Immortals Step into Heaven

At that moment, Zhang Xueyue and other Danqing Sect disciples also rushed toward the Yunlong Sect's main gate. Zheng Yuan took a deep breath and hurried to catch up, entering the sect together. Upon entering, Zheng Yuan was struck by the scene before him. The area was vast, with pavilions and towers scattered throughout in an orderly manner. In the distance, rolling mountains, shrouded in mist, resembled a fairyland. Winding paths weaved like ribbons among exotic flowers and plants, and faint spiritual light flickered, as if telling of the glory and mystery of the past. Zheng Yuan's pace unconsciously slowed, his eyes scanning the surroundings greedily, trying to take it all in, while at the same time, he was wary of any lurking danger.

Zhang Xueyue's beautiful eyes flickered as she glanced around at the crowd. Then, with a wink at Liu Pingping, the two of them, in perfect unison, headed in a direction that looked quite mysterious. The pavilion there faintly emanated a distinct spiritual energy, seemingly concealing a number of mysteries. Seeing this, Xu Wen shrugged helplessly, a look of eagerness on his face. Then, he took off in the other direction, disappearing in the blink of an eye. He must have discovered the opportunity that had captivated him.

Tang Shishan cast his gaze upon Zheng Yuan, frowning slightly, as if somewhat concerned, but still patting him on the shoulder, he said, "Junior Brother Zheng, this opportunity is rare. I'll be leaving now, Senior Brother. Be careful too. If you encounter danger, don't force yourself. Hurry and reunite with the people from the Danqing Sect." With that, he strode briskly in the direction he had chosen, soon joining the crowd of people seeking opportunities.

Zheng Yuan watched the group leave, feeling both excited about exploring the unknown and nervous about facing it all alone. However, he quickly regained his composure, tightly grasped the sleeve that held the Spirit-Seeking Rat, and scanned the vast Yunlong Sect.

Zheng Yuan was secretly pondering where to go when the sharp voice of the Seeking Spirit Rat suddenly echoed in his mind: "Master, go to the left and front." Zheng Yuan didn't ask any more questions and ran in the direction the Seeking Spirit Rat pointed without hesitation.

Soon, a faintly glowing formation appeared ahead. It was impossible to discern what lay within. The pulsing spiritual energy within it filled Zheng Yuan with trepidation. At that moment, a Spirit Seeking Rat darted out from Zheng Yuan's sleeve, its small eyes gazing intently at the formation. Then, using all four claws, it began furiously digging a hole in the ground beside it. Zheng Yuan was stunned by this and asked, bewildered, "Little Mouse, what are you doing?"

While digging the soil, the Soul Seeker took the time to reply, "Master, I'm digging a path to the Spiritual Medicine Garden." The Spiritual Medicine Garden's formation has a flaw: it can't be used underground. After all, casting a formation underground would isolate the spiritual energy, preventing the spiritual herbs from thriving.

Zheng Yuan, growing increasingly curious, pressed on, "How do you know all this?" The Soul-Seeking Rat paused, a hint of embarrassment on its face, and said helplessly, "This is all from my memory. As for how I got it, I have no idea." Zheng Yuan, observing the Soul-Seeking Rat's naive and somewhat embarrassed expression, still harbored doubts, but he suppressed them for the moment and watched how the Rat would proceed.

Seeing the Spirit-Seeking Rat digging too slowly, Zheng Yuan, anxious, quickly drew his Water-Ripple Sword. He imbued the blade with his spiritual energy, and it instantly glowed with a faint blue light. Zheng Yuan swung the sword, its blade effortlessly slicing into the earth, sending dirt and gravel flying as he collected the soil into his storage bag. He and the Spirit-Seeking Rat worked together, and after about an incense stick of time, they finally dug a tunnel leading to the Spiritual Medicine Garden.

Zheng Yuan, crouching low, led the way down the tunnel into the spiritual medicine garden, followed closely by the spiritual mouse. Upon entering, Zheng Yuan was stunned by the scene before him. The spiritual medicine garden was enormous, shrouded in spiritual mist, resembling a fairyland. Rare spiritual herbs grew in an orderly pattern. Some were crystalline, as if condensed from pure spiritual energy. Others shimmered with iridescent light, as if absorbing the entire rainbow. Still others blossomed with enormous flowers, their stamens emitting rich spiritual energy, transforming into wisps of light that drifted through the air.

Zheng Yuan's gaze slowly swept across the spiritual medicine garden, his heart awash with shock. Almost every spiritual herb here was hundreds or even thousands of years old, its age imbued with a unique flavor and potent medicinal properties.

His attention was suddenly drawn to three flowers emitting a faint glow. They were the Divine Mind Flowers. Divine Mind Flowers could nourish the cultivator's divine consciousness and were the main ingredient in the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Continuing to look around, Zheng Yuan was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of spiritual medicines needed to refine the foundation-building pill. The existence of these spiritual medicines meant that if he could collect them, it would not only provide a solid guarantee for his future breakthrough to the foundation-building stage,

Zheng Yuan suppressed his inner excitement as he moved through the herb garden with slow yet swift steps. His hands moved with lightning speed, picking the precious spiritual herbs with precision. He carefully placed each herb into the jade box, and the box's spiritual energy barrier instantly activated, firmly locking away the medicinal properties and vitality of the spiritual herbs. In a short moment, he had plundered most of the herb garden, with hundreds of spiritual herbs in his possession. Zheng Yuan's heart was filled with the joy and elation of his harvest.

However, at that moment, a boom like thunder erupted, and the entire medicine garden shook violently. The garden's formation shimmered and trembled under the powerful attack, teetering on the verge of collapse. Zheng Yuan's heart sank at the sudden change, instantly realizing someone was attacking the formation. Without hesitation, he quickly summoned the spirit-seeking rats to join him in the tunnel. Before leaving, he cast a spell to fill the tunnel entrance back to its original shape, attempting to conceal his presence.

After exiting the tunnel, Zheng Yuan bolted like an arrow, not pausing for a moment. He knew full well that the Spiritual Medicine Garden's formation was impenetrable, and his easy capture was entirely thanks to the Spirit-Seeking Rat's knowledge of its flaws. Now that there was such a commotion, the attackers were most likely Foundation Establishment cultivators. If they followed his trail, with his mere Qi Refining stage strength, he would be in grave danger.

The five foundation-building cultivators from the Tianshui Sect went to great lengths to finally break the formation, but what came into view was a devastated medicinal field. The scene that should have been full of spiritual herbs was no longer there. There was no trace of any spiritual herbs, only empty land and messy spiritual plant branches.

Several Tianshui Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators gazed at the empty medicinal fields, their faces instantly darkening. One of the older cultivators, his eyes wide open, gnashed his teeth and exclaimed, "Who on earth dared to rush ahead and plunder this medicinal garden?" The other cultivators were also filled with rage, their spiritual energy surging through their bodies, clearly furious to the extreme.