All Heavens: Starting with Little Li Flying Dagger

Chapter 153 Phoenix Seed: The Angry Sun Chicken

The next morning, Hua Ling went into the mountains with her senior brother, Lao Yangren, to collect herbs.

By noon, Hua Ling had successfully collected three of the herbs, and only the last one was needed to complete the task.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find it after searching for a long time.

Just then, a herb gatherer happened to pass by.

Hua Ling quickly stepped forward and asked, "Excuse me, sir, where can I find Nine-Leaf Yellow around here?"

Although the herb gatherer was a Miao person, he often went down the mountain to sell herbs, so he could understand Hua Ling's words and replied, "Miss, Nine-Leaf Yellow can only be found deep in Ping Mountain."

"Excuse me, sir, how do I get to Ping Mountain?"

The herb gatherer quickly waved his hand and said, "You absolutely must not go to Ping Mountain."

The old foreigner asked curiously, "Why?"

The herb gatherer said, "None of the herb gatherers in the surrounding villages dare to enter Ping Mountain; they only dare to gather herbs outside. This is because the poisonous insects inside are extremely venomous. If you are bitten, even a god cannot save you."

Hua Ling was stunned: "How could this be?"

The herb gatherer sighed and said, "You are outsiders, so you probably don't know much about the legends of Ping Mountain."

The old foreigner's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly stepped forward, cupping his hands in greeting, saying, "Please, sir, tell us about it."

The herb gatherer nodded, sat down on the ground, and began to speak slowly.

"Legend has it that Ping Mountain was transformed from Laozi's treasure bottle. The whole mountain looks like a treasure bottle, hence the name Ping Mountain."

According to the older generation, Ping Mountain was chosen by emperors of all dynasties as a place to refine elixirs because of its unique feng shui layout, and countless alchemists were gathered in Ping Mountain to refine elixirs of immortality.

"Later, a Yuan Dynasty general seized Ping Mountain and forcibly conscripted countless craftsmen to transform it into a cemetery. Ping Mountain has been known for its many poisonous creatures since ancient times. These creatures dwell within the mountain, devouring spiritual objects and even cannibalizing each other, much like raising Gu poison, making their toxicity increasingly potent."

After listening to what the herb gatherer said, Hua Ling frowned and said, "But uncle, we're waiting to save people, and we're still missing one herb, Nine-Leaf Yellow. I wonder if there's any way to gather it?"

The herb gatherer thought for a moment and said, "It's not entirely hopeless. Of all the herb gatherers in the surrounding villages, only one dares to enter Ping Mountain."

Hua Ling's spirits lifted, and she hurriedly asked, "Great! Who is this person?"

"I don't know his name either. Everyone calls him Old Herbalist. He lives in Old Bear Ridge Village. You can go look for him; maybe he has it there."

"Thank you, uncle. Thank you, uncle."

When they returned to the guesthouse, Rong Baoyixiao had already woken up, but her mental state was a bit poor.

In fact, Gu Yu had also examined Rong Bao Yixiao, and he believed that with his true energy, he should be able to expel the demonic poison from Rong Bao Yixiao's body.

However, since Rong Baoyi is not in immediate danger, he can take this opportunity to see how Hua Ling treats the demon poison.

"Miss Hua Ling, how is it?"

Chen Yulou quickly walked over and asked a question.

Hua Ling shook her head: "We're still missing one ingredient. We met a herb gatherer in the mountains, and he said it can only be found deep within Ping Mountain."

Upon hearing this, Rong Baoyi exclaimed urgently, "We can't go! We can't go!"

Hua Ling sighed, "That herb gatherer also said we can't go."

Why?

Partridge Whistle frowned and asked a question.

So Hua Ling repeated what the herb gatherer had said.

Rong Baoyi hurriedly said, "The old herbalist is from our village."

Chen Yulou said with a happy expression, "That's great! How about we have Kunlun carry the little brother back to the village to find the old herbalist?"

