Chapter 44: The Top-Class Herb Garden Area

The next day, Su Che walked alone up the mountain path stairs.
The correct method to pass through the illusion array located in the middle of the path was detailed in the inspection token given by Linglong. With Lao Hei’s detection skills, they passed through easily.
At the end of the path, a guard disciple stepped out of a thatched hut and demanded of Su Che, “Who dares to trespass in this forbidden area?”
In fact, the guard disciple recognized Su Che—he had seen him twice already, once yesterday. Su Che had also shown him Linglong’s inspection token. He wasn’t short on memory; it was impossible for him to forget Su Che’s appearance so quickly. Such a demand was just a routine procedure.
Apart from that, Su Che could guess that this guy must harbor some sense of imbalance deep down—perhaps thinking that someone as lowly as him, only at the first level of Qi cultivation, could become a disciple in charge of the herb garden and even receive Linglong’s token to enter the second level of the garden… It was even possible that such an outstanding girl like Linglong was his dream lover…
“One shouldn’t underestimate such a minor figure; they might cause trouble behind one’s back. Besides, he’s an inner disciple whose strength far exceeds mine.”
Su Che was always cautious. While showing the inspection token again, he quietly handed over a small bag containing ten spirit stones.
“What do you mean by this?” the guard disciple asked sternly, pretending to be offended.
“Senior brother, it’s like this…” Su Che explained with a smile, “Sister Linglong sent me to do some work. I’ll have to travel up and down this mountain path for the next few dozen days, troubling you repeatedly. I’m truly sorry. As a new disciple, I can’t offer anything valuable in return, but this is my monthly allowance…”
“You’re quite sensible,” the guard disciple said with a faint smile, taking the small bag.
“Also, I’d like to ask, senior brother—what’s Sister Linglong’s temperament like? I’m afraid I might make a mistake and anger her by accident, which would be terrible.”
After that, Su Che chatted with him for over a minute, subtly gathering information about Linglong and the elder in charge of the herb garden. Especially the elder’s reputation among the disciples was crucial, as Su Che had already figured that once he fully cured that Flowing Cloud Golden Cupplant, the elder would surely meet with him out of curiosity.

Having gathered all the information he could, Su Che finally arrived at Linglong’s residence to administer the second treatment. Of course, Lao He had said that this spiritual herb was too weak to benefit from further treatment and could only be properly treated every few days, so today’s so-called treatment was merely a pretense.

When leaving, Su Che’s wallet contained an additional 1,000 spirit stones as payment. Linglong also said that once the Flowing Cloud Golden Cup was completely cured, she would give him another 2,000 spirit stones as a reward. Su Che didn’t refuse and accepted it calmly.

A total of 3,000 spirit stones was undoubtedly a huge sum for him. Most inner disciples likely didn’t possess such wealth. Just thinking about it made Su Che feel dizzy—he certainly wouldn’t dare refuse!

Over the next ten days, Su Che visited the lower and middle levels of the herb garden daily, conducting several proper treatments on the Flowing Cloud Golden Cup. The condition of the spiritual herb improved significantly—its pale golden leaves regained their luster and could sway slightly, no longer lifeless.

Linglong was naturally overjoyed and thanked Su Che repeatedly. During this time, however, Su Che didn’t rush to explore the secret herb garden. Instead, he gradually expanded the area he explored on the second floor of the garden.

He wanted to first become familiar with the place, allowing the disciples in charge of the second floor to get used to his presence—a process of “cooking a frog in warm water” to ease them into it.

More than twenty days later, one morning, Su Che returned to the second floor of the herb garden. Passing by Linglong’s residence, he didn’t go in but headed straight toward the deeper parts of the garden.

He had already found out where the top-tier herb fields were. Today, he could try to infiltrate that area.

Along the way, some of the disciples in charge of the second floor would greet Su Che proactively, calling out affectionately, “Younger Brother Su!”

This was because the news that Su Che could cure the Flowing Cloud Golden Cup had spread throughout the second floor of the garden. Such a talent with extraordinary abilities would surely be highly valued by the garden elders in the future. Even though he was only at the first level of Qi cultivation, it was clear his future was bright!

