Piloting a Spaceship to Harvest Heavenly Medicine

A wisp of fragrance lingered, and even through the sealed spaceship, it directly affected people's spirits, making them feel as if they had entered a mountain forest and felt a fresh and natural atmosphere.

This experience is unique. You enter the thick clouds, and occasionally there are amazing arcs of electricity around you, but there is a refreshing fragrance, as if you are in the midst of grass and trees.

"Old Chen, are there any more records about the Heavenly Medicine?" Wang Xuan was quite surprised. How exactly did this herb come about? It was actually in the clouds, and lightning was flashing nearby from time to time.

Chen Life Soil and said, "There are no other records. I guess even the Daoist Ancestral Court didn't describe it much. This thing is extremely mysterious. If it could be understood, this secret path wouldn't have been blocked and completely cut off."

Qing Mu remained silent, and following Wang Xuan's instructions, carefully guided the spaceship toward the hazy light.

"Thump!"

The spaceship trembled slightly, as if it had been slightly grazed by an electric arc, causing Wang Xuan and Old Chen's expressions to change.

Qing Mu said, "It's nothing, it's not an electric shock, it's just that we entered a turbulent airflow zone. Our spaceship can even withstand thunderstorms, so abnormal airflow is no problem at all."

Sure enough, the spaceship stabilized and continued its journey.

Wang Xuan looked puzzled. "That's strange. That ball of light was on the left just now, how did it end up on the right side of the clouds? Can its position change?"

"It's probably due to airflow disturbances. It couldn't harm the spaceship, but instead caused the Heavenly Medicine to be tossed around and deviate from its original position." Qing Mu asked him to give him further instructions.

Black clouds churned, with lightning flashing intermittently, like a silver waterfall, so close yet so magnificent, but also extremely dangerous.

Even Old Chen was a little uneasy, praying that the spaceship wouldn't have any problems. Otherwise, even if he had only just begun to get close to Chen Randeng, or even if he had become the real Chen Caiyao, he wouldn't have been able to withstand such a lightning strike.

"Qing Mu, slow down. It doesn't matter if we can't harvest the Heavenly Herb. This isn't our territory. Walk around the lightning, don't rush through it recklessly."

Qing Mu remained calm and composed, saying, "Master, don't worry. I've been a captain for ten years and have over twenty years of experience piloting ships. I've frequently been to the moon, Mars, and even deep space, always sailing alone. This cloud layer is nothing to me."

Wang Xuan was quite envious upon hearing this. He pointed Qing Mu closer to the Heavenly Medicine while chatting with him about entering outer space.

"Old Qing, you give me a live demonstration. I'm a complete novice at piloting. What real man doesn't want to fly a spaceship into deep space? Of course, Old Chen is an exception. Look at him, he's probably about to get seasick."

Chen Life Soil's eyes widened immediately, and he said, "When I entered the deep space to fight, you were still playing with Paper Boat in the bathtub. I have been piloting for thirty-two years!"

Thump!

Old Chen immediately shut up. The spaceship shook again, the vibration was quite strong, and even Qing Mu's expression changed slightly. The protection system had already been activated, yet it was still shaking so violently.

Snap!

A blinding flash of lightning swept across the front of the spaceship, so dazzling that the entire world was no longer dark, only that terrifying, intense light, which was awe-inspiring.

The three of them felt their scalps tingle. This kind of immense power of heaven and earth was too terrifying. If it really hit a person, how could they survive?

"I finally understand the dangers of the process of Ascension to Immortality. Under such powerful natural forces, it is really too difficult to resist them with the physical body alone."

Wang Xuan was filled with emotion. Upon careful reflection, he realized that humanity is truly insignificant, as small as dust in the face of thunder, nature, and the universe.

The blinding light disappeared, Qing Mu said, "The temperature of this lightning is more than three times that of the sun's surface, so if there really are Transcendent Immortals them, they are truly amazing."

Old Chen said, "Those who Ascension to Immortality are not simple people. The lightning they face is even more complex. In addition to the lightning we see, there is probably a mysterious power contained within it."

