Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Thousand-Year Spirit Grass

Looking at the materials covering the ground, a smile spread across Daoist Ji’s face.

The Demon Snake’s hide was tough yet supple and contained Spiritual Qi, making it suitable for crafting High-tier Talisman Paper and defensive Magic Robes.

The palm-sized pieces of Scale Armor were even better, excellent materials for refining shields and armor.

These materials alone were worth several hundred Spirit Stones—a sum equal to what three generations of his family had saved over more than a decade of hard work.

Even rarer was the Demon Snake Gallbladder, which sealed an extremely rich essence of Spiritual Qi within it.

If he could find a few rare supplementary ingredients and refine it into a batch of Pills to advance one’s Cultivation, it could even help a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator stabilize their realm and increase their Magical Power.

For a Cultivator stuck in the Late-stage Qi Refining realm, it was an unparalleled Spirit Pill that could break through bottlenecks and aid in a breakthrough.

Li Ping gently rubbed the glossy Snake Gallbladder with his fingertips. After a moment of contemplation, he looked up with a gentle smile. "Brother Ji, what a coincidence—I have an Alchemist friend who lives nearby. I’ll hold onto this Snake Gallbladder for you. Once I have him refine it into Pills, I’ll bring them over."

"Really?" Daoist Ji was already satisfied with their bountiful harvest. His eyes lit up instantly upon hearing this, and he couldn’t suppress the wide smile on his face. He quickly clasped his hands in thanks. "Thank you so much, Brother Li! With your word, my heart is at ease!"

Li Ping just smiled and waved his hand, saying no more. His gaze shifted to the remains of the Demon Snake on the ground that had yet to be cleared away.

After collecting all the materials from the Demon Snake,

Li Ping had planned to simply conjure a Fireball and incinerate the remaining poisonous flesh and bones to prevent any future trouble.

The thought had barely formed when Li Ping’s eyes flickered, as if he had remembered something.

He formed a seal for a Sword Technique, and his Flying Sword shot out. A cold light flashed, and in an instant, it carved another gash into the Flower-Scaled Python’s hideous head.

He rummaged around inside for a bit before pulling out a pair of palm-sized, bulging venom sacs. The emerald-green venom sloshed within, clearly indicating a large amount remained.

Only after placing the venom sacs into his Storage Bag along with the sharp fangs he had removed earlier did Li Ping show a satisfied smile.

’Once the fangs are refined into Flying Needles, this venom will be perfect for coating them, enhancing their poisonous effect.’

"BOOM!"

A Fireball shot from Li Ping’s hand and landed on the snake’s carcass. Flames instantly swept over it, consuming all the poisonous flesh and shattered bones until only wisps of smoke remained.

As he did all this, he could clearly feel Daoist Ji let out a soft sigh of relief.

Ever since he learned that a Tier Two Demon Snake was hiding beneath Little Plum Mountain, Daoist Ji had clearly been losing sleep, his heart constantly hanging in suspense.

Now that Li Ping had not only slain the Demon Snake but also completely eliminated the hidden danger, the heavy stone weighing on his heart had finally been lifted.

...

After dealing with the last traces of the Demon Snake, Li Ping and Daoist Ji walked side by side, continuing deeper down the dark tunnel.

A damp wind carrying the scent of earth and faint Spiritual Qi washed over them. The tunnel walls on either side gleamed coldly, with only the flickering halo of the flame in Li Ping’s hand cutting through the darkness.

Soon, the two arrived at the place where the Demon Snake had made its lair.

"What’s this?"

With just a glance in the firelight, Li Ping’s gaze was drawn to a foot-tall Jade Spirit Medicine in the corner.

On the branches of this Jade Spirit Medicine grew a thumb-sized, gleaming golden fruit. It looked as if it were cast from pure gold, emitting an alluring luster.

Li Ping stared at the Jade Spirit Medicine, his mind recalling the contents of the White Pill Collection Scripture. Still uncertain, he took out the Tier Three Pill Master’s legacy that the Demon Cultivator had given him from his Storage Bag. After a careful search within it, his eyes lit up as he finally confirmed the origin of this Jade Spirit Medicine.

The moment he recognized it, Li Ping’s eyes flashed with delight.

According to the records in the legacy, this Jade Spirit Medicine was actually called Jade Frost Grass. Of course, it also had a more common, better-known name: ’Demon-Attracting Grass’!

The gleaming golden fruit on its branches was called the ’Bloodline Fruit.’ Its medicinal properties were extremely special, offering immeasurable benefits for refining a Demon Beast’s bloodline, increasing its purity, and even helping it break through to the next realm.

Reading the description of the Bloodline Fruit, understanding dawned on Li Ping. ’No wonder that Tier Two Demon Snake was camped out here, refusing to leave. It was guarding this Jade Frost Grass, waiting for the Bloodline Fruit to fully ripen so it could devour this Celestial and Earthly Treasure!’

However, while the Bloodline Fruit was a tremendous opportunity for a Demon Beast, it had no real use for Li Ping. He was a human Cultivator, after all, and his path, whether Qi Refining or Body Refining, was completely different from that of a Demon Beast.

What truly made Li Ping unable to hide his delight was the Tier Three Pill Master’s description of the Jade Frost Grass.

Jade Frost Grass had a very peculiar growth characteristic: once it reached a foot in height, it would stop growing completely. No matter how many years passed, it would always remain about a foot tall.

