My ancestors were spiritual plant growers, so it's not surprising that I hunt demons every day,

"Squeak."

A gray shadow suddenly landed, its long tail wagging, and its limbs moved steadily between the tree trunks, tilting its head to curiously examine Cui Ying as it moved quickly.

A clever monkey.

Cui Ying felt a sense of relief, but the bowstring in her hand remained taut.

The clever monkey is worth several times more than the golden-feathered pheasant we encountered earlier.

Especially the brains of the monkey, which became an essential food supplement that cultivators and gourmets scrambled to buy as soon as they hit the market.

As soon as her thoughts shifted, several more monkeys silently appeared on the ancient trees around Cui Ying.

Whether sitting or climbing, it's like being in your own backyard.

He stared at Cui Ying, this uninvited guest, without any restraint.

Cui Ying loosened the bowstring slightly, not wanting to reveal any hostility.

These creatures prefer to live in groups and are low-level demonic beasts that even cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining would not want to provoke.

A wise person knows when to yield; with her current strength, she has no desire to antagonize a group of troublesome monkeys.

However, based on Cui Ying's experience from her previous life, the monkeys in the Phoenix Cry Mountains all have their own territories.

As long as one doesn't trespass into their territory or do anything to harm the baby monkeys, these adult monkeys usually won't attack any passing rogue cultivators.

Cui Ying lowered her head and tentatively took a short step forward.

Sure enough, the monkeys just darted around in the nearby tree canopy and showed no intention of attacking her.

After walking a short distance on the spur of the moment, Cui Ying began searching for spiritual herbs and medicines with peace of mind.

Not long after, a look of joy suddenly appeared on her face.

On the hillside in front of her, there was a patch of spiritual plants that reached her knees and were covered with small white and purple flowers.

This spiritual plant looks very ordinary, and even the spiritual energy it contains is very thin.

However, the "Miscellaneous Records of Immortal Herbs" once recorded: Andrographis paniculata has flower buds that stand upright, and flowers that are white with purple tinges. It grows on grassy slopes... It tastes slightly bitter, and the whole plant can be used as medicine. It is a low-level medicinal herb that clears heat and detoxifies, reduces swelling and relieves pain.

Cui Ying picked a section of Andrographis paniculata, took a small sip, and sure enough, a bitter taste lingered in her mouth, which then transformed into a faint stream of spiritual energy that flowed into her dantian.

This place is only considered to be on the outer edge of the Phoenix Cry Mountain Range, and it is a place where many independent cultivators come to hunt monsters on weekdays.

Fortunately, knowledge about spiritual herbs and medicines has not yet spread widely in and around the village, and there are not many independent cultivators in the vicinity who know about this medicine, which allowed Cui Ying to get a good deal.

"With these Andrographis paniculata plants, treating my father Cui Zhengming's cough will be much simpler."

After gathering a large handful of Andrographis paniculata, Cui Ying continued her search for other spiritual herbs and medicines.

Although she was not proficient in alchemy in her previous life, she learned a lot of common knowledge from her interactions with the elders of the Xuanxin Immortal Sect's Pill Peak.

In addition, she enjoys reading miscellaneous books on cultivation in her spare time, so she is also very knowledgeable about the medicinal properties of most common spiritual herbs and medicines.

Her father's cough was caused by his repeated visits to Chiyang Valley, which polluted his internal organs and damaged his lungs. He could be cured by brewing some medicinal herbs and elixirs that could clear heat, detoxify, promote body fluid production, and cool the blood.

Cui Ying looked around and found some more cattail grass that has heat-clearing and detoxifying properties.

Unfortunately, both of these spiritual herbs are of very low quality.

Cui Ying wandered around the outskirts of the Fengming Mountains for about two more hours, and the bamboo basket on her back was already full.

Besides Andrographis paniculata and Pyrrosia lingua, she also dug up some Agave agave, Rehmannia glutinosa, Ganoderma lucidum and Ganoderma lucidum.

Among these rare herbs and medicines, the Jade Lingzhi is the rarest and most precious.

A ten-year-old Jade Lingzhi can sell for two or three hundred spirit stones in the market.

