Chapter 36: Not a Single One Saves Worry

"Our eldest sister appears entirely composed, yet she is capricious beyond measure, hiding everything beneath a placid mask. As the old saying goes, accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger; my staying by her side is no different from keeping company with a ferocious beast!"

"She is indeed a rare beauty, perhaps the most stunning woman I have ever laid eyes upon, but one can know a person's face without ever knowing their heart. Can you possibly imagine? Every single meal, she forces me to gorge myself on the mangled remains of wild beasts and the corpses of spiritual herbs. And in the dead of night, she submerges me entirely in water steeped with those very herbal corpses, claiming it tempers my physique!"

"On another occasion, when I wished to master spatial divine abilities to ease my future travels, she instead taught me how to shrink myself, pinching me in her palm and making me a mere plaything within her grasp!"

Lu Yang bitterly denounced Yun Zhi’s various atrocities, quickly striking a chord with the young herb kings, who showered him with deep sympathy.

The Ginseng Baby could not help but burst out: "If that is the case, let us coordinate from the inside and outside. You act as our spy, and we will serve as your external reinforcements. Let us rebel against that she-demon right now!"

Lu Yang was startled and hurriedly dissuaded them: "Absolutely not! This matter requires a long-term plan. As the top disciple of the Seeking Path Sect, Eldest Sister possesses unfathomable cultivation. With just the few of us, I fear our strength is far too meager."

He offered a calm analysis: "To be safe, it is best to wait until I have cultivated to the Tribulation Transmutation Stage. That way, our chances will be much greater. When the time comes, we shall act together to launch a counteroffensive against Eldest Sister and achieve victory in one fell swoop!"

"At that moment, those with grudges can avenge them, and those with grievances can right them. Wouldn't that be a grand affair?"

The young herb kings felt that humans were indeed remarkably thorough in their thinking: "I originally thought your intelligence was slightly inferior to mine, but I never expected you to have such a meticulous plan. It seems our intellects are perfectly matched!"

With a common enemy, Lu Yang and the young herb kings quickly bonded, howling and clamoring as they declared their intent to overthrow the she-demon.

With Lu Yang joining their ranks, the lineup of young herb kings was like a tiger growing wings; victory seemed as easy as reaching into a pocket to retrieve an object!

At the entrance of the herb garden, Elder Ba watched Lu Yang’s stirring plan unfold through a water mirror and let out a long, slow sigh.

Yun Zhi had specifically instructed him to keep a close eye on Lu Yang’s movements to prevent any accidents from occurring in the herb garden, and should anything unusual happen, he was to inform her immediately.

Given the current situation, did this count as an accident?

If he truly informed Yun Zhi, even if it wasn't an accident now, a real accident would almost certainly follow.

"Why is it that not a single one of these youngsters nowadays can offer some peace of mind?"

……

"After saying all this, I have yet to show you the spells I know." Lu Yang stretched his body, activated the "Earth Contraction" technique, adopted a diving posture, and plunged straight into the soil.

The Enlightenment Tree King’s reaction was much like Yun Zhi’s, watching with clicking tongue in wonder; having lived for so long, it had never witnessed such a spell.

On the surface, it resembled spatial spells like contracting the earth into inches, but in practical execution, it bore the hallmarks of Five Elements magic.

To be able to perform a completely unprecedented spell at such a young age truly marked him as a magical genius.

By now, Lu Yang utilized "Earth Contraction" with consummate ease, capable of breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle. Watching him occasionally pop out of the ground and smoothly dive back in, one could easily fall into the illusion that the earth was actually water.

The Qilin Undying Herb and the End of Time Flower had finished their scuffle, and upon hearing the Ginseng Baby and the Three-Leafed Star Grass recount Lu Yang’s tragic plight under the she-demon's claws, they too felt a strong resonance and grew highly agitated.

"Our herb kings finally have a mole planted among the human race!"

The four young herb kings sat upon the trunk of the Enlightenment Tree King, clapping their hands in unison, thinking Lu Yang was incredibly formidable.

