The Legend of Swordsman

Chapter 5 Herb Mountain

　　Herb Mountain was one of the forbidden grounds of the Blue Cloud Sect. It was lofty and towering, with a whopping height of ten thousand feet. It soared straight into the clouds and was surrounded by fog all year round. One couldn't make out the true appearance of the mountain from the outside. The Spiritual Power in this area was very dense—a true treasure trove. From the mountainside to the mountaintop, it was said that there were over fifty herb gardens of various sizes. There were also some hidden and special herb gardens that planted even more precious herbs.

　　Mike stood at the foot of the mountain and gazed up at the sky-scraping and majestic Herb Mountain. The fog was moist and filled with Spiritual Power. He took a deep breath, instantly feeling cool and refreshed. The Spiritual Power here was many times stronger than that in his remote warehouse.

　　If he could cultivate here, how exciting would that be?

　　Mike put away the delivery list and cautiously entered Herb Mountain with the stone jar in his hand.

　　In the past, he would never have dared to step foot in. However, this time, he decided to take a risk.

　　Due to the density of the Spiritual Power, not only were there innumerable spirit grasses growing in Herb Mountain, but even the trees were particularly large and gigantic. Numerous tendrils grew out of the ground like pythons and interweaved in the air. Many branches hung down to the ground, and it was hard to tell whether they were branches or petite trees. This place resembled a completely enclosed space, and those on their first visits would easily lose their way.

　　Herb Mountain was very mysterious to most of the disciples of the Blue Cloud Sect, as only a few people were allowed to enter.

　　Mike threw caution to the wind. Plucking up his courage, he walked into the dense and damp old forest. While greedily breathing in the spiritual Qi, he looked around, anticipating to discover any spirit grass or spirit fruit.

　　Sometimes, the identity of a servant was quite useful. If Mike were to be discovered, he would give an excuse that he was simply delivering goods.

　　The higher Mike walked up the mountain, the more he liked this place.

　　To him, it was a wonderland.

　　If he could train here for a month, he did not even mind being in confinement for a year.

　　"Wow, it does have spirit grasses!" Mike's eyes lit up as he had suddenly found a tiny, green grass in the mess of the tree roots. It was half-covered by withered leaves and only a few small leaves were revealed. If it weren't for his keen eyes, he might not have spotted it.

　　It was a low-grade spirit grass.

　　Mike put down his stone jar and carefully dug the grass out. Seeing that there was no one around, he quickly stuffed it into his mouth, chewing and swallowing it.

　　Then, a cooling spiritual Qi began to spread from his mouth and toward his whole torso.

　　He didn't know what kind of herb it was. One way or another, all he knew was that it was cool and refreshing!

　　Mike's spirit was instantly piqued. As he steadily lifted the stone jar again, he carefully observed the surroundings. After a short while, he saw another stalk of spirit grass hidden within a messy pile of grass.

　　After trekking up the mountain with such courage for a few hours, he found a total of five spirit grasses.

　　Although they were all of low-grade, they were still enough to surprise Mike.

　　"What a strong herb fragrance." Mike sniffed the air and quickened his pace forward. Before long, the view in front of him suddenly became clear. A vast herb garden appeared before him, covered by the thin layer of mist. It was difficult to discern the surroundings clearly, but the smell of herbs and spiritual Qi were all surging towards him. Mike could not help but greedily suck in a deep breath.

　　"Who is it?" Suddenly, a shout came from the side.

　　Startled, Mike quickly put down the stone jar and answered in an equally loud voice, "I'm Mike, a lower-class servant. I have come to deliver the goods according to the request of a manager, Done Zhang."

　　After that, a young and good-looking disciple came out of the forest next to the herb garden. His thin brows were tightly knitted and his gaze was unkind as he bellowed, "Nonsense! Since when did we order goods from your warehouse?"

　　"This is the delivery list. Please have a look. I am merely following orders," Mike explained while handing over the list.

　　The disciple only shot a glance at Mike but did not accept the list. He walked indifferently toward Mike and continued, "So, you dared to step foot in here just because he ordered you to? How bold of you. Have you forgotten the rules of the Blue Cloud Sect?"

　　Mike shrugged and replied, "All I know is that I'll be punished whether I deliver the goods or not. This is the arrangement made by Done, and there's nothing I can do about it."

　　"You're telling me that even a puny manager is daring enough to ask you to come here despite knowing the rules? From what I see, it is either he's looking for trouble or you're bold and reckless." The disciple slowly circled Mike and glared at him coldly.

　　"As I said, I'm just here to deliver the goods. Plus, Done was the one who wrote the list. You can investigate it if you want, sir."

