19: Chapter 19 Green Lotus Seed

Rumble!

Lu Hu poked his head out from the cave entrance. With a bit of force, stones flew everywhere, and the opening widened significantly as Lu Hu squeezed through.

Landing steadily, he turned back to look at the stone cave on the cliff wall and nodded to himself.

"I told you, if the head can fit, the body definitely can too."

Afterward, Lu Hu observed his surroundings. He was encircled by mountains, and looking up, there was a massive opening. This was a sinkhole at least three hundred meters deep; as for its diameter, Lu Hu estimated it to be about three kilometers.

Aside from the hole above, the only other entrance was the cave opening behind him that connected to the valley.

What a great lair!

Lu Hu took a liking to this sinkhole. It had sunlight, plants, a large area, and was safe. Few animals could get in, so he wouldn't have to guard his spirit herbs every second.

Let's find that Black Beast first. Lu Hu continued on his way and soon saw a wooden cabin.

"Someone used to live here!"

Lu Hu judged that the cabin's roof was overgrown with grass and the windows were covered in spiderwebs, having been abandoned for a long time. However, the courtyard was very clean and had been swept; the door to the house was wide open.

The Black Beast should be in here. Lu Hu walked into the house and saw the Black Beast on a bamboo bed.

The other party was sitting cross-legged like a human with eyes tightly shut. Before him sat three wooden boxes, one of which was open, revealing rows of small porcelain bottles.

This meditation posture...

As Lu Hu approached, the Black Beast's body trembled. He knew Lu Hu had arrived and was afraid, yet he didn't move.

Lu Hu sensed the airflow circulating within the other's body. This guy was actually cultivating!

He must have reached a critical moment in his cultivation. Abruptly interrupting would result in severe injuries, which was why he didn't dare move.

Scared now, are we?

Lu Hu gave a wicked grin, his tail curling around a stick to poke the Black Beast's whiskers.

The Black Beast's body twitched repeatedly, yet he never gave up on his cultivation. It seemed he really was at a critical juncture, gambling that Lu Hu wouldn't go for the kill.

You gambled right!

Lu Hu put down the stick and retracted his tiger claws. Since the opponent wasn't resisting, there was no fun in killing him.

Besides, seeing the Black Beast's state gave him an idea.

After watching the Black Beast's human-like meditation posture for a while longer, he couldn't help but shake his head. Cultivation techniques were likely created by humans; when a beast practiced them, the results weren't very good.

Lu Hu didn't disturb the Black Beast's cultivation. He quietly pulled over a wooden box containing many porcelain bottles. Nearly half of them were open and empty, emitting a dense medicinal scent.

Lu Hu opened a brand-new porcelain bottle, which was filled with small pills.

As an expert who frequently munched on Ginseng, he knew from one sniff that it contained Ginseng components.

Chomp!

Lu Hu ate one, and his eyes lit up. He could tell that the ingredients of this pill were just ordinary wild Ginseng mixed with other common herbs, yet the final medicinal effect actually exceeded its supposed quality.

During the production process, not only were the medicinal effects maximized, but a negligible trace of spiritual energy was also locked in, elevating the efficacy to the next level.

This must be alchemy, right?

Lu Hu also realized that the energy inside the Black Beast had been accumulated by eating many of these pills.

He was a bit disappointed. He had thought the Black Beast had some sort of treasure, but it turned out to be just this.

Lu Hu opened the second wooden box, which was filled to the brim with animal skins and bamboo slips.

Most of the skins were sheepskin, densely covered in inscribed characters.

"Has human society not invented paper yet?"

Lu Hu was puzzled. He remembered seeing paper when he visited the human village last time.

Using animal skins and bamboo slips—could it be for better preservation?

Or perhaps that person back then didn't know how to make paper.

Lu Hu didn't overthink it. He took out the skins and slips one by one to check them, eventually concluding that he didn't recognize a single word.

"There are drawings!"

Suddenly, Lu Hu saw a book made of wooden slats. This book had no words; instead, it was carved with images of little figures.

Lu Hu understood the drawings. They contained a set of cultivation techniques.

It was a very weak set of techniques. Even when practiced to the end, it could only compare to the entry-level realm of the Spirit Tiger Qi Refining Manual.

It couldn't even pass the first major realm; one could imagine its quality.

Lu Hu knew that spiritual energy in this world was sparse, so there wouldn't be any extremely powerful beings, but it shouldn't be weak to this extent.

It seemed the owner of this technique wasn't very strong. Perhaps they had offended some enemy and fled to these deep mountains and old forests to scrape by.

Lu Hu closed the wooden box and opened the third one.

In this third box, there was a jade container. The quality instantly leveled up. At first glance, Lu Hu felt that there was something big inside.

Lu Hu opened the jade box. A light flashed briefly, and a pure aura of vitality permeated the air.

