***
"Dammit! But how do I pick that?"
That pitch-black cliff was so deep that he couldn't even tell where it ended, so he didn't dare to even think about throwing his body down there.
"Aish, since no one is around, let's just use the flying sword! It's my first time sending it that far, but let's give it a try!"
After checking his surroundings and seeing no one, Lee An-jeong quickly pulled out a piece of ink-colored longsword from his storage pouch.
It was that very long sword that Lee An-jeong had painted all over with soot.
"Haat! Fly!"
The moment Lee An-jeong flicked his fingertips, which were imbued with spiritual qi, the longsword soared into the sky and flew toward the cliff.
Whoosh—
With the sound of a majestic wind, the flying sword flew in an instant and dropped down below the cliff.
Then, it flew fiercely toward the roots of the spirit herb blooming atop the rock.
However, after stopping the flying sword right in front of it, Lee An-jeong fell into a dilemma.
"Aish, if I don't dig it out even by the roots, the picking will be all for naught? What should I do?"
Swish—
He could feel the spiritual qi inside his body gradually decreasing.
Because he had sent the flying sword too far, it seemed his connection with the flying sword would soon be severed as well.
At this rate, it seemed he wouldn't be able to hold out for even a few seconds.
Thick beads of sweat dropped down from his forehead without rest.
He couldn't drag out the time any longer.
Lee An-jeong eventually decided to trust the power of this sharp longsword.
"Eh, whatever! Since it easily cuts through the walls of the training cave, wouldn't it be possible for a rock as well? Let's just try it lightly for now!"
Swoosh—
He pushed the flying sword lightly into the rock beneath the spirit herb.
Slice—
Then, the rock was cut as easily as a radish, and the sword glided forward inside.
"Oh! Awesome! It really works! Then, continuing on! Haat!"
Cheering, Lee An-jeong immediately pushed the flying sword further in and made it soar upward.
Thwack— Thump—
As the bottom part of the rock was cut by the sharp flying sword, it was placed on top of the longsword along with the rock itself.
"I did it! Now I just have to bring it here! Ugh—it's damn heavy!"
Although it was a small chunk, the flying sword felt heavier now that the rock was on top of it, and his spiritual qi drained away rapidly.
Lee An-jeong concentrated his mind and slowly, carefully lifted the flying sword into the sky so that the spirit herb would not fall off.
Vrrr—
His head throbbed and the spiritual qi inside his body fluctuated.
However, Lee An-jeong continued to focus on the flying sword technique and lifted the flying sword very slowly.
Then, the soaring flying sword finally made it all the way up the cliff and stood upon the ground.
At that moment, the spiritual qi inside Lee An-jeong’s body almost completely dried up, and the connection with the flying sword was severed.
Thump— Clang—
The spirit herb atop the rock fragment and the flying sword rolled on the floor.
"Uh!"
Even in his exhausted state, Lee An-jeong quickly ran over, fearing the spirit herb might be damaged, and carefully dug the spirit herb out from the rock with his dagger.
Fortunately, the spirit herb was safe.
"Haha—I did it! It’s a success!"
From the spirit herb held in his hand, a powerful spiritual nature was felt.
It felt as if he were dealing with a living person rather than a spirit herb.
"Hehe—I hit the jackpot! I really hit the jackpot~"
His body was exhausted, but he was satisfied and quickly tucked it into his storage pouch.
Then, after picking up the rock fragment and throwing it down the cliff, he hummed as if nothing had happened and returned to the path he had come from once more.
<><><>
Had about an hour passed since Lee An-jeong disappeared into the mountains?
Riding on a cloud, an old Taoist descended from a high peak of Mount So-cheong.
"Hmm—I wonder if the medicinal effect has taken hold by now?"
However, at that moment, the old Taoist's eyes bulged wide as they were dyed with horror.
"N-no? My Yellow Dragon Herb! Where did my Yellow Dragon Herb go?"
The old Taoist rode the cloud and searched all directions of the cliff in an instant.
But no matter how he looked, the Yellow Dragon Herb he was looking for was not to be seen.
The old Taoist, with an expression of disbelief, rode the cloud and searched the cliff for a long time before finally stopping at a certain point.
The old Taoist’s gaze, mixed with fury, looked upon a rock on the cliff that was cut as neatly as if it had been sliced by a knife.
