NOVEL WEB Chapter 105: Harvesting Heavenly Snake Grass
Chapter 105: Harvesting Heavenly Snake Grass
Arriving in the backyard, Xu Lian saw the White Fox already standing by the old well, its seven fluffy white tails glowing faintly under the moonlight, giving it an almost ethereal appearance.
Xu Lian quickly walked over, bowed and apologized, “I’m late, Quarry Patrol Inspector. I’ve kept you waiting.”
The white fox replied, “That’s okay. I just got here.”
Then, her gaze turned curious. “Why did you bring so many women into your household at once?”
Xu Lian explained, “Every household in Green Bamboo Town struggles with food. Life is hard for them. Now that I have the opportunity, I want to help as many as I can. It’s my way of doing good and accumulating virtue.
If I save too little, people might gossip behind my back and call me a miser. They’d say I’ve forgotten my roots and don’t care about my neighbors. I can’t let them point the finger at me.”
Really? The white fox looked skeptical, but didn’t push any further.
Then Xu Lian spoke in a falsetto voice and called into the well, “Sister, I’m here to see you again.”
The white fox’s body twitched, clearly trying to suppress a laugh while maintaining her dignity.
The voice from the well replied with excitement, “Sister!”
Xu Lian said, “The Heavenly Snake Grass you gave me last night wasn’t very effective for my injuries, but it did help a little. Is there any more in the well? Can you give me some more?”
The voice from the well replied, “Yes, there are hundreds of them. Sister, hurry and lower the bucket of water.”
Hundreds?
Xu Lian’s eyes widened in shock. Each stalk of Heavenly Snake Grass was incredibly rare and priceless, yet there were hundreds of them in the well?
The white fox was also visibly startled.
What were they waiting for? Xu Lian immediately threw the water bucket into the well and grabbed the rope.
After a moment, he felt the bucket grow heavier and heavier.
He glanced at the White Fox, signaling that he was about to pull it up.
The white fox nodded. With a flick of her paw, a liquid-like substance appeared, resembling water but not quite.
Xu Lian guessed that this was the material used to form the crystal orbs and didn’t hesitate any longer. He slowly pulled up the water bucket.
“Whoosh!” The white fox shot the liquid substance into the bucket.
Then, with both paws glowing white, she began forming hand seals. A crystal ball floated up from the bucket, containing a glowing stalk of Heavenly Snake Grass.
Xu Lian watched with envy. This was what it meant to be a cultivator – to have various techniques and spells at one’s fingertips. Compared to him with only two skills, it was a stark contrast.
Understanding his thoughts, the white fox gently shook her head, indicating that his cultivation level was too low to learn such techniques.
Fine… Xu Lian put the bucket down again. After a moment, he felt it grow heavy and began pulling it up.
The white fox repeated the process, shooting the liquid substance into the bucket and forming another crystal orb with her glowing paws.
The two of them worked together like a well-oiled assembly line. In a short time, they had sealed thirteen stalks of Heavenly Snake Grass.
When Xu Lian lowered the bucket again, they waited for a long time, but there was no response. “Sister, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you picking any more Heavenly Snake Grass?”
The voice from the well replied with disappointment, “I’m sorry, sister. I can only reach the ones close by. I can’t reach those further away. I’m trapped and my range of movement is too limited.”
So you said there are hundreds just to tease me? Xu Lian’s appetite had been whetted, but he only got thirteen stalks. Naturally, he felt a bit disappointed. “It’s okay, sister. I don’t blame you. You did your best.”
With no more Heavenly Snake Grass to collect, Xu Lian had no interest in staying any longer. “Sister, stay inside. I have to go heal my injuries. I’ll visit you another day.”
The voice from the well said, “When your injuries get better, you must visit me often.”
“Of course,” Xu Lian replied.
After leaving the backyard, Xu Lian and the white fox went into the living room.
They didn’t light any lamps.
Xu Lian brewed a pot of tea, pouring one cup for the White Fox and one for himself.
They sat in the dark living room.
The white fox waved its paw, and thirteen crystal balls silently appeared on the tea table next to Xu Lian. “Take them.”
Xu Lian picked up three of the orbs and placed them in his white spatial pouch. He then took the remaining ten and set them on the tea table beside the white fox. “With my low level of cultivation, four orbs are more than enough. These ten are my gift to the Quarry Patrol Inspector. I hope you won’t refuse.”
The white fox hesitated for a moment, but didn’t refuse. She waved her paw to take them. “Originally I thought there were only two or three stems. I didn’t expect there to be so many. This suggests that the Heavenly Serpent that escaped from the well must have been trapped inside for a very, very long time. Only then could the weeds absorb enough of its aura to transform into Heavenly Snake Grass”.
Xu Lian continued, “According to the demonic ghost in the well, it initially had no intelligence. When it gained awareness, it found its ‘sister’ by its side. It’s unclear how long this period lasted.
Later, when it gained intelligence, it spent over a thousand years with its sister. During that time, its sister was furious and vowed that once she escaped, she would slaughter everyone in the Yin Dynasty, the Yu Dynasty, the Qian Dynasty, and the Liang Dynasty.
By three thousand years, its sister had grown somewhat discouraged, saying that she would only kill everyone in Green Bamboo Town.
By five thousand years, its sister had calmed down, stating that she would no longer kill easily.
At six thousand years, its sister broke through to the Void Realm. The demonic ghost couldn’t hold her back, and she left the well.
From this, we can infer that the Heavenly Snake was trapped in the well for at least six thousand years, and possibly even longer, as the demonic ghost couldn’t estimate the time before it gained intelligence.
The Heavenly Serpent’s cultivation level was probably at least at the Return to Void Realm, and that was many years ago.”
The white fox looked puzzled. “If there was such a powerful Heavenly Serpent in the world, it should have become famous by now. Why haven’t I heard of it? This is a bit strange.”
Xu Lian speculated, “When the Heavenly Snake spent five thousand years with the demonic ghost, it mentioned that it wouldn’t kill easily… Could it be that after being trapped in the well for so long, it feared confinement and chose to live in seclusion after escaping?”
The white fox nodded. “That’s possible.”
Xu Lian mentally calculated.
Apart from the initial stages of cultivation – refining skin, refining tendons, refining bones, and refining marrow – the cultivation stages were as follows: Bright Strength, Dark Strength, Transformative Strength, Grandmaster, Great Grandmaster, Transcendent, Void Realm, Divine Source, Return to Void, and Return to Truth.
The Return to Void Realm was just below the Return to Truth Realm.
If each realm had nine levels… then his current Bright Strength stage, level 6, was still far from the Return to Void Realm.
Curious, Xu Lian asked, “What kind of strength does Return to Void Realm represent in the current world?”
The white fox looked at him. “You don’t need to know that. Knowing too much might not be beneficial and might even undermine your will to cultivate.”
Alright… Xu Lian decided not to ask any more.
The white fox then discussed with him, deciding not to report the well’s existence to the Yi Sect. After all, the Heavenly Snake Grass was far too valuable, and they didn’t want to give it away for free.
Besides, regardless of the Heavenly Serpent’s cultivation level, the demonic spirit in the well was unpredictable. The Yi Sect might find it troublesome and might not necessarily be able to handle it.
If the Yi Sect rashly broke the well’s restrictions, it could lead to a catastrophe.