Leaving the swamp forest.
Chu Qi and Yan Jiuge walked from south to north, and after walking for more than half a month, they arrived at the central area of the Yunxi Secret Realm.
On the way, Yan Jiuge sent a message to Liu Weiming, and learned that Liu Weiming and his team were on their way to the central area and it would take a few more days to arrive.
During the days of training in the Yunxi Secret Realm, the number of disciples of the Tianxuan Sect did not decrease and they gained a lot. It was a very good start.
But this is just the beginning.
"After entering the central area of the Cloud Breath Secret Realm, the strength of the spirit beasts is basically between the third and fourth levels, and they will ambush and hunt monks."
Yan Jiuge told Chu Qi about the news he got from the headmaster.
The central area of the Yunxi Secret Realm is the place with the most concentrated spiritual energy in the entire secret realm. In the last month of the secret realm opening, strange treasures will descend, causing the spiritual beasts and monks in the central area to fight for it.
Wherever there are competing interests, there will be conflict.
By then, in addition to the spirit beasts, the enemies will also include some monks with ill intentions. The danger of the training will be increased several times invisibly.
Chu Qi also understood this truth. He continued along with Yan Jiuge's words and said, "Then we should wait for Senior Brother Liu and the others outside the central area."
"Yeah." Yan Jiuge nodded.
Afterwards, Chu Qi took out the map he had exchanged from Ling Wu.
This map happens to be a part of the central area of the Yunxi Secret Realm. It is not very detailed, but it roughly marks some distinct terrain.
For example, there are herb fields, the nests of some fourth-level spirit beasts, and a crescent-shaped sunken valley with a crescent lake underneath.
Crescent Lake is the center of the map, and it must be the place where the rare treasures are found.
Chu Qi paid some attention in his heart, and then turned his gaze to the edge of the map, "Ayan, there seems to be a herb field nearby, we can go and take a look."
"Which way are you going?" Yan Jiuge asked him.
Chu Qi closed his eyes and sensed the flow of spiritual energy around him, "North."
While waiting for other fellow disciples, the two of them can also search for some rare treasures in the surrounding area, so that they can do both without any delay.
Yan Jiuge took Chu Qi on a tour around the area and soon discovered a large herbal medicine field.
However, there was something strange about this patch of herbs. They grew well and covered a large area, yet they had not been damaged by other spirit beasts. It was as if someone was taking good care of them.
After flying closer with the sword, Yan Jiuge felt that the circulation of spiritual energy in his body was blocked, as if something was suppressing his original spiritual roots.
Stopping a hundred feet away from the medicine field, Yan Jiuge told Chu Qi about this strange thing.
"Spiritual power suppression?" Chu Qi's eyes flashed with a bit of surprise, "I don't feel that way. On the contrary, I feel that this place has abundant spiritual energy, which is very suitable for me to practice nearby."
The difference between the two men emerged.
Chu Qi suddenly remembered that before he came to the Yunxi Secret Realm for training, Senior Sister Bai Xuan had told him that there were some herbal medicine areas in the Yunxi Secret Realm that only medical practitioners could enter.
After Chu Qi finished talking to Yan Jiuge, he turned his gaze back to the patch of herbs and guessed, "Could it be the patch of land in front of us?"
Yan Jiuge nodded, "It's possible."
Otherwise it would be impossible to explain why he felt his spiritual energy flow was blocked whenever he got close to that place.
"Then Ayan, you wait here for me, I'll go over and take a look." Chu Qi planned to go over and find out the reason for the herb field himself.
"No." Yan Jiuge rejected Chu Qi's proposal, "I'll go with you."
"Senior Sister said that only medical practitioners can go in." Chu Qi advised him softly.
"You can't go alone. What if there is some spiritual beast hidden in there?" Yan Jiuge was extremely persistent about this matter.
“But if there were any high-level spirit beasts here, they would have taken the herbs away long ago.”
"… "
When the two sides rarely disagree, neither is willing to give in.
This scene made Chu Qi a little dazed, and he remembered the things in his previous life. As they talked, the two of them started arguing, and in the end they forgot what had caused their temper.
"That's fine."
"All right then."
"… "
The two voices spoke almost at the same time.
Chu Qi had just given up the idea of investigating the herb field when he heard Yan Jiuge's words of concession.
Chu Qi raised his eyes, with some surprise in his eyes.
The warm eyes were shining with joy.
"Really?"
The black-clad swordsman in front of him pursed his lips, looking somewhat unhappy, with a frown and some worry in his eyes. In the end, he gave in.
"… real."
