Hei Yan thought to himself that this Nascent Soul cultivator certainly had a keen eye. He stepped forward and performed a respectful salute. "Indeed, I am of the Black Wolf clan. Your Daoist Lordship is truly well-informed."
"Haha! Chi Ze, won't you introduce everyone?" Yu Yuntian was clearly in high spirits.
"Hehe, I was so happy I forgot!" Chi Ze scratched his head sheepishly with a claw.
He trotted over to Li Xue's side to make the introductions. "This is my new master, Li Jingxue, and her son, Li Qinglin. This is the Black Wolf King, Hei Yan."
Then, turning to Li Xue, he explained, "This is Daoist Lord Yuntian, the Sect Leader of the Yu Xuan Sect. I only left the sect because I had to return to the mountains to undergo my transformation. These two are his personal disciples, Yu Nanxing and Yu Nanshan."
Li Xue and Li Lin stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Junior Jingxue (Qinglin) greets the Daoist Lord."
"No need for such formality. Since you are Chi Ze's new master, you are one of our own," Daoist Yuntian said with a warm and friendly air. He had sensed the presence of pill toxins in the air earlier, which suggested there was an alchemist among them. Furthermore, with both Chi Ze and Hei Yan being transformed spirit beasts, a Sect Leader of his experience knew better than to miss an opportunity to recruit such talent.
Yu Nanxing and Yu Nanshan were clearly well-acquainted with Chi Ze, and the group soon fell into easy conversation. Upon learning that Li Xue and her son had only just arrived on Planet Jinming, they warmly invited them to visit the Yu Xuan Sect as guests.
Li Xue and Li Lin had been planning to find a market to gather information about Planet Jinming anyway, so they were more than happy to accept.
"However, we must first enter the mountains to find a certain spiritual herb," Yu Yuntian said, handing Li Xue a token. "This is a Guest Command of the Yu Xuan Sect. Take it with you, and you will be well-received there."
"Daoist Lord, what herb are you looking for?" Chi Ze asked.
"An auxiliary herb for the Primordial Spirit Pill, one at least five thousand years old," Yu Nanxing explained. "The sect's collection isn't sufficient. We found one, but it's guarded by a Tier 6 magical beast, so Master came to assist us."
There were many such auxiliary herbs in the Dream Realm, many of them over ten thousand years old. Chi Ze looked at Li Xue, his meaning clear.
Li Xue understood that this was the perfect moment to earn their gratitude. Moreover, the leader of a major sect was unlikely to resort to murder and robbery for treasures; a man with such a narrow vision could never manage a top-tier sect. Besides, they had just emerged from the mountains, so their possession of such herbs wouldn't arouse suspicion.
Thus, she said, "We have just come from the depths of Mount Beimeng and gathered many spiritual herbs along the way. Perhaps the Daoist Lord would like to see if any of them are of use?"
Li Xue produced a storage bag. They had previously sorted their mature herbs into several bags based on their age, intending to trade them for spirit stones. This particular bag contained herbs that were all over five thousand years old.
A sharp light flickered in Yu Yuntian's eyes. He took the bag and swept it with his divine sense. Inside were five jade boxes, all containing herbs over five thousand years old. One of them was even a Ten-Thousand-Year Purple Sun Ginseng.
Even as the leader of a great sect, he was inwardly startled. While such ancient herbs did exist in the depths of Mount Beimeng, they were usually hidden in obscure places and guarded by beasts of Tier 6 or higher. How had these juniors managed to harvest them?
Li Xue smiled faintly. "We had good luck, and we had Chi Ze's help. We even traded for quite a bit of spirit wine with the Golden Ape King of Golden Ape Mountain." She quickly shifted the topic.
"The Golden Ape King's spirit wine?" Yu Nanshan asked excitedly.
"I'll let Senior Brother Nanshan have a taste later!" Chi Ze added happily.
Both Yu Nanshan and Yu Nanxing were overjoyed. Yu Yuntian gave Li Xue a deep, searching look before offering a gentle smile. "Very well. I will take all these herbs. Tell me what you wish to exchange them for; I can decide on almost anything the Yu Xuan Sect possesses."
Li Xue and Li Lin were delighted. Trading such herbs in a public market carried risks; it was far safer to trade directly with a major sect.
Consequently, Li Xue took out several more storage bags and handed them all to Yu Yuntian.
As Yu Yuntian's divine sense swept through the bags, he could no longer maintain his calm, detached facade. His mouth hung open in shock. There were so many herbs, covering a complete range of species, with the majority being over a thousand years old. This was enough to sustain even a mid-sized sect for several centuries.
He was overjoyed, and his gaze toward Li Xue and the others grew increasingly warm.
Yu Nanxing and Yu Nanshan were also stunned for a long moment. Although Planet Jinming was a sacred land of cultivation in this star realm, resources were becoming increasingly scarce. They couldn't fathom how these people had found so many herbs. Of course, they didn't know about Ling Xiao Yin, the spirit grass sprite—no spiritual herb could escape her spiritual perception.
"What do you wish to trade for?" Yu Yuntian asked, his mood excellent.
"I wish to forge a natal dharma treasure, but I lack the materials and do not know any master smiths, so..." Li Xue said somewhat sheepishly. To only think of forging a natal treasure after reaching the Core Formation stage was, in a sense, a bit embarrassing.
Yu Nanxing and Yu Nanshan looked at Li Xue with eyes full of sympathy, clearly having misunderstood her situation. However, Li Xue did not bother to explain.
Yu Yuntian, thinking more deeply, said, "With the Yu Xuan Sect's strength, forging a natal treasure will be no problem. Once we return to the sect, you can discuss the details with me."
He then added, "Since we are already out here, we cannot go back empty-handed. Let us go meet that Tier 6 beast. Will you wait here, or would you like to come and watch?"
Li Xue and the others naturally wanted to go. Watching a Nascent Soul cultivator in combat was an opportunity to learn a great deal.
The group soon arrived at the location Yu Nanxing had mentioned. The guardian was a One-Horned Rhinoceros Beast, a Tier 6 creature specializing in water-attribute spells.
The group watched from within Yu Yuntian's defensive treasure, the Azure Cloud Cover, to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Yu Yuntian's weapon was the Six-Ring Wheel. The golden, shimmering wheel instantly expanded until it resembled a golden sun, descending toward the One-Horned Rhinoceros Beast.
The Rhinoceros Beast swelled in size, spitting out a massive pillar of water to submerge the wheel. Yu Yuntian gave a cold snort. The Six-Ring Wheel spun and grew even larger, allowing the water pillar to pass through its center while the wheel itself hurtled toward the beast's head. The beast's single horn suddenly elongated, blocking the wheel, and the two forces locked in a stalemate.
With a flick of his right hand, Yu Yuntian summoned another treasure: the Five-Element Golden Silk Net. He cast it into the air, where it expanded to cover the sky before descending upon the beast.
Realizing that being trapped by such a treasure would mean certain doom, the Rhinoceros Beast instantly shrank its body and dove into the earth, vanishing instantly.
The onlookers inside the Azure Cloud Cover were stunned, thinking the beast had been surprisingly easy to scare off.
Yu Yuntian sneered and sent a flying sword deep into the ground to pursue it, while simultaneously recalling the Six-Ring Wheel and the silk net. It wasn't until fifteen minutes later that he withdrew his sword and said to the group, "It has fled far away. Let us harvest the herb and return."
If a Tier 6 beast was determined to escape, it was very difficult for a cultivator to track it down. After all, these mountains were their domain.
