Cultivation: From Menial Laborer to Immortal Venerable Section 7

His eyes widened in shock.

He saw another large rat, impaled through the chest by a javelin and pinned to the ground. Zhou Xun was currently pulling the javelin free.

"I'm a demon-hunting cultivator trained in Hundred Savages Mountain, and I'm being outdone by a novice!"

Dan Xiong Hai shook his head vigorously and was about to speak when Zhou Xun interrupted him.

"The three small ones got away, we need to chase them quickly!"

Dan Xiong Hai snapped back to reality, a wave of shame washing over him. He, a dignified demon-hunting cultivator, had made such a mistake and needed a novice like Zhou Xun to remind him.

He then tried to cover his embarrassment by saying, "I'll go after the two on the left, you take the one on the right!"

Zhou Xun had no objections, so the two of them, without even bothering to deal with their kill, picked up their spears and gave chase.

Young Goldspirit Rats were incredibly agile, and as soon as they darted into the undergrowth, they vanished.

However, Zhou Xun was no ordinary person; he was a genuine cultivator.

He channeled Spirit Energy into his eyes and quickly spotted the trail of a small Goldspirit Rat dozens of feet away.

"Found it!"

Immediately, he channeled Spirit Energy into his legs and exerted a gentle force. He took off lightly, his heartbeat perfectly synchronized with his footsteps. His pace was light and orderly, like a fleeting phantom.

It was early morning, and the sun began to pierce through the mist, casting golden rays upon the land.

His eyes, like an eagle's, remained fixed on the golden shadow ahead.

Even when obstructed by bushes and branches, he could quickly find it again.

After chasing for several dozen breaths, Zhou Xun was getting closer and closer to the Goldspirit Rat.

Suddenly, they arrived at a valley, and the Goldspirit Rat flashed past. Zhou Xun hurried to follow.

By the time he reached the valley entrance, the Goldspirit Rat had disappeared.

However, Zhou Xun wasn't worried because this valley was the Goldspirit Rat's lair.

The young Goldspirit Rat, in its panic, had run straight back to its home. Now, he had it trapped like a turtle in a jar.

Zhou Xun began to search carefully and soon discovered a cave in a rock face, two feet wide and five feet high, just large enough for a person to enter.

The cave was covered by vines, making it impossible to find without a thorough search.

Zhou Xun picked up a dry pine branch, cast a Fire Seed Art, and instantly ignited it. He then pushed aside the vines, held his breath, and ducked inside with the torch.

With his current cultivation, holding his breath for half an hour was no problem.

The cave walls were also covered in moss. As Zhou Xun ventured deeper, the cave grew larger, and by the middle section, he could walk upright.

After walking about ten zhang further in, the rock walls on both sides began to dry out, and the moss and other plants disappeared.

Furthermore, as he went deeper, the Spirit Energy within the cave became increasingly dense.

Zhou Xun grew more vigilant, holding his javelin horizontally in front of his chest.

After walking about a hundred zhang, the path suddenly opened up into a large hall.

The hall was nearly ten zhang in size. In the center was a three-zhang pool, and in the middle of the pool stood a raised platform where four plants were growing.

"Spirit Herbs!"

Two words flashed through Zhou Xun's mind.

Unfortunately, Zhou Xun didn't recognize them. The four plants strongly resembled orchids that hadn't bloomed in his previous life.

He counted, and each plant had exactly seven leaves.

The leaves were entirely emerald green, like jade, clearly indicating they were precious Spirit Herbs.

However, Zhou Xun had no intention of picking them at the moment.

He was extremely wary, as the young Goldspirit Rat was still nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, he felt a gust of wind from above, and Zhou Xun quickly dodged.

A Gold Blade whizzed past Zhou Xun's forehead, cutting off a strand of his hair.

Zhou Xun was greatly alarmed.

"I almost fell for it!"

Angrily, he raised his javelin and thrust it at the shadow in front of him.

"Thwack—"

Like a skewer through a gourd, he impaled the young Goldspirit Rat through its heart. After a few struggles, it died.

"Next time I go out, I must prepare a Defense Talisman!" Recalling the Gold Blade, Zhou Xun felt a lingering fear.

He had almost lost his head.

Calming his mind, Zhou Xun picked up his javelin, turned, and walked towards the cave entrance.

