The Final Item

The next day, Lin Ye walked out of the martial arts gym, the scent of lavender shampoo on his body dissipating into the breeze.

He glanced at the time; it had just turned ten.

With a flick of his mind, the Monument appeared.

[Complete and fluidly perform the full set of Soul Whale Fist (Completed)]

With Yan Yi as his sparring partner, he had mastered the One-Finger Heat Ray much faster than anticipated.

During their morning practice, he had taken the opportunity to perform the entire Soul Whale Fist set.

"Only the Dieluo Seed is left."

The minibus traveled along the winding mountain road.

The mountainside on the inner side of the road was densely forested, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, forming long, thin, trapezoidal beams of light.

Several elderly men and women sat in the seats near the bus door, chatting idly, their handcarts filled with various vegetables.

Lin Ye sat in the back row by the window.

He looked out at the side of the mountain road, where several lush green mountains cradled a village in the hollow, a small river cutting across it.

He opened his phone to check the location sent by the merchant last night; the name of this mountain village was "Yamada Village."

It was a village under a county outside of Coast City, surrounded by wild, undeveloped mountains.

It was considered a relatively backward place, and the young people in the village had all gone out to make a living.

He turned off his phone screen as the vehicle drove on, navigating several bends as it descended from the mountain.

It hit a dirt road and, after driving for only a few minutes, pulled up in front of a bus stop sign.

Once the vehicle came to a complete stop, the driver vaulted over the engine cover at the front of the minibus and yanked the door open.

"Grab your things! Don't leave anything behind! The surveillance camera is broken! Don't come looking for me if you lose something!"

The elderly passengers crowded off the bus noisily, and Lin Ye rose from the back seat to follow them down.

After stepping off the bus, the air, rich in negative oxygen ions, was incredibly fresh, making even his mind feel much clearer.

He looked toward the front of the dirt road, where the end connected to a stone bridge, with the small river from the mountain hollow flowing underneath.

A stone tablet stood by the bridge, inscribed with the words "Yamada Village."

Lin Ye crossed the stone bridge, the terrain ahead rising into a gentle slope where rows of stone paths crisscrossed, with clusters of houses embedded among them.

He scanned his surroundings, feeling as if he were standing in a giant pit, surrounded by mountains on all sides.

They stretched out in rolling waves, connected into one mass, dark and oppressive as if they were about to collapse, giving one the urge to flee in a panic.

He pulled himself together, took out his phone to check the location, and after confirming the direction, walked into the village.

The village was somewhat desolate; only a few chimneys were puffing smoke, and some old houses had collapsed, overgrown with weeds, with old cats darting past from time to time.

Twenty-some minutes later, after climbing halfway up the mountainside and nearly reaching the other end of the village, a house with black bricks and old tiles appeared before his eyes.

The courtyard wall in front of the house was still built from stones and yellow mud, only a meter or so high, allowing one to see clearly into the yard at a glance.

Vines similar to creeping fig grew along the wall, bearing small, dark blue berries.

A young boy in his early teens sat under the wall, his jacket washed until it was faded white, casually plucking a few berries and stuffing them into his mouth.

When the boy saw Lin Ye, he subconsciously chewed a few times before turning and running into the courtyard.

"Grandpa! He's here! The person is here!"

The boy shouted and jumped, and an old man nearing seventy, with gray hair and wearing black cloth clothes, walked out of the tiled house.

"Teacher Lin?"

The old man's eyes were cloudy but his spirit was vigorous, and his movements showed no signs of sluggishness as he looked Lin Ye up and down.

He didn't know if Lin Ye was actually a teacher from Coast University, but he called everyone who came to buy things "Teacher," and those teachers were always pleased to hear it.

Lin Ye stepped forward into the courtyard without offering any explanation. "It's me."

Looking at the old man before him, he couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.

The mountains around here were not some scenic tourist spot; they were wild mountains.

Let alone this old man, even an average young person would find it difficult to walk around here, let alone collect mountain goods.

This old man's physical fitness was far superior to most young people.

The old man felt relieved and patted his grandson. "Go, bring the Dieluo Seed for the teacher."

