Chapter 2

The sky was filled with dark clouds, occasionally a bolt of lightning would flash, accompanied by the rumble of thunder, signaling the imminent arrival of a heavy rain.

In Wuhu City, Shen Xiang looked up at the sky and muttered to himself, "I can't delay any longer. I need to find good medicinal herbs quickly, or I won't have a chance to turn things around."

Shen Xiang was sixteen years old this year, with a physique more robust and tall than his peers. This contrasted sharply with his youthful and handsome face, but his deep, mature eyes made him seem more grown-up than his peers.

Shen Xiang was about to go herb gathering. Although he was the grandson of the Shen family patriarch, he could not become a powerful martial artist due to the lack of a spirit vein. Therefore, he had been very diligent in training his body since childhood, often going out for various secret training sessions, and even engaging in physical combat with tiger beasts. Despite his young age, he had experienced several life-and-death situations, making his mental fortitude and willpower far superior to his peers.

"Isn't that Shen Xiang? It's about to rain heavily, and you still want to go train?" an old butler walked by and said. Seeing Shen Xiang's determination, he couldn't help but admire him, but his eyes were filled with more pity.

Shen Xiang had been diligently training every day for six years, but he was still at the third level of the Mortal Martial Realm. Most of his peers in the Shen family had already reached the fourth level, and the more talented ones had even reached the fifth level.

All of this was because he lacked a spirit vein, which was why he was not valued by the family. Now, he was just an ordinary person in the Shen family.

Although he lacked a spirit vein, Shen Xiang never lost heart and continued to train hard. The effort made him feel fulfilled.

"Old Ma, I'm going to gather herbs," Shen Xiang ran behind the old butler and playfully tugged at the braid on his bald head.

"It's no use. Without a spirit vein, no matter how hard you try, it won't make a difference!" the old butler shook his head and sighed.

Shen Xiang had heard such words countless times, but he still had to persist. No matter what, he would not give up.

"Xiang'er, with the weather like this, don't go!" a middle-aged man walked over.

Shen Xiang pouted and said, "Dad, gathering herbs in the rain is a good opportunity. At least I won't have to fight with others over it."

The middle-aged man was named Shen Tianhu, Shen Xiang's father, a powerful martial artist renowned in the region and the most likely candidate to succeed as the next patriarch of the Shen family. Although his son lacked a spirit vein, he always encouraged Shen Xiang and occasionally gave him precious pills, but it was still of little use.

"Here." Shen Tianhu smiled helplessly and threw a small box to Shen Xiang.

Shen Xiang caught the box without even looking inside, knowing it contained pills. He grinned and said, "Thanks, Dad. This way, I won't have to steal Old Ma's chickens to nourish my body."

This made the old butler's face turn bitter. He hadn't expected to be targeted.

Watching Shen Xiang's back disappear, Shen Tianhu could only sigh. Although he held a high position in the Shen family, the elders managed the rare and precious cultivation resources, such as pills, very strictly. He could only save some for Shen Xiang, but it was of little help because the pills were too few.

Which father doesn't want his son to become a dragon? But Shen Tianhu had no choice. He could only do his best to help Shen Xiang obtain pills.

...

Xianmo Cliff was a desolate place. At this moment, a shirtless young man was climbing the cliff.

It was pouring heavily, and Shen Xiang was climbing the cliff, a very dangerous task. The bottom of Xianmo Cliff was bottomless, and it was always shrouded in a black, deathly aura, so few people wanted to approach it.

But Shen Xiang came here to gather herbs, climbing down the cliff wall slowly. If others knew, they would surely mock him as a reckless madman. Everyone knew that such a desolate and deathly place would not have any good medicinal herbs.

Shen Xiang was not foolish; he was very smart. He knew that Xianmo Cliff had existed for many years, especially the deathly aura at the bottom, which no one knew how long it had been there.

In the common understanding, a place without life would not have medicinal herbs, but Shen Xiang did not think so. He knew the principle of extremes, and he was certain that there must be a legendary precious herb on this cliff wall.

"Yama Lingzhi" was a terrifying-sounding herb, but it had the power to revive the dead and heal wounds. It usually grew in places with heavy deathly aura, such as ancient battlefields and graveyards, making it a rare and valuable herb.

The rain made the black aura sink, allowing Shen Xiang to see deeper into the cliff wall. He went to a deeper area to search for the "Yama Lingzhi."

Although he didn't need the Yama Lingzhi, he knew that obtaining this holy herb would allow him to exchange it for many precious pills, which would help him break out of his困境 and gain powerful strength.

The raindrops hitting Shen Xiang's body made him feel uncomfortable and made the rocks on the cliff face even more slippery. This made him more cautious as he carefully climbed down the cliff, for a single misstep could mean a fall.

