Red-Ice Mulberry, Inside the Valley

Pfft.

A scorched stench wafted from the small hole in the lid of the little alchemy cauldron. Although Zheng Shiqi knew that alchemists had a low success rate when refining unfamiliar pills, his face darkened considerably. Standing beside Zhang Guang, whose face had been stung into a pig's head by the Green Bamboo Bees, his heart rose into his throat.

Lu Xiaotian showed no change in expression. With a casual Water Ball Art, he washed the impurities from the cauldron. The Blood-Clearing Pill was a second-grade antidote spirit pill, one that only an intermediate alchemist could refine. He had never refined it before.

However, his success rate in refining Qi-Gathering Pills was already close to fifty percent. In terms of skill, he had long since become an intermediate alchemist. Pills that increased cultivation and boosted cultivation speed were generally more difficult to refine than other pills. The Blood-Clearing Pill was not particularly difficult, and its refining time was short as well, only about half a shichen.

After the first batch was ruined, Lu Xiaotian had a grasp of it. Like an old hand driving a familiar cart, he cleaned the little cauldron and continued heating it to refine the second batch.

Half a shichen flashed by. A fragrant aroma rose from the pill furnace, making one's blood and qi settle and congeal.

The furnace was opened, and the pills inspected!

Two blood-colored, crystalline pills lay within. One was clearly fuller than the other and bore two additional pill patterns.

"A mid-grade Blood-Clearing Pill!" Fan Qing, who stood closest, was the first to cry out. He stared at Lu Xiaotian in astonishment. "Brother Lu's attainments in alchemy are truly astounding."

It was not only Fan Qing. Everyone else was equally shocked. The first batch had been ruined, yet under such circumstances, he had refined a mid-grade pill in the second batch. That was not something an ordinary alchemist could accomplish.

"I told you long ago that Brother Lu is an incredibly skilled alchemist, but none of you believed me." Luo Qing said happily, as though she had refined the pill herself.

"Just luck." Lu Xiaotian smiled calmly and handed the mid-grade Blood-Clearing Pill to Zheng Shiqi.

Zheng Shiqi was overjoyed. He had thought it would already be good enough if Lu Xiaotian managed to refine a pill, but he had not expected it to be a mid-grade Blood-Clearing Pill. After thanking him, Zheng Shiqi hurriedly mixed it with water and fed it into Zhang Guang's mouth.

"Now that Brother Zhang has taken the pill, we have already delayed for quite some time. We must hurry onward. If night falls before we reach the Rogue Cultivators' gathering point, things will become troublesome afterward. We'll take turns carrying Brother Zhang along the way," Fan Qing said after seeing Zhang Guang take the pill.

Because they needed to hurry, the group moved much faster than before. Lu Xiaotian finally understood why people said that in the Moonwatch Mountains, threats from other cultivators were even greater than those from demon beasts. After they had barely avoided the attack of the Green Bamboo Bees, they encountered several man-made traps. However, according to Fan Qing and Luo Yuan, both of whom had entered the Moonwatch Mountains several times, few people traveled this narrow path, so it had relatively fewer traps than other places.

For instance, spirit stones and storage bags lay scattered beside a fallen corpse. Several obvious spirit herbs grew in perilous terrain ideal for ambushes, yet no one had picked them. But when Lu Xiaotian looked carefully, he could vaguely spot bloodstains in the grass that had not yet dried, as well as traces of battle that had not been fully cleaned away. Clearly, before their arrival, someone had already been ambushed here, and some had lost their lives.

Having learned their lesson from the Green Bamboo Bees, no one in the party rashly rushed over again. They simply continued on their way, no longer risking themselves for such scattered spiritual treasures.

"Red-Ice Mulberry!" As they passed through a mountain hollow, Lu Xiaotian spotted a young spirit tree, barely a foot tall, growing between several large rocks. Its crimson leaves resembled human palms, and it radiated spiritual qi.

