As Chu Xishsheng and Lu Luanli walked along, the journey became much easier. They only encountered a squad of the Long family's clan soldiers. Strangely enough, the leader of this squad was much stronger than the ones they had encountered before, already possessing ninth-grade cultivation.
But after Lu Luanli killed this person, there was no movement on Chu Xisheng's task panel. The only difference was that the battlefield was relatively remote, and it would take some time for the Long family's people to discover the bodies of these Long clan soldiers.
As Chu Xishsheng recalled the various experiences since entering the Firebone Cave, the fireworks that had burst one after another before his eyes, and the experiences in the library, he couldn't help but feel a sense of strangeness. So, to obtain Martial Dao Points, it wasn't enough to simply defeat someone stronger than oneself; one also had to be known by others? And on the day of the inner door trial, a single sentence from Ye Zhichun in front of everyone awakened his system, elevating his reputation to 'Ninth Grade (Virtual)'. This indicated that it wasn't necessary to kill or defeat others to obtain Martial Dao Points; gaining recognition from figures like Ye Zhichun could also help elevate his reputation.
This was because Ye Zhichun had prestige and great credibility, and people believed what she said! So the core of this system was the word 'trust'? As long as people believed in his strength, he could have enough Martial Dao Points to improve his own strength and Martial Dao talent? As Chu Xishsheng pondered this, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips. He had already roughly grasped the mechanism of this system, and the next step was to verify it one by one.
When Chu Xishsheng came back to his senses, he found Lu Luanli quietly tearing at her clothes. Not only did she tear off all the purple gauze on the outside of her purple gauze skirt, leaving only the purple silk lining inside, she also tore the clothes open and stuck a green talisman inside. When Chu Xishi's gaze swept over, Lu Luanli's face immediately turned slightly red, and she tightened the front of her clothes, saying, "What are you looking at? I'm applying a cooling talisman, it's too hot underneath.
" In fact, with her cultivation, she shouldn't have been so hot, mainly because she had been fighting continuously just now, causing intense movement and sweating. Chu Xisheng raised an eyebrow. The faint light in the cave was not enough to see clearly, but he had eagle eyes and could clearly see things within thirty zhang around him even at night.
He saw that Lu Luanli's face was now flushed, with sweat on her forehead, and her purple skirt was tightly sticking to her body due to sweat, exuding a youthful and lively scent all over her body. Moreover, the scent of a young girl mixed with sweat wafted over, tempting one to indulge in fantasies. Chu Xishi couldn't help but narrow his eyes and unconsciously twitch his nose. Lu Luanli's pretty face blushed even more, showing a hint of annoyance in her eyes. "What are you sniffing around for?" Chu Xishi calmly glanced at her, then walked behind Lu Luanli and plucked a dark green blade of grass from an inconspicuous crevice in the rock wall.
Lu Luanli recognized it as 'Heartbreak Grass', one of the auxiliary materials for the Yuan-nourishing technique, which could neutralize the medicinal properties of the Yangyang Grass. Her face stiffened slightly, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
"Let's go," Chu Xisheng said, carefully placing the small grass into a dedicated pouch and then clapping his hands. "Since we're here, we might as well make the most of it. We'll need to stay here for a few days to search for the medicinal herbs required for cultivating the Yuan-nourishing technique."
He glanced sideways at Lu Luanli, his eyes filled with anticipation. "You've been undercover at the Zhengyang Martial Hall for three months; you should know the secret recipe for the Yuan-nourishing technique, right? You're a seventh-grade artisan, find a way to help me locate it."
Lu Luanli's emotions were complex. She had originally followed Chu Xisheng with the intention of supervising him and relaxing. But now she had become Chu Xisheng's bodyguard and lackey, and even now she was being made to do manual labor.
However, she did have a way to help Chu Xisheng.
Using her technique of repelling metal, Lu Luanli tossed her straight blade to Chu Xisheng and then raised her hands, forming a spiritual seal while chanting an incantation. Soon, a pure white spiritual energy gathered and transformed into a flawless, delicate white ferret.
Once the white ferret condensed its body, it glanced around and then began sniffing the ground while moving forward. Lu Luanli maintained the technique with one hand, calmly following behind the white ferret.
"This is our family's secret technique of using a spiritual ferret to search for medicinal herbs. It can accurately locate herbs within a range of fifty meters. The downside is that it can't distinguish between different types of herbs, so it will depend on your luck from here on out," she explained.
Chu Xisheng's spirits lifted, and he followed Lu Luanli forward. The area they were in had already been thoroughly searched by other herb gatherers. However, the spiritual ferret summoned by Lu Luanli was exceptionally adept, finding herbs every fifty to sixty steps, even in narrow and hidden corners.
After an hour of following, Chu Xisheng's pouch was already bulging with herbs. They had collected all the supplementary herbs according to the secret recipe, except for the Yangyang Grass.
Lu Luanli hesitated briefly before leading Chu Xisheng deeper into the Firebone Cave.
The deeper regions of the cave were where the true treasures of spiritual herbs were found, but they were also extremely dangerous. Thousands of evil creatures lurked there, remnants of ancient gods combined with the dark energy of the underworld, along with some exotic beasts that thrived in the unique environment.
Many experienced herb gatherers had perished there, despite their formidable skills.
Even Lu Luanli, a seventh-grade practitioner skilled in both martial arts and magic, had to proceed with extreme caution.
That's why the Yangyang Grass fetched such a high price—100 taels per plant.
