306: Chapter 306 Golden Intelligence! Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng!

An hour later, Lu Qiu's figure appeared above an even more vast grassland.

The grass here was darker, almost a deep ink green, reaching waist-height, and when the wind blew, it surged like green ocean waves.

The air was filled with a dense, almost tangible essence of vegetation, mixed with the fragrance of the soil. Taking a deep breath made one feel refreshed, and the spiritual power within his body seemed to become a bit more active.

Compared to the previous area, this grassland had even more abundant Spiritual Qi and was much quieter.

There were no faint sounds of fighting and shouting from afar, nor any of those irritating noises. There was only the sound of the wind, the rustling of the grass, and the occasional sound of unknown small beasts running after being startled from the bushes.

Lu Qiu hovered in mid-air, his gaze calmly sweeping across the vast grassland.

He was in no hurry to move forward; instead, he slowly closed his eyes and unreservedly spread out his vast, sea-like Divine Sense, which far surpassed the Late Nascent Soul Stage!

His Divine Sense was like an invisible tide, spreading out in all directions with him as the center.

The grass, soil, rocks, streams... every subtle energy fluctuation, life aura, and even the flow of the earth vein's Spiritual Qi were clearly reflected in his Sea of Consciousness.

Although there was also some kind of Restriction here that suppressed Divine Sense detection, making his Divine Sense range much smaller than in the outside world, covering an area of dozens of miles was still extremely easy.

This was the convenience brought by a powerful Divine Sense. While other Cultivators had to search inch by inch, perhaps even regretting missing some hidden Spirit Medicines, Lu Qiu could scan and efficiently screen large areas, precisely locating those spiritual items hidden under the grass, in rock crevices, or even concealed by natural Formations or Restrictions.

Within just two hours, relying on his powerful Divine Sense, he precisely found over a dozen Spirit Medicines on the grassland that were over a thousand years old.

These Spirit Medicines were quite rare in the outside world, and their age was even harder to come by. Although their effects were limited for his current cultivation, whether used for Alchemy or brought back to nurture Xiao Mei and Xin Ruyin, they were rare and precious items.

He carefully harvested and properly stored them one by one, his movements clean and swift, wasting not a single moment.

Time quietly slipped away during the efficient search. When the first ray of morning light pierced the sky, painting the grassland with a faint golden hue, it was already the next morning.

Lu Qiu landed on a slightly elevated dirt hill and sat cross-legged.

Instead of continuing his search, he habitually checked the newly refreshed information on the mysterious "intelligence panel" in his Sea of Consciousness, as he did every morning.

This intelligence panel, obtained from a mysterious Legacy, refreshed several pieces of information daily, covering an extremely broad scope—from Spirit Medicines and treasures to dangerous Secret Realms, and from the movements of Cultivators to Heaven And Earth Treasures.

Although the accuracy of the information was not a hundred percent, and higher-ranked, more valuable information often came with greater risks, it had always been Lu Qiu's important reliance for obtaining Opportunities and avoiding danger.

He focused his mind and sank his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness.

The translucent, faintly golden panel slowly emerged, listing several newly refreshed pieces of information for today in clear, orderly text.

His gaze quickly swept over them; most of them were insignificant silver or even gray information, marking the locations of some ordinary Spirit Medicines or low-grade Materials, which held little attraction for him.

But soon, his gaze was firmly drawn to two pieces of information marked as "gold"!

gold intelligence represented extremely high value and potential major Opportunities, while also meaning that huge risks might accompany them!

The first gold intelligence: [Directly west, about forty miles away, a skeleton suspected to belong to a fallen Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator has been discovered. There are residual Restriction fluctuations around it, and it is suspected that a storage Magical Artifact remains.]

The second gold intelligence: [Southeast, about fifty miles away, traces of a ten-thousand-year-old Spirit Medicine, the "nine-curved spirit ginseng", have been discovered. It is highly spiritual, skilled at hiding and escaping, and is accompanied by a powerful guardian Yao Beast or Restriction.]

Below the two pieces of gold intelligence, there was also a relatively ordinary piece of silver information: [Northeast, about thirty miles away, a two-thousand-year-old "Purple Cloud Ganoderma" has matured and is ready for harvesting.]

"nine-curved spirit ginseng!" Lu Qiu was secretly delighted. This was indeed a good thing! The nine-curved spirit ginseng was one of the extremely rare Spiritual Roots in the world. It was said that it only grew a section of ginseng body like a baby's arm every thousand years, entirely golden and shaped like a coiled dragon or snake, hence the name "Nine-Curved".

This ginseng contained extremely pure and vast life Origin Qi and heaven and earth spiritual power. It had miraculous effects on increasing cultivation power, tempering the Physical Body, and even healing certain extremely severe injuries.

