Near the area where they were transported, there was a hidden spring near the mountain wall.
The spring water formed a pool the size of a room, and eventually, the water in the pool flowed into a crevice beneath the mountain wall, with no telling where it ended up.
Next to the spring in the pool, a plant rose layer by layer like a tower, bearing fruits that were as glazed as seven-colored treasures.
Wang Lian was the first to recognize them as the Seven Treasure Glaze Fruit, an extremely rare magical fruit that could enhance wisdom, making the mind clearer, the memory stronger, and increasing comprehension abilities.
Simply put, the Seven Treasure Glaze Fruit could increase the hidden attribute of wisdom, and its value was immeasurable.
Wang Lian and the others had wanted to pick the Seven Treasure Glaze Fruit before, but within the spring’s pool resided a Secret Spirit, seemingly human yet fish-like, guarding the fruit.
Previously, they had tried using pets to probe, but were instantly killed by that fish-like Secret Spirit, whose power was estimated to be at least level eight or even level ten. They had to temporarily give up and find a way to level up.
Now Qin Ziyu had reached level seven, and they had reached level six. It wasn’t as easy to level up as before; even with a suitable environment and strong capability, leveling up would take at least ten days to half a month per level from now on. Leveling to ten seemed daunting, hence Wang Lian’s suggestion.
"It’s worth a try," Gongsun Zhuo eventually agreed to Wang Lian’s proposal. After all, everyone else was eager, and opposing it might be pointless.
"Chen Guan, we’re all classmates here, not outsiders. I’ll be blunt," Wang Lian said before setting off. "We discovered the Seven Treasure Glaze Fruit before we met you, and your strength isn’t crucial yet, so you won’t get any of the fruit."
"If I’m of no use, I shouldn’t get a share of the fruit," Chen Guan nodded in agreement, finding it fair.
Seeing Chen Guan’s understanding nature, everyone relaxed a bit. Wang Lian smiled and said, "Don’t worry, now that you’re part of our team, we’ll help you level up quickly in strength and level."
They followed the stream back, walking in the mountain gully for half a day until they reached a dead end. In front of them and on both sides were towering mountain walls covered with pink-trumpet-flower-like green plants, but no spring or pool was visible.
"Chen Guan, have you read ’A Peach Blossom Spring’?" Lu Teng asked Chen Guan with a mysterious smile, dismounting from the Ghost-headed Sheep. He walked to the mountain wall, parted the dense green plants, revealing a crevice in the mountain wall barely big enough for one person to enter sideways.
"I have, but I’ve forgotten most of it," Chen Guan replied.
"No problem, then let’s see the real Peach Blossom Spring," Lu Teng said, slipping into the crevice within the mountain wall, followed by the others.
Chen Guan quickly followed, moving sideways through the mountain wall. Initially, it felt cramped, but soon it widened, allowing for normal walking.
The crevice was winding and uneven, making the journey difficult. After an indeterminate time, the path opened up, and they exited the mountainside into a sea of peach-colored flowers.
The flower trees weren’t tall, the tallest slightly exceeding human height, yet their branches stretched wide, covered in velvet-like small flowers, resembling snowflakes pressed on branches. The fragrance was refreshing, subtly lifting spirits.
Looking around, Chen Guan realized they were in a Valley of Death, surrounded by mountains. The crevice they used seemed the only entrance or exit.
Without scaling the mountains, finding this place would be nearly impossible.
The peaks around might be a thousand meters high, with walls steep as ninety-degree cliffs, making traversal arduous.
"How do you place?" Lu Teng asked Chen Guan with a cheerful smile.
"It’s a good place. I’m curious how you managed to find it," Chen Guan was intrigued by how they discovered this place.
"It was a coincidence. Wang Lian was chasing an Evil Adorable Rabbit and accidentally found the mountain wall crevice hidden behind vines; otherwise, no one would have suspected it contained a Grotto Heaven," Lu Teng explained with a smile.
As they talked and walked, although the scenery in the valley was beautiful, it was somewhat monotonous; besides these flower trees, no other plants were visible, and no Secret Spirits appeared, truly resembling an isolated Utopia.
However, these flower trees weren’t peach trees, and Qin Ziyu and the others didn’t know what kind of plants they were either.
The valley wasn’t large; soon, they arrived at a mountain wall where indeed a small pool was nestled. The emerald water was strikingly clear, like crystal, constantly bubbling as if boiling.
Of course, the water wasn’t boiling; those were bubbles from the underground spring, with the pool’s water flowing into a narrow fissure beneath the mountain wall. The fissure was only a few fingers wide, with no visible exit, though faint sounds of water could be heard within.
At the spring’s source, a five-colored plant resembling Glazed was growing from the pool’s bottom. Above the surface, it radiated with shifting colors, its abnormal stems layered upon each other like a pagoda narrowing upward, tiered ten layers, ending with a pinnacle resembling a peach.
The plant bore small bell-shaped fruits, each the size of a pigeon egg. Even from a distance, the dense Primordial Energy within them was palpable.
Chen Guan didn’t focus on these items but fixated on the clear pool water, where a golden-glow emanating Secret Spirit sat cross-legged on a large stone below.
The Secret Spirit’s appearance was bizarre, with a human body and fish head, fins on its back and limbs, covered entirely in black scales with golden patterns resembling blooming lotus flowers, giving it a dark-gold appearance from a distance.
A necklace adorned its neck, the beads varied in size and color, resembling the Gaba Bracelet Chen Guan obtained earlier.
Its hands were human-like but covered in intricate scales with black base and golden patterns, too small to discern the pattern details.
Its left hand held a grayish-white half-moon object reminiscent of a bowl with blood-red liquid swirling within, unmixed with water or spilling.
Its right hand grasped a gold-colored metal object with pointed ends and a grip in the middle, intricately patterned, its nature unknown.
Chen Guan was surprised; this Secret Spirit possessed three Secret Treasures.