Chapter 909: The Desert Plain Herb Valley
A massive portal suddenly appeared. Everyone immediately rushed toward it. A tall cultivator soared into the air, positioning himself before the portal. "The Desert Herb Valley opens only once every fifty years," he announced. "Each time, it yields a bountiful harvest. However, our North Far State only has five hundred available spots."
Whispers rippled through the crowd. "It's Lin Qianbei! They say he's already reached the Truth Realization state." "Isn't he about to ascend to the immortal realm?" "Impossible! I heard the North Far State has limited cultivation resources; Truth Realization cultivators are exceedingly rare."
Ye Mo didn't dare use his spirit sense to examine the cultivator. He judged the man to be at least as strong as Kong Ye, possibly even stronger.
Lin Qianbei continued, "The Herb Valley is perilous, yet abundant with resources. My advice: if you encounter an insurmountable foe, retreat. Resources abound. While solo cultivators are few, they do exist. Upon your return, sell your harvested resources to the Pill Association; we offer fair prices. The portal will remain open for half a day, then vanish. The valley itself remains accessible for three months, after which it will automatically teleport everyone out. Those with jade cards, proceed." He stepped aside.
Ye Mo hadn't anticipated such a powerful cultivator to be affiliated with the Pill Association. His words confirmed that smaller sects and independent cultivators typically sold their herbs to the Association.
Those possessing jade cards formed a line before the portal, entering under the envious gazes of the others. Ye Mo noticed a disgruntled Golden Core cultivator behind him. He took a step forward, but before he could move further, he witnessed a cultivator flung backward by the activation of the formation. "Wang Youcai! That scoundrel sold me a fake jade card!" the ejected cultivator cried.
The formation activated, enveloping Ye Mo in a white light. He felt a wave of dizziness, realizing he must have traversed a considerable distance. His feet landed on solid ground; he had arrived.
Instinctively, he drew his Zi Xu sword. Uncertain of the environment's safety, he felt a surge of murderous intent wash over him upon gripping the sword. Without hesitation, he slashed, unleashing a purple beam that bisected a level 3 earth scorpion. Before him stretched a boundless desert, a ten-meter ravine yawning at his feet.
"Incredible!" Ye Mo muttered, examining his Zi Xu. He swiftly dispatched another level 3 beast. The thought of using Illusion Cloud with Zi Xu crossed his mind. He gathered the beast core and tail needle.
The desert was barren; not even ordinary grass, let alone spirit herbs, were visible. Only a few scorpion beasts lurked beneath the sand. This wasn't the herb-rich plain he'd expected; he suspected he'd been mis-teleported.
A rushing sound caught his attention. His spirit sense revealed a massive army of scorpion beasts charging toward him. Overwhelmed, Ye Mo realized that even if spirit herbs existed, they would have been devoured. He immediately summoned his flying pike and fled, knowing he couldn't survive a siege.
The vast desert reminded him of Luo Ying. He wondered about her well-being.
He flew for nearly half a day, encountering neither person nor herb. His hopes of striking it rich dwindled. As he prepared to land and search beneath the sand, he spotted a dark silhouette on the distant horizon. His spirit sense revealed a lush green mountain range. Relieved, he accelerated toward it.
Ten minutes later, he had left the desert behind, passing a nearly ten-kilometer-wide river leading to the mountain range. The intense spiritual energy nearly caused him to moan in delight. His immediate impulse wasn't to search for herbs, but to cultivate in this location; the spiritual energy was astonishingly dense.
However, he knew it would be wasteful to spend three months cultivating in this small oasis, at most one hundred acres. It was more of an oasis than a mountain range.
As he began his search, he discovered a large patch of at least two hundred luscious Zhou Hua Flowers, a level 4 spirit herb and a key ingredient for the Clear Essence Pill, a significantly more potent foundation establishment pill than the Benefit Essence Pill. The rarity of the Zhou Hua Flower accounted for the Clear Essence Pill's high price. He swiftly harvested them, storing them within his Golden Page World. While spirit herbs couldn't grow there, they wouldn't perish either.
He soon found more Water Earth Flowers, Sword Ginseng, Searing Sun Grass, Light Gathering Flowers, and numerous level 3 and 4 herbs. All were added to his Golden Page World.
Working quickly, he'd covered half the oasis in two hours. While digging up Searing Sun Grass, he detected a faint, exquisite aroma—an extreme-grade herb nearing maturity. He rejoiced and flew towards it.
However, a few hundred meters away, he halted. Before him stood a ten-meter-tall blue tree, bearing three pale blue fruits: Lin Blue Fruits. These were non-elemental spirit fruits beneficial to cultivators below the Nascent Soul state. They didn't enhance power directly, nor were they used in pill refinement. Instead, they amplified the effects of other pills and could cure pill poisoning. These three fruits were ripe for the picking, but a large blue snake coiled beneath the tree, causing Ye Mo to frown.