Gathering Herbs

The next day, a large number of disciples left the city.

The Black Dragon Mountain Range was vast, spanning nearly half the Great Xia Empire.

Countless wild beasts and demonic beasts lurked within, but the greater the danger, the more opportunities there were.

This ancient mountain range also hid countless coveted fortunes—Natural Treasures, relics of the mighty—all blooming across this land.

If one was lucky enough to claim them, they could soar to the heavens.

Thus, the Black Dragon Mountain Range drew a steady stream of martial artists to explore year-round.

However, the Ox Demon Martial Arts School required disciples not to venture deep into the mountains, so they'd likely never encounter those so-called fortunes.

But this was for the disciples' safety—no fortunes, but no danger either.

Shen Fan followed the main group, drifting lazily into the mountain range. Soon, others paired up in twos and threes, joining forces to gather herbs.

But Shen Fan alone moved by himself, quickly vanishing into the crowd.

According to the rules set by Steward Zhang, herb gathering required meeting a quota. Those who gathered more could earn silver rewards to buy cultivation methods from the school, but those who gathered too little would face punishment.

Shen Fan certainly didn't want to be punished. He'd already trained to the Bone Forging realm in the school, and if he kept at it, he might quickly reach a higher realm.

The peace of the school let him train without worry, but if he left the Ox Demon Martial Arts School, he'd face endless disruptions.

Or even greater dangers.

The Great Xia of today was no prosperous, stable empire. The Imperial Family had fallen into decadence, officials were corrupt, and this great dragon had entered its twilight.

Flames of war rose everywhere, and Warlords clashed.

The Demon Race, hidden in the mountain ranges, stirred restlessly, slaughtering countless humans of Great Xia.

And this was only internal strife. The greater external threats were the main reason this empire teetered on the brink.

The Barbarian Tribe to the north, the Witch Tribe to the south, and the Church to the west all eyed Great Xia hungrily, waiting to tear a chunk of fat from its flesh!

Most of Great Xia's strength was poured into facing these external enemies.

Laiyang City, where Shen Fan lived, was in the heart of Great Xia. Though small, it was a key site of the Imperial Dynasty. There was no war, but demons and monsters ran rampant.

Without strong power, Shen Fan dared not run around recklessly.

So staying at the Ox Demon Martial Arts School was the best choice.

Gather herbs diligently, earn rewards, then buy better cultivation methods—that was Shen Fan's recent plan.

But today, his luck seemed poor. After searching for over an hour, he'd only found two low-grade herbs.

He was still short of meeting his quota.

"This won't do. Looks like I need to go deeper, or I might not even finish the task!"

Having made up his mind, Shen Fan headed deeper into the mountains.

Along the way, relying on the sharp reflexes and perception of a Bone Forging martial artist, he dodged several wild beasts hidden in the shadows.

Based on their auras, these beasts were mostly low-grade, at most mid-grade.

Though they posed no threat, Shen Fan had no intention of killing them.

Killing them brought no reward and would only attract stronger beasts to attack him—a losing trade.

"That thing looks like a One-Eyed Giant Wolf. Its strength seems decent—it actually gives me a hint of threat. Must be a mid-grade beast."

Peeking quietly at a wolf the size of a bull in the grass, Shen Fan silently assessed the two, finally concluding—

This beast was no match for him.

"But I heard a One-Eyed Giant Wolf can evolve into a demon, becoming a Two-Headed Demon Wolf with extraordinary combat power. Who knows if that's true."

Shen Fan muttered to himself, but didn't linger long. He left the area and pressed deeper.

After advancing about a li, Shen Fan sensed more and more beast auras around him. This meant he'd already gone fairly deep into the Black Dragon Mountain Range.

In this area, no one else should be around—after all, no one else had his daring skill.

"With no one to compete, I should get more harvest."

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"Just one more low-grade herb and I'll meet the quota. After that, every herb I pick is extra income.

According to the steward's standards, a low-grade herb is worth two to ten taels of silver, a mid-grade herb ten to a hundred taels. As for high-grade herbs, money can't measure them!"

"High-grade herbs, nearly Spiritual Medicine, are a great boon even for Viscera Refiners!"

Honestly, Shen Fan really wanted to find a high-grade herb and take it himself. It would greatly shorten his time refining his blood and qi.

And more blood and qi could push his cultivation method's realm forward.

A fine prospect.

But that was nearly impossible. High-grade herbs basically didn't exist in these outer areas, and they were usually guarded by beasts close to demons!

"Still not strong enough. If I were strong enough, who cares about demons? I'd just charge right in!"

Shen Fan briefly imagined himself reaching the Martial Path to Divinity, and for a moment, he felt utterly satisfied.

But he snapped out of it quickly and threw himself back into searching for herbs.

Perhaps because the Three Yuan Art had reached great success, Shen Fan felt his perception of certain things had grown sharper.

For instance, high-year herbs now exerted a special pull on him, letting him track down more of them in short order.

Sure enough, no sooner had he crossed a small hill than he spotted several herbs.

Drawing closer, a grin spread across Shen Fan's face.

"Ginseng, and Bai Xiang Grass too—hey, five stalks in all! This is a jackpot!"

He hastily plucked them and ducked into hiding.

Taking out his haul for a closer look, Shen Fan found these were all low-grade herbs around twenty years old. Not mid-grade, but their combined value still exceeded thirty taels!

That got his blood pumping. He stowed them carefully and set off again.

Following his instincts toward the next find, he suddenly heard the sounds of battle coming from his destination.

Ahead lay a valley, a perfect spot for herbs to thrive—but who would have ventured this deep?

Shen Fan quickly suppressed his aura and crept forward.

Hiding behind a giant rock, he finally got a clear view of the valley.

As expected, someone had already found the place.

And the valley was packed with herbs—a quick sweep showed over a dozen stalks!

What really caught his eye, though, was a small tree bearing fruit like coiled snakes.

"What—could that be Snake Fruit? And eight of them! Each Snake Fruit is basically the lowest grade of mid-level herb, enough to replenish a martial artist's blood and qi in bulk!

Each one is worth at least twenty taels. If I could snatch them all, just these Snake Fruits alone would give me the capital to buy a second-rate Cultivation Method!"

At that thought, Shen Fan's breathing grew heavier.

But he forced himself to calm down and studied the people and beasts fighting over the herbs.

A closer look revealed familiar faces. "Liu Zhen, and Li Hai—what are they doing here?"

It turned out the ones who'd discovered the herbs were Liu Zhen's group.

In that team, Liu Zhen was already a Bone Forging martial artist, backed by three Muscle Refining and three Skin Refining fighters—Li Hai among the latter.

Just from the lineup, it was clear this was the strongest squad of Disciples sent out.

Even facing Mid-level Beasts, they wouldn't panic; with luck, they might even win.

But luck wasn't on Liu Zhen's side today, because the valley was home to two Silver-Spotted Snakes.

A full-grown Silver-Spotted Snake was a Mid-level Beast—weak for its rank, but still far beyond what an ordinary Bone Forging martial artist could match.

And there were two of them.

Liu Zhen could handle one, but the other was beyond the rest. Even with six people, they were completely outmatched.

The Silver-Spotted Snake's robust physique gave it Bronze Skin Iron Bone, just like a Bone Forging martial artist. The attacks from Li Hai and the others bounced off harmlessly.

Meanwhile, every strike from the snake threatened the lives of these Low-level Martial Artists!