62: Chapter 62 Mystery in the Deep Valley

On the edge of a steep cliff, a young man gazed into the distance. His expression was somewhat forlorn, and his eyes carried a deep exhaustion. This was Cao Xiao, who had been searching within Changbai Mountain for three full days. As a result, he hadn't seen even a glimpse of 100-year-old ginseng. He had found many under a hundred years, and along with some other local specialties of Changbai Mountain, it could be said he had a bountiful harvest. However, failing to achieve his main objective meant this trip to Changbai Mountain would end in failure.

Before him was a massive deep valley surrounded by mountains, with cliffs on all sides and no path to the bottom. Clouds and mist swirled below; no sound could be heard from the valley, and its depth was unclear. At the very least, he couldn't see the bottom even with his Detection Function.

"Ah—! Ah—!"

Cao Xiao let out a long, loud cry to vent the frustration in his heart. He didn't stop until his voice grew hoarse. Now he faced a serious problem: his compass had malfunctioned. It wasn't that the compass was broken, but rather that after entering this area a day ago, he realized the magnetic field was chaotic and the compass could no longer distinguish directions. The situation in the dense forest was complex; after walking back a distance, he could no longer find the tracks he had left. In other words, he had been lost for a day and had no idea where he currently was.

Calming his emotions, he thought to himself that being lost was no big deal. He had plenty of food and daily necessities; staying in the mountains for a month or so would be no problem, and he would live quite well. As long as he spent enough time walking in one direction, he would eventually exit this area. Once he found the Border road, he could return home.

He carved a diagonal downward staircase into the cliff face and then resolutely headed down. No one had ever set foot in this deep valley. If there was vegetation at the bottom, there was a high possibility of 100-year-old ginseng existing there. If he still couldn't find any, he would just have to give up. It wasn't strictly necessary to use 100-year-old ginseng; he could inquire about the master's preferences and prepare other gifts instead.

With a more open-minded attitude, his mood also returned to tranquility.

This valley was extremely deep. He had walked down over three hundred meters before he could faintly see the situation at the bottom. Fortunately, there was green vegetation—a forest. Upon reaching the valley floor, he calculated the depth; it was over eight hundred meters from the top of the cliff, which was already far below the average elevation of Changbai Mountain.

This valley was about seven or eight square kilometers in size, densely covered in vegetation, with a small lake and a stream. The forest before him brought a surge of joy to Cao Xiao's heart; this was a Linden forest, the most suitable environment for ginseng growth. Cao Xiao was instantly motivated. This wasn't like those forests outside; virgin lands that had never been touched by humans often held massive surprises.

Searching a few square kilometers wouldn't take much time; it could be explored in just a few hours. The Detection Function could also be set with a search alert; as long as a designated object or substance appeared within a hundred-meter range, it would alert him. He set the search criteria for Ginsenosides, and to his surprise, as soon as the scan began, over thirty bright spots appeared on the virtual map in front of him.

Cao Xiao's spirit was bolstered; he had stumbled upon a ginseng nest. Over thirty ginseng plants appeared within an area of just over ten mu. Such density was impossible outside, where finding a single ginseng plant in a forest of several hundred mu would be considered lucky. It seemed the environment and climate of this deep valley were perfectly suited for ginseng growth.

The nearest bright spot was just five meters to his left. He didn't even need to use his hands; he collected a large chunk of soil surrounding the ginseng into his personal space and dissolved the dirt in water, allowing the ginseng to be extracted perfectly intact. Taking a closer look at it in his hand, this ginseng was over eighty years old. Good heavens! If a random one was over eighty years old, then there must be plenty of 100-year-old ginseng here.

He immediately collected all the ginseng within a hundred-meter range, thirty-seven plants in total. Aside from six new growths, the other thirty-one were all over ten years old. Furthermore, he found 100-year-old ginseng—and not just one, but eight of them. The oldest one had been growing for over four hundred years, making him so happy he nearly lost his mind.

