Chapter 22: The Strange Little Herb

Such a complex “Soaring Four Symbols” is merely a simplified version; how unfathomably mysterious must the complete “Treading a Thousand Stars” be? Jiang Min sighed inwardly. Yet, the Scripture Repository remained far out of reach for her; even the “Soaring Four Symbols” alone was enough for her to study and comprehend.

She glanced at her Spirit Gathering Valley token. However, when she saw the timer on the token, she was appalled. “What? I wasted three whole hours?” Immersed in the stone tablet’s space, learning the “Soaring Four Symbols,” she had felt no passage of time; who would have thought memorizing just one route for spiritual power circulation would take so long? With a pang of regret, Jiang Min looked at the other stone tablets, certain they too held top-tier martial arts or techniques. But now, she had to abandon them and focus on cultivation—advancing her realm took precedence. Martial arts and techniques would be available once she became an outer disciple.

Immediately, she found a secluded spot, sat cross-legged on a cushion, and entered a state of cultivation, greedily absorbing the dense spiritual energy of Spirit Gathering Valley. In the blink of an eye, ten days passed quickly.

Jiang Min slowly opened her eyes, feeling the token in her arms heat up, a warning that her time was almost over. “There's still a considerable gap before reaching the peak of Qi Refining, third layer.” She estimated that these ten days of cultivation equated to three years of arduous training on Flowing Cloud Peak, and yet she still hadn’t touched the threshold of Qi Refining’s third-layer peak. The path for one with five spiritual roots was truly arduous.

“I still have a spiritual pill left to take—I'll refine it when I return to Flowing Cloud Peak.” Jiang Min rose, preparing to leave.

Suddenly, the peach branch in her dantian stirred, pointing to a certain direction. “Hmm?” Jiang Min paused, looking where the peach branch indicated—only a patch of wild grass met her gaze. Yet the peach branch continued to angle that way, trembling gently as if drawn to something.

Curious, Jiang Min walked into the thicket, parting the grass and searching. She found nothing, but when her fingers brushed one particular wild plant, the peach branch vibrated violently. Jiang Min tilted her head, puzzled, inspecting the unremarkable little grass. “Does this plant have anything special about it?”

Seeing the peach branch react so intensely, she realized the little grass must hold some secret. She plucked it, nervously glancing around—no one seemed to care as she tucked the grass into her clothes. She had no idea her every move was easily observed by several powerful cultivators, though they paid her no mind since she had only picked a wild grass.

Jiang Min then retraced her steps out of Spirit Gathering Valley. When she opened her eyes earlier, she hadn’t seen Feng Yu anywhere—who knew where he had gone. Passing through the restriction, the dense spiritual energy vanished abruptly, leaving her a little uncomfortable, but she knew that such an opportunity for a menial disciple was already a great fortune.

She clenched her fists, silently encouraging herself: “Cultivate diligently. I must strive to return here in the future.”

Exiting the mountain crevice and heading toward the ferry point, she unexpectedly ran into Jiang Ziyi. Jiang Ziyi, accompanied by several disciples in green robes, was handing over her Spirit Gathering Valley token to the elder on duty. Jiang Ziyi spotted her immediately but showed no reaction—she looked at Jiang Min as if she were a stranger, glanced indifferently, and then withdrew her gaze.

Yet Jiang Min's heart froze. She keenly sensed a hint of murderous intent in Jiang Ziyi’s look. Without a sideways glance, she headed toward the ferry point. After walking for a while, she looked back—Jiang Ziyi and her companions had already entered Spirit Gathering Valley, prompting Jiang Min to breathe a sigh of relief.

“So, you want to deal with me? When I return, I’ll stay on Flowing Cloud Peak and won’t go anywhere. Let’s see how you try anything then.” Jiang Min snorted coldly in Jiang Ziyi’s direction, unaware that inner disciples could freely choose their attendant servants—she only knew that staying on Flowing Cloud Peak was safest.