"This is definitely the place! I can faintly feel the energy of the Yellow Dragon Herb here!"
At the same time, the old Taoist looked around and emitted a murderous aura.
"Who is it? Who is the fellow who dared to steal my Yellow Dragon Herb!? If I only catch this fellow, I won't let them be!"
After letting out a burst of angry shouting, the old Taoist vanished into the mountains where Lee An-jeong had disappeared while riding the cloud.
<><><>
"Let's see. Are you all the ones who brought back 3 Spirit-Gathering Herbs?"
Gong-son-yeon, who was sitting on a rock and looking through the baskets, spoke like that and looked at the miscellaneous labor disciples before her eyes.
There were fewer than ten out of about a hundred people.
Most of them were children at the 2nd star of the Qi Condensation stage, but exactly one person was not.
That one person was, of course, Lee An-jeong.
Lee An-jeong, looking almost soaked in fatigue, was staggering and looking at her, hoping she would finish quickly.
'Oho! That fellow! Is a fellow with the lowest-grade mixed spirit root not only skilled in special body-strengthening techniques but also good at finding spirit herbs? He's a truly interesting fellow. I thought it would be boring, but thanks to this fellow, there will be quite a bit of fun watching!'
Gong-son-yeon thought that to herself and waved her hand dismissively.
"Stop! You guys can go! The rest of you gather here again tomorrow. Got it?"
"Ah, yes..."
At Gong-son-yeon’s words, the children who could not bring back 3 Spirit-Gathering Herbs replied with somber expressions.
After all the miscellaneous labor disciples had returned, Gong-son-yeon intended to pull the Spirit-Gathering Herbs gathered in the baskets with a contact-sealing talisman and move them to the main mountain.
However, suddenly, along with a streak of wind, an old Taoist riding a cloud appeared before her eyes.
Gong-son-yeon saw the indigo training robe worn by that old Taoist and realized he was one of the few Golden Core stage Elders in the Bu-yeon Sect.
She hurriedly bowed her waist to the old Taoist to show respect.
"Fourth-generation disciple, Gong-son-yeon! I greet the Elder!"
Then, the old Taoist replied coldly.
"Hmph! Forget the greeting! Just tell me where my spirit herb is!"
"Pardon? A spirit herb? Here, there are only the Spirit-Gathering Herbs that the miscellaneous labor disciples dug up."
Gong-son-yeon spoke like that and set down her basket, showing all the Spirit-Gathering Herbs she had pulled out.
The old Taoist examined the Spirit-Gathering Herbs Gong-son-yeon had taken out one by one, then frowned and asked.
"What? Miscellaneous labor disciples? Then are you saying it was the miscellaneous labor disciples who came to pick spirit herbs just a moment ago?"
"Yes, that is correct. I had the miscellaneous labor disciples dig up Spirit-Gathering Herbs. But has something happened?"
Then, the old Taoist had a serious expression and thought of something on his own before suddenly vanishing while riding the cloud.
Gong-son-yeon remained bowed for a while, fearing she might offend the old Taoist’s mood, and then subtly raised her head a moment later.
It seemed the old Taoist had already disappeared far away.
Only then did Gong-son-yeon breathe a sigh of relief.
"Phew... I guess he’s gone now. He must be one of the four Golden Core stage Elders of this sect, including the Sect Leader, right? As expected, he’s terrifying!"
Then, the Yellow Dragon Herb the old Taoist was looking for earlier suddenly occurred to Gong-son-yeon.
"But a spirit herb? If it's a spirit herb that such a person is looking for, it must be something very precious, so why did he come here to look for such a spirit herb? Surely someone among the miscellaneous labor disciples didn't pick that spirit herb, right?"
Muttering like that, Gong-son-yeon realized how ridiculous her words were and laughed while holding her stomach.
"Puh-hah—I must be crazy! To think that mere miscellaneous labor disciples picked a precious spirit herb that a Golden Core cultivator is looking for... The Elder must have left immediately because of that same thought!!"
As she laughed like that, the image of Lee An-jeong suddenly flashed through Gong-son-yeon’s mind.
For some reason, she felt that if there were anyone among the miscellaneous labor disciples who had picked that spirit herb, it would certainly be Lee An-jeong.
However, Gong-son-yeon soon chuckled and shook her head.
