I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 129 The Mysterious Herb Garden (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

The group cautiously retreated. The green eyes at the bamboo joints merely rotated and watched them, making no other move. The withered old bamboo that had broken off on its own earlier was not attributed to them.

A glint of greed flashed in Zhang Jincheng's eyes. He stepped forward, and the Earth Soul Seal in his hand shone brightly.

"Let me try it!"

The earth elemental spiritual power on the Earth Soul Seal surged wildly, transforming into a thick yellow light that slammed into the nearest cyan-gold jade bamboo.

boom!
The dull thud echoed through the bamboo grove, yet the bamboo remained completely still, not even a single leaf trembled.

Instead, the Earth Soul Seal was repelled by its own force. Zhang Jincheng felt as if he had been hit hard in the chest. He groaned and staggered backward, but still couldn't steady himself and sat down on the ground with a thud.

Zhang Jincheng stared wide-eyed at the bamboo stalk in disbelief.

The dark green pupils at the bamboo joints twisted slightly, revealing a hint of mockery.

Attacking the bamboo without breaking it will not cause any abnormalities to the bamboo or the bamboo forest.

"Brother, let me do it!"

Zhang Jinling unfolded the Thousand Blade Umbrella in her hand with a whoosh. With a flick of her wrist, dozens of sharp golden rays poured out like a torrential rain, each one precisely piercing the most vulnerable joints of the bamboo.

Ding Ding Ding!
The sound of metal clashing was deafening, yet those golden needles, which were powerful enough to pierce most protective magical artifacts, shattered into specks of golden light the moment they touched the bamboo, dissipating into the air.

The bamboo remained intact, without even a scratch.

"I'll try too."

Qin Yunyan snorted coldly, and the Crimson Silk soared into the sky like a raging flame, transforming into a fiery python that coiled around another bamboo.

She made a hand seal with her fingertips, and the fire suddenly surged, the scorching flames engulfing the entire bamboo. However, after the flames subsided, the bamboo remained as green as jade, without a single scorch mark.

"What the hell is this thing?!" Qin Yunyan's pupils shrank slightly.

Qin Yunze frowned, and the Blue Light of the Surging Wave Ruler in his hand flowed. He swung the ruler and unleashed a wave of extremely cold ice energy, instantly freezing several bamboo stalks into ice sculptures.

However, the next second, the golden patterns at the bamboo joints shone slightly, the ice layer cracked, and the bamboo remained as upright as ever.

The four of them used every trick in the book, and not only could they not break the bamboo, they couldn't even leave a faint mark.

The wind in the bamboo forest suddenly stopped, and the entire bamboo forest fell into an eerie silence.

The dark green eyes on the bamboo joints rolled around, all carrying a mocking look, laughing at their futile efforts.

Qin Yunze reluctantly put away the Surging Wave Ruler. "I'm afraid we won't be able to cut through these Azure Jade Bamboos with our current methods. It's a real pity."

Zhang Jincheng's face was grim. He stared at the bamboo, his eyes filled with both greed and resentment.

Zhang Jinling tugged at her brother's sleeve, "Forget it, brother, there will definitely be better things later. Let's leave these bamboo for now. Let's go, don't waste time. If it starts to rain, who knows what might happen."

The four released their protective auras and entered the bamboo forest one by one. Jiang Yi glanced around and also felt it was a pity.

But this is, after all, the Azure Jade Bamboo that has grown here for thousands of years, a top-grade material for making magic weapons, so it's normal that these Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn't cut it down.

I wonder if cultivators in ancient times had the kind of body-forging plots described in novels, where they would use special magical artifacts to chop bamboo every day to practice their basic skills.

Looking around, we can check where the disciples of the Azure Emperor Palace live to see if they have any of these kinds of tools.

*
Not long after Jiang Yi and his group entered the bamboo forest, Zhao Cangyun and his group of four arrived outside the bamboo forest.

Shang Shixu shared Wuhen's perspective with them, and all four of them saw the scene of those Foundation Establishment cultivators trying to cut down bamboo.

If it doesn't break, nothing will happen, and the bamboo forest feels much calmer during the day than at night.

"I'll try!"

A flash of golden flame appeared in Zhao Cangyun's eyes, and the long sword in his hand, wrapped in the golden fire of the Qilin, slashed fiercely at the Azure Jade Bamboo.

As expected, sparks flew as the blade struck the bamboo, leaving a faint scorch mark on the bamboo joint.

However, before everyone could rejoice, the golden patterns on the bamboo skin flowed, and the scorch marks healed completely in the blink of an eye.

Those dark green eyes suddenly widened and contracted, clearly not expecting anyone to be able to hurt the bamboo.

"Hey, it's really hard!"

Zhao Cangyun sheathed his sword. He only wanted to test its hardness and did not use his full strength. He wanted to see how big the gap was between him and those Foundation Establishment cultivators.

His senior sister was still in the bamboo forest. He wouldn't risk his life fighting the bamboo at a time like this. If he broke the bamboo and endangered his senior sister, he would be willing to die a hundred times over.

Bah! Bah!
Shen Puning pretended to spit twice into her palm, wiped her hands on her clothes, rolled up her sleeves to reveal her slender forearms, bent down to hug the nearest bamboo stalk, and prepared to pull it up. With a sudden burst of energy, her feet sank into the ground. "Get up—!"

With a series of muffled thuds, the ground beneath the bamboo trembled slightly, as she had actually lifted it up by half an inch!
The eyes on the bamboo joints trembled wildly, their pupils shrinking to pinpoints, as if they were looking at some primordial beast.

