Yang Kai woke upearlythe next morning, his mind already set on today's goal.

Yesterday'straining sessionhad left a deep impact on his cultivation, proving once again that hard work paid off. Naturally, he wasn't about to waste any time—every second counted.

After finishing his dailytraining routine, he wasted no timerushing to the Contribution Hall.

Why?

Well, while he hadheardof theThree-Leaved Chaos Spirit Flowerand theDead Jedi Tree Grass, he had absolutelyzero cluewhat they actuallylookedlike. If he just wandered into the Black Wind Mountains blindly, he'd probably mistake some poisonous weed for a legendary herb and die like an idiot.

"Not exactly the cool protagonist moment I was hoping for."

At first, he considered askingTreasurer Mengfor help, expecting some wise old master lecture about herbs.

Instead, the old man casually tossed him abook on herbology.

Yang Kai blinked.

"Man didn't even bother explaining. Just threw the book at me like a teacher handing out homework."

Still, no complaints. Flipping through the book, he found detailed descriptions, medical properties, habitats, and even illustrations of various herbs.A great resource… but kind of disappointing.

Why?

Just as practitioners were classified into different ranks, so to were herbs, weapons and medicinal pellets. They were divided into, Ordinary Grade, Earth Grade, Heaven Grade, Mystery Grade, Spirit Grade and Saint Grade. Each of the Grades were then divided into the lower, middle and peak level.

BookonlycoveredOrdinary Grade herbs. Nothing high-level. No divine pills or mythical plants that could make him ascend to immortality overnight.

"Well, not like I need Saint Grade herbs right now. Gotta start somewhere."

After stuffing the book into his robes, Yang Kai made his way to theGeneral Affairs Office.

Technically, he was still just a lowlysweeperat High Heaven, and this trip would take at least a few days. If he didn't report it, they might think he ran away or got eaten by a demonic beast.

Thankfully, the office workers didn'tmake things difficultfor him and casually approved histhree-day leave.

With allobligations handled, Yang Kai set off!

TheBlack Wind Mountainswere onlytwenty miles awayon foot—far, but not too far. He had already been there multiple times forhunting, so he was prettyfamiliarwith the terrain.

"Hope I don't run into some random young master looking for a fight. That would be my luck."

Fullypreparedfor the journey, he carried hiswater, food, a shovel, and a bag—everything he needed to collect herbs.

As he approached themountain range, Yang Kai took in the view.

TheBlack Wind Mountainsloomed ahead like aprehistoric beast, its dense forests stretching endlessly, jagged cliffs towering into the sky. The wind carried the scent of damp earth and greenery, rustling through the leaves like a whisper of unseen creatures.

"Man, if this was a game, this would be the kind of place where elite monsters spawn."

Themountainwas home to manyferocious beasts, some even strong enough tomake martial artists run for their lives.

Because of this, the region was split into zones:

Thefirst thirty mileswere thesafe zone—low-level beasts, nothing too deadly.

Thenext ten mileswere thedanger zone—stronger creatures, high risk.

Anythingbeyond that?Life-threatening zone. Enter at your own risk.

"Yeah, no thanks. I like being alive."

Since he only neededOrdinary Grade herbs, hedidn'tneed to go deep into dangerous territory. That meant no need to worry aboutgetting eaten.

Still, even in thesafe zone, findingspecificherbs wouldn't be easy. Manyother herb collectorscame here frequently, making rare herbseven harder to find.

Afterhalf an hourof walking, Yang Kai spottedhis first find—abunch of herbsgrowing in a thicket.

He crouched down and carefullyharvested them, placing them in hisbag.

"Alright, not bad. Decent start."

As he continued deeper, he glanced at thevegetation, trying to recall places where he might Find theThree-Leaved Chaos Spirit FlowerorDead Jedi Tree Grass.

Regardless, he hadthe herbology bookto guide him this time, his chances of success were muchhigher.

Byevening, Yang Kai had collectedfour different types of herbs.

Unfortunately…

None of them werethe ones he actually needed.

"Of course. It's never that easy."

Still, he wasn'ttoo disappointed—evenlow-level herbshad somevalue. He could exchange them forcontribution points, so at least they weren'tcompletely useless.

Just as thesun began to set, Yang Kai finally arrived at apromising location.

It wasstrange—a lush, vibrant area full of plants, yet… there wereno animals. No birds. No insects. Nothing.

And then, in thecenterof this eerie silence, he spotted it—three small patches of grass swaying in the wind.

They werebrown-colored, at first glance looking likedead plants.

But Yang Kai wasn't fooled.

"That's not decay—that's just their natural color!"

Rushing over, he quicklydug them upwith a triumphant grin.

Afterchecking the herbology book, he confirmed it—Dead Jedi Tree Grass!

"Hell yeah! One down, one to go!"

These herbsonly grew in dead land, and finding them wasusually difficult. But thanks to theherbology book, he had known exactly where to look.

Carefully, he placed them in hisbag, then took out somewater and foodfor a quick break.

With theDead Jedi Tree Grasssecured, his next focus was on theThree-Leaved Chaos Spirit Flower.

Not only did he need tofind it, but he needed alarge amountof it.

"Double the effort, double the rewards."

However…

Thesun had already set. Searching for herbs at night?Not a great idea.

Even though he hadnever spent the nightin the mountains before, he knew thedangersof doing so.

"I may be the protagonist, but I'm not dumb enough to test my luck at night."

Afterscouting the area, Yang Kai found alarge treeand quickly climbed up to secure aresting spot.

Once he settled in, hepulled out the black bookand flipped topage three.

With athought, theincense burner floated out.

"Yup. Still weird, but also kinda cool."

Theblack bookwas clearly astorage artifact, though oddly, it only let him storethis one item. Everything else?Nope.

"Seriously, why can't I just use this thing as a proper inventory bag? That would be so much more useful."

Toying with theincense burnerfor a while, Yang Kai eventually feltsleep creeping in.

After an entire day ofhiking, hefinally dozed off.

........................

The Next Morning

Atsunrise, Yang Kai woke upearlyand immediatelytrainedin theTempered Body Recordforhalf an hour.

Somethingfelt differenttoday.

Hisatmospheric sensewas at itslimit. Hisbodyfelt like it wason the edge of breaking through.

"One final push. Just a little more."

Feeling asurge of determination, Yang Kai packed up his things.

Today'smissionwas clear:

Find the Three-Leaved Chaos Spirit Flower. Break through to the next stage.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com