"Ha! There’s no way! No matter how extraordinary his talent is, he is just a miscellaneous labor disciple with the lowest-grade mixed spirit root... Aish! I must not be fully awake yet. I should quickly deliver the Spirit-Gathering Herbs to the main mountain and go back to sleep!"
After filling the basket with Spirit-Gathering Herbs using the contact-sealing talisman once more, she attached a Hundred-Step Talisman to her legs and disappeared rapidly toward the main mountain.
The old Taoist, who had left Gong-son-yeon, had appeared once again on top of that cliff from earlier.
The old Taoist, who was floating atop a cloud, shouted toward the sky in a voice filled with sky-piercing rage.
"Just who is it! To think someone stole my Yellow Dragon Herb, which I have been secretly growing for over a hundred years to rise to the Nascent Soul stage!"
Because he had discovered that Yellow Dragon Herb over a hundred years ago and had kept it a secret even from his sect in order to have it all to himself, he could not even complain to anyone.
Images of several individuals within the Bu-yeon Sect who might be capable of stealing it flashed through the old Taoist’s mind.
"Hmph! To sense the energy of the Yellow Dragon Herb on the rock from this cliff covered in clouds and mist and pick it, one must be a fellow who has reached at least the late Foundation Establishment stage. There are fewer than ten such people in this sect! Just wait until I catch whoever it is! I will pull out their soul and make them live in pain for eternity! Aaaargh—"
At the old Taoist’s howl, dark clouds gathered in the sky of Mount So-cheong, and thunder and lightning struck along with rain.
As if the heavens were enraged, the rain, thunder, and lightning continued for a full three days afterward.
Rumble— Boom—
When the thunder and lightning suddenly surged along with the rain, Lee An-jeong was startled and ran inside the training cave.
From the outside, which had turned dark in an instant, a torrential downpour began to fall.
<><><>
"What is this? Why is the weather like this all of a sudden? Is there a hole in the sky or something?"
Lee An-jeong, who had returned to the training cave, was bewildered, not knowing the reason for the sudden thunder, lightning, and torrential rain.
At that moment, a loud shout from someone was heard from somewhere.
"Kaaaa—"
It sounded like a scream and also like a shout.
"Hmm? Who is shouting that loudly? Or did I mishear the sound of thunder?"
It was indeed the shout of the old Taoist who had his Yellow Dragon Herb stolen by Lee An-jeong, but there was no way Lee An-jeong could know this.
Lee An-jeong thought nothing of it and brought to mind the spirit herbs he had harvested today.
Then, his mouth hung wide open just from thinking about it.
He quickly pulled out his storage pouch and placed them on the floor.
"Hehe—let's see. Dozens of Spirit-Gathering Herbs and even this strange spirit herb... I really hit the mother lode! I hit the mother lode!"
A whistle came out naturally.
The gaze of Lee An-jeong, who was whistling and rejoicing, turned toward that bizarre spirit herb he had picked with such difficulty from the cliff among them.
The brilliantly glowing yellow petals and the three-pronged stem resembling a dragon made it impossible for him to close his mouth.
"It really seems like an incredibly precious spirit herb. I wonder what this is? To call it a Clear-Heart Herb... the feeling seems a bit different?"
Sniff— sniff—
When he tried to smell it, the pungent yet sweet scent made him feel ecstatic.
In that scent, an immeasurable amount of spiritual qi was dwelling, so his heart pounded just from smelling the fragrance.
"Ah! This is driving me crazy! What's the point of having a spirit herb! I need to know what this is and how to eat this to do anything with it. Damn it!"
A certain thought suddenly occurred to the frustrated Lee An-jeong’s mind—he thought of that naked old man trapped inside his Food World.
"Wait? That old man Jin Wi-dong... come to think of it, seeing how he turned Na Un-yeon into a Life-and-Death Elixir or whatever, he seemed like quite an excellent alchemist. Wouldn't that old man know what this is? Besides, I have to ask him about the Soft-Root Bloodline or whatever."
He felt a bit fearful when thinking of the old man, but on second thought, that old man had no way to harm him anyway.
It might be different outside, but inside that world, it was rather the old man who should fear him.
Recalling the image of the old man who had been blown away by his breath and fainted, Lee An-jeong finally made up his mind and decided to enter the Food World after a long time.
After pulling out a mid-grade spirit stone and performing the Qi-gathering breathing method, Lee An-jeong was sucked right into the pattern the moment the three seed patterns emitted light a short while later.
***