28: Chapter 25 Tie Xiaosheng 28: Chapter 25 Tie Xiaosheng As Chu Xisheng and his companion continued downward, their journey became much smoother.
They only encountered a squad of Long Clan Soldiers.
Strangely enough, the leader of this squad was much stronger than the previous few, already possessing Ninth Grade cultivation.
However, after Lu Luanti killed this person, there was no update on Chu Xisheng’s task panel.
If there was one difference from before, it was that the battlefield was quite remote, and it might take a while for the Long Family to find the corpses of these soldiers.
Chu Xisheng reflected on his experiences since entering the Fire Bone Cave, the successive bursts of fireworks that had appeared before his eyes, and his experiences in the Library, his eyes unconsciously showing a hint of fascination.
So in order for him to earn Martial Arts Points, it was not enough just to defeat someone stronger than himself; it also had to be known by others?
Furthermore, on the day of the Inner Sect trial, just one public declaration by Ye Zhiqiu activated his system, raising his reputation to “Ninth Grade (Void).”
This indicated that one did not necessarily have to kill or defeat someone to obtain Martial Arts Points; being recognized by a figure like Ye Zhiqiu could also help him enhance his reputation.
This was because Ye Zhiqiu was highly esteemed, with tremendous public credibility, and people believed what she said!
So was the core of this system actually “belief”?
As long as people believed in his martial prowess, he would be able to have enough Martial Arts Points to enhance his strength and Martial Arts talent?
Upon this realization, Chu Xisheng couldn’t help but slightly curl the corners of his lips with a smile.
He had begun to understand the mechanism of the system; now, it was time to verify it step by step.
When Chu Xisheng snapped back to reality, he saw Lu Luanti stealthily tearing at her clothes.
She had not only torn away all the purple gauze outside her Purple Gauze Skirt, leaving only the inner purple silk lining but had also torn a slit in her clothes and stuck a green talisman inside.
When Chu Xisheng’s gaze fell upon her, Lu Luanti’s face turned red, and she tightened the collar over her chest, “What are you looking at?
I’m applying a cooling talisman; it’s too hot underneath.”
With her cultivation level, she shouldn’t have felt this hot, but she had broken into a sweat due to the exertion from the continuous combat.
Chu Xisheng’s eyebrows rose slightly in response.
The dim light in the cave was not enough to see clearly, but with his Eagle Eye, he could vividly discern every detail within thirty yards, even at night.
Lu Luanti now appeared flushed, her brow glistening with sweat, and her purple dress clung to her figure due to the moisture, exuding a vibrant and youthful charm.
The mix of the young girl’s body fragrance and the scent of perspiration was enticing, leading one’s thoughts astray.
Chu Xisheng involuntarily squinted his eyes, his nose unconsciously twitching.
Lu Luanti’s pretty face blushed even more, annoyance flickering in her eyes, “What are you sniffing at?”
Chu Xisheng glanced calmly at her and then walked behind her.
From an inconspicuous crack in the rock wall, he plucked a small green-black grass.
Lu Luanti recognized it as the Heart-breaking Grass, one of the auxiliary medicines for the Nourishing Essence Skill, capable of neutralizing the medicinal properties of the Yangyang Grass.
Her face instantly stiffened slightly, revealing some embarrassment.
Chu Xisheng carefully stored the little grass in a specialized pouch and then dusted off his hands, “Since we’re here, we might as well stay for a few days.
It’s a good opportunity to search for the medicinal ingredients required for the Nourishing Essence Skill.”
He looked at Lu Luanti sideways, his eyes filled with anticipation, “You’ve been undercover at Zhengyang Martial Arts Hall for three months; you should know the secret formula for the Nourishing Essence Skill’s Primordial Skill Secret Medicine, right?
You’re a Seventh Rank sorcerer; try to help me find it.”
Lu Luanti’s mood was quite complex; her initial intention was to monitor Chu Xisheng and find some amusement on the side.
Instead, she found herself becoming Chu Xisheng’s bodyguard and enforcer, and now she was even reduced to a laborer.
Chu Xisheng wasn’t in good physical condition, and the bags he had been carrying had somehow ended up on Lu Luanti.
Yet, she indeed had a way to help Chu Xisheng.
Disliking metal, Lu Luanti handed her Straight Blade to Chu Xisheng, then raised her hands and formed a spiritual formula, chanting under her breath.
