New Talent: Mountain Treasure Hunt

Half a month later.

Zhou Ling's walking grew steadier and steadier, and he could already jog a little.

His physique had improved considerably as well.

At just over seven months old, aside from still being somewhat undernourished, he was already much like an ordinary baby in every other respect.

Of course, compared with babies born with special physiques, he was still far inferior.

If I'd been born on the old Blue Star, learning to walk at seven months would have made me an absolute freak.

But this is a world of immortal cultivation. Some children from great clans are soaked in medicinal baths from infancy and possess immense strength. The gap between me and them is simply too great!

Zhou Ling did not dare slacken in the slightest.

He continued walking.

Just then, the door creaked open, and the broad, powerfully built Zhou Shan walked in.

To buy Zhou Ling enough Spirit Food over the past few months, he had spent nearly twenty days of every month in the Wild Domain.

After weathering wind and sleeping beneath the dew, his face had taken on the weathered look of one battered by hardship.

After entering, Zhou Shan set down the Medicine Basket on his back. It was filled to the brim with Spirit Medicines of unknown names, and only then did he let out a soft breath.

His outer robe bore dried, dark bloodstains. There was no need to ask—he must have run into Demon Beasts again.

Zhou Shan's brows were tightly furrowed, his steps heavy, his expression weary. Coupled with the blood on his clothes, he seemed weathered by the years, carrying an icy, murderous air that kept strangers at bay.

Yet the moment he stepped through his door and saw his wife and child, his entire bearing changed, as though an unyielding warrior had returned to the home he would defend with his life.

Looking at Zhou Ling toddling back and forth, Zhou Shan, his face still dusty from the road, smiled gently. Gazing at his child with doting affection, he laughed hoarsely. "Ling'er can already walk this far. In a few more months, he'll be able to join Father in Mountain Herb Seeking!"

Li Ru took the basket from him and handed him a damp cloth to wipe his face. "Ling'er is just a little too active. Otherwise, he's very well-behaved. You needn't worry!"

Seeing the Spirit Medicines in the basket, she could not help asking, "Why is it all ordinary Seven Star Grass this time?"

Zhou Shan shook his head helplessly. "Winter is nearly here. Too many people are going into the mountains, so it's impossible to find any good medicine."

"I'll make another trip into the mountains the day after tomorrow. Before winter arrives, I'll try to find as much as I can and earn a few more Spirit Stones, so I can buy Ling'er more Spirit Beast Meat to replenish his blood and vitality."

Li Ru looked at the bloodstains on his clothes and said worriedly, "Sigh, I have to stay home and care for Ling'er. It's too dangerous for you alone. You should wait until the new year before going into the mountains again!"

Zhou Shan sighed. "We won't be able to enter the mountains for the next few months, which means we'll have no income. The child was already frail to begin with. He still needs Spirit Porridge and beast meat to grow taller."

"Besides, he may enter the Dao Academy in two years. I need to save up more Spirit Stones too."

As he spoke, Zhou Shan smiled at Zhou Ling. "Little Ling'er, come here. Let Father hold you!"

Seeing the blood on Zhou Shan's body, Li Ru stopped him. "Take a bath and change your clothes first. Don't scare the child!"

"I didn't even notice." Zhou Shan nodded. "Fix me something to eat. I'm starving to death!"

"You didn't eat your Fasting Pills again!" Li Ru sighed, her voice carrying a trace of reproach.

When he went into the mountains to gather herbs, enduring wind and sleeping in the open, Li Ru had prepared some dry rations for him, along with two Fasting Pills.

One Fasting Pill cost thirty Broken Spirit and could sustain a person for two or three days.

After being married for so many years, Li Ru could tell from Zhou Shan's expression at a glance that he had been reluctant to eat the Fasting Pills.

"I'm not hungry in the mountains," Zhou Shan said with a smile.

Then he headed toward the washroom.

Li Ru shook her head. She knew that her husband bore the burden of supporting the family alone, and the pressure on him was immense.

But the child was still young, and there was nothing she could do to help for the time being. She murmured, "Once the child enters the Dao Academy, I'll be able to help."

Then she went to the kitchen to prepare food for Zhou Shan.

Without realizing it, Zhou Ling walked over to the basket. Bouncing his little body, he grabbed hold of it and plucked out several Spirit Medicines with his tiny hands.

The basket stood a whole head taller than he did.

[Growth Talent, Mountain Treasure Hunt: Able to sense the aura of nearby Spirit Medicines and Spirit Treasures. Requirement: Identify a total of thirty types of Spirit Herbs.]

"Mountain Treasure Hunt? And I need to identify Spirit Medicines?"

Looking at the prompt that appeared on the panel, Zhou Ling froze for a moment.

Then delight surged through him. Since Zhou Shan and Li Ru were Herb Seekers, most of the people they dealt with were Herb Seekers or Monster Hunters.

Lingxia Immortal City was merely a frontier town of the Dao Alliance. Beyond it, Wild Mountains and the Wild Domain stretched for countless miles, and within those mountains were more Spirit Plants, Demon Beasts, and minerals than one could count.

