Ch. 45 - Hundred-Grass Liquid

Ye Fan and Pang Bo’s overwhelming defeat of Han Feiyu left everyone stunned. In the eyes of the crowd, these two boys, only eleven or twelve years old, were astonishingly fierce. Despite not having cultivated a god-power source, they had beaten a sect elder’s grandson senseless and nearly crippled him. The gathered disciples were left speechless.

“These two are absolute beasts!”

“Only eleven or twelve, and they already have such monstrous strength?”

“They fought bare-handed and still overpowered Han Feiyu. They even shattered Elder Han’s gifted Greenwood Seal, that’s unreal!”

The onlookers buzzed with conversation.

At this moment, even disciples from other cliffs, more senior and powerful, took notice. Word of Han Feiyu’s brutal beating had spread, and the news caused quite a stir.

“Those two boys look so delicate. Who knew they were such monsters? Never judge a book by its cover…”

Ye Fan and Pang Bo had always kept a low profile, but now they were the center of attention. Curious disciples from other cliffs gathered to catch a glimpse of the two savages.

“What?! That Pang Bo is an Immortal Seed?”

When the crowd heard this, they were visibly shocked. The more experienced disciples understood what that meant, an Immortal Seed was the future of the sect, someone who might lead Desolate Spirit Grotto-Heaven to greatness.

“So he’s an Immortal Seed. No wonder he’s so formidable, born with an extraordinary constitution.”

“Han Feiyu really picked the wrong fight this time. Even if he wanted revenge, he wouldn't dare now. He’ll have to swallow this humiliation.”

Many now looked at Pang Bo with complicated expressions. Quite a few decided then and there to befriend him going forward.

Meanwhile, Ye Fan and Pang Bo were unbothered by the attention. They calmly began collecting the small jade bottles scattered around, over thirty in total. These bottles contained the precious Hundred-Grass Liquid. Although the earlier troublemakers had been thrown into the lotus pond headfirst, the liquid they had stolen remained behind.

New disciples were only issued one bottle of Hundred-Grass Liquid every three months, highlighting its value. To suddenly gain thirty-plus bottles was enough to make everyone green with envy.

“Those guys who developed god-runes must be carrying even better stuff…”

Ye Fan and Pang Bo weren’t satisfied. They turned their eyes toward the young cultivators buried in the mud, those who had already formed divine runes and thus had higher cultivation. Naturally, they’d be wealthier.

The two exchanged a look and got to work. They pulled five young men out of the muck and began searching them one by one.

“Only five bottles each…”

After searching thoroughly, they found that each carried only five bottles, fewer than what they had already gathered. The disappointment on their faces left the crowd at a loss for words.

Each of the mountain cliffs had distributed Hundred-Grass Liquid that day, and the amount varied by cultivation level. Five bottles per person for these more advanced disciples was already considered generous.

Li Fei and Wang Jing had not yet left. They exchanged looks as they watched the spectacle unfold, unsure whether to laugh or scold. They’d never seen junior brothers like these two.

The five young men lay on the ground like lumps of mud, still too weak to rise. After finishing their looting, Ye Fan and Pang Bo looked at each other and shamelessly tossed them back into the pond. This time, however, they didn’t dunk them headfirst, they didn’t want to cause any deaths. Then they pulled out the younger boys and casually threw them back into the muddy water too.

Finally, Ye Fan and Pang Bo approached the Greenwood Seal. They tried pushing it but found it too heavy. Even if they could lift it, it was unusable in combat. After a few kicks, they turned and walked off.

The crowd stood stunned. These two were like locusts, pillaging everything in plain sight, utterly shameless, and even tried to take the elder’s treasure seal!

“Senior Brother Li Fei, Senior Sister Wang Jing, thank you!” Ye Fan and Pang Bo shouted from a distance before slipping away into the crowd.

Han Feiyu’s face was dark with fury. He left in silence, not even bothering to retrieve the Greenwood Seal, and headed toward a valley deep within Desolate Spirit Grotto-Heaven.

