In the Celestial Dipper Palace, the First Elder looked at Pavilion Master Kui Xiao and said, “Even though the Sevenstar Immortal Grass is the treasure of our sect, it has quite an eccentric temperament. It doesn’t even pay much heed to you even though you are the head of our Sevenstar Pavilion. Is it possible that it will make a move on Elder Liu?”
The Sevenstar Immortal Grass had been around since the founding of the sect, and it had lived for several thousand years since then. Its long life had resulted in its haughty personality, such that it would not show much respect even toward the sect leader of each generation.
Considering how young Elder Liu was, as well as the fact that his cultivation was only at the Heavenly True Immortal realm, would the immortal grass make things difficult for him?
“It’s not as if you have never interacted with the immortal grass before. It’s just a little playful. After it’s had its fun, it will release its soul-nurturing energy.” Pavilion Master Kui chuckled softly. “Considering Elder Liu’s achievements despite his young age, it’s inevitable that he might get a little complacent. Facing a small hiccup here and there will be good for building his character, and it will be helpful for tempering his soul.”
“I see.” the First Elder nodded slowly in agreement.
However, Elder Hong Wu was still a little worried about the matter. “I don’t think that there’s too much of a problem for the immortal grass to tease Elder Liu. What I am afraid of is that Elder Liu might destroy the immortal grass out of rage. That would really be a catastrophe!”
Even though it had not been long since he met this young man, he knew that the other party was not an easy character to deal with.
Otherwise, the other party would not have defeated all of them so easily back in the Ethereal Hall.
“Rest assured. The Sevenstar Immortal Grass has lived for several thousand years, and it resides in the area where the energies in the Sevenstar Pavilion converge. Even I would be unable to capture it, let alone the Heavenly True Immortal realm Elder Liu. In the entire Forsaken Continent, other than Hall Master Kong, I can think of no other person who possesses the capability to harm the immortal grass!” Pavilion Master Kui stroked his beard as he spoke.
The Sevenstar Pavilion consisted of seven major palaces, and these palaces occupied corresponded to the positions of the seven stars. The center of the seven stars was the Polaris, which corresponded to the courtyard where the immortal grass resided.
While the immortal grass had been nourishing everyone in the Sevenstar Palace, at the same time, the spirit, mind, and psyche of everyone in the Sevenstar Palace were nourishing it as well. This was also how a mere plant like itself was able to reach Heavenly High Immortal-tier.
Hearing those words, Elder Hong Wu heaved a sigh of relief.
If even a Semi-Divinity realm expert like the pavilion master was unable to capture the Sevenstar Immortal Grass, the others would stand even less of a chance.
“Nevertheless, just to be safe, I discreetly left a Communication Jade Token that’s directly connected to a Record Crystal inside the courtyard. It will allow me to view what’s going on in there in the form of a recording, so if anything does happen, we’ll be able to intervene right away,” Pavilion Master Kui said with a chuckle.
With a flick of his wrist, he took out a Record Crystal and infused his zhenqi into it. Brilliance immediately glowed before a scene rose from the Record Crystal, revealing the bare outline of the courtyard.
However, the scenery was completely cloaked with mist, leaving them still unable to discern what was happening within.
“This is… an Isolation Formation?” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao was stunned.
He had done this before in the past, and such a situation had never happened before. For the connection to be abruptly terminated… could this be Liu Yang’s doing?
But this should not be! There were many formations cast over the courtyard, such that overlapping an Isolation Formation on top of it was no easy feat. Even he would have to take a long time studying the existing formations in order to figure out a feasible way to set up another Isolation Formation there! How did the other party manage to do it?
Furthermore, it had not been long since they had left the courtyard.
This was way too fast!
“We won’t be able to see what’s happening inside with the Isolation Formation around the area. Most likely, Elder Liu doesn’t want us to see him embarrassing himself inside…” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao sighed deeply as he moved to keep the Record Crystal back into his storage ring.
However, the First Elder suddenly exclaimed with a grave expression at that moment.
“Look, the mist is moving!”
Pavilion Master Kui Xiao glanced over to the recording once more, and indeed, the mist was drifting around. It was apparent that there was some kind of fight occurring behind the veil of mist.
