Chapter 161 - 156: Top Grade Medicinal Herb

Once outside the cave, Xiang Bao demanded, "Brother, why’d you let him go? I don’t believe you couldn’t have beaten him!"

Xiang Shaofeng fell silent for a moment before slowly asking, "Did you notice the problem?"

"What problem?"

"Before we entered the cave, his cultivation was at the First Layer of the Qi Realm. What about now?"

Xiang Bao thought back carefully, then his face suddenly changed. "Now that you mention it... His Qi and Blood really did surge a moment ago."

Xiang Shaofeng nodded. "Exactly. In just that short time, he managed to break through."

"Either he was already on the verge of the Second Layer before the autumn harvest, needing only one or two more acupoints to break through, or he had a fortuitous encounter inside the cave."

At this, he looked at Xiang Bao and asked, "Which do you think it is?"

Xiang Bao answered without hesitation, "Definitely not the former. What are the odds? It’s too much of a coincidence for him to break through right at this moment—not a second sooner, not a second later."

Xiang Shaofeng nodded and continued, "And another thing. That Ice Fist of his... I was pressuring him so hard at the beginning, and he never used it. Then, suddenly, he could. Isn’t that strange?"

Xiang Bao froze for a second, then slapped his thigh in frustration. "He must have stumbled upon some opportunity in the cave! How did all the good stuff fall into his lap? No, I’m going back to take a look."

Xiang Shaofeng grabbed him, shaking his head gently. "Do you think opportunities like that are a dime a dozen? I’ve never heard of anything you can consume that not only raises your cultivation but also lets you master a new type of fist energy."

"This whole thing is bizarre; I can’t make sense of it for the moment. But since he’s the one who got it, it’s his now. What are you going to do, pry it out of his throat?"

Xiang Bao was speechless. "He got off way too easy," he said, resentful.

Xiang Shaofeng scoffed. "As martial artists, we cultivate ourselves. There’s no point in being jealous of others. Even if you killed him, your own cultivation wouldn’t increase by a single iota."

"Besides, the cave was a confined space, and his Ice Fist was incredibly sharp. I wasn’t certain I could take him down. It’s better to leave him owing me a favor."

"He’s a smart man. He’ll understand my meaning."

Xiang Bao sighed in resignation. "He’ll definitely take first place now. I can kiss my Five-Six Pill goodbye."

"Then use this shame to strive for better..."

The sound of footsteps faded into the distance. Zhao Lin slowly retreated back into the cave.

’Maybe I read too many novels in my past life.’ He always worried that the moment he revealed any extraordinary talent, others would be eager to suppress him—or even silence him for good.

’That way of thinking wasn’t entirely wrong, and it did help keep me safe, but not everyone is like that.’

’If Xiang Shaofeng was speaking from the heart, his magnanimity and foresight are truly exceptional.’

Zhao Lin returned to the edge of the grotto. He took a cloth from his bundle, wrapped it around his hand, and picked up the herb box Xiang Shaofeng had left. He made sure to point the opening away from himself.

After opening the lid and waiting a moment to ensure no poison darts or toxic smoke shot out, he finally turned it around to inspect the contents.

The box contained seven or eight herbs.

Earth blood ginseng, Stinging Spirit Head, Purple Mulberry Ganoderma...

There weren’t many, but every single plant was of a fairly high grade. Two of them could even be classified as superior-grade.

’Looks like Xiang Shaofeng is very picky. He doesn’t even bother picking herbs that aren’t graded.’

Zhao Lin was very pleased. ’With these herbs, even if I stop gathering now, it’ll be hard for anyone else to take the top spot.’

Before the harvest, he’d asked the senior disciples about it. In past years, you could generally make the top ten with just a single superior-grade herb.

To get into the top three, or even take first place, you needed at least three superior-grade herbs.

’I already have six superior-grade plants, not to mention a Top Grade herb like the Yin Erosion Lotus.’

’Still, past results are only a reference. The mountains are different each time, so the grade and abundance of herbs will vary.’

