They descended to the cellar's second level.
Xu Taiping immediately smelled the rich fragrance of spirit herbs, and at a glance, he spotted the Dragon Fang Fruit on the table in the center of the cellar.
"Ah, we were still too late."
But after searching around, Lin Buyan, whom Lin Buyu had let out to look for herbs, suddenly let out a long, regretful sigh.
"Many of these herbs were over a thousand years old. Spirit herbs of that age are very hard to find in the Cultivation World nowadays. But they've been stored for too long. They've either rotted or lost all their medicinal potency. They're useless. What a wanton waste of heaven's bounty."
As she spoke, she set down a scorched, withered spirit herb with some heartache.
Hearing him say that, Xu Taiping also felt it was a great pity. He thought that if he could use thousand-year-old spirit herbs as nourishment, the Earth Fruit would surely produce even more powerful treasures.
A single four- or five-hundred-year-old Fire Spirit Mushroom had enabled the Earth Fruit to dig up Dragon Gall Stone on Cloud Cottage Mountain. With a thousand-year-old spirit herb, it might dig up something even more valuable.
Still, finding the Dragon Fang Fruit meant they had completed their task.
"Hm?"
Just as Xu Taiping was about to suggest to Lin Buyu that they head back, he suddenly noticed the female Hairy Jiangshi stop in front of a shelf. She seemed to be staring at something, and only moved away after a long while.
"Could there have been something here before?"
Xu Taiping walked over to the empty shelf and, as though prompted by ghosts and spirits, reached out to pat it. But before his hand could touch the board, something blocked it.
Judging by the feel, it