Spirit Herb Garden

Zhang Tie and Jiang Yun traveled for roughly four long days. Along the way, aside from encountering a ferocious three-eyed flower leopard at the Foundation Establishment stage, which Zhang Tie killed with a single punch, they faced no other major dangers.

First-tier spirit herbs appeared in their sight as frequently as wildflowers by the roadside, numbering no fewer than seventy or eighty plants. They also obtained six second-tier spirit herbs. Jiang Yun took the initiative to state that he had no need for these herbs, so Zhang Tie did not refuse and went along with his wishes.

At noon on the fourth day, the blazing sun hung high overhead, and the heat was unbearable. Yet Zhang Tie and Jiang Yun keenly noticed that the concentration of Spiritual Qi around them had increased significantly.

Their gazes met, and they immediately understood each other. The spirit herb region they had been longing for had to be close at hand.

Sure enough, not long after, a valley shrouded in layers of white, cotton-like mist appeared before them like a dreamscape. The incredibly dense, nearly tangible Spiritual Qi flowed out from the valley like bubbling spring water.

Zhang Tie and Jiang Yun no longer hesitated and slowly advanced into the valley.

However, after two hours passed, to their surprise, they had returned to their original location once again. Zhang Tie frowned and asked, "If I remember correctly, this is already the third time we've come back here, isn't it?"

"That's right. In my view, we must have entered some sort of illusion array," Jiang Yun replied gravely.

"Do you have any good way to break this array?" Zhang Tie stared intently at Jiang Yun with his deep eyes and asked anxiously.

"I've only seen an illusion array of this scale described in ancient records. Completely destroying it is beyond imagining."

"However, if we only need to pass through it, I have some confidence," Jiang Yun answered after pondering for a moment.

As he spoke, he took a dark black talisman from his Storage Pouch and said slowly, "This is a second-tier restriction-breaking talisman, my ultimate treasure for breaking arrays. This one talisman alone is worth a fortune—over a thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones." Holding his breath and focusing, he slowly poured his powerful spiritual power into it, then gently tossed the talisman overhead.

In an instant, the surrounding scenery seemed to be toyed with by an invisible giant hand, undergoing a shocking, earth-shaking transformation. Delight appeared on both their faces, and they immediately sped forward like the wind.

After walking for roughly a quarter of an hour, the restriction-breaking talisman was still working its magic, but an apparently invisible yet solid barrier blocked their path.

"This should be the restriction around the spirit herb region. Brother Zhang, why not take out the Five Elements Restriction-Breaking Banner and see if it can break through?" Jiang Yun said expectantly as he looked at Zhang Tie.

Zhang Tie did not put on airs. He decisively took out the Five Elements Restriction-Breaking Banner, continuously poured vast spiritual power into it, and formed hand seals with both hands.

Then, following the profound principle of mutual generation and restraint among the five elements, he precisely sent the five small blue banners into the surrounding area. In the blink of an eye, they vanished without a trace.

Zhang Tie then poured his powerful spiritual power into the array plate like a bursting river. Soon, a pentagram slowly emerged on the seemingly transparent yet indestructible barrier.

Zhang Tie stepped forward, gathering all the power of his blood and qi onto his right fist like a surging flood. Then, without holding anything back, he threw a heavy punch at the center of the pentagram.

Soon, fine cracks appeared around the pentagram like cracks in porcelain. However, after only one or two breaths, they returned to normal as though time had reversed.

Zhang Tie once again pushed his blood and qi to the limit and unleashed more than a dozen punches at the center of the pentagram in an instant, like a violent storm.

This time, the cracks finally widened somewhat, but that was all. At that critical moment, Jiang Yun somehow produced a long black shuttle. With his eyes tightly shut, he poured a massive amount of spiritual power into it. The black shuttle instantly burst forth with a deep, ghostly black light, then shot toward the cracks like an arrow released from a bow.

With a crisp crack, the transparent yet sturdy barrier shattered like fragile glass, leaving a gap roughly half a meter wide.

