Chapter 63, Capturing Snakes with an Ape and the History of the Herb Valley

Translator: Raznick

 

Leaving Red Cliff Market, Zhou Chun still harbored a mischievous thought.

 

He deliberately strolled out of the market with Liu Shiyun, strutting boldly towards the mountain’s edge.

 

If any bold bandit cultivator dared to attack them, it would give him an excuse to use the Wood Spirit Ape’s aid for a counter-attack.

 

Yet, to his disappointment, they reached the Red Rock Mountains without encountering any hostility whatsoever.

 

It seemed Liu Shiyun sensed his letdown, as she promptly spoke up, knowing of his prior intentions:

 

“Father often said that bandit cultivators surviving in these Red Rock Mountains must possess keen insight; their cultivation level is secondary to their ability to discern opportunities and threats.

 

“Young Daoist Zhou, achieving late Qi Refining at your age, and escorting me, a mere Fifth Layer Qi Refining cultivator, through these dangerous mountains with such confidence—it must be due to some trump hidden card you hold.

 

“That’s why those bandit cultivators would not act unless they can gauge the situation clearly in their favor.”

 

Zhou Chun hadn’t considered that angle.

 

His interest was piqued, “Then Fellow Daoist Liu, why don’t you share with me how rogue cultivators like yourself typically ensure your survival in this cultivation world?”

 

“You’re interested to know?” Liu Shiyun looked at him with some surprise, apparently not expecting that a cultivator from such a prominent clan would care about such matters.

 

“These are all things one might encounter in the cultivation world to aid in survival,” Zhou Chun replied frankly. “I naturally wish to learn more about them to avoid inadvertently falling into trouble.”

 

Liu Shiyun’s beautiful eyes flickered with an unusual light. She nodded gently and said, “Since Fellow Daoist Zhou is interested, I shall share everything I know.

 

“My father often says that cultivators unaffiliated with a sect must always keep three things not to provoke and another three things not to meddle with in mind while wandering in the cultivation world.

 

“The first of the is not to provoke disciples wearing sect uniforms from major sects, as one never knows their true strength or background. The second is not to provoke those whose age and cultivation level are vastly different, for such individuals may either have significant connections or be concealing their abilities. The third is not to provoke a silver-haired old man, as someone who has lived that long must certainly possess extraordinary skills.

 

“As for the things not to meddle with, they are: do not get involved in other people’s quarrels, do not interfere in others’ fights, and do not pay attention to others’ words. Additionally, when we cultivators travel to markets to seek companions, buy or sell items, there are further precautions we must take.”

 

Liu Shiyun was not at all reserved with Zhou Chun, and promptly shared everything she had heard and observed about the life of a rogue cultivator with him. This benefited Zhou Chun only slightly; though he still managed to learn quite a few things from her.

 

Thus, the two of them left the Red Rock Mountains, traveling over mountains and across ridges. Along the way, they stopped at the estate of some cultivating clan to meditate and recover their spiritual power.

 

Only after three days did they arrive at the valley Liu Shiyun discovered.

 

The herb valley was indeed very secluded.

 

Its size was small, merely a mountain crevice measuring less than sixty meters in length and ten meters in width. It was even impossible to access from below, with entry and exit only possible through the top.

 

Unluckily, the entrance at the top was densely covered with vines. The green leaves perfectly obscured the opening for the most part, while both sides were lined with numerous thorny bushes.

 

This unique terrain made it difficult for anyone, whether approaching from above or below, to detect its presence.

 

Liu Shiyun had been able to discover it only because she had accidentally seen two Green-crowned Flying Snakes returning from a hunting expedition and descending into the valley.

 

Upon reaching the entrance of the medicine valley, Zhou Chun first used his flying artifact to scout the area from above. Afterward, he returned to the ground and released the Wood Spirit Ape.

 

He retrieved several large snake bags from his storage bag and handed them over to the Azure Giant Ape.

 

These snake-sack contraptions were used by the Zhou Clan in the past to capture medium-sized demon snakes. They were woven from demon silkworm, which were extremely resilient and resistant to water and fire; moreover, they were impervious to snake venom.

 

Zhou Chun had already sprinkled a large amount of sleep-inducing powder inside them beforehand. Once those Green-crowned Flying Snakes were caught and placed inside, they would be knocked out for days.

 

“Ape Elder, I entrust you with the Green-crowned Flying Snakes in there. If at all possible, please refrain from harming them.”

 

Ooh!

 

In response to Zhou Chun’s cautionary words, the Azure Giant Ape merely patted his chest to indicate comprehension.

 

Then, it grasped the sacks and took large strides toward the herb valley.

 

Fearing that they might be accidentally attacked by the Green-crowned Flying Snakes, Zhou Chun and Liu Shiyun kept their distance and observed from afar.

 

It was soon evident that the Azure Giant Ape had managed to provoke the creatures within. Twenty-three or so Green-crowned Flying Snakes emerged from the herb valley, spitting venom as they launched their assault on it.