Inside the jade box, a high-quality brocade cloth lined the bottom. In the center lay twelve soybean-sized seeds. They were lime green with fine patterns on the surface.

They were quite beautiful!

But what kind of seeds were these?

They weren't recorded in the compendium of a hundred herbs either.

Lu Hu carefully picked up a seed to observe it. Suddenly, the system's voice rang in his mind.

[Ding! Discovered green lotus seed. Reward: One wisp of Qi of Creation.]

[Ding! Main Questline unlocked. Complete the Main Questline to receive one mysterious gift pack.]

[Ding! Quest 1: Find a Green Lotus and successfully harvest it.]

[Ding! Quest 2: Find a fire dragon tree and successfully harvest it.]

[Ding! Quest 3: Find god-slaying thatch and successfully harvest it.]

[Ding! Quest 4: Find a demon-transforming fruit and successfully harvest it.]

[Ding! Quest 5: Find illusory immortal grass and successfully harvest it.]

...

Instead of being annoyed by the string of "dings," Lu Hu became even more excited.

No wonder the compendium of a hundred herbs didn't mention them; they weren't ordinary items. They had even triggered the main questline.

The quests he had done before were all ordinary daily tasks, and even those rewards were quite rich.

One could only imagine the rewards for this main questline.

Boom!

The Qi of Creation from the system reward arrived. Lu Hu quickly put away the green lotus seeds and circulated his cultivation technique to digest the Qi of Creation.

The Power of Creation contained infinite mysteries and boundless vitality. With just this one wisp, Lu Hu felt as if he had been reborn, his blood and bones undergoing a transformation.

"Roar~~"

Nearby, the Black Beast opened its eyes and looked at Lu Hu in shock. Just by absorbing the stray air currents Lu Hu emitted, his internal injuries were healing at a visible rate.

What kind of method was this?

Even when his master was alive, it would have been difficult to reach this level.

The Black Beast hurriedly resumed his meditation. Such an opportunity was rare; he had to seize it and use this chance to recover from his injuries as quickly as possible.

Whoosh~~

After a long while, Lu Hu refined the Qi of Creation within him. This wisp of Qi of Creation improved his constitution; the increase in cultivation was merely a byproduct, though it did advance a small step.

"Meow~"

Where did that cat's meow come from?

Lu Hu was confused, and then he saw that the Black Beast had already left its meditative state. It jumped down from the bamboo bed, lay flat on its back, and swayed its body from side to side, acting spoiled like a cat—no, it was actually making cat sounds.

"Meow~"

Seeing Lu Hu unmoved, the Black Beast stood up, approached Lu Hu, and "accidentally" rubbed its body against Lu Hu's leg.

This is a cat!

Lu Hu pushed the Black Beast away. He had considered it might be a leopard or a tiger, but as for a little kitty, that had never crossed his mind.

"Meow~"

The Black Beast postured and preened in front of Lu Hu, constantly twisting its body.

"Roar~"

Lu Hu felt a chill. They were both male; if he wanted to be a lackey, he should just say so. Lu Hu had already had that idea anyway.

Lu Hu immediately scolded the Black Beast. The Black Beast quieted down, thought of something, and dashed out in a flash.

Lu Hu didn't care. The monk can run, but the temple can't—unless the Black Beast abandoned this home. He continued to study the system quests.

The five main quests were all about farming. He already had the seeds for one of them, the Green Lotus.

The remaining ones—fire dragon tree, god-slaying thatch, demon-transforming fruit, and illusory immortal grass—were also not recorded in the compendium of a hundred herbs. He didn't even know what they looked like. Finding them would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Perhaps he could take a look at the human world.

Since humans could find green lotus seeds, there might be news about the other four spirit herbs.

But human language...

Lu Hu felt helpless. Life this time around was very comfortable and everything was great, except for the communication aspect, which drove him crazy.

Even if he caught a human scholar now to teach him how to read, he wouldn't know how to speak.

Let's complete the Green Lotus quest first.

"Meow~"

The Black Beast returned, dragging a yak. After placing it in front of Lu Hu, it stood up on its hind legs and bowed to him.

"He's acknowledging me as the boss!"

Lu Hu understood the meaning and felt smug, though he remained calm on the surface. He jumped down, took a couple of bites of the beef, and reached out a tiger paw to pat the Black Beast's head.

Hello, little brother!

"Roar~" (From this day forth, you are the first Great General under my command, King Lu Hu—General Hei!)

"Meow~"

General Hei's tail perked up, and he lay on the ground twisting again.

This wasn't a cat; it had just studied under a cat.

Lu Hu went outside.

The environment of this sinkhole was truly excellent. It was secluded, rich in spiritual energy, and had plenty of soil.

I'll plant the spirit herbs here from now on.

Lu Hu thought to himself. General Hei's strength was decent, and more importantly, he was highly intelligent—even more so than Tiger Dad. Taking him in as a little brother was perfect; he could help plant herbs and act as a bodyguard.

...