"What, Brother Lu, are you interested in the Red-Ice Mulberry? This tree is only valuable after it has grown for more than a hundred years. We Qi Refining Rogue Cultivators only have lifespans of around a hundred years, so we simply cannot afford to wait. Besides, Red-Ice Mulberries are extremely difficult to transplant successfully. Otherwise, someone would have taken it long ago."

Fan Qing was in the middle of the group. Seeing Lu Xiaotian stop, he could not help but smile.

"Perhaps it might succeed. If I fail to reach Foundation Establishment, it would still be good to leave it to my descendants."

Lu Xiaotian carefully dug the Red-Ice Mulberry from the ground, avoiding damage to its roots. Taking advantage of the others' inattention, he sent it into the barrier.

Usually, only a century-old Red-Ice Mulberry had value. After Ice Silkworms ate the leaves of a century-old Red-Ice Mulberry, they would spin ice silk, which was incomparably tough and could be woven into soft armor. Its defensive power was exceedingly rare among spirit artifacts. Ordinary spirit artifacts could not cut it apart, and it could also withstand a certain amount of spell damage. It was especially effective against fire-element spells.

Even compared to some low-grade magic artifacts, it was no less impressive. To other cultivators, the Red-Ice Mulberry was somewhat like tasteless food, yet too precious to discard. Ordinary Qi Refining cultivators only lived around a hundred years and simply could not wait that long. If they could endure until the Red-Ice Mulberry matured, they would likely have reached Foundation Establishment already.

Moreover, the defensive power of the intermediate spells used by Foundation Establishment cultivators was no weaker than Ice-Silk Silkworm Armor. Thus, no one in the party thought much of this Red-Ice Mulberry that was only a few years old. Only cultivation lineages in Moonwatch City or cultivation sects with orderly inheritances might possess such spirit plants. After all, only after several generations of inheritance could later descendants among their Qi Refining cultivators make use of them.

The Red-Ice Mulberry's requirements were extremely demanding, but in Lu Xiaotian's eyes, nurturing it was effortless. So long as he transplanted it into the barrier and used enough spirit stones as fertilizer, he could hasten the Red-Ice Mulberry's growth.

"Brother Lu truly plans far ahead," Zheng Shiqi remarked with feeling.

The party traveled several hundred li before a river roughly fourteen or fifteen zhang wide blocked their way. When they appeared on the riverbank, ripples spread across the water's surface, layer upon layer of fine waves rolling over the clear water.

Lu Xiaotian fixed his eyes on the water and saw several enormous green crocodiles faintly emerging beneath the river. Adult Green Crocodiles were more than two zhang long. Though they were only second-rank demon beasts, their physical strength far surpassed cultivators of the same rank. Even late-stage Qi Refining cultivators could not compare. Anyone unfortunate enough to fall into the water would likely be torn apart and eaten by the Green Crocodiles.

The Green Crocodiles seemed to have smelled the scent of living humans as well. Before long, more than ten Green Crocodiles of varying sizes gathered in this stretch of water.

"Hunchback He, you led us along this side path, and now we have encountered such danger. Tell us, how are we supposed to cross?" Wang Ping waved his iron staff and glared at Hunchback He in annoyance, looking as though he would start fighting if Hunchback He failed to offer a satisfactory explanation.

"Exactly. There are nine of us. If we fall into the water, we would not even be enough to fill the gaps between these Green Crocodiles' teeth." Luo Qing took a frightened step back. Only after standing between Luo Yuan and Lu Xiaotian did she feel slightly safer.

"These beasts really have fine noses. Fellow Daoists, remain calm. Since I, Hunchback He, brought everyone along this side path, I naturally have a way to handle it." Hunchback He gave a dark chuckle and took a yellow paper packet from his storage bag. Opening it, he revealed a packet of black powder that gave off a strange, fishy odor.

"Beast-Repelling Powder!" The others did not recognize the origin of the black powder, but Fan Qing cried out in surprise.

