"She deliberately made sure I couldn't see the second herb Martial Uncle Ming Hao conjured."
Luo Bei immediately realized it. He had no idea why that lovely young woman had done such a thing, but Ming Hao had already used the Qi Condensation Talisman Drawing technique again to conjure the appearance of a third herb. Luo Bei did not dare turn his head to look at the young woman again, afraid he would miss the herbs that followed.
"This is a Water Chestnut Fruit. Look carefully." This time, Ming Hao condensed a vine with leaves as thin as iron wire, yet bearing greenish-yellow fruit.
"This is Liudan Wood..."
"This is Xishen Leaf..."
Including the Ci Tong Grass that Luo Bei had failed to see, Ming Hao had conjured the phantoms of five unusual plants in all.
"Very well. Today's cultivation task is to find these five medicinal herbs on Tianzhu Peak."
"Senior Brother Lin Hang, what does the second Ci Tong Grass look like?" Luo Bei's heart immediately tightened at those words, and he turned to ask Lin Hang. But before the words could leave his mouth, Ming Hao said again, "Listen carefully. Next, we have something even more important to see. Get up and follow me outside."
As Ming Hao spoke, he walked out of the hall. Seeing everyone else scramble to their feet and rush after him, Luo Bei could only follow at once.
"What are you rushing for? Taking two slower steps won't make you miss it." At the entrance of the main hall, Luo Bei was careless for a moment and bumped into a youth. The youth was strong, and Luo Bei actually stumbled back a step from the impact. The youth gave a cold snort and walked out without even looking at Luo Bei. He was the same youth who had glared coldly at Luo Bei when they had first met, his hair coiled in a Daoist topknot, his face like polished jade, and his features handsome.
Luo Bei was not particularly competitive by nature. After bumping into him and hearing that cold snort, he paid it no mind. He followed the others out and stood on the bluestone ground beyond the hall. Ming Hao, standing in the open space, said, "If you cannot remember the appearances of those herbs, at worst you will fail to complete today's cultivation task. But if you do not watch this carefully, your lives may be in danger."
Ming Hao's voice was extremely stern, and the young men and women who had followed him outside all felt their hearts tighten. "Watch closely!" With a flick of his left hand, Ming Hao tossed out a fiery-red talisman paper. The instant it left his hand, it became a streak of red light that shot into the sky and exploded in midair.
"So beautiful!" The red light burst apart into dozens of rosy rays, like fiery trees and silver blossoms, dazzlingly gorgeous. Of the two young women, the slightly older round-faced one could not help crying out.
"This is a Flying Flame Talisman, but it is not for decoration." Ming Hao's gaze swept across Luo Bei and the others. "Tianzhu Peak is thick with forests and full of snakes, insects, and wild beasts. Each of you will receive one Flying Flame Talisman. If you encounter danger, release it to call for help."
Cultivating in Shushan truly differs from Luofu. The teachers take such thorough care of their disciples. But that will cause some people to lose their bold and diligent spirit. As Luo Bei thought this, Ming Hao said again, "Who among you is willing to come forward and demonstrate this Flying Flame Talisman?"
"Martial Uncle Ming Hao, I will."
"Xuan Wuqi, good. Then you shall do it."
So his name is Xuan Wuqi. I wonder what the Senior Sister who deliberately kept me from seeing the second herb is called. As soon as Ming Hao finished speaking, someone beside him answered in a clear voice. Luo Bei saw that it was the cold and arrogant youth who had bumped into him earlier. Yet as Luo Bei was thinking this, he did not know that the aloof Xuan Wuqi had already regarded him as a rival in his heart. He had answered so quickly because he felt that when Ming Hao asked the question, his gaze had fallen on Luo Bei.
Isn't it just tossing out a talisman? I saw it clearly. Could it be that I still cannot do it? Besides, if I practice once more now, then if there really is danger later, I won't be left flustered when releasing the Flying Flame Talisman.
Thinking this, Xuan Wuqi, his hair coiled in a Daoist topknot and his face like polished jade, glanced at Luo Bei. Somewhat smugly, he stepped before Ming Hao and accepted the fiery-red talisman Ming Hao handed him.
But what made him freeze in an instant was Ming Hao saying to everyone, "I only need to infuse this Flying Flame Talisman with a thread of Dao essence to release it. But you have not yet cultivated Dao techniques, so you can only activate it with your own qi and blood. Xuan Wuqi, simply bite your fingertip, drip a little blood onto the Flying Flame Talisman, then throw it out."
"Bite my fingertip... That hurts! What if my hand becomes ugly?" The round-faced young woman was the first to cry out.
"Mo Yanran, if you cannot even endure such a tiny pain, then there is no need for you to cultivate the Dao!"
Xuan Wuqi also felt that biting his fingertip would not be pleasant, but under Ming Hao's rebuke, he could only grit his teeth, bite open the tip of his middle finger, and drip a drop of blood onto the fiery-red talisman.
