Nameless Plant

Two days later.

Zhou Qing and Tang San returned to the stretch of stream where the Spirit Rhyme Turtle lived.

After tossing rice balls mixed with Blue Silver Grass and fish scales into the grass over ten meters away, Zhou Qing pulled Tang San beneath the dense branches and leaves growing from a fallen tree in the stream.

"Will this work?"

Tang San was somewhat doubtful.

"I'm not sure, but we have to try."

Zhou Qing could only say that success depended on effort. Besides, this was his first time "mixing medicine." Even if it failed this time, they could try a second or third time.

After all, the two little ones had plenty of time.

"Is there any medicine left?"

Tang San tugged at Zhou Qing's arm.

"Yes."

Zhou Qing took out a packet of medicinal powder mixed from Blue Silver Grass and fish scales and handed it over. "What are you going to do?"

Tang San took out an iron object resembling a shuriken. It was small, just large enough to fit over his fingers.

Hidden Weapon!

Zhou Qing had never expected Tang San to already be making Hidden Weapons. Had he been influenced by him?

But this probably was not the first Hidden Weapon Tang San had made in the original story: the Sleeve Arrow.

Though Sleeve Arrows were simple, they still belonged to the category of mechanical devices. This dart, however, was clearly the type that required throwing techniques.

"This is a Bamboo Leaf Dart,"

Tang San introduced.

Among Tang Sect Hidden Weapons, the Bamboo Leaf Dart ranked rather low. It was one of many throwing darts, its body formed from four double-edged pieces resembling bamboo leaves. Its advantage lay in its small size. When thrown with a specific technique, it made no sound, and its sharp blades could even leave marks on iron and stone.

Tang San had spent two days crafting this Bamboo Leaf Dart just in case.

"I got it from... my father."

"Oh."

Zhou Qing did not ask further.

Tang San sighed in relief. He smeared the medicinal powder over the Bamboo Leaf Dart, then used saliva to moisten it and coated the entire dart once more. After lightly blowing on it, he quickly dried the moisture on its surface.

Thus, a simple Hidden Weapon coated in "poison" was finished.

Zhou Qing knew that the proper procedure would certainly not be this crude, but Tang San currently had no proper crafting tools, so he had to make do with simplicity. In that case—

As long as Tang San's Hidden Weapon techniques were good enough, this dart would not be useless.

In the blink of an eye, half an hour passed.

Just as Zhou Qing was growing impatient, ripples spread across the surface of the murky stream.

The two-hundred-year Spirit Rhyme Turtle poked its head above the water. Its closed nostrils opened, as though it had smelled a fragrance humans could not detect. It swam toward the bank, eventually climbing ashore and pushing into the grass. Opening its mouth, it bit into the rice balls laced with "medicine."

Smack!

The Spirit Rhyme Turtle bit off a mouthful, but the rice balls were soft, and pieces fell from both sides of its mouth.

Yet the Spirit Rhyme Turtle did not seem to care. After swallowing what was in its mouth, it picked up more from the ground and gulped them down in huge bites, much faster than it had eaten the Great White Carp.

"Good! It ate them!"

Zhou Qing was thrilled at the sight.

Tang San also breathed a sigh of relief, though he continued to hold the Bamboo Leaf Dart, ready to act at any moment.

Once the Spirit Rhyme Turtle had eaten all the rice balls, it opened its mouth wide as though yawning. Rather than returning to the water, it lay down beside the stream, closed its eyes, and remained motionless, no different from a corpse.

"How effective is the medicine?"

Tang San asked.

"I heard that if an aquatic Soul Beast below five hundred years consumes one packet, it can sleep for an hour," Zhou Qing said, recounting the description from the book.

"How much did you use?"

"Since the book didn't say how large one packet was, I added a bowlful to the rice balls. The bowl was about eight centimeters in diameter."

Tang San was speechless. He even wondered whether this Spirit Rhyme Turtle might sleep forever.

But Zhou Qing looked utterly innocent.

Still, Zhou Qing and Tang San waited for around ten minutes. Only after seeing that the Spirit Rhyme Turtle still did not move did they slowly climb over the broken tree and quietly approach it.

Both of them came up behind it.

That way, even if the Spirit Rhyme Turtle suddenly woke and spotted them, it would have to turn around and would not be able to immediately stretch out its head to bite them, giving them ample time to react.

Tang San, however, was much bolder. Somehow confirming that the Spirit Rhyme Turtle had truly fallen into a deep sleep, he climbed directly onto its shell and examined the cracks atop it, as well as the aquatic plants growing from the center.

That clump of aquatic grass, Ox Hair Felt, was indeed rooted in its flesh. But after Tang San parted it, he discovered that at the very center, there was actually another plant.

Its entire body was pitch-black, with only two leaves at the top that shone like warm jade. They were incredibly soft to the touch, and for some reason, Tang San felt the Mysterious Heaven Skill within him begin circulating on its own.

A treasure!

A peerless treasure!

Tang San had never imagined that a mere plant living symbiotically with a Spirit Rhyme Turtle could possess such a powerful effect. And this was only a seedling. If it matured, what sort of supreme treasure would it become?

The ability to increase cultivation speed alone was extraordinary!

For a moment, Tang San considered concealing it...

"What's wrong?"

Zhou Qing moved closer and also saw the strange plant. He immediately felt much lighter. "So this is the Spirit Rhyme Turtle's true plant?"

"Probably." Tang San suppressed the greed in his heart and silently cursed himself:

Tang San, Tang San, you received the Tang Sect's teachings. You were supposed to uphold chivalry and never take ill-gotten wealth, yet you nearly forgot something so basic. You truly shouldn't have!

Besides!

This was merely a tiny Spirit Rhyme Turtle. Douluo Continent was full of strange and rare Soul Beasts. There might even be countless precious herbs more advanced than those from his previous life. Why should he care about some unidentified plant?

And besides!

Zhou Qing was his only friend!

"These leaves! This stem!"

Zhou Qing's voice rose, drawing Tang San's attention. He could not help asking, "You recognize it?"

"No."

Zhou Qing immediately shook his head. Leaning closer, he touched the leaves, raised his finger, and fanned the air toward his nose with his other hand. He instantly felt refreshed and invigorated, his spirits soaring, even the blood within his body flowing faster.

"Mm~ It's medicine that clears the mind and refreshes the senses, and it's extremely effective. But if we want to know exactly what kind of plant it is, we'll have to wait until the villagers go out to sell grain and ask them to buy more medical books. Those books are rather expensive and usually unavailable in bookstores. We'll have to ask at a pharmacy in town... The last one was picked up cheaply at a market by Uncle Wang from the village."

Tang San was speechless and sighed.

They were too young to leave the village. Learning this plant's species would be impossible anytime soon.

But Tang San quickly rallied. Since this thing could increase his cultivation speed, he could simply use it. There was no need to investigate its species for now. It would be enough for him to test some of its medicinal properties later.

Then, Zhou Qing and Tang San carefully picked the snails and insects out from within the turtle shell, cleaned the sores, and pulled out the Ox Hair Felt.

The roots of those aquatic grasses did not run deep, and the surrounding flesh had already rotted. Zhou Qing figured that pulling them out would not cause the Spirit Rhyme Turtle any pain at all.

After everything was cleaned up, only an unknown young plant seedling remained at the center of the cracked shell, along with a large concave area surrounding it.

Without another word, Zhou Qing poured Yellow Potato Powder over it...