Chapter 19

At the beginning of spring, it is the time when all things come back to life. The small streams, melted from ice and snow, still flow through the mountains, making a gurgling sound. A mist envelops the morning mountain range, adding a layer of hazy beauty to the already magnificent scenery. Bai Shi walked along the mountain path, step by step, heading deeper into the mountains.

Not far into his journey, Bai Shi's clothes were completely soaked by the dew on the dense vegetation. The wet clothes clung tightly to his body, making his movements slow and causing him great discomfort. The icy chill from the dew made him shiver as he moved forward.

At one moment, when the sunlight pierced through the clouds, the warm rays fell upon him, causing him to stop in his tracks. After taking a deep breath, Bai Shi turned to look back at the location of Dongchen Village. At this moment, Dongchen Village was just a hazy shadow, like an illusion. It seemed that Bai Shi was already several miles away from Dongchen Village.

Su Xuan did not follow Bai Shi into the mountains. Since learning how to brew alcohol, he rarely left the cave, spending his days immersed in the aroma of alcohol, much like Dongchenzi, who had fallen in love with the drink.

Even though Bai Shi had traveled several miles, the silence along the way made him somewhat uncomfortable. In his memory, the depths of the Chen Mountain Range should be filled with strange beasts and abundant medicinal herbs. However, everything was not as he had imagined. Occasionally, he saw some mist slowly rising, and Bai Shi thought it was smoke from a human settlement.

But reality proved otherwise. When Bai Shi reached the place where the mist rose, he realized it was merely a natural phenomenon caused by the thick mist in the complex terrain.

"Ideals are always beautiful, but reality is always cruel..." Finding a flat rock to sit on, Bai Shi sighed lightly.

His gaze swept around, but due to the dense fog, Bai Shi's line of sight was limited to within about 200 meters. Beyond 200 meters, everything was hazy.

He wrung out his clothes, and the water that dripped onto the ground made a dripping sound. A cool breeze from the mountains made Bai Shi shiver involuntarily.

Fortunately, not every plant in the mountains was green. There were some old branches that creaked when touched.

Gathering some dry wood, starting a fire was not a difficult task for Bai Shi.

Next, he needed to start a fire on the spot and wait until noon for the dew on the leaves to evaporate before continuing his journey.

After everything was prepared, Bai Shi quickly started the fire. The intense heat from the dry wood made Bai Shi feel a sudden warmth. He sat by the campfire, listening to the 'crackling' sound of the burning wood, but he did not immediately sit cross-legged to meditate. Instead, he sat there, frowning, as if deep in thought.

"In the books I read in Xichen Village, the herbs I saw seemed different from the illusions I saw in the cave." As he pondered, Bai Shi slowly raised his hand, his gaze fixed on his wrist, lost in thought.

At his wrist, Bai Shi clearly knew that the mysterious image had turned into a golden halo, like a bracelet, and disappeared into his body.

Biting his finger, Bai Shi seemed to have an idea or wanted to verify something. The blood from his finger dripped onto his wrist, and a golden glow immediately appeared. Under Bai Shi's consciousness, this golden glow slowly transformed into an image. In the image, some strange herbs appeared, and next to these herbs, a few regular script characters appeared—Fourth Stage of Foundation Building.

"It seems to be as I imagined. This strange golden halo, after merging with my body, has become one with my consciousness... I wonder how many herbs will appear in this strange image."

As he pondered, Bai Shi used his consciousness to control the strange image. Under his control, the image transformed into numerous herbs, and next to these herbs, regular script characters appeared. However, after the Zixu Stage, there were no more.

"I guess this golden halo can only guide me to the Zixu Stage..." Seeing this, Bai Shi couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

Again, he used his consciousness to bring the golden image to the herbs required for the Fourth Stage of Foundation Building. As he looked at these herbs, Bai Shi's frown deepened, muttering, "The herbs in this image are indeed very different from what I saw in Xichen Village... These refining herbs seem somewhat evil...

Some herbs even require nourishment from fresh blood. I wonder who left this strange image."

"But in terms of medicinal power, according to this image, it should be much more potent than what I saw in Xichen Village... However, these herbs are much harder to find..."

Bai Shi retracted the image from his wrist, slowly stood up, and frowned as he looked up, sighing deeply, as if he had encountered a bottleneck.

As noon approached, the dense fog in the Chen Mountain Range gradually dissipated. Bai Shi's clothes, dried by the fire, were almost completely dry. His line of sight also became clearer. When he looked into the distance again, he saw even denser vegetation.

"Throughout this journey, I haven't found any usable herbs. Could it be that those medicinal herbs grow in areas with dense vegetation... But I heard from my uncle that some medicinal herbs are guarded by strange beasts. I must be extra cautious on this trip..."

Bai Shi's gaze became resolute. After looking at the denser vegetation, a firm resolve formed deep in his heart. Under this resolve, he took heavy steps, nourished by the sunlight, and moved forward.

For Bai Shi, enhancing his strength had become the most important thing at the moment. Under this mindset, his steps quickened, but his fists remained tightly clenched to prevent any hidden beasts from attacking.

His gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, and in the sunlight, it sometimes emitted a mysterious glow. As he scanned his surroundings, he had unknowingly walked for about half an hour. At this moment, he was less than 200 meters from his target.

Although it was only 200 meters, all Bai Shi could see were tangled and green branches. The contents within those branches remained unknown. Therefore, he maintained a higher level of vigilance towards the dense forest.

Despite this, he did not stop, but slightly slowed his pace. As he approached the forest, he began to pay attention to every gap between the branches.

After careful observation, Bai Shi finally noticed a colorful strange beast in the shaking branches.

"Colorful Tiger!"

When this strange beast appeared in Bai Shi's line of sight, his body involuntarily shivered. After a light sigh, a layer of energy fluctuations that compressed the air appeared around his fists!