Chapter 102: Langya Heaven

The Yanyue Sect master presented his treasure pouch for Jiang Yan to inspect, asking uneasily, “Clover and dragon-claw locust are both spiritual herbs needed to refine Foundation Establishment Pills. Senior, I have more than a dozen plants here, and I also have quite a few of the other herbs used to refine Spirit Gathering Pills. Do you think this is enough to exchange for a beast core?”

Jiang Yan’s gaze swept over the treasure pouch in the sect master’s hand. Not bad. There were plenty of herbs. Jiang Yan did not know the exact exchange rate between beast cores and spiritual herbs, but trading one beast core for all of this, he felt, was a very profitable deal.

“What grade of beast core do you need?” Jiang Yan motioned for Tang Wan to pick the herbs from the Yanyue Sect master’s treasure pouch, then asked him.

“Middle-grade first rank... no, lower-grade first rank will do. Senior, just lower-grade first rank is enough.” The Yanyue Sect master said carefully. To pass through the Demon-Hunting Gate, a lower-grade first-rank beast core was sufficient. But if one wanted to still have a beast core left after passing through, then at the very least it needed to be middle-grade. Still, being able to exchange for a beast core so early today had already made Li Ru quite pleased. It meant that for the remaining hour, all the herbs the two of them collected would belong to the Yanyue Sect. That was why Li Ru was not being greedy for a middle-grade beast core.

Li Ru had taken part in countless demon hunts. Every time, at the very last moment, he would exhaust everything he had to exchange for a beast core from a second-rank sect, then pass through the Demon-Hunting Gate. Each time he hunted demons, Li Ru could at most keep two or three herbs for himself. Now, with an hour left before the Demon-Hunting Gate vanished, as long as he and his disciple worked hard in this Tianqing wood grove where herbs grew everywhere, they would certainly find many more. This harvest would unquestionably far surpass all his previous demon hunts.

Jiang Yan’s divine sense stirred, and a middle-grade beast core was wrapped by his divine awareness and lifted from the treasure pouch, floating before the Yanyue Sect master. “This is a middle-grade first-rank beast core from a man-eating flower. Keep it safe.”

At present, Jiang Yan’s treasure pouch contained dozens of beast cores. Aside from the ones needed to open the Demon-Hunting Gate, he still had many more. Taking out a few in exchange for herb stalks was still very worthwhile.

“Many thanks, Senior. Many thanks, Senior. Li Ru thanks you, Senior.” The Yanyue Sect master bowed repeatedly before Jiang Yan like a pecking chicken, thanking him over and over.

“Sect Master, they’re gone,” a Yanyue Sect disciple said with some disdain as he watched his own sect master bowing and scraping like that.

Li Ru lifted his head and saw that Jiang Yan and Tang Wan had already disappeared. Only then did he straighten up and proudly say to his disciple, “What do you know? Once we get out, just this used beast core alone can be exchanged for several thousand spirit stones.”

“Several thousand?” The disciple’s mouth fell open as he stared in disbelief at the beast core in his sect master’s hand. He could scarcely believe it. He worked hard every month and only earned a few spirit stones. This time, risking his life to take part in the demon hunt, the sect master had promised him only a dozen or so spirit stones. Several thousand? He could not even imagine it.

“And if it were an intact beast core, how many spirit stones would that be worth, Sect Master?” The disciple looked at the beast core in Li Ru’s hand with obvious longing.

“I don’t know. After all these years, an intact beast core has never appeared in the Linqing prefecture. Who knows where those second-rank sects have hidden them? At the auctions held by the Wonder Pavilion, only some damaged lower-grade first-rank beast cores have shown up. Even middle-grade remnants have never appeared. How would I know how many spirit stones a complete middle-grade core is worth?”

Li Ru rubbed the beast core in his hand and said excitedly. In the past, some sects, after exchanging for a beast core from a second-rank sect and passing through the Demon-Hunting Gate, had actually still had one left over. They took those to auction, and every single one fetched an exorbitant price. Li Ru thought smugly to himself that this time, he ought to be the one who reaped the high price...

“All right, stop daydreaming. Hurry and dig for herbs. How much the sect earns this time depends entirely on the two of us.” Li Ru ordered his disciple. Bending down, he began searching the ground for spiritual herbs. Time was spirit stones. Every herb they could dig up now was profit in his pocket.

...

Jiang Yan stared intently at the lush green cave in the distance, his gaze sweeping continually over the surrounding area. According to the markings on the talismanic map, the cave before him was the Langya Heaven where the Azure Hookwood grew.

Within Langya Heaven, spiritual qi was abundant and herbs covered the ground. Just from the green dots on the talismanic map representing spiritual herbs, Jiang Yan saw no fewer than several thousand. Among those dots, one shone especially brightly. Its radiance on the talismanic map completely overshadowed the smaller dots around it and occupied a great stretch of the map. That green dot was the target Jiang Yan had come here to find: the Azure Hookwood.

