Tie Xiaosheng

As Chu Xisheng and Lu Luanli continued down the road, the journey became much easier. They only encountered a squad of the Long family's clan soldiers. Strangely enough, the leader of this squad was much stronger than the previous ones, already reaching the ninth rank in cultivation. However, after Lu Luanli killed this person, there was no movement on Chu Xisheng's task panel. The only difference was that the battle took place in a relatively remote location, and it would take some time for the Long family to discover the bodies of these clan soldiers.

As Chu Xisheng pondered his experiences since entering the Fire Bone Cave, including the successive bursts of fireworks and the events in the library, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. Did he need not only to defeat opponents stronger than himself, but also to be recognized by others to gain martial points? On the day of the inner door trial, a single sentence from Ye Zhichun in front of everyone had awakened the system, raising his reputation to "ninth rank (virtual)."

This indicated that acquiring martial points did not necessarily require killing or defeating others; gaining recognition from figures like Ye Zhichun could also help boost his reputation. This was because Ye Zhichun had significant prestige and great credibility, causing people to believe in her words. Therefore, the core of this system was simply the word "belief." As long as people believed in his strength, he could accumulate enough martial points to enhance his martial prowess and talent.

As Chu Xisheng considered this, a slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He had already grasped the basic mechanism of this system, and the next step was to verify it one by one.When Chu Xisheng snapped back to reality, he found Lu Luanli sneakily tearing at her clothes. Not only did she remove the outer layers of her purple gauze dress, leaving only the purple silk lining underneath, but she also tore open a seam in her clothes and affixed a green talisman inside.

When Chu Xisheng glanced over, Lu Luanli's face immediately flushed, and she tightened the neckline of her clothes, saying, "What are you looking at? I'm applying a cooling charm. It's too hot under here."In fact, with her cultivation, it shouldn't have been so hot for her. The main reason was the intense physical exertion and sweating from the continuous combat moments ago.Chu Xisheng raised an eyebrow. The dim light in the cave was not sufficient for clear visibility, but with his eagle eyes, he could clearly discern objects within a range of thirty zhang, even in the darkness.

At that moment, Lu Luanli's face was tinged with red, with a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead, and the purple dress clung tightly to her body due to the sweat, exuding a vibrant and youthful aura. The combination of the girl's body scent and the smell of sweat wafted to his nose, tempting him with impure thoughts.

Chu Xisheng couldn't help but narrow his eyes and unconsciously twitch his nose.Lu Luanli's pretty face blushed even more, showing a hint of annoyance in her eyes. "What are you nosing around for?"Chu Xisheng calmly glanced at her, then walked behind Lu Luanli and plucked a small dark green grass from an inconspicuous crevice in the rock wall.

Lu Luanli recognized it as "Heartbreak Grass," one of the auxiliary materials for nurturing elemental power, capable of neutralizing the properties of Yangyang Grass. Her expression stiffened slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Let's go." Chu Xisheng carefully tucked the small plant into a specialized pouch, then clapped his hands. "Since we're here, we'll need to spend a few days to search for the herbs required for nurturing elemental power."

He looked at Lu Luanli expectantly. "You've been undercover at the Positive Yang Martial Institute for three months. You should know the secret formula for nurturing elemental power, right? You're a seventh-rank practitioner, so find a way to help me locate it."Lu Luanli's emotions were complicated. She had followed Chu Xisheng with the purpose of monitoring him and seeking some leisure, but now she had become Chu Xisheng's bodyguard and laborer.

Chu Xisheng was unwell, and without realizing it, he had transferred several bags from his person to Lu Luanli's. However, she did have a way to help Chu Xisheng.Utilizing the technique called Repellent Gold, Lu Luanli handed her straight knife to Chu Xisheng, then raised her hands to form a spiritual seal while chanting an incantation.In a flash, a pure white spiritual force gathered and transformed into a flawless, delicate white ferret. After solidifying its form, the ferret glanced around and then began sniffing the ground as it moved forward.

