The Creation of the Heavens and All Realms

Chapter 47: Deception and Surveillance

“Divine herb?” Gu Dali exclaimed. “You mean a divine herb?” This world is rich in spiritual energy, giving rise to countless powerful cultivators, as well as innumerable ferocious beasts, demon beasts, and divine beasts. Naturally, it also abounds with spiritual herbs and spiritual woods. Plants and trees are also born of heaven and earth; though they do not understand the ways of cultivation, they can still absorb and release spiritual energy. Over thousands of years, certain special plants and trees have accumulated vast amounts of spiritual energy and developed unique properties—these are spiritual herbs and spiritual materials. Different spiritual herbs and materials serve different purposes and vary in value. Setting aside spiritual materials for now, let’s focus on spiritual herbs: those under a hundred years old are called medicinal herbs. These possess weak spiritual energy but are abundant, and even ordinary people can find them. Those between one hundred and ten thousand years old are called spiritual medicines. Their spiritual energy far exceeds that of medicinal herbs, and they possess miraculous properties that can be used to refine elixirs for Innate-level cultivators, making them exceptionally valuable. Above spiritual herbs lie divine herbs! Divine herbs are special spiritual plants that are over ten thousand years old; to a certain extent, they transcend the category of spiritual herbs. Not only do divine herbs possess unique abilities, but they also wield immense power; one could say that divine herbs are cultivators among the plant and animal realms. “Brother Zhou, this man cannot be trusted. We’d better leave!” Seeing Hu San nod, Gu Dali’s eyes flashed with intense disgust. Zhou Tianci hurriedly asked, “Old Gu, is there some kind of misunderstanding?” Gu Dali replied, “There’s no misunderstanding—I’m one hundred percent certain! His claim that the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits swindled him out of his divine herb is utter nonsense. Setting aside the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits for a moment, let’s just talk about divine herbs. Divine herbs are legendary divine treasures—I’ve lived for decades and have never even seen a single one. How dare he, a mere Post-Heaven cultivator, claim to possess a divine herb?” “Maybe he found one?” Lei Dong couldn’t help but interject. Gu Dali scoffed, “Found a divine herb? You’ve got to be kidding! Divine herbs aren’t ordinary spiritual herbs—they possess immense power! Any single divine herb is comparable in strength to a Xiantian cultivator, and those that are over hundreds of thousands of years old even surpass Xiantian cultivators! Where on earth would you find such a treasure just lying around?” At that, not only Lei Dong and the others, but even Zhou Tianci began to have his doubts. Gu Dali’s words were certainly reliable—after all, he was a Xiantian cultivator who had made a name for himself over the past several decades, and his experience far exceeded theirs. “Old Hu, you haven’t been tricked, have you?” Zhou Tianci asked, supporting Hu San as he spoke. Hu San had regained his composure by then. With a wry smile, he said, “Brother Zhou, I didn’t explain myself clearly.” “All right, don’t worry. Let’s find a place to talk this over.” Zhou Tianci led Hu San into a nearby restaurant, where it was relatively quiet. Hu San took a sip of tea, sighed, and said, “I’m in the business of spiritual medicines. Not long ago, someone approached me, claiming to have discovered a miraculous herb. Heh, I’ve lived this long and have never seen a miraculous herb, so of course I wasn’t going to believe him so easily…” Gu Dali wore a mocking expression; he seemed to already know something. “…When that person saw I didn’t believe him, he took me to a mountain village outside the city, saying he’d show me the miraculous herb. I was curious, so I figured there was no harm in taking a look. Once we arrived at the village, that person produced the miraculous herb…” Hu San’s face was filled with bitterness. “Was there really a miraculous herb?” Lei Dong asked in surprise. Hu San shook his head: “That ‘miracle herb’ was over two chi long, shaped like a human figure, with facial features faintly visible. As soon as I got close to it, I felt an intense surge of spiritual energy. I’ve been in the spiritual herb business for decades, but I’ve never seen a spiritual herb with such powerful energy. Later, when that man placed the ‘miracle herb’ on the ground, it actually came to life… Since I’m in the spiritual herb business and have heard rumors about ‘miracle herbs,’ I gradually began to believe him.” “It came to life?” Li Ping’s eyes widened. “Could it really be a divine herb?” Hu San looked utterly exasperated. “I was stunned at the time, too. I believed it was a genuine divine herb, because even a 9,000-year-old spiritual herb would never move…” Gu Dali couldn’t help but interrupt, “What exactly do you have on you that someone has set their sights on?” Hu San looked at him, paused for a moment, then sighed: “Three months ago, I acquired a Dragon Scale Flower and listed it for auction at Wanhai Pavilion…” “All right, don’t say another word. I’ll fill in the rest for you,” Gu Dali said. “They definitely had their eyes on your Dragon Scale Flower. Since they weren’t confident they could win the bid, they set up a trap using that so-called miracle cure to swindle it out of you. Am I right?” Hu San lowered his head in silent acknowledgment. Zhou Tianci asked, “Old Gu, how do you know this is a scam?” Gu Dali replied dismissively, “This scam is nothing new—I’ve seen it before in Yongan City. The so-called ‘miracle medicine’ the scammers used isn’t actually a spiritual herb, but a rare insect called the Five-Limbed Seven-Segmented Worm. It looks very similar to a spiritual herb, so it’s hard for anyone unfamiliar with it to tell the difference.” “Then what about the spiritual energy?” Li Tie asked. “If you feed the Five-Limbed Seven-Segmented Worm a Spirit-Dispersing Pill, within half a shichen, it will emit spiritual energy far surpassing that of a spiritual herb,” Gu Dali explained. Zhou Tianci asked again, “Old Hu, you just came out of the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits—could it be that the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits tricked you?” Gu Dali interjected, “It’s definitely them—because the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits is owned by the Huang family! Only the Huang family would place such high value on the