Medicine King Valley

"That makes sense. I could give that a try." Xiao Xuan nodded in understanding.

"Now that you, my senior uncle, are here to oversee things, I can set off to find the medicine."

"Looking for medicine? Who is being treated?"

Si Ming revealed in detail that he needed to retrieve the Snow Mountain Lingzhi from Medicine King Valley to cure the War God's illness. He also mentioned the current movements of the Demon Race army and the speculation that their target was likely Medicine King Valley as well.

"I see. Then you must be careful. With the wisdom of Military God, it's impossible that he couldn't have guessed your actions. Perhaps Medicine King Valley is a trap to lure you in," Xiao Xuan warned.

Si Ming, "Of course I've made thorough preparations. I even had my favorite weapon delivered via time-space express. Besides, this trip isn't about fighting, but about retrieving medicine. As long as I'm determined to escape, they can't hold me back with their strength. And if I'm fast enough, I can get the Snow Mountain Lingzhi before the Demon Race army arrives."

"Just remember the objective. Don't try to delay just because you think you have a chance to kill the enemy. I've met the Military God before and we even played a few games together. His strategy is to remain still and wait for the right moment to change the situation. He's also good at luring the enemy into a trap. If you're even a little greedy, you'll be tricked. So, knowing when to quit while you're ahead is the first principle," Xiao Xuan reminded him.

"I will remember this, thank you for your warning, Master."

Knowing that time was of the essence, Si Ming prepared to set off after speaking. With Xiao Xuan in charge, there was no need to worry about anything else. Although he estimated that his master-uncle had only a 40% chance of winning against the Demon Emperor, fighting to the death was one thing, and holding the position was another. If he did not seek victory but only to stop the Demon Emperor, the success rate would be 80%.

This time, Si Ming didn't plan to bring any helpers. Firstly, to avoid delaying the journey, and secondly, in case they fell into an enemy ambush, it would be easier for him to escape alone.

When attacking, the more allies you have, the better; when fleeing, the fewer allies you have, the better.

After watching Si Ming fly away, Xiao Xuan asked someone for directions and soon arrived at the place where the War God was recuperating from his injuries, then pushed open the door and went inside.

"Ba Shenhuang, an old friend has come to see you."

As soon as Xiao Xuan entered the room, he was immediately filled with the aroma of medicine, and the concentration of Spiritual Qi energy was far greater than that outside, reaching a difference of dozens of times.

Ba Shenhuang sat in the center of the room, absorbing Spiritual Qi and circulating his internal energy to prevent his injuries from worsening. His complexion was less vibrant than usual, clearly due to the effects of his injuries.

"Ha, look at you now, you're quite a mess." Xiao Xuan didn't hide his schadenfreude.

"In terms of being in a sorry state, I can't compare to someone who was imprisoned in the snowy mountains for ten years," Ba Shenhuang retorted sarcastically.

"Since you knew I was imprisoned, why didn't you come to rescue me? As soon as I heard you were in danger, I rushed all the way to save you. Compared to that, don't you think you're being incredibly disloyal?"

Ba Shenhuang wouldn't fall for it, and sneered, "I think you're just here to kick me when I'm down and laugh at me... But no matter how much you laugh at me, it's useless. I won't give you the title of the number one Nascent Spirit Transformation."

"Ha, do you need to defer to me? If I hadn't suffered ten years in prison back then, leaving the mountains deserted, how could you have claimed to be number one?"

"Go ahead and use that as an excuse to comfort your fragile heart; I still have that much compassion."

"Ha, it seems you won't admit defeat until you've had a proper fight."

"Want to give it a try now?"

"What a joke! What's the point of bullying a sick person? It's an unfair victory, and you'll only become a laughingstock. Get well soon, and we'll have a fair fight then, where you'll lose convincingly."

"You're permitted."

Chapter 814 Medicine King Valley

"Is this Medicine King Valley? It looks like a primeval forest. Could I have taken the wrong path?"

Si Ming glanced down at the map, then looked up into the distance. As far as the eye could see, the ancient trees, which had grown for many years, were tall and strong, their canopies layered and overlapping, like giant protective umbrellas that weakened the sunlight falling from the sky. Only occasionally, through the gaps in the canopy, beams of light shone through, bringing some brilliance to the dark forest, but overall it was still dark and damp.

"It seems that Medicine King Valley is very focused on protecting its original ecological environment. There's not a trace of human activity at all. Why bother growing medicinal herbs here? They might as well just turn it into Agricultural School."

Si Ming leaped into the air and looked down from above, but all he could see was a vast forest surrounded by towering mountains. He couldn't even see a mountain gate or a stone tablet, let alone a human figure.

"It's hidden very well; you can't see a single trace from the outside. The natural environment alone couldn't cover it up like this. There must have been a corresponding protective formation set up. But that makes sense; Medicine King Valley is famous for its Spirit Plant. If it were really that conspicuous, it would probably have been stolen by thieves long ago. How could it have preserved hundreds of years-old heavenly materials and earthly treasures?"