Especially a nine-curved spirit ginseng of over ten thousand years, which was a legendary treasure. Even Nascent Soul Cultivators would go crazy for it upon seeing it!

"As expected of the Void Heaven Palace, there really are many good things inside. Even a ten-thousand-year spiritual item like the nine-curved spirit ginseng exists. It seems that although this second trial is dangerous, the Opportunities are equally enticing." Lu Qiu sighed inwardly, while also becoming more vigilant.

The more precious a treasure, the more intense the struggle for it, and the stronger its guardian forces would be.

The "powerful guardian Yao Beast or Restriction" mentioned in the information was certainly not to be trifled with.

He quickly made his decision.

The three pieces of information were not too far away, which was perfect for planning a route to investigate them one by one.

First, he flew about thirty miles toward the northeast, following the guidance of the silver information.

In a hidden crevice of a cliff, he indeed found a "Purple Cloud Ganoderma" flowing with purple light all over, shaped like a ganoderma, and emitting a rich medicinal fragrance.

Its age was indeed over two thousand years, and its quality was excellent. Although it was guarded by several Late Foundation Establishment Stage Yao Beasts, they tucked their tails and fled in panic after sensing the terrifying aura faintly radiating from Lu Qiu.

Lu Qiu easily harvested it and put it into his pocket.

Subsequently, he changed direction and swiftly swept toward the west, as indicated by the gold intelligence about the remains of the Nascent Soul Cultivator.

A distance of forty miles was but a brief moment for Lu Qiu.

He soon arrived at an area with more complex terrain, rugged rocks, and withered shrubs.

A faint scent of decay and death lingered in the air here, forming a sharp contrast with the vitality of other places.

Hovering in mid-air, his gaze was like lightning as he scanned the terrain below.

At the same time, his powerful Divine Sense, like the most precise probe, combed through every inch of land in this area over and over again, sensing the residual energy fluctuations in the air.

"Indeed, there is something strange."

Lu Qiu's gaze narrowed, locking onto a seemingly ordinary pile of rocks ahead.

In his Divine Sense perception, the energy fluctuations around that pile of rocks were slightly different from other places, as if covered by an invisible film that distorted the transmission of light and aura.

This was an extremely clever concealment Formation. Had his Divine Sense not far surpassed his peers and had he not been proficient in the Dao of Formations, he would have found it very difficult to notice anything amiss.

He slowly raised his right hand, a golden light flashing in his eyes—the Xuanji Pupil!

This ocular Divine Ability could see through falsehoods and perceive the essence of energy flow.

Under the vision of the Xuanji Pupil, the scene of the pile of rocks instantly underwent an earth-shattering change.

A light gray light barrier, flowing like water ripples, enveloped an area of dozens of yards.

Dense and complex runes flowed upon the light barrier, emitting obscure yet powerful Restriction fluctuations.

This light barrier perfectly blended into the surrounding environment, hiding itself from the detection of most people.

"It is indeed exquisitely set up, but unfortunately, you met me," Lu Qiu thought to himself.

He did not forcefully attack the Restriction light barrier, as doing so might trigger a chain reaction, damaging the items inside, or even alerting other nearby Cultivators.

He carefully observed the flow patterns of the runes on the light barrier, looking for its weak nodes and a way to crack it.

A moment later, a look of understanding flashed in his eyes. Flicking his fingers repeatedly, several highly condensed threads of spiritual power of various colors shot out, wrapping precisely around those specific runic nodes on the light barrier like spiritual snakes.

His techniques were complex and precise, sometimes pulling, sometimes cutting, sometimes penetrating, as if untangling a knot of intertwined threads.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the seemingly indestructible light barrier made a soft "pop" sound like a bursting bubble, and then noiselessly dissipated, revealing the true scene hidden beneath it.

In the center of the pile of rocks, a skeleton wearing a tattered green Daoist robe sat cross-legged!

The skeleton was preserved quite completely, presenting a faint jade-white luster all over. Obviously, its owner's cultivation during life was extremely high, and their Physical Body had been tempered to a considerably formidable level.

There were several obvious fractures on the ribs of the skeleton, as if pierced by some immense force or sharp blade.

Its skull was slightly lowered, and its hollow eye sockets seemed to gaze forward, carrying a silent regret and unwillingness.

Scattered beside the skeleton were several broken fragments of Magical Artifacts that had long lost their spiritual light and were covered in rust.

And next to its leg bones where it sat cross-legged, an inconspicuous, dust-covered gray Storage Pouch lay quietly.

The material of the Storage Pouch looked quite special. Although a thousand years had passed, it had not completely decayed, and faint, weak spiritual power fluctuations could still be felt from within.

