Chapter 12

After the cultivation was completed, Yang Kai spent more than an hour doing today’s work before running towards the Contribution Hall.

Although he had decided to enter the mountains to search for medicines, Yang Kai didn’t know much about pharmacology. He had only heard the names of the Three-leaf Residual Soul Flower and the Jedi Dead Wood Grass, but had never seen them. He might not even recognize them if he really met them.

So the preparatory work had to be done well to avoid the embarrassment of running for nothing. Yang Kai went to the Contribution Hall just to write down the appearances of these two kinds of herbs first.

He originally wanted Shopkeeper Meng to open a convenient door and teach him to recognize the herbs, but unexpectedly, he directly threw a brochure over.

Yang Kai took it and had a look. He found that this booklet introduced herbs. It not only included the medicinal effects and pharmacology, but also the growth environment of the herbs. There were illustrations on each page, and the introduction was quite detailed. The only thing that was a little regrettable was that the herbs introduced in this booklet were actually only of the mortal grade, and there were no higher grades.

Human cultivation is divided into levels and realms. The herbs, weapons, and elixirs in the world are also divided into levels. From bottom to top, they are the mortal grade, the earth grade, the heaven grade, the profound grade, the spirit grade, and the saint grade. Each grade is divided into upper, middle, and lower grades.

For example, the Three-leaf Soul-remaining Flower and the Absolute Dead Wood Grass that Yang Kai needs now are mortal grade lower grade herbs. Their medicinal effects are low, so their values are not high.

Leaving the Contribution Hall, Yang Kai went to the Miscellaneous Affairs Office to ask for leave. After all, he was still a sweeper in Lingxiao Pavilion. Since he would definitely not be able to come back on the same day when he went to Black Wind Mountain, he naturally had to say hello.

The steward in the Miscellaneous Affairs Office didn’t make things difficult for him either. He readily approved three days, and then Yang Kai set off.

The foot of Black Wind Mountain is only twenty miles away from Lingxiao Pavilion, not too far and not too close. Yang Kai used to often go in and out to hunt, so he was still quite familiar with it.

However, this time he was going into the mountain to pick herbs, which was like a bride getting on a sedan chair for the first time. Yang Kai’s preparations were also quite sufficient. He brought some clear water, made a few rice balls, and also brought a shovel and a cloth bag before setting off.

In a hurry for an hour, Yang Kai arrived at the foot of Black Wind Mountain. Looking around, the dark forest was like a prehistoric behemoth lying across the heaven and earth, with no end in sight. The trees in the mountain were lush and green, and the rocks were jagged. The scenery was unique, and the breeze blowing head-on made Yang Kai feel extremely refreshing.

There are many fierce beasts and birds of prey in Black Wind Mountain. Many of these fierce beasts and birds of prey are invincible even to martial artists with accomplished cultivation. So generally, people who enter Black Wind Mountain dare not go too deep without some strength. The outer thirty miles is still a safe area, but after thirty miles, it is full of crises, and the deeper you go, the more dangerous it is.

Yang Kai only wants to find some herbs of low value, so naturally he will not go too deep, so his personal safety is not in danger.

During the one-hour journey, Yang Kai was not idle either. He had been trying hard to recall the herbs he had encountered when he entered Black Wind Mountain before. At that time, he didn’t recognize them, so naturally he didn’t collect them. Now that he came prepared, he couldn’t let them go anymore.

This time, Yang Kai really thought of quite a few places. Even a kind of herb he needed now grew in one place.

Yang Kai was full of energy and immediately entered Black Wind Mountain along the familiar path.

Half an hour later, a Tooth-Blade Grass hidden in the thorn bushes was successfully put into the bag. With a good start, the scattered memories in Yang Kai’s mind became much clearer. Almost following the map, he collected as he walked. By evening, Yang Kai had already picked four different herbs.

After all, this is the periphery of the Black Wind Mountain. People often come and go, and it is difficult for herbs to grow here. Basically, as soon as they grow, they will be taken away. So although Yang Kai only harvested four, he was still quite satisfied.

These four herbs are not the ones he needs, and their grades are not high either. They are just the lowest grade of the Mortal Rank. But if he takes them back, he can still exchange some contribution points.

The sun was about to set, and Yang Kai was in a hurry. Finally, before the sun set, he arrived at the last place in his memory where there were herbs.

This is a very strange place. The surrounding vegetation is lush and green, but the area in front of him is empty. The area of about three zhang in radius is almost a dead place. There are not only no trees, but even no weeds grow.

And in the center of this dead place, there are three small grasses arranged in a triangular shape fluttering in the wind. The small grasses are yellow and withered. At first glance, I’m afraid they are going to die. In fact, this kind of herb is originally this color.

Seeing that the herbs here were still there, Yang Kai couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief. He quickly ran over with a smile on his face and started digging vigorously with a shovel.