Dragon Scale Flower. It’s common knowledge that the Huang family’s physical cultivation technique, *True Form of the Azure Dragon*, requires the Dragon Scale Flower to be mastered. Besides, the Huang family is absolutely capable of setting up a scam like this!” “My lord, you truly are a master strategist!” Hu San flattered Gu Dali. “I searched for ages before finally tracking down that scammer at the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits, but when I went there to confront them, they kicked me right out… Poor me—my life’s savings, and the Dragon Scale Flower I obtained through such immense hardship…” “Sir, the Huang family’s tactics are truly despicable!” Li Feng exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. “With their vast wealth and influence, they could easily have just bought them…” Gu Dali shook his head. “You don’t understand what the Dragon Scale Flower means to the Huang family. The *True Form of the Azure Dragon* is the Huang family’s most powerful cultivation technique—and one of the most potent physical cultivation methods—on par with the *Seven-Colored Spirit Jade Body* of the royal Yan family. To master the *True Form of the Azure Dragon*, the Dragon Scale Flower is absolutely essential. Once the Dragon Scale Flower is put up for public auction, other factions—such as the Northwest Legion and the royal family of the Great State of Yu—will never allow it to fall into the Huang family’s hands. Since the Huang family can’t do anything about the Wanhai Pavilion, they have no choice but to set their sights on it.” The crowd let out a collective sigh. “Ah, never mind,” Hu San said, looking dejected. “Compared to the Huang family, I’m not even an ant—what chance do I have against them? I’m afraid the Huang family doesn’t even take me seriously; otherwise, they wouldn’t just have deceived me—they would have killed me.” Zhou Tianci’s expression darkened. He and Hu San weren’t particularly close, but Hu San had helped him after all—a favor Zhou Tianci could not forget. “Old Hu, you should lie low for a while. Leave the Dragon Scale Flower to me. I can’t get the flower back, but I should be able to help you recoup some of your losses,” Zhou Tianci said in a solemn tone. After parting ways with Hu San, Zhou Tianci asked Gu Dali about the situation at the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits. “The Four Great Clans have maintained their dominance in the City of Tears and Blood thanks to their major industries. The Huang Clan monopolizes the spiritual herb trade in the City of Tears and Blood, and the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits is the city’s largest spiritual herb merchant,” said Gu Dali. “So, does the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits have a lot of spiritual herbs?” “Of course! The Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits controls more than half of the spiritual herbs in the City of Tears and Blood. Their quarterly spiritual herb auctions always feature top-grade spiritual medicines. Come to think of it, the next auction is just a few days away—the City of Tears and Blood is about to get bustling again,” Gu Dali said with a touch of envy. Zhou Tianci glanced back at the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits. Although its building wasn’t as grand as the Wanhai Pavilion, it still stood over a hundred meters tall, and the comings and goings there were bustling with activity. “Sir, what’s wrong?” Lei Dong whispered. Zhou Tianci smiled. “Nothing. Come on, let’s head back.” The five of them walked briskly and soon returned to the small courtyard, but as they were about to enter, Zhou Tianci suddenly stopped. “Someone’s watching me…” Zhou Tianci sensed several pairs of peculiar eyes on him. He walked into the house as if nothing were amiss, then quietly summoned the others. “It must be the Huang family!” Gu Dali said immediately. “It’s hard to say for sure right now, but it’s nine out of ten. The person watching us is likely at the mid-Xian Tian level and very skilled at hiding. There aren’t many factions in the City of Tears and Blood capable of such a move, and the only ones who hold a grudge against us are the Huang family. If they hadn’t underestimated my cultivation level, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it either,” Zhou Tianci said with a serious expression. “Then, Sir, what should we do now?” Li Feng asked anxiously. Zhou Tianci thought for a moment, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his eyes: “I originally thought the Huang Clan wouldn’t make a move within the City of Tears and Blood, and these past two months of calm had lulled me into a false sense of security. It seems now that the Huang Clan is even bolder than we imagined! I suspect Old Gu’s identity has likely been exposed as well—otherwise, the Huang Clan wouldn’t have sent a Mid-Stage Innate cultivator.” Gu Dali and the others fell silent, watching Zhou Tianci as they awaited his decision. “It’s no longer safe here. We’ll slip away quietly tonight. You’ll all come back to the barracks with me first. Although there are many inconveniences there, it’s relatively safe. As for the Huang family, I’ll give them a little trouble of their own!” Zhou Tianci said. As night fell, Zhou Tianci quietly left the military camp. At the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits headquarters in the southern part of the city, Huang Congdao, acting on Huang Shuyi’s orders, took inventory of the spiritual herbs in the Spirit Repository, then carefully closed the Spirit Repository door. “Jingguang, Jinming, the spiritual herb auction is about to begin. You must step up security during this time—there can be absolutely no mistakes,” Huang Congdao told Huang Jinguang and Huang Jinming, the guards stationed at the Spirit Repository. Huang Jinguang and Huang Jinming were twins. Though they were only in their early forties, they had already reached the peak of the early Xiantian Realm. They worked in perfect harmony and practiced a combined attack technique; when they joined forces, they could surpass a mid-Xiantian Realm cultivator, which is why they had been entrusted with guarding the Garden of Ten Thousand Spirits’ Spirit Repository. “Rest assured, Fifth Elder. With the two of us guarding the Spirit Repository, backed by the Linked Formation, it will be absolutely foolproof!” Huang Jinguang said proudly. “Even if a Gangqi Realm expert were to attack, they wouldn’t be able to hide from us brothers!” “It’s still best to be cautious; things haven’t been peaceful in the City of Tears and Blood lately,” Huang Congdao advised.