Chapter 83: The Spirit-Nourishing Herb

The Cultivation Exchange Society was not only attended by martial artists, but also attracted many entrepreneurs. Their intentions were not difficult to guess: they hoped to recruit some martial artists, whether as personal bodyguards or as guest consultants.

“Brother Zhang, I haven’t properly congratulated you yet,” said Feng Zhenyu, arriving with his daughter Feng Yuling and the alchemist Deng Chang to pay their respects.

“Haha, Brother Feng, you’re here too,” Zhang Tianfang replied with a hearty laugh.

No matter how intense the secret competition among the ten great families, on the surface, they maintained an air of cordiality.

“It’s been a while since I spent time with Ling’er. I thought this would be a good opportunity for us father and daughter to catch up,” Feng Zhenyu said, not directly stating his true purpose.

Zhang Xinyi gave a sweet smile, “Hello, Uncle Feng.”

“Good, Xiaoyi. You truly embody the saying that girls blossom as they grow—the prettier you get,” Feng Zhenyu chuckled warmly. He glanced around before asking, “By the way, did Mr. Lin come with you?”

“No,” Zhang Tianfang shook his head.

This was all arranged by Lin Yi ahead of time to avoid drawing too much attention.

“That’s a pity,” Feng Zhenyu said, sounding disappointed.

He had hoped to use this opportunity to get closer to Mr. Lin. But since Lin Yi hadn’t come, there was nothing he could do. Feng Yuling, meanwhile, stared intently at Lin Yi and asked in a soft voice, “Have we met before?”

It was said that women’s intuition was sharp, and she felt a strange sense of familiarity with Lin Yi, though she couldn’t pinpoint where she’d seen him before. It was a subtle, inexplicable feeling.

Zhang Tianfang felt a slight pang of worry—could Feng Yuling really have seen through something?

Lin Yi smiled calmly, “No.”

“Really?” Feng Yuling still seemed skeptical.

Zhang Xinyi, not wanting Feng Yuling to pester Lin Yi, took the initiative: “He’s my friend and just arrived in Shan Province recently. How could you have met him? Are you just looking for a match so you can hurry up and get married?”

“You’re the one eager to get married,” Feng Yuling shot Zhang Xinyi a glare.

With that, Feng Yuling withdrew her gaze for the time being.

“I’m going to look around,” Lin Yi said, turning to leave.

Zhang Tianfang dared not say anything, but he secretly winked at Zhang Xinyi, signaling her to follow quickly.

Zhang Xinyi understood her father’s intentions. Such a good chance to be alone—she had to seize it.

“Dad, I’ll go look around with my friend,” Zhang Xinyi said.

“Go ahead,” Zhang Tianfang waved her off.

Once Zhang Xinyi had left, Feng Zhenyu felt a bit puzzled. After all, within the ten great families, making friends was all about circles. Zhang Xinyi’s standards were famously high—many wealthy young men had tried and failed even to be her friend. The young man just now seemed to be from an ordinary background, not particularly handsome, so how had he managed to catch Zhang Xinyi’s attention?

He probed subtly, joking, “Brother Zhang, aren’t you worried about your precious daughter? Aren’t you afraid she’ll be swept away?”

Zhang Tianfang smiled faintly. He actually hoped Lin Yi would sweep his daughter away; then he’d have a grandmaster for a son-in-law. But of course, he kept that thought to himself.

He laughed, “Haha, my daughter is grown. Whatever decisions she makes, as parents, we’ll support her.”

Feng Zhenyu laughed along, but his eyes twinkled with calculation.

Elsewhere, Lin Yi frowned slightly as he saw Zhang Xinyi following him. “Why did you come after me?”

Zhang Xinyi noticed his frown and felt a little aggrieved. She was a beautiful woman, proactively chasing after him—he shouldn’t be so dismissive, even if he didn’t like her.

“Mr. Lin, since it’s your first time here, you must be unfamiliar. I can show you around,” Zhang Xinyi said with a smile.

Lin Yi felt helpless. He simply wanted to wander quietly, and if he found something worthwhile, he would buy it directly. But with Zhang Xinyi tagging along like a beacon, people kept turning to look at them. It made it impossible for Lin Yi to stay low-key.

“Fine, since you insist, let’s go together,” Lin Yi said.

Zhang Xinyi smiled sweetly and led the way. After a while, a commotion arose ahead.

“Look, even people from Butterfly Valley and the Mo family have arrived!” someone shouted loudly.

Zhang Xinyi’s eyes lit up at the news.

Soon, the crowd parted to allow two groups through, each about seven or eight people strong.

One group was composed entirely of women, all dressed in identical red robes, ethereal and enchanting. Their leader was a stunning woman in her thirties, whose strength was at the grandmaster level. The others were also formidable; most were at the ninth level of innate cultivation, with two at the half-step grandmaster level.

The other group consisted of both men and women, led by a burly man in his forties, also a grandmaster.

Either force alone could sweep through the entire Jiang Province.

Zhang Xinyi took the opportunity to introduce, “Mr. Lin, these two groups are Butterfly Valley and the Mo family. The all-female group is Butterfly Valley, and the other is the Mo family.”

