Medicine Garden

Zhang Tie and Jiang Yun traveled for a long time, approximately four days. Along the way, they only encountered a ferocious three-eyed flower leopard of the Foundation Establishment stage, which Zhang Tie dealt with in an instant with a single punch. Other than that, they didn't run into any significant dangers.

First-tier spirit medicine appeared as frequently as wildflowers by the roadside, with at least seventy to eighty plants visible. They also managed to obtain six second-tier spirit medicine plants. Jiang Yun proactively stated that he had no need for these spirit medicines, so Zhang Tie didn't refuse, letting him have his way.

Around noon on the fourth day, the sun hung high in the sky, making the heat unbearable. However, Zhang Tie and Jiang Yun keenly sensed that the spiritual energy concentration in their surroundings had significantly increased.

Their eyes met, and they understood each other perfectly. Both knew that the spirit medicine area they had been longing for was likely close at hand.

As expected, after not much longer, a valley shrouded in thick, cotton-like mist appeared before them, resembling a dreamscape. The incredibly dense, almost tangible spiritual energy flowed continuously from within the valley like a gurgling spring.

Without any further hesitation, Zhang Tie and Jiang Yun began to slowly advance into the valley.

However, two hours passed quickly, and to their surprise, they found themselves back at their starting position. Zhang Tie frowned and asked, "If I recall correctly, this is the third time we've returned to this spot?"

"That's right. In my opinion, we must have stumbled into some kind of formation, like an illusion formation," Jiang Yun replied with a solemn expression.

"Do you have any good strategies or clever methods to break this formation?" Zhang Tie's deep eyes fixed on Jiang Yun, and he then asked anxiously.

"I've only ever seen illusion formations of this magnitude in ancient texts. I wouldn't even dare to think about completely breaking it. However, if it's just about passing through it, I have some confidence," Jiang Yun replied after a moment of thought.

With that, he took out a dark, lusterless black talisman from his storage bag and slowly said, "This is a second-tier restriction-breaking talisman. It's my ultimate treasure for breaking formations. This single talisman is worth thousands, easily over a thousand low-grade spirit stones." As he spoke, he held his breath, slowly poured his potent spiritual power into it, and then gently tossed the talisman towards the sky.

In an instant, the surrounding scenery seemed to be manipulated by an invisible giant hand, undergoing a dramatic and astonishing transformation. Both of them couldn't suppress the look of surprise on their faces. Then, with wind beneath their feet, their figures moved like lightning as they quickly advanced forward.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the talisman's magical effect was still at play, but their path forward was ruthlessly blocked by an invisible, solid barrier.

"This should be the restriction of the spirit medicine area. Brother Zhang, why don't you take out the Five Elements Restriction-Breaking Banner and try to break it?" Jiang Yun looked at Zhang Tie eagerly, with a hint of anticipation in his voice.

Zhang Tie didn't hesitate. He immediately took out the Five Elements Restriction-Breaking Banner, continuously infused it with his vast spiritual power, and performed magic incantations with his hands. Then, following the profound principles of the five elements' mutual generation and restraint, he precisely embedded the five small blue banners into the surroundings, and they vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Tie then poured his powerful spiritual power into the formation disk like a bursting river. Soon, on the seemingly transparent yet unbreakable barrier, a five-pointed star pattern slowly emerged.

Zhang Tie took a step forward, channeling the power of his qi and blood like a surging torrent, concentrating it onto his right fist. He then unleashed his full might without reservation, striking the center of the five-pointed star pattern heavily.

Soon, the area around the five-pointed star began to show faint cracks, much like a porcelain vase cracking. However, in just a second or two, it miraculously returned to its original state as if time had reversed.

Zhang Tie once again fully activated the power of his qi and blood, striking the center of the five-pointed star more than ten times in rapid succession, like a fierce storm. This time, the cracks became slightly larger, but that was all. At this critical juncture, Jiang Yun, who had appeared from nowhere, produced a long, black shuttle. He closed his eyes tightly, poured a massive amount of potent spiritual power into it, and the black shuttle instantly emitted a deep, faint black light. Then, it shot towards the cracks like an arrow released from a bow.

With a crisp "crack," the transparent, solid barrier shattered like fragile glass, creating a gap about half a meter in diameter.

