Chapter 3: Gathering Herbs

In the mountains, there are no days or months, only the changes in the weather reveal clues.

In the blink of an eye, it is already summer. The mountains are covered with blooming flowers, and the greenery permeates almost every corner. However, at the peak of the eastern mountain range of Sky Rift Valley, snow still lingers, and ice and rocks pile up.

Yu Ci stands at the edge of a cliff, gazing into the distance, where only vast, boundless clouds are visible. The wind roars, howling like the sound of the ocean, pushing through the clouds and fog, crashing against the rock face beneath him, as if trying to pull him into the endless sea of clouds.

Is this perhaps the boundary of heaven and earth?

Though he knows this thought is absurd, Yu Ci cannot help but wonder. From where he stands, the landscape stretches for thousands of miles to the north and south, appearing the same, with no end in sight. This is what he has measured over several months by his own legs, and it is certainly not false.

This endless cliff, although it has its undulations, is smooth as a mirror over its vast expanse of several thousand miles, as if a divine sword had split the earth in half.

“Sky Rift Valley, Sky Rift Valley… The spring emerges from the valley and flows into the river. I wonder if one day, when this sea of clouds disperses, I will be able to see the full view of this valley?”

It is a very natural thought, but during this time, he has made countless trips back and forth along the cliff, and regardless of the weather, he has never seen the clouds part.

Yu Ci has been at Sky Rift Valley for five months now. During this time, he has been busy every day, hardly ever having a moment of leisure. There are over ten thousand herb gatherers nearby with similar experiences, all here for the Shrimp Whisker Grass, or more precisely, for the substantial rewards promised by the Sun Light Sect.

The Sun Light Sect is a major force in the stronghold of Cliff City within the Broken Boundary Mountain range, controlling a vast area of several thousand miles around Cliff City. It is many times stronger than the Double Immortal Sect Yu Ci once belonged to.

Ten years ago, the Sun Light Sect announced a long-term task: to purchase the unique Shrimp Whisker Grass from Sky Rift Valley without restrictions on years or quantity, and to offer generous rewards.

The rewards include gold, silver, property, precious artifacts, and spiritual herbs, which greatly stimulated the dreams of making a fortune for people from all walks of life around. Over the past ten years, countless herbalists, wanderers, and even ordinary citizens have flocked to the vicinity of Sky Rift Valley, climbing up and down the cliffs and precipices, risking their lives to obtain their desired treasure.

Yu Ci is also one of them. Six months ago, he wandered to Cliff City and immediately set his sights on one of the rewards promised by the Sun Light Sect: the Three Yang Talisman Sword, a unique sword crafted by the Sect’s artisans. The sword combines the strengths of talismanic techniques and weapon forging, and its true value lies not just in its power, but in its design, which might serve as an excellent reference for Yu Ci, who is stuck in a bottleneck with his talismanic progress.

To obtain a Three Yang Talisman Sword, one needs a full thousand Shrimp Whisker Grass.

Thus, Yu Ci joined the ranks of herb gatherers. It is over twenty thousand miles from Cliff City to here, and it took a full month of travel, plus another five months of searching and gathering herbs. It is clear that he will spend even more time here.

“One thousand… I might not be able to finish before winter arrives.”

Shaking off these distracting thoughts, Yu Ci calms his mind and takes another step closer to the edge of the cliff. Facing the fierce wind, he closes his eyes slightly, stops breathing through his mouth and nose, and lets his internal qi begin to circulate spontaneously, adjusting his blood flow and energy. Once his body reaches a higher state, he suddenly extends his hand, sweeping through the air, and then wipes it in front of his nose, opening his blocked nasal passages.

This is the Wind Capturing Technique, a miscellaneous skill Yu Ci learned while wandering. Guided by the technique, the chaotic scents enter, and are sorted by his mind like sifting through sand for gold, quickly yielding results. Yu Ci opens his eyes and grins: “Today’s luck seems good.”

With a smile, he leaps down.

Sky Rift Valley, created by the tearing force of the heavens, is so vast that its ends are unseen and its depth unknown. Yu Ci has not found the beginning or end of the valley, nor its depth. He jumps from the cliff edge and immediately plunges into the mist. The branches and rocks growing between the cliffs pass by him in a blur.

Using various obstacles to slow his descent, Yu Ci gradually reduces his speed, finally aiming for a protruding rock beam and landing gently on it. Here, the unique aroma of Shrimp Whisker Grass grows stronger, but it still requires some time to confirm its exact location through the dense fog.

After staying on the rock beam for a short while, with no sign of the surrounding mist clearing, Yu Ci has already pinpointed his target. Without hesitation, he exerts force with his lower legs and shoots sideways into the dense fog like an arrow.

