Chapter 29: The Tengjia Grass

"Trouble, there's trouble, I knew Zhou Genwei would try to trip me up."

Ever since the first day he met Zhou Genwei, Ding Hao's actions in the border village had been affected. Not only were there more soldiers outside the courtyard, but as soon as Ding Hao stepped out, several people would immediately follow him.

"Master Ding, you are a genius of Wuzhou, General Zhou has ordered us to follow and protect you without a moment's rest," the soldiers said with a sinister tone.

"Damn!" With such close surveillance, even with his black cloak, Ding Hao couldn't shake them off. "They follow me all day, how can I buy the spirit rice?"

Ding Hao stayed in the small courtyard for two days, accomplishing nothing, and his plan to buy spirit rice was completely foiled!

Originally, he intended to enter the middle stage of the innate realm, have the Nine-Fold Fire Palm at the fifth or sixth fold, and then go to the native city. But now, he had to act ahead of schedule!

Entering the outer domain at the third stage of the innate realm was extremely dangerous!

"Dangerous or not, I have to go! The autumn examination is getting closer, I can't waste time here. I must leave and go to the native city to find Mr. Shang! There, he can supply me with a large amount of spirit rice!"

On that day, Liu Yunkun from the Nine Provinces Academy came to visit.

"Brother Di, Young Brother Ding, I'm leaving. I'm going to return this house, and you can decide whether to stay or leave. But you'll have to pay the rent from now on."

Di Hu asked, puzzled, "Master Liu, weren't you waiting for your fellow disciples here? Why are you leaving now?"

"Yes," Ding Hao thought to himself, "Once you leave, we won't be able to stay in this cheap house anymore."

Liu Yunkun explained, "It's like this, we from the Nine Provinces Academy come out to train after reaching the third stage of the Qi Refinement realm. I had planned to go with my fellow disciples, but they have already left. They just sent me a message, asking me to meet them at a certain place in the outer domain."

"Is that so? Then, Master, please go about your business," Di Hu said.

Liu Yunkun nodded and added, "Young Brother Ding, since you have a super-first-class immortal root, I believe you will enter the Nine Provinces Academy after the autumn examination. We will meet again there, I am Liu Yunkun of the Inner Gate."

Ding Hao asked, "Senior Liu, may I ask if you are going to the native city in the outer domain?"

Liu Yunkun nodded and said, "Yes, our training mission is to go to the native city."

"Then I want to go to the native city..." Ding Hao quickly said with joy.

However, Liu Yunkun firmly refused, "Young Brother Ding, don't say any more. This time we are going to the outer domain to hunt some low-level demonic immortal masters. You cannot follow. And I advise you, while forbidden drugs are good, they should not be used frequently. It's better to cultivate peacefully in the realm of Heaven's Will."

Ding Hao thought to himself, "It's over. They don't want to take me, and I even got a lecture."

These ordinary disciples of the Nine Provinces Academy were very orthodox and had a strong aversion to forbidden drugs. They would never agree to take Ding Hao to the native city to buy forbidden drugs.

Liu Yunkun returned the house and left. Di Hu, of course, wouldn't stay in such an expensive small courtyard, so he also decided to leave. Ding Hao thought to himself that he must leave as soon as possible, otherwise, Zhou Genwei's people would keep an eye on him, and he wouldn't be able to leave the inner domain at all!

He shared his thoughts with Di Hu.

Di Hu was a relatively honest and trustworthy person. He took out a map and said, "This is a map to the native city. Under normal circumstances, it takes one day to get there." He also advised, "Master Ding, I advise you to think carefully. The outer domain is not as safe as the inner domain. Various spirit beasts are fierce, and there are all kinds of killings and treasure hunts. Even those kind and friendly hunters and merchants in the inner domain might have evil thoughts when they see your cultivation is insufficient!"

Ding Hao firmly said, "Brother Di Hu, I have made up my mind. Do you have a way to help me get rid of those who are tailing me? I still need to make some preparations."

Seeing him speak like this, Di Hu didn't try to persuade him further and said, "This can be done. I have a friend who runs a business. I will go with you to her shop and find an opportunity to let you leave from the back door."

After they both returned the house and walked out of the small courtyard, soldiers immediately followed them. They pretended not to notice and came to a business in the border village.

"Seeds of spirit wood?" Ding Hao had never been to such a shop before.

"Brother Di, you're bringing me business," the shop owner, a middle-aged woman, greeted them warmly.

Di Hu, who was familiar with the woman, smiled and said, "Sister Wu, this Master Ding wants to buy some seeds of spirit wood." He then whispered, "There are people following us, help my friend leave later."

The female shop owner, surnamed Wu, who might have some connections, was not afraid of the soldiers and nodded with a smile, "It's a small matter."

While they were talking, Ding Hao looked around the shop. He saw various small porcelain bottles on the counter, similar to medicine bottles. However, these bottles contained various plant seeds, each labeled with names like "Ruyun Grass," "Ruhai Vine," and "Yanlie Fruit."

