A Harvest of Seedlings

Not long after, a cold-faced young man in blue, an elderly man in Taoist robes with white hair and beard, and a beautiful young woman in green all came out one after another. With apparent默契, they each chose a different direction and disappeared into the forest ahead.

Han Li waited for nearly another quarter of an hour. When no one else appeared, he gave his belongings a final check and, mimicking the earlier men, selected a direction no one had yet entered, slipping in silently.

What Han Li didn't know was that shortly after he entered, the ugly man Zhong Wu, whom he had seen only the day before, appeared at the passage. Staring at the dark path up the mountain, he let out a few cold chuckles, then released a dozen or so yellow dots from his person that flew into the forest. Only then did he unhurriedly follow.

Meanwhile, outside the forbidden land, at the entrance where the barrier was being breached, the seven sect members left behind watched the direction of the forbidden land with some worry. Han Li's Martial Grandfather Li was among them.

Whether he was more concerned about his sect's disciples completing their mission or about his own wager was anyone's guess.

Not far away, another Core Formation Taoist from Clear Void Valley was in no better state. Ever since the old monster Qi of the Moon-Masking Sect had forcefully intervened in their bet, this man had lost much of his earlier confidence, appearing rather anxious and uncertain.

It was understandable. That Bloodline Wyrm inner core had been incredibly hard to come by, costing him nearly his entire fortune. If he were to lose it so easily to someone else, even a man of his mental cultivation would likely be kept awake by heartache for years.

The Taoist stole a glance at the only person in the crowd who seemed completely at ease—the beautiful young matron from the Moon-Masking Sect, Ni Chang the Immortalette.

This only woman among the seven Core Formation experts had not shown the slightest hint of worry since the disciples entered the forbidden land. She had been chatting and laughing with others, apparently brimming with confidence in the Moon-Masking Sect's chosen disciples, requiring no fretful effort on her part.

The more the Taoist saw her smiling face, the more worried he became. Recalling the confident expression old monster Qi had worn when proposing the bet, he felt as if his Bloodline Wyrm inner core had already flown out of his pocket and was now firmly in someone else's hands.

As these thoughts swirled, the worry on his face only deepened. An outsider might have truly believed he was deeply concerned for the safety of his own sect's disciples within the forbidden land.

After a while longer, the Taoist could bear it no more. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was watching, he sidled up to Martial Grandfather Li, who was standing apart from the others, and asked with a worried expression:

"Layman Li, the disciples your Yellow Maple Valley has sent this time—their skills shouldn't be weak, should they? We can't really lose to that old monster Qi, can we? I have some confidence in the disciples Clear Void Gate has sent into the forbidden land!"

"What do you mean by that? Are you looking down on Yellow Maple Valley, Brother?" Martial Grandfather Li's face showed displeasure.

"Haha! Of course not. It's just that I find the disciples the Moon-Masking Sect has sent this time rather strange. I simply can't rest easy!" The Taoist gave a dry laugh, forcing an explanation.

"That's true enough. I've noticed something off too. In previous rounds, when has the Moon-Masking Sect ever sent disciples this young, and in male-female pairs besides? Do they think the forbidden land is a game of make-believe?" Li said with a dark expression, clearly also anxious about the bet.

The Taoist nodded vigorously at Li's words, apparently in complete agreement.

"But rest assured, Brother. Since I dared to stake a wager, I have some faith in my sect's disciples. Their strength won't be inferior to your sect's," Li said slowly, casting a meaningful glance at the Taoist, his voice carrying a hint of bravado.

"Heh! Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease! I won't disturb you any longer." Having gotten the answer he wanted, the Taoist's expression relaxed visibly, and he took his leave with a smile. Returning to his original spot, he began to sit in meditation, quietly awaiting the outcome days later.

As he watched the Taoist leave, Li let out a soft snort. In a voice only he could hear, he murmured to himself:

"Fu Yunzi, you old goat. Did you think I wouldn't see through your little scheme? You're hoping our two sects can join forces to beat the Moon-Masking Sect, and then your Clear Void Gate can get the jump on us Yellow Maple Valley, right? Heh. I don't know what incredible disciples Clear Void Gate has sent, but this time, our sect has thrown in all its top disciples—the ones ranked among the top three in Qi Condensation combat strength. Otherwise, do you think I'd have made that bet with you?"