No one knew what lay at the bottom of Xianmo Cliff. Although many had gone down, none had returned. Falling meant certain death!

After two hours, the heavy rain continued, and Shen Xiang, relying on his years of training, had descended several dozen meters down the cliff.

Shen Xiang found a good place to stand and carefully observed below. Suddenly, he saw something that made his heart race with excitement.

"Yama Lingzhi!" Shen Xiang shouted excitedly, his eyes fixed on the object about ten meters below him, a white, disk-like object tightly adhering to the cliff wall. He was certain this was the legendary Yama Lingzhi.

The cliff wall was always shrouded in black, deathly aura, and the color of the Yama Lingzhi was very similar to the cliff, making it hard to spot.

Shen Xiang was overjoyed. He calmed himself, rested for a moment, and then slowly climbed down.

Before long, Shen Xiang reached the Yama Lingzhi. He swallowed hard, looking at the white, face-sized Yama Lingzhi, feeling the strong life force it emitted.

Shen Xiang could only use one hand to pick the Yama Lingzhi. He estimated it to be over a thousand years old, and if he sold it, it would fetch an astronomical price.

Shen Xiang struggled to pick the herb and placed it in his precious storage bag. He grinned, "Ha, it's time for me to turn things around!"

As long as he sold the Yama Lingzhi, he could buy many high-quality pills, and then he would make rapid progress!

The rain gradually lessened, and Shen Xiang, being a content person, did not continue searching the vast cliff wall but chose to climb back up. After all, his strength was limited, and climbing back up was both arduous and dangerous.

Just as he had climbed for over an hour, he suddenly felt the cliff wall trembling slightly!

Shen Xiang was startled. His excited heart immediately sank, and he had a bad feeling. He looked up and saw small rocks falling from the cliff wall into the bottomless abyss, and the cliff wall, which had been trembling slightly, began to shake more violently.

"Damn it, I finally got the Yama Lingzhi, don't play with me, heaven!" The sudden earthquake made Shen Xiang curse.

He had to stay calm and hold onto the uneven cliff wall, or he would be shaken off.

The increasing tremors made Shen Xiang gradually lose hope. At this moment, he saw larger rocks falling from above, and he felt cracks forming in the rocks he was holding onto.

"Heaven, I just got the Yama Lingzhi, and you're sending me to hell, playing with me!" Shen Xiang couldn't help but curse. At that moment, the black aura below rose, and the rock he was holding suddenly cracked...

"Ahh—" Shen Xiang's body fell into the black, deathly abyss, his voice filled with unwillingness echoing below...

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Xiang opened his eyes. He could see light, which was strange because he was at the bottom of the abyss. What was even more unbelievable was that he was in water and could still breathe!

Shen Xiang floated to the surface. He was in a pond that emitted a white, holy light.

What made Shen Xiang's eyes widen in shock was that not far from the pond, two women with disheveled hair and extremely beautiful faces were sitting cross-legged.

What shocked him the most was that these two women, who looked like celestial beings, were completely naked! Their flawless, perfect bodies were exposed without any reserve! They were the most beautiful women Shen Xiang had ever seen.

The two naked women looked as if they were carved from white jade, with no impurities. Their breasts were full and firm, their waists slender, and they were so beautiful that they left him breathless... These were the most beautiful women Shen Xiang had ever seen.

The shock of this sensual scene made Shen Xiang freeze, his face turning red, his heart and breathing almost stopping!

The two women were sitting cross-legged, looking at each other, completely unaware of Shen Xiang. This made Shen Xiang feel ignored, as if he was being overlooked by two beautiful women.

After a moment of shock, Shen Xiang noticed the ravaged landscape at the bottom of the abyss, with many cracks and pits, and scattered white silk, indicating that a battle had taken place. He guessed that the two women had fought, causing the destruction and the tearing of their clothes.

Although Shen Xiang did not know why these two stunningly beautiful women were fighting at the bottom of the abyss, he could see that they were very powerful, far beyond his understanding, capable of causing earthquakes and shaking the mountains.

"Truly, beauty is a curse, shaking me down here. Fortunately, I have a strong fate and didn't die!" Shen Xiang cursed in his heart, but he was very curious about these mysterious women.

Shen Xiang stared intently at the flawless bodies before him and slowly approached the two women.

The abyss beside Xianmo Cliff was called hell, but Shen Xiang, who was now in this hell, felt as if he was in a paradise. There was a pond emitting holy white light, and most importantly, two naked, extremely beautiful women by the pond.

At this moment, the two women realized that a pair of fiery eyes were watching them, making them furious and embarrassed.