81: Chapter 81 Poisonous Root Grass

Xia Shaoxin thought he had seen wrong and rubbed his eyes; there was clearly something flashing in the pit.

Wasn't this poison essence root grass, one of the five poisonous herbs that Liu Tingting had described and that Elder Qian Yunchang needed?

poison essence root grass grows close to the ground with very lush foliage, but it is useless; only the root is useful.

When he arrived here just now, he hadn't recognized the foliage of the poison essence root grass. He hadn't expected a Yellow Springs Demon Worm to be lurking underground, which had happened to unearth it.

The fact that the poisonous herb could emit light meant it was fully mature and of high quality.

He immediately put on his gloves and carefully pulled out the root of the poison essence root grass.

It looked very similar to ginseng.

In fact, the roots of most medicinal herbs look very similar.

When converting medicinal herbs before, he had liked root-based herbs the most because they were the easiest to find.

He recited the incantation silently, and the sacrifice was complete.

His mind immediately gained a lot of knowledge related to this herb.

He felt wonderful inside.

Hehe, the Zhuyun Courtyard Forbidden Ground hadn't been entered for hundreds of years; it seemed the yield was quite good.

Having obtained two types of poisonous herbs so quickly, it was almost too smooth to believe.

He had no intention of looking for herbs for Elder Qian Yunchang at all.

He thought to himself, with so many people coming down and such a good yield, the others should be able to find them; there was no need for the contribution of a nobody like him.

The old man only said that if the herbs were found, there would be a great reward.

He refused to specify what the reward would be, so who knew if it was worth it?

But then he thought, Elder Qian Yunchang's strength crushed all the Disciples; whether he rewarded them or not was just talk. Could the Disciples really hide anything?

When the time came for a body search, everything would be discovered.

Only things that had been sacrificed couldn't be detected.

While he was feeling happy, he didn't notice a figure rushing over rapidly, sternly demanding, "What are you doing?"

The voice was very familiar, filled with a familiar disdain.

Without looking up, he knew that Senior Brother Chen Jingrao had arrived.

Xia Shaoxin retreated vigilantly and said indifferently, "I'm not doing anything, just looking around."

Chen Jingrao looked down at the dirt pit. With sharp eyes, he discovered a fallen leaf and a piece of stem in the grass. He picked them up, froze for a moment, and shouted, "Isn't this that... poison essence root grass?"

Xia Shaoxin was very surprised. This Senior Brother Chen Jingrao was actually somewhat clever and wise, to be able to recognize the poison essence root grass, which he had never seen and only heard described, from just a single leaf.

"Is it?" Xia Shaoxin put on a blank and ignorant expression.

Chen Jingrao asked with a sharp gaze, "You don't know? Then what are you investigating here?"

"Just now, a Yellow Springs Demon Worm crawled out from the ground and scattered me from Senior Brother Liang and Senior Brother Shao. I got lost and circled back to this place."

Xia Shaoxin said honestly.

"I was interested in the Yellow Springs Demon Worm growing underground; I didn't expect there to be any... poison essence root grass here."

"Is Senior Brother sure this is poison essence root grass? What a pity, it must have been ruined by the Yellow Springs Demon Worm."

Chen Jingrao was full of suspicion.

After a brief moment of thought, he shouted decisively, "Wrong, you clearly took something from underground just now."

Xia Shaoxin's heart skipped a beat. Where was this guy hiding? He had been too focused on the poisonous herb and too excited just now, failing to notice he was being watched.

"Senior Brother must have seen wrong. I didn't take anything; I was just curious about how such a large worm lives underground."

Chen Jingrao snorted coldly, drew his sword, and pointed it at Xia Shaoxin.

"Hand over the poison essence root grass quickly!"

Xia Shaoxin acted fearful: "Senior Brother Chen, I didn't get the poison essence root grass."

"Enough nonsense. If you don't give it to me, I'll kill you."

Xia Shaoxin was even more shocked. In such an environment, even if there were personal grievances, they should be working together to deal with the dangers of the Forbidden Ground. Being so irrational really didn't seem like something a Qi Refiner should do.

