The valley was not particularly large, yet all manner of plants grew there. At a glance, their colors were too numerous to count.
Beautiful flowers competed in splendor, and all kinds of vegetation hung heavy with fruit. Many plants even radiated a precious glow of varying intensity. One look was enough to tell that they were extraordinary.
What astonished Xiao Yan most was the hot spring surrounded by these plants. It was divided into two sharply distinct halves: one milky white, giving off wisps of pale vapor, the other fiery red, with the light above it twisting faintly.
The red and white looked like two enormous pieces of jade embedded there. A rich aura of life filled every inch of the valley.
Ever since becoming a Soul Master, Xiao Yan had absorbed the world's primal energy whenever he meditated and cultivated. Yet he had never encountered anywhere with energy more abundant than this earthly paradise before him.
"This... this seems to be a priceless treasure of a place." Xiao Yan stared blankly. Everything before him was so beautiful that even his voice trembled.
Drawing a deep breath, Xiao Yan walked to the edge of the milky-white spring and crouched carefully, only to discover something that looked like a little insect.
"This looks a bit like a snow silkworm?" Although Xiao Yan did not recognize most of the plants here, there were a few he knew.
Snow silkworms were the finest grade of cordyceps. He had encountered them several times in his previous life on Blue Star. Cordyceps itself was a superb medicinal ingredient. What was called "winter insect, summer grass" was actually an insect-borne fungus, a primitive parasitic fungal organism. It often parasitized bee larvae, pupae, or adults, invading their bodies to absorb nutrients.
Once the fungal threads gradually filled