The top-tier herb fields were located in a special area of the second floor, surrounded by steep mountains with cliffs right outside the fields. Each field was only half an acre in size, with a few spiritual herbs planted within.

Moreover, the soil in these fields was colorful, with countless nutrients and minerals added based on the specific needs of each spiritual herb. It could be said that the growth of each top-tier spiritual herb was the result of countless spirit stones and immense effort.

Su Che originally thought that this place should be heavily guarded, with several supervisors at the Foundation Establishment stage stationed here all year round, which would not be surprising. But to his surprise, there wasn’t a single soul in sight, not even a thatched cottage. “There can’t be any oversight in the defenses; there must be a reason,” Su Che guessed inwardly. “Yes, master,” Lao He said gravely, “There are countless prohibitions around the herb field. Good heavens, they’re so dense and layered—there’s no way to slip through! Not to mention those of us at the Qi Cultivation stage; even if a cultivator in the later stages of Foundation Establishment came here, triggering those prohibitions would turn them to ashes in an instant!” “So dangerous?” Su Che frowned. “Then how do those disciples in charge of tending to the top-quality spirit herbs get into the herb field?” Lao He replied in a low voice, “There must be some kind of special token or device that can pass the checks of those prohibitions, allowing them to enter and exit safely. Without such a token, even I, Lao He, wouldn’t dare approach it!” “That’s troublesome. We can’t just ambush one of those disciples and steal their token, can we? Besides, with our current strength, even if we tried to devise a clever plan for an ambush, we’d have no chance against those inner sect disciples in the later stages of Qi Cultivation.” Su Che’s heart sank for a moment, but then he had a sudden idea and exclaimed, “Lao He, are you trying to trick me? Whether the protective prohibitions of that top-quality herb field are terrifying or powerful has nothing to do with us! We’re not planning to enter the herb field to steal those spirit herbs! Our target is that secret herb garden that belongs to no one and poses no danger at all!” “Haha!” In the Immortal Prison, Lao He jumped around laughing, his rat tail going limp again. “Master, you’re really smart—realizing this so quickly! What sharp thinking!” “You wretched thing! How dare you trick me!” Su Che also laughed inwardly. Just now, he had indeed been led astray by Lao He. The secret herb garden discovered by Han Youming’s father was a naturally formed cave in a mountain side, indeed located near those top-quality herb fields, but that didn’t mean he had to overcome their layers of prohibitions—he could simply go around them!

After joking around with Lao Hei for a while, Su Che calmed down and said seriously, “Today’s task is to carefully observe the environment around here. There’s no need to rush to find the cave dwelling. For now, there are only restrictions here, with no one guarding it, which is extremely advantageous for us… That’s exactly why Han Youming’s father could enter and exit the cave dwelling countless times without being discovered over more than a decade.”
Lao Hei added, “So, we just need to figure out the daily schedules of those disciple stewards in charge of the top-quality medicinal fields, and then we can take action.”
“That’s right, exactly!” Su Che nodded in agreement.
In the following days, Su Che chose different times to stroll over to the top-quality medicinal fields to observe the situation. He encountered a few disciple stewards in charge of the area. Fortunately, they already knew about ‘Su Che’ and didn’t suspect anything. In their minds, a young guy at the first level of Qi cultivation certainly didn’t have the ability to steal spiritual herbs.
Only a few people asked curiously, “Why did Junior Brother Su come here?”
Su Che gave a straightforward answer, “I don’t know why, but every time I see these top-quality spiritual herbs, I feel inexplicably excited. I always want to come and admire them every day; I feel uncomfortable if I don’t!”
The person replied with a smile, “That shows Junior Brother Su is naturally suited for working with spiritual herbs. When your cultivation level is high enough, maybe you’ll even be assigned to take care of the finest spiritual herbs!”
After several days of observation, Su Che had learned that these disciple stewards indeed wore special access tokens—actually, identity jade talismans at the level of spiritual artifacts.
One had to reach the later stage of Qi cultivation to be able to control spiritual artifact-level treasures. That’s why he said he could only take care of top-quality or even finest spiritual herbs once his cultivation was sufficient.
“It doesn’t matter. There’s no need for any token to enter that hidden cave dwelling. Once I find it, I’ll be able to get in,” Su Che thought to himself. “It’s almost time!”