126: Chapter 126 Sea Ginseng

After resting for two days, Lin Xuan's injuries had mostly healed.

The bruises from the Electric Eel's tail lash had faded quickly under the dual effect of the Medicinal Pill and the Thunder Body Refining Technique.

The slight loss of Origin Qi from the damage to his essence and blood had also been replenished, and the thunder seed in his Dantian had returned to its previous fullness.

Lin Xuan stood at the highest point of the island, gazing in all directions.

Those few small black dots on the horizon were still there.

He had noticed them a few days ago; the distance was not too far, and at the speed of the cloud-piercing shuttle, he should be able to reach them in about an hour.

He decided to go and take a look.

In this unfamiliar sea area, staying holed up in one place was tantamount to waiting for death.

He needed more intelligence—where there were Cultivators, where there were Yao Beasts, where there were resources, and where there were teleportation arrays.

These things would not come to him on their own.

On the morning of the third day, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Lin Xuan set off.

The cloud-piercing shuttle flew close to the surface of the sea, its concealment formation patterns fully activated.

The sea surface was very calm, like a huge piece of blue silk, with a layer of fine ripples kneaded into it by the wind.

Occasionally, a few flying fish would dart out of the water, glide along the surface for a distance, and then dive back into the sea, splashing up a small spray of water.

Lin Xuan controlled the flying boat, keeping its altitude at less than a zhang above the sea surface.

Flying too high would be too conspicuous, and flying too low carried the risk of hitting reefs.

This altitude was just right—he could see the situation on the sea surface clearly without being too conspicuous.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse squatted on his shoulder, its ears pricked up, vigilantly watching the surroundings.

Lin Xuan's right hand rested on the startling thunder whip, while his left hand held a Thunder Shield Talisman, ready at all times.

The incident with the Electric Eel last time had served as a reminder—danger was everywhere.

After flying for about half an hour, a group of reefs appeared ahead.

The parts of the reefs exposed above the water were not high; the largest one was only the size of a table, its gray-black stone surface covered with barnacles and unknown shells.

Sea waves crashed against them, splashing up white foam.

Lin Xuan had not originally intended to stop.

But just as the flying boat swept past the largest reef, his peripheral vision caught something.

Gold.

In a crevice of the reef, in a place where the sunlight could not reach, there was a faint trace of gold.

Lin Xuan's heart stirred; the cloud-piercing shuttle slowed down and hovered above the reef.

He leaned out and looked down.

In the crevice of the reef, a few blades of grass were growing.

No, not grass.

It was ginseng.

Lin Xuan's eyes lit up; he lowered the flying boat and carefully landed on the reef.

The surface of the reef was very slippery, covered with moss and seaweed, making it a bit slick to step on.

He steadied himself, crouched down, and leaned in to look.

That thing was growing in the deepest crevice of the reef, with no other plants around it, growing all alone.

Its entire body was pale gold, shaped like ginseng but thinner and longer, about the length of an adult's finger, and its surface was covered with fine, scale-like patterns, looking like a miniature golden snake.

sea spirit ginseng.

This term popped into Lin Xuan's mind.

He had seen this kind of thing in Deacon Wu's notes—sea spirit ginseng, a first-grade High Grade spiritual plant, which only grew in saltwater environments, had extremely high requirements for water quality, and must be nourished by abundant water Spiritual Qi and stable tides to survive.

It could be used as medicine or for Alchemy, and it had miraculous effects on Body Cultivators.

It was said that the "Spirit Ginseng Pill" refined from sea spirit ginseng could allow a Body Cultivator's Physical Body strength to increase significantly in a short period.

A sea spirit ginseng of good quality could sell for thousands of Spirit Stones in outside markets, and it was often priceless and marketless.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and began to carefully observe the surrounding environment.

There were three plants in the reef crevice.

The largest one was about the length of an adult's middle finger, golden all over, with clearly visible scale patterns, and a small tender shoot emerging from the top; the tender shoot was pale purple, swaying slightly in the sea breeze.

The medium-sized one was smaller, and its color was also lighter, with a hint of green in the gold.

The smallest one was only the size of a little finger, whitish in color, and had not yet matured.

Lin Xuan did not rush to act.

He first released the Herb-Seeking Mouse and had it use [Spirit Energy Tracking] to scan the area around the reef.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse sniffed on his shoulder and squeaked twice, meaning "there are no Yao Beasts nearby."

He also released the Pangolin to let it sense the movement below the reef.

