Green Wind Monkey

Wang Hong took out a small clay pot, opened the leaf sealing it, circulated his spiritual power to heat it, then plucked a small green onion from the Mysterious Space and quickly chopped it into pieces, scattering them on top.

At this moment, the rich aroma of the soup and the fresh scent of the green onion merged, drifting outwards. It greatly stimulated the appetite, causing several people to swallow secretly.

Wang Hong held the clay pot and a flatbread with his spiritual power, sending them to the Lei cultivator.

The Lei cultivator caught them with one hand, brought them to his nose, and inhaled deeply, displaying a look of extreme bliss. Not only was it the fragrance of the food, but he also felt the rich spiritual energy contained within it.

He picked up the flatbread, finding it soft and elastic to the touch. Taking a bite, he found it very chewy with a fresh scent of wheat. It must have been made from Spirit Wheat, and this single flatbread was worth at least two Spirit Stones.

He then took another sip of the soup. It was smooth and fragrant upon entering his mouth, transforming into spiritual energy within his abdomen and flowing slowly through his meridians.

This was the difference between Spirit Meals and elixirs. Spirit Meals, after consumption, did not require deliberate cultivation to refine; they directly turned into spiritual energy and were absorbed by the body.

Furthermore, Spirit Meals were non-toxic and had no side effects with long-term consumption.

Elixirs, on the other hand, required cultivation to refine; otherwise, most of their medicinal power would be wasted.

The Lei cultivator had eaten Spirit Meals a few times before, but the spiritual energy was relatively thin, far inferior to this soup.

As the Lei cultivator ate, he praised it as being excellent value for money. The others, though tempted, touched their meager storage bags and gave up on the idea.

Twenty Spirit Stones could buy two Qi Gathering Pills, or two low-level talismans, which could save their lives at a critical moment.

They risked entering the Black Dragon Marsh, and sometimes they wouldn't earn twenty Spirit Stones even after a month of adventuring. For them to casually spend twenty Spirit Stones on a Spirit Meal, they were truly reluctant.

The group couldn't help but doubt Wang Hong's identity and origins, from exchanging elixirs for spirit herbs earlier to now having a Spirit Meal worth twenty Spirit Stones.

Ordinary rogue cultivators did not have his financial capacity. He must be a disciple of a prominent family, disguised as a rogue cultivator to gain experience.

After finishing the food, Wang Hong took out a tent, set it up, and crawled inside.

His primordial spirit floated in the Mysterious Space, which now had an area of over three mu. The spirit herbs transplanted in the past two days had already occupied a fen of land. It seemed that to transplant all the spirit herbs in the Black Dragon Marsh, the Mysterious Space would need to expand by at least a few more mu.

Suddenly, he saw a Green-tailed Spirit Bee flying among the spirit herbs. Wang Hong enveloped it with his Spiritual Sense and captured it. He took a look; he had been fighting this type of spirit bee for the past few days, so he was naturally very familiar with it. This was definitely the same species.

His Spiritual Sense swept through, and he discovered there was more than one in the Mysterious Space, at least a dozen.

He picked up the beehive he had collected earlier. He hadn't paid much attention before, but there were still many unhatched eggs in the beehive. Those dozen or so spirit bees should have hatched from these eggs.

Could the Mysterious Space now accommodate living creatures? Before, he couldn't even bring fleas into it. He exited the Mysterious Space, went outside the tent, caught two ants, and then hurriedly re-entered the tent.

The Lei cultivator, sitting on a rock outside, couldn't help but sigh, "Fellow Daoist Wang is truly an extraordinary person. His actions and demeanor are always so unfathomable."

Wang Hong tried to grab the two ants, but he couldn't bring them into the Mysterious Space at all. He then grabbed a spirit bee from the Mysterious Space and brought it out, but he could easily bring it into the Mysterious Space.

Wang Hong guessed that perhaps as the Mysterious Space upgraded, it could now bring in living eggs and similar items. As long as the creatures hatched within the Mysterious Space, they could enter and exit with him.

