Cultivation begins with harvest.

【Golden Tiger Gate】.

There are six gates in total, one on each side of the shoal, all made of pure gold. At all times, a golden, ethereal tiger shape appears on the gate, looking down below. When the sun shines directly on them, the golden tiger gates will radiate a brilliant light, completely enveloping those who enter. The light will gradually return to normal at night. At that time, the shoal will allow people to leave but not enter.

Every cultivator who passes through the portal will have their approximate cultivation attributes assessed.

The aura produced by techniques like the Deceitful Black Scripture will be immediately sensed by the Golden Tiger Sect. Cultivators with strong malevolent energy or whose aura is not easily detected by the Golden Tiger Sect will also be marked and locked onto for close monitoring, and will be prohibited from entering certain areas.

Chen Guang also knew that the six Golden Tiger Gates together formed the array [Six Awakenings Golden Tiger Roar Array] to protect this outpost. This was a second-tier array, and its power was beyond doubt.

The disciples of the Punishment Hall guarding the Golden Tiger Gate spotted Chen Guang and his two companions. Sensing the reaction of their identity tokens, they simply nodded and watched the three enter the Golden Tiger Gate before paying them no further attention.

A slightly stinging warmth flowed through my body, and before I could even feel it, I was already standing on the street.

"To Jin'an Gate?"

Dongfang Jianming said somewhat impatiently.

Jin'an Gate was a building constructed by the garrison specifically to serve the youths of Qingheng, providing accommodation, medical treatment, sales, rentals, intelligence services, and many other functions.

The second-order formation already provided a sense of security, but Jin'an Sect was able to truly extend that sense of security to a deeper level.

"Walk."

After entering the Golden Tiger Gate, Chen Guang and his two companions walked along the left side to a dark gray gate that was four zhang wide, and calmly entered.

The Golden Tiger Gate can detect restless cultivators, and this [Jin'an Gate] can identify Qingheng disciples. Stepping inside, one is immediately greeted by a wide-open space. Behind the gate is a closed street that only Qingheng disciples can enter. Apart from residences, there are only one or two idle stalls on both sides of the street, with no shops.

"The Crimson Blood Horse is being stored in the East Room. If you want to stay there, go to the North Room. You can open the door with your identity token. One person per room. The rules here are simple: just don't make noise, argue, or bother others." A head suddenly peeked out from a stone house on one side of Jin'an Gate, looking at the Dongfang siblings with some surprise. He couldn't help but say, "The West Room has various forms of assistance. If you want to venture deeper into the Wilderness, wait here for a few days and pay some money. You might get a senior brother to escort you all the way."

"Thank you, senior brother." Chen Guang said, as the other party was a disciple of Xingfeng Hall, who was in charge of some general affairs in this place.

The Dongfang siblings were both a bit tired. Although they were curious, they wisely agreed to meet Chen Guang at noon the next day and went to the north room. Chen Guang himself was quite interested. He registered the Crimson Blood Horse in the east room and then wandered around.

There were only three stalls: talismans, monster materials, and spiritual plants.

After glancing at them all, I still chose the stall selling spirit plants. The stall mainly sold spirit plant seeds and seedlings. As I scanned these seeds and seedlings, I couldn't help but be drawn to the seeds.

There were five purplish-red seeds with curved horns. The horns were dark red and deep brown, and exceptionally hard, with a jade-like texture. Gradually, they corresponded to a certain spiritual plant in my mind.

"As expected, it's a Crimson Jade Wine Mushroom; it was a bargain."

The Crimson Jade Mushroom will eventually grow into a thicker, fungus-like spiritual plant. However, if you cut it open, a mellow and strong liquor will flow out. It sounds contradictory, but those who have tasted it praise the wonderful and conflicting feeling. It can promote digestion and break down spiritual energy, but it has the side effect of sealing spiritual power, so it is not advisable to drink too much.

