On the second day.
They arrived at a swamp. They were able to spot a dozen of herbs after a quick inspection.
Before they could even harvest, three more groups arrived and started battling for the herbs.
The groups had a bunch of mid-revolution realm disciples in them.
The trio would have to work extra hard just to get a portion. So, they left in search of a better location.
***
"Brother look."
Gu Lan pointed in front.
Soon, they came across an unusual environment.
Gu Lan commented.
"The plants look frozen."
They started inspecting the plants.
Grim scratched the tree in a bit of curiosity. To his surprise, the tree released a milky sap.
The tree was alive. So, Grim told them to check others.
"Brother Ren, sister Lan. This tree is alive, can you check the other trees?"
They checked the trees around them and came to the same conclusion.
Ren Dan went back and forth while murmuring.
"They must be affected by the 'ice' element. So, it must have a source nearby."
Then, Ren Dan suggested searching for it.
Soon, the trio began the search.
***
The ice-affected region was only ten kilometers as most.
So, it didn't take them long to arrive at the source.
They arrived in the middle of the region, and they were greeted by a big tree. The tree turned out to be dead after a quick inspection.
Gu Lan commented.
"The tree is dead. It can't be the source."
Grim responded.
"The tree might be dead. But, the chilly aura coming out of it proves the whereabouts of the source."
Gu Lan went silent because he was not wrong. The tree was giving off a chilly aura.
"Let's check what's inside."
'Vigor'
Grim multiplied the strength by 40x and dug his hands into the tree. The icy aura was trying to freeze his hands. But, grim applied 'fire' over his hands and resisted the icy aura.
When his hands were deep into the sapwood. He ripped it out.
Soon, a massive entrance was made into the tree.
***
They peeked inside and were shocked to find the tree was hollow at the center.
Instead of pith and heartwood, there were white flowers in the center.
The flowers had absorbed nutrients from the tree, and it caused the center to decay and die out.
They were like a parasite.
There were around fifteen flowers at the center of the tree. But, the one at the center was the most eye-catching.
It had double the number of petals, and it was releasing quite a bit of icy aura compared to others.
Gu Lan commented
"This one must be at the peak-evolution grade."
They quickly harvested flowers and fled the area quickly.
They breathed a sigh of relief after fleeing a few hundred kilometers away.
Then, they started checking the harvest.
They harvested one peak-evolution-grade herb, ten mid-evolution-grade herbs, and four entry-evolution-grade herbs.
They earned 820 points today, and their total score was 2020 points.
***
Their luck had run out on the third day.
They would be followed by battles everywhere they went. So, they were forced to take part in the battle.
They managed to collect measly 200 points. But, all of them were injured.
It was not a problem for Grim since he was able to heal his injuries within a few minutes. But, it took his brother and sister an entire night and some pills.
***
Spring sect, arena.
Everyone had eyes on the leaderboard.
The disciples from the 'spring' sect were dominating the top 100 ranks.
The only exception was Yuan Chang. He was ranked in 50th place.
Grim and his team were ranked 175, 176, and 177 respectively.
[Evo points left: 178,750]