He acted on his thoughts. He walked out of the tent again, used his Spiritual Sense to locate a nest of ordinary Iron-toothed Ants, dug open the soil in a few swift movements, found some ant eggs, and returned to the tent.

"I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Wang to enjoy catching ants and digging up ant nests. This hobby is truly peculiar!" the Lei cultivator sighed again in his heart.

Wang Hong, naturally, was unaware of the Lei cultivator's musings. What pleased him was that these ant eggs could indeed be brought into the Mysterious Space. As for the others, he could only wait for them to hatch into ants before trying again.

After resting for a night, the injuries they sustained earlier had mostly recovered. They continued deeper into the Black Dragon Marsh, their next destination being Mistwind Gorge.

Mistwind Gorge was tens of miles wide, either filled with mist or ravaged by fierce winds, hence many cultivators called it Mistwind Gorge.

Its unique environment made it a place where various spirit herbs grew abundantly, and it was also a paradise for Demonic Beasts.

The group entered the gorge. Inside, it was shrouded in white mist, with very low visibility. Objects ten feet away were already unclear.

Everyone released their Spiritual Sense, cautiously guarding their surroundings.

Not long after proceeding, everyone's Spiritual Sense simultaneously detected a Silver Thread Orchid. After some discussion, the spirit herb was allocated to Old Man Ge, with compensation of two Spirit Stones to each person.

Silver Thread Orchid was not a particularly valuable spirit herb, so naturally, no one had any objections. This incident also served as a reminder: if they discovered a valuable and rare spirit herb, it probably wouldn't be divided so easily.

At this moment, the Cultivator Shi suggested, "Why don't we spread out a bit, about five feet apart? This way, it will be more convenient to find spirit herbs, and we can provide timely rescue if there's any danger."

"That's right. Although the mist here is thick, a distance of five or six feet is fine. If something happens, the others can rush over instantly," Cultivator Ding agreed.

The Lei cultivator also concurred, "We are all here seeking opportunities. It would be detrimental if we caused discord over it."

No one had any objections, and they spread out. Wang Hong walked on the far left, the Lei cultivator on the far right, each separated by five feet, advancing together.

After advancing more than twenty miles, everyone had made some gains. Wang Hong had also collected two spirit herbs.

"Wow! So many Crimson Silk Fruits!" This was the voice of the Cultivator Shi.

Wang Hong was on the far left and couldn't see the specific situation on the right. Seeing Old Man Ge and Cultivator Ding rushing to the right, he also followed.

Upon approaching, he discovered that the terrain here was completely different from the left side. The left side he had walked on was a grassy area with only sparse small trees.

Here, strange rocks several feet tall stood erect. Between the stone forest grew fruit trees over ten feet tall. Amidst the verdant leaves hung white fruits, with a small half of the ripe fruits tinged with a hint of crimson. At first glance, they were very pleasing to the eye.

These were Crimson Silk Fruits, a first-tier spirit fruit. Although not particularly valuable, picking so many Crimson Silk Fruits would still be a considerable income.

At this moment, the few who had arrived first had not moved. They were confronting several Demonic Monkeys on the opposite trees.

There were seven Demonic Monkeys on the opposite trees, with green backs and white bellies. They were not large, only about three feet tall, baring their teeth and glaring angrily at everyone.

"This Demonic Monkey is called a Green Wind Monkey. It belongs to the wind-element Demonic Beasts and prefers to live in groups. The number in each group is usually less than ten, but can be up to several hundred," Old Man Ge said slowly.

"Then should we attack? I just looked, and there's a large area of forest inside, all with Crimson Silk Fruit trees. If we pick them all, it's worth at least tens of thousands of Spirit Stones," the Lei cultivator said.

Hearing this, everyone's eyes immediately turned bloodshot. If they had ten thousand Spirit Stones, it would be enough to cover the expenses for the Qi Refining stage, and they wouldn't have to worry about Spirit Stones for the entire Qi Refining period.