Suddenly, the white ferret raised its head, its nose twitching, before darting forward like a streak of white light.
Chu Xisheng and Lu Luanli exchanged a surprised glance and quickened their pace to follow the ferret.
They followed the ferret for about two hundred yards before Lu Luanli's eyes narrowed, spotting a dark shadow flying towards them.
It was a golden-ringed black snake, as thick as a human arm, springing out from the shadows. It opened its mouth wide, revealing two menacingly venomous fangs.
Lu Luanli couldn't help but furrow her brow slightly.
"Let's go," Chu Xisheng said, carefully placing the small grass into a dedicated pouch and then clapping his hands. "Since we're here, we might as well make the most of it. We'll need to stay here for a few days to search for the medicinal herbs required for cultivating the Yuan-nourishing technique."
He glanced sideways at Lu Luanli, his eyes filled with anticipation. "You've been undercover at the Zhengyang Martial Hall for three months; you should know the secret recipe for the Yuan-nourishing technique, right? You're a seventh-grade artisan, find a way to help me locate it."
Lu Luanli's emotions were complex. She had originally followed Chu Xisheng with the intention of supervising him and relaxing. But now she had become Chu Xisheng's bodyguard and lackey, and even now she was being made to do manual labor.
However, she did have a way to help Chu Xisheng.
Using her technique of repelling metal, Lu Luanli tossed her straight blade to Chu Xisheng and then raised her hands, forming a spiritual seal while chanting an incantation. Soon, a pure white spiritual energy gathered and transformed into a flawless, delicate white ferret.Once the white ferret condensed its body, it glanced around and then began sniffing the ground while moving forward. Lu Luanli maintained the technique with one hand, calmly following behind the white ferret.
"This is our family's secret technique of using a spiritual ferret to search for medicinal herbs. It can accurately locate herbs within a range of fifty meters. The downside is that it can't distinguish between different types of herbs, so it will depend on your luck from here on out," she explained.
Chu Xisheng's spirits lifted, and he followed Lu Luanli forward. The area they were in had already been thoroughly searched by other herb gatherers. However, the spiritual ferret summoned by Lu Luanli was exceptionally adept, finding herbs every fifty to sixty steps, even in narrow and hidden corners.After an hour of following, Chu Xisheng's pouch was already bulging with herbs. They had collected all the supplementary herbs according to the secret recipe, except for the Yangyang Grass.
Lu Luanli hesitated briefly before leading Chu Xisheng deeper into the Firebone Cave.The deeper regions of the cave were where the true treasures of spiritual herbs were found, but they were also extremely dangerous. Thousands of evil creatures lurked there, remnants of ancient gods combined with the dark energy of the underworld, along with some exotic beasts that thrived in the unique environment.
Many experienced herb gatherers had perished there, despite their formidable skills.
Even Lu Luanli, a seventh-grade practitioner skilled in both martial arts and magic, had to proceed with extreme caution.
That's why the Yangyang Grass fetched such a high price—100 taels per plant.Suddenly, the white ferret raised its head, its nose twitching, before darting forward like a streak of white light.
Chu Xisheng and Lu Luanli exchanged a surprised glance and quickened their pace to follow the ferret.They followed the ferret for about two hundred yards before Lu Luanli's eyes narrowed, spotting a dark shadow flying towards them.It was a golden-ringed black snake, as thick as a human arm, springing out from the shadows. It opened its mouth wide, revealing two menacingly venomous fangs.
Lu Luanli couldn't help but furrow her brow slightly.
She easily solved the problem of the black snake, but the difficulty lay in maintaining her technique without being distracted. Just as Lu Luanli was about to disperse the "Spirit Ferret Medicine-seeking Technique," a flash of blade light appeared by her side, accurately severing the poisonous fang and then swiftly beheading the golden ringed black snake. Lu Luanli immediately felt relieved, realizing that the person behind her not only had excellent sword skills, but also keen eyesight and quick reflexes, making him quite reliable.
Chu Xisheng took the opportunity to pack the snake's corpse into her bundle. They were lucky that the snake hadn't been contaminated by the foul air of the underground, so it should fetch a good price of one or two silver coins. Its venom sac and gall bladder were also valuable medicinal materials.
Following the white ferret, they ran for over a hundred feet before finally coming to a stop. By this time, they had entered a dense stone forest, with towering stalagmites and numerous stalactites hanging down, interlocking like teeth, leaving only narrow crevices for passage. Struggling to make their way deep into the stone forest, they saw the white ferret stop in a corner, circling around a dark figure.
Chu Xisheng was puzzled and looked at Lu Luanli. "Isn't your spirit ferret supposed to be used for finding medicine?" The dark figure before him turned out to be a person.
He was a middle-aged man of about forty, with a burly bear-like figure, coarse and iron-like hair, a square face, prominent ears, and a white complexion. His eyes were closed, unconscious, and his clothes were stained with blood.
"Of course it's for finding medicine. The fact that the ferret led us here means that he carries some medicine on him," said Lu Luanli, as he picked up a bag from the side of the middle-aged man and opened it, revealing several porcelain bottles and many medicinal herbs inside.
Chu Xisheng's pupils couldn't help but shrink as he noticed two Sun Yang Grass inside the bag.
Lu Luanli then looked thoughtfully at the middle-aged man on the ground and said, "Moreover, I recognize this person. He is Iron Laughing Life, the deputy chief of the Iron Flag Gang."