Chapter 15 Trial, Planting Exotic Flame Grass (1)

The shopkeeper listened to Jiang Tang's words, thoughtful.

"Supply and demand dictate the value," said Young Master Jiang, "whether there are customers or not, closing the store for half a day would generally be to build a reputation of selling rare and high-quality items."

Such a move would attract even more customers.

Seeing the shopkeeper's demeanor, Jiang Tang reached out and patted his shoulder, then took out a wad of silver notes and handed it over.

"Young Master Jiang, this won't do, this won't do!" The shopkeeper, seeing the large sum on the silver notes, hurriedly waved his hands in panic, "The standard silver we receive is enough!"

"This is the standard silver for the future, as I'll be leaving and won't always be here. Besides, I trust Mr. Xu. Please bother Mr. Jiang to deliver it to him for me," Jiang Tang said with a slight smile.

Mr. Xu was the accountant.

Jiang Tang had learned about his past and tested him for several days, after which he valued Mr. Xu highly, leaving the account books to his care.

Handing over these silver notes to him was more reassuring than to anyone else.

"Alright." Mr. Jiang took the silver notes, nodding with a smile.

Being trusted and valued by their master in just over a dozen days was indeed their most prideful achievement.

Jiang Tang left Sunside City, rented a bullock cart, and headed towards the dense forest in the east.

The dense forest, known as Qingloujian, was a part of Chang'an Mountain. Spiritual energy came from The Upper Realm, and it was under the control of the Immortal Sect.

Inside were treasures and Demonic Beasts, with countless adventures to be had. Throughout history, it had been a place where disciples from Noble Clan Sects had to visit for their training.

Upon reaching Qingloujian, it was high noon.

The place was already filled with disciples who had come for training. Some were Loose Cultivators, while others were disciples from Noble Clan Sects.

Jiang Tang saw several people dressed just like Su Chang'an, presumably they were Sword Sect disciples.

For some reason, they stayed far from the dense forest and did not enter.

It was only when Jiang Tang saw several Immortal Sect disciples descend from the sky on their swords, looking solemnly in all directions.

They bowed in unison, then loudly announced, "Qingloujian is about to open, those who wish to enter, report your names. Those who trespass without permission, triggering the protective spells, will not be held responsible by the Immortal Sect."

As they finished, they all cast spells simultaneously, and the originally serene forest suddenly had spiritual lights flickering, with a barrier appearing in front of all the trainees.

It turned out that every Sect's secret realm was guarded by disciples and a protective formation. If any trespasser dared to enter uninvited, they would immediately trigger the restrictions and be killed on the spot.

The trainees immediately lined up in an orderly manner, handing over their tokens for registration before proceeding inside.

Suddenly, Jiang Tang remembered that when he said he wanted to go out for training, the steward kindly gave him a token with his name engraved on the back, saying it would be useful during the training.

So this was its use.

When it was his turn, he quickly took out the token and handed it over.

"A fellow sect junior, I see," the disciple registering him said with a hint of surprise.

"Eh, can't one from the same sect train in their own Sect's secret realm?" asked Jiang Tang, momentarily taken aback and feeling a bit embarrassed.

He was unaware of this rule.

"Not at all, it's just that sect disciples have to hand over seventy percent of the treasures they obtain during their training on the spot," said the disciple with a smile.

Seventy percent... that's downright extortion.

But recalling that the Immortal Sect was his trump card - its deep foundations something he had to rely on - Jiang Tang instantly nodded in agreement, "Of course, of course."

Going deeper into the forest, Jiang Tang astonishingly noticed that everyone else had companions, while he was alone.

He didn't feel lonely at all; he still had fellow sect brothers.

Jiang Tang silently chanted to himself and stepped further into the woods.

This trip to the dense forest was intended to find some high-quality Spirit Grass to plant in his space.

If it were possible, he would also like to attempt breaking through to the Sixth Heaven of Body Refinement.

As Jiang Tang walked for a while, he found that there were indeed many excellent Spirit Grasses and Spiritual Medicines, but around them, one or two Demonic Beasts were always lingering.

