After Xu Qingtong stepped into the pillar of light, a brief wave of dizziness swept through his mind. Then he appeared at the edge of a forest. He immediately activated a Shield Talisman and went on full alert. Only after finding no one nearby and sensing no danger did he relax.
Xu Qingtong lifted the Jade Token in his hand and examined it. It seemed slightly different from the Jade Slips he commonly used. This token was a little thicker and wider. He pressed it to his forehead and extended his divine sense into it, discovering a list of medicinal herbs, their appearances, and the quantities he needed to gather.
Xu Qingtong silently read the herbs listed on the Jade Token: one stalk of dragon saliva grass, with long, slender, bluish-purple leaves, usually growing beside water and often accompanied by snake- or python-type Demon Beasts, at least fifty years old; three purple spirit fruits, peach-shaped and dark red, growing on trees two feet tall with spiny-edged leaves;
Of these herbs, he recognized only three. He had never seen the others, much less knew their uses. After a moment's thought, Xu Qingtong decided what to do. He would set aside the medicinal properties of these Spirit Herbs for now, find them first, and figure out the rest later.
He glanced at the forest not far away. Its towering trees blotted out the sky and sun, stretching for miles. Unease drummed in his heart as he recalled a saying from an old book: "When you encounter a forest, do not enter." It seemed he would have to be careful.
Standing at the forest's edge, Xu Qingtong extended his divine sense into the trees. Ten feet, twenty feet... a hundred feet, a thousand feet. At a thousand feet, he felt he could reach no farther.
Sensing no danger within that range, Xu Qingtong held a Fireball Talisman in his left hand and the Red Sun Sword in his right. Summoning his courage, he slowly ventured into the forest.
As he walked, he spread out his divine sense, constantly sweeping his surroundings. Suddenly, he sensed a faint fluctuation of spiritual power five hundred feet ahead to his left.
Xu Qingtong focused his attention and took a closer look. It came from a small tree about five feet tall, bearing several clusters of fruit, some red and some green. They looked exactly like the purple spirit fruits depicted on the Jade Token.
Xu Qingtong was delighted. His luck really was good-he had only just arrived in the valley, yet he had already found one of the medicinal plants required for the trial. Not daring to grow careless, he cautiously approached the purple spirit fruit tree. When he was still about a hundred feet away, a gray shadow let out a shriek and charged toward him from the distance. His heart tightened, and he turned and ran for the forest's edge.
The gray shadow followed close behind, pursuing him all the way to the edge of the forest before stopping.
Sensing that the gray shadow had stopped chasing him, Xu Qingtong halted, turned around, and studied it carefully. It turned out to be a small beast with a leopard's body but a monkey's head. It bared two sharp fangs and glared furiously at him.
Xu Qingtong did not recognize the Demon Beast and had no idea how strong it was, so he could only test it first. He sent out the Red Sun Sword, driving it with his magic power to shoot toward the beast.
The Demon Beast moved incredibly fast. It leaped clear of the flying sword and lunged straight at Xu Qingtong. With no time to recall his sword, he hurriedly summoned the Goumang Seal to block its path. The beast rushed up and swung a forepaw, striking the Goumang Seal and knocking it aside.
Xu Qingtong realized that the Demon Beast was not especially strong. It had merely knocked the Goumang Seal away without affecting him much, which eased his mind considerably.
After swatting the Goumang Seal aside, the Demon Beast leaped again and charged at Xu Qingtong. Now that he knew the little beast's strength, he no longer dodged. With a sweep of his hand, he unleashed a Fireball Talisman.
At such close range, the little beast had no chance to evade it. The fireball struck it squarely, instantly scorching its gray fur. It let out a strange cry, turned, and fled into the forest.
Xu Qingtong followed at an unhurried pace, heading toward the purple spirit fruit tree. The Demon Beast had intended to flee in that direction, but when it saw that he was heading there too, it could only veer away and escape elsewhere.
Watching the little beast flee, Xu Qingtong made no attempt to pursue it. He went straight to the purple spirit fruit tree, picked the fully ripe fruits, placed them in a jade box, and put it into his Storage Bag.
Afterward, he wandered through the forest for another four hours and found several more Spirit Herbs. Apart from one red gold vine, however, all of them were less than thirty years old. According to the requirements on the mission's Jade Token, medicinal plants younger than thirty years could not be harvested.
After leaving the forest, Xu Qingtong came to a small hillside. It was completely bare, with nothing growing on it. Just as he was about to sit down and meditate for a while, his divine sense picked up a buzzing sound.
Xu Qingtong looked up and saw a yellow wasp flying toward him. When it reached him, it arched its body and shot the sharp stinger at the tip of its abdomen toward him.
Xu Qingtong smiled faintly. "An ant trying to shake a mighty tree-how laughably ignorant of its own strength." He could not even be bothered to activate a talisman. He raised his hand and struck the yellow wasp with a Fireball Technique. Its wings burned away, leaving it unable to fly, and it dropped straight to the ground.
Seeing the yellow wasp fall, Xu Qingtong paid it no further attention. He sat cross-legged on a large rock and closed his eyes to rest. Yet the moment his eyes closed, he heard an even louder buzzing.
Startled, Xu Qingtong hurriedly looked up. A huge yellow cloud was drifting toward him. Only when it drew closer did he see clearly. This was no yellow cloud-it was countless yellow wasps clustered together.
Enough ants could bite an elephant to death; even a brave man feared a crowd! At the sight of the densely packed yellow wasps, Xu Qingtong's hair stood on end. He scrambled to his feet and fled downhill, stumbling and scrambling as he went.
He was like a conductor's baton: wherever he ran, the yellow cloud followed. Seeing the yellow wasps closing in, Xu Qingtong hurriedly flung out a Fireball Talisman. Although it burned some of them to death, it was merely a cup of water against a blazing cartload of firewood-negligible against the entire wasp army.
Xu Qingtong ran while trying to think of a way out. After roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea, several wasps at the front had already landed on him and begun tearing at his clothes. Panic gripped him, but for the moment he could think of nothing.
Suddenly, he spotted a lake ahead, its clear water rippling with emerald waves. Without time to think, Xu Qingtong ran straight toward it. By the time he reached the shore, the swarm had nearly caught up with him. No longer caring whether danger lurked in the lake, he steeled himself and plunged headfirst into the water.
The moment he entered the lake, a chill swept over him. Xu Qingtong hurriedly activated a Shield Talisman, and only then did he feel a little better. Looking up, he saw a swarm of yellow wasps gathered above the surface. A few had even landed on the water and were swimming desperately.
Xu Qingtong waited underwater for a while. The yellow wasps no longer flew down to the surface, but neither did they leave. He was still only at the Third Layer of Qi Refining and could remain underwater for no more than fifteen minutes before surfacing for air.
When he could hold his breath no longer, Xu Qingtong could only raise his shield and steel himself to break the surface. The instant he emerged, the swarm spotted its target and shot toward him like arrows. In his panic, he had no choice but to risk their attacks, take a deep breath, and dive underwater again.
Xu Qingtong had spent an hour underwater, yet the yellow wasps still showed no intention of leaving. During that time, he had surfaced twice for air and been stung several times on the head. Fortunately, his Heavenly Fire Body-Tempering Art had already reached the second level; otherwise, he would likely have suffered some minor injuries.
Xu Qingtong remained in the water, turning the problem over in his mind. This could not go on forever, yet he still could not think of a solution.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and resolved to take a risk!
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