Mountain Herb Seeking (Requesting Follows Monthly Tickets Recommendation Tickets)

After getting everything in order, Zhou Ling left his room.

Mother had already prepared breakfast, while Father sat quietly in a rattan chair along the courtyard corridor.

He drank tea and gazed at the sky, his expression somewhat forlorn.

These past few days, following Physician Lin's instructions, he could neither drink nor draw upon the power of the blood qi within his body.

Fortunately, with the Qi Nourishing Pill regulating his meridians, they had recovered somewhat, and his condition had improved considerably.

But having never been idle, he found it truly uncomfortable to stay cooped up at home like this.

All he could do was look at the flowers and plants by the wall, or help Mother pour the brewed spirit wine into wine jars.

"Ling'er, how many days will you be staying at the Dao Academy?"

After serving Zhou Ling a bowl of spirit porridge, Li Ru asked.

"Mother, maybe six or seven days, perhaps a little longer."

Zhou Ling answered indistinctly through a mouthful of Spirit Porridge Bun.

"Mm, I told you long ago that you should stay at the Dao Academy. Next year is another Assessment Year, a crucial time—you mustn't let your guard down!"

"As for the Core Condensing Grass, Mother plans to ask Physician Lin and have him think of a way. Don't worry about it either."

Li Ru instructed him.

"Mother, don't worry. I already know where to find the Core Condensing Grass."

Zhou Ling said.

"Where did you get that information?" Li Ru asked suspiciously.

"Alchemist Wang told me!" Zhou Ling replied in a perfectly serious manner.

Hearing that it was Wang Yu, Li Ru did not doubt him and asked, "Then how many Spirit Stones will it take? Mother has ninety saved up at the moment. See how many more you need."

"Mother, you don't need to concern yourself with this. I'll handle it."

Holding a bun, Zhou Ling headed outside.

"Father, I'm heading out first!"

"If you don't have enough Spirit Stones, Father can borrow some from your Uncle Chu and the others first!" Zhou Shan said with a cough.

"No need!"

"That child is in such a mad rush, and he never explains things clearly to us!"

Mother's muttering drifted from behind him.

After leaving home, Zhou Ling went straight to Chu Xing's house.

Chu Xing and the other five Rogue Medicine Seeking Masters had already made their preparations. They were somewhat surprised to see Zhou Ling as well.

Zhou Ling greeted each of them in turn. After exchanging pleasantries, the group set off for Black Cloud Mountain.

Black Cloud Mountain lay west of Lingxia City. It was said to stretch for over ten thousand li, vast and boundless.

Lingxia City was merely a Border Town at the edge of Black Cloud Mountain's Western Foothills.

Medicine Seeking Masters of Lingxia City generally divided Black Cloud Mountain into the Outer Mountain, Inner Mountain, and Forbidden Mountain according to distance.

The outermost one or two hundred li of Black Cloud Mountain were generally called the Outer Mountain.

The spiritual energy in this region was relatively sparse, and most of what grew there were ordinary spirit herbs or First-Grade Low-Rank Spirit Herbs.

The corresponding beasts were mostly First-Grade Early-Stage Beasts, with a small number at the Mid First-Tier.

A thousand li farther in was the edge of the Inner Mountain.

The spiritual energy here was lush and abundant, with First-Grade Spirit Herbs being the main find. If one was lucky, one could find several First-Grade High-Rank Spirit Herbs in a single day.

But the risks were equally immense. Most of the beasts in this area were First-Grade Mid- and Late-Stage Beasts.

Farther in lay the Forbidden Zone—the Forbidden Mountain.

Even Foundation Establishment Cultivators faced extreme danger upon entering.

Thus, the Forbidden Mountain area was absolutely off-limits to Qi Refining Cultivators.

Most Medicine Seeking Teams around his home generally operated in the Outer Mountain.

They rarely entered the Inner Mountain.

Only when they had a definite target would they risk going in.

However, Nine Leaf Valley, where Zhou Ling was headed this time, was within the Inner Mountain area.