Yan Jiuge said sullenly, "But you have to stay within my sight and don't run too far. It would be best if there is a rope to tie the two of us together to avoid any accidents."
At the moment of compromise, Yan Jiuge thought of a way to have the best of both worlds.
"Rope, rope?" Chu Qi was stunned.
"Yes." Yan Jiuge fixed his eyes and continued to complete his thoughts, "My spiritual power will be suppressed if I go over there, so it's better for me to stay far away to protect you. You don't know what you will face if you go over there alone, what if it's another maze formation in the swamp forest? So let's tie it together with a rope, no matter what it is, it will be much safer."
At least he and Aqi cannot be separated.
"But I don't have such a long rope in my Qiankun bag." The rope is one hundred feet long, which is a bit too long.
Chu Qi felt embarrassed, so he turned the question to Yan Jiuge, "A Yan, do you have it?"
“… Not yet.” I can ask the Yan family to send a few over when I get back.
Yan Jiuge thought.
"But we need it right now." Chu Qi sighed. Before he could think of other alternatives, the vine ring on his wrist moved.
Chu Qi couldn't help but raise his hand.
The vine ring on his wrist began to emit spiritual energy, and a branch vine spread out in the direction of the spiritual energy and stretched towards Yan Jiuge's wrist.
The tough vine connected the two people together, and as long as the vine ring had enough spiritual energy, it could continue to extend.
“It’s actually still possible…” Chu Qi was shocked.
Yan Jiuge changed from being entangled by the vines to grabbing the vines himself. He was not used to losing the initiative. At the same time, he had a different view of this spirit of heaven and earth from Yaowang Valley. It was indeed useful.
Being able to be with Chu Qi, Yan Jiuge's mood improved. His frown relaxed and his eyes fixed on Chu Qi. "Then I'll wait for you here. Call me if you're in danger."
"good."
Chu Qi nodded.
Although he didn't think there would be any danger in the herb field, what was more important was to respond to Ayan's concern.
“Lulu.”
The gold-eating beast got off Chu Qi's shoulder and stood beside Yan Jiuge, waiting for someone. The smell of the herb field made it feel uncomfortable and it didn't want to get close.
Before leaving, Chu Qi gave the gold-devouring beast a bag of spiritual beast food to help it pass the time.
After doing all this, Chu Qi shifted his attention to the herbal ground and walked towards it step by step.
After getting closer, Chu Qi discovered that there was a kind of pale purple unknown spiritual plant surrounding the herb patch, almost encircling the entire herb patch.
This kind of lavender spiritual plant has never been seen in the medical tradition, but they still exude a strong spiritual energy.
Not knowing if it was the effect of this special spiritual plant, Chu Qi dug up a few and took them away, intending to find Yan Jiuge to verify it when he returned to him.
In addition to the lavender spiritual plant, Chu Qi also dug some herbs, only two of each, not greedy for more.
He just wanted to come and see why this patch of herbs could suppress the sword cultivator's spiritual power, and he had no intention of digging up all the herbs.
Although these herbs grow well, most of them are of low quality and can only be grown on Zhongling Peak.
not to mention-
Chu Qi turned his head and looked behind him, then quickly dug out the remaining two herbs.
A Yan is still waiting for him to come back.
After digging up the herbs, Chu Qi cast a cleansing spell on himself and planned to go back the way he came.
However, just as Chu Qi took a step back, something entangled his feet, stopping him in his tracks.
"?" Apart from his breath, there were no other spiritual fluctuations nearby.
Chu Qi lowered his head in confusion, only to find that what was blocking him was the branches grown from the vine ring on his wrist.
The branch was very spiritual and it pointed two feet to the side of Chu Qi.
That is a field of green grass.
"Do you mean you want me to wear it?" Chu Qi asked hesitantly about the vine ring in his hand.
The branch nodded in that direction as a response to Chu Qi.
"Is there anything special about this grass?" Apart from the fact that the leaves were narrow and thin and looked a little more fragile than the grass leaves next to it, Chu Qi could not tell any other differences between them.
But Tenghuan insisted that he take this bunch of grass leaves with him. Chu Qi thought about it and decided that it wouldn't hurt to take a little more.
Medicine is extensive and profound, and there may be formulas that they are not aware of yet. Moreover, the ancient heritage has been passed down for many years, and it is hard to say whether all of it has been passed down intact.
With this thought in mind, Chu Qi dug up the clump of grass leaves.
Now, the branch that was blocking Chu Qi's feet slowly turned into spiritual energy and returned to the vine ring.
Chu Qi took two steps at a time and strode towards Yan Jiuge.
"Ayan, I'm back."
