The Immortal Herb Purveyor

On a mountain peak at the periphery of the Ethereal Mountains, within Cloudmist Marsh Province of the Celestial Evolution Empire, a youth of about fifteen or sixteen leaned against the trunk of a towering ancient tree. The youth had delicate features, slightly dark skin, and a frail, thin frame that hinted at weakness. Sitting there, he held a tattered book, reading with intense concentration, occasionally shaking his head as he recited. “Bloodmoon Fruit, elliptical fruit, shaped like a full moon, ripens to a russet-red; Frostmoon Flower, pure white throughout, grows in cold, shady environments; Goldcloud Ginseng, a golden ginseng that exudes a peculiar fragrance,…” The youth, Shi Yue, sighed deeply as he read. “A Pseudo Spiritual Root. Foundation Establishment is practically hopeless. The sect doesn’t value me. Shi Yue, you’re doomed to be a lowly herb-gathering disciple, barely scraping by with a few Spirit Stones each month. Foundation Establishment? No hope in this lifetime.” Shi Yue gave a self-mocking laugh, set down the book in his hands, and stared blankly at the distant horizon. This tattered volume recorded information on some low-level medicinal herbs. It was a relic left by his parents, which he had read countless times. If not memorized verbatim, he was nearly there. The world Shi Yue inhabited was called the Star Sand Continent. Everyone in this world aspired to become a Cultivator. Cultivators—those who seek truth through illusion, who practice the Dao and cultivate themselves, striving to attain their true self, discarding the false to preserve the genuine. The first step on this path of Cultivation is Qi Refining. Simply put, Qi Refining involves absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, guiding it into the body, and refining it. Only by converting this spiritual energy into magic power can one be considered a true Cultivator. However, not everyone can become a Cultivator. Only those possessing a Spiritual Root can sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and embark on this path. What exactly is a Spiritual Root? No one could fully explain it. It was innate. A person without a Spiritual Root need not even entertain thoughts of Cultivation, for they would be utterly incapable of sensing spiritual energy, let alone cultivating magic power! But those born with a Spiritual Root were exceedingly rare among ordinary people—truly one in ten thousand was not an exaggeration. Categorized by attribute, Spiritual Roots were divided into the five elemental properties: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The Spiritual Roots of most people were mixtures of four or even all five of these attributes. Although these individuals could sense spiritual energy, their cultivation results were dismal. They typically progressed only to the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Refining before hitting an impasse, generally never crossing the threshold into Foundation Establishment in their lifetime. Therefore, Spiritual Roots possessing four or even five attributes were known in the Cultivation world as Pseudo Spiritual Roots, distinguished from the True Spiritual Roots which had only two or three attributes and allowed for significantly faster cultivation. Shi Yue possessed a Five Element Pseudo Spiritual Root. In the Cultivation world, Five Element Spiritual Root holders were synonymous with trash. No sect would accept a Cultivator with a Five Element Spiritual Root as a disciple. Had Shi Yue’s parents not been Core Formation cultivators of the Ethereal Sect in their lifetime and rendered a significant service to the sect, Shi Yue would have long been expelled. Besides True and Pseudo Spiritual Roots, there were also Mutated Spiritual Roots. These referred to Spiritual Roots where two or three attribute Spiritual Roots fused together, undergoing mutation and sublimation. For example, the fusion of a Metal Spiritual Root and a Water Spiritual Root could mutate into a Thunder Spiritual Root; an Earth Spiritual Root and a Water Spiritual Root could produce an Ice Spiritual Root; and an Earth Spiritual Root with a Fire Spiritual Root could yield a Wind Spiritual Root. Cultivators with Mutated Spiritual Roots cultivated faster than those with True Spiritual Roots. If they could find cultivation methods aligned with their specific attributes, they often became formidable experts, typically capable of matching three or four ordinary Cultivators of equivalent strength. As for Spiritual Roots possessing only a single attribute, these were known in the Cultivation world as Celestial Spiritual Roots, signifying darlings of the heavens. Regardless of the attribute, Cultivators with such a root cultivated at a speed one to three times faster than ordinary practitioners. Moreover, upon reaching the peak of Foundation Establishment, they faced no bottleneck when advancing to Core Formation, forming their Golden Core effortlessly. If their rapid cultivation speed evoked envy in other Cultivators, the Celestial Spiritual Root holder’s barrier-free advancement to Core Formation made them seethe with jealousy to the point of spitting blood. Consider this: if only one in ten Qi Refining Cultivators might, with the aid of elixirs, advance to Foundation Establishment, then perhaps not even one in a hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators could succeed in forming their core and reach the Core Formation stage. With such a staggering disparity in the success rate of Core Formation, how could other Cultivators not burn with envy at the unique advantages bestowed upon Celestial Spiritual Root holders? Consequently, whenever a Celestial Spiritual Root holder appeared, they were invariably fought over fiercely by various Cultivation sects. After all, it guaranteed the sect a future Core Formation powerhouse, significantly boosting its strength. The Ethereal Sect, established for over ten thousand years, had never once recruited a disciple with a Celestial Spiritual Root. They did have a few disciples with Mutated Spiritual Roots, whom the sect guarded like precious treasures, investing vast resources into their meticulous cultivation and rarely allowing them to appear before