The boy glanced at Lin Ye, rubbed his nose, and ran quickly toward the mud house on the east side.

"Have a seat, Teacher Lin."

The old man led Lin Ye to sit in front of the tiled house and poured tea from a clean purple clay teapot.

"It's all picked from the mountains. Your colleague said last time that he liked drinking this, so I prepared some."

Lin Ye took the teacup and took a sip; a delicate fragrance surged from his nasal cavity to the top of his skull.

"What a fragrant tea."

He didn't know much about tea, but he felt that this tea was delicious.

Seeing this, the old man laughed, "I'll get you some later. It's not worth much; there's plenty of it in the mountains."

Lin Ye set down the teacup, "That would be a bother."

Just as he finished speaking, a little boy ran out of the east room carrying a linen bag.

"Mn!"

The little boy stood in front of Lin Ye, handed over the bag with both hands, and tilted his head up, letting out a forceful grunt.

Lin Ye took the bag and weighed it; it was over ten jin, probably around twelve.

He pulled the drawstring, and a nutty aroma wafted out; the sesame-like Dieluo Seed were all plump.

He grabbed two, squeezed them, and found the fresh Dieluo Seed weren't very hard; they flattened instantly, leaving a sheen of oil on his fingertips.

He rubbed his fingers together and held them under his nose to sniff; a rich, pine-like scent massaged his scalp.

"The goods are fine."

Lin Ye smiled with satisfaction. With this oil yield, there would be enough to coat his entire body after pressing it.

"So, Teacher Lin, what do you think?"

The old man sat on a folding stool, leaning forward slightly, looking a bit cautious.

"I'll transfer the money to you right now."

Lin Ye took out his phone and transferred six hundred directly.

The old man took his phone out of his breast pocket, smiled after glancing at the message, and gently patted the little boy on the head with his other hand.

He looked at Lin Ye, "Teacher Lin, why not stay for a bite? It's a pheasant caught in the mountains; you can't get this in the city."

"No thanks, I still have things to tidy up when I get back, so I won't stay."

Lin Ye spoke without looking up, tightening the mouth of the bag; he couldn't wait to go back and press the oil.

As long as he completed the final condition, he would be able to unlock [Whale-Kill Hall Newcomer]!

"Ah, alright! You go ahead! I'll go get that tea for you!" The old man quickly replied.

After tying the bag, Lin Ye stood up, and the old man followed suit.

Just as he was about to leave, Lin Ye suddenly thought of something and looked at the old man, "Old man, do you have any Black Spiral Grass here?"

A look of confusion appeared in the old man's eyes, and after thinking for a moment, he shook his head slightly, "I don't know."

Lin Ye sighed inwardly, but suddenly, he thought of something else and pulled out his phone.

"It's this."

He opened his photo album and held it in front of the old man; the picture was exactly the Black Spiral Grass.

The old man nodded repeatedly, "I recognize it! I recognize it! We call it Saw Grass around here."

After saying that, he looked troubled again.

"This stuff is very rare, and it grows on the shaded side of the cliff. There's moss up there, so you can't get a foothold."

"This... I can't pick it."

The old man sighed and shook his head; if he were younger, he might have been able to hang a rope and give it a try.

But now, he was truly old.

Lin Ye helplessly put away his phone, but suddenly his eyes lit up.

"Old man, you just said it was a cliff, right? Could you take me over to take a look?"

The old man looked up slightly, silent for a moment, "Alright, I'll get you a sachet to keep the bugs away."

Near noon, at the base of a shaded cliff on the outskirts of the village, two figures stood at the bottom, looking up.

"Look there, Teacher Lin, it's right there."

The old man pointed up at the cliff. The entire cliff was about two or three hundred meters high, covered in dark green vines and moss, and the spot he pointed to was right near the middle.

Lin Ye picked up his binoculars to look; under three old pine trees, a few clusters of black grass swayed in the wind.

They looked like springs, with slender branches and leaves, and edges that were serrated—it was indeed the Black Spiral Grass.

Judging by the quantity, there were at least twenty or thirty stalks.