Yan Jiuge's eyes were always on Chu Qi, and he never looked away. Naturally, he was watching Chu Qi come back. Even so, when he heard the familiar voice, the corners of his lips slightly raised, "Well, it's good to be back."
"I dug up a lot of herbs, and there are two kinds of spiritual plants that I haven't seen before. Let me show you. I wonder if it is the influence of this lavender spiritual plant that has hindered the circulation of spiritual energy."
Chu Qi couldn't wait to share his gains with Yan Jiuge.
He first took out the lavender spiritual plant. Yan Jiuge sensed it for a while and nodded, "It is this. There is obvious resistance to the circulation of spiritual energy."
"What about this?" Chu Qi took out the bunch of green spiritual plants again.
"Nothing special, just ordinary weeds?" Yan Jiuge couldn't see anything special about the green spiritual plant.
Most cultivators rely on the concentration of spiritual energy to determine whether a spiritual plant is special. Natural treasures emit abundant spiritual energy, while those that are mediocre are ordinary things.
"I don't know what this is used for, but Tenghuan insisted that I bring it back." Chu Qi sighed.
"Vine Ring?" Hearing this name, Yan Jiuge's eyes swept over Chu Qi's wrist, his eyes darkened, "Then you should think about it again, maybe it's some uncommon herb."
The things from Yaowang Valley will never bring back a bundle of weeds.
"Okay. I'll sort them out as medicinal herbs first." Chu Qi's eyes lit up when talking about refining medicine.
He took out a medicine cauldron from his Qiankun bag, then took out sixteen spirit stones and set up a spirit formation under the medicine cauldron.
Yan Jiuge watched his movements quietly, and then when he was almost ready, he used his spiritual power to light a cluster of spiritual fire in the medicine cauldron.
The spiritual fire of a cultivator with fire spiritual roots is better than the fire lit by an ordinary fire starter.
Moreover, Yan Jiuge has been practicing with Chu Qi for so many years that small things like lighting fires have long become a habit for him.
Chu Qi used his spiritual power to refine the lavender spiritual plant and remove the impurities in it. After the refinement, the lavender spiritual plant became filamentous, and the remaining part fell off automatically. If it was placed in the medicine cauldron and baked by spiritual fire, it would become a medicinal liquid.
Chu Qi was very familiar with the steps of refining medicine. After he finished processing the lavender spiritual plants, he took the bundle of green grass leaves in his hand.
Chu Qi originally didn't know how to refine this kind of herb that didn't have much spiritual energy, because using ordinary refining methods, the entire bundle of grass would be filled with impurities.
While hesitating, Chu Qi used his spiritual power to wrap the bundle of grass leaves and found that they could be directly transformed into medicinal liquid under the spiritual power of the medical practitioner, and had a tendency to resonate with the medicinal properties of the lavender spiritual plants.
For each recipe for refining a spiritual medicine, after all the medicinal materials are thrown into the medicine cauldron, there will be a tendency for the medicinal properties to resonate with each other. Medical practitioners can refine them into spiritual medicine based on this tendency.
If not, it means that the medicinal properties of the two herbs are incompatible and cannot be refined to the level required.
With some curiosity rising in his heart, Chu Qi tried to mix the two unknown spiritual plants together and refine them into a spiritual medicine in the medicine cauldron.
There are also some requirements for the formation of elixirs. Some need to be refined into pills, while others are powders and dews.
There is no recipe for the elixir being refined now, and no one knows its purpose. Chu Qi can only judge what to refine it into based on his intuition.
If the refining fails, a cloud of black smoke will come out of the medicine cauldron, which means that the medicinal materials in the cauldron have been destroyed during the refining process.
A quarter of an hour later, a white light flashed on the medicine cauldron.
Chu Qi breathed a sigh of relief, he succeeded.
There was only a handful of lavender powder left in the medicine cauldron, which looked like it could be sprinkled on the body.
"This new spiritual medicine seems to be able to suppress the characteristics of the light purple spiritual plant." Chu Qi took the medicine powder and sprinkled it on the light purple spiritual plant. The spiritual plant immediately withered and lost its previous activity.
"Why don't you sprinkle some on me and try? I'll go take a walk around the herb patch." Yan Jiuge suggested.
"Will it work? Your spiritual power will be suppressed if you go there. What if you encounter something..." Chu Qi was halfway through his words when he met Yan Jiuge's smiling eyes. He suddenly realized that his behavior just now was very similar to when Yan Jiuge didn't let him go to the herb garden.
Chu Qi coughed lightly, turned his eyes away, and pretended to be calm and continued, "Then I'll go with you."
