The Carefree Sect wasn't about to fall behind, either. Under Elder Wuhen's lead, they surged forward in a swarm.
Right after them came the Danqian Palace and the Beiming Sect, charging through as well.
Trailing behind those two sects was the Three Star Sect.
And the three young geniuses of the Holy Sword Palace could only bring up the rear.
Wang Han's face was ashen as he watched the Carefree Sect already disappear inside. He couldn't help but grumble inwardly: "That old bastard Wuhen, all smooth talk. Said he'd look after us a bit, and then dashed in faster than a rabbit. Lean on a mountain and it'll crumble, lean on water and it'll flow. In the end, you can only rely on yourself."
Even as these thoughts ran through his mind, he turned to the two junior brothers accompanying him. "Junior Brother Jin, Junior Brother Du—once we're inside, keep a low profile. Especially around the Danqian Palace people. Keep your guard up."
Wang Han knew full well that the Holy Sword Palace and the Danqian Palace were irreconcilable enemies. If the Danqian Palace wanted to target them, once inside would be the perfect opportunity.
Du Lihuang nodded. "Let's not stray from Elder Wuhen's sight. Surely even the Danqian Palace won't dare cause trouble right in front of him."
As things stood, even if Elder Wuhen turned out to be unreliable, they had no choice but to cling to him.
Otherwise, if the Danqian Palace people managed to corner them, things could get ugly fast.
"For the first three days, we lie low. Once the third wave arrives and our Holy Sword Palace has its full strength assembled, why would we be afraid of them?" said the other genius, Jin Feng.
"Mm, that's the plan. Let's go!"
Wang Han waved his hand and led his two junior brothers inside.
Jiang Chen followed several Danqian Palace elders through the water curtain and onto the ancient stone steps, which wound on endlessly. After climbing thousands upon thousands of stone steps, winding east and west, the group finally caught sight of a verdant valley ahead.
The valley was shrouded in clouds and mist, brimming with spiritual energy. From a distance, the spiritual energy soared skyward, making it impossible not to wonder whether they had stepped into an immortal realm.
"An ancient medicine garden!"
Those two words flashed through everyone's minds. Everyone had heard of ancient medicine gardens, but none had expected the interior to be such a vast valley.
Judging by the scale, it had to span several hundred li at least.
An ancient medicine garden this enormous?
While Jiang Chen was still musing, the figures that had entered began plunging into the medicine garden one after another, like dumplings dropped into boiling water.
Each figure that fell into the valley vanished as though swallowed by a stone cast into water, disappearing behind a layer of hazy, shimmering ripples.
Jiang Chen didn't hesitate. He charged straight in.
He felt a wave-like force sweep him along, carrying him through what felt like layers of undulating water before finally setting him down.
When his vision cleared, he found himself deep within a gorge.
There was not a soul in sight. Clearly, everyone had been scattered to different locations.
Jiang Chen activated his Heavenly Eye Divine Pupil to survey the surroundings, while simultaneously summoning several hundred elite Gold-Munching Mice in secret.
He transmitted a divine sense command: "Go. Anything above Saint Grade spiritual medicine—as much as you can carry. Whatever you gather, we split fifty-fifty."
Jiang Chen wasn't about to be polite. He was inside now, so why hold back?
The only reason he hadn't released every last Gold-Munching Mouse was that most of them were too weak and would risk exposing his secret.
Releasing millions or even tens of millions of them from the Wanhao Stone Nest would absolutely strip this ancient garden bare in a single day.
But Jiang Chen wasn't that reckless.
Many of the ordinary Gold-Munching Mice weren't even at the Spirit Realm. Releasing them all would inevitably draw attention. And once discovered, these powerful cultivators had countless methods to annihilate the mice in droves. Never mind the other sects—just the Carefree Sect alone, with its inexhaustible arsenal of poison techniques, could wipe out the entire Gold-Munching Mouse clan.
Jiang Chen very much wanted to strip the garden bare, but he hadn't lost his mind.
The Gold-Munching Mouse clan possessed a unique advantage: their acute sense of smell made them extraordinarily sensitive to spiritual medicine, giving them exceptional efficiency in locating it.
Moreover, several hundred mice working in concert would cover an enormous area.
Jiang Chen himself remained supremely cautious. Even though no one was nearby, this was an ancient medicine garden where every person ended up alone. One could never be sure whether someone was lurking behind you, ready to strike.
"Truly worthy of an ancient medicine garden. This is only the outer perimeter, yet the grade and quantity of spiritual medicine here far surpass anything outside."
Jiang Chen pressed onward, using his sensitivity to spiritual energy to navigate like a fish in water, and his harvests along the way were bountiful.
However, the outer perimeter seemed to consist mostly of Saint Grade and True Saint Grade spiritual medicine, with very few Earth Grade specimens. After half a day of walking, Jiang Chen had encountered only a single Earth Grade herb, and even that was of relatively poor quality.
Suddenly, his gaze sharpened. Ahead lay a sizable patch of spiritual herbs growing in formation.
"Hm? Is that… Saint Infant Grass?"
Jiang Chen stared at the rows upon rows of herbs shaped like tiny infants, interwoven and growing in dense, continuous patches.
A rough estimate put the count at several thousand plants!
Even after all the treasures Jiang Chen had already collected, this sight stunned him.
"Saint Infant Grass—the premier primary ingredient for refining Saint Ying Pills! Several thousand stalks would be enough to produce over ten thousand Saint Ying Pills!"
What was a Saint Ying Pill?
It was the pill that powerhouses of the Saint Realm typically used for cultivation—equivalent to the Spirit Consolidation Pill for the Spirit Realm, or the Essence Cultivation Pill for the Origin Realm.
The higher one's martial realm climbed, the more advanced the resources one needed, and the more advanced the resources, the rarer they became.