Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit

Chapter 95 – Fighting for Spirit Herbs

Lu Ping had fought with four Third Layer Blood Condensation cultivators, all while using high-grade mystic instruments. His arcane energy had long been depleted after killing them.

Even with the help of high-quality Spirit Regenerating Pellets, Lu Ping still used half a day to finish replenishing his lost arcane energy.

Fei Ling Island was only open for eighteen days, and Lu Ping had spent nearly three days on Cang Mountain alone. Hence, he didn’t stay any longer and quickly headed for Xiang Lu Mountain.

A day later, Lu Ping, who had carefully avoided the many dangers on the path, finally saw Xiang Lu Mountain ahead of him.

But a quarter’s way up the mountain, the rumbling noise of a collision between array formations and mystic instruments could be heard. Lu Ping was anxious, it seemed like the battles had already begun. There were always lucky people everywhere.

Lu Ping looked over from a distance, and soon noticed six cultivators sieging an array formation set up by four other cultivators. The six cultivators were from Xuan Ling Sect, Cang Lang Sect, Fei Yu Sect, and Ling Gu Sect.

Lu Ping was startled, he hurriedly took a few steps forward, and only then did he see that two of the cultivators in the array formation were from Zhen Ling Sect, and the other two were from Cang Hai Sect and Chong Ming Sect respectively.

The four of them cooperated well with each other. Although they were in a disadvantageous position under the siege of six cultivators, they were not in much danger for the moment.

At this time, both parties had already noticed Lu Ping’s arrival.

The cultivators in the array formation were elated. The leading Zhen Ling cultivator—whom Lu Ping knew as Wei Zi-Heng—suddenly said to the leading Xuan Ling cultivator, “Zhang Wei-Qing, six against four and you still couldn’t defeat us, and now someone has come to our aid. If you insist on continuing, are you not worried that the newly discovered alchemy room will be snatched away?”

Zhang Wei-Qing was the leader of the six cultivators, and he was clearly moved by Wei Zi-Heng’s words. He looked back at Lu Ping for a moment and saw the other party raising a pair of Yan Ling Swords while heading their way.

Zhang Wei-Qing pondered for a moment and then grunted angrily, “Brat Wei, I’ll let you live this time!”

With that declaration, he turned and said to his team, “Retreat!”

The other five men were about to resist the order when Zhang Wei-Qing said sternly, “The alchemy room is more important!”

Immediately, the five men retracted their thoughts and the team quickly rushed towards the top of Xiang Lu Mountain.

Wei Zi-Heng and the rest watched as the Xuan Ling team left the battlefield, all four of them heaving a breath of relief.

Then, Wei Zi-Heng said, “Junior Brother Lu, you came just in time. Let me introduce you to our two friends from Cang Hai Sect and Chong Ming Sect.”

The Cang Hai cultivator was called Qian Xue-Qin; the Chong Ming cultivator was called Tian Zong-Liang. As for the other Zhen Ling cultivator, whom Lu Ping had met on his way to Fei Ling Island, he was called He Zi-Feng.

Every cultivator sent to explore Fei Ling Island had a sense charm given by the sect. These sense charms could detect the presence of their own comrades when they were nearby, which helped cultivators from the same sect or same faction to quickly gather together.

This way, it would be easier and safer for cultivators to explore Fei Ling Island, especially the three most important mountains—Ling Yao Mountain, Xiang Lu Mountain, and Fei Ling Mountain—where fights were almost inevitable. Hence, gathering together with their fellow cultivators would give the most harvest in the safest manner.

Lu Ping also had a sense charm, but he was unfortunate enough to be teleported to Cang Mountain where none of his fellow cultivators were around. So, he was forced to move on his own, which led to the ambush that almost killed him while exploring the Pavilion of Smithery.

It was also because of the sense charm that Lu Ping was able to head straight towards Wei Zi-Heng and the others as soon as he entered Xiang Lu Mountain.

Through Wei Zi-Heng’s explanation, Lu Ping learned that the situation on Ling Yao Mountain was incredibly tense. Half of the 200 cultivators were gathered on Ling Yao Mountain and more were approaching. If the cultivators weren’t all busy harvesting spirit herbs, a large-scale battle would’ve already broken out.

Even so, there were still many small disputes and conflicts for high-quality spirit herbs, leading to battles between the cultivators. Before Wei Zi-Heng and his team left the mountain, there were already eight deaths and more than a dozen injured.

Originally, Xiang Lu Mountain wouldn’t have attracted so much attention as it only had a few spirit herb gardens on the mountain summit. But an unintentional discovery had changed the story.

A team of cultivators had found an alchemy room behind Xiang Lu Mountain. The alchemy room’s protective array formation was intact and still operational, which indicated that no one had entered it before. The cultivators were overjoyed and hoped to break the array formation to harvest the valuables in the room.

But they never expected the protective array formation to be so tough, not even showing any signs of breaking after being bombarded with attacks for half a day. Even worse was that their actions had attracted the attention of more cultivators.

The team had also determined that the alchemy room should be a Core Forging Enlightened Master’s cave-dwelling. When word got out to those on Ling Yao Mountain, many of them rushed to help their sect cultivators on Xiang Lu Mountain. Wei Zi-Heng and his team were one of those helpers.

They were also in luck, for they had discovered a hidden spirit herb garden halfway to the mountain waist. But their movements were noticed by the Xuan Ling Sect’s six-men team, who tried to snatch the hidden spirit herb garden from them.

Fortunately, Wei Zi-Heng was quick to notice the incoming danger and commanded the team well. The four cooperated with each other and held their ground under the siege until Lu Ping arrived.

Every time Fei Ling Island was opened, some hidden places would always end up discovered. This was mostly because of the declining power of their protective array formations, as they haven’t been maintained by their hosts for 4,000 years.

