Chapter 153: Xuan Ke’s Struggles
"Do you want to eat a melon pumpkin?" Yu Nianzhen asked after Li Futian and Xuan Ke left.
"Melon pumpkin?" Jiang Yue looked at the other, and his lips twitched in amusement.
The fruit used to enter the inner region looked like a melon but had the texture of a pumpkin.
Since they didn’t know its name, Jiang Yue thought that ’melon pumpkin’ was a fitting name.
However, it was a little strange when the name came from the expressionless Yu Nianzhen.
"Well?"
"Let’s wait until after we get the soul-refining herb." Jiang Yue said.
Although he wanted to try the fruit right away, he wanted the soul-refining herb more.
They didn’t know the fruit’s effect, and eating it may result in an unpredictable outcome.
In that case, it was better to find the soul-refining herb before considering other matters.
"Good."
Yu Nianzhen rubbed Jiang Yue’s hair, and the two set off to find the soul-refining herb.
Unlike the outer region where herbs grew in the wild, the inner section was different.
All the herbs grew in medicine fields protected by formations. Because of this, the two did not collect any herbs along the way and only stopped at each field to check its contents before moving along.
Eleven days later, they finally arrived at the field where the soul-refining herbs grew.
"We are the first here." Jiang Yue sighed in relief.
"Fortunately." Yu Nianzhen agreed.
He wasn’t afraid of encountering others, but if they could avoid it, he naturally wouldn’t go looking for a fight.
"I will cover you as you break the formation."
"Alright."
Jiang Yue immediately went to work while Yu Nianzhen guarded the surroundings.
Two days later, the silver-haired illusion cultivator finally managed to break the formation, and he flumped to the ground in exhaustion.
"Collect them quickly." He ordered with a wave of his hand.
"Take a qi replenishing pill to recover."
After saying that, Yu Nianzhen entered the plot of land.
The plot was three square metres, and there were only three soul-refining herbs planted within.
Without delay, he quickly harvested the three.
One was placed in the jade box, while two were placed in special containers for Li Futian and Xuan Ke.
"We will have to specially grow another soul-refining herb for ourselves." He muttered.
"It doesn’t matter." Jiang Yue said dismissively.
With the jade box, they only needed a small part of the plant to recreate it.
Since they had one soul-refining herb, they only needed to pinch a leaf and plant it to get another copy.
"Let’s find a place to rest and then decide what to do." Yu Nianzhen said.
Jiang Yue nodded and stood up.
Although it was tempting to rest where he sat, he knew it was not a good idea.
He and Yu Nianzhen were among the first people to enter the inner region, but others were not far behind.
Although they hadn’t delayed on the way to find the soul-refining herb, he didn’t believe that others didn’t have the same idea.
In that case, they needed to rest in another place to avoid conflicts with those who came after them to find the soul-refining herb.
"It’s been half a month since we separated from the others, how do you think they are doing?" Jiang Yue wondered as they ran away from the crime scene.
"Li Futian shouldn’t have any difficulties, but Xuan Ke..." Yu Nianzhen didn’t finish his words, but Jiang Yue understood.
In the origin forging realm, few cultivators thought about strengthening their souls. Because of this, the two and Li Futian did not have a lot of competition for soul-related herbs.
However, this was not the case for the scarlet rock herb.
Not only was the scarlet rock herb desired by body refiners but also qi cultivators.
This was because everyone understood the importance of having a strong body. Otherwise, they would not withstand the thunder tribulation when the time came.
"Let’s hope that he can hold on." Jiang Yue said and sighed.
.....
In another part of the inner region, everything was as Jiang Yue and Yu Nianzhen suspected.
Li Futian easily harvested seven soul-clarity herbs, but Xuan Ke was experiencing a standoff.
"There is no such thing as arriving first. Everything depends on ability." Someone shouted.
Xuan Ke gritted his teeth in anger.
When he arrived, there were already two cultivators in the medicine field.
However, he was not too concerned because there were thirty scarlet rock herbs in the field.
With the three of them, each would take ten, and no one had any complaints.
Unfortunately, the situation did not stay this way for too long.
Before they could break the formation, another four arrived, followed by seven.
At this time, there were already fourteen cultivators standing outside the formation.
If they divided equally, he could only get two, but this was not enough.
"Everything depends on ability." He said.
Although he felt bad for the two who arrived earlier than himself, he had to take care of himself first.
With his strength and speed, he believed he would be able to grab enough herbs when the formation broke.
What he was worried about was that others would arrive if they continued arguing about the matter.
At that time, things may develop in random ways, and he may not be able to get enough scarlet rock herbs.
’If I knew this would happen, I would have brought brother Yue along." He thought.
Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t help but resent his two brothers.
’Why do they need two people to get a mere soul-refining herb? I am clearly the one who needs a helping hand!’
After this bout of resentment, he steeled his mind and looked at the formation that was about to break.
The others also saw the cracks in the formation and scattered around the medicine field.
When the formation broke, everyone rushed in at their greatest speed.
Naturally, Xuan Ke was among them.
In this situation, all his concentration was on the herbs, and he developed tunnel vision.
Even before the first one was out of the ground, his other hand was already pulling the second.
When the first was fully pulled out, he moved on to the third and began to pull it out.
After that, he reached for the fourth, but before his hand touched it, a red flame landed on the back of his hand.
However, Xuan Ke did not notice it.
He completely ignored his burning flesh and pulled out the fourth scarlet rock herb.
’I didn’t expect I was so powerful.’ He thought as he retreated backwards.
"Catch that monk, he has four." Someone shouted.
In less than a breath, multiple attacks appeared in front of Xuan Ke, and he dodged sideways.
Unfortunately, he avoided the frontal attacks but dodged right into the path of a sword.
The sword pierced his arm, and Xuan Ke gritted his teeth.
’I have to get away.’
With that thought, a talisman appeared in his hand. A moment later, Xuan Ke teleported from the medicine field.
However, he did not relax.
He teleported three more times before allowing himself to relax.
"I need to find a place to recover." He muttered.
Although he wasn’t fatally injured, he had more than a dozen small injuries.
From casual observation, he saw seven stab wounds, and all were still bleeding.
Other than the stabs, he had four burns, two ice injuries, one wound that was already rotting, and a myriad of others.
After he catalogued everything, he felt a chill down his spine.
This was because he only remembered being stabbed when he dodged after getting the herb. He hadn’t noticed all the other attacks, and it frightened him.
’My luck is good.’ He thought as he walked.
A short while later, he discovered a cave on a small hill.
The cave was located at the midpoint, and the entrance was only wide enough to allow him to crawl inside.
Fortunately, there were no animals in the thousand herbs garden, and he could enter without worrying about snakes or other creatures.
When he finally crawled in, he saw the cave was only a square metre big.
Although it was small, it was enough for his purposes, and he didn’t feel claustrophobic.
He activated an array plate with a defensive formation and finally heaved a relieved sigh.
’It should be safe here.’ He thought.
A moment later, he sat cross-legged and removed four bottles from his storage ring.
The first bottle contained detoxifying pills, and he quickly swallowed one.
Although the rotting wound wasn’t big, he didn’t dare to ignore it. He knew some poisons reacted strangely after staying in the body for too long, and he didn’t want to take the risk.
After that, he swallowed a rejuvenation pill, a blood replenishing pill, and a qi replenishing pill.
Time passed as he refined the pills, and his body slowly recovered.
When all his injuries were healed and his qi was fully replenished; five days had already passed.
’They better appreciate my struggles.’ He thought and opened his eyes.
However, when he saw the sight in front of him, his eyes widened, and his mouth fell open.
"What the hell?" He mumbled.
