Chapter 4247 — The Infant Ginseng

The Wind-Thunder Violet-Lightning Beast was by nature a spirit beast whose forte was speed, and the higher its cultivation grade, the more its velocity became outrageous beyond belief. Even Wei Zhao, as he was now, admitted to himself that he could never have caught the one that had just hurtled past. That was an inborn racial gift; no matter how far a human cultivated, none at the same grade could ever hope to compare.

"This is no place to linger. Let's find somewhere else and talk there," Chu Bubai said with a frown at the sight of it. Without waiting for the others to react, he took Feng Hongyu by the arm and strode forward.

Guo Dengtao and Wang Feng dared not dally, and hurried after them. Wang Feng was somewhat injured, but he could still move about normally, so there was no risk of his being left behind.

Wei Zhao gave Huang Xiaotao a slight nod, signaling her to follow Chu Bubai. The reason that Wind-Thunder Violet-Lightning Beast had burst out so suddenly was very likely that it had been startled by the six of them appearing all at once.

Yet beyond that there was another, far more perilous possibility: what the group had startled might not be this Wind-Thunder Violet-Lightning Beast alone, but another, far mightier spirit beast besides. This one might simply have been caught in the crossfire—otherwise, had it been alone, it would not have charged straight past them as it had, but would have come after the group instead.

The only reason it had been running so desperately was that some far more powerful spirit beast was chasing it from behind.

All of them were accomplished Golden Core cultivators, and Chu Bubai was even a late-stage Golden Core expert; yet the Rufeng Forest was the spirit beasts' home ground. A single Golden Core Wind-Thunder Violet-Lightning Beast, coming and going without shadow or trace, was already enough to give them a bitter time of it. Add another, mightier spirit beast, and several of the six might well leave their lives here.

They had only just arrived in the Rufeng Forest. They had not yet done a single thing, had not even set eyes on so much as a glimpse of any rare treasure—and if they were to be struck down at the very outset, that would truly be dying before the campaign had begun, enough to make a man weep tears he could not shed.

Following Chu Bubai, the group soon found a hollow in a tree that was relatively hidden and safe, and at his lead they took shelter within it.

"Come, let's look at the map first and confirm our position," Chu Bubai said, gesturing for everyone to sit in a circle. He produced a map of the Rufeng Forest and had them all work together to fix their bearings.

Still shaken, the others nodded and gathered around to study the map. In a place like the Rufeng Forest, confirming one's position was the first and most vital task; otherwise, if a person could not even tell where he was, then never mind seeking rare treasures afterward—he would not even be able to find his way back.

To get back, one first had to find the teleportation array. That was marked on the map, but if one could not even determine one's own position, how could one ever hope to find it?

They were all Golden Core experts, their powers of perception and discernment far beyond those of ordinary folk; yet here in the Rufeng Forest, newly arrived and not even given time to catch their breath, with no landmark of any kind in sight, how easy could it be to confirm exactly where they stood?

"We are here—right at this spot," Chu Bubai said after studying it only a moment, and quickly pointed out their location. This once again startled Wei Zhao and the others.

The group exchanged glances. Feng Hongyu was one of Chu Bubai's own party and showed no particular reaction, but Guo Dengtao and Wei Zhao and the rest wore expressions of some doubt. After all, fixing one's position was not something that high cultivation alone could solve; even if Chu Bubai was a late-stage Golden Core expert, surely he could not be so certain.

"No need to doubt me—I happened to come to this place once before, so I still have a vague impression of it," Chu Bubai said, waving a hand as though it were nothing, dispelling their doubts. Then he went on: "On this trip to the Rufeng Forest, I imagine everyone has come for the rare treasures?"

"Naturally," Guo Dengtao and Wang Feng said, nodding again and again.

"That's right," Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao echoed.

At a level like the Golden Core stage, if one wished to advance one's power, apart from diligent cultivation of one's own, the so-called miracle elixirs on the market—save for a scant handful of varieties—could hardly do much to improve them anymore. And even those few, where they existed at all, were priceless and unavailable; without some stroke of fortune, a man might clutch a great heap of spirit jade and still fail to buy them.

By comparison, if one truly wished to advance swiftly in power, it was better by far to pin one's hopes on all manner of rare treasures. Should luck smile and one come by a Ten-Thousand-Passage Golden Core Fruit, that would be worth decades of bitter cultivation.

"Very well. Since we have all come this far, I see no reason to keep secrets from you," Chu Bubai said, his gaze sweeping over each face in turn, his expression grave as he spoke slowly. "I wonder—have any of you heard of the Infant Ginseng?"

At those words the others could not help but be taken aback, yet Wei Zhao's heart stirred. Not only did he know of the Infant Ginseng—he had once used it to refine pills!

Back when he was on Middle Island, refining the Gestating-Infant Golden Core for Tianxing Dao, the single most important principal ingredient had been the Infant Ginseng.

The Infant Ginseng Tianxing Dao gave him at the time had not been a whole plant, but only a small piece the size of a thumb; even so, he had in the end succeeded in using it to refine the Gestating-Infant Golden Core!

And according to Tianxing Dao, the Infant Ginseng was an exceedingly rare material, rarer even than the Ten-Thousand-Passage Golden Core Fruit. Even that tiny piece had cost him great effort to track down in his early years at the height of his powers; as for a whole plant of Infant Ginseng, not to mention Tianxing Dao himself, it had never once appeared on the open market.

If a mere small piece was already a treasure beyond price, then what value would a whole, naturally grown plant of Infant Ginseng command?

At the thought, even a man of Wei Zhao's calm temperament could not help but feel his breathing grow heavy, and the look he turned on Chu Bubai now held a few more degrees of astonishment. Could it be that this man actually had word of the Infant Ginseng?

"Brother Chu, have you come this time for the Infant Ginseng?" Guo Dengtao's breathing had quickened as well. He had seen a fair share of the world, and so had heard of the Infant Ginseng too, knowing it to be far more precious than even the Ten-Thousand-Passage Golden Core Fruit. Now that Chu Bubai had suddenly brought the matter up, his heart surged at once.

He and Chu Bubai were on somewhat friendly terms, though not especially close. The reason he had been the one to organize this party was that Chu Bubai, bringing Feng Hongyu along, had come to him of his own accord, proposing a trip to the Rufeng Forest; that was why he had called on Wang Feng, and afterward recruited Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao as well. (To be continued) R466