Before long, the three herbs were all in his hands.

Taking out the brochure given by Shopkeeper Meng with some unease and comparing it carefully, Yang Kai finally felt at ease. They were indeed the Absolute Death Withered Wood Grasses without a doubt. The actual objects in his hands were no different from the illustrations in the brochure, and even the growth environment was as described in the brochure.

The Absolute Death Withered Wood Grass grows in places where there are no withered grass or dead trees, so it is also quite convenient to find. Basically, if there is a place in the mountain forest that has become a death zone like the one in front of him, it is definitely because of the growth of the Absolute Death Withered Wood Grass.

Carefully putting the three Absolute Death Withered Wood Grasses into the cloth bag, Yang Kai then took out the clear water rice ball and ate and drank on the spot.

This time he entered the mountain mainly to look for the Three-Leaf Residual Soul Flower and the Absolute Death Withered Wood Grass. Now he has only found one kind, and the quantity is too small. He still has to redouble his efforts.

But now that the sky is getting dark, it is naturally not convenient to move around, so Yang Kai decided to rest here for the night and look for it again tomorrow when it is dawn.

In the past, when he went into the mountain to hunt, he also went there and came back on the same day. Yang Kai had really never spent the night in the mountain. But as the saying goes, even if you haven’t eaten pork, haven’t you seen a pig run? Yang Kai naturally knew what to pay attention to when spending the night in the mountain.

Finding a big tree nearby, Yang Kai climbed up, found a suitable and comfortable position to sit down, and closed his eyes to fake sleep.

Unable to fall asleep for a while, Yang Kai summoned the wordless black book again, flipped to the third page and with a thought, the censer emerged from it.

This was also a mystery that Yang Kai discovered by accident. The things that came out of the black book could also be taken back. After all, the black book was made of soul-suppressing stones. The soul-suppressing stones themselves had the function of opening up space and storing things. It was not difficult to understand that the censer could be put in.

The only thing that Yang Kai didn’t understand was that except for the censer, other things couldn’t be accepted by the black book. This made him a little confused. Could this black book made of soul-suppressing stones still selectively accommodate things?

After playing with the black book for a while, Yang Kai was also tired. After all, he had walked a lot of mountain roads today, so he fell asleep.

Nothing happened overnight. Early the next morning, Yang Kai practiced the Body Tempering Chapter for half an hour as usual and had a good harvest. Not only did he punch a few more times than the previous two days, but the Qi sensation in his body was also getting more and more solid. Yang Kai had a feeling, a feeling of about to break through the barrier. The Qi sensation in the meridians seemed to have reached the limit and only one step away was needed to go to the next level.

Chapter Sixteen Body Tempering Fifth Layer

This discovery made Yang Kai excited. He had cultivated in the Lingxiao Pavilion for three years and only reached the third level of the Body Tempering Realm. But ever since he obtained the wordless black book the next day he broke through to the fourth level. Now only two days have passed, and he is about to break through again. Even Yang Kai himself felt that this cultivation speed was a bit terrifying.

Practicing the Body Tempering Chapter consumed a lot, and it took Yang Kai a long time to recover. After eating the remaining few rice balls, he then embarked on the journey of continuing to search for herbs.

Yesterday, he had already searched all the places where herbs should exist in his memory. Today, he had to rely on luck. Fortunately, the value of these ordinary-level herbs was really not high, and not everyone would pick them when they saw them. So there were still some harvests.

Throughout the whole day, Yang Kai found another seven or eight herbs, and even found two Three-leaf Soul Remnant Flowers. Now he finally had enough herbs for cultivation, but the quantity was a bit shabby.

Time passed quickly, and when night fell, Yang Kai was still walking in the forest. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to rest, but he was really too hungry.

He originally thought that he could hunt some wild game today, but he didn’t even encounter a rabbit. He only found a few wild fruits the size of a fingernail, which were sour and made his teeth ache. After eating them, he felt even hungrier.

If he had known earlier, he would have made more rice balls and brought them with him. He really regretted it！ There is no village in front and no shop behind. Where can he find something to eat？

Just when he was extremely hungry, Yang Kai suddenly saw a flicker of firelight coming from the forest ahead. Immediately, his spirit was lifted, and he quickly walked towards that direction.

People who dare to start a fire in the wild are either inexperienced idiots or confident experts. This time, Yang Kai encountered the latter.

Just as he approached the campfire, a furious shout came towards him： “Who！”

At the same time, Yang Kai actually felt his skin tighten, and his spine was chilly. Looking closely, he saw two figures, one tall and one short, beside the campfire, both looking at him with extreme vigilance.

The tall one was a strong man, holding a bow in his hand, with an arrow on the string, fully drawn, and the arrow tip pointed at himself. Beside this man was a little boy about eleven or twelve years old. Although he was young, the little boy’s eyes were very bright. Not only was there no trace of fear, but there was also a hint of eagerness. The little boy was also holding a bow in his hand, but it was much smaller, and its power should not be great.

