Under the watchful eyes of a group of family cultivators, Xiao Fei, joined by Zhu Yu, no longer felt so alone.
Although Xiao Fei wore a mask and his appearance had changed significantly, Zhu Yu recognized him the moment he spoke.
This was because he had few acquaintances in Star Moon City.
Xiao Fei's appearance had altered, but his voice remained unchanged. Everyone’s voice, speed, and intonation were different, making it easy to identify them through these characteristics.
"Hey! Which family do you two belong to?"
"You look unfamiliar!"
A scar-faced man, at the twelfth level of Qi Refining, approached the two and asked.
"We are Lin family cultivators. My name is Lin Ao Tian, and his is Lin Zhu Yu!"
Xiao Fei glanced around and, not spotting any Lin family cultivators in the crowd, quickly replied. If this endeavor led to any trouble, he would let the Lin family take the blame.
"Are you two the only ones left from the Lin family? Your names are quite grand!"
The scar-faced man cursed inwardly, thinking that all the good names had been taken by dogs.
"The other members of the Lin family met with an accident and couldn't make it."
"Alright, the second level will open soon. No slacking!"
The scar-faced man instructed them and then walked away without another word.
Xiao Fei and Zhu Yu, still confused about what was happening and having never heard of a second level, could only find a corner to wait.
Where everyone was gathered, there was a pond covering an area of about three to five mu.
As night finally fell, the pond began to boil. The water churned violently, and fish and shrimp leaped out incessantly.
After a while, the water level in the pond rapidly receded, disappearing without a trace, leaving only fish and shrimp struggling in the muddy bottom.
"Are they draining the pond to catch fish?"
Xiao Fei couldn't help but mutter. In normal times, he would have definitely gone to the bottom to catch fish and pick snails, but now, pretending to be a Lin family cultivator, he had to maintain his dignity. What a shame.
"Alright, the passage is revealed. Everyone attack with all your might!"
The scar-faced man clearly had authority. He shouted and walked towards the bottom of the pond, with everyone else following.
Xiao Fei and Zhu Yu also silently followed at the back of the crowd.
Upon reaching the bottom of the pond, everyone began to attack a large black stone at the bottom with various means. The two, not knowing what was going on, followed suit.
Under the assault of everyone, the black stone emitted dazzling light but remained completely intact.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, with a loud bang, the black stone dissipated into specks of light.
It turned out that the black stone was merely an illusion formed by a formation. After the formation was broken, a dark, gaping hole was revealed.
The scar-faced man was the first to jump into the hole, followed by the others.
When it was Xiao Fei's turn, he fully unleashed his spiritual sense and followed them down.
He encountered nothing during the descent and landed safely.
The bottom of the cave seemed to be another world, with mountains and rivers, vast and stretching beyond sight.
Luminous moss grew everywhere on the ground, preventing the cave from being too dark.
Xiao Fei, feeling curious, collected some of the luminous moss and planted it in his spatial dimension.
Everyone else gradually entered the cave and then split into groups of three or five, heading in different directions.
Xiao Fei and Zhu Yu also randomly chose a direction and followed a river.
With no outsiders present, their relationship was not harmonious, and they maintained a considerable distance from each other.
Given their past relationship, it was already a sign of restraint that they hadn't come to blows.
Xiao Fei felt that caution was the mother of wisdom and that one should always be wary of others. He secretly placed a small leaf of the Black Leaf Datura in his mouth.
The second level of Dragonfall Abyss had more concentrated spiritual energy, richer resources like spiritual herbs and ores, and more frequent appearances of demonic beasts.
Xiao Fei had already found three spiritual herbs and killed two demonic beasts, but he had yet to find any Dragon Breath Grass.
Suddenly, a fierce spiritual energy fluctuation erupted from Zhu Yu's side. Xiao Fei turned his head and saw Zhu Yu locked in combat with a giant black crocodile.
This crocodile was at least two to three zhang long, its scales dark and gleaming, and it moved as swiftly as the wind.
Although this crocodile appeared to be a Rank Nine Demonic Beast, it was clearly several times stronger than the one Xiao Fei had killed upon entering Dragonfall Abyss.
Zhu Yu's high-grade flying sword struck the crocodile's scales, producing crisp clanging sounds.
The crocodile lunged forward, instantly appearing before Zhu Yu, opening its massive jaws to bite him.
Zhu Yu summoned a Xuan Iron shield and placed it in front of him, only for the crocodile to "crunch" it into several pieces.
Startled, Zhu Yu used his lightness technique to retreat repeatedly. He slapped his storage bag at his waist, and another shield flew out, blocking in front of him.
Xiao Fei's gaze swept past the man and the crocodile. Beside a cave behind the giant crocodile, a stalk of Dragon Breath Grass was growing.
"Zhu Yu, don't panic! I'll lend you a hand!"
Xiao Fei shouted and, bypassing the crocodile, rushed towards the Dragon Breath Grass at the cave entrance.
However, before he could even touch the Dragon Breath Grass, the crocodile turned, swinging its tail and hurling a stone the size of a millstone at him.
Just as Xiao Fei was preparing to evade with his lightness technique, he suddenly felt a dizziness. His movement was slightly delayed, and he was struck by the large stone in the chest.
"Crack!"
He could hear the sound of his ribs breaking.
At that moment, a cool sensation spread throughout his body.
He was familiar with this feeling. He had been poisoned by the Black Leaf Datura, and the leaf would cause a slight dizziness when it detoxified him.
"Zhu Yu, I came to help you out of kindness, and you poisoned me!"
"I'm poisoning the demonic beast!"
Zhu Yu's facial muscles twitched. He felt pain and didn't want to say much.
No one was foolish. Xiao Fei had clearly intended to take advantage of the situation and snatch his Dragon Breath Grass.
Seeing the giant crocodile lunging at him, Xiao Fei quickly dodged with his lightness technique. The crocodile now seemed to have fixated on him and continued to pursue relentlessly.
Seeing this, Zhu Yu no longer dared to pick the Dragon Breath Grass and stood quietly aside, watching Xiao Fei struggle with the crocodile.
Only when Xiao Fei was clearly at a disadvantage did he step forward to join the fray.
Zhu Yu had already administered poison, but this crocodile was quite powerful, and the effects would take longer to manifest.
Despite their past grievances, they needed to cooperate now. If one of them died, the other would be in a difficult position.
As Xiao Fei dodged, he summoned his Golden Silk Great Ring Saber. Of the nine golden rings, seven remained, all directed towards restraining the crocodile.
However, the crocodile was fast and strong, not easily restrained.
Xiao Fei then continued to throw Iron Thorns to entangle it, forming many thickets of iron thorns on the ground to limit the crocodile's movement speed. Only then did the two find some relief.
After about fifteen minutes, the crocodile finally succumbed to the poison and fainted.
The two had collaborated before and still needed to continue doing so.
Therefore, they did not argue much over the distribution of spoils. The Dragon Breath Grass was divided in half, with each person taking one portion.
Xiao Fei took his half of the Dragon Breath Grass and noticed some roots remaining below. He planted them in his spatial dimension, unsure if they would survive.
Dragon Breath Grass only grew in specific locations and was scarce in cultivation. If he could successfully cultivate it, it would open up another avenue for wealth in the future.