Using the cliff for support, he swiftly traverses seven zhang, as he had predicted, with no obstacles in between. In the fog, the silhouette of a giant pine leaning into a rock crevice becomes increasingly clear. Yu Ci glides up the rock face and lightly lands at the tree roots, moving as gracefully as a cat.

As Yu Ci descended, a strong wind whipped through the valley, making the giant pine creak and causing the surrounding fog to swirl rapidly.

Yu Ci focused his sight, peering through the thinning mist. He was delighted to see that at the end of the giant pine’s trunk, among the layers of pine branches, dozens of fine threads fluttered like hair. They rose and fell with the wind, seemingly on the verge of being torn apart, though most were tangled around the tree trunk and branches.

That must be the Shrimp Whisker Grass.

Yu Ci must thank his parents for giving him an exceptional talent. His extraordinary sense of smell, inherited from them, allowed him to distinguish complex and mixed scents and detect subtle odors that ordinary people might overlook. This talent has been invaluable in his search for Shrimp Whisker Grass amidst the endless mist of Sky Rift Valley.

With the target in sight, Yu Ci’s mind grew more focused. He didn’t rush to collect the herbs but instead took out the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror from his sleeve and activated its azure light to draw a symbol in the air.

Symbols are created from the five-colored essence and represent various divine powers and celestial forces. They can emulate everything from the natural forces of heaven and earth to the spirits of mythical creatures. There are cloud and thunder symbols, dragon and phoenix characters, and demonic patterns, each serving its own divine purpose.

Over the past decade, Yu Ci has studied the art of symbols daily. The “Celestial Qi Gathering Secret Talisman Manual,” which he obtained from the Double Immortal Sect, is his sole source of systematic knowledge. Although the manual contains nearly a thousand symbols, he is proficient in only a few, but he knows them by heart.

The “Celestial Qi Gathering Secret Talisman Manual” records three sets of symbol systems: Cloud and Thunder Script, Dragon and Phoenix Script, and Demonic Patterns. The Cloud and Thunder Script depicts the natural order of the heavens, the Dragon and Phoenix Script embodies the vitality of birds and beasts, and the Demonic Patterns draw from the malevolent forces of witchcraft.

These three systems can stand alone, but the most advanced symbols combine elements from all three to extract their essence. Unfortunately, Yu Ci’s cultivation is insufficient, and despite having a superior spiritual guide like the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror, he can only draw basic symbols from a single system. This is the case with the symbol he is currently using.

He drew an extremely abstract pattern in the air using the azure light, with a bird symbol at the top, a tiger symbol at the bottom, and surrounding constellations arranged in a winding script. Once all the symbols were completed, the azure lines in the air glowed brightly, quickly condensing into a small, palm-sized symbol before settling.

Yu Ci pointed at the symbol, and it flew off in a peculiar trajectory, circling outward in increasingly larger loops until it disappeared into the thick fog. Only then did Yu Ci retract his hand.

This was the Five Directions Spirit Symbol, one of the most complex symbols Yu Ci had learned from the “Celestial Qi Gathering Secret Talisman Manual.” Though primarily based on Dragon and Phoenix Script, it also incorporates elements of Cloud and Thunder and Demonic Patterns. Yu Ci had spent five years practicing this symbol to use it effectively.

The symbol has no offensive power but can detect all significant activities within a five-mile radius based on the user’s location and relay this information to the practitioner’s mind. Yu Ci uses it as a precaution.

With everything prepared, Yu Ci proceeded carefully, stepping cautiously along the edge of the giant pine. The Shrimp Whisker Grass was within reach, but he did not rush. He took out a prepared stone box from his sleeve and carefully placed it in a natural recess formed by intertwining pine branches, creating a stable platform. He then used a symbol to secure the box in place.

Only then did he bend down and carefully begin to harvest the Shrimp Whisker Grass.

The grass, as thin as hair, entangled with the uneven bark of the tree, making it easy to tear if not handled carefully. Since the herb needed to be collected with its roots, Yu Ci had to untangle each strand of grass to find the roots before pulling them out.

This kind of work is a slow and painstaking process, requiring great patience and a keen eye for accidents.

Fortunately, Yu Ci’s luck was good today. After over three hours without any external disturbance, he successfully harvested the Shrimp Whisker Grass, collecting around a hundred stalks. He placed each piece carefully into the stone box.

As mentioned to Xuanqing, Shrimp Whisker Grass absorbs Wood Qi and is antagonistic to Metal Qi, so it cannot be stored in metal or wooden containers. It must be kept in the stone box provided by the Sun Light Sect. The box now holds a shallow layer of Shrimp Whisker Grass, with about three to five hundred stalks—his entire harvest over the past four months.

