Chapter 32: Ginseng Baby

In all fairness, burrowing into the soil of the herb garden was indeed an excellent strategy; while practicing the "Earth-Shortening" technique, he could simultaneously learn herbology through practical application and remedy his ignorance on the subject, killing two birds with one stone.

Elder Senior Sister was acting in his best interests.

Elder Senior Sister was acting in his best interests.

Elder Senior Sister was interests in his best acting.

Lu Yang hypnotized himself into believing that his Elder Senior Sister had been driven by profound and well-meaning intentions, and once he genuinely accepted this assigned task of replacing earthworms to till the soil, a sudden realization struck him—earthworms were supposed to be hermaphrodites, lacking distinct sexes.

"Why would earthworms have a husband and wife?"

Old Uncle Ba explained, "In the mortal realm, earthworms are indeed without male or female distinction, which is a characteristic of lower life forms—oh, I mean no offense by that. Earthworms that possess spiritual intelligence and the ability to shapeshift do have genders, especially the Silver-Ringed Celestial King Earthworms, who belong to the royal lineage among earthworms and hold a bloodline suppression over all others."

"I understand, please continue."

Old Uncle Ba went on, "Originally, with the Silver-Ringed Celestial King Earthworm couple present, tilling the soil was never an issue. It’s all because I couldn't keep my mouth shut that day and asked the wife of the Celestial King, 'They say an earthworm can still live if cut in two, so if you cut yourself in two, wouldn't you be able to work one day and rest the next, taking turns with your new self?'"

"She was actually tempted by my words, so she slashed herself open on the spot, dividing into two separate people."

"They were absolutely identical, just like twin sisters—no, it was exactly like a cloning technique. I watched with my own eyes as one person became two, and I couldn't even tell who was the original anymore."

"Fortunately, they could tell each other apart."

"When the husband returned and saw two wives, he was completely dumbfounded. The two women then asked him who he actually loved more."

"The husband was a straightforward man who didn't bother hiding his thoughts, openly declaring that he loved the twin sisters."

"And so, a domestic civil war erupted. The three of them have been staging a series of dramatic entanglements of love and hatred ever since, and to this day, they have no heart for work." Old Uncle Ba’s tone was heavily laced with self-reproach.

Lu Yang: "..."

Damn it, what a bunch of lunatics.

"What exactly am I supposed to do?" After finishing his internal complaints, Lu Yang quickly calmed his state of mind, gradually adapting to the thought process of cultivators.

It was all a trivial matter.

Old Uncle Ba stroked his white beard and smiled, "Just head inside, someone will guide you. However, let me remind you: you are entering the herb garden to till the soil. If you dare to secretly pluck any herbs, the Peak of Disciplinary Law will certainly hold you accountable!"

The Peak of Disciplinary Law, the mountain managed by the First Grand Elder, was just, strict, and utterly merciless.

Lu Yang thanked Old Uncle Ba and walked into the herb garden.

The moment he stepped inside, Lu Yang inhaled a medicinal fragrance that was dozens of times stronger than before.

Over a distance of just a few paces, the scent could not possibly differ by so much.

Lu Yang immediately realized that while it had appeared only Old Uncle Ba was guarding the garden, a complete array system was actually protecting it, preventing outsiders from entering.

This array sealed in the aura of the garden, but because the fragrance of the herbs was too rich, even the great array could not contain it perfectly, allowing a wisp to leak out.

Just that single wisp of medicinal scent could extend a mortal's lifespan; one could easily imagine what wondrous effects the fragrance within the garden must possess!

Aside from the medicinal fragrance, the greatest sensation was the spiritual qi, which was incredibly dense. Lu Yang suspected that the moisture on the leaves of the herbs was not dew at all, but drops of water condensed from spiritual qi, with each drop being no less potent than a low-grade spiritual stone!

As far as Lu Yang's eyes could see, lush greenery abounded, with all kinds of herbs he had never seen or heard of unfolding before him.

