Chapter 372: A Rare Herb
There was only one Picture Slab outside the Cloud Road. Each time one of the leaders wanted to observe a participant, the pictures had to be shifted from one disciple to another.
Among all the disciples, Zen Luo and Frank Zhuo were the most frequently watched ones.
Some time ago when Frank and some other disciples entered Death Road, the Picture Slab could not track them anymore. Lady Long became anxious when she couldn't track her favorite disciples.
As the leader of the Iridescence Sect, she knew of the dangers on Death Road. Over time, not a single disciple who had entered Death Road had survived.
“What is Frank doing? He's taking Lois to a living prison!” Lady Long complained loudly now and then.
If she could see the pictures from Death Road, Lady Long might have felt better. But now that Death Road could not be tracked and she could not see anything, Lady Long was worried about Lois.
As time passed, Zen, Rocher, and Lewis also entered Death Road. This time the Picture Slab could keep track of them!
When Zen met Frank and the other disciples, Fernandez and the others saw Frank on the Picture Slab.
After catching a glimpse of Frank and Lois in the picture, Lady Long felt a little relieved as both of them were safe.
Eagerly, Lady Long watched Frank kill the Flying Yaksha. His demonstration of strength pleased Lady Long tremendously, and she began to speak highly of Frank.
However, in the end, the mysterious disciple from Cloud Hall turned his eyes towards the Picture Slab and flashed them a weird smile. The smile surprised all the sect leaders and Fernandez.
How could this disciple from Cloud Hall see the Picture Slab?
The sect leaders watched as the mysterious disciple squeezed the air with two fingers. In the next instant, the picture on the Picture Slab disappeared. How could he interfere with the working of the Picture Slab?
Why did he do that?
Fernandez and the sect leaders exchanged puzzled glances.
“I've never met this disciple in Cloud Hall.” Fernandez's face paled.
Having led all the disciples from Cloud Hall to the trial, Fernandez had attended the roll call and seen each of the disciples attending the trial. Since Fernandez had an exceptionally good memory, he could remember everyone he had met. But somehow, Fernandez did not recognize this disciple!
“How did this happen? Who is he? Could he be a disciple from another sect?” Lady Long asked with concern.
“It's impossible. A beginner at the Illuminating Soul Realm cannot cheat me by disguising his appearance!” Fernandez shook his head as he did not agree with Lady Long. One of the conditions for entering the trial was that a disciple's strength could not be higher than the third grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm. If a disciple were at a higher grade, the space of the trial would refuse him.
“If he is a disciple from Cloud Hall, why don't you recognize him? Isn't that strange?” Kenneth also felt as though something was wrong about this situation.
The five sects had only selected a few disciples. While there had been nine from Red Sect, only three disciples had been brought from Cloud Sect. Disciples from other sects could not enter the transmission array, especially in front of the sect heads.
Considering the strict conditions for entering the transmission array, it was highly unlikely for a disciple from another sect to mingle in the crowd of disciples from Cloud Hall. Furthermore, the transmission array for Cloud Hall was located at Cloud Hall headquarters. If a disciple with a strength lower than the third grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm were to cheat in Cloud Hall, he would be caught.
Thus, the only possibility was that this disciple was from Cloud Hall. Perhaps, he was an ordinary disciple who was not eligible to attend the trial but had entered the transmission array secretly.
This was the only logical explanation.
However, another question still bothered the leaders. How could he stop the Picture Slab? Earlier when Fernandez could not track Frank, the leaders had been unable to explain the occurrence. Perhaps, this disciple had done something to prevent it.
Even Kenneth or Fernandez would not have been able to interfere with the working on the Picture Slab just by a hand gesture!
Moreover, why did he do that?
Fernandez gritted his teeth and tried to ignore what had happened. Since he could not find satisfactory and logical answers to these questions, he turned the Picture Slab to the other disciples. However, most of them were still discussing how to pass the Life Road.
“Fernandez, don't you want to do something about it?” Lady Long could not let it go. “It is clear that the mysterious disciple intends to do something terrible. How can we just sit here and not take action? Frank is the son of Emanuel Zhuo. Fernandez, if something unexpected happens to Frank, how will you explain it to Emanuel?”
Although Lady Long was worried about Frank, she cared more about her disciple, Lois. But Lois was not important enough to change Fernandez's decision. So, she mentioned Frank.
Fernandez became annoyed with Lady Long's questioning. After all, he had led the disciples into the trial. Now, there was a stranger among them. How would such a mistake reflect on him? Fernandez smiled coldly, “Explain? What do you want me to explain to Emanuel? The reason why his son is not strong enough to pass the trial?”
“You...” Lady Long had no answer for Fernandez. After all, her position was not as high as Fernandez's. Maybe Fernandez was not stronger or at a higher position than Emanuel. But their difference was negligible. Moreover, Lady Long was unreasonable by forcing Fernandez to do something.
The fact was that only disciples no higher than the third grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm could enter the trial. All the people outside the trial could do nothing more than watch. Now, the Picture Slab could not trace some disciples anymore, so watching them had become impossible.