A mature Akadama mushroom can yield about two or three cups of liquor. Adding some ingredients can suppress side effects and enhance the flavor, resulting in the best-selling "Strong and Smooth Liquor".

Chen Guang needed it because he could use the liquid from the Crimson Jade Mushroom to refine a spiritual liquid that could seal Thunder Jade Emerald. Although it couldn't seal it perfectly, it could extend the preservation time by three or four months.

The seeds of the Crimson Jade Wine Mushroom within the sect are basically controlled by the cultivators of the Tavern, Flame Hall, and Life Hall. Those with a stable source have mostly flowed to these three places. Occasionally, a few scattered seeds can be found, but it requires luck to stumble upon them. Chen Guang's original plan was to find a lower-level alternative.

"Why is Senior Brother setting up a stall here? Don't you go outside Jin'an Gate? There are more cultivators there." Chen Guang wasn't in a hurry; instead, he asked the stall owner.

"Although there are many monks on the outer street, few can afford the price. They are all very calculating, and I don't like haggling." The stall owner was a lean middle-aged man, and his words were full of implications.

Chen Guang nodded, then pointed to the seeds and asked, "Senior Brother, can you provide a stable supply of Crimson Jade Wine Mushroom seeds?"

"Junior brother, you're putting me in a difficult position. If I had stable seeds, I wouldn't need to set up a stall here," the stall owner denied without hesitation.

That's true.

The special feature of the Crimson Jade Wine Mushroom lies in the rarity of its seeds. Moreover, its quality is determined at the seed stage. The formation of the seed requires snakes to devour its plant. This is because the Crimson Jade Wine Mushroom's ability to decompose and seal spiritual energy gives snake-like monsters a natural habit of consuming it to aid digestion.

The seeds of the Crimson Jade Wine Mushroom, or rather spore-like seeds, take root in the flesh and blood of snake-like monsters. They do not germinate, but instead rely on the spiritual energy-rich snake blood to refine themselves and slowly grow into the shape in Chen Guang's hands. They will only sprout when the snake they are attached to dies. Some seeds will remain dormant, while the lucky ones will be taken far away by carrion-eating monsters.

The longer a seed goes through this process, the better its quality. There are stories of a large number of exceptional quality Crimson Jade Mushroom seeds being extracted from the corpse of a powerful demon serpent.

Therefore, this spiritual plant is more common in the areas where the demon snake is active, but it is controlled by the Qi Hall, the Life Hall, and even the independent cultivator families. They artificially divide the area and "raise" it. As an individual cultivator, one can only obtain the seed by going deeper into the wilderness.

The intricacies of this matter are quite complex. Normally, according to the previous life's explanation, the relationship between the Crimson Jade Wine Mushroom and the Demon Serpent is one of "mutual benefit and symbiosis." Apart from the fact that the Demon Serpent will be feasted with its seeds after death, it doesn't have much of an impact on the Demon Serpent. However, some cultivators, for profit, use live snakes to collect seeds, which is extremely bloody. By repeatedly planting, collecting, and treating these seeds, the spiritual energy will become tainted. Moreover, the seeds that have not experienced a complete life and death cycle are of very poor quality. The wine produced from these seeds is often bloody and filthy, which can pollute magical power and even cause demonic possession. These seeds are often disguised by unscrupulous merchants and sold as normal seeds.

Chen Guang had examined the seeds in front of him and found them to be quite pure. The edges of the seeds were like jade without any blemishes, and the overall energy was gentle and inwardly focused. They were undoubtedly normal, high-quality seeds.

"I'll take these five seeds and these two saplings of the Star-Gathering Tree. How much?" Chen Guang asked, pointing to two small saplings with purple, serrated leaves like banana leaves.

"Red Jade Wine Mushroom seeds are 350 yuan each, and Star-Attracting Tree seedlings are 1300 yuan each," the stall owner almost stood up, his bottom leaving his seat and his body leaning forward. "The nourishing effect of star power on demonic beasts is extraordinary, so these two seedlings are not expensive at all. If you want them both, I can round it down to 4000 yuan."

