Although the Lian tribe was located in the wilderness where living conditions were tough, the tribe owned a herb producing area, and that was the Lian Clan Herb Mountain!
The Lian Clan Herb Mountain was an area with a higher density of Yuan Qi, which was conducive for the growing of herbs. It could barely be considered a shrine.
Although said to be a shrine, it was only regarded as one by the poor Lian tribal clan. In the eyes of a large tribe, the Lian Clan Herb Mountain would be nothing. After all, in the vast wilderness, there were plenty of places with dense Yuan Qi.
A typical large tribe would choose to settle down next to rich wonderlands. Only such places were rich in production and beneficial for the cultivation of warriors.
The most important factor was that the strong desolate and wild beasts avoided these "shrines" for some unknown reason. This was most important as it ensured the safety of the tribes.
Of course there would be the rare occurrence of an injured or provoked desolate beast that would charge through and destroy a small tribe.
Everything had both advantages and disadvantages. While keeping out a large number of desolate beasts, the shrine also caused the number of animals in its vicinity to dwindle. Hunting was not an easy task as the rabbits or deer in its vicinity had been hunted clean early on.
As such, only Purple Blood Warriors had the ability to go into the vast wilderness to hunt.
The shrines in the vast wilderness were a highly sought after resource. The Lian tribe's herb mountain was considered to be of an extremely low grade, if not, how was the Lian tribe able to hold onto it?
Although the herb mountain was of a low grade, to the Lian tribe it was still highly treasured for it was the reason why the tribe was formed.
Every time the villagers were sent up the mountain to pick herbs, they would have to undergo a rigorous body search to prevent anyone from secretly hoarding herbs.
Yi Yun carried the herb basket and walked alongside Jiang Xiaorou, asking about the martial world's levels.
The lowest level of martial arts was called Mortal Blood, and warriors of the Mortal Blood level were called Mortal Blood Warriors.
Mortal Blood did not have a clear boundary for its levels, it was just a general term used by the martial arts community.
Mortal Blood came from the fact that they were mortals with normal blood.
Mortal Blood Warriors were in truth just normal warriors. Although they practiced martial arts, they were not able to distinguish themselves from other mortals. They could not escape the fact that they were still mortals.
However, Mortal Blood Warriors were much stronger than normal people. They could tear a tiger apart and run as fast as horses.
The realm of Mortal Blood was split into five levels, first level – Valiant, second level – Vigor, third level – Thunderous, fourth level – Meridians, fifth level – Qi Gatherer.
The first level of Valiant was obtained through continuous weight lifting, running, piling, wrestling and nourishing one's body through ginseng, antlers, meat and various treasured food. By slowly improving their body's constitution, their strength and speed would greatly improve!
Yi Yun's current level was considered Valiant. His strength had increased to about 300 catties and his speed was twice that of Zhao Tiezhu.
Yi Yun could be considered to be much stronger than most Valiant warriors as he was only twelve years old and his physical fitness was comparable to a fit male.
Strictly speaking, Valiant could not even be considered to be the first step into martial arts.
For Mortal Blood level two, Vigor would refer to a martial artist with greatly improved fitness, with extremely long breaths. A well trained Vigor could form an air arrow with one breath. This was known as "Breathes in like a Snake, Out like an Arrow". It was visually obvious in winter, and an air arrow could shoot as far as 5 feet away while piercing through paper!
A person at the level of Vigor would have a third of the heartbeat rate of a normal person. However, every deliverance of blood had lingering effects. Such a warrior could run as fast as a horse for an hour without panting or have his heart rate increase.
Third level Thunderous referred to the body's perfection of circulation, muscle, fascia, and bones. Every part of the body could be perfectly coordinated. One could stay perfectly still and attack like a lion.
A Thunderous warrior, having perfected his body, would emit thunder-like sounds from his joints when he exerted strength, giving the level its name.