others. Land, Method, Companions, Wealth—these were the Four Cardinal Elements indispensable to a Cultivator’s path in seeking truth and the Dao! Land referred to the place of cultivation. The Ethereal Sect, where Shi Yue resided, was one of the five great Cultivation sects of the Celestial Evolution Empire. Its mountain gate was naturally established upon spirit veins abundant in spiritual energy. Although Shi Yue was merely a Qi Refining disciple, his cultivation quarters were also built upon a spirit vein. While the spiritual energy wasn’t exceptionally dense, it was sufficient for seated meditation. His residence alone was something itinerant Cultivators would covet. Method referred to cultivation techniques. Being one of the five great Cultivation sects, the Ethereal Sect possessed a vast array of cultivation techniques, far surpassing those of minor Cultivation families or itinerant Cultivators. The Ethereal Art practiced by Shi Yue was one of the Ethereal Sect’s foundational techniques. Though its cultivation speed wasn’t exceptionally fast, it excelled in stability. Over half of the Ethereal Sect’s Qi Refining disciples practiced the Ethereal Art, and many had advanced to Foundation Establishment using it. This attested to the technique’s comparative merit. Companions referred to cultivation partners. When Shi Yue’s parents were alive, many beautiful senior and junior sisters vied for his attention. But after his parents perished during an expedition, people drifted away. Those sisters no longer paid him any heed; some even mocked him coldly. What was even more infuriating followed. The residence Shi Yue originally occupied belonged to his parents. After their demise, the sect immediately reclaimed the cave abode and banished him to a mountain peak with meager spiritual energy. Shi Yue, filled with grief and indignation, could do nothing but accept it. Through this ordeal, he witnessed the full spectrum of human nature and the fickleness of the world. Finally, Wealth referred to Spirit Stones and magical treasures. The currency used by Cultivators was Spirit Stones. Shi Yue’s parents had met their demise during an expedition when he was very young, taking all their valuables with them. They left nothing of significant worth for Shi Yue. Thus, when Shi Yue was evicted from his parents’ cave abode, he was essentially destitute. Without his parents’ support, Shi Yue’s life became arduous. According to Ethereal Sect regulations, disciples below Qi Refining layer ten were required to complete a certain quota of tasks each month. Failure meant not receiving a single Spirit Stone from the Mission Hall. Those who failed to complete a single task within a year would be expelled from the sect. The Ethereal Sect harbored no idlers—unless, of course, one had powerful backing. Left with no choice, Shi Yue could only go to the Mission Hall to receive assignments. However, Steward Wang in charge of task assignments was notoriously corrupt. With no Spirit Stones to bribe Steward Wang, Shi Yue was invariably assigned the most difficult and grueling tasks. Shi Yue spent over half of each month merely completing the tasks assigned by Steward Wang, leaving him scant time for cultivation. At sixteen, he was only at Qi Refining layer two, serving as the cautionary tale among his fellow disciples. With a Five Element Spiritual Root glaringly evident, the sect would never waste resources on Shi Yue. For disciples of his caliber, the sect merely provided a place of shelter. Anything more? Don’t even think about it. “It’s almost the end of the month. If I still can’t find five Purple Sandalwood Flowers with ten-year medicinal potency, I probably won’t get a single Spirit Stone again. Should I… venture deeper into the mountains?” Shi Yue murmured to himself, his face etched with indecision. Finding five ten-year Purple Sandalwood Flowers before month’s end was the task assigned to him by Steward Wang. Completing it on time yielded a reward of ten Spirit Stones. Delaying meant Steward Wang would dock him two or three stones. Weighing his options, Shi Yue ultimately decided to venture into the depths of the mountains to search for spirit herbs. Over the years, the periphery of the Ethereal Mountains had been picked clean of spirit herbs. Finding herbs with even five-year potency was rare, let alone ten-year. The Ethereal Mountains stretched northwest of the Ethereal Sect for thousands of li. Their deeper regions harbored many high-year spirit herbs, most guarded by Demon Beasts, ranging from lower first-tier to second-tier. Some ventured deep, found high-year herbs, exchanged them for vast sums of Spirit Stones to aid their cultivation. Others encountered Demon Beasts while herb gathering and met their end. Life or death depended on individual strength and sheer luck. Shi Yue was sixteen. The meager Spirit Stones he earned each month weren’t even enough to buy a bottle of Condensed Yuan Pills. He refused to spend his life as a lowly disciple, scorned by others. For the sake of his future, his prospects, he resolved to gamble. Shi Yue took a deep breath, stood up, and slapped the Storage Pouch at his waist. A green leaf, roughly ten feet long, flew out and hovered about a foot above the ground. This was the standard-issue low-grade flying Magical Instrument of the Ethereal Sect, possessing average speed. Shi Yue leaped onto it and sent a spell seal towards the green leaf beneath his feet. The green leaf immediately radiated cyan light, carrying Shi Yue as it soared into the distance. A quarter of an hour later, Shi Yue landed in a clearing. A hundred meters ahead lay a dense forest, eerily silent, not a single birdcall to be heard. Shi Yue slapped his Storage Pouch again. A crimson short sword flew out and landed in his hand. The crimson sword, named the Crimson Moon Sword, was a high-grade Magical Instrument. Gripping the Crimson Moon Sword, Shi Yue walked slowly towards the dense forest ahead. Before long, Shi Yue seemed to sense something and halted. He swallowed hard, his expression grave as he stared ahead at a massive Azure-Scaled Tiger. The giant tiger stood half a zhang tall and was two zhang long. Its entire body was covered in cyan scales. Its green, glowing eyes fixed intently on Shi Yue.