Although he was pointed at by two fully drawn bows, Yang Kai had no intention of being angry. When walking outside, one must be on guard against others. Their actions were nothing.

“Don’t be nervous. I’m just here to gather herbs in the mountains.” Yang Kai quickly spoke up.

Upon hearing this, the two men, one big and one small on the opposite side, carefully sized him up. The sturdy man slowly lowered the bow and arrow in his hand, and then patted the little boy, indicating for him to relax, before smiling and saying, “I thought the firelight had attracted some fierce beast. It was just a false alarm.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Yang Kai smiled awkwardly.

The sturdy man was quite forthright and beckoned, “Come over. The night wind is cold. It’s not easy to make a living outside.”

Yang Kai thanked him and then walked over and sat by the fire. The sturdy man kept sizing up Yang Kai. Seeing that he was skinny, he couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy.

Since they were sitting together, they naturally had to talk. During the chat, Yang Kai learned that these were father and son. They lived at the foot of the mountain and made a living by hunting. Although the days were not rich, they could maintain food and clothing. And although the little boy looked small, he was also an old hand in the hunting ground. He had accompanied his father into Blackwind Mountain many times and had much more experience in wandering in the mountains than Yang Kai.

Yang Kai also reported his own background. After learning that he was actually a disciple of Lingxiao Pavilion, the strong man was slightly surprised and the little boy became even more curious. His bright black eyes kept turning around on Yang Kai.

The man said, “My son also wanted to practice martial arts originally, but his qualifications were not good and he was sent back. So he is quite worshipful of you warriors.

This sentence reminded Yang Kai of his experiences in the past three years, and he couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of empathy. He reached out and touched the child’s head.

While they were talking, Yang Kai’s stomach growled unceremoniously. The little boy was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly smiled. He took out a piece of dry food from his handed it to Yang Kai.

Yang Kai was touched in his heart, but he didn’t reach out to take it. Instead, he looked at the burly man. The other party smiled and said, “Eat it. Judging from your appearance it seems that you haven’t eaten anything today.”

Yang Kai didn’t decline any further. He took the dry food and wolfed it down.

After chatting for a while longer, the three of them lay down around the fire and went to sleep. Yang Kai didn’t dare to sleep too deeply and remained in a light sleep state, ready to deal with any danger around them at any time. This could be regarded as repaying the favor.

However, nothing happened throughout the night.

When early morning came again, Yang Kai left quietly before the hunter and his son woke up. Before leaving he also left two herbal medicines as a thank-you gift for last night’s meal.

If these two herbal medicines were crushed, they would also have a certain healing effect. The hunter and his son often wandered in the mountains and forests, and they would always have a use for them.

In the east, the purple qi rose horizontally. Yang Kai practiced the Body Tempering Technique for half an hour. When he finished, with a mouthful of purple qi inhaled, the meridians in his body suddenly trembled violently. The warm feeling spread throughout his body, and the qi sensation surged, churning continuously in the meridians.

Level 5 of the Body Tempering Realm！ The feeling yesterday was indeed correct. I was indeed about to break through. After cultivating for half an hour today, I really made a breakthrough in one fell swoop.

Yang Kai was overjoyed, and his anticipation for the Proud Bone Golden Body Art grew stronger and stronger.

Calculating it, it has only been a few days since he obtained the Proud Bone Golden Body, but he has already broken through twice. This cultivation speed is simply unrivaled. And this is still under the condition that the cultivation time is limited. If he could cultivate all the time, how fast would that speed be？

Yang Kai himself was a little tongue-tied when he thought about it. However, the Body Tempering Realm is after all just the basic stage of a martial artist and it is naturally faster to cultivate. In the future, as the realm improves, the speed of improvement will probably slow down gradually.

After taking a rest, Yang Kai continued to search for medicinal herbs.

He also had a good harvest today. He picked more than a dozen medicinal herbs, and also caught a fat rabbit, eliminating the worry of going hungry.

On the third day of entering the mountain, Yang Kai went deeper into the Black Wind Mountain, almost reaching the limit of thirty miles in the outer periphery. Having come this far, Yang Kai didn’t dare to go any further. With his current strength, if he encountered any fierce beasts or birds of prey, he could only flee. There was a high chance that he would be regarded as food by these beasts.

However, although he didn’t go too deep, today’s harvest was much greater than the previous two days. He found more than twenty medicinal herbs. Calculating with the harvest of the previous two days, he had found nearly forty medicinal herbs this time when he entered the mountain. However, the number of the two kinds he needed was still very small.

He had found nearly forty medicinal herbs in three days. Although they were all ordinary-grade inferior-quality ones, the harvest was not small. He could exchange them for quite a few contribution points if he took them back to the sect. However, this would delay his cultivation time, and it would be a bit of a loss.

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