However, the jade lingzhi in Cui Ying's hand was cultivated by her using the spiritual liquid from her magic gourd.

"Indeed, this spiritual liquid can be produced in a cycle, and one drop of it can be equivalent to a year's worth of medicinal effects."

She found two jade lingzhi mushrooms, both of which were newly sprouted.

She used a full thirteen drops of spiritual liquid from the magic gourd to cultivate one jade lingzhi mushroom that was ten years old and another that was four years old.

Looking at the jade lingzhi in her hand, brimming with spiritual energy, Cui Ying's eyes were both fiery and complex.

She didn't have any storage artifacts on her, and the ten-year-old jade spirit mushroom was too precious to flaunt.

After a moment's thought, she tore off a small piece of jade lingzhi and put it in her mouth. A sweet and slightly bitter taste instantly filled Cui Ying's mouth.

Jade Lingzhi is a precious medicinal herb used in the refining of elixirs for nourishing vital energy and strengthening the body's foundation.

Her method of forcing herself to eat something is somewhat like "a cow chewing on a peony" (meaning something tasteless or ineffective).

Cui Ying disregarded everything else and focused solely on chewing the jade lingzhi in her mouth. At that moment, the medicinal effects of the jade lingzhi burst forth.

Cui Ying felt a fiery aura rising from her dantian, which instantly swept over her entire body.

At first, Cui Ying only felt a little hot, but after swallowing most of the jade lingzhi, the spiritual energy rising from her dantian almost burned her meridians and became even hotter and more violent.

Cui Ying gritted her teeth, found a clean place, sat cross-legged, and silently began to recite the wonderful method, "The True Spirit Formula of the Mysterious Heart Method".

It wasn't until I had circulated this technique for a full cycle that I felt much better.

After refining the Jade Spirit Mushroom, his cultivation level reached the peak of the second level of Qi Refining. If Cui Ying hadn't deliberately suppressed it, breaking through to the third level of Qi Refining would have been a natural progression.

She looked up at the sky; the sun was already beginning to set, and she needed to hurry home.

However, just as she turned to leave the mountain, the group of monkeys suddenly became agitated.

"Squeak...squeak!"

"Squeak...squeak!"

Cui Ying drew her bow and nocked an arrow; the arrow, imbued with golden light magic, gleamed with a cold, sharp light.

"Squeak!"

Just as she retreated in surprise and doubt, the group of monkeys started squeaking and cawing again.

What's wrong with these monkeys?

Cui Ying coldly glanced around before walking back the way she came.

"Squeak!!"

This time, the monkeys became even more impatient, and some even darted into the tree canopy, surrounding Cui Ying from all directions at an extremely fast speed.

"court death!"

Cui Ying's expression changed slightly. After cursing, she prepared to strike first.

"Squeak...squeak!"

Just then, a large, thick-haired monkey emerged from the troop.

"Step aside!"

Seeing that Cui Ying's murderous intent remained undiminished, the Monkey King, who was surrounded by admirers, ran up to Cui Ying without fear and tried to pull at her skirt.

When the Spirit Monkey King, who was at the late stage of Qi Refining, got close, even Cui Ying's expression changed drastically. She went over the killing moves she had learned in her previous life several times in her mind, but was interrupted by the Spirit Monkey King's constant tugging at her skirt.

Only then did she notice that the Monkey King had no intention of attacking her, and was instead tugging at her skirt while pointing in a certain direction and squeaking impatiently.

After hesitating for a moment, she looked at the Monkey King at her feet and asked:

"You want me to go with you?"

The Monkey King seemed to understand what he meant, and his movements became increasingly agitated. He released Cui Ying and headed deeper into the Phoenix Cry Mountains.

"I see, so you have something to ask of me!"

After thinking it over, Cui Ying finally decided to follow the Monkey King to find out what was going on.

As Cui Ying lifted her foot, the monkeys in the surrounding tree canopy all set off, crowding around her as she walked deeper into the Phoenix Cry Mountains.

After following the lead monkey king for about ten miles along the mountain road, Cui Ying soon arrived at a hollow with lush vegetation.

From afar, the mountain wind carried a pungent, bloody stench.