Chapter 84

**Early Morning.**

Birds awoke early, hopping through the forest, searching for insects to eat.

The grass and trees were lush, adorned with dewdrops, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and the chirping of birds, a scene of green mountains and clear waters.

Suddenly, a startled cry rang out, and the birds took flight.

Below, the dense underbrush rustled, and a pale, slender hand emerged from the vines and leaves, pushing aside the green grass and leaves.

Behind the grass and vines, a person stepped out.

This person was a young man, but his face was pale, his eyes bloodshot, and there were traces of blood at the corners of his lips. His clothes were tattered, making him look extremely disheveled.

From his tattered clothes, it was clear that the young man was wearing a Taoist robe, indicating he was a Taoist priest.

Qin Xianyu looked exhausted, his brows furrowed heavily. If one looked closely, they could see the lingering fear in his eyes.

"Such a powerful insect," he sighed, still feeling the aftereffects of fear.

Ordinary people feel pain when their skin is cut.

After a long journey, if one is shaken, they may feel nauseous and vomit.

And rheumatic pain, dislocated bones, and other ailments are unbearable.

But what Qin Xianyu had experienced was different.

The insect inside him eroded his blood and gnawed at his veins. The pain was so unbearable that it made one wish for death. If not for the suppression by his true qi, the insect would have almost gnawed through his bone marrow and chewed on his internal organs.

However, the suppression by true qi had its pros and cons.

This was because the true qi Qin Xianyu cultivated was the innate primordial qi, a source of energy that could make the insect grow. Therefore, while using his true qi to suppress the insect could keep it at bay, it also made the insect grow faster.

"If I don't cultivate to the Dragon and Tiger stage, I will surely be killed by this insect in the future."

"Originally, I thought that having it as a support would make the Winged Divine Bees a source of confidence for me when facing powerful enemies in the future, but now it seems that this insect has too many drawbacks."

"If I can cultivate to the Gangsha stage early, it would be a great joy."

Qin Xianyu pondered, "It seems that among the many things I have been concerned about, cultivation should be placed first. I must ensure my survival before exploring other matters."

Originally, Qin Xianyu felt that his daily meditation and cultivation, along with the golden elixir refined from jade pills, allowed him to sense his progress almost every day. With such long-term accumulation, his future cultivation would not be a problem. Therefore, he mostly focused on the jade sword.

But now, he realized that the jade sword was the foundation of cultivating a Dao sword. However, even if he cultivated a Dao sword, it would only add a method of using a divine sword in battle.

The true foundation still had to be cultivation.

"The cultivation of a Dao sword cannot be rushed. Not to mention the slim hope of finding the jade sword, even the herbs are extremely rare," Qin Xianyu thought to himself. "There are thirty-six main herbs and one hundred and eight auxiliary herbs, a large number, including many rare and exotic herbs. Even if the governor and the prime minister search, they may not be able to gather them all."

"Among the three main herbs and seven auxiliary herbs, even though I am well-versed in medical texts, I have never heard of them. Although I reported these ten herbs to the prime minister and the governor, I suspect they will be very difficult to find."

The three main herbs were Yunling Bone, Xishui Flower, and Qinggu Vine, and the seven auxiliary herbs were Star Leaf, Ice Grass, and others.

Although the Sword Dao True Explanation recorded the appearance of these herbs, Qin Xianyu found nothing in the medical texts.

"Among the other herbs, some are rare and valuable, but since they are recorded in medical texts, I believe that with the connections of the prime minister and the governor, most can be found. Even if they can't, I can search for them myself. But these ten herbs, which I have never heard of or seen, are truly bizarre."

Qin Xianyu had a vague idea and thought to himself, "I fear that among these ten, many are extremely valuable, comparable to the Hundred-Year Cold Grass. Some may even be more valuable than the Hundred-Year Cold Grass, but I don't know which ones."

...

Walking through the mountains, Qin Xianyu suddenly realized he was lost.

When the prime minister returned from the capital to Qingyuan Prefecture, he encountered something and, led by a hunter, passed through the forest. At that time, an incident occurred, and he was invaded by a malevolent aura. Although he did not see the earth vein directly, he deduced that it was near that section of the mountain path.

Logically, the earth vein should be within a few miles, not too far away.

However, Qin Xianyu was not a hunter. He had a map of the terrain, but it only showed the direction of the mountain path.

But once he entered the forest, the trees were so dense that he could not see the mountain path.

"Even the prime minister needed a hunter to lead him through the mountain path. This map can only show a rough outline and cannot be perfectly accurate," Qin Xianyu thought to himself. "If I had known, I should have found a hunter to guide me."

"Even if I find that section of the mountain path, a few miles is still a large area for me. Moreover, the prime minister could only draw a rough outline, and the map only shows the general direction of the mountain path, not the exact depth."

Qin Xianyu felt somewhat frustrated, realizing he had not considered everything.

After walking for a while, Qin Xianyu stopped.

A strong smell of blood came from not far away. He drew his long sword from his back, not fearing any fierce beasts or birds.

The smell of blood came from a half-eaten mountain goat, apparently killed by a wild animal but only partially consumed, leaving some blood and bones.

"Goat meat?" Qin Xianyu thought. "If a hunter found this, it would be a small fortune. Even though it's just some limbs and blood, selling it would still be quite profitable."

As he thought this, he was about to leave when a sudden gust of wind whistled past his ear.

Qin Xianyu took a step back, moving a few feet to the side.

A long, gray, sharp hand passed by his ear.

It was a gray ape, almost as large as a human, with bloodshot eyes, gray fur, and long, sharp, black nails like blades.

Qin Xianyu was not afraid of wolves, tigers, or leopards, so he naturally did not fear an ape. He pointed his sword forward, but his heart suddenly raced.

The gray ape bared its teeth, revealing a mouth full of sharp, blood-stained fangs, looking extremely fierce.

This was not an ordinary ape but more like a fierce monster.

Qin Xianyu was suddenly startled and thought to himself, "This is not an ape, but some kind of fierce beast?"

Buzz!

A sharp whistle sounded, the sound of an arrow piercing the air.

An arrow flew over the gray ape's head and embedded itself in a nearby tree.

The gray ape was startled but became even more fierce. Its eyes turned blood-red, and it glared at Qin Xianyu, then let out a fierce cry in the direction of the arrow and ran off into the forest.

Qin Xianyu let out a sigh of relief.

From the direction the arrow came, several people quickly approached. The leader looked at Qin Xianyu and finally relaxed, saying, "You, young man, have really bad luck. You actually encountered a gray ape. If you hadn't met us, you would have been dead."

These people were simply dressed but were robust and muscular, all strong men. They had knives on their waists, long bows in their hands, and carried ropes and backpacks, clearly hunters from the mountains.

*PS: The number of favorites and recommendations is not very encouraging... No recommendation next week, I'm going solo... Feeling down...*

*But seeing the reward from classmate Yike LHX today, my mood improved a bit... But I still need to beg for favorites, I really can't stop.*