Lu Luanli maintained the technique with one hand and followed behind the white ferret at a steady pace. "This is our family's secret technique for ferret-guided herb search. It can accurately locate herbs within a fifty-yard radius, but it can't differentiate between different types of herbs, so it will depend on your luck from now on."

Chu Xisheng's spirits lifted as he followed Lu Luanli. The area they were in had already been thoroughly searched by herb gatherers.However, the white ferret summoned by Lu Luanli was incredibly adept, locating herbs every fifty to sixty steps from narrow and concealed corners.

After walking for an hour, Chu Xisheng's herb pouch was filled to the brim with all the auxiliary herbs from the secret formula, except for Yangyang Grass.Lu Luanli hesitated for a moment before leading Chu Xisheng deeper into the Firebone Cavern. This was the true area rich in spirit herbs and also a perilous zone.

Countless evil creatures lurked in the depths, most of them being residual spirits left behind by ancient gods, combined with the corrupt Yin energy of the underground, and some were exotic beasts bred from the unique environment.Many experienced herb gatherers had perished here, despite their formidable strength. Even as a seventh-rank practitioner skilled in both martial and spiritual arts, Lu Luanli had to be extremely cautious. This was also why Yangyang Grass could fetch such a high price of one hundred taels.

At that moment, the white ferret suddenly lifted its head, twitched its nose for a moment, and then darted forward like a streak of white light.Chu Xisheng and Lu Luanli exchanged astonished glances, then hastened their steps to follow the ferret. With the ferret leading the way, they sprinted for over two hundred yards.

Lu Luanli's eyes suddenly narrowed as she saw a dark shadow flying towards them. It was a gold-ringed black snake as thick as a human arm, springing out from the shadows like a coiled spring. Its mouth opened wide, revealing two deadly white fangs inside. Lu Luanli couldn't help but furrow her brow slightly.

She could easily deal with this black snake, the problem was maintaining the spell, which made it difficult to be distracted.

Just as Lu Luanli was about to dispel the "Spirit Ferret Herb Search Technique," a flash of blade light appeared beside her, accurately striking the venomous fang. Then with a twist, the head of the gold-ringed black snake was swiftly severed.

Lu Luanli immediately felt relieved. The person behind her not only had excellent sword skills and strong observation, but also quick reflexes, making him quite reliable.

Chu Xisheng then smoothly stowed the snake's body into his pouch.

They were lucky that this snake had not been contaminated by the foul air underground; it should fetch a good price, perhaps one or two extra silver coins. Its poison sac and gallbladder were both valuable medicinal materials.

Following the white ferret, the two ran for over a hundred yards before coming to a stop.

At this point, they had entered a dense stone forest, with towering stalagmites on either side and a large number of stalactites hanging down, interlocking like teeth, leaving only narrow passageways for travel.

Struggling to squeeze deep into the stone forest, they saw the white ferret stop in a corner of the stone forest, circling around a dark figure.

Chu Xisheng was momentarily stunned at the sight, then looked at Lu Luanli in confusion. "Isn't your ferret supposed to be used for herb searching?"

The black shadow in front of him turned out to be a person.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a burly bear-like stature, coarse iron-like hair, a square face, prominent ears, and a tiger-like beard. His complexion was slightly pale, and his eyes were tightly closed, unconscious and covered in bloodstains.

"Of course it's used for herb searching. The fact that the ferret led us here means that he has medicine on him." Lu Luanli picked up a bag next to the middle-aged man and opened it, revealing several bottles and many medicinal herbs.

Chu Xisheng's pupils involuntarily contracted when he saw inside the bag, as he noticed two Yangyang Grass plants.

Lu Luanli then looked thoughtfully at the middle-aged man on the ground. "Also, I recognize this person. He is Tie Xiaosheng, the deputy leader of the Iron Flag Gang."