Early morning shout: Please vote~~~~ Also, last night I registered an account somewhere and posted a thread, but some people questioned whether I was the real author. Well, I have to say, people are highly vigilant nowadays; it's probably unlikely that a little girl could be lured away with a lollipop. Little Mo is pleased.
********* After finishing cultivation, Yang Kai spent more than a shichen completing his work for the day, then hurried to the Contribution Hall.
Although he had decided to go into the mountains to find herbs, Yang Kai didn't know much about herbal medicine. He had only heard the names of the three-leaf residual soul flower and the desolate wood grass but had never seen them. If he actually encountered them, he probably wouldn't recognize them.
So he had to prepare well to avoid the embarrassment of a wasted trip. He went to the Contribution Hall to first memorize the appearance of these two herbs.
He had originally wanted to ask Manager Meng to do him a favor and teach him to recognize the herbs, but unexpectedly, Manager Meng just tossed a small booklet at him.
Yang Kai took it and saw that it was a booklet introducing various herbs. It not only covered their effects and properties, but also their growth environments, with illustrations on each page. The content was quite detailed. The only slightly disappointing thing was that the booklet only covered mortal grade herbs; none above that were included.
People's cultivation is divided into realms and levels; similarly, herbs, weapons, and pills in the world are graded. From lowest to highest: mortal grade, earth grade, heaven grade, mysterious grade, spirit grade, and saint grade. Each grade is further divided into upper, middle, and lower quality.
For instance, the three-leaf residual soul flower and desolate wood grass Yang Kai needed were both lower-rank mortal grade herbs with weak efficacy, so they weren't very valuable.
Leaving the Contribution Hall, Yang Kai went to the miscellaneous affairs office to request leave. After all, he was still a sweeper at Lingxiao Pavilion; if he went to Black Wind Mountain, he certainly wouldn't be able to return the same day, so he needed to inform them.
The supervisor at the miscellaneous affairs office didn't make things difficult for him and generously granted him three days of leave. Yang Kai then set off.
The foot of Black Wind Mountain was only twenty li from Lingxiao Pavilion, not too far nor too close. Yang Kai had often gone there to hunt before, so he was familiar with the area.
However, this was his first time entering the mountains to gather herbs. He prepared quite thoroughly: he brought some water, made a few rice balls, and also took a shovel and a cloth bag before setting out.
After about a shichen, Yang Kai arrived at the foot of Black Wind Mountain. Looking into the distance, the dark mountain forest lay like a primordial beast stretching between heaven and earth, its end nowhere in sight. The lush trees and jagged rocks created a unique landscape, and the breeze blowing toward him made Yang Kai feel particularly refreshed.
Black Wind Mountain was home to many fierce beasts and birds of prey, many of which even skilled martial artists couldn't handle. So, people who entered the mountain usually didn't dare to venture too deep without enough strength. The outermost thirty li were relatively safe, but beyond that, it was full of dangers; the further in, the more perilous.
Yang Kai only wanted to find some low-value herbs, so he naturally wouldn't venture too deep. Therefore, his personal safety was not a concern.
During that shichen of travel, Yang Kai kept busy, trying to recall the herbs he had encountered in Black Wind Mountain before. At that time, he hadn't recognized them and so hadn't collected them. Now that he was prepared, he couldn't let them pass him by again.
This recollection actually reminded him of many places; there was even a spot where one of the herbs he needed now grew.
Full of energy, Yang Kai immediately followed a familiar path into Black Wind Mountain.
Half a shichen later, he successfully collected a sharp-tooth grass hidden in a thorn bush. With this good start, the scattered memories in his mind became much clearer; almost like following a map, he collected as he went. By evening, Yang Kai had gathered four different herbs.
After all, this was the outer area of Black Wind Mountain, often traversed by people, so it was hard for herbs to grow here undisturbed. As soon as they matured, they would be gathered. So even though Yang Kai only obtained four, he was quite satisfied.
None of these four were the herbs he needed, and their grade wasn't high—just the lowest mortal grade lower-rank. But if he took them back, he could still exchange them for some Contribution Points.
The sun was about to set. Yang Kai hurried and managed to reach the last location he remembered that had herbs just before the sun went down.
It was a very strange place. The surrounding area was lush with grass and trees, but this particular spot was barren. An area about three zhang in diameter was almost a dead zone, with no trees or even weeds.
In the very center of this dead zone, three small plants were arranged in a triangle, swaying in the wind. The plants were a withered yellow; at first glance, one might think they were dying, but in fact, that was the natural color of this herb.
Seeing that the herbs here were still present, Yang Kai let out a sigh of relief and joyfully ran over, grabbing his shovel and digging vigorously.
In a short while, all three herbs were safely in his hands.
Still somewhat uneasy, he took out the booklet from Manager Meng and compared them. Only then did he feel assured. They were indeed desolate wood grass; the real thing matched the illustration in the booklet exactly, and even the growth environment was as described.
Desolate wood grass: wherever it grows, grass withers and trees die, making it relatively easy to find. Basically, if there was a barren spot like this in the woods, it was definitely due to the growth of desolate wood grass.
Carefully putting the three desolate wood grass plants into his cloth bag, Yang Kai then took out some water and rice balls and began to eat and drink on the spot.
His main objective this trip was to find three-leaf residual soul flower and desolate wood grass. So far, he had only found one type, and the quantity was too small; he would have to keep working hard.
But since it was getting dark, it wouldn't be convenient to move around. So Yang Kai decided to rest there for the night and search again when dawn came.
In the past, when he entered the mountains to hunt, he always returned the same day, so he had never spent a night in the mountains. But as the saying goes, "Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen a pig run." Yang Kai naturally knew what to be careful about when staying overnight in the mountains.
Finding a big tree nearby, Yang Kai climbed up, found a comfortable spot, sat down, and closed his eyes to pretend to sleep.
Since he couldn't fall asleep right away, Yang Kai summoned the wordless Black Book again, casually flipped to the third page, and with a thought, the incense burner materialized from within it.
This was a secret Yang Kai had discovered by accident: things that came out of the Black Book could also be put back in. After all, the Black Book was made from soul-suppressing stone, which inherently had the ability to create space and store items. So it wasn't surprising that the incense burner could be stored in it.
The only thing that puzzled Yang Kai was that apart from the incense burner, nothing else could be stored in the Black Book. This baffled him: could this wordless Black Book, made from soul-suppressing stone, selectively accept objects?
After toying with the Black Book for a while, Yang Kai grew tired. After all, he had walked many mountain paths today, so he soon fell into a deep sleep.
The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Yang Kai practiced the Tempering Body Chapter as usual for half a shichen. The gains were good: not only did he throw a few more punches than the previous two days, but the sensation of qi in his body also became more solid. Yang Kai had a feeling—a feeling that he was about to break through a barrier. The qi sensation in his meridians seemed to have reached its limit; he was just one step away from advancing to the next level.