Chapter 4257 — The Infant Ginseng Appears

Chu Bubai knew in his heart that if he could not explain this matter at once and convince them, all the efforts made so far would very likely be washed away in an instant.

He had realized it himself: as they drew closer and closer to their destination, he had grown a little too impatient. Otherwise he would never have exposed such an obvious flaw—and once a flaw like that was spotted, a simple "I was well prepared" would not paper over it.

It was all Wei Zhao's doing! Chu Bubai shot Wei Zhao a glance of secret resentment, and seeing every gaze fixed on himself, he did not dare hesitate overlong. His mind spun at once.

"I will not deceive you, friends. Besides this family map, my Gu ancestors also left behind a passage of words concerning their expedition in those days—of great reference value. And since childhood I have never forgotten a thing I have seen or heard; I have always been able to retain it firmly. After a family elder recited it to me once, I kept it in my heart. Now it happens to serve its purpose, which is how I am able to do this." Chu Bubai reeled off his explanation with perfect ease.

At these words, Guo Dengtao and the others were instantly set at ease. Not only did they no longer regard it as any sort of flaw, they thought Chu Bubai was, after all, truly a dependable man.

That Chu Bubai could produce this family map and share it with them all was in itself a most open-handed and generous act, and the value of his Gu ancestors' words was in no way beneath that of the route map. Were they in Chu Bubai's shoes, they too would certainly not have disclosed it to the likes of themselves beforehand.

If one rashly shared every scrap of intelligence, what then if someone suddenly turned on them midway?

Though Chu Bubai was the strongest among them, this place was deep within the Lu Feng Forest; an apostate need only burrow at random into the dense woods, and Chu Bubai would never dare pursue lightly. As the man who had initiated this venture, he must surely hold a little back.

"So that is how it is. Then we truly have Brother Chu to thank," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile and a nod. Yet inwardly he remained noncommittal: being well prepared was one thing, but putting it into practice was quite another. Chu Bubai's explanation might hoodwink Guo Dengtao and the rest, but to Wei Zhao it still felt very far-fetched.

Wei Zhao could not help thinking to himself: this Chu Bubai was indeed skilled at bewitching the hearts of others. Whether this speech had been prepared long in advance or improvised on the spot, either way it proved only that the man's cunning and depth were not to be underestimated.

"All right, no need to pay these things before us too much mind—they are merely scarecrows. Let us quicken the pace a little. We are not far from our destination now; the infant ginseng is right before our eyes," Chu Bubai said, rallying everyone's spirits.

"Right!" At the word infant ginseng, every eye lit up at once, and the doubts that had just surfaced were flung clean out of their minds. One and all, they pressed forward with renewed vigor at Chu Bubai's heels.

At such a moment, even the rule against traveling the dense forest by night was forgotten entirely. There was still a blood moon overhead, after all, and the light was not so poor—what did the rest matter?

Wei Zhao took in this scene from behind, knowing in his heart that Chu Bubai feared long nights and many dreams, and that was why he had quickened the pace.

Drawing Huang Xiaotao along, Wei Zhao followed the others without betraying a thing. Whatever tricks Chu Bubai played, so long as they kept vigilant there was nothing to fear; and even should some unforeseen danger arise, the jade pendant could still serve as a warning.

Following Chu Bubai at a swift pace, perhaps because this was the graveyard of spirit beasts, they met with no danger at all, save for the low-grade ghost talisman demons that appeared from time to time.

An hour later, a gust of medicinal fragrance suddenly struck their faces. Breathed in closely, it refreshed them from head to toe, and even the true qi within their bodies stirred and quickened of its own accord.

The group exchanged glances, astonished and amazed. At their level of the Golden Core stage, an ordinary heavenly treasure, even if swallowed, could hardly produce much effect—yet now a mere trace of its scent had wrought such wonders. What heights, then, must this heavenly treasure's grade reach?

When Wei Zhao caught that medicinal fragrance, he was slightly taken aback, always feeling it seemed somewhat familiar. He sniffed carefully a few more times, and only then did he finally recall: this was the scent of the infant ginseng!

When he had refined the Gestation-Forming Golden Core for Di Xingdao, the principal ingredient had been the infant ginseng, so its scent was naturally no stranger to him. In fact, the finished Gestation-Forming Golden Core smelled much the same.

"If I am not mistaken, this is the fragrance of the infant ginseng!" Chu Bubai was briefly stunned, then suddenly cast off his former refined gentility and cried out in wild excitement, "It is done—we are nearly there!"

"Truly... truly?!" The group had been astonished and doubtful; at these words they were so excited they nearly leaped for joy, yet still could scarcely believe it, as though in a dream. "We have really found the infant ginseng?"

"Indeed—this is certainly the fragrance of the infant ginseng! Though I have never seen one with my own eyes, Master Zhang Lifeng's Compendium of Strange Herbs of Cloud Terrace Island records it specifically: the infant ginseng grows in places thick with ghostly qi, yet bears a fragrance beyond the mortal world, so fresh and pleasant it clears the mind and rouses the spirit," Chu Bubai declared with certainty.

Citing Master Zhang Lifeng gave them reason and evidence in perfect correspondence; the group harbored not the slightest doubt, and all breathed a sigh of relief, cheering joyfully, "We have finally arrived! Wonderful!"

Following Chu Bubai into the core depths of the Lu Feng Forest, the group had braved enormous risk; one careless step and they would have left their lives here.

But now, with the infant ginseng almost within reach and even its medicinal fragrance so distinct, all their former worries had become drifting clouds!

Only one task remained: follow the fragrance to the infant ginseng, then carry it out of the Lu Feng Forest—and from then on, soaring to wealth and glory would be a trifling matter.

Those with slightly loftier ambitions could find some way to have this infant ginseng refined into a Gestation-Forming Golden Core, making ready for the day they would condense their own nascent soul; and if they truly could not wait, they could also trade the infant ginseng away.

Even a tiny fragment of infant ginseng would be more than enough to exchange for a Golden Core—for experts of their Golden Core stage, this was the elixir of their dreams. With a little preparation, swallowing it would raise them a whole grade at once; these were solid, tangible benefits indeed. (To be continued.)