The disciples inside the trial, including Frank, did not know what had happened, of course.
Eight disciples moved forward under Frank's leadership. Meanwhile, Patrick told Zen, Rocher, and Lewis what had happened before they had arrived.
The Death Road was full of whirlpools. Each vortex was an isolated space with a different path. Sometimes the disciples would encounter two or even three whirlpools at the same time. The layout of Death Road was so complex that it was a maze.
After accidentally trespassing into the home of the Flying Yakshas, the disciples had found themselves being chased by three Yakshas. Since two were small, Frank had been able to kill them. The big Yaksha, however, had been too strong. The disciples had known that a fight between them and the strong Yaksha would have attracted other evil animals. So, they ran away as they intended to lure the Yaksha into a safer place, where Frank eventually killed it.
“That disciple from Cloud Hall cautioned us that the Yaksha was not the strongest beast on Death Road. If it's true, we will soon encounter more trouble.” Patrick shook his head. Death Road was far more challenging than they had expected.
The problem was that despite passing through several whirlpools, one by one, it seemed like an endless cycle. They would eventually trespass into another powerful beast's home. If that happened, all of them might end up in a more miserable situation.
“Who is that disciple from Cloud Hall? Why is he so familiar with Death Road?” Zen asked.
Patrick shook his head. “I don't know. Frank has questioned him several times, but he refuses to reply.”
As they spoke, Zen studied the disciple from Cloud Hall. He was not tall and looked like an ordinary person. Somehow, Zen felt as though there was something strange about him. But he could not tell what it was.
Unexpectedly, the disciple noticed Zen's gaze and turned to look at him. His eyes were deep and calm.
“How sensitive is he?” Zen's heart tightened. The space in which they were walking was dimly lit, and Zen had only glimpsed at the disciple causally. Yet, the disciple still felt Zen's glare. His sensing ability was stronger than Zen's, even though Zen had a strong soul.
Just at this moment, Lois spoke, “There is another transmission door. It's different from the previous one!”
“We really don't know what is behind it,” Zade, a disciple from the Brumous Sect said fearfully.
When chased by the Flying Yaksha, Zade had been close to death several times. Luckily, Frank and Patrick had rescued him. Death Road was too dangerous for him!
Despite the problems faced, Zade had gained something precious. The reason why the Yaksha had chased them was that he had found a rare herb called the Gelid Herb. It had considerable value in the Central Region! One piece of Gelid Herb could be sold for five supreme life vitality crystals!
In the Eastern Region, that figure would amount to five million cubic crystals. Zade was indeed, lucky to have found the herb.
When Zade was picking the Gelid Herb, the Yaksha discovered them. He was lucky enough to survive the Yaksha's attacks. Moreover, other people, including Frank, didn't know that he had successfully collected the Gelid Herb. This was also advantageous for Zade as it meant that Frank was guarding him for free. Zade was undoubtedly proud of his discovery.
“Let's go. We have no other choice,” Frank said as he walked into the whirlpool first.
With a sigh, the other disciples also entered the whirlpool after Frank.
“It is so cold here!”
After they exited the whirlpool, a cold air enveloped the disciples.
“Whir!”
The broken spaces were not very large, so it was hardly windy. But this place seemed to be different.
After Lewis exited the whirlpool, he shivered and suggested, “Let's go to another way. This place is very frightening!”
“No one is stopping you from leaving,” Frank replied.
Lewis was stunned. Of course, he would not dare to leave alone. If he did venture out by himself, there would be a slim chance of survival.
“There's probably something evil here which is why it is so cold, and the wind is so strong,” Patrick said with a serious expression.
“We have no other choice but to go forward, regardless of whether good luck or back luck awaits us. Let's go!” Frank said, and began walking forward.
Considering Frank's calm demeanor and his ability to gather the others, he appeared to have leadership traits. However, deep inside, he also felt alarmed by the situation. But Frank knew that if he showed fear, it would affect how the other disciples perceived him. They might no longer have confidence in him or allow him to lead them unchallenged.
Zade cautiously glanced around him as he followed the other disciples. Suddenly, he noticed something unusual.
A black plant, not far from his position, seemed to waver in the wind.
The plant emitted a dark light. As it was black and in a corner, most of the disciples hadn't noticed it.
Ever since Zade discovered the Gelid Herb, he began paying greater attention to the plants around. Soon, he found another rare herb.
Although he didn't know what it was, everything on Death Road was precious. This plant had unique features that Zade had not heard of before. And so, he thought the plant might also fetch him a good price in the market.
Zade approached the plant without being noticed by the others. He was thrilled with his good luck. Despite being strong and killing a challenging creature by himself, Frank had only got a demon core of the Flying Yaksha whereas Zade had obtained two rare herbs. What was even better was that none of the other disciples knew of his luck! If they passed Death Road successfully, he would be the biggest winner!
Just as Zade's hand touched the rare herb, something unexpected happened!