Just a few steps after turning, he saw Dan Xiong Hai entering.

"Da Hai, you finished that quickly?" Zhou Xun asked in surprise.

"The two little ones didn't run; they tried to hide and ambush me. I impaled them both with my spear!" Dan Xiong Hai chuckled, saying dismissively.

"What about their bodies?" Zhou Xun asked.

"I've already dealt with them! I collected the blood, whiskers, and monster meat. Oh, and you should have me process yours too; its value will be greatly reduced if we wait!" Dan Xiong Hai said, patting the large bundle on his back.

Zhou Xun nodded, assuming Dan Xiong Hai had handled it while he was searching for the cave.

He handed the throwing spear in his hand to Dan Xiong Hai, then pointed to the four Spirit Herbs in the center of the hall and asked:

"Those four look like Spirit Herbs. Do you recognize them?"

"Spirit Herbs?" Dan Xiong Hai took the throwing spear, pulled off the Goldspirit Rat's corpse, and looked up in the direction Zhou Xun was pointing.

"Spirit Gathering Grass!" Dan Xiong Hai exclaimed.

His voice was filled with disbelief and delight.

"Spirit Gathering Grass?" Hearing those three words, Zhou Xun also exclaimed.

"No wonder the spiritual energy concentration kept increasing as we entered. In this hall, it's even comparable to Red Leaf Square!"

It was important to note that the entire Red Leaf Square was built upon a second-tier, low-grade spirit vein.

Even though most of the spiritual energy in Red Leaf Square was usually bound by formations and specifically supplied to the ancestral lands of the four great families, the spiritual energy concentration within the entire market was still comparable to an ordinary first-tier high-grade spirit vein.

Although he didn't recognize them, Zhou Xun had heard of the great name of Spirit Gathering Grass.

Spirit Gathering Grass, as its name suggested, had the effect of gathering spiritual energy.

The high spiritual energy concentration in this cave was all thanks to the Spirit Gathering Grass.

Because of this effect, many powerful cultivators liked to plant this spiritual grass near their cave dwellings to increase the spiritual energy concentration.

However, what made Spirit Gathering Grass so famous wasn't its spiritual energy-gathering effect, but rather a certain pill—the Spirit Gathering Pill.

The renowned Spirit Gathering Pill in the cultivation world, which could help Qi Condensation stage cultivators break through bottlenecks, was refined using this spiritual grass as the main ingredient.

Even for the disciples of the four great families in Red Leaf Square, only a very small number with exceptional talent or those who had made great contributions could obtain the Spirit Gathering Pill; most people didn't have that opportunity.

Each stalk of Spirit Gathering Grass could be used to refine a batch of several Spirit Gathering Pills.

From this, one could see the preciousness of these four stalks of Spirit Gathering Grass, and at the same time, how much wealth they represented.

"With these, you, me, and Second Uncle all have a chance to become cultivators in the Late-Stage Qi Condensation!" Dan Xiong Hai couldn't help but grip Zhou Xun's wrist, his voice trembling with excitement.

Late-Stage Qi Condensation was considered high-level even among the four great families of Red Leaf Square.

Each of them was a key figure in guarding a region.

After a burst of excitement, the two calmed down.

Zhou Xun pointed to the Goldspirit Rat corpse lying on the ground:

"This Goldspirit Rat hasn't been processed yet!"

"Ah, I almost forgot," Dan Xiong Hai chuckled, grinning. "What's this Goldspirit Rat worth? With these few stalks of Spirit Gathering Grass, we'll have enough resources to cultivate to Late-Stage Qi Condensation!"

Dan Xiong Hai's words were not false. The price of even a single Spirit Gathering Pill was enough to bankrupt an ordinary Late-Stage Qi Condensation cultivator.

Soon, Dan Xiong Hai finished processing the Goldspirit Rat.

Then, the two turned their attention to the four stalks of Spirit Gathering Grass.

"Fortunately, I brought jade boxes for preserving Spirit Herbs this time; otherwise, I would have had to make another trip!" Dan Xiong Hai said, taking out four jade boxes from his bundle.

He carefully picked the four stalks of Spirit Gathering Grass and gently placed them into the jade boxes, finally letting out a relieved sigh.

Looking at the four jade boxes in Dan Xiong Hai's hands, Zhou Xun said:

"Da Hai, these four..." Before he could finish, he was interrupted.