But treasures in the mountains were exceedingly difficult to obtain. For one, Demon Beasts within the mountains posed an enormous threat to human cultivators. For another, venturing deep into the Wild Domain meant encountering Baleful Mist.

Once Spirit Medicines were tainted by Baleful Mist, their aura vanished, making them incredibly difficult to find.

Herb Seekers like Zhou Shan normally found only common medicinal herbs.

If one could find a first-rank high-grade Spirit Herb, a single stalk would be worth several Low-grade Spirit Stones.

If he possessed such a talent, then Mountain Herb Seeking in the future would be as easy as turning his hand over.

Paired with [Crisis Reaction], he would strike it rich!

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

"This seems to be Seven Star Grass. It's generally used to make ordinary talisman paper."

Zhou Ling murmured.

Over this period, through constant exposure, he had also learned to recognize some Spirit Herbs.

[Identified Seven Star Grass, Mountain Treasure Hunt +1]

"It really works!"

Holding the Seven Star Grass, Zhou Ling felt that something seemed different from before.

He could sense that this Spirit Herb had grown for roughly three years, that its vitality was flourishing, and that it had only been picked recently.

"Ling'er, be careful not to fall!"

Li Ru emerged from the kitchen carrying a plate of Stir-Fried Greens. Seeing this, she set the plate on the wooden table.

Then she hurried over and scooped Zhou Ling into her arms.

"Mother, what kind of Spirit Herb is this?"

Zhou Ling asked in his babyish voice.

Though he was only a little over seven months old, Zhou Ling was exceptionally gifted with language and could already speak short sentences.

"Good son, this is Seven Star Grass. One stalk can sell for six or seven Broken Spirits."

"The medicinal herbs your father has gathered these days can fetch seven or eight Spirit Stones!"

Li Ru said gently.

"What's this?"

Zhou Ling waved his chubby little hand again, grabbing another Spirit Herb as he asked.

"Son, you're already interested in Spirit Herbs at such a young age. Why not become an Alchemist in the future?"

"This is Spirit Eye Grass, a rather obscure Spirit Herb. Eating it has a miraculous effect on one's eyesight."

Li Ru said to Zhou Ling with a smile.

[Identified Spirit Eye Grass, Mountain Treasure Hunt +1]

Watching the warm scene of Li Ru holding their child, Zhou Shan, freshly bathed and changed into clean clothes, suddenly felt all the hardship and exhaustion drain from his body.

"An Alchemist isn't so easy to become."

"Ling'er must be hungry, right? Come eat with us!"

Zhou Shan said with a broad smile.

He soon took a large gulp of the fragrant, glutinous spirit rice porridge and let out a breath. "That feels wonderful!"

Though it was merely the cheapest spirit rice mixed with ordinary rice and cooked into porridge, Li Ru's cooking was excellent, and Zhou Shan ate with great relish.

"If our son really becomes an Alchemist someday, then we'll be blessed!"

Cradling Zhou Ling in one arm and carrying a Medicine Basket in the other, Li Ru sat down on the long bench beside Zhou Shan.

The noon sunlight streamed into the house, casting rings of shimmering light and shadow over Zhou Ling.

Zhou Shan turned sideways and, with his empty left hand, pinched Zhou Ling's soft little cheek. He chuckled. "We Rogue Cultivators have neither inheritance nor resources. Becoming an Alchemist isn't very realistic."

"If Ling'er can become a Talisman Master or an Artifact Refiner in the future, I'll be more than satisfied!"

"Yes, it'd be wonderful if our son could enter the Dao Academy someday!" Li Ru said with a smile as she ladled Zhou Shan a bowl of meat soup.

This was Spirit Beast Meat soup, stewed every day to nourish Zhou Ling's body.

Zhou Ling had just eaten spirit rice porridge and wasn't hungry now. His gaze rested on the Medicine Basket before Li Ru.

As the couple began discussing their child's future entry into Lingxia Dao Academy, Zhou Ling learned from their conversation that the most popular professions in this world were Formation Masters, Alchemists, Rune Masters, and Artifact Refiners.

Ordinary children had to go to the Dao Academy between the ages of two and three to have their Spiritual Roots tested.

Children with Spiritual Roots and cultivation talent could begin their pre-cultivation enlightenment education at the Dao Academy and enter the Children's Class.

It was similar to a kindergarten on Blue Star.

Naturally, what they taught was foundational knowledge related to cultivation.

Around the age of seven or eight, the Dao Academy would begin sorting students into different paths. Based on their varying talents and abilities, different children would choose different cultivation professions. At that point, their status would also change, and they would count as Outer Sect Disciples of the Lingxia Immortal Sect.

Of course, some would be weeded out during this process.

Those with good results afterward could also become Inner Disciples or Direct Disciples.

Their status would then be completely different, far beyond what ordinary Rogue Cultivators could compare to.

But the chance of becoming an Inner Disciple of the Lingxia Sect was exceedingly low—less than one in ten each year.