144: Chapter 144 Jade Orchid

Three days after sharing the "Extreme Speed" talent, Lin Xuan had already penetrated deep into the heart of the Purple Light Grassland.

The pale purple beam of light at the center of the Secret Realm was still distant, but it was much clearer than it had been three days ago.

The outline of the light beam was vaguely visible, like a pillar standing between heaven and earth, connecting the ground to that pale purple sky.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

The Herb-Seeking Mouse on his shoulder suddenly cried out, its claws tugging at his collar.

Lin Xuan stopped in his tracks.

"Is there something?"

The Herb-Seeking Mouse jumped off his shoulder, landed on the ground, sniffed for a few breaths with its nose against the ground, and then darted off in a northwest direction.

It ran for several dozen zhang before stopping, looking back at him with its tail standing straight up.

Lin Xuan followed.

Over these past three days, he had grown accustomed to this rhythm of the Herb-Seeking Mouse—this was its reaction whenever the little guy discovered a spiritual item.

On the first day, it discovered a cluster of Purple Lightning Grass, and on the second day, it found three stalks of thunder sound moss; although neither was particularly valuable, the consistency was a plus.

The density of Spiritual Plants in this grassland was much higher than he had expected; Medium Grade Tier 1 Spiritual Plants, which were rarely seen in the outside world, could be encountered here every few days.

But today, the Herb-Seeking Mouse's reaction was a bit different.

It was running faster, its tail was held higher, and—it wasn't making any noise.

Usually, when it discovered a spiritual item, it would squeak incessantly, but today it didn't make a sound, just kept running forward without even looking back.

Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes and quickened his pace.

"Extreme Speed" didn't just bring faster speed; it also enhanced his reaction time.

Before, when running this fast, he had to constantly watch the terrain under his feet; if he were even slightly careless, he would step into a hole or trip over grass roots.

But now, his body could make adjustments in an instant—the angle of his foot landing, the height of his center of gravity, and the stride of his next step were all completed unconsciously.

The wind whistled in his ears, and the grassland flew backward beneath his feet.

After running for about half an hour, the Herb-Seeking Mouse slowed down.

Lin Xuan also slowed down and looked ahead.

The terrain of the grassland began to change. It was no longer a flat expanse, but rolling hills had appeared.

The hills were not high, the tallest being only a dozen zhang, but they were continuous, like solidified waves.

Between the hills were narrow valleys, and deep within the valley, a touch of green could be vaguely seen—deeper and richer in color than the surrounding grassland.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse squatted on top of one of the hills, its nose sniffing toward the valley, its tail motionless.

Lin Xuan walked to its side and crouched down.

The valley was not large, surrounded on three sides by low hills, with only one narrow entrance.

On the ground at the entrance, there were footprints of a beast, but they looked like they had been there for some time, their edges blurred by the wind.

Inside the valley, there was a small stream flowing out from the gaps between the hills; the water was clear and shimmered with a pale purple light in the sunlight.

Lin Xuan did not rush in.

He first released the Pangolin and let it burrow underground to scout around.

The Pangolin stayed underground for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before emerging and nodding at him—there were no Yao Beasts lurking, and there were no cavities or underground rivers below.

He scanned the inside and outside of the valley with his Divine Sense again, and after confirming there were no abnormalities, he walked toward the valley entrance.

The moment he entered the valley, a rich wave of Spiritual Qi rushed toward him.

It was not the thin, mixed-attribute Spiritual Qi found on the grassland, but pure Spiritual Qi carrying the fresh fragrance of vegetation—it was like walking into a medicine garden that had been closed for many years, with the air filled with the scent emitted by Spiritual Plants.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath and felt the thunder seed in his Dantian light up slightly.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse jumped off his shoulder and darted straight to the upper reaches of the stream.

Lin Xuan followed.

Upstream of the stream was a large rock, half a person tall, its surface covered in thick moss.

The moss was not ordinary moss, but a light green, fleshy spiritual moss; pressing a finger against it yielded a slight coolness.

Among the moss grew a few Spiritual Plants.

They were emerald green throughout, with slender leaves like orchids and faint golden markings along the edges.

Their roots were embedded in the crevices of the rock, absorbing the mist splashed up by the stream, and the leaves were covered in fine water droplets that shimmered in the sunlight.

Lin Xuan crouched down, observed them carefully for a few breaths, and his eyes lit up.

Emerald Gold Orchid.

A High Grade Tier 1 Spiritual Plant.

He had seen records of this Spiritual Plant in Deacon Wu's notes—the leaves could be used as medicine to refine "Gold Orchid Pills," which had the effect of increasing the purity of spiritual power for metal-attribute Cultivators.

Although he was not of the metal attribute, this item was highly sought after in the outside world; a single high-quality Emerald Gold Orchid could sell for at least several hundred Spirit Stones in the market.

There was more than one in the valley.

He counted them, and there were five in total, big and small.

Two were already mature, with thick leaves and clear golden markings; three were still seedlings, with leaves only a finger long and golden markings so faint they were almost invisible.

Lin Xuan took out a jade shovel, dug up the two mature Emerald Gold Orchids by the roots, and carefully placed them into a jade box to seal them.

He then transplanted the three seedlings into his space.

He communicated with the spirit control tower, and his consciousness sank into the space.

The spiritual fields in the space were already neatly planned. The thunder-pattern grass was planted on the outermost periphery, growing very well, with the thunder patterns on the leaves clearly visible.

The thunder spirit flower was planted inside the thunder-pattern grass; all five plants were in full bloom, with electric sparks crackling on their silver-purple petals.

The seedlings of the shocking thunder flower were still small, only a palm high, with deep purple leaves bearing golden spots.

The thunder essence fruit tree had grown to the height of a person, with a dark purple trunk bearing silver markings, a dense canopy, and plump flower buds that could bloom at any moment.

Lin Xuan found a spot on the edge of the spiritual field, close to the thunder-attracting vine but not so close that it would be overwhelmed by the thunder Spiritual Qi—the Emerald Gold Orchid was not a thunder-attribute Spiritual Plant, and if the thunder Spiritual Qi were too dense, it would actually not grow well.

He dug three shallow holes, planted the three Emerald Gold Orchid seedlings, watered them with some spirit spring water, and buried a few fragments of Low-Grade Spirit Stone at the roots.

The leaves of the seedlings trembled slightly, as if adapting to their new environment.

Lin Xuan exited the space and stood up.

The Herb-Seeking Mouse had already run deeper into the valley.

He walked upstream along the stream.

The valley was not large, only two or three hundred zhang from the entrance to the deepest part.

But the density of Spiritual Plants was astonishing—after walking less than a hundred zhang, the Herb-Seeking Mouse had discovered a dozen or so Spiritual Plants.

Purple Ginseng, with thick roots, purple-black skin, and when broken open, the bright red flesh inside could be seen.

Green Leaf Vine, with slender vines and verdant leaves, twining around the stones by the stream.

Jade Marrow Grass, snow-white throughout and semi-transparent, looking like small pieces of jade emerging from the soil.

They were all Medium Grade Tier 1.

Lin Xuan collected them one by one.

He placed the mature ones into jade boxes and left the roots or seeds of the immature ones to transplant into the space.

He was already very skilled at doing this. When he was at Emerald Bamboo Peak, Deacon Wu had taught him a set of techniques for transplanting Spiritual Plants—the angle of the shovel, the depth of digging, and the length of roots to retain; every step had its own intricacies.

At the deepest part of the valley, at the source of the stream.

There was a dwarf tree there.

When Lin Xuan saw that tree, his footsteps paused.