The valley was vast and covered in medicinal fields full of rare herbs and flowers. Fragrant and filled with spiritual energy, it was practically a sacred garden for alchemy.

Along the path, young alchemy apprentices bowed in greeting, but Han Feiyu ignored them. With a stormy face, he marched to a secluded cave at the valley’s core. The medicinal aroma here was even stronger, and in front of the cave stood eighteen large, half-human-sized cauldrons, ancient and imposing.

“Feiyu, what happened to you?” asked an elderly voice from deep within the cave. The speaker didn’t come out, yet he clearly sensed everything.

“One of those two… is an Immortal Seed,” Han Feiyu replied through gritted teeth, then recounted everything in detail to his grand-uncle.

“If I had known they consumed divine medicine earlier, just a bit of their blood would’ve sufficed. But now… it’s a problem,” the elder replied. He fell silent for a long time before continuing, “The Immortal Seed… don’t provoke him. As for the other one, let’s wait and see.”

“Uncle, you mean…” Han Feiyu’s eyes gleamed with malice.

“I mean don’t do anything for now. Focus on your cultivation.” After that, the cave went silent.

“Yes,” Han Feiyu replied, unwilling but obedient. He bowed toward the cave and left.

Back at their residence, Ye Fan and Pang Bo began counting their spoils: 66 bottles of Hundred-Grass Liquid, an absolute windfall.

“That Han really is a great guy…” they both said in jest.

After they’d sorted the bottles, the two calmed down. Despite their victory over Han Feiyu and the others, they felt a strong sense of danger. Physical strength alone, no matter how powerful, wasn’t enough. Against cultivators who had even a little divine power and mystical techniques, brute force lacked versatility and adaptability.

They knew they had to cultivate harder, to open their Seas of Bitterness, connect with their Life Wheel, and draw forth godpower. Only then would they gain real power, this was the foundation of true cultivation.

With that sense of urgency, they devoted themselves fully to training. Over the next two days, Pang Bo consumed six bottles of Hundred-Grass Liquid in quick succession. Combined with Dao Scripture techniques, his Bitter Sea expanded notably. But when he drank the seventh bottle, he felt something was wrong, his Bitter Sea surged chaotically, and intense pain stabbed through him.

“Damn it, too fast, too soon. The teaching elder warned us about this. New disciples can’t handle so much Hundred-Grass Liquid. There’s a reason we only get one bottle every three months…” Pang Bo was drenched in sweat as he struggled to endure.

“I’ll get help,” Ye Fan said, heading for the door.

“No, I can handle it,” Pang Bo insisted. He gritted his teeth and endured for half a day before the pain finally subsided.

“Guess it’s true, one bite at a time, one step at a time. Regular disciples drink one bottle in three months. I’m a so-called Immortal Seed, and I downed six or seven bottles in two days. That’s already pushing it.”

Then, he gave Ye Fan a curious look. “You drank six or seven too, right? But you don’t seem to feel any pain. You look even more energized. What’s going on? No reaction from your Bitter Sea?”

Ye Fan shook his head. His Wheel of Life and Bitter Sea remained completely silent. The only benefit he’d felt from practicing the Dao Scripture was an increasing sense of vitality.

“If six or seven bottles didn’t affect you, then maybe you can handle more. Try drinking even more, maybe something strange will happen.”

“No way. With my constitution, it’s probably a waste. Better to leave it for you, you’re close to breaking through to the next stage.”

“Don’t worry. Since they’ve acknowledged me as an Immortal Seed, I’m sure I’ll be supplied with as much as I need. Elder Wu Qingfeng mentioned before that cultivating your mindset is important. Even though he knew my potential, he still sent me to study at Desolate Spirit Cliff to keep me grounded. That means he’s training my character. In time, everything will change, and I won’t lack for resources.”

What Pang Bo said made sense. Ye Fan no longer insisted. There was no need for formality between them, so they began drinking more of the Hundred-Grass Liquid.

One bottle, two bottles, three bottles…

Ye Fan silently practiced the mystical techniques described in the Dao Scripture. He felt no immediate change, but inside his body… a strange transformation was slowly beginning to take place…

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