Ding Hao was very curious and asked, "How do these seeds work?"

The female shop owner smiled and said, "Master, these are one-time-use seeds that can quickly grow into spirit wood to help you in battle."

"Really?" Ding Hao, who had never heard of spirit wood that could be used in battle, asked curiously, "Can they be used even without a plant-type immortal root?"

"Yes," the female shop owner said, "These are cultivated by innate-stage experts with plant-type immortal roots, and anyone can use them. It's very simple. Just crush the bottle, and the seeds and a small amount of spirit soil inside will be scattered on the ground, and they will take effect immediately."

Ding Hao thought that since she had helped him deceive the soldiers, he should support her business, so he asked, "Do you have any stronger seeds?"

Di Hu whispered to the female shop owner, "For use in the outer domain."

"Outer domain?" The female shop owner looked at Ding Hao, probably thinking that someone of his cultivation dared to go to the outer domain? But she didn't ask further and said, "For something very powerful, Master Ding, please follow me upstairs."

Seeing Ding Hao go upstairs, the two soldiers who had been monitoring them also tried to follow.

Two shop assistants immediately blocked them, "Hey, the upstairs warehouse is a restricted area. No unauthorized personnel are allowed."

The soldiers coldly said, "Step aside! You can't afford to interfere with official business!"

The shop assistants sneered, "Our shop owner knows the deputy general of Wuzhou!"

The two soldiers immediately became obedient. Seeing that Di Hu didn't go upstairs, they stayed downstairs.

Ding Hao followed the female shop owner upstairs.

The female shop owner said, "With your cultivation, if you go to the outer domain, it's best to follow a caravan or travel with others."

Ding Hao said, "I have my own considerations." In fact, he had considered following a caravan, but if he did, he would have to use his real name, and Zhou Genwei would soon find out. If he bribed the strong members of the caravan, it would be even more dangerous!

The female shop owner just said it casually and added, "The spirit wood seeds downstairs are all of the lower grade. I have two pieces of medium-grade spirit wood seeds in my shop, which should be enough to save your life, but..."

Ding Hao said, "Speak your mind."

The shop owner smiled and said, "The price is not cheap."

"Let me see. Money is not a problem." Ding Hao, with a thousand silver notes, was quite wealthy.

"Master, please wait a moment." The female shop owner went into the inner room and came out a moment later with a tray covered in red cloth.

"Master, please look." The female shop owner pulled back the red cloth, revealing two small porcelain bottles.

The paper labels on the porcelain bottles had turned yellow, indicating they were quite old.

Ding Hao picked one up to examine it. The paper label on the porcelain bottle read "Zhongteng," but he didn't know what it meant.

"What is this?"

The female shop owner smiled and said, "Master Ding, this is a medium-grade Tengjia Grass."

"Tengjia Grass?" Ding Hao raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," the female shop owner said, "After use, it will immediately grow a layer of purple藤甲 on the body, which is very hard. Its effect exceeds that of a general medium-grade armor. The biggest advantage is that even if the藤甲 is cut by the opponent's blade, it will quickly grow back."

"Really!" Ding Hao's eyes lit up with surprise. If he wore this藤甲 in battle, it would be almost invulnerable! He asked, "How many times can it be used?"

"Generally, one bottle is used once," the female shop owner said with a smile. "However, it can last for half an hour, and it is a defensive type of spirit wood seed."

"Only once." Ding Hao was a bit hesitant. He had previously inquired about the price of armor, which was very expensive, especially medium-grade and above. He asked, "How much does this cost?"

The female shop owner said, "Thirty yuan stones."

"Expensive." Ding Hao smiled bitterly. The price was really not cheap.

The female shop owner giggled, "Master Ding, this kind of defensive item can save lives! A general medium-grade armor outside usually costs three hundred yuan stones, and those of higher quality cost five hundred yuan stones! Our Tengjia Grass has a stronger defensive effect than general armor, and there is one key point: other armors can only protect the vital parts of the upper body, but our Tengjia Grass can protect all parts of your body!"

The female shop owner was not exaggerating. In this world, armor was very precious. So, while having a medium-grade weapon was not rare, having a medium-grade armor would immediately make someone the target of envy and jealousy!

Not everyone could afford armor, especially medium-grade armor.

Ding Hao said, "But it's a one-time use, and the cost-effectiveness is not high. Can you give me a discount?"

The female shop owner said, "We can settle the accounts together and give a discount later."

"Alright." Ding Hao nodded and picked up the small bottle, touching it.

He was quite cautious. This kind of item couldn't be tested, and if it failed to grow the藤甲 at a critical moment, he would be in trouble. However, in the Nine Provinces world, counterfeit and substandard products were not prevalent, and he could sense a vibrant spiritual energy in the bottle with his Star Absorption Stone. The strength of the spiritual energy far exceeded that of the bottles downstairs.

It should be fine. Ding Hao picked up the second small bottle. This bottle had "Zhongcao" written on it, and he asked, "What kind of medium-grade spirit wood is Zhongcao?"