After returning to the village, guided by Rongbao Yixiao, the group arrived at a courtyard on the west side of the village.

As soon as you enter the courtyard, a strong aroma of medicine wafts over you.

A thin villager, around fifty years old, was drying medicinal herbs, while several medicine stoves were simmering medicinal soup nearby.

"He is the most skilled herbalist in our village."

Rong Baoyi pointed to the villager.

The old herbalist instinctively looked up and frowned, saying, "Rong Bao, eh? You've been poisoned?"

Chen Yulou smiled and gave a thumbs-up, saying, "Sir, you have a good eye."

The old herbalist ignored him, quickly stepped forward to take a look, and frowned even more deeply.

"Where did you take him? How did he get poisoned?"

Gu Yu didn't hide anything and said, "We were caught in a sudden downpour last night and stayed at a guesthouse for the night."

"A fortified herb?" The old herb farmer's expression changed. "So you encountered that thing?"

Gu Yu nodded: "That's right, there was a fox spirit there, which is the old lady you mentioned, but we've already killed her."

"Destroyed?" The old herbalist looked surprised.

Rong Baoyixiao chimed in, "Yes, that monster is dead."

At this moment, Hua Ling stepped forward and said, "Old sir, I have already given the young man the medicine, which has temporarily suppressed his poison. But to completely cure him, we still need one more ingredient, Nine-Leaf Yellow. Do you have any here, sir?"

The old herbalist couldn't help but glance at the medicine jars in the yard and said, "If you had come a little earlier, there would still be a few plants left, but now they're all in the jars."

"this----"

Hua Ling couldn't help but look disappointed.

The old herbalist added, "I don't have any Nine-Leaf Yellow, but I do have a Seven-Star Grass here, which might come in handy."

"Seven-Star Grass?" Hua Ling's eyes lit up with delight. "If we had Seven-Star Grass, the effect would be even better, but this herb is always rare and hard to find."

"Never mind, let's save them first."

The old herbalist went into the house and took out a Seven Star Grass.

After obtaining the Seven Star Grass, Hua Ling immediately began preparing the medicine.

Watching her skillful technique, the old herbalist couldn't help but praise, "Young lady, you are so young, yet you have such knowledge and medical skills. It's truly admirable."

The old foreigner laughed and said, "My junior sister started learning medicine at the age of seven, and there is almost no herb in the world that she doesn't recognize."

Hua Ling said irritably, "Stop bragging here. There are countless herbs in the world. I probably haven't even heard of many of them, let alone recognized them."

The old herbalist gave a thumbs-up: "Young lady, you're too modest, but what you said makes sense. There are countless herbs in the world; who could recognize them all?"

At this moment, Chen Yulou couldn't help but ask, "Old sir, since the poisonous insects on Ping Mountain are so dangerous, how dare you go there to gather herbs?"

The old herbalist smiled smugly: "That's right, the poisonous insects in Ping Mountain are indeed quite dangerous. Once bitten, death is certain. No one else dares to go, only I do."

Hong Gu said irritably, "Are you the only one who isn't afraid of poisonous insects?"

"Of course I'm scared. But I have a treasure to protect me—"

While the old herbalist and others were chatting, Gu Yu slowly walked to the fence on the east side of the courtyard.

This kind of fence is usually used by farmers to raise chickens and ducks. However, the old herbalist's fence is more sturdy, and there is also a rope net tied on top of it.

Gu Yu stood by the fence and looked inside. Sure enough, there was a huge rooster inside.

This rooster was at least several times larger than an ordinary rooster, and it strutted around with great momentum, like a victorious general returning home.

Its comb on its head was large and red, as if it were a burning flame.

What's most eye-catching is its plumage, which is colorful and shimmering, and really does resemble the legendary five-colored phoenix feathers.

This is the unique breed of phoenix in the Nuqing region of western Hunan—the Nuqing Chicken!