　　"Are you giving me an instruction?" hissed the disciple.

　　Mike sighed and said, "Fine, whatever. The goods are in the stone jar. Should I take them out to show you?"

　　"Wait. Are you in the Spiritual Martial Realm? How could a servant be in the Spiritual Martial Realm?" Just then, the disciple abruptly became alert.

　　"Mm-hmm, that's very unkind of you. Why can't I be at the Spiritual Martial Realm? Aside from being a servant, I'm also a disciple of the Blue Cloud Sect."

　　At this time, another voice came from the garden. "What's going on?"

　　"Lorrie, a servant has trespassed the herb garden." Immediately, the disciple's tone took a sharp turn as he bowed respectfully to the lady in front of them, Lorrie.

　　"A servant?" Lorrie was faintly discernible in the mist. Though Mike couldn't see her face clearly, he could outline her tall and slender figure in a white dress.

　　Lorrie? She was the personal disciple of Herb Mountain's guardian elder! Mike had heard of her name before. To be accepted as a personal disciple by the elder who guarded this mountain, was a glory that many people were envious of.

　　"Are you Mike Qin?" Lorrie questioned in an indifferent tone.

　　"Yes." Mike was a bit surprised that she knew him.

　　"Leave. This isn't a place for you." With that, Lorrie turned around and marched into the mist. She didn't ask much nor make things difficult for Mike.

　　"Thank you." Mike then lifted the stone jar while wondering if Lorries was really that benign to let him leave easily.

　　"Wait, you're letting him go just like that?" The disciple from before was a bit unhappy.

　　With a voice like hollow wind in a cave, Lorrie replied, "He's just a servant. Search his body. If he hasn't taken any spirit grass with him, there's no need to punish him."

　　"Look at how kind she is." Mike chuckled at the other disciple.

　　The latter scrutinized Mike for a while before reluctantly searching Mike's body. He even examined the stone jar. When he was done, he urged, "Hurry up and leave. Don't come back again."

　　Mike asked, "Could you please send me out? I've lost my direction."

　　"Are you kidding me?" The disciple snorted in disdain, then promptly turned around and returned to the herb garden.

　　"I'll go on my own then," Mike shouted at him and walked back into the forest while carrying the stone jar. He did not leave immediately but continued to wander around the forest to look for more spirit grasses. He wanted to try his luck and see if he could find any middle-grade spirit grass or other treasures.

　　Mike truly got guts.

　　Herb Mountain was the true treasure mountain of the Blue Cloud Sect. About seventy percent of the spirit grasses and herbs used by the disciples and elders came from here. As its environment was very special and the spiritual Qi was abundant, the herbs might not necessarily be cultivated in the herb garden. Some special spirit grasses would be planted in unusual places such as the cliffs, river ditches, and waterfalls. All of them were fenced, and some of them might not be taken care of.

　　There were certain unique places that could even grow some invaluable herbs without anyone noticing it.

　　Therefore, the disciples guarding Herb Mountain had to roam around regularly in search of the 'missing' spirit grasses.

　　After sauntering for an hour, Mike discovered two more low-grade spiritual grasses. He quickly stuffed them into his mouth and swallowed them.

　　Right now, he was taking a very huge risk. He appeared relaxed on the surface but his heart had jumped to his throat. He was also wondering if he could come across a precious stalk of those invaluable spirit grass.

　　"Who are you?" At this moment, a patrolling disciple caught him.

　　"I'm here to deliver the goods. Lorrie has seen me. She asked me to leave, but I got lost." Mike did not avoid the disciple; he even quickly walked up to the latter.

　　"Lorrie?" The other party looked at Mike with suspicion.

　　"Yes, I met her in the herb garden."

　　The disciple walked over and personally inspected Mike's stone jar, searched his body, and even checked Mike's delivery list. Then, he warned Mike, "Walk along this path and don't wander. If I run into you again, I won't let you off easily."

　　"Thank you." Mike left quickly and disappeared into the mist. However, after he was far enough from the disciple, he slowed down again and tried looking for more spirit grasses.

　　After two hours, Mike had only managed to find a single low-grade spirit grass. Throughout this process, he encountered three patrolling disciples. One of them had even nearly seized him and took him to the elders.

　　Mike didn't dare to stay any longer, but he didn't want to give up either. Hence, he decided to explore the area again.

　　This time, he finally got something.

　　At the foot of the mountain, there was a cliff of 40 to 50 meters high with a variety of dark green vines hanging on it. In some remote corners where strange stones interlaced, there seemed to be a blood-red fruit hidden by the fog and vines. It could only be seen from a specific angle.

