16: Someone is watching!

He calmly withdrew his finger, turned around, and slowly walked past Ma Tong's ashen, ugly face, which looked as if he had swallowed a fly.

Ignoring the sudden burst of discussion and clamor behind him, Gu Changsheng walked out of the Mission Hall step by step.

He left the gazes of jealousy, shock, and resentment behind him without a second thought.

His life needed no audience.

Following Wen Yuechan's instructions, Gu Changsheng did not go up the mountain immediately. Instead, he first returned to Courtyard Jia-1 to prepare everything, only setting off for Hundred Herbs Peak at The Hour of Mao (5-7 AM) on the second day, just as the sky was beginning to lighten.

The peak of Hundred Herbs Peak was wreathed in clouds and mist.

When Gu Changsheng stepped onto the last stone stair leading to the peak, even with his steady Heart-Nature, his mind couldn't help but be deeply shaken.

Before him was a Medicinal Garden so vast it stretched beyond sight. The intensely rich plant Spiritual Qi had almost condensed into physical dew drops, rolling across the leaves of countless rare flowers and exotic plants.

Spiritual Butterflies of various colors danced among the flowers, and Immortal Cranes lowered their heads to drink from a Spiritual Spring in the distance. The whole world seemed enveloped in a layer of ethereal spiritual light, resembling a legendary Immortal Sanctuary.

Cultivating here for a single day was likely comparable to a month of arduous Cultivation in the Outer Sect!

Gu Changsheng instantly made a judgment: the value of this excellent assignment far exceeded his imagination.

Just as his mind was surging with emotion, a cold and detached figure appeared silently before him. It was Wen Yuechan.

She was still veiled in thin gauze, seemingly oblivious to Gu Changsheng's arrival. With a casual toss, two items transformed into two streams of light and flew straight toward Gu Changsheng.

Gu Changsheng instinctively reached out and caught them: a Jade Token that felt icy to the touch, and a Jade Slip emanating a faint scholarly ink scent.

"This is the Restriction Token, and this is the spiritual plant Compendium."

Wen Yuechan's voice was so cold it lacked any emotion, as if she were speaking to a stone.

"At the hour of Chen every day, cast the 'Sweet Dew Spell' on all spiritual plants. There must be no mistakes."

Before her voice faded, she flicked her finger.

An incredibly complex Spell Formula instantly formed at her fair, slender fingertip. Immediately after, the formula shot out, scattering violently in mid-air, transforming into Spiritual Rain that was crystalline and fell uniformly and precisely onto a corner of the Medicinal Garden.

Gu Changsheng's pupils sharply contracted.

Every drop of that Spiritual Rain contained just the right amount of Wood Element Spiritual Qi, and it continued to undergo subtle changes as it fell.

When falling onto the shade-loving 'Moonlight Grass', the Spiritual Rain became gentle and Yin; when falling onto the 'Crimson Sun Flower' next to it, it carried a trace of scorching heat.

How could this be an ordinary Sweet Dew Spell!

This was clearly a technique that could only be executed by achieving the Subtle Realm of True Qi control!

Compared to this, the Sweet Dew Spell taught in the Outer Sect's Scripture Hall was the difference between a child playing with water and a rushing river.

This was both instruction and a warning.

Having finished all this, Wen Yuechan didn't look at him again. Her figure flickered, and she melted into the distant clouds and mist, vanishing.

Only Gu Changsheng was left on the entire peak.

He held the Jade Slip in his hand and extended his Divine Sense into it.

Boom!

A massive amount of information instantly flooded his mind.

The spiritual plant Compendium!

It detailed the names, habits, medicinal properties, and the stringent requirements for Spiritual Qi, water, and sunlight for the 3,700 types of spiritual plants in this Medicinal Garden.

Some spiritual plants required irrigation with Extreme Yin Spiritual Qi, while others preferred Pure Yang Energy.

Furthermore, even the same spiritual plant required vastly different Spiritual Qi concentrations during its seedling, growth, and maturity stages.

Gu Changsheng instantly understood the terrifying nature of this task.

This was far from simply casting the Sweet Dew Spell once a day.

This required him, every day at the hour of Chen, to execute 3,700 distinct "customized" Sweet Dew Spells, tailored to 3,700 different spiritual plants, all within a single hour!

This placed an almost perverse demand on the precision of True Qi control, the strength of Divine Sense, and the proficiency of the Spell Formula.

Any other Fetal Breathing Realm Disciple, even one at Sixth Layer Perfection like Ma Tong, would face the sole outcome of being worked to death and destroying the entire garden of Spirit Medicine.

