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

At the foot of Biquan Mountain lies the Song family's protective array, with three entrances: east, west, and south.

The entrance at the foot of West Mountain is the most remote, and the people guarding this place are from the lineage of Third Uncle.

Having planned his route in advance, Song Chuan traveled from the herb garden all the way to the foot of West Mountain.

There is a pavilion here, and outside is a thick fog.

Song Chuan glanced inside and saw a man and a woman. The man was his cousin, Song Qi, who was in his early thirties and had reached the fifth level of Qi Refining.

The woman is my cousin, Song Zhen, who is at the third level of Qi Refining.

These two people are on duty here.

The two were somewhat surprised to see Song Chuan approaching.

Song Qi spoke first: "Song Chuan? It's so late, are you going out?"

Song Chuan took out his spirit plant master's token: "Cousin, cousin, aunt asked me to go out and pick some spirit herbs."

"It's so late, why are you going out to gather herbs?" Song Qi asked, puzzled. Song Zhen also looked slightly confused.

"You two may not know this, but this medicinal herb is called the Illusion Night Flower. It only blooms at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM). My aunt urgently needs this flower to prepare the medicine."

Song Chuan explained.

Song Qi glanced at the token in Song Chuan's hand again:

"Oh? Then you'd better go and come back soon. The ancestor hasn't shown up for several years, and the surrounding Qi-refining families are getting a little restless."

Song Chuan laughed and said, "Thank you for reminding me, cousin. This flower is right next to Yanshi Ridge. I'll be back in a few hours."

Song Qi then nodded to Song Zhen. The two of them took out half of a jade pendant from their pockets, closed the pendants, and suddenly a gap appeared in the thick fog in front of them.

"Cousin, go ahead," Song Qi said.

Song Chuan cupped his hands in greeting to the two men and walked towards the entrance in the fog, quickly disappearing without a trace.

Watching Song Chuan leave, Song Zhen said with envy, "Cousin, I heard that Brother Song Chuan was chosen by the family to become a disciple of Teng Hua Valley. He's really amazing."

Song Qi sneered, "I heard that the original choice was Song Xin, a spiritual plant master from our lineage, but his parents strongly opposed it, so the clan leader later chose Song Chuan instead."

Song Zhenqi said, "Are Song Xin's parents crazy? Teng Hua Valley is a major sect that is on par with Xuan Hu Guan."

"What do you know? Putting aside the risks on the way to Vine Blossom Valley, even if they entered the sect, with Song Xin and Song Chuan's four spiritual roots, they would only be at the bottom. What resources could they possibly get? Is Vine Blossom Valley a place lacking spiritual plant masters?"

Song Zhen's face darkened, and she said, "But it's still better than staying in the family, right? Like me, your cousin, I might never even be able to leave Baiquan County in my entire life."

Song Qi glanced at her and sighed softly:

"Sister, there's no such thing as having it all. We can cultivate peacefully in the clan, and we have family to take care of us. Although there is competition, it's much better than outside."

"Will Brother Song Chuan be able to establish his foundation after going to Teng Hua Valley?" Song Zhen asked again.

Song Qi seemed to have heard a joke, and chuckled strangely: "You've already reached the third level of Qi Refining, how can you still be so naive!"

Song Zhen remained silent, but a hint of longing still lingered in her eyes.

At this moment, Song Chuan had a "Swiftness Talisman" on his leg and used his Lightness Technique to speed across the wilderness of Gu Yang Town.

The bright moon hangs high, and the stars fill the sky. The summer night breeze carries Song Chuan along his journey.

Two hours later, as dawn broke, he stopped.

Ahead lay a vast lake stretching to the horizon, named Snowfield Lake.

This lake spans across Guyang Town, Chensha Town, and Donghe Town, sustaining countless ordinary people.

There was an ancient ferry crossing by the lake, which was his destination.

The shortest route was originally by land, passing through the nearby Yanshi Ridge, which would take a day to reach Wucheng.

From Wucheng, travel south by waterway, passing through several cities, and you will reach Baiquan County.

But he hadn't forgotten that someone was trying to ambush him.

I don't know how long I can keep my early departure a secret. If I'm exposed too early and someone catches up with me, that would be troublesome.

So he chose another, slightly longer route, taking a waterway directly from Xueye Lake, which would take three or four days to reach Daicheng.

There is also a waterway south of Daicheng, but this waterway is much longer and passes through more towns before leaving Baiquan County.

He had already considered this route repeatedly. Although it was a bit far, the person following him would most likely not have thought of it.

Song Chuan looked at the ferry crossing ahead, a strange look suddenly appearing in his eyes.

A large number of townspeople were gathered at the ferry crossing. Some were sitting, some were standing, and they were whispering among themselves, holding various tools such as nets and basins.

More than a dozen fishing boats of varying sizes are quietly displayed on the shore.

The townspeople and fishing boats all seemed to be waiting for something.

Song Chuan wondered to himself, could this be some kind of sacrificial ceremony?

Song Chuan bypassed the crowd and boarded a boat.

On the boat were an old man and a middle-aged man, who appeared to be father and son, both craning their necks to look into the distance.

The middle-aged man saw a young man walking ashore on the boat and said with some displeasure:

"What's wrong? We're not sailing today."

Song Chuan casually pulled out a piece of silver and said, "I come from out of town and don't know what happened. Could you please enlighten me?"

The middle-aged man was somewhat surprised. He glanced at him, took the silver, and said with a smile, "Brother, you're from out of town. You may not know, but today is the day when golden salmon migrate back from the sea."

Golden salmon migration? Song Chuan was taken aback, as if he had thought of something.

It turns out that every year, a school of fish called golden salmon travels all the way from the East China Sea to this lake to spawn.

People in several towns catch large quantities of golden salmon every year.

Even cultivators occasionally come here to see if they can find a few spirit fish with spirituality.

These spirit fish can be exchanged for a few spirit stones if caught by a Qi Refining cultivator. However, they are extremely rare.

Song Chuan knew about this, but because he rarely came here, he had never seen it.

The middle-aged man continued, "These golden salmon used to arrive around the time of Grain Rain, but for some reason these years they've been delayed until the Beginning of Summer."

"This fish came from the sea, a long journey. Isn't it normal for it to be a difference of more than ten days?" Song Chuan asked.

The middle-aged man shook his head: "That's not true. We've remembered it from our ancestors to us. For so many years, it has always arrived without fail during the Grain Rain season, never missing by two or three days. The habits of insects, fish, birds and beasts are very punctual."

Song Chuan's eyes showed a hint of contemplation. As a spirit plant master, he naturally understood this principle. However, this was not something he was interested in right now.

"That's really unfortunate," Song Chuan said helplessly.

"Looks like you're planning a long trip, brother. Wait here for a bit, we'll catch some fish and then I'll take you home."

"How long do you estimate it will take, brother?" Song Chuan asked.

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "That's hard to say. Even if the fish come, we'll have to wait until those wild creatures have eaten them before we start fishing."

He pointed to some deserted areas on the shore.

Song Chuan looked in the directions he pointed out, a look of surprise in his eyes.

In the few places where no one was standing, there were wild animals such as black bears, foxes, and lone wolves. Many water birds were also circling and landing on the lake.

They seem to be here waiting for the golden salmon to arrive.

Some black bears and foxes even have cubs, but they live in more remote places, far away from other wild animals.

Meanwhile, some black bears were already fighting each other, seemingly vying for fishing grounds.

Song Chuan was amazed; at this moment, humans and birds and beasts seemed to be in harmony.