"Indeed, a fallen Nascent Soul Cultivator..." Lu Qiu looked at the skeleton before him with a grave gaze.

To be able to reach this step inside the Void Heaven Palace and possess such a complete skeleton, this person was definitely no nameless figure in life.

Judging from the luster of the bones and the residual aura, the cultivation of this Cultivator during his lifetime was probably at least above the Middle Stage of the Nascent Soul!

However, even so, he had still fallen here. This showed that the dangers of the Void Heaven Palace were far beyond what ordinary people could imagine. Even Nascent Soul Cultivators, with the slightest carelessness, would meet their end here.

He clasped his hands slightly toward the skeleton to show his respect for the Senior.

Only then did he carefully step forward and bend down to pick up the gray Storage Pouch.

Sinking his Divine Sense inside, although he met with some resistance from the Storage Pouch's own Restriction, with Lu Qiu's powerful Divine Sense, he quickly broke through it and saw the items within.

The space inside the Storage Pouch was not small. Although most things had decayed and been damaged over the long years, quite a few valuable treasures still remained.

The most eye-catching among them were two ancient treasures radiating a soft glow.

One was a palm-sized, entirely black circular shield with cloud patterns carved on its edges, emitting a heavy and simple aura. It was clearly an ancient treasure with extremely strong defensive power.

The other was a small sword about three inches long, entirely emerald green as if carved from the finest jade. The blade was translucent, with faint light swirling on it, emitting an incomparably sharp edge. It was clearly an offensive ancient treasure.

Aside from these two ancient treasures, there were also several Magic Treasures of extraordinary grade inside the Storage Pouch. Although not as precious as the two ancient treasures, they were still fine items that would be enough to cause quite a stir and stir up competition among Core Formation Cultivators in the outside world.

In addition, there were some bottles and jars, but the Medicinal Pills inside had long since evaporated completely, leaving only empty bottles.

There was also a pile of Spirit Stones of various grades, mostly Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, with a few High-Grade Spirit Stones as well, which could be considered a decent fortune.

At the very bottom of these items, Lu Qiu also found a well-preserved green Jade Slip.

With a stir in his heart, he took out the Jade Slip, pressed it to his forehead, and sank his Divine Sense into it.

The information recorded in the Jade Slip gave Lu Qiu a certain understanding of this fallen Senior's identity and experiences.

This Senior's Daoist title was "Daoist Qingming". He was a rather famous Nascent Soul Early Stage Loose Cultivator in the Chaotic Star Sea a thousand years ago, possessing a proud and solitary personality, always traveling alone.

He had accidentally obtained a heavenly void map fragment and had come to explore with great enthusiasm.

Relying on his profound cultivation and several powerful ancient treasures, he had made it through the Land of Ghostly Grievances without any major mishaps and arrived before this Ice-Fire Path.

However, instead of choosing the relatively safe Xuanjing Path or Lava Road, he had relied on his high cultivation and chosen a shortcut rumored to hide greater Opportunities but also be far more dangerous. As a result, in that shortcut, he was besieged by several ancient restricted Puppets whose strength was comparable to the Nascent Soul Stage. Although he fought hard and killed two, he was also severely injured. Ultimately, due to his heavy injuries and exhausted spiritual power, he fell here, his life and cultivation ending.

"What a pity... a generation's Nascent Soul expert actually met such an end." After reading the records in the Jade Slip, Lu Qiu could not help but sigh in his heart.

The road of cultivation was difficult at every step; even Nascent Soul Cultivators could fall at any moment. Daoist Qingming's experience sounded an alarm for him—at no time could he let his guard down, especially inside this crisis-ridden Void Heaven Palace.

He bowed solemnly once more to Daoist Qingming's remains, then waved his hand to blast a deep pit into the nearby ground. He carefully placed Daoist Qingming's skeleton inside, buried it properly, and erected a simple stone tablet with the words "Tomb of Senior Daoist Qingming" written on it.

This could be considered letting this Senior rest in peace, rather than having his corpse exposed in the wilderness.

Having done all this, Lu Qiu's mood returned to calm. He was quite satisfied with his gains this time.

Two ancient treasures, several high-quality Magic Treasures, and a sum of Spirit Stones were enough to make his wealth a bit more substantial.

Especially those two ancient treasures; after refining them well upon his return, they would surely become his new trump cards.

Composing himself, he turned his gaze toward the southeast.

There, an even more precious ten-thousand-year-old Spirit Medicine—the nine-curved spirit ginseng—awaited him.

"Next, I must go search for that nine-curved spirit ginseng. A ten-thousand-year spiritual item will surely be protected by some anomaly; I'm afraid it won't be so easy to obtain." A sharp light flashed in Lu Qiu's eyes, and with a sway of his body, he transformed into a faint gray shadow and sped off toward the southeast.