According to the map Chu Xing had given him, it was roughly a hundred li south of their usual Camp.

It was a dangerous area.

If it had been before, Zhou Ling naturally would never have gone to such a place, where danger lurked on every side.

He would not even have considered it.

At the very least, he possessed that much self-awareness.

But now that he needed to find Core Condensing Grass, he had to take this risk.

When the group arrived at camp, several Medicine Seeking Teams had already set up their tents there.

Chu Xing had Zhou Ling find a spot and pitch their tent first.

Following the example of the other Herb Seekers, Zhou Ling quickly put up a simple tent.

Afterward, Chu Xing began assigning everyone their areas for searching medicinal herbs.

There were simply too many Herb Seekers entering the mountains every day in search of spiritual herbs.

That made the experience of a Medicine Seeking Team captain crucial.

He needed to have some idea of where spiritual herbs could be found and where Demon Beasts lurked.

Otherwise, they might encounter a Demon Beast attack at any moment—fail to find the medicine and lose their lives instead.

"As for you, Brother Ling, you'll follow me!"

After arranging the others' search routes, Chu Xing instructed Zhou Ling.

Seeing the resolute look on Chu Xing's face, Zhou Ling said nothing more.

It was his first day in the mountains. He should familiarize himself with the surroundings first and make safety his priority.

Their route headed toward the south side.

The trees in this area were dense, the mountain paths rugged. From within the forest, startling roars occasionally rang out.

The roars were shrill and strange, echoing across the wilderness and sending chills down one's spine.

It was as though some Demon Beast were declaring its territory.

Every so often, stark white bones could be seen amid the wilderness forest—some belonging to Demon Beasts, others to humans.

Chu Xing walked in front, his face full of caution.

Zhou Ling followed behind him.

As they continued onward, a flash of insight suddenly burst through Zhou Ling's mind.

"Fire Cloud Grass!"

He quickly spotted a thirty-year-old Fire Cloud Grass several yards away, hidden among the undergrowth.

[Fire Cloud Grass discovered. Mountain Treasure Hunt +1]

After confirming that there was no danger nearby, Zhou Ling walked over and plucked the Fire Cloud Grass from the weeds.

"Brother Ling, you've got quite the eye!"

Chu Xing could not help praising him.

[Purple Treasure Grass discovered. Mountain Treasure Hunt +1]

[Ink Essence Grass discovered. Mountain Treasure Hunt +1]

By noon, the two had traveled roughly thirty li. Zhou Ling's Medicine Basket was already half full of spiritual herbs.

Yet Chu Xing had found nothing at all.

Seeing Zhou Ling act even more seasoned and skilled than himself, Chu Xing could only shake his head. It seemed he had worried too much.

Black Cloud Mountain did not seem dangerous to Zhou Ling at all. Instead, it was like a vast treasure vault.

His harvest from this single morning was already several times that of an ordinary Herb Seeker.

Of course, there had been two danger warnings along the way, but Zhou Ling had avoided both dangers without a scratch.

After a simple lunch of dried provisions, the two continued onward.

[Fire Haze Grass discovered. Mountain Treasure Hunt +1]

Not long afterward, Zhou Ling found another First-Grade Mid-Rank Fire Haze Grass.

And so, by nightfall, Zhou Ling had found a whole basketful of spiritual herbs, including one First-Grade Mid-Rank Fire Haze Grass.

This harvest had already surpassed what his Father could gather in an entire month.

Moreover, they had traveled roughly fifty li southward today, and Zhou Ling had become fairly familiar with the conditions along the way.

Chu Xing was utterly dumbfounded by Zhou Ling's performance that day.

Though he himself had gained little, he was still very happy. Zhou Ling's performance had completely put his mind at ease.

He decided to let Zhou Ling act on his own tomorrow.

By the time they returned to camp, the sky had gradually darkened. Zhou Ling entered his own tent.

After casually eating some dried provisions, he took out the Fire Haze Grass he had obtained today, circulated the Spirit Flame Art, and began refining and absorbing its medicinal power.