Starting as a spiritual plant master, may I eventually become the master of all lands.

Song Chuan stared intently at the demonic ants, watching to see how they would approach.

Two early-stage Tier 1 demonic ants crawled to the front and paced back and forth along the edge of the ravine, seemingly investigating something.

Soon, one of them returned to the group.

A few breaths later, the entire team seemed to receive some kind of order, and their formation changed.

What happened next shocked Song Chuan!

These hunting ants changed from their original square formation to a long, narrow one.

They interlocked with each other, and in a short moment, they became one.

The whole thing slowly extends into the ravine, as if building a bridge in the void.

During this time, countless hunting ants at the demon transformation stage fell into the deep ravine because their bites were not tight enough.

But this "ant bridge" still managed to gradually stretch from one end of the ravine to the other.

The remaining demon ants quickly scrambled across the ravine using the ant bridge. Some of the demon ants were still carrying white ant eggs.

Then, the ant bridge slowly retracted.

At this moment, they had arrived at Song Chuan's side and were changing formation to start again.

Song Chuan was dumbfounded. I would call you "ant geniuses"!

However, what sent chills down Song Chuan's spine was that first there was the Jiazi Cicada, and then the Hunting Ant. This Kongsang Curiosity was becoming more and more dangerous and unpredictable!

After the demonic ants left, he immediately took out his flying artifact and flew across the ravine.

I wonder which unlucky soul will run into these guys next.

Next, he was going to a bamboo forest to find a second-tier spiritual plant that Duanmu Jingyi needed: the Snow Skirt Mushroom.

After putting away his flying artifact, he traveled for another half day and arrived at the bamboo forest mentioned on the silk.

Just as they were about to investigate, they suddenly heard a familiar voice:

"Huh? Senior Brother Song!"

Song Chuan opened his divine sense, but sensed nothing.

Through the bead, he discovered that in the bamboo forest more than thirty feet away, a beautiful female cultivator was smilingly looking at him.

Ge Yaoqing!

The woman was toying with a thin vine in her hand, which seemed to be pointing at Song Chuan.

He frowned slightly. This wasn't the Heaven-Pointing Vine issued by the sect; he had already sealed it away.

It seems to be a more advanced type of probing spirit vine. Why don't I have one?

No wonder this woman was able to spot me from so far away.

Song Chuan stepped forward and said with a smile, "Junior Sister Ge, what a coincidence. What are you doing here all alone?"

"Senior Sister Qiu is here too. Judging from Senior Brother Song's headed straight here, could he also be here to pick Snow Skirt Mushrooms?"

Ge Yaoqing's eyes flashed, and she asked.

"Senior Sister Qiu?" Song Chuan asked in confusion.

He secretly thought to himself, "This is bad. The Snow Skirt Mushroom is the spiritual plant that Duanmu Jingyi wants. It's going to be beaten to it by his fellow disciple."

"That's right, the guardian of the vines is Senior Sister Qiu. Senior Brother can go over and say hello to Senior Sister Qiu."

Vine protectors? This is another profession in Vine Flower Valley, people who specialize in taking care of the spiritual vines within the sect.

Song Chuan suspected that they were mainly responsible for taking care of the branches of the giant vine in front of the mountain gate.

Such people are rare in Teng Hua Valley, far fewer than beekeepers.

Song Chuan had heard of him, but had never met him.

"Thank you for letting me know, Junior Sister. I'll go take a look; I certainly won't compete with you for it."

After saying that, he walked deeper into the bamboo forest.

Ge Yaoqing nodded, sneering inwardly, "You think you can compete with Senior Sister Qiu?"

The bamboo forest was unusually damp, as if it had just rained.

Song Chuan arrived at a secluded and gloomy place, where he saw a beautiful female cultivator standing in front of several large bamboo trees.

Nine levels of Qi Refining!

This was the second time he had encountered a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining when he arrived at the Kongsang Mountains.

These people are all top figures participating in the Kongsang adventure.

He hadn't expected to encounter a fellow disciple here. After a few moments of thought, he spoke:

"Senior Sister Qiu, Junior Brother Song Chuan greets you."

Senior Sister Qiu glanced at Song Chuan and his Teng Hua Valley attire, then at the hoe on Song Chuan's waist, and nodded slightly.

"Qiu Yingsi." The voice was somewhat cold.

After she finished speaking, the woman continued to look under the thick bamboo stalks.

At the base of the bamboo, a patch of low-lying spiritual plants grew in clusters.

It's more like a mushroom than a spiritual plant.

These mushroom-shaped caps resemble umbrellas or brown hats.

A white mesh extends down from the hat, forming a beautiful "tulle skirt".

A white pillar, about the length of an index finger, gently lifts the hat and gauze skirt, making them look like a group of little fairies, hiding in this dark bamboo forest.

This is exactly the Snow Skirt Mushroom that Song Chuan is looking for!

Qiu Yingsi seemed to be pondering how to harvest these spirit mushrooms, while Song Chuan and the others stood aside without saying a word, secretly planning how to take the Snow Skirt Mushroom from the woman's hands.

A moment later, Qiu Yingsi suddenly stretched out an arm and waved it. A bracelet on her wrist emitted a dark red light, enveloping her.

A top-tier defensive artifact! Song Chuan was secretly shocked.

Even at the ninth level of Qi Refining, not everyone can possess a top-tier defensive magic weapon.

Song Chuan spent 1,200 spirit stones to buy one.

Moreover, of the four top-tier magical artifacts he saw in the market town of Guohailou, only one was defensive.

These magical artifacts are usually acquired by Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Qiu Yingsi glanced at Song Chuan, her delicate brows furrowing slightly as she said:

"If you want to stay here and keep watch, then take some precautions. These snow skirt mushrooms are poisonous. As a spiritual plant master of the sect, you must know that, right?"

Song Chuan blushed and chuckled, "Thank you for reminding me, Senior Sister Qiu. Of course, I know that. You haven't even started picking yet."

He certainly knew that the snow skirt mushroom was poisonous, but how the poisonous powder was released depended on how the person harvested it.

He sighed inwardly. It seemed that Senior Sister Qiu was going to strictly follow the sect rules with this grand gesture.

This mushroom is a second-tier spiritual plant; in reality, Qi-refining cultivators only need to use a mid-tier defensive magic weapon to be safe.

He summoned the Flowing Light Halo, and a layer of flowing light shield enveloped his body.

Qiu Yingsi then patted his storage bag, took out a pair of silver-threaded gloves, and put them on.

She flipped her hand again and grasped a small hoe.

The woman took a few steps, came to the snow-skirted mushroom, and squatted down.

She first reached out and patted the "hats" of several snow skirt mushrooms. These "hats" shook slightly, and a cloud of fine dust rose up from them.

Then her cheeks suddenly puffed out, not to deliberately show off her cuteness, but to exhale a breath of fragrant true energy.

The fine dust particles were blown away by the aroma and drifted into the distance.

The dust on the Snow Skirt Mushroom's cap may seem normal, but it can actually poison unsuspecting Qi Refining cultivators!

And these dust particles are precisely their seeds.

When harvesting these types of Ganoderma lucidum, Teng Hua Valley requires that the mushrooms be passed down through a "passing the umbrella" method.

Even if I don't come to pick them myself in the future, I will try my best to let them continue to reproduce and grow.

"A fake sect!" Song Chuan muttered to himself.

He watched Qiu Yingsi carefully digging for snow skirt mushrooms, wondering if it was because she herself had a deep love for spiritual things, or because she had been "indoctrinated" by the sect for many years.