"Senior Brother, I don't understand. Even if I obtained the poison essence root grass, it's not for my use; it's all to be handed over to Elder Qian. Why are you snatching it?"

"Nonsense, Elder Qian is in urgent need of these herbs. If I hand them over to him, there will definitely be a great reward."

Xia Shaoxin knew he couldn't win alone, and even with Spirit Talismans and Magical Artifacts, he couldn't act rashly.

To tell the truth, if he had the poison essence root grass in his hand right now, weighing the pros and cons, he would really be willing to give it to him.

He didn't need these poisonous herbs right now; if he wanted to use them in the future, he could just convert them.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any on hand, and it was impossible to convert them in front of Chen Jingrao.

He had no choice but to smile and say, "Senior Brother Chen, what kind of reward can the Elder give?"

"If the Elder succeeds in Foundation Establishment, his Medicinal Pills for the Qi Refining Realm will be useless, and he will just use them as rewards. I happen to need Medicinal Pills for the Qi Refining Realm."

Xia Shaoxin understood. This guy had been stuck at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining for many years and had failed several Breakthroughs. He hadn't suffered Qi Deviation during cultivation, but his mindset had already succumbed to it.

"I see. But I really don't have it. Senior Brother Chen, why don't we look for it together? If we find it, it's yours."

Chen Jingrao snorted disdainfully: "I don't believe you. Since you won't give it to me, I can only kill you."

A cold gleam suddenly flashed.

Chen Jingrao's sword thrust over without any reason.

Xia Shaoxin retreated rapidly.

He knew that this Chen Jingrao had always been overbearing. Inside the Forbidden Ground, with no one to restrain him and no witnesses, he was even more unscrupulous.

He had clashed with this person several times.

Originally, these were all trivial matters, but unfortunately, this person was extremely petty.

Thinking deeper, it wasn't actually that he was petty; many unfathomable conflicts shouldn't have happened. It was purely looking down on him; he never regarded Xia Shaoxin as a person at all.

How could the Lower Stage of Qi Refining fight against the Middle Stage of Qi Refining?

Xia Shaoxin did not draw his sword but instead threw the Speed Talisman he had bought from Senior Sister Xu Huaiyin, hitting and running, not wanting to entangle with him.

The Forbidden Ground was filled with poisonous gas; one couldn't see people or hear sounds beyond twenty zhang. It wouldn't be easy for them to meet again.

This move was very effective.

Senior Sister Xu Huaiyin charging him a friendly price of six Spirit Stones was really worth it.

Chen Jingrao slashed several times, but Xia Shaoxin's body ran further and further away, disappearing into the fog in the blink of an eye.

He ran wildly all the way, alarming the monsters on the path ahead, but he shook them all off with his super-fast speed.

Some monsters had just been alarmed when they lost his trail.

The short-term burst effect of the Speed Talisman ended after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

He didn't know where he had gone.

He felt like he was going straight forward, but who knew if it was a straight path?

Suddenly, he heard a voice from the front: "Senior Brother, we ran too fast. Little Xia is only at the Lower Stage of Qi Refining; he can't catch up to us."

"You're still talking? You were the one running around like a headless fly, scaring yourself to death."

"Oh, you have the nerve to blame me? Everyone was the same; we've never seen such disgusting things."

"Great, now the Forbidden Ground is filled with poisonous gas, blocking our vision; no one can find anyone."

If these voices weren't Senior Brother Shao and Senior Brother Liang, who could they be?

Xia Shaoxin was both surprised and happy; he had finally found his own people and had backup.

He hurriedly shouted: "Senior Brother Shao, Senior Brother Liang, where did you run off to?"

The fog parted before his eyes, and he saw two familiar faces.

Senior Brother Shao Junwei came up and punched his shoulder: "You brat, your cultivation is so low, I was really afraid you'd be eaten by the bugs!"

Xia Shaoxin wished he could hug them both.