After a moment, a clump of pure white Spiritual Power converged, taking the form of a pure, flawless, and exquisite White Mink.
Once the White Mink materialized, it looked around and then began to sniff the ground as it moved forward.
Lu Luanti held a hand signal and sustained the magic, leisurely following behind the White Mink.
“This is our family’s secret Spiritual Mink Medicine Seeking Skill, it can accurately search for herbs within a fifty zhang radius, its downside is it cannot differentiate the types of medicinal herbs, so from now on, it will depend on your luck,” Lu Luanti said.
Chu Xisheng’s spirits lifted, and he followed Lu Luanti forward.
The area they were in had already been scoured clean by other Medicine Gatherers.
However, the White Mink summoned by Lu Luanti’s magic was exceptionally sensitive and managed to find some medicinal herbs in narrow and hidden corners almost every fifty or sixty steps.
After following around for an hour, Chu Xisheng’s medicine bag was bulging.
All the auxiliary medicines for the secret recipe were collected, the only thing missing was the Yangyang Grass.
Lu Luanti hesitated slightly, then continued with Chu Xisheng deeper into the Fire Bone Cave.
Only now they were entering the real area of the Fire Bone Cave where Spiritual Medicines were abundant, as well as being fraught with danger.
Deep beneath the ground, there lurked thousands of evil creatures.
Most of them were the residual spirits of the giant gods, combined with the yin poison and impure energy of the underground, and there were also mutant beasts that thrived in this unique environment.
Many strong and experienced Medicine Gatherers had perished here.
Even her, a Dual Cultivator of Magic and Martial Arts of the Seventh Rank, had to be extremely cautious.
This was also why a stalk of ‘Yangyang Grass’ could fetch the high price of one hundred taels.
Just at that moment, the White Mink suddenly lifted its face, its nose twitching for a moment, then it sped off like a white lightning bolt.
Chu Xisheng and Lu Luanti exchanged astonished glances, then quickened their pace to follow the White Mink.
The two ran, one after the other, following the White Mink for about two hundred zhang.
Lu Luanti’s eyes suddenly sharpened as she saw a dark shadow flying towards them from ahead.
It was a golden ring black snake, as thick as a man’s arm, springing out from the shadows like a coil.
It opened its mouth wide enough to fit a large bowl, revealing two stark white fangs.
Lu Luanti couldn’t help but frown slightly.
It would be easy for her to deal with the Black Snake, but she had to maintain the magic and could not afford to be distracted.
Just as Lu Luanti prepared to dispel the ‘Spiritual Mink Medicine Seeking Skill,’ a flash of blade light appeared next to her, striking precisely on those venomous fangs, and with a flick of the blade, beheaded the golden ring black snake.
Lu Luanti immediately let go of her worries; the guy behind her not only had good Sword Skills but also strong eyesight, quick reflexes, and was quite reliable.
Chu Xisheng then proceeded to collect the snake’s carcass into his pack as well.
They were lucky, for the snake had not been contaminated by the impure energy of the underground and could probably be sold for more than one tael of silver.
Its poison sac and Snake Gallbladder were medicinal ingredients.
The two followed the White Mink for another hundred zhang before stopping.
By then, they had entered a dense stone forest, with towering stalagmites on either side and a vast number of stalactites hanging above, interlocking with each other, leaving only extremely narrow cracks for passage.
The two squeezed into the depths of the stone forest, then saw the White Mink circling around a dark figure in the corner.
Chu Xisheng paused, then looked at Lu Luanti with confusion, “Isn’t your Mink supposed to be for finding herbs?”
Before him, the dark figure was actually a person.
This was a middle-aged man around forty, bear-like in stature with hair as thick as iron, a square face, large ears, a swallow’s jaw, and tiger whiskers, though his face was slightly pale, his eyes tightly closed, unconscious, his clothes splattered with blood.
“Naturally it’s for finding herbs, the Mink stopping here means he has medicine on him,” Lu Luanti replied as she picked up a bag next to the middle-aged man and opened it, revealing several porcelain bottles and many medicinal herbs.
Chu Xisheng’s pupils involuntarily contracted; he saw two stalks of Yangyang Grass in the bag.
Lu Luanti, with a contemplative look, gazed at the man on the ground, “Moreover, I recognize this man, he is the Deputy Flag Master Tie Xiaosheng from the Iron Banner Gang.”