The Pangolin fed back: there were fish under the reef, but they were all small, unranked fish, posing no threat.

Safe.

Only then did Lin Xuan take out a jade spade from his Storage Pouch and begin to harvest.

He harvested the largest one first.

The jade spade was inserted into the reef crevice, digging down along the roots of the sea spirit ginseng.

The roots were not deep, less than two inches; with a gentle pry, the entire sea spirit ginseng came out intact.

He carefully placed it into a jade box, covering the roots with a thin layer of Spirit Stone powder to keep the Spiritual Qi from dissipating.

Then came the medium-sized one.

The harvesting method was the same, without any twists and turns.

Lin Xuan did not touch the smallest one.

It hadn't matured yet, so harvesting it would be a waste. Let it continue to grow, and he would deal with it when he came back next time.

He put the two sea spirit ginsengs into the jade box and stored them in his Storage Pouch.

Lin Xuan stood up and was just about to leave—

A green light suddenly shot out from the reef crevice!

The speed was astonishingly fast!

Lin Xuan only had time to tilt his head slightly, and the green light flew past his ear, bringing up a gust of wind, making his ear burn with pain.

He subconsciously took a step back, his right hand already gripping the startling thunder whip.

The green light landed on the reef and revealed its true form—

A snake.

Its entire body was emerald green, about the length of an adult's forearm, its body as thin as a chopstick, and on its triangular head grew a pair of vertical pupils, which were now staring fixedly at him.

Sea snake.

Lin Xuan sensed its cultivation base—first-grade Medium Grade.

Fortunately, it was not too high.

This snake had very strong concealment abilities; neither he nor the Pangolin had discovered it.

The green snake did not give him a chance to catch his breath; its body sprang, once again turning into a green light, shooting towards his face!

The speed was astonishingly fast, almost impossible to see its trajectory!

Lin Xuan was prepared this time; the Thunder Flash Step was activated, and his figure flashed, shifting sideways by half a zhang.

The green snake missed, landed on the reef, flicked its tail, sprang up again, and lunged again!

"Are you done yet?"

Lin Xuan flicked his right hand, and the startling thunder whip lashed out!

The tip of the whip, carrying thunder light, drew an arc in the air and accurately entangled the green snake's vital spot!

Thunder Spiritual Energy erupted!

With a crackling sound, the green snake's body convulsed violently, its triangular mouth opening and closing, revealing two slender fangs, from which venom dripped, landing on the reef with a hiss, emitting a puff of white smoke.

It was highly corrosive.

Lin Xuan frowned and increased the output of Thunder Spiritual Energy.

The green snake convulsed a few times and then stopped moving.

It was dead.

He retracted the startling thunder whip and lifted the snake's corpse to take a look.

First-grade Medium Grade, the emerald green scales glittering in the sunlight, looking very beautiful.

The snake's skin could be used to refine defensive gear, its fangs could be used for Artifact Refining, and its venom could also be collected; it might be useful.

Lin Xuan put the snake corpse into his Storage Pouch, walked around the reef again to confirm there wasn't a second one, and only then steered the flying boat to continue his journey.

sea spirit ginseng.

Two plants.

Lin Xuan was quite happy. Although not as valuable as a Yao Beast core, it was still a considerable harvest.

The flying boat continued forward.

The sea surface remained calm.

The sun had risen to the top of the sky, the sunlight shining straight down, the sea surface shimmering, making one's eyes a bit dazzled.

Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes, identifying the direction.

Those few small black dots ahead seemed to be a bit closer.

They should be small islands, or possibly a larger group of reefs. It was too far to see clearly.

Just past noon.

Suddenly, the surrounding light dimmed.

He looked up at the sky—

The sky was still blue, and the sun was still there.

But the light had indeed dimmed.

It wasn't dark clouds blocking the sun, but…

Fog.

On the sea, fog had risen at some point.

It was not that kind of thin, gauze-like water mist, but a white fog so thick it couldn't be dispersed, rising from the sea surface like a wall, closing in from all directions.

Lin Xuan's heart tightened.

This fog had come too suddenly.

A moment ago it was a clear sky for ten thousand li, but in the blink of an eye, he was surrounded by thick fog, and even the sun had become blurred.

He immediately slowed down and probed with his Divine Sense—

Then his heart skipped a beat.

His Divine Sense was suppressed.

The Divine Sense that could originally cover a range of one hundred zhang was compressed to less than twenty zhang.

Probing out was like a clay ox entering the sea; there was no feedback at all.