Fourth level Meridians referred to the clearing of the twelve meridians, as well as the conception and governor vessels, resulting in the perfect circulation of the meridians. Upon reaching this level, a martial artist could feel the world's Yuan Qi.
Fifth level Qi Gatherer supplemented the fourth level's Meridians. A martial artist could feel the world's Yuan Qi, and also absorb it into his body.
At the peak of Qi Gatherer, the world's Yuan Qi would transform the body, rejuvenating a person and result in him reaching a brand new state, Purple Blood.
Strictly speaking, the Purple Blood realm was the true beginning of martial arts training.
When a warrior cultivated his body to a certain stage, his body would undergo changes. The moment he breaks through into the Purple Blood realm, all of his blood will become as heavy as mercury. This blood will appear as being golden purple in the sun.
This gave the realm its name!
Warriors entering the realm of Purple Blood were very strong, and could, single-handedly, support a small tribe. Hence, a Purple Blood Warrior enjoyed an extremely high status in the wilderness.
A Purple Blood Warrior would be treated as an emperor in any small or medium tribe. Every member of the tribe would obey his instructions for he had vast control and he determined the life and death of the tribe. All the pretty women in the tribe were up to the Purple Blood Warrior's choice. All the women with the Purple Blood Warrior would also be honored, so even if she was the daughter of the Patriarch, she would gladly climb into his bed.
This was unavoidable. Which girl, leading a precarious life eating tiny amounts of porridge, would not embrace the appearance of a hero who could lead her to a better life?
In this age, people exalted the strong, especially females!
"Yun'er, I will climb up to pick the herbs. I will throw them down for you to pick up." Jiang Xiaorou said as she tried climbing up a vine. The Lian Clan Herb Mountain covered a vast area but it was an extremely dangerous mountain!
Most of the previous herbs grew on the cliffs, so they were not easy to pick.
Climbing the cliffs to pick herbs was an extremely dangerous task. It led to many deaths. Yi Yun had previously fallen to his death.
With Yi Yun revived, Jiang Xiaorou was adamant not to let Yi Yun climb the cliff again.
Yi Yun insisted on not letting Jiang Xiaorou take the risk. He said, "Sis, you pick the herbs at the bottom. Leave the top to me!"
"Yun'er, stop fooling around! You just recovered. How could you have the energy to climb…" Jiang Xiaorou said as she suddenly saw Yi Yun grab onto the vine and climb up nimbly like a monkey.
"Yun… Yun'er…" Jiang Xiaorou stared as she saw Yi Yun climbing up. He was climbing the vertical cliff as though it was flat ground. When did Yun'er become so agile?
Picking herbs off a cliff wasn't just about climbing high. It also required experience and to be familiar with the herbs and where they most likely grew.
For example, some herbs preferred the shade, while others preferred to be in the sun. Some herbs preferred it dry, while others preferred it moist.
Yi Yun had caught up on his herbal knowledge the day before, but his knowledge was still limited.
He was planning on using his agility to make up for his lack of knowledge, but he quickly learned that it wasn't required.
Just as Yi Yun reached a height of 8 meters, he saw light dots rise up from a boulder a short distance away.
The light dots remained in the air for a few seconds before they flew straight into Yi Yun's chest.
Following that, the Purple Crystal's faint coolness became more vivid, and energy flowed through his veins, making him feel extremely comfortable.
Without question, the Purple Crystal was absorbing energy.
"Could it be…"
Yi Yun easily climbed over and looked under the boulder and saw fiery red fruits the size of his fists!
Dan Fruit was a low quality Purple Blood realm herb. Looking at its color, it was likely more than twenty years old.
Yi Yun was delighted. Just as he wanted to pick it, a light dot flew out from the Dan Fruit and right into his chest!
A few seconds later, a third light dot, followed by a fourth.
The number of light dots increased. The Dan Fruit's surface had a slight sheen, so without careful examination, it would have been missed.
The Purple Crystal could absorb the essence of the Dan Fruit!