The hidden spirit herb garden was surprisingly small, but its protective array formation was incredibly powerful, which was also why Wei Zi-Heng and his team didn’t want to give it up. After all, if the spirit herb garden warranted such a powerful array formation, one could easily imagine how valuable the spirit herbs planted within.

Sadly, no one from the team of four, as well as Lu Ping, was proficient in the art of array formations. In fact, this particular art was the most difficult among the professions, leading to a lack of qualified cultivators.

Without any other options left, the five cultivators had to take the most primitive method, which was to break the array formation with brute force. They cast out their mystic instruments and attacked the array formation, and a series of explosive noises filled the area.

Lu Ping was still using the Yan Ling Swords to cast the [Stormy Waves Crashing Shore Sword Art]. The swords slashed on the array formation in a constant rhythm, like endless waves of water.

The two cultivators from Cang Hai Sect and Chong Ming Sect were initially dubious about Lu Ping’s prowess as he was in the Second Layer Blood Condensation Realm.

However, those doubts were quickly cleared when they saw that his attacks on the array formation weren’t any weaker than their own.

At the same time, Lu Ping was also observing the four of them, and noticed that they were all cultivators with consolidated foundations who had also attained the state of Technique.

This came as no surprise. After all, those selected by their sects to enter Fei Ling Island naturally wouldn’t be ordinary cultivators. Otherwise, Lu Ping wouldn’t have spent so much effort to kill the four cultivators from Hai Yan Sect and Shui Yan Pavilion who ambushed him.

The spirit herb garden’s protective array formation was indeed powerful, but it eventually shattered apart under their attacks. A fragrance unique to ripened spirit herbs leaked out from the garden, and the five of them exclaimed in shock when they saw nearly forty 500-year spirit herbs in the two-feet-wide garden.

Lu Ping glanced over and quickly recognized most of the spirit herbs were used to concoct Blood Condensation Realm medicinal pellets. Their value was far above an ordinary 500-year spirit herb.

But they weren’t the most valuable things in the garden. Right in the center were 14 matured thousand-year spirit herbs. These were used to concoct Core Forging Realm medicinal pellets, and each stalk was equal in value to several dozen 500-year spirit herbs.

Wei Zi-Heng looked bitterly at Lu Ping, who smiled gently and said, “I arrived last and didn’t participate in your battle with the Xuan Ling cultivators. I’ll just have two of the thousand-year spirit herbs.”

When the Cang Hai and Chong Ming cultivators heard him, their expressions also softened. Wei Zi-Heng smiled gratefully at Lu Ping. “In that case, Junior Brother may choose first. The remaining 500-year spirit herbs will be divided equally among everyone.”

The 14 thousand-year spirit herbs were divided into two kinds, so Lu Ping harvested one of each. The rest of them claimed 3 thousand-year spirit herbs each. Additionally, Lu Ping received eight more 500-year spirit herbs.

After that, the five of them hurriedly rushed to the back of the mountain. Right now, they were already four hours behind Xuan Ling Sect’s Zhang Wei-Qing and his team.

Xiang Lu Mountain was currently a scene of chaos. All kinds of spells and mystic instruments were bombarding the protective shield outside of the alchemy room. But the light blue array formation was unscathed, firmly protecting the room from the cultivators.

Zhang Wei-Qing and his team stood in one of the groups in front of the array formation. The group had a total of sixteen cultivators from four sects, which were Xuan Ling Sect, Cang Lang Sect, Fei Yu Sect, and Ling Gu Sect. They occupied the most advantageous position to enter the alchemy room.

Many small teams and groups of two or more also stood around the protective array formation. The crowd added up to more than sixty people.

One of the bigger groups had ten cultivators from Hai Yan Sect and Shui Yan Pavilion, and another group had fourteen cultivators from Zhen Ling Sect, Cang Hai Sect, Yu Jian Sect, and Chong Ming Sect.

At present, these fourteen cultivators were anxiously looking towards the top of the mountain. The leading Zhen Ling cultivator murmured to himself, “Why is Senior Martial Brother Wei not here yet? If he comes too late, Xuan Ling Sect is bound to secure the alchemy room.”

When Wei Zi-Heng, Lu Ping, and the team arrived, the protective array formation had dimmed to half of its original brightness. The group’s leading Zhen Ling cultivator, Su Zi-Peng, was elated when he saw their team, and he quickly stepped forward to welcome them.

Wei Zi-Heng asked Su Zi-Peng about the current situation, who then replied, “It’s not looking too good. Xuan Ling Sect has occupied the best position, we don’t know which side Hai Yan Sect and Shui Yan Pavilion are on, and the other sects and clans also have their own plans. We’re already one step behind.”

Wei Zi-Heng pondered for a moment and he said, “Junior Brother Su, since you’re proficient with array formations, you pay close attention to the array’s condition. There will be a large-scale chaotic battle when it breaks. At that time, we have to stay in formation—don’t be lured by the valuables and rush out of line. Only by going in together as a unit can we make the most out of this.”

The cultivators nodded in agreement. They cast out their mystic instruments and joined the others in attacking the array formation. At the same time, they also conserved their energy and monitored the other cultivators around them.

Lu Ping looked at the cave-dwelling housing the alchemy room. The cave-dwelling was set up on a protruding platform on a short cliff wall, which was entirely shielded by the protective array formation.

On top of the cave-dwelling was a stone piece with the words “Zhang-Ping’s Alchemy Room” written on it, which aroused the greed of the cultivators.

Lu Ping thought for a moment and walked to an unnoticeable place. Stealthily waving his sleeves downward, he stood in the same place for a while before returning to the group formation and continuing his attack on the protective array formation with the rest.

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