Chapter 18: The Withered Root of the Divine Tree and Medicinal Mud

The backpack space was limited, so Zhao Sheng picked and chose, and finally decided to pack the nine most valuable spiritual medicines, including the Red Fire Ganoderma and thousand-year-old spiritual medicines, inside.

He didn't plan to take away the other spiritual medicines.

Because carrying them would affect the agility of his body.

In such an extremely dangerous place, even being slightly slower could be fatal.

Zhao Sheng hadn't brought his "hope" back yet, naturally he wouldn't throw away the big for the sake of the small.

Just as he was busy digging up spiritual medicines, a fishy smell suddenly rolled in from the clouds. Zhao Sheng let out a surprised gasp, his body dropped down, and with a roll, he darted into a hiding spot he had already scoped out.

Just as he concealed himself, the sound of flapping wings came from overhead. He glanced outside, and landing on the slope was the Blood-winged Flying Lizard he had seen before.

This Blood-winged Flying Lizard seemed to be heavily injured, with its dark red horn scales in disarray and numerous wounds along its body. It appeared lethargic, yet it came here with a strong sense of purpose. After landing, it didn't look around but went straight to a tree root, extended its front claw, and started digging downward along the root.

That was exactly where the Red Fire Ganoderma grew. Zhao Sheng was not worried about the demon beast discovering him but was filled with intense curiosity.

The claws of the Blood-winged Flying Lizard were sharp, and it quickly dug a few feet deep, revealing the soil layer below. The creature skillfully grabbed a handful of soil and swallowed it directly without even chewing before gulping it down.

Perhaps this "soil" really had medicinal effects, because after the Flying Lizard swallowed this stuff, its spirits were lifted, it let out a loud cry, flapped its wings and stirred up a whirlwind, then took to the air and flew away.

Eating soil?

Zhao Sheng leaped out from his hiding spot and ran to the pit the Flying Lizard had dug, examining it carefully. In the deep pit, broken roots remained, and the soil was a dark brown color.

Besides that, he found nothing unusual.

Zhao Sheng felt very strange, he reached into the pit to grab a handful of soil and brought it to his nose to smell.

Huh?

A faint fragrance came from the soil; the scent was really light, and only Zhao Sheng with his nose more sensitive than a dog's could detect it.

He tentatively licked a bit of the soil from his hand, and the taste was extremely bitter.

An idea suddenly came to Zhao Sheng's mind, "Could this... possibly be the legendary Medicinal Mud?"

Since ancient times in the Cultivation World, there has been talk of Medicinal Mud. It is said that when spiritual medicines are not harvested and naturally wither and die, after hundreds and thousands of years of decay and weathering they turn into soil with medicinal properties. After tens of thousands of years of accumulation, layers of Medicine Soil pile up and gradually form a kind of "Medicinal Mud" that can speed up the growth of spiritual medicines.

This Medicinal Mud contains a portion of medicinal efficacy and can be ingested as spiritual medicine, but it's far less valuable than its ripening properties.

Thinking of this, Zhao Sheng was extraordinarily excited and began to dig rapidly around the slope.

An hour later, the slope was full of holes. At that time, Zhao Sheng stood up with a mixed expression of joy and concern.

He discovered that not all of the slope was made of Medicinal Mud; in fact, only within a one-foot range of the withered tree roots could traces of Medicinal Mud be found.

But he also discovered another thing that shocked him immensely.

There were no large trees on this slope, yet there was a remnant of a massive tree root system.

From the results of his excavation, it was clear that the protruding dead tree roots were just the tip of the iceberg, majority of the root system was buried below the earth and rocks, spreading in all directions, not only occupying the entire slope but even extending into the surrounding cliff faces.

Zhao Sheng couldn't imagine how such a gigantic tree could grow in such a dark place, and if a tree with such a large root system still existed, how tremendous it would be!

For some reason, the tree had snapped, very likely having fallen into an abyss with no bottom, leaving behind this root system, most of which had also died, but a small part remained, creating the unique ecosystem of this area. At the same time, the dead roots had also turned into patches of Medicinal Mud, becoming the nourishment for numerous spiritual medicines growing on this slope.

With the recent discovery of Medicinal Mud, Zhao Sheng spent another hour carefully coating each of the nine spiritual medicines with Medicinal Mud he dug out.

This not only ensured that their effect would not dissipate but also prevented the scent of the medicines from leaking out, attracting unpredictable dangers.

As he was leaving, he suddenly thought of something and turned back to the slope, cutting off a small section of what looked to be a "fresher" root with the dagger he carried, and placed it into his backpack.

After leaving the slope, Zhao Sheng began his long journey to find his way.

There was one advantage to Heavenly Pillar Mountain; as long as you climbed horizontally, you would always come around to the other side of the mountain.

In fact, that was exactly what Zhao Sheng did.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Zhao Sheng finally broke free from Death Treasure Land and once again saw the Sun and the Cloud Sea.

By then, his body was covered with wounds, and his clothes were tattered.

No one knew the hardships and dangers he had faced during that time. As for this experience, Zhao Sheng himself kept his lips sealed, avoiding all talk about it.

...

Several months later, at the Zhao Family Mansion by the Lishui River, a roar suddenly echoed from the ancestral hall:

"Kneel down before me!"

Zhao Sheng glared at his disappointing son, furious and with a pounding headache.

Thump! Zhao Chengle, sturdy and broad-shouldered yet with unexpectedly delicate features, knelt down promptly before his own father.

"Father, I realize my mistake!"

"Pah, what mistake do you understand? Over the years, your mother and I have admonished you countless times. Have you ever changed?"

"Cultivating for decades, and you've barely reached the third layer of Qi Refining. Meanwhile, your wife, with her useless Five Spirits Root, has already reached the Qi Refining Fifth Layer Realm. A Four Spirit Roots not even comparable to a useless spiritual root.

Speak up, have you been secretly giving your Spirit Origin Pills to her again?"

Zhao Sheng, now well into his old age, still had a voice as resonant as a large bell and full of vigor.

The angrier he became, the more he picked up the family disciplinary rattan stick and fiercely whipped his son.

Zhao Chengle, who had already advanced to the Innate Realm and become tough-skinned, was indifferent to the superficial pain.

While kneeling on the ground and taking the beating, he defended himself, "Father, as you know, I've always been restless since childhood, falling asleep the moment I start cultivating. Since the Spirit Origin Pills are wasted on me, it's better given to Qingqing."

The Qingqing mentioned by Zhao Chengle was named Han Qingqing, born with a useless spiritual root.

Ah, her father was Han Xuanwu.

Speaking of which, more than a decade earlier, after Zhao Sheng and Han Xuanwu had a narrow escape from Fu Yanqing,

Zhao Sheng was relatively unaffected, but Han Xuanwu, on the other hand, had the stroke of luck.

Because he promptly reported to the Purple Sun Sect that Demon Disciples of Earth Flame Palace had killed and disguised themselves as Purple Sun Sect disciples, setting traps to kill and rob on Heavenly Pillar Mountain,

he was admitted into the Purple Sun Sect.

Later, due to his high cultivation talent, he was taken as a disciple by a late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator. From that point on, his progress was unstoppable.

In just over a decade, he skyrocketed from the Sixth Level of Qi Refining to the Ninth Layer.

Back then, Han Xuanwu was extremely grateful for Zhao Sheng's life-saving grace and made numerous visits to express his gratitude.

The relationship between the two men grew closer and closer, until Han Xuanwu eventually betrothed his daughter to Zhao Chengle, making the two families in-laws.