Chapter 395 - 164: Turmoil in the Mountains, Li Xinggang! The Toad Peeks Out
"Unfortunately, I’m not very familiar with the terrain around here, and I’ve never gathered medicinal herbs before. Since you’re all heading into the mountains to do just that, I was wondering if you could take me along?"
"This..."
The Medicine Gatherers exchanged glances, all of them hesitant.
Being a Medicine Gatherer was no easy task.
They had to scale steep cliffs, and the other end of a rope could only be entrusted to someone they trusted completely.
Their group was made up of brothers from the same clan. They were incredibly close, which was why they traveled together. Why would they be willing to let an outsider join?
"I’ll buy every single herb you gather on this trip."
Chen Shaoyou wasn’t surprised by their reaction in the slightest. He casually pulled out a gold ingot and tossed it in his hand.
"This is five taels of gold. Once the job is done, there will be twenty more. What do you say?"
’Five taels of gold?’
’And twenty more?’
Their hearts pounded at the offer. The eyes of several Medicine Gatherers lit up, and they were on the verge of accepting immediately.
A dozen of them might not earn this much gold even after ten trips into the mountains. How could they not be tempted?
"Young Master..."
The elderly Medicine Gatherer leading them was also deeply tempted, but he gritted his teeth and refused.
"Please, find someone else..."
"Cousin!"
One of the men, his face flushed, couldn’t help but speak up.
The old man simply shook his head, even cupping his fists to bid farewell.
"You come to the mountains to gather herbs for the money."
"There’s money on the table. Why not take it?"
With a casual squeeze, Chen Shaoyou flattened the gold ingot into a bar. Then, with a flick of his finger, he sent it floating toward them.
"With my abilities, if I meant you harm, why would I need to trick you into following me into the mountains?"
CLINK!
The gold bar landed right in the old man’s hand.
They all saw it clearly—a deep Finger Seal was imprinted on the gold bar!
At once, the color drained from their faces.
This person was either a master of the Martial Arts or one of the legendary Cultivators.
"Y-Young... Young Hero is right!"
The old man’s expression changed as well. Looking as if he’d just swallowed a bitter melon, he could only nod quickly in agreement.
Although the Celestial Patrol Bureau monitored the entire land and the new laws were much stricter than before—murder demanded a life for a life, even for a Cultivator—what good would it be if this man paid with his life after they were all dead?
Despite this, the old man handed the gold bar to a young Medicine Gatherer behind him and told him to take it back to their village.
He had two reasons for doing this.
First, to send the money home.
Second, if they were all to die in the mountains, this man would have no way to escape justice.
"There’s no need for such long faces. My joining you in the mountains might just be a blessing in disguise..."
Chen Shaoyou tossed aside his reins and gave the group a meaningful glance.
His aura-reading technique, though not particularly profound, was more than enough to see the fates of common people.
’Without outside intervention, these people are certain to die in the mountains on this trip.’
’My joining them, if nothing else, will at least give them a sliver of Vitality.’
"After you, Young Hero..."
The old man could only force a bitter smile.
The group then set off into the mountains at a steady pace. As they talked along the way, Chen Shaoyou learned a fair bit about them.
The old man’s name was Li Yunfeng. He held the highest seniority and prestige among the group, and the others were all his juniors.
The one who truly caught his attention, however, was a seemingly simple and honest middle-aged man named Li Xinggang—the old man’s son.
’What a strange man...’
Li Xinggang muttered to himself, feeling a strange sense of unease.
For some inexplicable reason, he felt a flicker of revulsion toward the young man.
Chen Shaoyou didn’t know, and even if he had, it’s unlikely he would have cared.
After entering the mountains, the group pressed on without rest, following a winding path as they traversed the rugged landscape.
Although the Medicine Gatherers possessed no special skills, they moved through the mountain forest at a brisk pace.
By the time the sun began to set in the west, they had already crossed several ridges.
"Halt!"
Suddenly, Chen Shaoyou called out in a low voice.
The group stopped at once.
AWOOOO!
Chen Shaoyou strained his ears, hearing a cacophony of wolf howls and beastly roars rising and falling in waves.
An unmistakable terror was laced within their cries.
As if they had encountered a natural predator.
The faces of the Medicine Gatherers instantly paled, and a sudden sense of foreboding gripped Chen Shaoyou.
’Something major must have happened in the mountains to spook all these animals!’
The Medicine Gatherers were all horrified.
Before Chen Shaoyou could say another word, a deafening thunderclap suddenly echoed from deep within the mountains!
Then, in the distance between the mountains, a massive, indescribable mushroom cloud visibly erupted into the sky.
With it came countless trees and vines, along with tens, or perhaps hundreds of millions of tons of earth and stone!
Everything was sent flying and scattering in every direction, like an avalanche!
RUMBLE!
Air currents surged, and thunder cracked!
The earth shook and the mountains swayed, as if the sky itself were falling!
"Take cover!"
"Spread out!"
"Run!"
Countless tons of rock and soil rained down, a deluge blanketing the world. The scene was beyond spectacular—it was terrifying.
The Medicine Gatherers were pale with terror.
They scrambled for cover, rolling into crevasses, diving into ravines, or plunging headfirst into the hollows of trees in a desperate, pathetic scramble.
BOOM!
With a flash in his eyes, Chen Shaoyou stepped forward and raised a hand, shattering the massive boulders and tree trunks flying toward the Medicine Gatherers.
His progress over the past month had not been slow. After all, he had once been an expert of the Nine Tribulations Realm.
Although he had yet to break through to the Extraordinary Realm, his Cultivation had already reached the Extraordinary Realm Ninth Layer.