The Thunderfire Hall's medicinal garden lay southwest of Qingyuan Market, a little over a hundred li away.
By the time Lu Ming followed Lu Jin, Lu Qingyan, and Lu Jinglei to the mountain where the medicinal garden stood, it was already afternoon.
Standing at the foot of the mountain, Lu Ming looked up and saw a cluster of manor buildings appearing and disappearing amid the clouds and mist halfway up the slope. That was where the Thunderfire Hall's medicinal garden lay.
When they climbed the mountain path and reached the manor, a group of people came out to welcome them.
"Hall Master, what brought you all the way here in person this time? It's only the rain-mist period. There shouldn't be any problems at the garden. You only needed to have Zhang Yue bring over the materials for the Divine Ability Restriction."
The group was led by a middle-aged man with an unkempt beard. As soon as he spotted Lu Jin at the front, he hurried over to greet him, his expression respectful.
"Uncle Qian." Lu Ming smiled and greeted the middle-aged man.
The man's name was Qian Shan. He was a veteran disciple who had completed his training at the Thunderfire Hall long ago, and was now a Great Divine Ability Practitioner at the Dharma Rune Realm. Although he was no longer considered a member of the Thunderfire Hall, he had stayed in Qingyuan Market to build a life for himself, so Lu Jin had hired him to help guard the medicinal garden. It was a good job.
People like Qian Shan were among the connections the Thunderfire Hall had built up over many years. Ordinarily, they each went about their own business, but if the hall ran into trouble, it could call on their past ties to summon aid.
This was one of the advantages of a Divine Ability Hall.
Though it lacked the blood ties of a Divine Ability clan, it had a different network of relationships and connections.
"Lu Ming? What brought you here too? Huh, have you already opened your bone?" Only then did Qian Shan notice Lu Ming. He was surprised and also sensed the fluctuations of Primordial Qi flowing around him.
Qian Shan usually lived at the medicinal garden, far from Qingyuan Market, so he evidently knew nothing of what had happened at the hall these past few days.
Lu Jin lit his pipe and said evenly, "Zhang Yue has left the hall. From now on, he's no longer a member of the Thunderfire Hall."
"What?" Qian Shan froze, at a loss for a moment.
Lu Qingyan stepped forward and briefly told him in a low voice what had happened recently.
"What?! Zhang Yue, that fucking bastard, that ungrateful wretch! He was the Hall Master's personal disciple! How dare he leave the hall?!" Qian Shan was both incredulous and furious. As a veteran of the hall, he naturally knew how much Lu Jin had valued and nurtured Zhang Yue over the years, and a string of down-to-earth curses immediately poured from his mouth.
Lu Ming was amused to hear it. From now on, Second Uncle would have company when he cursed Zhang Yue out every day.
"It's all right. A-Ming has also awakened a High-Grade Divine Ability Bone. In time, he'll be able to shoulder the burden of the Thunderfire Hall." Smiling, Lu Qingyan also told him about Lu Ming's High-Grade Divine Ability Bone. This was to reassure the hall's old hands. After all, Zhang Yue's departure was bound to make people feel that the Thunderfire Hall's future was bleak, and they might begin to entertain other thoughts.
After all, although they had known one another for many years, it was best not to put people's hearts to needless tests.
"Oh? Lu Ming awakened a High-Grade Divine Ability Bone? Good lad, impressive!" Qian Shan was taken aback again. He looked Lu Ming over, his eyes shining with wonder, and clicked his tongue in admiration.
Lu Jin waved a hand and gazed into the distance. "How long before the black rain mist reaches this place?"
Lu Ming also looked into the distance. From halfway up the mountain, he could see farther, and at the very edge of his vision, heaven and earth had taken on a strange black hue.
Indescribably black clouds shrouded heaven and earth, full of an ominous, sinister chill.
Even at such a great distance, Lu Ming could still almost hear the strange sound of rain in his ears.
