Chapter 13:  I Can’t Be at Ease Until I See a Lifeless Body

Traveling to the Poison Abyss at full speed would typically require two days and two nights for a cultivator at the peak of the Acquired Stage. Yet, Zhang Shen managed to reach its vicinity in just half a day.

There were numerous Acquired warriors scattered about the area, some solitary while others were part of larger groups. Zhang Shen kept his distance, silently navigating toward his objective.

“The Poison Abyss is a famous site on the edge of the wilderness,” he mused, “but most of the poisonous creatures and gasses produced here only hold value for Acquired cultivators. There’s little worth for those at the Innate Stage. Moreover, given the threats it poses to Acquired warriors, no major powers have claimed this location. It has thus become a favored haunt for unaffiliated cultivators and merchant caravans.”

Consequently, the presence of Innate warriors was rare. And Acquired warriors, with their limited senses, were unable to detect Zhang Shen’s concealed presence.

Beyond the mountains sheltering the Poison Abyss, Zhang Shen noticed individuals from the Wang family.

“The Wang family is here too,” he wondered, “Are they after the Poison Abyss, or are they here for the map?”

He wasn’t surprised if the Wang family had found clues. After all, there was no telling how much information that careless fellow had leaked in Jiuchuan City.

For the time being, he decided to ignore the Wang family members patrolling the mountain outskirts, and instead headed straight for the site marked on his map.

“This must be the place,” Zhang Shen confirmed, comparing the physical site with his map. Despite the passage of time causing some changes to the landscape, the main geographic features remained the same.

“No wonder this place has remained undiscovered.” Even with Zhang Shen’s Innate physical body, it took him a while to sense something was off. If it weren’t for the map pointing toward this location, and the prior knowledge leading him to search thoroughly, he might never have discovered the hidden array here.

“There are no obvious signs, yet there’s a faint hint of lotus in the air. If I hadn’t spent a considerable amount of time here, I might never have picked up on it.”

Zhang Shen surveyed his surroundings. The entire mountain was bursting with blooming trees, and yet there was an incongruous lotus fragrance. There had to be more than met the eye.

“However, this scent… likely only someone like me, an Innate physical body with heightened senses, could detect it.”

Inhaling deeply, he savored the subtle lotus aroma and gradually ventured deeper into the hidden area. Deep within the forest, Zhang Shen crossed an illusionary barrier, and the view before his eyes transformed instantly.

In a small hill spanning no more than two hundred square meters, a pond of milky-white water lay nestled. Lotus leaves danced gracefully upon its surface, and about ten lotus flowers bobbed gently in the breeze, their refreshing scent permeating the air.

“Could these be Pure Lotus Leaves? And the Twenty-Petal Life-Sustaining Lotus Flower?”

Zhang Shen could barely contain his joy. These were all invaluable spirit herbs. Despite appearing as mere Acquired grade spirit herbs, they were gems within their class, exceedingly rare.

Their benefits were indeed extraordinary.

Pure Lotus Leaves, once dried and ground into a powder, could purify one’s mind and soothe internal turmoil. It was an irreplaceable aid, both in routine cultivation and during breakthroughs. Its true claim to fame, however, was its capability to return sanity to martial artists who had succumbed to madness and demonic deviation.

The Twenty-Petal Life-Sustaining Lotus Flowe could heal injuries, including long-standing ones. An elixir made from it could keep an individual clinging to life unless they were instantly killed.

Despite their Acquire grade, these herbs were highly coveted by martial artists. Given their remarkable efficacy, these spirit herbs, when brought to the market, sold out instantly.

“More often than not, these herbs were pre-booked by various powerful forces. Only occasionally would one or two samples circulate in the open market. But here, there were so many. I’ve struck it rich. I’ve truly hit the jackpot!”

Despite constantly reminding himself to stay calm, Zhang Shen couldn’t suppress the tidal wave of excitement, his heart hammering against his chest. If it weren’t for his formidable pectoral muscles cradling his heart, it would have leaped out already.

“With this abundance of Pure Lotus Leaves and Twenty-Petal Life-Sustaining Lotus Flowers, there might even be White Jade Lotus Roots.”

The mention of the last type of spirit herb inflamed Zhang Shen’s excitement further. White Jade Lotus Root was an Innate grade spirit herb.

Staring at the milky-white lake, Zhang Shen gradually calmed himself. With such a treasure before him, he couldn’t afford a misstep at the last moment.

He pulled several bottles and jars from his storage bag. He had come prepared with various items for cleanup, including some instant-death poisons. These toxins were potent against Acquired martial artists. To obtain them, Zhang Shen had parted with a substantial amount, reducing his spirit stone reserves by three hundred.

“Milky white, opaque to the naked eye. Who the hell knows what kind of beasts lurk beneath.”

Although the combat prowess of a physical Innate Stage body was superior to that of a Qi-based, it lacked convenience in detection. Even though a physical Innate Stage body could sense surroundings through the body’s resonance, it was still not as convenient as possessing a spiritual consciousness.

He dipped a finger into the water.

“Life indeed stirs beneath the water. I just don’t know the extent of its strength.” Zhang Shen picked up the jars and began to pour their contents into the water. 

“Take your time enjoying this.” A sinister smile spread across Zhang Shen’s face as he poured poison from one jar after another into the water.

A quarter of an hour later, several oddly-shaped fish corpses bobbed on the milky-white lake surface. Zhang Shen unleashed a few surges of Qi, each strike targeting the heads of the fish corpses, causing their heads to explode.

“I won’t be at peace until they’re wholly exterminated.”

He immersed his finger back into the water. Only after an hour, when there was no more sign of life stirring beneath, did Zhang Shen start pouring the antidote into the lake.

“Damn, if only I had the proper tools, I would’ve cleared out this lake before anything else.”

Zhang Shen made another note in his notebook, reminding himself to prepare such tools in the future.

Taking out his Cold Moon Blade, Zhang Shen slowly waded into the milky-white lake. By now, there were no living creatures left in the lake. Maximizing his physical senses, Zhang Shen began searching through the mud at the bottom of the lake.

‘Hmm? What’s this?’

He had come across a skeleton. The bones were intertwined with roots… lotus roots. Furthermore, he found four lotus roots nearby.

Taken aback, Zhang Shen dragged the skeleton ashore. He carefully harvested the four White Jade Lotus Roots. Only after doing so did Zhang Shen begin a more thorough examination of the skeleton.

“These bones are incredibly hard.” With a substantial effort and employing the strength of the tenth level of the Tenfold Power Strike, he managed to break a bone.

An idea dawned on him, Zhang Shen returned to the spot where he had found the skeleton. He began rummaging in the mud. After exploring a ten-square-meter area around the skeleton, he discovered a storage bag fashioned like a brocade sack.

Once on the surface, Zhang Shen noticed that the spiritual consciousness sealing the brocade sack had long faded, allowing him to open it with ease. Zhang Shen gazed at the contents of the sack, his eyes widening in surprise.

“I never anticipated that my greatest haul would be this. The legacy of a True Core powerhouse.”

In an instant, Zhang Shen understood what had happened in this place. Between a hundred and two hundred years ago, a True Core practitioner had perished here.

The energy of the fallen powerhouse’s soul and magic had dispersed in this area, while his physical body became the nourishment for the Pure Lotus Leaves, Twenty-Petal Life-Sustaining Lotus Flower, and the White Jade Lotus Roots.