Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 364 Encounter
"Master, is this the Heart-Purifying Herb?"

A bright young girl squatted by the stone, turning her head gracefully, holding a freshly picked herb in her hands.

Qingyang Daoist looked over and smiled with satisfaction: "You have already surpassed the other senior brothers in recognizing herbs from herbal records."

Sun Siyan smiled, took out a jade box from her backpack, put the Heart-Cleansing Grass inside, and then ran to her master: "Master, we picked quite a few herbs on this trip, didn't we?"

The Taoist Qingyang stroked his beard: "There should be fifty or sixty spiritual herbs."

"That's more than what you can pick from Puyin Mountain!"

Sun Siyan was quite pleased and added, "Last time, I only picked about thirty spirit herbs with my senior brothers."

Qingyang Daoist chuckled: "There are many traces of demon-hunting cultivators on the outskirts of Puyin Mountain, and spiritual herbs are no longer commonly seen. In contrast, this nameless swamp to the south is rarely visited by humans, and there are more spiritual herbs that have never been seen before."

"So, we'll be coming here to pick spirit herbs from now on?"

Sun Siyan tilted her head.

"Ok!"

The Green Sheep Taoist nodded and replied, "There seems to be quite a few Purifying Heart Grasses distributed in this area; I'm just about to collect some."

"Are you going to refine the Herb God Pill?"

Sun Siyan's eyes lit up, and she interrupted.

She was well-versed in the pharmacopoeia and knew that the Heart-Cleansing Grass was relatively rare, and was only used in a few elixirs such as the Spirit-Cleansing Pill.

It just so happens that Master is skilled at refining the Pure Spirit Pill, so Qingyang Temple should have stockpiled a lot of Pure Heart Grass.

However, when Master refined the Qingling Pill, the main ingredient he used was Tianqing Flower, which was different from the recipe for the Jingxin Grass.

The other elixirs that Master usually concocts also do not require the Purifying Heart Grass.

Only the mysterious Herbal Elixir requires the Heart-Cleansing Grass as an auxiliary ingredient.

"That's right. I've had some insights during this time, and I wanted to give it a try."

Qingyang Daoist patted Sun Siyan's head: "I will be going to the Li family to refine pills at that time. You and your fellow disciples should stay in the Daoist temple and cultivate diligently, understand?"

"understood."

Sun Siyan drew out her voice, and just then, a shadow flashed across the sky.

The master and apprentice looked up and saw a large, purple-gold eagle with outstretched wings swoop down and, with lightning speed, snatch a python coiled on a treetop before flying back into the sky.

"What a magnificent eagle!"

Sun Siyan exclaimed in surprise.

Qingyang Daoist frowned: "This eagle's cultivation is at least at the late stage of the Spirit Awakening realm. It seems this swamp is quite dangerous."

Upon hearing "late stage of Spirit Summoning," Sun Siyan felt a chill run down her spine. She herself was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, and she estimated that she was no match for the Eagle Demon.

"Captured but not eaten, it seems there is a lair of eagle demons nearby."

The Taoist Qingyang continued speaking, but for some reason, his tone became more hesitant.

Sun Siyan was quick-witted and immediately realized: "Master wants to follow them and take a look?"

The Taoist priest Qingyang glanced at her and nodded.

Adult monsters are not very valuable; after capturing and killing them, you can at most get some monster materials.

However, most monster materials are not valuable; the valuable monster materials are often found in the possession of highly skilled monster cultivators.

In the cultivation world, what kind of people truly make a living by hunting demons?

They were not elite disciples from sects and aristocratic families, but rather low-level cultivators who had no connections but were unwilling to live a mediocre life.

These people struggled to even deal with monsters in the mid-to-late stages of the Bone Fusion stage, let alone hunt down powerful demons in the Bone Fusion stage.

Only by banding together and hunting large numbers of half-demons or early-stage spirit-summoning demons in an organized manner can they guarantee their profits.

As a dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator, Qingyang Daoist would naturally not be so eager to make a move just because he had his eye on the eagle demon's fragments.

What he really cared about was the lair of the eagle demon.

Since there are adult eagle demons, there is a possibility that hungry baby eagle demons may appear in the demon's lair.

The materials from the little eagle demon are worthless, but a live little eagle demon can be sold whole to beast-taming families and sects, and the profit is much greater than killing an adult eagle demon.

Coincidentally, the Li family, with whom he was on good terms, was transforming into a beast-taming family.

Sun Siyan also thought of this and hurriedly said, "Master, hurry up! I heard that a flying spirit pet can sell for several hundred spirit stones."

Qingyang Daoist laughed heartily, saying that monsters and spirit pets were two completely different concepts.

