8: The Hundred Herbs Garden! My first encounter with Han Li!

Regarding the corpse of that unlucky ghost Li Yu mentioned in the white information, Lu Qiu didn't have the slightest intention of trying to scavenge it.

A profit of fifty Spirit Stones was simply too small.

It was completely not worth getting involved in potential trouble for such a petty gain.

His gaze fell directly onto the silver information below.

Bluestone Cliff.

He was not unfamiliar with that place; in his earlier years, he had gone there several times to practice his Spells.

It was an informal trial ground within the Sect.

The ground was covered with hard, massive blue rocks, and many Disciples liked to test the power of newly learned Spells or newly acquired Magical Artifacts there.

Having made up his mind, Lu Qiu did not delay for a moment. He immediately rose and left his Immortal Cave, speeding towards the direction of Bluestone Cliff.

Fifteen minutes later.

Bluestone Cliff.

Just as in his memory, massive blue rocks were piled haphazardly together, forming a rugged and uneven terrain of scattered stones.

From time to time, loud booming sounds echoed from the distance, accompanied by flickering spiritual light and drifting dust.

Those were several newly entered Sect Disciples at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, who were diligently casting Elementary Spells like Fireball and Ice Arrow at a massive rock several meters high.

Each attack could only leave shallow marks on the giant rock or blast away a few stone chips.

Lu Qiu ignored them. With a flash of his body, he circled to an unnoticed corner.

He flipped his hand and took out a flying Magical Artifact shaped like a verdant willow leaf. This was a standard-issue Magical Artifact of Yellow Maple Valley; although it was only an Elementary Magical Artifact, it excelled in being small, discreet, and reasonably fast.

Injecting spiritual power, the willow leaf grew as it caught the wind, transforming into a length of about three feet.

Lu Qiu leaped up and stood steadily upon it, turning into an inconspicuous green light as he silently descended toward the bottom of the bottomless abyss.

Beneath the abyss, the mist was thick, and a cold, damp breath rushed toward him.

The further down he went, the dimmer the light became, and visibility dropped to an extremely low level.

Lu Qiu did not dare to be careless. He propped up a spiritual power shield around his body while simultaneously performing a hand seal, causing a faint, almost imperceptible spiritual light to well up in his eyes.

Heavenly Eye Technique.

This basic Spell allowed his vision to greatly increase in such dim environments.

The space at the bottom of the cliff was much larger than imagined, filled everywhere with jagged, strange rocks and unknown shade-loving plants.

Lu Qiu piloted his flying Magical Artifact, skimming at a low altitude, using his Divine Sense in coordination with the Heavenly Eye Technique to search carefully inch by inch.

About fifteen minutes later.

His movements suddenly halted, and he hovered before a steep stone wall.

Just below the stone wall, within a narrow crevice only a palm's width wide, an extremely weak ripple of spiritual power was leaking out.

If not for the guidance of the System's information and his current focused investigation, an ordinary person could never have discovered such a hidden spot, nor would they have thought that Spirit Medicine would exist at the bottom of this sunless cliff.

Found it!

Lu Qiu felt a surge of joy. He put away his flying Magical Artifact and landed on the ground.

He reached his hand into the stone crevice, feeling around carefully.

Soon, his fingertips touched the stem of a plant.

He didn't use brute force but instead mobilized the fire-attribute spiritual power within his body, gently enveloping the entire spiritual plant and slowly bringing it out of the stone crevice intact.

It was a strange flower that was an eerie purple color throughout; its petals were curled in the shape of a young monkey, and it emitted a refreshing, exotic fragrance.

A five-hundred-year-old Purple Spirit Flower!

This item was a primary ingredient for refining several types of Foundation Establishment Stage Medicinal Pills, and its value was extraordinary.

Lu Qiu didn't linger on it. He quickly placed it into a specially made jade box, applied a Restriction Talisman, and solemnly put it into his Storage Pouch.

Having obtained the Spirit Medicine, he didn't stay for a moment. He immediately took control of his Magical Artifact, followed his original path back, and quickly left the cold bottom of the abyss... After leaving Bluestone Cliff, Lu Qiu did not return to Xuan Kun Mountain but instead went straight to a large courtyard shrouded in white mist.

On the plaque above the courtyard gate, three large characters were carved in a bold, flowing style.

Hundred Herbs Garden.

Before he even got close, an extremely dense medicinal fragrance rushed toward him. Just taking a single breath made one feel refreshed and energized.

This place was his true destination for this trip.

The Yue Lu Palace mentioned in the gold intelligence was a restricted area of the Sect, and ordinary Disciples had no right to enter.

To enter Yue Lu Palace, two conditions had to be met.

First, one must have a cultivation at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Second, one must obtain a handwritten guarantee from a Foundation Establishment Stage powerhouse.

And the owner of this Hundred Herbs Garden, that Martial Uncle Ma, was a genuine Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator.

In his original body's Middle Stage of Qi Refining, he had once been assigned to do odd jobs in this Hundred Herbs Garden for half a year, responsible for tending to Spirit Medicine. He was somewhat familiar with that eccentric Old Man Ma.

This trip was specifically to seek the guarantee of this 'Martial Uncle Ma'.

Calculating based on the timeline of the original story, that future Old Devil Han, Han Li, should also be in this Hundred Herbs Garden right now.

Lu Qiu's thoughts flashed by in an instant, but his footsteps did not stop.

He stepped forward, and after just a few paces, the space ahead rippled, and a layer of soft white light steadily blocked him.

It was the defensive Restriction of the Hundred Herbs Garden.

He was not panicked at all. He simply stood still and called out loudly toward the garden.

“Martial Uncle Ma, Junior Lu Qiu has come to pay his respects!”

His voice was not loud, but it clearly passed into the Restriction.

A moment of silence.

Just as Lu Qiu thought he needed to call out again, the white light curtain ahead suddenly parted silently to both sides, revealing a path.

A young man wearing the green robes of a Disciple walked slowly out of the passage.

This youth looked to be only about twenty years old, with an unremarkable appearance—the kind that would be impossible to find again once lost in a crowd.

His aura was very restrained, and his cultivation fluctuations were controlled at around the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining.

Seeing this person.

Lu Qiu's heart felt a slight ripple.

Although the other's appearance was slightly different from what he had imagined, that composure and caution hidden beneath the ordinary exterior were exactly the same as the 'Model Worker Han' in his memory.

This is Han Li?

The future Old Devil Han?

While Lu Qiu was sizing up the other party, Han Li was also sizing him up.

This Senior Brother before him, who called himself Lu Qiu, was at the Twelfth Layer of Qi Refining with a steady aura; he didn't seem like an ordinary Disciple.

“What business does Senior Brother have here?” Han Li asked with a cupped-hand salute, neither humble nor arrogant.

His attitude was very plain, carrying a business-like detachment.

“I have a matter for which I seek to see Martial Uncle Ma,” Lu Qiu pulled back his thoughts and responded politely. “I must trouble Junior Brother to go in and announce me.”

Han Li nodded without asking a single extra word.

He turned and walked back into the courtyard, and the light curtain closed behind him.

Another moment of waiting.

A voice that sounded somewhat aged and carried a hint of impatience drifted out from deep within the garden.

“Kid Lu? Why have you run off to this old man's place for no reason?”

“Come in.”