Zhao Lin transferred the herbs from the box into his own. He then walked into the grotto containing the Yin Erosion Lotus, and his eyes immediately fell upon the flattened corpse of the Cold Ice Silkworm on the ground.

’Come to think of it, my biggest gain from this harvest isn’t the herbs, but the Essence Soul of the Cold Ice Silkworm.’

’Fortune and disaster really are two sides of the same coin. If the Xiang family brothers hadn’t caused all this trouble, I’d never have discovered the Yin Erosion Lotus, let alone the Cold Ice Silkworm.’

"Since I took your Essence Soul, I’ll at least take care of your body."

’Exotic silkworms are actually considered rare medicinal ingredients, but this thing is just a husk now. Completely useless.’

Zhao Lin took out a shovel, cleaned up the silkworm’s corpse along with its squeezed-out entrails, walked out of the grotto, found a deep rock crevice, and threw it in.

Returning to the grotto, his gaze fell on the Yin Erosion Lotus, and he hesitated whether to pick it or not.

’The Yin Erosion Lotus grows in places of extreme yin, making it hard to preserve after picking. There’s still a full day before the harvest ends. Even in the herb box, I can’t guarantee its medicinal properties won’t degrade.’

’In fact, all Top Grade herbs have this problem. They need to be processed quickly.’

’Should I leave it here and come back for it tomorrow?’

’No!’

’The Xiang family brothers already know this location; there’s no guarantee they won’t return. Besides, someone else could stumble upon it within the next day.’

If someone else picked the Yin Erosion Lotus, it would be like letting a perfect prize slip through his fingers. Zhao Lin absolutely could not tolerate that.

After weighing his options, Zhao Lin decided: he would take it now!

He carefully picked the Yin Erosion Lotus, put it in Xiang Shaofeng’s herb box, left the cave, and headed straight for the base of Five Finger Mountain.

...

On a mountainside of Five Finger Mountain, beneath a gnarled, welcoming pine, sat six elders from the Wuxiang Institute and the outer court.

Today was the second day of the autumn harvest, so no disciples should be coming down the mountain. The elders had nothing better to do, so they were meditating and cultivating their qi while chatting idly.

"Why is someone coming down?"

Elder Zhou of the outer court happened to glance up the mountain. Seeing a disciple running down from Index Finger Peak and heading straight for them, he couldn’t help but let out a surprised "Hm?"

Elder Jinshi’s expression soured. "Don’t tell me someone is dropping out."

Things like this had happened in previous years: some disciples had bad luck and found nothing for two days, or had their hard-earned herbs stolen, causing their confidence to collapse and leading them to give up and choose to come down the mountain early.

"Shuijing, why does that look like a disciple from your department?"

As the disciple drew closer, Elder Huoyu recognized Zhao Lin and immediately said with a jeer.

Shuijing recognized him as well, and couldn’t help but feel a flicker of doubt.

’Although I haven’t spent much time with Zhao Lin,’ he thought, ’I know he’s definitely not the weak-willed type. He wouldn’t just give up halfway. There must be a reason.’

’Could he be injured?’

’That’s the most logical explanation I can come up with.’

"Doesn’t look like it, he’s running pretty fast!" Elder Huoyu said, stroking his beard.

The other elders didn’t speak. Since it was a disciple of the Water Mirror Department, it was naturally up to the department head to handle it.

However, Elder Huoyu didn’t seem to think so. Before Zhao Lin could even get close, he raised his voice and said, "Zhao Lin, today is only the second day. Why have you come down the mountain early?"

Elder Shuijing’s face darkened. "He is a disciple of my department," he snapped. "Your concern is not required."

After speaking, he looked at Zhao Lin, "Are you injured?"

Zhao Lin stopped before the tree and bowed with clasped hands. "Greetings to the Elders."

He then raised his head, his gaze directed at Shuijing. "Reporting to the Elder, I am unharmed. I came down early because I picked a Top Grade herb and was worried its medicinal properties would be lost if I waited until tomorrow."