“Butterfly Valley, Mo family?” Lin Yi wondered aloud.

“Yes, Butterfly Valley specializes in alchemy. It’s said they possess many rare medicinal herbs, even spirit herbs. But they only accept women,” Zhang Xinyi explained. “The Mo family, on the other hand, excels in forging magical instruments. Our Zhang family has purchased artifacts from them in the past.”

Lin Yi’s eyes shone. With ample cultivation resources, he was not far from condensing his eleventh golden core.

“It seems I must pay a visit to Butterfly Valley,” Lin Yi decided.

As for the Mo family’s forging, he wasn’t particularly interested.

With the arrival of Butterfly Valley and the Mo family, martial artists rushed forward to make requests.

“Miss Die, I’ll pay ten million for a bottle of Qi-nurturing pills!”

“Elder Mo, I have a superb piece of material. Please help me forge it into a magical artifact—the price is negotiable.”

Butterfly Valley’s leader, Die Nishang, smiled, “Everyone, alchemy requests will be handled after the exchange meeting. However, if anyone has a millennium herb or a hundred-year-old spirit herb, I can make an exception and fire the furnace once.”

Mo Baili of the Mo family stroked his beard and declared, “I’ll pay high prices for rare ores. If satisfied, I can forge any magical artifact for you, including storage artifacts.”

The martial artists erupted at the offers from Butterfly Valley and the Mo family.

Millennium herbs were rare but not unheard of worldwide. While expensive, ordinary methods of consumption only provided tonic effects. If refined into pills, their efficacy changed dramatically.

An elderly man, trembling, took out a spirit herb from his pocket. It looked ordinary, somewhat resembling foxtail grass. If not for the faint spiritual aura it emitted, no one would have given it a second glance.

“Haha, Old Wei, you’ve brought out your foxtail spirit herb again.”

“Year after year, you bring it, and year after year, nobody wants it.”

The crowd laughed and shook their heads at Old Wei’s foxtail grass.

Old Wei glanced around and snapped, “You all know nothing. This is a priceless treasure.”

He handed the foxtail grass to Die Nishang and said, “Miss, please have a look…”

Die Nishang shook her head. “Sir, this is indeed a spirit herb, but its medicinal properties are too weak—even red ginseng is better. Moreover, Butterfly Valley has no records of this herb.”

“Ah, Miss, please look again,” Old Wei pleaded, still unwilling to give up.

Before Die Nishang could reply, the people around jeered, “Old Wei, enough. Don’t embarrass yourself. It’s just a foxtail grass—maybe it grew alongside some spirit herb and picked up a bit of spiritual essence. Nobody wanted it, so you picked it up.”

“Hmph, a bunch of blind fools,” Old Wei shouted, his face flushed.

Lin Yi saw the foxtail grass in Old Wei’s hand and felt a surge of joy: “It’s actually Spirit-nourishing Grass!”

Spirit-nourishing Grass was the main ingredient in several pills, like Longevity Pills, Destiny Pills, Spirit-nourishing Pills, and so on. In the cultivation world a thousand years ago, a single stalk was hard to find.

Its direct consumption not only increased spiritual sense and stabilized the soul, but also extended lifespan—a highly coveted item for cultivators nearing the end of their years.

Lin Yi hadn’t expected to find one here. When luck arrived, nothing could stop it.

Old Wei felt dejected. He’d had this foxtail grass for ten years, his grandson had risked his life to snatch it from a beast’s maw. Because of this herb, his grandson had been bedridden ever since.

“Sigh,” Old Wei sighed.

Just then, a gentle voice sounded in his ear: “May I take a look at your spirit herb?”

“What?” Old Wei was surprised. It was the first time someone had ever asked to see his spirit herb, and he was overjoyed.

He turned urgently to see a young man, accompanied by a beautiful young lady.

“Is it not allowed?” Lin Yi frowned slightly.

The Spirit-nourishing Grass was so valuable—naturally, he wanted it.

“Of course, of course it’s allowed,” Old Wei nodded eagerly.

Someone nearby advised, “Brother, don’t be fooled. This foxtail grass is a spirit herb, but its medicinal properties are poor. It’s worth nothing.”

Old Wei, seeing someone finally interested, was unwilling to be interrupted.

“Get lost, you busybodies,” Old Wei snapped.

Lin Yi smiled gently and took the Spirit-nourishing Grass from Old Wei.

Wrapping his spiritual sense around it, Lin Yi immediately felt a coolness, as if his body were immersed in water.

“No mistake—it really is Spirit-nourishing Grass,” Lin Yi confirmed.

“Sir, how much do you want for this spirit herb?” Lin Yi asked.

“You really want to buy it?” Old Wei was deeply moved.

“Of course. If I wasn’t going to buy it, why would I ask the price?” Lin Yi said with a faint smile.

Old Wei hurriedly replied, “I want ten healing pills. My grandson has been bedridden for ten years because of this herb.”

“Agreed.” Lin Yi answered immediately. Ten healing pills were nothing compared to the value of the Spirit-nourishing Grass—even a hundred pills would pale in comparison.

“Eh?”

Now Old Wei was stunned. The price of one healing pill was at least ten million; ten would be over a hundred million. Wasn’t this man going to bargain at all?