Instead of panicking, a wave of ecstasy surged through Gu Changsheng's heart.

Just because others couldn't do it didn't mean he couldn't!

He Cultivated daily using 'Water Element Spiritual Qi'; the True Qi inside him was incomparably pure and carried the Water Element Spiritual Charm, making it a match made in heaven for this Medicinal Garden dominated by Wood Element Spiritual Qi!

Gu Changsheng did not rush for success. He walked to the most inconspicuous corner of the Medicinal Garden.

Here, a patch of the lowest-grade "Clear Spiritual Grass" was planted. There were hundreds of stalks, all with identical habits, making them perfect for practice.

He closed his eyes, and Wen Yuechan's exquisite Spell Formula replayed repeatedly in his mind.

Immediately, he extended his finger, mobilizing the surging river of True Qi within his Dantian.

A wisp of pure, water-blue True Qi flowed out from his fingertip, rapidly transforming in the air to form a Spell Formula that was seventy to eighty percent similar to Wen Yuechan's execution, yet appeared somewhat clumsy.

"Go."

He gave a soft shout.

The Spell Formula dispersed, turning into a small patch of Spiritual Rain that enveloped the Clear Spiritual Grass.

As the raindrops fell, every stalk of Clear Spiritual Grass greedily absorbed the moisture, their leaves becoming visibly greener at a speed noticeable to the naked eye.

Success!

He had perfectly replicated Wen Yuechan's Spell Formula, and the effect was even more subtle and nourishing due to the purity of his True Qi.

But he deliberately controlled the scope and power of the Spell Formula, only displaying a level of "decent talent, barely having grasped the basics."

Hiding one's strength was the true principle of longevity.

Exposing his true capabilities too early would only invite unnecessary trouble and scrutiny.

The next day, in the early morning, the familiar pale golden text appeared in his mind.

[daily intelligence Refreshed]

[Opportunity: The Bizarre Treasures Pavilion in the Sect Market today received a new batch of 'qi-gathering jade bottle', made from North Origin Cold Jade. They can store Heavenly Exotic Qi without loss and are miraculously effective for preserving 'Wither and Flourish Vitality'. Only three remain.]

[Risk Assessment: Low (Private fighting is prohibited in the market, but this item is precious and may attract the attention of interested parties).]

[Intelligence Two: In the southwest corner of the Restriction surrounding the Hundred Herbs Peak Medicinal Garden, there is a Formation Node with unstable energy, which leaks a trace of pure wood Spiritual Qi every day at noon. Risk Assessment: None.]

[Intelligence Three: Inner Sect Disciple Zhao Qian, who seeks to pursue Wen Yuechan, will visit the Medicinal Garden tomorrow. Avoidance Suggestion: This person has an overbearing personality; try to stay far away when he arrives.]

Gu Changsheng's heart gave a fierce leap when he saw the first piece of intelligence.

qi-gathering jade bottle!

Storing Heavenly Exotic Qi without loss!

This was practically a treasure tailor-made for him!

To Cultivate the Withered Wood Meets Spring Scripture, he had to find the [Wither and Flourish Vitality]. However, this kind of Heavenly Exotic Qi was extremely rare and fleeting once it appeared.

Without a suitable container, even if he encountered it, he could only watch helplessly.

And this qi-gathering jade bottle perfectly solved his worries!

He must acquire it!

The Opportunity was right before his eyes!

He had to leave immediately; with only three jade bottles, they would be gone if he delayed!

Gu Changsheng suppressed the urgency in his heart, forcing himself to calm down.

He first used his Divine Sense to meticulously check the patch of Clear Spiritual Grass he had irrigated, confirming that he had left no traces that were too shocking to the world.

Only then did he turn around, preparing to leave the Medicinal Garden and head to the Sect Market.

However, just as he turned and was about to step out of the Medicinal Garden Restriction.

His Divine Sense keenly captured an extremely hidden feeling of scrutiny within the clouds and mist at the edge of the Medicinal Garden Restriction—it flashed and was gone!

Someone was watching!

Gu Changsheng's steps instantly halted, his body tightening in that instant.

Who was it?

Was Wen Yuechan testing him? Or was it Ma Tong, whose Opportunity he had seized, coming to spy out of resentment?

Or perhaps... some unknown entity lurking in the shadows, holding ulterior motives toward him, the newly appointed Medicinal Garden Caretaker?

His heart sank.

This Hundred Herbs Peak did not seem as peaceful as it appeared on the surface.