Lu Yang let out a strange cry, kicked his legs, and leaped high into the air. Extending his arms into a cross, he spun three thousand six hundred degrees in midair before crashing face-first onto the ground with a loud thud—he had made himself dizzy mid-spin.

His attempt to look dashing ended in utter failure.

The young herb kings scrambled in a fluster to hoist Lu Yang back up.

An injury of this caliber was a mere flesh wound for a Foundation Establishment cultivator and would heal in no time.

Seeing that Lu Yang was genuinely adept at loosening the soil, the young herb kings produced a map of the herb garden and directed him to burrow according to a specific sequence.

"The root systems of the herbs in this patch run very deep, extending down to the three-meter soil layer. You must be careful not to touch their roots and cause any misunderstandings. My recommendation is that it is best to burrow and loosen the soil between three and five meters underground; that is the safety zone."

"The root systems of herbs in other areas range between half a meter and two meters, so you can just dig below the two-meter mark."

Lu Yang asked out of curiosity: "What happens if I touch the roots?"

The Ginseng Baby replied with utmost gravity: "We will consider you a foot fetishist."

"???"

The End of Time Flower chimed in: "You humans have so many perverts who enjoy sucking on the skin of our plant feet to accompany your wine, claiming it tastes delicious and goes well with drinks. For that very reason, you even cultivate and plant them on a massive scale."

"What plant are you talking about?"

"Peanuts."

Lu Yang found himself quite unable to keep up with the train of thought of these young herb kings.

Fortunately, he did not dwell too much on the matter and began burrowing along the route provided by the Ginseng Baby.

The Ginseng Baby had grown weary of watching the earthworm couple dig through the dirt, but found it highly amusing to watch a human do it, so they all ran behind Lu Yang, following closely in his wake.

The young herb kings naturally possessed the ability to escape through the earth, but they did so by merging as one with the land, a method entirely distinct from Lu Yang's way of forcibly squeezing the soil aside.

The earth Lu Yang passed through became soft and loose, which was just perfect for the young herb kings.

The Enlightenment Tree King watched the young herb kings enjoying themselves immensely and let out a sigh; a tree, after all, could not burrow into the ground.

It then glanced up at the sun in the sky, feeling its harsh, blazing heat, and sighed once more: "Why did I have to grow so tall? I don't even have a patch of shade to call my own."

The Enlightenment Tree King felt that the entire world was filled with malice toward it.

The young herb kings played behind Lu Yang’s rear for an entire day, frolicking and laughing all the way back: "Let's boil some water for a bath!"

The Enlightenment Tree King had long since prepared a wooden tub filled with water, which had been drawn from the stream used to irrigate the herbs.

A bright glow appeared in the belly of the Qilin Undying Herb, slowly moving upward until it reached its mouth, whereupon it spat forth the True Qilin Fire.

The Qilin Undying Herb looked precisely like a genuine Qilin; no wonder the ancients, upon seeing it, would adamantly swear they had encountered the mythical beast itself.

The True Qilin Fire possessed an incredibly high temperature, causing the water to bubble and boil in the blink of an eye.

One by one, the young herb kings plunged inside, closing their eyes as they drifted across the surface of the water.

Lu Yang found this scene strikingly familiar, as though he had witnessed something similar in the kitchen.

Then he remembered: this was called a medicinal diet.

Though a medicinal diet where the ingredients willingly leaped into the pot themselves was something he was seeing for the very first time.

Before long, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted out, permeating the air. Lu Yang took a single breath and instantly felt completely refreshed, to the point where his cultivation showed signs of increasing.

"As expected of herb kings; their medicinal potency is truly terrifying."

Lu Yang looked at the young herb kings splashing and playing in the water, a helpless smile appearing on his face.

He recalled Eldest Sister once mentioning that longevity is a poison, a torment unbearable for ordinary mortals, and that only those with personalities far removed from regular people could endure the suffering of eternal life.

The eras these young herb kings had weathered were endless, having witnessed countless monumental events recorded in the annals of history; yet those historical figures and events had long since turned to dust, while only the young herb kings remained alive.

It was highly probable that only a childlike disposition could allow these young herb kings to live for so long without completely breaking down.

They were just far too easily deceived.