It really hadn't been easy. He had searched the mountains for three days without finding any, yet he had suddenly obtained eight here, including one over four hundred years old. With this single ginseng alone, Cao Xiao had the confidence to go seek apprenticeship. He didn't believe that if he placed this rare ginseng before that master, the man would refuse him. Even if his age was no longer suitable for practicing martial arts, the master would likely take him as a Named disciple for the sake of this ginseng.

A 400-year-old ginseng could already be passed off as a 1000-year-old ginseng nowadays. If put up for auction, the starting price would be astronomical, enough to make many people go crazy for it.

If there were over thirty ginseng plants in just this small area, how many must there be in the thousands of mu across the entire valley floor! Thinking of this, Cao Xiao became incredibly excited. Action was better than excitement, so he immediately began exploring the entire valley floor.

This place truly did not disappoint him. Perhaps his luck had finally turned around, as he discovered more and more ginseng. Gradually, his standards became picky. Ten-year-old ones had little value—rejected! Twenty-year-old ones were still lacking—rejected! Thirty-year-old ones were barely acceptable, but he wouldn't take them if they didn't look good!

Two hours later, he had searched the entire valley floor. Looking at the ginseng piled up in his personal space, he felt a strange sensation in his heart. There were so many ginseng plants under a hundred years old that he had lost count; they were piled there like common weeds. There were actually over five thousand plants over a hundred years old, far more than he had imagined. Excluding the area of the lake, stream, and meadows, there was an average of one 100-year-old ginseng for every two mu of forest. When he calculated the number, it was simply unbelievable. If he were to release all these into the market, the price of 100-year-old ginseng would plummet several times over. Or, if the location of this deep valley were revealed, even ordinary Wild Mountain Ginseng might become worthless. Given the environment, climate, and soil conditions here, if artificial cultivation were practiced, the quality would be no worse than true Wild Mountain Ginseng. If these ten thousand plus mu were densely planted, they could absolutely satisfy the entire domestic market's demand, and Wild Mountain Ginseng would no longer be as rare as it is now.

Among these five thousand-plus ginseng plants, nearly two thousand were over five hundred years old, and over three hundred were over a thousand years old. Thousand-year-old ginseng isn't the legendary human-shaped kind, nor is it particularly large; one plant weighs only a few hundred grams. Having grown for a millennium, the outer skin has begun to lignify, but the Ginsenoside content is much higher than that of 100-year-old ginseng. The oldest among them was a 3,400-year-old ginseng, with a main root as thick as a child's arm and a weight of 1.6 kilograms, looking like an old tree root. From the moment he finished searching the valley, Cao Xiao had become numb to it all; he no longer valued ginseng so highly, much like having a vast field of cabbage at home that you can't finish—you get sick of looking at it. If the master didn't accept him as a disciple this time, others would surely come to his door begging to take him. After all, if ginseng truly had the effect of increasing one's cultivation, these plants would be enough to create many experts. At that point, not only would ginseng lose its value, but even experts would be devalued.

It was getting late, and he wouldn't get far if he left now, so he decided to rest here for the night and set out tomorrow morning. With any luck, he would be out of the mountains by tomorrow. There were no large animals in the valley; due to the forest cover, even small animals were few, and there weren't many fish in the stream or the small lake. However, many types of fungi grew in the forest. He made a pot of wild chicken and mushroom stew. Being in a good mood, the food tasted delicious; he ate five bowls of rice until he was so full he didn't want to move.

He entered dreamland with a wonderful mood. In his dream, he saw countless peerless masters fighting over him to take him as a disciple. Then, one master who was pushed to his limit in a desperate situation roared, "If I can't have him, no one can!" and grabbed him, self-destructing.

He woke up terrified, drenched in a cold sweat. In his panic, he couldn't help but reflect. Sometimes, having too many good things isn't necessarily a good thing; wealth should not be revealed! One dreams at night what one thinks of by day; he must have let his success go to his head to have such a nightmare. The fact that he had obtained so much ginseng must never be exposed. Even for the apprenticeship gift, he shouldn't use ginseng that was too good, or he would be in constant trouble!