Where there were treasures, there would naturally be guardian beasts. Inside Langya Heaven, there were not only scattered red dots representing lower-grade beasts, but also large red dots representing middle-grade beasts. More than that, there were seven especially large red dots hidden beneath the brilliance of the Azure Hookwood, flickering in and out of view on the talismanic map.

Those seven red dots, arranged in a ring and faintly encircling the Azure Hookwood, were a kind of pack beast: the Azure Wood Beast.

The Azure Wood Beast was a middle-grade first-rank beast. It was born around the Azure Hookwood. Adult Azure Wood Beasts possessed strength that could almost rival Foundation Establishment cultivators, even Golden Core cultivators. But young cubs were quite stable in strength, basically only comparable to a seventh-level Qi Refining cultivator.

Although young Azure Wood Beasts were not strong, they possessed a combined defensive skill: Azure Wood Heaven. Once two or more Azure Wood Beasts within the vicinity of the Azure Hookwood cast this defensive technique, they could firmly protect the Azure Hookwood within Azure Wood Heaven. Apart from Foundation Establishment experts, no one could break it.

The reason Jiang Yan had halted at the entrance to Langya Heaven and dared not advance was precisely because he feared alarming the Azure Wood Beasts. If they formed Azure Wood Heaven, then this mission would end in failure, and returning to the Linqing prefecture would be hopeless.

Azure Wood Beasts were wood-attributed beasts and naturally very cautious. At the slightest sign of disturbance, several of them might merge into one and form Azure Wood Heaven. Thus Jiang Yan crouched at the mouth of Langya Heaven, racking his mind for a way to kill the Azure Wood Beasts.

“Senior Brother, we don’t have much time left.” Tang Wan stood behind Jiang Yan, glanced at the sky above, silently estimated the time, and said anxiously to him.

“I know, Wan’er.” Jiang Yan rose somewhat reluctantly. He still had not thought of a way to deal with the Azure Wood Beasts without alarming them, but he did not want to lose face as her senior brother. So he could only say helplessly, “Up ahead is Langya Heaven. The Azure Hookwood is inside. Let’s go in.”

Jiang Yan took the lead and entered Langya Heaven. The Azure Hookwood was deep within it; even if they went in now, they ought not to disturb the Azure Wood Beasts guarding it, or so Jiang Yan thought uneasily.

“So many herbs!” Tang Wan stepped into Langya Heaven and, upon seeing the herbs strewn all over the ground, immediately cried out in delight. Since Langya Heaven could grow a treasure like Azure Hookwood, spiritual qi here was naturally abundant. And where spiritual qi was abundant, herbs flourished. Thus herbs covered the entire ground.

“West Wind Drop, clover, dragon-claw locust, so many herbs, Senior Brother.” Tang Wan skipped through the herb patches, excitedly pointing out the herbs all around her as she spoke to Jiang Yan.

“Soul-Combining Grass! Soul-Combining Grass, Senior Brother, there’s Soul-Combining Grass here!” Tang Wan ran out from among the herbs like a gust of wind, waving a bright green leaf in her hand and calling out joyfully to Jiang Yan.

Soul-Combining Grass was the final spiritual herb needed to refine Foundation Establishment Pills, and it was very particular about its growing conditions. In spirit fields below second rank, Soul-Combining Grass simply could not grow. Because Soul-Combining Grass was so scarce, no sect in the Linqing prefecture could independently refine Foundation Establishment Pills, which was why only three Foundation Establishment experts existed in the entire prefecture.

Even in the largest sect of the Linqing prefecture, the Golden Flame Sect, the three existing Foundation Establishment experts had succeeded only because they had taken Bone-Transforming Pills and, aided by improved spiritual roots and bones, naturally managed to break through. This had nothing whatsoever to do with Foundation Establishment Pills.

In Yellow Phoenix Slope, Black Bear Valley, the Man-Eating Flower Heights, and the Tianqing Wood Grove, there had been dragon-claw locust, West Wind Drop, and clover, but not a single stalk of Soul-Combining Grass. Now that they had found this stalk, once they returned to the sect, Tang Wan could begin trying to refine Foundation Establishment Pills.

Jiang Yan was preoccupied with the Azure Wood Beasts guarding the Azure Hookwood and had no mind to care about any Soul-Combining Grass. But seeing Tang Wan so delighted, he did not want to dampen her spirits. Taking the bright green leaf from her hand, Jiang Yan smiled at her and said, “Wan’er, pick a few first. When we get back, we’ll plant them in the spirit fields behind the sect. That way we won’t have to worry about Soul-Combining Grass anymore.”

Tang Wan had just gathered Azure Hookwood for the first time and was still in high spirits. Hearing Jiang Yan’s arrangement, she immediately turned around in excitement to gather the Soul-Combining Grass.

“Baa...” From beside Tang Wan in the distance came the beast language of a little lamb’s bleat.

Today there will be three updates. The clicks are not very encouraging, and the recommendations are not very encouraging either. Everyone, have you already abandoned Huashan...?