Unfortunately, the bamboo roots flashed with golden light and then firmly embedded themselves back into the soil.

"No, it feels like the roots of the bamboo are connected, and there's a force pulling them down. Unless we can uproot the entire bamboo grove at once, it's hopeless."

Shen Puning, panting heavily, let go, preserving some of her strength, and didn't insist on pulling the bamboo out.

"Step aside."

Standing a little further away, Xin Wushuang's fingertips gathered golden light, and the bowstring was taut like a full moon.

Whoosh!
The golden arrow transformed into a streak of light, piercing straight at the eyeball at the bamboo joint. The eye hurriedly closed its eyes, and the arrow tip precisely struck the gap at the closed bamboo joint. The extraordinary golden light on it forcefully tore open the bamboo joint, allowing the arrow to penetrate into a tip. But in an instant, the golden patterns in the bamboo gathered together, and the entire golden arrow was shattered into dust.

Upon seeing this, Xin Wushuang remained expressionless, silently slung her longbow over her shoulder, and already knew what was going on.

After a moment's thought, Shang Shixu raised his hand, and two insects, their bodies shimmering like mercury, emerged from under his palm and flew onto the bamboo, frantically gnawing at it.

"These are a pair of silver mist insect larvae given to me by my master. I haven't yet raised them into a swarm," Shang Shixu explained gently.

The bamboo skin was eroded into fine pits at a speed visible to the naked eye, but whenever the two insects were about to expand their gains, the golden veins of the bamboo would sweep across the wounds, and the speed of gnawing could not keep up with the speed of repair.

Shang Shixu raised his hand and summoned back two silver mist insects. "If we can form an array of ten thousand insects, we might be able to devour this spiritual treasure of heaven and earth."

Suddenly, a rustling sound arose in the bamboo forest. All the bamboo stalks moved without wind, and the bamboo joints darted around in alarm. Although this group of people had not succeeded, each of them possessed unique skills and was several times more dangerous than the previous cultivators.

*
In the bamboo forest, all the bamboo suddenly swayed, causing Qin Yunze and his companions to cautiously stop and look around to observe the situation.

After entering the bamboo forest, their consciousness was restricted by some special force, and they could only observe their surroundings with their naked eyes. Fortunately, they did not encounter anything strange as they followed the path in the bamboo forest.

This road is a safe route. In ancient times, people from Xuandu Temple and Qingdi Palace should have used this road to travel between each other. Naturally, there would be no traps or mechanisms set up along the way.

"It's very likely that strange things will only happen in this bamboo forest at night. Let's hurry on our way," Qin Yunyan urged.

The group quickened their pace and continued along the blue stone path in the forest. Learning from the experience of the peach forest, everyone temporarily put away their demonic spirits and tried not to touch the bamboo with eyes all around them, making it difficult for Jiang Yi to make a move.

After walking for half a day, a fork in the road appeared, with half a rotten stone tablet on each side.

The road to the left winds its way, and only the ancient seal script character for "lake" remains on the monument.

The road to the right is flat and leads straight into the depths of the bamboo forest, where two characters remain on the stele.

Medicinal Herb Garden!

Upon seeing these two words, everyone's eyes lit up. In the secret realm, apart from the most core Azure Emperor Palace, the medicine garden must be the place with the most treasures.

Without needing to discuss it, Qin Yunze led everyone toward the herb garden.

Before long, the bamboo grove along the roadside gradually thinned out, and a desolate medicinal herb garden came into view.

The leaden sunlight slanted into the valley, and a half-broken stele was stuck crookedly in the brambles, its seal script characters mottled and unclear.

"The medicinal fumes are so strong! Take another dose of the antidote pill and be careful to hold your breath."

Qin Yunze reminded everyone, squinting at the entrance blocked by the vine wall ahead. Qin Yunyan handed a poison-avoiding pill to Jiang Yi, who smiled and politely declined, choosing to eat the one she had brought herself. Qin Yunyan pouted.

"Be careful, these vines can move, and the thorns might be poisonous." Zhang Jinling pulled her older brother, Zhang Jincheng, back down as he tried to step forward.

Avoiding the vines at the entrance, the group saw five medicinal fields glowing with different colors of eerie light. Vines, weeds, and withered trees grew densely, making it difficult to discern whether there were any valuable medicinal herbs beneath.

None of them made any rash moves. Even after a thousand years, the restrictions on the medicinal field would continue to exist as long as it could still absorb spiritual energy.

Deep inside, a dilapidated three-story building stood, with a huge alchemy cauldron overturned at the entrance and several deep claw marks on the inner wall, as if something had forcibly broken out of the furnace from within.

In the beam of light shining through the hole in the roof, multicolored poisonous mist slowly flowed, vaguely condensing into a human-shaped afterimage. The shadow was making alchemy movements, occasionally letting out a maniacal, silent laugh.

Hongli on Jiang Yi's shoulder suddenly perked up, staring intently at the dilapidated alchemy cauldron in the distance. If Jiang Yi hadn't stopped it from running around, it would have rushed into that small building to see if there was any intact alchemy furnace from ancient times.

If you can't rely on your master, you'll have to rely on yourself!
“Look at those pills.”

Zhang Jinling pointed to the medicine shelf in the corner of the small building. Most of the medicine bottles were broken, but a few intact jade bottles were shaking slightly, with labels on them saying "Nine-Turn Life-Extending Pill".

Suddenly, a bottle stopper was popped open, and several thin blood lines stretched out from it. A blood-red pill, like an octopus, "walked" out of the bottle as the blood lines moved. The pill was covered with blood vessels, making it look disgusting and eerie.

(End of this chapter)