Do Not Mislead Yourself

Shen Hui's gaze was drawn to the book in Qingyi's hands.

The book was not thick, its pages yellowed. Combined with the other's words just now, he guessed it was likely a manual on herb identification or cultivation essentials.

"Senior Brother, this book..."

He pointed at the volume, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. "May I borrow it for a look?"

Qingyi, upon hearing this, handed the book over without the slightest hesitation.

"This First Record of Hundred Herbs was obtained by Master during his early travels. It records methods for identifying and nurturing common medicinal herbs, which is quite helpful for tending these plants. Junior Brother may peruse it freely."

"Many thanks, Senior Brother."

Shen Hui took it with both hands and carefully opened it.

As expected, besides dense text, there were many hand-drawn plant illustrations, with tiny script annotating names and uses beside them.

He flipped through casually, his gaze skimming over the completely unfamiliar drawings and notes.

Some characters he had only learned in the past two days; others he did not understand at all. But with the help of the pictures, he could vaguely guess their meaning.

Just as he turned to an illustration of a plant with slender, serrated leaves, a stir struck his heart without warning.

Like a very fine needle lightly pricking him, a sudden "enlightenment" arose:

[Spend 10 Dao Foundation points to comprehend First Record of Hundred Herbs?]

Shen Hui's heart jolted, but his face remained still.

He even furrowed his brows slightly, as if earnestly studying the book's content.

So this cheat could be used this way?

Not only could it add points to raise his realm, but it could also directly "learn" knowledge?

He forced himself to stay calm, cast a covert glance at the faintly visible parchment interface, and then decisively confirmed.

The next moment, he felt a gentle breeze brush through his mind.

This First Record of Hundred Herbs, from beginning to end, including all the illustrations, annotations, and even the inconspicuous marginal notes, was all imprinted into his sea of consciousness.

Shen Hui suppressed the turmoil within, slowly closing the book.

His fingers brushed over the slightly rough cover, sensing the vast amount of herbal knowledge now added to his mind.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were clear and bright.

"Senior Brother, I see in this book that this herb prefers shade and moisture, fears heat and dryness, and it also mentions 'its roots are fine and delicate, fond of pure qi; if the earth's energy is impure, it easily leads to withered vitality, yellowed and curled leaves'..."

As he spoke, he crouched down and pointed at the soil in the clay pot:

"The soil used in this pot is indeed the 'Moist Soil' from beside the hot spring on the back mountain, but this clay pot..."

He reached out and lightly tapped the rim of the pot, producing a dull "thud, thud."

"This clay pot cuts off the earth's energy from outside. The soil in the pot is limited; over time, the spiritual moisture within will inevitably be exhausted, naturally 'losing its sustaining force.' This might be why they're so wilted."

Jinghui listened, her eyes lighting up as she nodded vigorously: "Right, right, right, Junior Brother makes sense. This pot must be suffocating them!"

Qingyi, however, shook his head slightly. "Junior Brother's words are one explanation. But this book also says that when first planting spiritual herbs, careful nurturing in pots is necessary, and we have been following that."

Jinghui immediately wavered upon hearing this, turning back to Shen Hui with blinking eyes: "Well... what Senior Brother says seems right too. We did follow the book."

Shen Hui smiled faintly. "Pot nurturing is indeed a safe method. But now the 'Moist Soil' in the pot has lost its spirituality. If we keep it trapped inside, its vitality will likely be even harder to revive."

Jinghui immediately nodded along again, her expression serious: "Junior Brother has a point. They really do look like they're about to die..."

Qingyi watched his junior sister's back-and-forth and couldn't help but find it amusing.

But when his gaze fell on Shen Hui, it carried a bit more seriousness.

It seemed this newly initiated junior brother spoke with substance, not just empty talk.

"Then what does Junior Brother suggest we do?" Qingyi asked.

"I'm just making wild guesses."

Shen Hui first layered on some self-defense before continuing, "Since pot cultivation isn't working well, we might try two methods."

He held up one finger. "First, take a slight risk: carefully crack the bottom of this clay pot in several places, allowing the pot soil to connect with the earth's energy below, letting it slowly adapt as a transition."

"Second," he pointed toward the back mountain, "since this herb likes 'pure qi' and needs earth energy nourishment, why not transplant it directly near the hot spring source? The air there is misty and moist, the earth energy mild—it might suit it perfectly."

Qingyi stroked his chin in thought: "Cracking the clay pot... or transplanting to the hot spring source... these two methods are clever, but if they fail, wouldn't they..."

"Oh, Senior Brother."

Jinghui immediately waved her hand. "It's already in this state. What harm is there in trying? Better than waiting for it to wither and die in the pot, right?"

"That's true, but Master specifically instructed us to take good care of them..."

"But isn't Master himself at a loss now?" Jinghui spread her hands, blinking.

Seeing the two at odds, Shen Hui suggested, "For safety's sake, we could first test it on a weaker plant."

