Mortal: I have a gathering technique

Inside a stone hall in the central area.

Fang Qing stood with his hands behind his back, examining the restrictions on the stone hall with great interest.

Han Li lay motionless on the open ground beside him.

"Hmm~"

A moment later, a groan escaped his lips, and Han Li struggled to open his eyes.

"woke up?"

Hearing the noise, Fang Qing withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Han Li.

The sudden sound startled Han Li, instantly bringing him back to his senses.

"Who are you?"

When Fang Qing's unfamiliar face came into view, Han Li leaped up and questioned her warily.

At the same time, scenes from the underground swamp world began to flash through his mind.

Based on the fragmented memories, Han Li vaguely deduced that he was ultimately poisoned by some kind of drug-induced intoxication.

Thinking of this, he seemed to realize something, his expression suddenly changed, and he quickly pressed his palm to his chest. When he felt the familiar outline, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Thankfully, the little green bottle is still here!"

"However, that voice sounded somewhat familiar..."

With this thought in mind, Han Li couldn't help but take a closer look at the person in front of him.

Upon seeing Han Li's expression, Fang Qing couldn't help but tease him:

"What? You can't recognize me just because I look different? You can't even recognize my voice?"

Han Li's expression changed, and he tentatively called out in disbelief, "Senior Brother?"

"Who else could it be but me?"

Fang Qing laughed loudly.

Appearances can be changed, and voices can be imitated, but demeanor and the tacit understanding between two people cannot be easily faked.

At this moment, Han Li was certain that the person in front of him was Fang Qing.

"Senior brother, what do you look like..." Han Li asked with some curiosity.

Fang Qing explained with a smile:

"As you know, with my qualifications, I shouldn't have needed to participate in the Blood Forbidden Trial. However, I am very interested in the spiritual herbs in the forbidden area. To prevent being besieged after entering, the sect gave me a Transformation Pill."

"I see!"

Han Li suddenly realized, and after a slight hesitation, he asked the question he most wanted to know:

"Back in that underground world..."

Fang Qing knew what the old demon wanted to ask, and seeing his hesitation, he took the initiative to bring it up:

"You want to ask why you fell into a coma, right?"

Without keeping Han Li in suspense, she began to explain, half-truthfully and half-jokingly.

In Fang Qing's words, he first arrived at the underground swamp world of the Blue Stone Palace.

After that, the people of the Hidden Moon Sect remained hidden in the shadows and did not show themselves.

During this time, he witnessed Nangong Wan using a magic weapon and guessed that she was a Core Formation elder of the Hidden Moon Sect. She had sealed her cultivation with a secret technique to enter the forbidden area.

Fearing that they would be discovered and killed by the other side, they decided to strike first and used a treasured bewitching bead to bewitch Nangong Wan.

Finally, after spending another day comprehending the Lesser Five Elements Sumeru Forbidden Technique, he found its flaw and escaped with Han Li...

This explanation was perfectly reasonable, and Han Li had no doubts whatsoever.

Han Li was particularly troubled when he heard that he had been unconscious for a day.

"I've been unconscious for so long; if my senior brother had any designs on me, he would have already discovered the little green bottle."

"Perhaps my senior brother can't see the effects of the little green bottle yet, but seeing how much I cherish and collect it, he must know its extraordinary nature."

"Over the years, my senior brother has always helped me and treated me like a junior brother, but I've always been wary of him. Now it seems I was truly judging him by my own petty standards..."

The thought that Fang Qing had risked offending a Core Formation Elder and used the precious Bewitching Pearl and Heavenly Thunder Seed to save him filled Han Li with a sense of regret.

Fang Qing was unaware of Han Li's changing thoughts, but seeing that Han Li had no objection to her explanation, she said:

"There's still about half a day left before the trial ends. Have you gathered enough spiritual herbs?"

Upon hearing this, Han Li quickly replied, "That's about it. Does Senior Brother have any other ideas?"

He was interested in the seedlings of three kinds of spiritual herbs, including the Purple Monkey Flower. He had already obtained enough of these and was just waiting to use the small green bottle to accelerate their growth. As for the full-grown spiritual herbs, it didn't matter whether there were more or less.

Fang Qing thought for a moment, then chuckled softly:

"As for spiritual herbs, the more the better, but so much time has passed, most of the spiritual lands should have already been harvested."

"Going to look for it now would be a waste of time. Why don't we walk around outside and see if any fools will come to rob us? What do you think?"

Fang Qing said this not because he valued spiritual herbs that much.

Instead, it was a convenient excuse to justify the astonishing speed of cultivation after the foundation was established.