Wang Xuan looked surprised and said, "We're close to the Heavenly Medicine, but why do I feel like we're being targeted? This lightning is strange!"

Under his guidance, Qing Mu piloted the spaceship and arrived near the Heavenly Medicine, but the surrounding lightning was quite unusual and hostile, bombarding everything in sight.

In an instant, the spaceship shook several times, surrounded by terrifying beams of light that were deafening.

Qing Mu was certain that the lightning protection system had worked and the spaceship was not damaged; it was only being jolted up and down by the residual energy waves from the clouds.

"Is this a plum tree?" Wang Xuan exclaimed in surprise. As he got closer, he gradually realized what kind of plant it was.

In the peaceful, pale Light Mist, there stood a fruit tree, its trunk and leaves all golden, quite mystical, rooted in the clouds.

Leaving aside other unusual features, its shape alone is very similar to that of a plum tree.

It is taller than a person, and its trunk is as thick as an arm. Patches of golden bark spread out like scales, radiating a sacred golden light from the gaps.

Its branches are as supple as weeping willows, each one brimming with vitality, and its slender golden leaves cast a hazy glow.

The entire tree has only one flower, which looks very much like a plum blossom, but is much fuller, about the size of an adult's fist. The petals have already opened, and it looks like it won't be long before it withers and bears fruit.

"Golden Plum!" Old Chen was quite surprised after hearing his description. It was such a heavenly herb, rooted in the clouds, accompanied by thunder.

He was quite disappointed; now it was certain that the celestial medicine was not yet ripe, and the fruit had not even formed properly!

However, the leaves and branches of the medicinal tree were probably no ordinary things, and they looked on with hope.

"How did we get through?" Under Wang Xuan's guidance, Qing Mu piloted the spaceship and approached the mysterious medicinal tree, actually passing through the golden light.

There was only a hazy light there, no real objects.

"Could it be that there isn't a real tree body?" The three of them were a little nervous. They had already gotten so close, and it would be a great pity if they came up empty-handed.

Qing Mu, determined, used a robotic arm to harvest the leaves of the Heavenly Herb. If he could obtain even a small amount of this, the harvest would be astonishing.

However, the mechanical arm passed through the golden light but found nothing. The tender, vibrant Golden Branches swayed in the thunder and storm, out of reach.

What kind of species is this? Isn't that tree a real object? The three were quite astonished.

As we approached, the fragrance of the flowers intensified, making our minds sharper, but it did not cause any other extraordinary changes.

The aroma of the medicine penetrates directly into the mind, intoxicating the senses—this is truly bizarre.

"Times have changed. We can pilot spaceships, soaring to the heavens and crossing the clouds and thunder that the ancients considered insurmountable barriers, but... we still can't harvest the celestial medicine!" Old Chen said with a sense of loss and resentment.

Although he couldn't see it, the fragrance was wonderful, and he felt it was very close, as if he were right next to the Heavenly Medicine, but he still couldn't reach that secret path.

Wang Xuan pondered for a while and said, "I'll check some ancient books later, and read through the county annals of Ancheng and other historical records to see if there are any myths or legends about this celestial herb in the history of this area."

He suggested starting with the legends, as this medicinal herb is too extraordinary to be harvested at present.

Qing Mu pondered and said, "This celestial medicine involves the spiritual realm, as if it doesn't exist in the mortal world. Why did it appear? Is there some factor in reality that caused it to reveal itself?"

Wang Xuan's spirits lifted, and he said, "If it's related to the mortal world and the vast sea of people, could it be because Old Chen is about to 'pass away' recently, and the number one figure in the New Arts Domain has died in a 'plane crash'? Their news has strongly disturbed the people of Ancheng, thus prompting the appearance of the Heavenly Medicine?"

Qing Mu replied, "That makes sense!"

Wang Xuan's eyes shone brightly, and his words were forceful. He said, "If that's really the case, Old Chen, you'd better do something. Publish an obituary tonight saying that you died from serious injuries at the age of... Old Chen, how old are you?"