Qingyi thought it over briefly and finally nodded. "...Alright. Then there's no time to waste; let's set off immediately."

He then looked at Shen Hui. "Junior Brother Qingxuan, would you like to come along to the back mountain hot spring and take a look?"

Shen Hui thought for a moment, then readily agreed.

"Good, I was just thinking of taking a walk."

His cultivation for the day had reached its limit, and he had been looking for something to do.

With the plan settled, the three of them set off at once.

"I'll go get my sword!"

Before Jinghui's words had even faded, she had already darted off toward her room like a cheerful sparrow.

"Sword?"

Shen Hui blinked, a look of confusion on his face.

"Junior Brother, having just arrived at the temple, there's something you don't know," Qingyi explained with a smile. "The forest behind the mountain is dense and deep, full of wolves and snakes—not as safe as the temple grounds. And Junior Sister's skills all lie in her sword..."

Shen Hui immediately understood.

Walking through the mountains, a little precaution was always good.

Before long, they were ready.

The three left the eastern courtyard and followed a worn path toward the back mountain.

Jinghui, holding a sheathed longsword, skipped and hopped ahead.

Qingyi followed close behind, wrapping the roots and soil of the most wilted Spirit Nourishing Grass in a damp soft cloth.

Shen Hui, carrying a small trowel and a wooden water ladle, trailed after them.

The mountain path wound deeper into the thickening woods.

Though it was late autumn, many evergreen trees remained lush and green, with only scattered patches of golden or fiery red leaves dotting the gaps.

Sunlight struggled through the layers of branches and leaves, casting shifting specks of light on the ground covered in fallen leaves and moss.

After about half an hour, a mist-shrouded stone pool suddenly came into view.

The pool water was clear but bottomless, with milky white warm steam rising from its surface, drifting slowly and casting the jagged rocks and a few slanting old trees into hazy silhouettes.

"We're here, this is the place."

Qingyi stopped and pointed at the pool. "The source is in a crevice at the bottom of the pool. The spiritual energy in the water is richer than in ordinary places."

But Jinghui had already lost patience. She dashed to the pool's edge in a few steps, craning her neck to look, muttering to herself, "I wonder if that persimmon tree's fruit is ripe yet..."

Shen Hui also came to the pool's edge, crouched down, and tentatively dipped his hand into the water.

The water temperature was neither hot nor cold, just right. As he was feeling it, a mountain breeze swept across the pool's surface, suddenly scattering the gathered mist.

The mist churned like raging waves.

Suddenly, a striped giant tiger emerged from the dissipating mist.

Its shoulders were as high as a man's, its fur glossy and sleek. It was drinking from the opposite bank, head lowered.

The mountain wind blew the mist away, leaving them less than two zhang apart—almost face to face.

Shen Hui's heart tightened, and the tiger slowly raised its head.

Its amber eyes, like two cold candle flames, locked onto the three uninvited guests on the opposite shore.

"Roar—!"

A low growl rumbled from deep in the tiger's throat, like thunder rolling across the ground.

Its body crouched slightly, muscles tensed, poised to pounce.

Just as the tension peaked, Third Senior Brother's calm voice came from beside him:

"Cultivation is not easy. Do not stray from the path."

Those eight words instantly overpowered the tiger's roar and the wind's song.

The tiger's poised body stiffened slightly, and a flicker of hesitation passed through its wild, ferocious eyes.

Then, the growl in its throat gradually faded, and its taut muscles slowly relaxed.

Finally, it gave the three of them a long, deep look.

Then it truly retreated, step by step, vanishing back into the mist.

Only then did Shen Hui slowly exhale the breath he had been holding in his chest.

He stood up, looked at his composed senior brother and sister, and couldn't help asking, "Senior Brother, was that... a demon?"

Qingyi shook his head, bending down to check the condition of the spirit grass in his hand, his tone casual:

"Not really a true demon. It's just lived a long time and accidentally absorbed some of heaven and earth's fortune. Perhaps it has vaguely learned to draw in the essence of the sun and moon, making it more spiritually aware than an ordinary tiger."

"Then... is it strong?"

Shen Hui wanted to gauge the "combat power" baseline of this world.

Qingyi smiled, not answering directly, but instead said, "A mountain beast that has awakened its intelligence is always more aware of when to advance and retreat than a bloodthirsty brute."

Beside him, Jinghui snorted, patted her sword hilt, and lifted her chin slightly: "Looks like nothing more than a big cat that's just barely touched the edge of cultivation. If it really dared to pounce, I'd run it through with one sword strike!"

Shen Hui glanced at his senior sister's confident expression, then recalled the massive size of that tiger just now. He thought to himself that stabbing it clean through might be a bit of a stretch—her sword clearly wasn't long enough!

But seeing how Third Senior Brother had driven it off with such casual ease, it seemed his fellow disciples did have some measure of confidence when dealing with these "slightly cultivated" mountain creatures.

Can't find the book title? Try searching by the author instead—maybe it just changed names!

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