Si Ming regretted not bringing a guide, but there was no going back now, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and enter the jungle. There were no man-made paths in the jungle, but there were some animal trails. Apart from that, the ground was rugged with rocks, and large chunks of earth and stones were covered with thick moss, which was intertwined with exposed and twisted tree roots. The terrain was uneven and extremely difficult to traverse.

From the crevices of rocks, the knots of tree roots, or the nests of grass, rustling sounds could be heard from time to time. Then a plump insect would slowly crawl out, or a creature like a lizard or squirrel would quickly dart past alertly. Occasionally, a fierce carnivore would pass by, glance at Si Ming, and immediately feel an intense sense of danger. It wouldn't even dare to threaten him, and would quietly tuck its tail between its legs and flee, afraid of being targeted.

"I shouldn't be lost... right?" Si Ming turned the map over and over, looking more and more confused. "Tsk, why isn't there a martial art in the world that can help people 'automatically find their way,' like a navigation skill? That would be a godsend for people with no sense of direction. At the very least, we could invent a 'compass skill' that can help people identify directions. As long as it uses geomagnetism for positioning, it shouldn't be difficult to achieve in theory."

As Si Ming ventured deeper, the surrounding trees grew increasingly lush, and the terrain became more rugged and treacherous, completely devoid of human habitation. However, the air became exceptionally fresh, instantly invigorating and refreshing. Moreover, the concentration of Spiritual Qi far surpassed that of the city—this was not only due to the natural environment's ability to generate more Spiritual Qi, but also largely because the low population density meant less Spiritual Qi was consumed.

Just as Si Ming was pondering whether to launch a nuclear explosion into the sky to remind the people of Medicine King Valley that a distinguished guest had arrived, his nose suddenly twitched as he smelled a scent different from the natural one.

"The scent of a human... Ha, finally found it. This obscure martial art, the Heaven-Howling Art, which I casually learned back then, unexpectedly comes in handy from time to time, making its presence felt. That's quite surprising."

Although no traces of human activity could be found on the ground, Si Ming followed the scent and went deeper into the area. Instead, he smelled an increasingly strong and mixed human scent, so he increased his speed and headed towards the source until he arrived at a secluded valley and a cold pool.

The scent stops here.

Si Ming glanced at the pool in front of him. The water emanated a chilling aura. Although the temperature was not below zero, it gave people a bone-chilling cold. If someone with weak Qi and Blood and energy fell into it, they would surely fall seriously ill.

"It seems the answer is quite obvious, and it's a very common setup."

Si Ming leaped into the water, circulating his Internal Cultivation to form True Qi, isolating himself from the cold pool water to avoid getting his clothes wet. At the same time, he used the Turtle Breath Technique to hold his breath, and then used the Thousand-Jin Drop technique to sink to the bottom of the lake. After sinking to the bottom, he walked forward, his vision changing from bright to dark and then back to bright. The length of the lake bottom was far greater than the length of the surface of the cold pool.

When he surfaced, he was greeted by a completely different scene: flat land, neat houses, fertile fields and beautiful ponds, rice paddies, mulberry trees and bamboo groves, crisscrossing paths, and the sounds of chickens and dogs—a veritable paradise on earth.

"Who!"

Three guards stood by the lake. Upon hearing the sound of water, they immediately issued a warning and gripped their weapons tightly, keeping a close eye on Si Ming. Their reaction was extremely quick, indicating that they were already on high alert beforehand.

Si Ming glanced at the two men, ignored them, and leaped into the air. He looked around, taking in the surrounding scenery, and muttered, "I thought I would be besieged by powerful Demon Race as soon as I showed up. It seems they didn't attack Medicine King Valley. There are no signs of battle here. Normally, the Military God wouldn't be unaware of this. He's tied up with something and can't get away, or perhaps his real target is the War God, and he'll launch an attack on Zhenzhou as soon as I leave. Hmm... if it's the latter, I must hurry back to avoid any accidents."

"Who are you? What brings you to Medicine King Valley? And why do you know the route into Medicine King Valley?"

When Si Ming landed, his behavior unsurprisingly drew an even harsher warning, but he didn't take it to heart and went straight to the point. "There's no use talking to you gatekeepers. Just take me to see the person in charge of Medicine King Valley, the kind who can decide important matters for the sect. My time is limited, and I don't have time to waste on you."

It's easy to imagine that if he were to say that his purpose was to take away the spirit medicine King Valley had painstakingly cultivated, the other party would definitely not say "Okay, take it all," but would treat him as a thief or robber, and the two sides could easily come to blows.

Of course, if it were the person in charge, they probably wouldn't be willing to give it up either, but Si Ming could get the Snow Mountain Lingzhi by persuading the person in charge, while he wouldn't get anything by persuading these gatekeepers, so why bother making trouble for himself?