21: Chapter 21 Further Expansion

After a bout of passion, Gao Feng contentedly immersed his consciousness into the spirit spring space.

Just as he had expected, the scene before his eyes had changed once again.

The land, which had originally been about half the size of a basketball court, had expanded to the size of a standard basketball court.

On the newly born land, the black soil radiated with vibrant life.

The spirit spring pool in the center had also grown a circle larger, and the spring water seemed even more abundant and clear.

However, the magnitude of this change was clearly much smaller than when he had first united with Luo Qin.

"As expected, there are diminishing returns."

Gao Feng lay on the bed, reaching this conclusion in his heart. He did not feel much disappointment; instead, he felt this was only natural.

If every time could have the same effect as the first, wouldn't he be able to expand infinitely and become an immortal?

"It seems I cannot count on this to reach the heavens in a single step. It is ultimately just an aid, a catalyst that allows me to walk faster than others, but it cannot replace me doing the walking. Ultimately, I still have to rely on my own Cultivation and Opportunity."

This discovery made his positioning of his Golden Finger clearer and allowed him to calm down completely. Relying on women could only serve as icing on the cake; it could not be treated as a lifeline.

To improve his strength, he had to find new avenues.

He recalled some auxiliary Pill Formulas recorded in the "Tiger Venerable Art"; those Pill Formulas could greatly promote the generation of Qi and blood, shortening the time needed for Cultivation. But refining Medicinal Pills required various rare medicinal materials.

Medicinal materials...

A thought flashed through his mind.

He remembered Uncle Sun's grandson, Cow, and recalled the main medicinal ingredient that could cure his cold ailment—fire yang grass.

The next day, Gao Feng found Uncle Sun, who was busy in the medicinal garden.

"Uncle Sun, did you rest well last night?" Gao Feng greeted with a smile.

"Thanks to the Stockade Master's blessing, good, very good."

Seeing Gao Feng, Uncle Sun hurriedly put down the work in his hands and said respectfully.

"I came to ask about Cow's illness... do you have more detailed information about that 'fire yang grass'?" Gao Feng asked directly.

Mentioning this, a trace of hope immediately appeared on Uncle Sun's aged face.

He pulled Gao Feng to the side, lowered his voice, and said excitedly: "Stockade Master, this old man has scoured that tattered ancient book again these past few days, and it is recorded clearly! 'fire yang grass' grows in places of extreme yang, often neighbors with tigers and leopards, and is born by absorbing the vigorous yang energy of ferocious beasts. It is a top-tier Spirit Medicine in this world!"

He paused, his voice growing even more excited: "It is not only the only main medicinal ingredient to cure the cold ailment in Cow's body, but the extreme yang energy it contains is also of great benefit to a Martial Artist's Cultivation! The book says that if a Martial Artist consumes it, it can greatly promote the circulation of Qi and blood, clear the meridians, and is an excellent medicine for breaking through a Bottleneck!"

Gao Feng immediately realized that this "fire yang grass" was a treasure that could kill two birds with one stone!

First, he could fulfill his promise to cure Cow, thereby completely winning over the hearts of the people in the stockade, letting everyone see that he, the Stockade Master, keeps his word.

Second, it could help him break through his own strength Bottleneck, adding the greatest weight to his hunt for the Tiger King!

This item must be obtained!

However, he still had to deliberate carefully; he could not be impatient.

Meanwhile, the construction of the stockade was also in full swing.

Gao Feng observed that Big Fool had Divine Power but, due to his mental state, could not even learn the simplest "Five Tiger Fists". Making him undergo detailed training would only be a waste of time.

"Big Fool, the Stockade Master has a new job for you." This day, Gao Feng called Big Fool over.

"Stockade Master, what job?" Big Fool scratched the back of his head foolishly.

Gao Feng pointed to a dense forest on the edge of the valley: "From today on, your task is to chop down trees. Use your hammer to smash ten trees as thick as that for me every day. Stack the wood together. If you do well, I'll have the kitchen add meat to your dinner tonight!"

"Good! Chop trees! Have meat to eat!"

Upon hearing this, Big Fool grinned happily, shouldered his large iron hammer, and rushed over.

Consequently, every day in the valley, one could hear his "heave-ho, heave-ho" sounds of chopping trees and the roaring sound of giant trees falling. This became a unique sight in Panshi Stockade.

Big Fool's inexhaustible strength finally had an outlet, which not only stockpiled a large amount of wood for the stockade for construction and winter but also trained his core waist and abdominal strength and endurance through the day-after-day repetitive actions.

A few days later, after careful preparation, the plan to pick the "fire yang grass" was officially launched.

Forcibly breaking into the lair of the Tier 3 Tiger King was tantamount to suicide.

Gao Feng, Luo Qin, Old Qiu, and others gathered around a simple map, repeatedly deducing, and finally formulated a meticulous plan to "lure the tiger away from the mountain."

The core of the plan was to take advantage of the Tiger King's strong sense of territory.

"The Tiger King is the king of this mountain forest; any infringement on its territory will provoke its crazy retaliation."

Gao Feng pointed to a spot on the map, "Therefore, our commotion must be big enough and provocative enough."

"Big Fool, this task is handed to you." Gao Feng looked at Big Fool, who was gnawing on roasted meat nearby.

"Hehe, hehe..." Big Fool replied with his mouth full of grease.

Gao Feng was somewhat speechless and had to look at Old Qiu, "You take Big Fool, and also bring a ten-person feint squad, dragging a freshly hunted wild boar, to the east side of the Tiger King's territory. There, cause as much chaos as possible for me! Splash the wild boar's blood everywhere, make the commotion as big as possible, and must attract the Tiger King and its main subordinates over!"

"Alright! Just watch, Stockade Master!" Old Qiu patted his chest in assurance.

Gao Feng turned to Skinny Monkey and Uncle Sun: "You two, follow me. Skinny Monkey, you are fast on your feet, responsible for scouting and vigilance; Uncle Sun, you are familiar with medicinal herbs, responsible for identification and picking. We will take the Opportunity to sneak into its lair from the west side."

"Yes! Stockade Master!" The two replied in unison.

The plan was finalized, and the two teams set off separately in the thin mist of early morning.

Gao Feng and the other two were like three ghosts in the night, quietly creeping toward the core area of the mountain forest, which was filled with tiger might and fraught with crises.

Half an hour later, a heaven-shaking tiger roar suddenly came from the mountain forest in the east; that roar was filled with rage after its territory was infringed upon!

Immediately following that was the loud clashing of weapons and the roar of humans!

"They've started!"

Gao Feng gave a signal to the two beside him, and the three immediately accelerated, sticking to the cliff wall like geckos, and quickly sneaked into the Tiger King's lair.

It was a huge, bottomless cave. As soon as they approached, a thick, inseparable stench of blood and foul odor rushed toward them, making people almost want to vomit.

Inside and outside the cave entrance, the ground was covered with the bones of various animals, and there were even a few human remains; the scene was shocking.

But just as Gao Feng had expected, the Tiger King's main force was all out, and there were no fierce tigers in the cave at this moment.

"Stockade Master, this way!" Uncle Sun lowered his voice and pointed to a fork in the road.

The three traveled through the darkness like ghosts.

Under Uncle Sun's guidance, they bypassed several forks and soon discovered a strange scene on a sunny cliff wall deep in the lair.