Qing Mu perked up and said, "If we release this news, there will probably be a deluge of reports. In one day, two leading figures from the old and new fields have died. It will definitely ignite public opinion."

Old Chen revealed a murderous glint in his eyes and said, "It's one thing for Olesha to be 'hit by a plane crash,' but do you two also want me to be 'killed by my injuries'?"

Then he sighed and said, "You're overthinking it. It has nothing to do with people's hearts. I just remembered something. When I was practicing their secret arts at the Daoist Ancestral Court, I saw a page that mentioned the Golden Thunder Fruit, which could help people master the highest Daoist arts. Now it seems to be a celestial medicine, very similar to the Golden Plum here! But this thing is most afraid of worldly influences. If it disturbs people's hearts too much, it may quickly disappear."

Wang Xuan was taken aback and said, "The guess is completely wrong. Could it be that it is because Olesha died that various news reports appeared, disturbing people's hearts and increasing worldly concerns, which led to this celestial medicine going into hiding?"

Old Chen said softly, "Heavenly medicine is extremely mysterious. Even the Pre-Qin Daoist practitioners and Daoist school of the pre-Qin period did not understand its essence. No one has ever been able to truly analyze it, and there is no way to find the special factors that caused it to appear."

Finally, he frowned and said, "The secret texts of Daoism vaguely mention that long ago, not only did Daoist school crave the Thunder Fruit, but there were also peerless demons vying for it, Daoist school even suffered losses at that time."

Wang Xuan exclaimed in surprise, "The Previous Incarnation of Daoism is the Daoist school, which existed as early as the pre-Qin period. If it's from that era, I feel... a little uneasy!"

Not only him, but Old Chen and Qing Mu also immediately thought of the peerless Red-clothed Demon Immortal they saw in the Inner Scenery Realm. Judging from the ancient Jiangnan dialect she spoke, she was from two or three thousand years ago, speaking the Wu dialect.

The three were immediately shocked. The appearance of this celestial herb was probably not accidental. It might be related to the peerless Red-clothed Demon Immortal!

"She's going fishing?!" This was the first thought that came to Chen Life Soil, the veteran fisherman.

Wang Xuan frowned and said, "That's unlikely. She can't pass through that curtain in the Inner Scenery Realm, let alone interfere with the present world so strongly."

In any case, they became wary.

Wang Xuan looked at the bone fragments he was carrying, but the Female Sword Immortal showed no reaction.

The three piloted their spaceship around here, attempting to capture the Golden Plum several times with their robotic arm, but all attempts failed.

"Forget it, let's back off. We can't get this; it's not ready yet," Old Chen sighed.

The lightning was quite dense in this area, and Qing Mu didn't want to take too many risks, so he maneuvered the spaceship backward, moving a little further away.

"Huh?!" Wang Xuan exclaimed in surprise.

Then Old Chen also looked up abruptly, sensing something was amiss.

Wang Xuan had truly witnessed the changes: the celestial herb, taller than a person, was radiating golden light, and a patch of golden soil, about ten feet in diameter, had appeared at its base.

Is it becoming more and more real, a further manifestation of its true nature?

Old Chen was surprised because the wound on his forehead was itchy, and his metabolism seemed to have sped up.

In an instant, Wang Xuan also noticed that his ten fingers were slightly itchy. Was this because new nails were growing out quickly?

"The Heavenly Medicine... has solidified quite a bit!" Wang Xuan said in a low voice.

Old Chen sighed, "Is it really as the records say, that one can search the whole world but not find it, only to suddenly turn around and see it in the distance?"

Qing Mu was astonished. Could the celestial medicine be targeting the human heart? Only by being willing to let go can one gain something?

The golden soil looked even more real, Golden Plum swayed with the thunder, their fragrance becoming even more intense!

Wishing all my fellow book lovers a happy and healthy Dragon Boat Festival, and all your wishes fulfilled.