Ordinary rain sounded clear and pleasant, but the rain here sounded thick and chilling. Even without falling on him, it made him feel a bone-piercing chill coil around his body, stripping away his vitality.
The black curtain of rain blotted out the sky and the sun, never ceasing. Who knew how many horrors it contained?
"So this is the Black Rain Zone..."
Lu Ming shuddered slightly and gazed solemnly at the distant black curtain of rain. Memories from long ago welled up from the depths of his mind. Back then, the black rain season had erupted with unusual intensity, and he and Jingyi had been trapped in the black rain.
"The rain mist should spread here tonight. The medicinal garden's Divine Ability Restriction has suffered some wear and needs to be repaired quickly, but there shouldn't be much trouble. The garden is farther away, so the rain mist will be much thinner by the time it spreads here. There's little chance of Rain Spawn appearing," Qian Shan replied with practiced ease.
Qian Shan had guarded the medicinal garden for two years and had experienced several rain-mist periods in that time. He had only seen Rain Spawn wander over twice, and thanks to the Divine Ability Restriction, they had caused no damage.
Lu Jin nodded, then turned and entered the medicinal garden.
The others followed. The garden covered a considerable area. Aside from a few houses, it consisted of plot after plot of medicinal fields.
Lu Ming crouched beside a medicinal field and looked at the spirit herbs growing there. They were white, four-leaved spirit herbs with faint patterns of light flowing across them, making them look as though they had been fashioned from white jade.
Faint fluctuations of Primordial Qi emanated from the spirit herbs.
These were Moon Spirit Grass. The entire medicinal garden was planted with them.
"Hall Master, about fifty Moon Spirit Grass plants should mature this year. At the usual price of a hundred grains of Heavenly Gold Sand per plant, they should bring in close to five thousand grains," Qian Shan reported from the side.
"A little less than in previous years." Lu Qingyan did the calculations, though he also understood that this was normal. The medicinal garden was large and contained over a thousand Moon Spirit Grass plants, but the herbs were delicate. They only absorbed moonlight to grow at night, and the slightest bump would shatter their stems and leaves, turning them into useless weeds. All told, only about one in twenty reached maturity.
Lu Jin nodded. This year's harvest was fairly average. Li Yan of the Li Clan had previously said that the purchase price for Moon Spirit Grass would double, so the proceeds from this batch should be enough to support Lu Ming's cultivation for a while.
After inspecting the garden, Lu Jin instructed everyone to hurry and repair the Divine Ability Restriction.
Lu Ming, meanwhile, was still studying the Moon Spirit Grass, because he had suddenly remembered the spark called the Flame of Life in the black ring's space...
The Flame of Life could extend life, heal injuries, and was adept at nurturing all manner of herbs.
Lu Ming fell into thought. Would its ability to nurture all manner of herbs work on Moon Spirit Grass?
If it did, both the yield and quality of the medicinal garden's Moon Spirit Grass might improve tremendously. That would undoubtedly ease the pressure on the family considerably.
At that thought, a hint of eagerness appeared in Lu Ming's eyes.
For the rest of the day, everyone in the medicinal garden busied themselves. Lu Jin oversaw the work while Lu Qingyan and the others methodically repaired the garden's Divine Ability Restriction, replacing all the worn-out materials.
By the time the sky began to darken, the Divine Ability Restriction had been fully activated.
Lu Ming looked up to see patterns of light spreading upward from around the medicinal garden. They swiftly interwove, finally forming a ring of light shrouded in faint white mist that covered the entire garden.
Not long after the Divine Ability Restriction was activated, Lu Ming felt a faint dampness emerge between heaven and earth.
The dampness was bitterly cold, as though it could seep into a person's bones, filling him with an inexplicable fear.
Lu Ming looked up into the distance. Heaven and earth were growing ever darker, and on the horizon, damp, chilling black rain mist was sweeping toward them.
The black mist was like a gigantic, bottomless maw, swallowing everything in its path.
A moment later, the rain mist surged in and covered the mountain where the medicinal garden stood.
At that moment, the entire world fell silent and cold.