"I obtained it by chance. It is not particularly useful, but it can drive away low-grade demon beasts. Naturally, it is worlds apart from genuine Beast-Repelling Powder, but it is more than enough to deal with these second-rank Green Crocodiles."

Hunchback He took a small amount of black powder from the yellow paper packet and tossed it into the water. The powder dissolved the instant it touched the river, while several fist-sized bubbles rose to the surface. A tyrannical aura that made hearts pound with fear spread through the water. The dozen or so Green Crocodiles immediately scattered in panic like startled birds.

"The aura will only last for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Move now."

Hunchback He carefully put away the yellow paper packet, then tore a green vine from the shrubs along the riverbank and threw it toward a massive tree on the opposite shore, its trunk thick enough for several people to encircle. The vine wrapped around the tree. After casting a Light-Body Art on himself, he gave the vine a hard tug, used the river surface as a foothold several times, and successfully leaped to the far bank.

Ordinary Qi Refining cultivators had no ability to fly. Even with the Wind-Riding Art, they could leap only five or six zhang at most. Only upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm could one ride clouds and mist or travel upon a sword. However, without the threat of Green Crocodiles in the river and with footholds available, this river of fifteen or sixteen zhang could not stop the party.

Lu Xiaotian followed suit, grabbed a green vine, used the water's surface as a foothold once or twice, and reached the opposite bank as well.

The mid-grade Blood-Clearing Pill's effects were quite good. After another hour of travel, Zhang Guang, who had been knocked unconscious by the Green Bamboo Bees' stings, slowly awoke. Then he began vomiting violently. A great deal of filth poured from his mouth, giving off a foul stench. It was the toxins that had accumulated within his body. Though he had suffered terribly, after vomiting out the filth, his bluish-black complexion looked much better.

After traveling another hundred-plus li, perhaps because they had gone deeper into the Moonwatch Mountains, the spiritual qi around them was noticeably denser than when they had first left the city. By then, the sky had begun to darken, and the howls of all manner of strange demon beasts grew increasingly dense throughout the mountain valleys.

Lu Xiaotian followed the party to a mountain valley. Towering cliffs rose on both sides. The entrances at either end were extremely narrow, while the middle was broad enough to hold over a thousand people. It was easy to defend and hard to attack. In such favorable terrain, if they encountered a charge by a herd of demon beasts, the Rogue Cultivators could react quickly and form formations to resist.

Numerous cultivator parties were scattered throughout the valley, each occupying a small patch of territory. Torches lit in every direction illuminated the valley brightly.

"Cockscomb Bloodstone! Selling Cockscomb Bloodstone! Only five low-grade spirit stones, or pills and healing medicine of equal value!"

"Seeking Black Jade Bone-Repair Paste! I am offering three low-grade spirit stones, seeking Black Jade Bone-Repair Paste at a high price!"

"Second-rank demon beast, Black-Horned Giant Rhino demon core!"

Some of the Rogue Cultivators in the valley had already been in the mountains for several days and had gained quite a harvest. Having used up their healing medicine and pills, they called out endlessly to purchase medicine or sell spirit herbs and demon cores. Lu Xiaotian listened with great interest.

"We have traveled for so long. Everyone has worked hard. Rest for the night and recover your strength. There may be a fierce battle tomorrow," Fan Qing instructed.

The cultivators in the valley could roughly be divided into three groups. One group consisted of immortal guards sent by Moonwatch City. Once the valley came under attack by demon beasts, Rogue Cultivators would be disunited and lack unified command, so these people served as the backbone of its defense.

Another group consisted of adventure parties from Moonwatch City's cultivation lineages. These people were equipped with excellent spirit artifacts. Whether the spirit sabers and spirit swords in their hands or the protective gear on their bodies, everything was visibly better.

The final group consisted of Rogue Cultivator parties like Lu Xiaotian's. They were numerous, but each had their own calculations. The Rogue Cultivators were scattered about, yet overall, the three groups stood as distinctly separated as the Jing and Wei rivers, each occupying a large area.