As he spoke, a cunning look crossed his face. The earlier worry had vanished without a trace. He was clearly just as wily and secretive as the others.

Han Li naturally had no idea about the scheming between the two Core Formation cultivators outside the forbidden land. At that moment, he was blocked by a giant brown boar.

The boar was of ordinary appearance, except for its skin color and its enormous size—several zhang in height.

But the moment Han Li saw it, he immediately recognized it as one of the most common low-grade demon beasts on the Ring Mountain: the "Boulder Beast." Aside from its thick hide, great strength, and a natural Stone Skin Technique, the beast had very low intelligence and was not hard to deal with.

The Boulder Beast snorted a few times, and a flash of yellow light enveloped its body, covering it in a white, rocky armor. Then it charged at Han Li with ferocious momentum.

Han Li waited motionless as the beast bore down on him. When it was only seven or eight zhang away, he flicked his right wrist. Then, with a blur of movement, he was already behind the monster.

The Boulder Beast's massive body charged a few more zhang past where Han Li had been standing. Then, with a great whoosh, its body split cleanly in two from snout to tail, its multicolored innards spilling across the ground. Han Li had neatly bisected it with his thread-like magic tool.

Han Li retracted the invisible thread, glanced at the dead beast, and shook his head slightly. He immediately leaped into a tree and left the area. He knew the smell of blood from the monster's corpse would soon attract a horde of other, keen-nosed demon beasts. It was best to get out of there quickly.

Several hours had passed since Han Li had entered the Ring Mountain's dense forest. In that short time, he had already encountered four demon beasts.

Three of them had been low-grade, and Han Li had dispatched them without hesitation. But the mid-grade Flying Plume Peacock, whose five-colored feathers could detach from its body and attack or defend on their own, had given him a real headache. Fortunately, though it was a bird, it wasn't particularly fast. In the end, he simply pushed his movement technique to its limit and left it far behind, avoiding a pointless fight.

Now, as Han Li flew through the trees, he sighed constantly.

He finally understood just how incredibly dense the demon beasts were on the Ring Mountain.

He was still on the outskirts, encountering mostly low-grade beasts, which were manageable. But once he delved deeper into the mountain's core, he would likely run into packs of mid-grade and high-grade beasts. Besides running away, he couldn't think of any other way to survive.

No wonder the information on the locations of hidden spiritual herbs was so scarce. The disciples who entered this mountain in the past probably spent most of their energy just avoiding these demon beasts. With whatever little time they had left, they could only visit six or seven locations. And there was no guarantee they would find anything at each one.

"It seems my hope of gathering enough spiritual herbs is pretty slim," Han Li thought, frustrated.

The direction Han Li was now heading in was a hidden cave that frequently produced "Purple Ape" fruits.

According to the information, this cave was of little value. It had been harvested just over a century ago, and the plants inside would all be seedlings, far from maturity, useless for pill refinement.

"Seedlings?" Han Li smiled at the thought.

Seedlings were exactly what he needed—things no one else would touch.

The reason he had risked entering this forbidden land and was so confident he could snatch "Heavenly Spiritual Herbs" from so many "experts" was precisely because his target had been the unripe seedlings from the start. This way, he could avoid conflicts with disciples from other sects as much as possible, visit more locations, and gather what others considered useless.

Once he brought these seedlings back, he could use the green liquid from the mysterious vial to accelerate their growth. It would be no different from picking ripe herbs directly.

Although, as Martial Uncle Ma had said, these seedlings wouldn't last long outside the forbidden land—perhaps only a year or two—that was still enough time to ripen them several times over. After all, the main ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills didn't require extremely long years; a mere four or five hundred years would be sufficient.

The only problem now was whether the remaining three days would be enough for him to gather a sufficient quantity of herbs. The locations where these seedlings grew were scattered everywhere, and with demon beasts blocking his path and possible clashes with disciples from other sects, Han Li had no way of knowing for sure.