Vaguely, they could see cracks appearing on the ground, and the crisp chirping of a young chick could be heard as well. Surges of energy were gushing around the area. It was apparent with a look that it was an extremely intense battle.
“This…”
The First Elder and Elder Hong Wu glanced at one another in bewilderment.
They knew that the immortal grass was playful; they had gone through that themselves. But… what was with the chirping of the young chick?
Did Elder Liu bring a chick in as well?
Seeing the facial expressions of the other two, Pavilion Master Kui Xiao chuckled softly, “Don’t worry, the immortal grass won’t go so far as to harm Elder Liu…”
But before he could finish his words, the mist suddenly parted slightly, revealing the scene within to them…
With a napkin placed neatly before his chest, a young man was seated on the ground with a pair of chopsticks in his hands. There was a campfire and a metal pot in front of him. The water in the metal pot was already boiling, and within the water, they could see a stalk of Sevenstar Immortal Grass turning completely red due to the high heat.
It was being cooked.
The Sevenstar Immortal Grass struggled with all its might, trying to escape from the pot, but a little yellow chick floating amid the boiling water as well would peck it down every time it tried something.
Eventually, the immortal grass simply stopped struggling at all. As if cooked seaweed, it drifted around the pot lifelessly. It was a surprisingly sad sight.
The young man flicked his wrist and took out a small bowl. In there, he added sesame oil, salt, chili paste, peanuts, vinegar, and a few other seasonings before mixing them well. After that, he plucked out a leaf from the immortal grass, dipped it into his specially crafted homemade sauce, and swallowed it with gusto.
“…”
A moment of silence lingered among Pavilion Master Kui and the others as their eyes slowly widened into bulging circles.
“No, this won’t do… Quick, we need to save the immortal grass!”
It took a while before they finally recovered from their shock, and they quickly rushed out of the hall.
In the blink of an eye, they arrived back at the courtyard. There, they saw the furiously sweating Zhang Xuan.
“You came just in time. Come, join me! It doesn’t taste too bad.” Zhang Xuan stood up and passed them a pair of chopsticks warmly.
“You…”
Pavilion Master Kui Xiao walked straight over to the hot pot to fish the immortal grass out from the boiling water.
The immortal grass looked incredibly withered, not moving in the least. Of its initial seven leaves, four of them had been plucked off.
Pavilion Master Kui Xiao quickly placed it down gently before checking its vitals. After confirming that it was not dead yet, he heaved a sigh of relief.
Unable to tolerate this, he turned to Zhang Xuan and said, “Elder Liu, the Sevenstar Immortal Grass is the treasure of our Sevenstar Pavilion! How could you eat it?”
I brought you here in order to absorb the energy emanated by the immortal grass so that you could nourish your soul, but you ended up cooking it as if you are in a hot pot store!
More importantly, it should have been extremely difficult for anyone to capture the Sevenstar Immortal Grass. Not even Pavilion Master Kui Xiao himself was certain he could capture it. How did the other party manage to put it into the pot? Furthermore, the temperature of boiling water wouldn’t even harm a True Immortal. How did he manage to cook the Heavenly High Immortal-tier immortal grass?
“I tried to absorb its energy to nourish my soul, but it simply wouldn’t allow me to. Not only that, it even made a move on me… I tried warning it several times, but it wouldn’t listen. So, I had no choice but to cook and eat it!” Zhang Xuan said.
If not for Little Chick pecking on it, honestly, Zhang Xuan was not entirely confident that he would have been a match for it. In fact, the suggestion to cook it and eat it had come from Little Chick as well.
If he simply absorbed the Sevenstar Immortal Grass’ energy, while he would be able to achieve a breakthrough, it would take quite a long time. Eating it would be far more efficient.
And just as Little Chick had said, with the first leaf he ate, his soul cultivation had successfully made a breakthrough to the True Immortal realm. Following which, he had eaten three more leaves, and that had advanced his soul cultivation all the way to the Heavenly True Immortal realm.
To put it in other words, as long as he could harmonize his soul energy and zhenqi impeccably, he would be ready to push for a breakthrough to the High Immortal realm!
