The Two Tasks

Alex was handed many empty storage bags at once by the elders. 

"Sect Leader told us you would need these too," one of the elders said. 

Alex took the bags and nodded. "I will need these for sure," Alex said.  "Alright, then. I will get on with the work." 

He walked into the Alchemy garden on the side of the inner sect mountain and immediately started picking up all the ingredients that were ready. 

That was the only thing he needed to do now. One after another, he picked up every ingredient he could see. Whether they were roots, leaves, fruits, flowers, branch, stem, or any part of a plant that could be used in alchemy, Alex picked it.

The elders kept watching on the outside, while he worked tirelessly on the other side. It took him about an hour and a half to pick up every single ingredient in here and make sure that there were none here that could be harmed needlessly from what he was going to do.