When he returns to the Sun Light Sect, the herbs will be carefully inspected and valued according to their quality and condition, with the final worth significantly discounted. Naturally, the Sun Light Sect will benefit from the discounted price. This is the usual practice, and there is nothing Yu Ci can do about it as a lone practitioner.

After finishing his work, the sky had grown dark. The setting sun cast a feeble glow into the mist, and Yu Ci packed up the stone box and dispelled his spells. He climbed the hundreds of feet of mountain wall, using the protruding branches and rock crevices like a monkey. When he reached the top, the strong wind revealed that his inner garment was soaked with sweat, making the cold night feel uncomfortable.

He decided to call it a day. Exhausted, he found a sheltered spot to rest and let his garment dry before moving on. With a few leaps, he vanished into the vast mountains behind him.

Having spent over five months around Sky Rift Valley, Yu Ci’s resting places were always changing. Yesterday’s location was over a hundred miles away, and just the journey to and from it took nearly an hour.

The extra travel was worth it. Over the past few months, Yu Ci had witnessed firsthand the fierce battles that erupted over Shrimp Whisker Grass, with people fighting to the death. The greed and ruthlessness were hard to imagine without seeing them up close. It was a stark reminder of the saying: “People die for wealth, just as birds die for food.”

Yu Ci was not one to shy away from trouble, but after a long day’s work, he sought a safe place to rest and recover. He had no time to deal with the greedy and troublesome individuals.

As he entered the dense forest, night fell quickly, and visibility decreased. Yet Yu Ci’s speed remained undiminished. The unique scents of the forest flowed past his nose, allowing him to detect hidden dangers and avoid them.

Just as his destination came into view, Yu Ci paused and slowed down. The trees had become sparse, replaced by rugged, dark stones that made the area look desolate. Through the gaps in the trees, he saw the flicker of a campfire several miles away, along with a faint trace of Shrimp Whisker Grass’s unique aroma.

Given the distance and the nature of the stone box, Yu Ci shouldn’t have been able to detect that scent, which meant someone must have opened the box to inspect or count the contents.

He estimated that there were more than fifteen people over there. Since the owner of the stone box could act so recklessly, this group was likely a well-organized team, which was rare in Sky Rift Valley.

Yu Ci scratched his head, contemplating. He could avoid them, but the hiding place he had meticulously arranged the previous day was not far from this group. Avoiding them might mean spending the night in the wilderness.

As he pondered, he noticed a change in the wind direction and realized there were another seven or eight people approaching from the side, only half a mile away. He quickly pulled the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror from his sleeve.

It was unfortunate that he had lost his reliable sword in a previous skirmish. Without a suitable weapon, he might be at a disadvantage if an encounter occurred now.

However, his keen nose soon detected something familiar. The approaching figures were recognized by their scent.

The group of people finally noticed Yu Ci. At such a close distance, even in the dark, they quickly saw each other. The group emerged from the forest, and the atmosphere tensed. But soon, someone laughed.

“Ha, Brother Yu, long time no see! You’re looking well,” said Lu Bing, the leader of the group. Yu Ci recognized him immediately from the scent and his previous encounter outside the desolate temple months ago. Lu Bing was a notable figure with peak cultivation in the martial world and significant strength. He had a good reputation, and Yu Ci had a favorable impression of him.

Lu Bing had assembled a team to collect herbs in Sky Rift Valley as part of a task from the Sun Light Sect. They were a rare and well-organized group.

Having met and traveled together for a few days after their initial encounter, they had developed some camaraderie. Yu Ci stepped forward, clasped his fists, and smiled. “Brother Lu, it’s good to see you, and everyone else…”

Noticing the reduced number of people in the group, Yu Ci’s brow furrowed. The missing members might have met with misfortune.

Collecting Shrimp Whisker Grass was no easy task. The treacherous cliffs, strong winds, and dangerous creatures posed serious risks. Moreover, Sky Rift Valley was not a simple place for herb gathering.

As the distance between them closed, Lu Bing noticed Yu Ci’s concern but, being a seasoned adventurer, he shrugged it off and shifted focus. “Brother Yu, what a pleasant surprise. The campfire ahead belongs to some brothers we’ve recently met. They’re all straightforward folks. It’s a bit dull traveling alone in this dark forest. Why don’t you join us for a gathering?”

With his planned hiding place occupied and unsure about the night’s arrangements, Yu Ci agreed readily. However, he kept his hand lightly gripping the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror, maintaining a cautious stance, knowing the same was likely true for the others. In Sky Rift Valley, those who were not vigilant were likely long gone.

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