On the other hand, Pavilion Master Kui Xiao was frenzied. “You knew how invaluable the Sevenstar Immortal Grass is, but you still cooked it and ate it. Do you really have nothing you would like to say for yourself?”
As the treasure of the Sevenstar Pavilion, generations of pavilion masters had treated the Sevenstar Immortal Grass with utmost respect, not daring to offend it. Yet, this fellow had actually tucked into it… Did he not feel guilty at all?
“Anything that I would like to say for myself?” Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before nodding. “Well, it’s not too bad… It tastes like seaweed, but the texture is more QQ1!”
“…” Pavilion Master Kui was speechless.
“Rest assured. Since I have eaten it, I’ll surely restore its vitality,” Zhang Xuan said with a smile.
He knew what Pavilion Master Kui was worried about. He had just been teasing them when he spoke about the flavors earlier, but thinking back, it might not have been a very funny joke for them given the current situation.
He first stowed the swimming Little Chick back into his tamed beast sack before carrying the entire pot of boiling water over to the Sevenstar Immortal Grass.
Tzla!
He poured the water on the immortal grass.
The withered immortal grass was not scalded by the hot water. Instead, it seemed to have absorbed some sort of mystical power that caused its withered leaves to unfurl themselves once more. The four eaten leaves also began budding, and it seemed like they would grow back anytime soon.
Such a sight made Pavilion Master Kui Xiao, the First Elder, and the others stunned.
Was it possible for an immortal grass of the tier of the Sevenstar Immortal grass to grow back so quickly after being eaten?
“It’ll take roughly a month before it fully grows back,” Zhang Xuan said. “In truth, this immortal grass is rather similar to sweet potatoes. Even after it’s harvested and eaten, it can be regrown. Since that’s the case, it would be a waste not to eat it.”
He had not been sure about the attributes of the immortal grass initially, but after touching it, through the Library of Heaven’s Path, all of its secrets were unveiled before him.
Even though the Sevenstar Immortal Grass was incredibly haughty, ultimately, it was just another medicinal herb. The fundamental purpose of a medicinal herb was to be eaten.
Usually, if four of it leaves were eaten, it would take at least a hundred years for it to grow back. However, through the nourishment of the chicken soup broiled using Little Chick, most of its damage could be repaired within a few breaths.
“This…” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao’s lips twitched.
Now that he thought about it, he remembered his predecessor telling him that the Sevenstar Immortal Grass could be eaten. However, it had been so long since anyone had managed to capture it that such a thing had been erased from everyone’s mind!
A Semi-Divinity realm expert like him was unable to do anything to the Sevenstar Immortal Grass, but this True Immortal realm young man actually managed to capture it and boil it in a pot of soup.
It was hard to believe such a thing had happened even when he witnessed it with his own eyes.
Knowing that the immortal grass was fine, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
Pavilion Master Kui Xiao assessed the young man before him curiously and asked, “Elder Liu, may I ask how effective the immortal grass is?”
“It’s not too bad. My soul has been nourished to a satisfactory level,” Zhang Xuan replied.
“That’s good. It’s already dawn, let’s set off now, shall we?” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao asked.
Since the young man had received what he wanted, there was not much point remaining there anymore. After all the shocks they had been through, the sun had already risen.
Zhang Xuan nodded quietly in response.
There were eight aerial immortal beasts prepared specifically for this journey. All eight of them were pulling a massive carriage that was still extremely spacious even after the entire group got into it.
Peering through the windows, Zhang Xuan noted that the speed of the carriage was even faster than that of the Serpentine Dragon.
After confirming that the general direction was indeed headed to the Ocean of Exiled Stars, he turned his attention away from this matter and began cultivating. Over the next two days, he successfully reinforced his soul cultivation.
It’s about time for me to try pushing for a breakthrough to High Immortal realm, Zhang Xuan thought as he took out the Breakthrough Pill that he had received from Pavilion Master Kui Xiao.
His zhenqi, physical body, and soul cultivation had all reached the Heavenly True Immortal realm, so he was literally prepared in body and in soul.
As long as he could reach the High Immortal realm, he would finally have the power to protect himself in the Azure. Even if he came under the assault of Semi-Divinity realm experts from the Hall of Gods, he would not be utterly powerless anymore!