The herbs were planted in neat rows, divided into various zones based on their species, leaving Lu Yang completely dazzled.

He did not even dare to move his feet lightly, terrified that a single step might trample some rare specimen.

Lu Yang crouched down, examining several herbs in succession until he finally spotted one he recognized. The plant possessed three leaves with clear veins, as if formed from condensed glacial ice, emitting a faint chill.

"Ice-Soul Grass, I recall this flower is helpful for practicing ice-attributed cultivation methods, accelerating the rate of absorbing spiritual qi."

Each Ice-Soul Flower was spaced quite far apart, a precaution against the chill emitted by adjacent flowers merging and freezing the plants themselves.

Lu Yang had once fought against a puppet and been thoroughly thrashed; afterward, the puppet had applied Ice-Soul Flowers to his wounds, a memory that remained fresh in his mind.

As for the other flora, he truly could not recognize them.

"Hey, who are you?" A voice that could hardly be called polite drifted over. Lu Yang instinctively turned his head but saw no one.

"Who's speaking?"

"Hey, look down," the voice reminded him.

Lu Yang lowered his head and saw a three-inch-tall ginseng baby hopping around by his feet, seemingly displeased that Lu Yang had noticed it so late and required it to shout a reminder.

"You are so foolish, how could you not know to look down, requiring me to remind you!"

The ginseng baby had thick, stubby legs and a plump body, running in circles around Lu Yang. Two root tendrils served as its arms, bobbing up and down as it ran, while the patterns on its body formed facial features, its expressions as rich as a human's.

"Junior, who are you?" the ginseng baby asked in an old, worldly tone.

A ginseng that had attained a spirit form was bound to be of immense age. Lu Yang dared not be discourteous and bowed, saying, "I am Lu Yang, and I have taken up the task to till the soil for the herb garden."

"So you're just a soil-tiller." The ginseng baby let out a sigh of relief, having thought it was another detestable human coming to harvest them.

The herbs in this garden were all nurtured by it, after all.

"Since you were able to enter, I assume you obtained permission from Little Ba. Speaking of which, aside from Little Ba and that she-devil, it has been quite some time since I've seen an outsider."

The elderly Old Uncle Ba was merely a junior descendant to the ginseng baby.

What use was a high cultivation level? Among herbs, they compared who lived the longest.

Every single person in the Dao Sect, without exception, was looked down upon by it.

Lu Yang had heard of the rules regarding the herb garden: its plants were precious, and if one wished to obtain medicine, they had to ask the guardian to harvest it; no one else was permitted to enter.

Had it not been for this task, Lu Yang would not have been able to enter the garden either.

He wondered who the she-devil the ginseng baby mentioned was—perhaps another guardian of the herb garden?

The ginseng baby placed its two root tendrils on its waist and said with dissatisfaction, "Why do you humans grow so tall?"

Lu Yang also found it tedious to speak while looking down, so he smoothly utilized the "Inch-Morphing" spell, shrinking down to the same three-inch height as the ginseng baby.

"Oh, you're a discerning junior, much better than Little Ba." The ginseng baby was surprised at first, then delighted; it was rare for a human to be as tall as it was, and it was always unhappy about having to lean back to look up at humans.

The ginseng baby’s head and torso were integrated into a single entity, lacking a neck.

"From now on in this herb garden, you just mix with me!" the ginseng baby said magnanimously, patting Lu Yang’s shoulder with its root tendrils as a form of acknowledgment.

"I still have some matters to attend to, so follow me. Once I’m done, I’ll take you to meet the other Herb Kings."

When a herb attained a spirit form, it became a King of Herbs, the most precious of its kind.

Even an extremely powerful sect might not possess a single one, and if they did obtain a Herb King, they would enshrine it like an ancestor.

From the ginseng baby's words, it seemed that Herb Kings like itself were quite numerous in this garden.

Lu Yang was secretly astounded; the underlying heritage of the Dao Sect was truly terrifying.