 

The snakes varied in size; the largest was less than ten feet long, while the smaller ones were only four or five feet. They shared a resemblance with bamboo leaf snakes, their bodies entirely emerald-green, each topped with a fleshy growth. On either side of their ribcages were two pairs of transparent wing-membranes akin to dragonfly wings.

 

This type of demon snake’s main attack was poison; it could turn its deadly venom into toxic darts or mist to attack enemies, or use its extremely fast flight speed to pounce and bite prey.

 

Unless there happened to be an exceptionally effective antidote on hand, even late Qi Refining cultivators wouldn’t survive more than half a day if bitten by them.

 

But Azure Giant Ape, being a second-grade demon beast, would not be fazed by these small snakes.

 

With a cry, a layer of emerald-green light was released from its body, effortlessly blocking those toxic darts.

 

At the same time, with a sweep of its large hand, the emerald-green light intertwined into a net, instantly capturing several Green-crowned Flying Snakes within it. Then, retracting the net, it delivered several spiritual power strikes to the heads of the Green-crowned Flying Snakes, rendering them unconscious.

 

Repeating this process, it wasn’t long before Azure Giant Ape had captured and subdued all the Green-crowned Flying Snakes, placing them inside bags.

 

This remarkable scene left Zhou Chun and Liu Shiyun gaping at each other in amazement, deeply shocked by the power of Azure Giant Ape.

 

Oh, oh!

 

Having reached Zhou Chun’s side, Azure Giant Ape handed him a bag with a gesture, indicating that Zhou Chun could inspect its contents.

 

However, Zhou Chun harbored no reservations and also trusted the ape greatly; he promptly smiled and said: “Ape Elder, there’s no need. Perhaps you should keep these bags yourself.”

 

After speaking, he placed his hand on his waist and lightly tapped the storage bag. From it, he retrieved a jade box containing several types of spirit fruits and handed it to the Azure Giant Ape.

 

“Ape Elder, please enjoy them at your leisure. I will now go into the valley to gather those herbs.”

 

Ooh——

 

The Azure Giant Ape expressed great joy by calling out repeatedly and accepting the jade box with satisfaction, then sitting on the ground to slowly enjoy them.

 

Zhou Chun nodded at Liu Shiyun, and they both proceeded toward the herb valley.

 

“It’s no wonder that cultivators’ tamed spiritual beasts are so well-behaved!”

 

Although it fought with the Green-crowned Flying Snakes and even entered the valley to ensure no stragglers remained, it managed to avoid harming a single herb in there—most disciplined.

 

Upon arriving in the valley, Zhou Chun looked around and noticed that both the stone walls and the ground were covered with all sorts of herbs.

 

Golden Bamboo Orchids, Solomon’s Seal, Wild Ginseng, Hoelen, Fragrant Grass, and Red Oil Flowers…

 

Zhou Chun could recognize around ten kinds, but there were also several he couldn’t identify.

 

He was looking at these densely growing herbs and muttered to himself, “That’s odd. The variety of herbs here is unusually high. It’s rare for a wild area to have so many different types of herbs in one place.”

 

“Hearing Fellow Daoist Zhou say that, there does seem to be something strange about it,” Liu Shiyun said, nodding in agreement and also showing a puzzled expression.

 

Despite their joint efforts to scan the surroundings, they found no signs of human activity. Moreover, a group of Green-crowned Flying Snakes had been resting here.

 

In the end, Zhou Chun waved his hand and said, “Never mind, let’s just start gathering herbs!”

 

He then took out numerous empty jade boxes from his storage bag and, together with Liu Shiyun, carefully dug up various herbs with their hoes.

 

As they went on digging, Zhou Chun noticed something unusual about the wall where a vine-leaf grass was growing. He moved closer and pulled aside the vines to take a look—behind them was actually a stone door!

 

At the sight of this stone door, Zhou Chun’s mind sparked with understanding, instantly realizing where all the herbs in the valley came from.

 

“Didn’t expect that in such a wild area, there is a rogue cultivator’s cave!”

 

He looked at the lichen-covered stone door with amazement and stated the truth outright.

 

Indeed, if this place was a rogue cultivator’s retreat, then it wasn’t strange that so many different types of herbs were growing here.

 

Some wandering cultivators who carved out their own domains in the wild did have the habit of scattering herb seeds randomly, relying on luck for them to grow.

 

Even many clan cultivators and sect cultivators would sprinkle some herb seeds around their living areas, hoping for a harvest someday.

 

After all, ordinary herb seeds were not hard to obtain.

 

And looking at the abundance of herbs in the valley now, along with those Green-crowned Flying Snakes earlier, it was clear that the owner of the stone door’s cave had abandoned this place long ago.

 

When Zhou Chun opened the stone door, the sight inside confirmed his speculation.

 

Inside were several stone rooms; apart from some rotten and tattered wooden furniture and moldy books and clothes stored there, there was nothing else.

 

It was evident that the original owner never returned. They probably died outside.

 

“Is this like the previous generations planting herbs for the later ones to enjoy?”

 

Zhou Chun left the stone room, looking at the herbs outside that had not yet been fully harvested. He involuntarily shook his head and no longer dwelled on such baseless thoughts.