According to ancient records, these Demonic Beasts were the guardians of the Spirit Grasses and Spiritual Medicines. If one wished to harvest the Spirit Grass, one had to defeat them first.

In this world, regardless of demons, ghosts, or other creatures, they are all divided into nine ranks, and beyond that are beings from ancient times, who mostly have become immmortal or demons and are no longer in the Mortal Realm.

However, even the weakest of these creatures is at the late stage of the first rank, comparable to the perfect completion of the Ninth Heaven of Body Refinement. He was only at the Fifth Heaven of Body Refinement—how could he possibly defeat them?

At that moment, Jiang Tang suddenly saw a strangely growing Spirit Grass.

To call it a grass wasn't quite accurate, it was more like a fire grass. Its stem was that of a plant, while the leaves were shining, dark red flames.

Is this... Exotic Flame Grass?

Jiang Tang was momentarily stunned, then he hurriedly took out the ancient book to look through it carefully, and when his gaze landed on one of the pages, his excitement surged.

It was, without a doubt, Exotic Flame Grass!

Turns out, Exotic Flame Grass is naturally formed by heaven and earth, born with the seed of the Exotic Flame. Although it is not as preeminent as the Innate Exotic Flame, the fire seed that proliferates from it is also extremely rare.

For example, the Exotic Flame Grass in front of him, with flames of a dark red color, was the Xuanming Spiritual Fire, ranked twentieth in the Ding Xiang category.

In this world, there are a total of one hundred types of post-heaven derived Exotic Flames, divided into Jia Xiang, Yi Xiang, Bing Xiang, and Ding Xiang, with each category further divided into twenty-five levels. Among them, Jia Xiang Exotic Flames are the best, which if they could grow to a later stage, their power could be comparable to Innate Spiritual Fire.

The Xuanming Spiritual Fire, ranked at the end of Ding Xiang, was already extremely good for Jiang Tang.

Taming this Exotic Flame Grass, if he successfully hatched the Xuanming Spiritual Fire, the quality of the Pills he refined would improve significantly.

Since there was Exotic Flame Grass, then...

Jiang Tang looked around and felt something fall on his head. When he reached up, he found a sticky liquid.

Disgusted, he shook it off, and as he looked up, he saw eight bright red eyeballs.

Jiang Tang shuddered and immediately retreated a large step backward with the ancient book in his arms.

Such a large spider, with its bristles clearly visible, was way too much to handle!

As it turned out, this Eight Eyes Spider was the guardian beast of the Exotic Flame Grass.

Looking at its appearance, it was already at the full completion of the first rank, comparable to the peak of the Ninth Heaven of Body Refinement for a Cultivator. And Jiang Tang was only at the Fifth Heaven of Body Refinement, not having even entered the Sixth Heaven.

Although he could take a hit, it didn't mean he could take such a ferocious beating.

"Daddy, Daddy!" At this moment, Eryao suddenly transmitted his voice secretly.

"What's wrong?" asked Jiang Tang, cautiously retreating step by step as he spoke.

"Daddy, let me out."

Jiang Tang did as he was told and summoned Eryao.

Eryao landed in front of him, flapping its wings, baring its teeth and making faces at the Eight Eyes Spider.

Jiang Tang suddenly felt a strange fluctuation.

Immediately afterward, he saw the Eight Eyes Spider shudder and, turning its head with a pitiful howl, run away.

Could this be the soul suppression?

"Don't be afraid, Daddy. Ryao's bloodline dominance is stronger than that of the beast, so imposing the soul suppression can drive away these low-ranked Demonic Beasts that have not awakened their wisdom," Eryao turned its head, leapt into Jiang Tang's arms, and grinned.

Jiang Tang understood.

It turns out that not only are humans differentiated into many levels, but also the various races, due to their bloodlines, are divided into different levels.

For instance, his Eryao, compared to this Eight Eyes Spider, was a bit like a sovereign to a subject. Faced with the soul pressure from a superior, those of a lower bloodline will naturally feel fear.