He is still different from Ayan. He can get close to the herb patch without being affected.
"Okay." Yan Jiuge nodded.
This time, Yan Jiuge was sprinkled with the new medicinal powder refined by Chu Qi. After he approached the herbal medicine field, the spiritual power in his body continued to flow normally.
"It is indeed the antidote." Yan Jiuge confirmed.
"I don't know how long the effect will last." Chu Qi was very excited when he came across a new prescription. "Maybe it can be used to enhance the efficacy of other spiritual medicines. I'll dig up some more of these two new herbs and take them away."
Halfway through the digging, Chu Qi suddenly felt that something was missing from his shoulder. He turned around and asked Yan Jiuge, "By the way, Ayan, where did Xiao Jin go?"
"It ran underground. The bag of spiritual beast food you just gave it had the flavor of spiritual plants." Yan Jiuge answered in a good mood.
Chu Qi: “…”
The flavor of spiritual plants, then Xiao Jin is all green.
"I'll apologize to it later for not looking closely just now."
“The spiritual plant tastes good, and it eats it so happily, there’s no harm in feeding it more.” It can even disappear on its own after eating, so it is indeed a very good spiritual animal food.
Yan Jiuge even wanted to buy some more for the money-eating beast.
While chatting, the two continued to dig two new herbs.
*
Not far from the central area.
A group of people were rushing towards this direction in a very embarrassed manner.
Among these people, there were disciples of Fuyao Palace wearing light yellow clothes, and some independent cultivators, about thirty people in total. They did not use any flying spiritual devices, but walked on foot instead.
"Senior Sister Su, let's take a break. We have been walking for four hours. The medical sisters in the sect are all a little tired."
A cultivator from the Fuyao Palace began to persuade the cultivator who was leading the team.
"Squeamish!"
A stern rebuke interrupted the practitioner's words.
Su Qiuzhi frowned. Her delicate face was extremely oppressive because of her serious expression. The anxiety that sometimes appeared in her eyes also turned into anger.
"I just asked you to walk. I haven't asked you to fight the fourth-level spirit beast yet. You are all too tired to move, right?"
"This training is especially important for our three veins, and we must not make any mistakes. We must continue on our journey and reach the central area before dark."
After Su Qiuzhi's words, no one dared to refute.
A group of people walked in silence, the atmosphere was heavy, as if there was an invisible heavy stone pressing on their hearts, making it hard to breathe.
The physical fitness of the disciples of Fuyao Palace was not very good, so they could travel by flying spiritual instruments. However, Su Qiuzhi calculated the consumption of spiritual stones and realized that they could not afford it, so she asked everyone to get off and walk.
There was nothing wrong with walking, but the main reason was that Su Qiuzhi had left behind two injured fellow disciples because she was in a hurry to travel, which made the other disciples of Fuyao Palace feel uncomfortable.
"Senior Sister, once we reach the edge of the central area, it won't delay anything if we let everyone take a break." A gentle voice sounded from Su Qiuzhi's side.
Su Qiuzhi paused.
Everyone held their breath, thinking she would get angry again.
But unexpectedly, Su Qiuzhi's tone softened slightly, and she nodded, "Yeah, that's fine."
When everyone heard her say this, they couldn't help but look up at the disciple from Fuyao Palace who had just spoken, with a hint of gratitude in their eyes.
He was a male medical disciple in the foundation-building stage, with a very gentle look. Although his facial features were ordinary, his eyes were particularly beautiful. Anyone who looked at him would be subconsciously stunned.
Only the magic cultivator who spoke first was slightly dissatisfied, "Why did the elder sister become so strict when I said to take a rest, and change her mind when my junior brother spoke."
"Junior Brother Chang, are you questioning my injustice?" Su Qiuzhi's eyebrows turned cold.
"Brother Chang, don't be angry. My suggestion is to wait until we reach the central area before resting. You want to rest immediately. After considering it, Senior Sister will naturally make a decision."
The male medical disciple who was called "your junior brother" spoke in a friendly manner, trying to calm down a quarrel.
Su Qiuzhi nodded, "Of course."
Seeing this, the magic practitioner could only shut his mouth and said no more. He felt that his junior brother Ling Zhihuai was a little strange. During this journey, he either didn't speak, or when he spoke, he always got the senior sister to agree with his suggestions.
Just as Shu Xiu was thinking more and more, his eyes unexpectedly met Ling Zhihuai's eyes.
Her eyes were shining, as if they could draw his mind away.
After a moment, the magic cultivator said in a daze, "Your junior brother... what you said makes sense."
(End of this chapter)