon Blood Flood Dragon, is it? As long as a creature contains dragon blood, you can hunt and devour it to further evolve your bloodline, right? It's just that the Dragon Blood Flood Dragon possesses a greater amount," Lu Yuan said with a smile.
After all, in myth and legend, the Golden-Winged Great Peng fed on dragons.
"Heheh, Master is wise as always," the Golden-Winged Great Peng said.
"Rest assured. Since you have taken me as your master, I will naturally lend a hand."
Lu Yuan said no more. Beneath his feet, the Golden-Winged Great Peng flapped its wings and vanished into the clouds and mist.
Because he remained high in the sky, none of the people below noticed his presence.
***
"Asura, roughly how much longer until we arrive?"
At that moment, in a sector of Shennongjia, a blonde, blue-eyed man spoke. He was a Westerner, exuding a powerful aura—he had actually reached the Awakening Realm.
Standing a full two meters tall with a burly build, he spoke casually, his demeanor carrying a touch of arrogance.
Behind him stood a group of Westerners, five in total.
Among them was a woman with a voluptuous figure, dressed as a nun.
She held a cross scepter in her hand, her body radiating strands of pure, holy light.
The scepter was forged entirely of gold, its crest engraved with a winged angel of light.
From these hallmarks, one could discern that these Westerners belonged to a Holy See-like faction.
Asura glanced at the group and furrowed his brow, yet answered nonetheless, "Mr. Hans, we have already entered Shennongjia. As for our specific destination, we should arrive in a few days."
"Be faster. This place is far too primitive, and we keep encountering mutated beasts. It's been far too long since I tasted red wine and steak.
"Lady Jennifer is very displeased about this. She hopes to find God's Blood as soon as possible and leave this godforsaken place."
Hans spoke with deep distaste for Shennongjia, feeling that it was intruding upon his enjoyment of life.
Having said his piece, he paid no attention to Asura's reaction, turning and walking away.
He then leaned down and murmured a few words into the foreign woman's ear.
The woman knitted her brows tightly.
In the end, however, she uttered no words, simply praying before her cross scepter.
"These Westerners are impossible to cater to, complaining the whole way. Don't they remember they're the ones who insisted on cooperating with us?"
"Exactly. We're only acting as guides, not their subordinates to be ordered around at will."
"Especially that woman—far too arrogant. She hasn't said a single word this entire time."
At this moment, several people from Tianshen Technology stepped forward and murmured among themselves, deeply resentful.
"All right, that's enough. This was the company's decision; we can only obey," Asura said, shaking his head and signaling for them to keep quiet, sighing softly.
Following the New Era, Tianshen Technology had been conducting real-time surveillance over the nation's famed mountains and great rivers.
A short while ago, they had suddenly detected a violent surge of energy in a certain area of Shennongjia.
Coincidentally, the Holy Angel of the Vatican Holy See claimed to have received a divine revelation, stating that a great fortune had emerged in Shennongjia, and subsequently reached out to Tianshen Technology.
Because they already had existing partnerships with foreign Western powers, and because much of Tianshen Technology's technical support originated from the West, the two sides hit it off immediately. They came to search for it, christened it "God's Blood," and planned to bring it back to the Vatican Church.
Asura felt utterly helpless. No matter what, Shennongjia belonged to Huaxia. Even if a great fortune emerged, it should be kept within the country. On what basis were Westerners allowed to meddle?
Even with their cooperation, he remained puzzled, unable to fathom why the company prioritized the Westerners.
Yet there was nothing he could do.
It was the company's directive.
Even he had no choice but to comply, or the consequences would be dire.
After all, to Asura, he was nothing more than a high-level puppet of the company.
"Let's move. We might encounter plenty of trouble along the way," he said, setting aside his thoughts. After confirming their route, he led the group forward.
He knew full well in his heart that Tianshen Technology was not the only faction that had entered Shennongjia.
He only hoped nothing would go awry.
"Wait,"
the blonde woman suddenly spoke.
Looking down at the cross scepter in her hand, the winged angel of light engraved upon it was faintly glowing.