The blood vanished in a flash. Xuan Wuqi felt heat in his hand, and the spiderweb-like tangled runes on the fiery-red talisman blazed with red light. He hurriedly threw it out. With a whoosh, the Flying Flame Talisman became a streak of red light the moment it left his hand, shooting into the sky and exploding.
"Good, that is all there is to it. There should be no problem now." Ming Hao clapped his hands in satisfaction, then flicked his fingers. More than a dozen fiery-red talismans shot out and floated before each person as if alive. "Though the Flying Flame Talisman is no rare magical treasure, refining it still takes time. One per person. Keep them safe." Luo Bei had only just reached out when the fiery-red talisman hanging before him drifted lightly into his palm.
It sank heavily into his hand. Though it looked like nothing more than a piece of red-dyed talisman paper, marked with several complex incantations, it was not as light as he had imagined. It weighed as much as an iron sheet.
As Luo Bei studied the talisman in his hand, he could also sense faint ripples of magical power within it.
"Luo Bei."
"Hm?" At that moment, Luo Bei suddenly heard Ming Hao call his name. He looked up in surprise and saw Ming Hao nod slightly at him. "Today's cultivation task, searching Tianzhu Peak for herbs, will be done in pairs. You arrived last, so you may be considered the youngest Junior Brother. You may choose a Senior Brother or Senior Sister to partner with first."
"Hmph!" Hearing Ming Hao say this, the exceptionally lovely young woman snorted inwardly again. She thought that Luo Bei, with his wild and unruly desire to show himself as different, might well choose the stuttering and lame Lin Hang again. Tianzhu Peak lay within Shushan's mountain gate. Aside from Shushan disciples, no one could enter it. The mountain was rarely visited, a savage wilderness. Take that lame burden along with you, and let's see whether you can find all five herbs today.
But to her utter disbelief, the young woman's eyes widened as she saw Luo Bei point at her. "Martial Uncle Ming Hao, may I form a group with this Senior Sister?"
"With Cai Shu?" Ming Hao paused, then smiled. "Luo Bei, you have good taste."
***
Tianzhu Peak was a towering mountain separated from Tianyu Peak by dozens of peaks. Its body was round, like a colossal candle standing between heaven and earth. That was likely how it received the name Tianzhu.
This mountain covered even more ground than Luofu's nameless peak. The entire mountain was lush and verdant, blanketed in dense forest. Some of the trees were clearly ancient, each one like an enormous green canopy. Around the middle of the mountain, iron chains as thick as an adult's arm formed suspension bridges connecting it to the surrounding peaks.
"Why did you choose to partner with me?" In the forest beside Tianzhu Peak's suspension bridge, Cai Shu, the lovely young woman, stared wide-eyed at Luo Bei for a long while, her face dark. At last, she could not help asking.
"Senior Sister Cai Shu, when Martial Uncle Ming Hao was teaching the Dao, what were you trying to say with those gestures you made to me?"
"Y-you did not choose to partner with me just because you wanted to ask what I was trying to say, did you?" Cai Shu stared at Luo Bei in disbelief.
"No." Luo Bei shook his head and said awkwardly, "It was because I did not clearly see the phantom of the Ci Tong Grass that Martial Uncle Ming Hao condensed. I thought you must have seen it clearly, so I chose to partner with you."
"I..." Cai Shu nearly passed out. Beneath her pale-green robe, her not-yet-fully-developed but exquisitely delicate chest rose and fell violently. "Then why did you not choose Lin Hang? Didn't you like being with him? Aren't you afraid that if you do not help him, he will fail to gather all the herbs with someone else?"
"Probably not. Senior Brother Lin Hang has already been in Shushan for several years. Perhaps he has gone through such a cultivation task before and will soon gather them all. His legs are inconvenient, and I do not want him to find them and then help me search as well."
That was Luo Bei's explanation, but there was another reason he did not mention. Cai Shu had recognized even the Qi Condensation Talisman Drawing technique, so she seemed to possess extraordinary knowledge. Perhaps he could learn quite a lot by staying with her. You despicable bastard, you must be deliberately getting back at me! You have truly dragged me into this! How are we supposed to find Ci Tong Grass now? Just wait and see how I make you suffer! Yet Luo Bei had not expected that Cai Shu, who was gritting her teeth in fury, had also failed to see the Ci Tong Grass Ming Hao conjured. After successfully teasing Luo Bei, she had smugly thought there was no rush—if she had not seen it, she could simply ask the others what Ci Tong Grass looked like. But she had never expected to be paired with this Luo Bei.
What made her even angrier, to the point that she nearly jumped up and bit Luo Bei, was that he asked her earnestly, "Senior Sister Cai Shu, what does the Ci Tong Grass look like?"
"I don't know!" Resisting the urge to hit someone, Cai Shu shot Luo Bei a fierce glare, then turned and walked into the forest.
Tianzhu Peak is so vast, and everyone else has scattered. I wonder whether we can still run into anyone else and ask what Ci Tong Grass looks like.
Hmph, this place is such a wilderness. Let's see whether this fellow gets scared.
As she angrily recalled the appearances of the four herbs she remembered, she carefully examined every kind of plant in the dense forest.
Before you continue