A well-tamed eagle pet might sell for a few hundred spirit stones, but that doesn't mean a wild eagle demon is worth that much.

He estimated that a small eagle demon could be exchanged for at most a dozen or twenty spirit stones.

This is already pretty good!
Ordinary demon hunters, even after painstakingly hunting a demon in the early stages of the Spirit Awakening realm, can only earn two or three spirit stones, even after skinning and dismembering it.

"Next time, it's too dangerous here, I don't feel comfortable leaving you here alone."

Although he was very tempted, Qingyang Daoist shook his head.

Seeing this, Sun Siyan became a little anxious: "I'm fine. I'm already at the sixth level of Qi Refining, and I also have the array plate given to me by my senior brother."

As she spoke, she pulled out a palm-sized array plate from her bosom.

Qingyang Daoist hesitated for a moment.

After a while, he took out several talismans and handed them to Sun Siyan, instructing her, "Then wait for me here and don't wander off. You know how to use the array plate and talismans, right?"

"Of course I will."

Sun Siyan nudged Qingyang Daoist's back: "Don't worry, sir!"

"I'll be back soon. Remember to hide if you encounter any threats."

"I know, I know."

"Alright, alright, you've grown up, you're starting to complain about your master's nagging."

"No."

Watching the figure of the Green Sheep Taoist gradually disappear, Sun Siyan breathed a sigh of relief.

But when she glanced back at the silent swamp and the faint, eerie mist seeping from its depths, a sense of unease crept into her heart.

This was the first time she had ever been alone in the wild.

After a moment of silence, she found a conspicuous big tree nearby, sat cross-legged in its shade, and meditated to regulate her breathing while waiting for her master to return.

After an unknown amount of time, a sobbing suddenly came from the depths of the swamp.

Sun Siyan suddenly opened her eyes and looked over in surprise. She saw that the mist, which had been drifting slowly, was now chaotic and disordered.

Before she could react, the fog burst open, and a giant snake flew out menacingly, with a small black dot darting away in front of it.

"what is this?"

Sun Siyan stood up in a bit of a panic. The direction of the small black dot was right in front of her.

"Sister, save me!"

The little black dot shouted and sped up even more.

Sun Siyan then realized that it was a child, younger than herself, wearing an inconspicuous brown short-sleeved shirt.

But the snake demon he provoked was enormous, with a neck circumference of six feet and a length of countless feet, like a flying dragon in the sky, covering the sky and forming a shadow.

Not only was it imposing, but the demonic power emanating from the snake demon was also terrifying, even surpassing that of the eagle demon she had seen before.

Sun Siyan felt as if she were facing a formidable enemy. She drew a long sword but was at a loss for what to do. Since she could remember, she had been cultivating in the Taoist temple, distinguishing medicinal herbs, and only occasionally venturing out with her master to gather spiritual herbs.

Although her master also wanted to train her, the monsters he chose were all low-level monsters in the early stages of Qi Refining.

She had never fought against a monster in the mid-stage of the Spirit Summoning Realm, let alone a giant snake demon in the late stage of the Spirit Summoning Realm.

"Boom!"

As the giant serpent demon chased after them, it frantically shook its tail, destroying the forests along the way, raising clouds of dust, and making deafening noises.

In just a few breaths, the snake demon had already approached the big tree where Sun Siyan was, and was less than a hundred feet away from the boy in short clothes!

Sun Siyan's eyes widened, her heart pounding with anxiety. She wanted to save the person, but she was also worried that she would be killed by the snake demon.

Just as she was pondering this, the snake demon exhaled a heavy breath.

In an instant, a sandstorm swept up nearby, swirling and engulfing the boy in his short clothes.

"what!"

The boy in the short-sleeved shirt screamed, as if he had been hit by something.

Sun Siyan finally made up her mind. She stretched out her long sword and pointed it directly at the snake demon. The sword was filled with surging magic power and even caught flames.

Soon, the flames gained momentum, transforming into fire crows that danced around Sun Siyan.

Gritting her teeth, Sun Siyan rushed forward. The fire crows lined up in two rows and crashed into the giant snake in graceful arcs, causing a series of explosions and flashes of light.

The giant snake, in pain, constricted its pupils and lashed its tail like an iron broom at Sun Siyan.

Faced with the endless snake tail, Sun Siyan turned pale and hurriedly raised her body, flying into the sky.

However, the snake's tail was very agile and kept chasing her.

Just then, another explosion rang out.

It turned out that the boy in the short clothes had escaped from the sandstorm under Sun Siyan's cover.

However, instead of fleeing, he turned back and rushed to the giant snake's side.