"Get in!" Jiang Yun put away the black shuttle and shouted. Without hesitation, he plunged headfirst through the opening.

Zhang Tie was no less swift. He quickly put away the Five Elements Restriction-Breaking Banner, flashed forward, and followed him inside.

As soon as they gained their footing in the new space, they looked back and saw the opening slowly closing like a healing wound. In only two breaths, it had returned to normal. As expected of an ancient grand array—the years had done nothing to diminish its terrifying power.

Their attention had been entirely focused on the stubborn restriction just now. Only after recovering their senses did they realize in shock that the Spiritual Qi here was so dense it was almost enough to liquefy.

The two took deep breaths and calmed their excited hearts before continuing deeper into the mysterious place. Before long, they saw patch after patch of spirit herbs, a sight of incomparable grandeur. Vast herb fields stretched before them in neat, orderly rows.

They swiftly used the Wind Riding Technique and flew over.

The fields seemed to have been meticulously designed by master craftsmen. Every section was neatly planted with hundreds of identical spirit herbs. Looking from afar, they were densely packed like countless stars, and there had to be at least dozens of herb fields.

"Brother Zhang, we've really struck it rich this time! I'm afraid even our Storage Pouches won't be nearly enough!" Jiang Yun shouted excitedly, dancing with joy.

"Mm, they definitely won't be enough. But I suggest that we mainly collect third-tier spirit herbs. A few fourth-tier herbs will be sufficient, but we absolutely must not touch anything above the fourth tier." Zhang Tie gradually calmed down from his initial extreme excitement and spoke with a serious expression.

"Why?" Jiang Yun asked in confusion, his brows tightly furrowed. In his opinion, prioritizing the most precious high-tier spirit herbs was clearly the wise choice.

"Because once news of high-tier spirit herbs leaks out, the Crimson Fire Sect will stop at nothing. They would rather destroy the Hundred Blossoms Sect than let anyone else possess them. And you and I, as the ones who brought the high-tier spirit herbs out, will inevitably suffer the inhuman torment of soul-searching. Even if we survive by chance, we'll become mindless idiots." Zhang Tie said coldly, his face dark as water.

Upon hearing Zhang Tie's words, Jiang Yun trembled all over and instantly broke out in a cold sweat. Thinking back to what he had just been considering, lingering fear rose in his heart as sweat trickled down his forehead.

Thus, the two followed their earlier plan and began picking in an orderly fashion.

In just one short hour, they finished harvesting everything according to plan. In total, they obtained more than eighty third-tier spirit herbs and six fourth-tier spirit herbs. Jiang Yun received fifteen third-tier spirit herbs and two fourth-tier spirit herbs.

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

"It should be the effect of a powerful Spirit Gathering Formation, though the scale of this formation is unimaginably enormous. Of course, it's also possible that this spirit herb garden was built directly atop a spirit vein." Jiang Yun thought for a moment before answering.

"Is there any way to determine whether there really is a spirit vein below us?" Zhang Tie asked eagerly again, a trace of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

"There is most likely a spirit vein. The Spiritual Qi in this secret realm is so dense that, at the very least, it must be a mid-grade spirit vein. It's just difficult to determine whether the one beneath this herb garden is a main vein or a branch vein." Jiang Yun replied with a slight frown.

"If I dig straight down, can I reach the spirit vein?" Zhang Tie pressed.

"Of course you can, 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 could not help looking embarrassed. He silently berated himself—he had relied on brute strength so much that his mind had become dull.

He had more than a dozen Earth Evasion Talismans in his Storage Pouch, yet he had not used a single one. Had his overdeveloped limbs truly made his mind simple?

"Then find a safe place to rest and recover first. I'll go down and investigate." After saying this, Zhang Tie did not wait for Jiang Yun's reply. He quickly took out an Earth Evasion Talisman and activated it with spiritual power. In an instant, his body sank into the ground like it had fallen into quicksand, disappearing without a trace.

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