One day, she would become an outer disciple and free herself from Jiang Ziyi’s threats!

Afterward, Jiang Min turned and left. Taking a turn, she was nearly at the ferry point when suddenly something stirred in her arms—a little grass seized her storage pouch and darted out, flying back toward Spirit Gathering Valley.

!!!

Jiang Min’s eyes widened, shocked that the wild grass she’d pulled from Spirit Gathering Valley could fly, and furious that it dared snatch her storage pouch. Quick as lightning, she grabbed the grass. Its roots clung tightly to the pouch, slender leaves thrashing wildly, but it couldn’t escape her grasp, acting more like a little kitten protesting petulantly.

“Well, what are you? Daring to steal my money!” Jiang Min yanked her storage pouch free from the grass’s roots. “Give it here!”

Seeing the pouch taken back, the grass’s leaves flailed even harder, slapping her fingers incessantly, but with so little force it barely tickled.

People were coming and going, so Jiang Min worried about being seen. She quickly pulled out a Binding Talisman and stuck it to the roots; the grass instantly fell still. Only then did she hide it in her clothes, planning to study its origins back on Flowing Cloud Peak.

In fact, when she seized the grass, the peach branch in her dantian had grown restless, wanting to devour it, but Jiang Min immediately cut off its power—she would never let the peach branch consume something of unknown origin.

Safely back at Flowing Cloud Peak, Jiang Min didn’t return to her quarters right away. Instead, she produced her credentials and entered the Library Pavilion.

One day later.

She emerged from the Library Pavilion, joy shining in her eyes. The Library Pavilion was truly the sect’s prized ground, its collection vast and comprehensive. No wonder the three stewards were so distinguished—serving in the Library Pavilion allowed access to all its books, a privilege ordinary cultivators could never obtain.

She’d spent a day there and solved two major problems: the cause of the peach branch’s abnormality and its solution; and the approximate origin of the little grass.

First, regarding the peach branch—Jiang Min found in a certain journal that after a demon beast dies, its bones, fur, and other remains can be used as materials for magical treasures, spiritual tools, puppets, and formations. If refined with demon power, the materials grow stronger and may even transform. However, if the demon power is too strong, it will backlash against the owner.

Therefore, the peach branch might not possess a soul—it could truly be just a piece of peach wood. Having absorbed too much demon power, it underwent transformation, but since she was too weak, she suffered its backlash.

Reading this, Jiang Min thought: couldn’t she treat the peach branch as treasure material and refine it herself? That way, she could control it and save on future treasure materials.

But to refine a magical treasure, she’d need to learn the Treasure Bonding Art, and to learn that, she had to reach Qi Refining, fourth layer!

So, for now, this could only be set aside.

As for the strange little grass, after consulting many records, Jiang Min found a similar account.

“Idle Candlelight Tales,” a book of supernatural anecdotes, authored by the Nascent Soul master, True Lord Dongzhu. It recorded:

“All spiritual plants must be in places rich in spiritual energy, absorbing the essence of moonlight—but only the moonlight on the Gengshen night will do. On that night, once in a hundred years, the imperial nectar appears, resembling countless olives strung together by golden threads, hanging in clusters. Human eyes cannot see this spectacular sight; I learned of it only through the account of a spirit. Imperial nectar is a priceless treasure of heaven and earth. If earthly plants absorb its essence, they awaken spiritual consciousness; foxes and ghosts who consume it gain supernatural abilities. Plants have nature but no fate; imperial nectar has nature and can supplement fate. Foxes and ghosts already have fate, so its consumption brings great benefit.”

If the account was true, then perhaps the little grass had fortuitously absorbed a trace of the imperial nectar, awakening its consciousness and becoming like a sentient animal.

Thus, Jiang Min could not let the peach branch devour the grass. If the peach branch gained awareness after consuming it, it would be a much greater problem.