The giant snake was using its tail to attack Sun Siyan. Due to its large size and long tail, even though it was very agile, it couldn't move away all at once and was hit by two explosive talismans.

The giant snake roared, its demonic power surging, and the boy in short clothes was instantly thrown away, leaving a trail of blood in the air.

"Are you OK?"

Sun Siyan screamed, but her situation was not much better than the other person's.

The enraged giant snake writhed its massive body. In no time, she was surrounded by snake bodies, their thick forms like heavy city walls, blocking her escape route.

Even the top of their heads was shrouded in shadow.

"How to do!"

Sun Siyan panicked and kept swinging her sword, trying to break through the "city wall".

But this time, the demonic power emanating from the giant serpent far surpassed that of before.

Her most proficient Fire Crow spell didn't have the desired effect when applied to it.

Suddenly, she remembered the array plate on her body and hurriedly chanted the incantation.

Soon, a circular shield spread out from her body and continued to grow larger.

The giant snake sensed something was wrong and kept contracting its body, trying to strangle Sun Siyan in its arms.

However, the circular shield was very sturdy; it not only did not break, but it also pushed open the impenetrable snake body.

Despite this, Sun Siyan's expression remained anxious.

Because a bead on the array plate in her hand was constantly rolling back and forth.

This is a sign that the array's magical power is running low!

"Sister, run!"

In the midst of the crisis, a loud shout rang out.

Sun Siyan hurriedly looked through the gap and saw that the boy in short clothes had flown back at some point, raised a worn bronze sword, and stabbed it fiercely into the giant snake.

This time, the giant snake reacted unusually strongly, its body twisting violently, even retracting its torso that was tightly wrapped around the circular shield.

Sun Siyan made a quick decision, put away the array plate, and escaped.

Seeing this, the boy in the short-sleeved shirt also came closer. His face was very young, and you could still see fine downy hair, but there was a diagonal scar on his left eyebrow, which made him look a bit old-fashioned. He showed no fear at all, and instead said with a grin, "Good sister, everyone should be unable to move right now, let's run!"

Sun Siyan glanced at the bronze sword in the other person's hand. Although her knowledge was limited, she could tell that it was a talismanic artifact. The runes engraved on it likely had a sealing effect, which was why it could temporarily restrain the snake demon.

However, the snake demon's demonic power was not greatly diminished, and with the two of them's strength, it was impossible for them to kill it immediately.

Once the snake demon regains its mobility, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Sun Siyan took a deep breath, chose a direction, and fled frantically.

After running for a while, she felt her magic power was waning, so she slowed down and looked back. She saw the boy in short clothes hanging far behind her. Before she could catch her breath, the boy's figure was already right in front of her.

Why did you follow me here?

Sun Siyan couldn't help but ask.

The boy in the short-sleeved shirt looked surprised: "Grandma Lai said that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude. Sister saved my life, and I haven't repaid her yet. How can you just leave like this?"

Sun Siyan remained silent for a while before finally saying, "I'm already thanking God that you didn't lure the snake demon here."

Upon hearing this, the boy in short clothes laughed and said, "That's just a stupid snake, don't worry, sister."

Sun Siyan was somewhat annoyed: "You're just a lowly cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining, and you almost lost your life. How dare you complain that the other person is stupid?"

The boy in short clothes scratched his head: "The snake demon we just encountered was called Wuyin Miangu. It's a unique monster from our area, and it's actually quite easy to deal with. But it's a king snake, so it's more powerful. I've dealt with it several times before without any problems. But this time it really got smarter and blocked my way back, so none of the traps I carefully prepared were used."

Sun Siyan was stunned and didn't know what to say.

The boy in the short-sleeved shirt continued, "Anyway, thanks to my sister for helping me! By the way, my name is Nangong Mu, what's your name, sister?"

"Sun Siyan".

After hesitating for a moment, Sun Siyan finally revealed her name.

After saying that, she looked up at Nangong Mu and asked, "You said that snake demons are unique to your area. What do you mean by that? Are there any sects still operating near the Great Swamp?"

"Yes, I live in Daze."

Nangong Mu beamed with joy, about to introduce the unique features of the Five Scattered Sect to Sun Siyan.

Suddenly, as if he sensed something, he turned around abruptly.

But there was no one behind him.

"what happened?"

Sun Siyan was somewhat surprised.

"It might be an illusion."

Nangong Mu wrinkled his nose and replied, "Something feels off."

"You're quite alert."

A cold voice suddenly rang out, startling Sun Siyan. She hurriedly looked towards the source of the sound and saw a mysterious figure dressed in black robes standing on the hillside not far away.

The man's movements were quite strange; he leaned on two canes, and his eyes were like those of a predatory beast.

(End of this chapter)