"Quick, get in!" Jiang Yun shouted, retracting the black shuttle, and unhesitatingly plunged into the gap.

Zhang Tie's movements were equally swift. He quickly put away the Five Elements Restriction-Breaking Banner, his figure flashed, and he followed closely behind, entering the gap.

As soon as the two stabilized themselves in the new space, they looked back. The gap was already slowly closing, like a healing wound. In just two breaths, it had completely returned to its original state. It was indeed an ancient formation; even after so many years, its power was still terrifyingly formidable, inspiring awe.

The two had been entirely focused on the stubborn restriction. Now that they had recovered, they were shocked to discover that the spiritual energy here was astonishingly dense, almost to the point of liquefaction.

They took a deep breath, calming their excited emotions, and continued walking towards the mysterious depths. Before long, they saw vast fields of spirit medicine stretching out one after another, a truly spectacular sight. Before them lay orderly, expansive medicine gardens.

They quickly used the Wind Riding Technique and flew over. The fields here seemed meticulously designed by skilled artisans. Each area was neatly planted with hundreds of identical spirit medicine plants. From a distance, they appeared densely packed, like countless stars, with at least dozens of such medicine fields.

"Brother Zhang, we've really struck it rich! Our storage bags probably won't be enough!" Jiang Yun exclaimed excitedly, jumping with joy.

"Yes, they definitely won't be enough. But I suggest we primarily collect third-tier spirit medicine. Taking a few fourth-tier spirit medicine plants will be sufficient, but we absolutely shouldn't touch anything above fourth-tier," Zhang Tie said, gradually calming down from his initial excitement, his expression turning serious.

"Why is that?" Jiang Yun asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. In his opinion, it would be the wisest move to prioritize obtaining the most valuable high-tier spirit medicine.

"Because if news of high-tier spirit medicine leaks out, the Crimson Fire Sect will undoubtedly stop at nothing and use all means necessary, even destroying our Hundred Blossoms Sect, to claim the high-tier spirit medicine for themselves. And as the ones who brought the high-tier spirit medicine out, we would inevitably suffer brutal soul-searching torture. Even if we miraculously survived, we would be reduced to imbeciles," Zhang Tie said coldly, his expression as dark as water.

Hearing Zhang Tie's words, Jiang Yun couldn't help but tremble and shiver. Recalling his earlier thoughts, he felt a surge of fear, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

Thus, following their previous plan, the two began to harvest methodically. In just one hour, they completed the harvest according to their plan, collecting over eighty third-tier spirit medicine plants and six fourth-tier spirit medicine plants. Jiang Yun was allocated fifteen third-tier spirit medicine plants and two fourth-tier spirit medicine plants.

"Why do you think the spiritual energy here is so much denser than outside?" Zhang Tie asked thoughtfully, his gaze deep.

"It's likely due to the powerful Spirit Gathering Formation at work, though the scale of this formation is far beyond imagination. Of course, it's also possible that this medicine garden is situated on a spirit vein," Jiang Yun replied after a moment of thought.

"Are there any ways to determine if there's a spirit vein underneath?" Zhang Tie's heart stirred, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes as he asked again anxiously.

"It's highly likely there is a spirit vein. The spiritual energy in this Secret Realm is so dense; it must be at least a mid-grade spirit vein. However, it's difficult to determine at the moment whether it's the main vein or a branch vein beneath this medicine garden," Jiang Yun replied, his brow slightly furrowed.

"Can I dig straight down to reach the spirit vein?" Zhang Tie pressed further.

"Of course, it's possible. But in my opinion, it would be more convenient and safer to use an Earth Evasion Talisman to go down," Jiang Yun said.

Zhang Tie couldn't help but show a look of embarrassment, inwardly regretting that his muscles had become too developed, making his brain a bit sluggish. He had over a dozen Earth Evasion Talismans in his storage bag and hadn't used a single one. Was it truly a case of being too strong and too simple?

"Then you find a safe place to rest and recover. I'll go down and investigate first," Zhang Tie said. Without waiting for Jiang Yun's reply, he quickly took out an Earth Evasion Talisman and injected spiritual energy into it to activate it. In an instant, Zhang Tie's figure sank into the ground as if falling into quicksand, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.