In other words, a ten-year-old Jade Frost Grass was a foot tall, as was a hundred-year-old one. Even a thousand-year-old specimen looked nearly identical.

The only way to determine the specific age of a Jade Frost Grass was to observe the Bloodline Fruit growing on its branches.

The legacy stated it clearly: a ten-year-old Jade Frost Grass would produce a white fruit with a pearly luster; a hundred-year-old one would produce a pale blue fruit. Only a Jade Frost Grass over a thousand years old could nurture a Bloodline Fruit as brilliant and golden as molten gold.

In other words, the Jade Frost Grass in front of Li Ping was a genuine thousand-year-old Spirit Grass!

’With this Jade Frost Grass, I now have two thousand-year-old Spirit Medicines!’ Li Ping’s eyes showed his satisfaction. ’I just need to find one more thousand-year-old Spirit Medicine and a Tier Three Spiritual Fire, and I’ll be able to inherit the Tier Three Pill Master’s legacy from the Demon Cultivator.’

Observing it carefully, Li Ping noticed that although the fruit on the Jade Frost Grass had a golden luster, it still had a hint of green, a clear sign it was far from truly ripe. It would take at least a few more decades.

And according to the records in the Jade Scroll, an unripe Bloodline Fruit would likely only have a little more than half the potency of a mature one.

Li Ping didn’t have decades to waste here waiting for the Bloodline Fruit to ripen.

What he wanted was the thousand-year-old Jade Frost Grass, so he had to accept the loss in the Bloodline Fruit’s potency.

Without much hesitation, he plucked the unripe golden Bloodline Fruit and carefully stored it away.

He then dug up the Jade Frost Grass by its roots, placed it in a Jade Box for preservation, and affixed a Spirit Talisman to the outside of the box to prevent the Jade Frost Grass’s Spiritual Power from dissipating.

...

After doing all this, a smile appeared on Li Ping’s lips.

Discovering a thousand-year-old Spirit Medicine underground was an unexpected and pleasant surprise, far exceeding the gains from slaying the Tier Two Demon Snake.

He turned and called out to Daoist Ji, "Brother Ji, let’s keep moving forward."

Along the way, Li Ping briefly explained the origin and value of the Jade Frost Grass. He ended by honestly telling him that he had a great need for this thousand-year-old Spirit Medicine and thus couldn’t share it with Daoist Ji.

Given their relationship and his understanding of Daoist Ji, he felt there was no need to hide this from him.

Upon hearing this, Daoist Ji immediately smiled and waved his hands, his tone magnanimous. "Brother Li, what are you saying! You’ve already let me have so many materials from the Demon Snake for free. I couldn’t be more grateful."

He subconsciously patted the bulging Storage Bag at his waist, which was filled with Demon Snake Hide and Scale Armor.

These alone were enough to raise the Ji family’s strength to a new level. The haul already felt almost too generous to handle; how could he possibly covet a thousand-year-old Spirit Medicine on top of that?

Besides, he was self-aware enough to know that if it weren’t for Li Ping, the Ji family, with their meager abilities, wouldn’t have even been qualified to get near the Tier Two Demon Snake, let alone harvest the Jade Frost Grass.

What he had gained was already an unexpected windfall. How could he not be content?

Furthermore, Li Ping had helped the Ji family a great deal over the years. Given their friendship, even bringing this up felt overly formal.

The two continued along the tunnel for another mile or so before Li Ping suddenly stopped. He sniffed the air and asked with a hint of confusion, "Brother Ji, do you feel that? The air around here is much more humid than before."

At Li Ping’s reminder, Daoist Ji quickly halted, closing his eyes to carefully perceive his surroundings.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and nodded in confirmation. "Brother Li, I feel it too. In my opinion, there might be an underground river flowing nearby. That would explain why the air is so damp."

After a moment of thought, Li Ping decided to press on.

He felt it would be a shame to turn back now after coming this far, especially since they hadn’t encountered any danger.

Besides, he could sense that the concentration of Spiritual Qi where they stood had already reached the level of a Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Vein. It was several times richer than at the tunnel’s entrance, which only made him more curious about what lay at the end.

As the two advanced, the humidity in the air grew even more extreme, to the point where dense beads of water condensed on the tunnel walls.

What surprised them even more was that as they went deeper, the temperature plummeted.

With each breath, they could clearly see clouds of white vapor escaping their mouths and noses.

If a mortal were here, their teeth would likely be chattering as they shivered and stamped their feet against the cold.

However, as Cultivators, Li Ping and Daoist Ji had the protection of their Magical Power and were naturally unafraid of such low temperatures.

The two pressed on. At some point, a thick layer of white frost had formed on the tunnel walls around them.

Li Ping estimated that they had walked nearly twenty li from the entrance of the tunnel to this point.

By now, they had probably left the area of Little Plum Mountain far behind.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to walk much further. After about the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, pinpricks of light suddenly appeared before Li Ping. The dark tunnel was finally coming to an end.

"Brother Ji, be careful!"

Li Ping slapped his Storage Bag, and the Red Armor Shield materialized, hovering in front of him to block any potential dangers. He cautiously made his way out of the tunnel, with Daoist Ji following closely behind.

The moment the two stepped out of the tunnel, a wave of biting cold washed over them!

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