178: Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng
Various villages surrounding the great mountains.
Similar scenes were constantly unfolding.
The calm small river suddenly churned with monstrous waves, and a Black Bear Spirit, as large as a small mountain, emerged from the waves, swinging its millstone-sized bear paw to crush a dozen Cultivators in the riverside village into meat paste.
The solid ground became soft like a swamp, and a crimson Centipede Spirit suddenly drilled out from underground, its maw full of sharp teeth biting off the head of an evil Cultivator.
The sound of wind, water, and beast roars... under the will of the Taihang Mountain God, Demonic Cultivators with profound Cultivation Levels appeared outside the mountains, slaughtering all the Cultivators who had oppressed the Mountain God's believers.
Some of these Cultivators did not deserve death.
But Golden Tripod and the others had no time to distinguish them, and the order they received from the Great King was... to kill them all.
They came and went like the wind, leaving immediately after killing, not lingering for a moment.
They only left behind tales of 'Mountain God Manifestation' in various villages.
At the same time, torrents of green Qi rose from all directions, surging towards the depths of the great mountains... Not all Loose Cultivators chose to plunder the villages.
A portion of Cultivators, especially those who thought highly of themselves or who came prepared, such as Loose Cultivators and small Sect Disciples, disdained the meager pickings in Mortal villages.
In their eyes, the true Treasure Trove lay deep within the unfathomable Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
A certain dense forest within the great mountains.
A group of five, dressed in greyish-green tight-fitting clothes and carrying long swords on their backs, were cautiously moving through the forest.
"Senior Brother, didn't we agree with Lin Tao and the others to enter the mountains together? Isn't it a bit bad for us to go in ahead of them now?" a young Disciple asked in a low voice, looking back.
"You blockhead!"
The leading young man didn't turn his head, discerning the direction as he spoke, "Those fools just want to take advantage of our Magical Artifacts to get a share. If we shake them off, we'll gain more from this trip."
As he spoke, he suddenly stopped.
He pointed to a misty valley ahead, a trace of greed flashing in his eyes: "According to that incomplete map, there should be a place where Spiritual Qi gathers not far ahead, and Purple Spirit Grass might be growing there."
"Purple Spirit Grass!"
Upon hearing this, the breathing of the other Cultivators quickened.
The group quickened their pace, swiftly disappearing into the dense jungle... In another direction.
Seven Cultivators, who had concealed their aura extremely well, were rapidly moving through the mountain forest.
They wore various colored robes, and although they looked like a makeshift team of Loose Cultivators, their coordination was tacit, clearly indicating they were veterans accustomed to dangerous places.
Their speed was fast, and they had already penetrated very deep into the mountain forest.
Evidently, the Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicine they saw along the way did not catch their eye, so they didn't waste any time.
The middle-aged man leading the group held a yellowish compass in his hand, his eyes vigilantly scanning his surroundings.
"Stop!"
The middle-aged man suddenly let out a low cry, raising his hand to signal the others behind him to halt.
He narrowed his eyes, and through the dense bushes ahead, he saw two small figures carrying bamboo baskets, leaping forward among the moss-covered rocks.
They were two small demons that hadn't fully transformed yet, one was a Badger Demon with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, and the other was a Mountain Cat Demon covered in coarse fur.
Although their movements were agile, their Demonic Qi was thin, indicating they were clearly minor characters who had only recently gained sentience.
What caught the middle-aged man's attention was not these two small demons, but the full medicine baskets on their backs.
A faint, unusual fragrance drifted into their nostrils with the mountain wind.
"That is..."
Beside the middle-aged man, a female Cultivator in red sniffed, a bright glint suddenly exploding in her eyes, and she exclaimed in a low voice, "purple-striped vermilion fruit! That's the accompanying spirit fruit, purple-striped vermilion fruit!"
Hearing this name, the breathing of the other Cultivators instantly quickened.
The purple-striped vermilion fruit itself was not a particularly rare spirit fruit; its more important value lay in its accompanying characteristic.
This fruit only grew near a rare medicinal material called nine-bend spirit ginseng.
And nine-bend spirit ginseng... that was an extremely precious medicinal material.
It could be said to be priceless; even a single rootlet could fetch an extremely high price in the outside world!
For low-grade Cultivators, describing nine-bend spirit ginseng as an invaluable treasure would not be an exaggeration.
"It seems we're lucky; we stumbled upon a great Opportunity as soon as we entered the mountains."
The middle-aged man's lips curled into a greedy, cold smile, then his eyes sharpened, and he formed a hand seal, low-crying, "Act! Don't kill them, we still need them to lead the way!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Several streaks of spiritual light instantly shot out from the grass, coiling around like spirit snakes.
The two small demons were happily carrying the spirit fruits, ready to return and report, completely unaware of this sudden attack.
With two startled cries, the spiritual light ropes tightly bound them, throwing them heavily to the ground.
The medicine baskets overturned, and several purplish-red fruits rolled out, emitting a rich and tempting fragrance.
"Caught them!"
The Cultivators were overjoyed, quickly rushing out from their hiding places.