Harvest

"The Nether Cat's hide can be used to make Talisman Paper; its Beast Core can be refined into a Foundation Establishment Pill; its blood can be used to make Talisman Ink; its claws can be ground into powder for medicinal ingredients. At Wu Family Market, it can be bought for fifteen hundred Spirit Stones, equivalent to one-tenth of a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Ye Feixue spoke excitedly.

"It's not that easy. We were lucky to happen upon and kill this Nether Cat. Other Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts won't be so easy to kill," Lu Xuanji said with a smile.

Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts varied in strength. Demon beasts such as caterpillars, butterflies, rabbits, and rats remained weak in combat even after entering the Foundation Establishment realm, and could possibly be killed by powerful Qi Refining stage cultivators. Likewise, tiger-type and dragon-type demon beasts could hold their own against, or even kill, human Purple Mansion cultivators while still at the Foundation Establishment realm.

Lu Xuanji headed toward a valley, where the Nether Cat's lair was located.

The Nether Cat possessed a dark attribute and liked living in valleys and other shadowy places.

Upon reaching the valley, Lu Xuanji sensed a Level 2 Spirit Vein underground. The Nether Cat had claimed this place for itself.

As they searched the area, they discovered a large patch of Nethergrass.

To the Nether Cat, Nethergrass was the equivalent of food.

Across roughly two hundred mu of land, Nethergrass grew everywhere, apparently planted by the Nether Cat.

The Nethergrass varied in age. The oldest had reached a thousand years, but there were only three such stalks; the rest of the Nethergrass came in all different ages.

Thousand-year Nethergrass had not necessarily grown for a thousand years.

For instance, in places where spiritual energy was thin, Nethergrass needed a thousand years of growth to become thousand-year Nethergrass. But in places rich in spiritual energy with fertile soil, it only needed a hundred years, or even merely decades, to mature.

Because of the valley's special location, it was naturally suited for Nethergrass growth. Hundred-year Nethergrass needed only ten years here, while thousand-year Nethergrass needed only a hundred.

"Hundred-year Nethergrass costs three Spirit Stones, while thousand-year Nethergrass costs one hundred. Nethergrass is an ingredient for making Nether Pills. Taken on their own, Nether Pills can increase a cultivator's Soul Power, temper the body, and enhance a person's explosive strength. The Nethergrass here is worth twelve hundred Spirit Stones."

"With the Nether Cat's corpse added in, it is worth at least twenty-five hundred Spirit Stones."

As she calculated their gains, stars flickered in Ye Feixue's eyes.

The profits from hunting demon beasts were enormous—provided one survived.

"This is troublesome. Selling these twenty-five hundred Spirit Stones' worth of goods at Wu Family Market would be very dangerous..."

A trace of worry flashed through Lu Xuanji.

The human heart could not withstand testing. Never test a cultivator's character with Spirit Stones. Having only a little over two hundred Spirit Stones in one's pocket was nothing much. But twenty-five hundred Spirit Stones were enough to draw the greed of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, prompting them to strike and intercept them.

Even Wu Family cultivators might act, finding some excuse to kill them openly and seize their treasures.

"We can't sell them. Even if we do, we have to sell them in batches."

Ye Feixue was worried as well.

Having money but being unable to spend it—such was the plight of Rogue Cultivators.

Many Rogue Cultivators had exposed their wealth and been wiped out outright.

If the Lu Clan still existed, they could hand the Nethergrass over to the clan in exchange for Spirit Stones and spirit pills, without needing to fear others growing jealous and simply killing them for their treasures.

A clan protected its cultivators' private property.

"Without an alchemist to refine pills, we can directly swallow the Nethergrass to increase our Soul Power."

Lu Xuanji made the suggestion.

Demon beasts had no alchemists. When they encountered spirit herbs, they mostly swallowed them whole.

"Swallowing spirit herbs directly wastes them." Ye Feixue felt the pain of it. Swallowing three stalks of Nethergrass was only equivalent to one Nether Pill, whereas refining one Nether Pill required just one stalk of Nethergrass. Swallowing spirit herbs whole was far too wasteful.

"At least it's safe this way. If we sell a large amount in the market, we may have a life to earn money but no life to spend it," Lu Xuanji said with a smile.

"This is our only choice."

Ye Feixue took out the Jade Box, then drew out a Jade Knife and began harvesting the Nethergrass.

She sorted them by age and placed them into different boxes.

The Jade Box was a low-grade magical artifact. It could preserve the medicinal properties of spirit herbs relatively well.

When gathering spirit herbs, they took the herbs but left the roots.

They picked the high-grade spirit herbs first, followed by the low-grade ones.

If spirit herbs were stored properly, they could be preserved for five years while retaining over ninety percent of their medicinal properties.

After storing away the spirit herbs, Lu Xuanji and Ye Feixue traveled through the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, cautiously watching their surroundings.

After what had just happened, Lu Xuanji became even more careful.

He instinctively avoided places with dense spiritual energy. The richer the spiritual energy, the more likely heavenly treasures would appear—but the greater the danger they would encounter.

Having gained the Nethergrass, they no longer had much need for other spirit herbs. Their main focus was observing the surrounding environment and becoming familiar with the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

As they continued deeper, the phone's danger alerts grew more frequent.

Ten kilometers away, a Foundation Establishment python was sleeping.

Ten kilometers away, a demon beast with White Tiger bloodline was hunting a moose.

Ten li away, a demon beast with dragon bloodline was sleeping.

Twenty li away, a Great Roc was sleeping. It had discovered the host, but could not be bothered to eat the host.

Three li away, a demon beast poisonous bee was gathering honey. It had noticed the host's presence, but could not be bothered to pay attention to the host.

As they traveled, the phone sounded warnings from time to time.

On average, an alarm sounded before they had traveled a hundred li.

All these demon beasts were dangerous.

But Lu Xuanji skillfully walked along the boundary lines dividing two demon beast territories, making demon beasts that had intended to hunt them hesitate before ultimately giving up.

Along the way, they encountered many human skeletons.

Many human cultivators had been buried in these mountains.

They traveled even more carefully, yet still encountered dangers: ambushes from low-level demon beasts, harassment from insects, and pursuit by demon beasts.

After chasing them for some distance, many demon beasts gave up once they saw Lu Xuanji and Ye Feixue enter another demon beast's territory.

Amid the danger, Lu Xuanji and Ye Feixue exchanged a glance and began eating the Nethergrass.

As they swallowed and continuously refined the Nethergrass, their Mental Strength steadily increased, their soul senses strengthened, and their perception of every blade of grass and tree, as well as their sensitivity to danger, became sharper.

The only pity was that large amounts of Nethergrass had been eaten, wasting much of its medicinal power.

PS: This chapter counted as an extra update. I would like to thank the readers who sent rewards and those who support this book. Seeking readership.