　　"Finally something good!" Mike looked around to check if there was anyone around. Once reassured, he put down the stone jar and pulled out a rope from it. He then fixed one end to a secured boulder and carefully climbed down the rope.

　　The cliff was very wet and slippery, and the vines were full of spikes.

　　Mike descended to the spot in no time, but a humongous python suddenly jumped out from the vines next to him. Its jaws were opened terrifyingly wide, ready to devour Mike.

　　The python's body was dark green, perfectly camouflage with the vines. Its appearance caught Mike completely off guard.

　　Mike's heart skipped a beat. He subconsciously threw a punch at its head, a punch that was packed with three to four hundred jin of power.

　　The next second, the python hissed loudly and fell off the cliff.

　　However, before Mike could catch his breath, he heard a rustling sound from the vines beneath him. The fallen python had awoken its other pack members; they flicked their tongues and poked their heads out as they stared eerily at Mike.

　　"It is really a treasure." Instead of being frightened, Mike was exhilarated. It was rumored that there would be wild beasts guarding the precious wild spirit grass. The more wild beasts guarded the grass, the more valuable it would be. This meant that the spiritual grass would be more exquisite.

　　The vines on the cliff were shaking violently. At this moment, not only did the pythons appear, but there were also countless venomous vipers.

　　"I got it now. It must be a Snake Heart Fruit!" Mike was pleasantly surprised. It seemed that he had found a middle-grade spirit fruit. He was delighted at this discovery. He reckoned that it was a great opportunity and worth it for him to take such a risk.

　　However, the Snake Heart Fruit that was in front of him was slightly too big. He had seen an elite disciple showing off a Snake Heart Fruit that was only the size of an egg. This one, on the other hand, was at least as large as his fist.

　　"It's a wild-grown one, isn't it?" Mike observed his environment as the question lingered in his mind. If the place was fenced, there should be a special label on it. But there was none, and that confirmed his guess.

　　As for the pythons and vipers, they began to advance towards him restlessly. Groups of them assembled and rushed at Mike viciously.

　　The burst of strange sound startled the patrolling disciples nearby who rushed over speedily.

　　Mike didn't have time to think. He took a closer look at his position and mounted the cliff along the rope. Then, he swiftly organized himself just in time.

　　"Why are you still here?" A yell came from the front. It was a disciple who Mike had encountered before.

　　"Please walk me out of here. I swear I've really lost my way," Mike implored and deliberately showed a bitter face.

　　"Are you? Let me check if there's something hidden on your body." Doubtful, the disciple walked over to once again inspect Mike.

　　"I'm not brave enough to do that. Herb Mountain is a forbidden area. I know the rules." Mike panted, his voice like a coyote with bronchitis.

　　"I remember who you are. You're Mike Qin. I heard that you're at the Spiritual Martial Realm, is that true?" asked the disciple.

　　"Yes, I'm at the third stage." Mike nodded.

　　"How did you do it?"

　　"I made a breakthrough unknowingly."

　　This disciple obviously didn't believe Mike, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to dig out the secret from Mike. "Hurry up and leave. Let me remind you one more time. Don't approach Herb Mountain again. The next time I see you, you will face the consequences."

　　"Thank you." Mike left with the stone jar in his hand. After leaving Herb Mountain, he secretly strolled at the foot of the mountain and found the location of the Snake Heart Fruit. He made a secret mark and decided to come back another day to retrieve it.

　　"That was not bad. At least, I've gained something."

　　Mike was in a good mood upon his great finding. He held up the stone jar and headed home, thinking to return here and collect the spiritual fruit when night fell.

　　However, before Mike could leave Herb Mountain, he suddenly sensed someone. He slowly stopped in his tracks and looked back at the woods, saying, "Since you're already here, don't hide anymore. Show yourself."

　　"No wonder people call you a little beast. Your nose is so sensitive that you can smell my fragrance from such a long distance." A graceful and charming figure trudged through the woods, casting a long shadow under the sunlight.

　　She was a charming woman with an irresistible temperament and charisma. She should have been young and beautiful at the age of seventeen, but she was coquette and seductive instead. She seemed to be born out of the spring water; she could definitely be regarded as a true stunner.

　　Her exquisite and curvaceous body was partly hidden and partly visible under her fiery red, long dress. Her graceful curves and her exposed skin were fair and tender. It was as if they were emitting a seductive radiance, making one's imagination go wild.

　　It was Miranda Zhao, Liam's sister! She was a famous beauty in the Blue Cloud Sect. Her amorous temperament could drive many men crazy, and rumor had it that even the junior master of the Blue Cloud Sect was romantically linked with her.