At the sight, she looked in a certain direction and smiled. "Not far from us, there are traces of spirit fruits and exotic herbs. Truly worthy of Eastern Huaxia's mystical land. We haven't been here long, and we already have a new discovery. God be praised."
"Then we must go take a look. Perhaps it can prompt us to evolve once more."
"Using Huaxia's treasures to bolster our strength sounds wonderful."
The other Westerners spoke up, all smiling in anticipation.
Originally, they had come to Shennongjia under the Holy Angel's orders to seek God's Blood.
However, they also harbored their own little schemes.
They knew full well that in a place like this, there had to be things capable of spurring evolution—and with extraordinary efficacy at that.
Having stumbled upon such an opportunity now, they naturally had no intention of letting it slip by. They couldn't very well return empty-handed, could they?
Since the blonde woman held the highest status among these Westerners, her words received unanimous support.
"However, Miss Jennifer, the company's orders to us were to venture into the depths to locate what you call God's Blood," one of the Tianshen Technology men said, looking toward the woman. He merely wanted to finish the mission as quickly as possible.
In a place like Shennongjia, danger could strike at any moment, and wandering off aimlessly seemed ill-advised.
Furthermore, the company's instructions had merely been for them to act as guides to find God's Blood.
Beyond that, as citizens of Huaxia, they loathed letting Westerners lay their hands on their homeland's treasures, viewing it as sheer plunder.
"Oh, my friend, you are merely guides. You have no right to offer opinions."
Hans walked over, a look of displeasure on his face.
Alongside his customary arrogance, a trace of threat laced his words.
"You—" the man began.
"Fine. Let us go take a look first, then," Asura intervened, cutting his subordinate off before he could say more.
The members of Tianshen Technology exchanged looks, inwardly fuming. Did these people truly think they could order them around like subordinates?
Yet they had no choice. The company held their lives in its hands; disobedience was not an option.
Soon, the entire party set off, following the blonde woman, Jennifer, toward the location.
Sure enough, before they had gone very far, Asura and the others spotted a small purple tree roughly three meters tall up ahead. Hanging from its branches were several spirit fruits of pure purple, nearing maturity and ready for harvest.
Beside it, a group of people was locked in combat with an Awakening Realm mutated beast.
It was obvious that both sides were fighting for ownership of the small purple tree.
"It's the Ice Fairy," someone whispered, looking toward Asura.
The latter had noticed as well.
He knew that many domestic factions kept a close watch on Shennongjia.
However, very few actually dared to venture inside unless they possessed absolute confidence in their strength.
After all, most spirit fruits and exotic herbs grew in renowned mountains and great rivers, and those not yet ripe were often guarded by mutated beasts—precisely like the scene unfolding before their eyes.
At this moment, as time passed, the Ice Fairy and her companions gained the upper hand through coordinated strikes and were on the verge of slaying the beast.
"Ripe spirit fruits. Excellent. Five in total, ready for picking."
"And there happen to be five of us. It seems everything is guided by God," Hans remarked, looking at the purple spirit fruits with greed flashing in his eyes.
Spirit fruits possessed tremendous efficacy for human evolution. They existed in Western nations as well, but only in scarce quantities, so he was eager to pluck them.
As for whether Asura and his men would get a share, Hans hadn't given it a second thought.
"Mr. Hans, they are already on the verge of killing the mutated beast. By right, the spirit fruits belong to them," Asura said. He knew what Hans intended—to wait until the beast was dead, then launch a sudden raid to snatch the prize.
Yet Asura knew the Ice Fairy. She was backed by Beidou Biology and was also a fellow citizen of Huaxia.
He wanted to protect her as much as possible and dissuade the Westerners from their scheme.
"I recall an old saying in your East: 'When the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman benefits.'"
Hans chuckled, rolling his shoulders and stretching his limbs. He continued, "Isn't it perfect to wait until they finish off the beast?"
The underlying meaning was unmistakable:
He was determined to seize those spirit fruits!
Chapter 70