This is the price of half a standard mid-grade spiritual weapon, so the stall owner couldn't help but be tempted and excited.

Although Chen Guang himself had already entered the stage where his income and expenses were measured in units of tens of thousands of Sui Yuan and he was even starting to think about getting Sui Yuan, for other cultivators, several thousand Sui Yuan was still a large sum of money.

The stall owner concealed his aura very well, but Chen Guang was an expert in this field. His accumulation of knowledge from "Tuanxuan Qingxuan", "Zihua Qingyin Chugao", and "Dingqi Shujie" made him even more adept at observing qi than the disciples of the Qi Hall. However, his horizontal accumulation and application were not as good. He could tell at a glance that this was a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining. Unconsciously, his own accumulation had approached or even surpassed this level of cultivator to some extent. What he lacked was to transform his accumulation into actual cultivation.

"I'll take the seeds first. As for these two seedlings, please deliver them to the stall here before spring. I'm willing to pay extra." Chen Guang took out a thick wad of coins and gave them to the stall owner, along with an address.

"So decisive!"

The stall owner stood up abruptly, quickly checked the inventory, and then asked seriously, "Junior brother, I see you're traveling with two junior brothers who are at the early stage of Qi Refining. Are you perhaps heading deep into the wilderness?"

"I have ideas to broaden my horizons."

"That's not good, junior brother. You don't know this, but although there are Qi Hall disciples in Jin'an Gate who are willing to hire people to accompany you, two Qi Refining Stage 1 cultivators are too much of a burden, and it will probably be difficult to find someone. As for those rogue cultivators outside Jin'an Gate, they themselves are a source of danger. If you are just preparing to collect or search for something, name your price, and I might be able to help you," the stall owner said frankly.

"I'm afraid that won't work." Chen Guang was tempted, but if it were really that simple, the Dongfang siblings would have done it themselves. With the curse in place, it would be very difficult for fellow disciples to harm each other, but that doesn't mean it's a completely safe card.

Curses are a form of divination, and their power diminishes the further one is from the sect. In the wilderness, as long as one is prepared and far enough away from the sect, it is possible to kill a fellow disciple without dying, or harm a fellow disciple with only injuries.

This is unavoidable. Being able to cast a spell to avoid this potential risk is already the limit of what the sect can do. If they were to add even stronger spiritual or blood contracts, it would greatly weaken the sect's sense of identity and shake the good nature of individuals.

Therefore, the greater the potential benefit of a journey through the wilderness, the harder it is to find companions.

The stall owner wasn't surprised: "I also have a simple feng shui map I drew myself. It shows hidden routes from here to Huoxudong, Baimaofeng, Youbi'ao, and Zifangpo. These are all new routes from the last two weeks, and they're only 700 yuan..."

"So this is where they were waiting for me."

Without further ado, Chen Guang bought the feng shui chart. The area near the sentry post was being cleared by Qi Hall disciples, so it was relatively peaceful.

Staying away from certain areas will expose you to various dangers, and the accessible routes are not fixed.

For example, if a centuries-old spiritual tree dies and falls, such a place is prone to ambushes or encounters with poisonous insects; if a group of demonic boars temporarily roosts by the mountain road, ordinary cultivators can only avoid them; if a miasma forms one day, that entire mountain becomes extremely dangerous...

These are areas that may appear without warning and should be avoided.

This is how it always is in the wilderness. Roads that were clear just two days ago are now dangerous. The map provided by the sect only shows various landmarks and stable main roads. These main roads are also the domain of highwaymen. Naturally, some side roads are also favored by some people.

However, the side paths are unpredictable, dangerous, and prone to human-caused disasters, so they can only be used as a reference.

"If you have any more Crimson Jade Wine Mushrooms or Star-Attracting Trees, send them here. I'll take as many as you bring. I'll also accept any rare and precious plants that come my way."

After buying the map and leaving a message, Chen Guang headed towards Jin'an Gate.