Is this a case of double-crossing?

Han Li's heart stirred, and he immediately guessed his senior brother's plan. After a moment's thought, he agreed.

The two then walked out of the stone hall and headed towards the outer perimeter.

------

Beyond the forbidden area lies a barren wasteland of yellow earth.

After waiting for many days, the seven sects' Core Formation elders joined forces again to attack the restriction and opened the passage.

Because of the bet, both Fuyunzi and Li Huayuan appeared very nervous, while Qiong Laoguai remained all smiles, seemingly having great confidence in Nangong Wan.

"Ordinary People: I Have a Skill in Gathering" is sparking a reading frenzy, haven't you read it yet?

"They're out..."

Suddenly, a sharp-eyed Foundation Establishment elder shouted, and everyone's spirits lifted. They focused their attention and saw a white shadow flash, and a group of more than ten disciples of the Hidden Moon Sect walked out in an orderly fashion.

The elders of the other six sects, apart from the Hidden Moon Sect, couldn't help but darken their faces when they saw that so many members of the Hidden Moon Sect had survived.

In the past, only three to five people from each sect would survive the Blood Forbidden Trial. This year, because the forbidden area was to be closed, it should have been even more brutal. However, the number of disciples from the Hidden Moon Sect who survived was even greater than in the past.

Moreover, with so many people gathered together, what will become of the disciples from other factions...?

Upon realizing this, the six elders dared not think any further.

However, the six elders failed to notice that after exchanging words with Nangong Wan, the Fairy of the Hidden Moon Sect and Old Monster Qiong also turned very pale.

Nangong Wan stared intently at the exit, scrutinizing everyone who came out.

As time went by, disciples from various sects began to return one after another.

The six factions breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the number of their disciples who survived was about the same as before.

Fang Qing came out around the middle of the time period.

The moment he stepped out of the passage, his hair stood on end, and he felt as if he were being stared at by something terrifying.

Following this inexplicable feeling, he turned his head and glanced at Nangong Wan, only to meet her icy gaze.

Ok?

Have you spotted me?

Fang Qing raised an eyebrow, neither dodging nor avoiding, and smiled slightly at Nangong Wan.

He wasn't surprised that Nangong Wan could lock onto him. Not to mention that he had Nangong Wan's storage bag in his arms, as long as Nangong Wan saw that Han Li was still alive, she would know that the person who made the move was most likely from Huangfeng Valley.

Including him, only six people came out of the entire Yellow Maple Valley.

Although he is not the one with the highest cultivation level, his identity must be the most important. Only he could possibly possess so many trump cards such as the Wood Escape Talisman, the Heavenly Thunder Seed, and the Bewitching Bead.

Fang Qing pondered as he walked toward his own sect's group.

Seeing Fang Qing emerge unscathed, Li Huayuan finally felt a weight lifted from his heart. Just as he was about to ask about the harvest, he noticed Fang Qing and Nangong Wan's subtle interaction and couldn't help but tease them:

"What happened? Did you offend that girl in the forbidden area?"

Fang Qing smiled, not wanting to explain further in front of so many people, and nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Li Huayuan glanced at Nangong Wan again and couldn't help but laugh when he saw that she was still glancing at Fang Qing from time to time.

Just then, the passage closed.

Fu Yunzi, Qiong Laoguai, and others began to signal their disciples to display the spiritual herbs.

Four members of the Qingxu Sect survived this time, and together they harvested a total of thirty-two spiritual herbs.

Six people survived in Huangfeng Valley, including Fang Qing. Apart from Fang Qing and Han Li, the first four people harvested a total of twenty-three spiritual herbs.

When it was Han Li's turn, the boy pulled the bag open and shook it down. In an instant, more than twenty spiritual herbs were piled up on the ground.

The disciples from various sects who were watching from all sides were so shocked that they were dumbfounded!

Originally, lacking the spiritual herbs from the underground swamp world, Han Li only managed to collect sixteen plants in total.

Unexpectedly, during the last half-day he and Fang Qing were fishing, two clueless men actually came to rob them.

Then, five spirit herbs were contributed to him and Fang Qing each.

Fang Qing, as the last disciple of Huangfeng Valley to display spiritual herbs, also brought out the most, a total of twenty-nine herbs.

And that doesn't even include the spiritual herbs in Nangong Wan's storage bag.

It wasn't that Fang Qing deliberately hid it; it was simply that the soul imprint of a Core Formation cultivator couldn't be erased in a short time.

However, as a half-step young valley master, Li Huayuan did not have anyone use spirit beasts to examine him.

When the people from the Hidden Moon Sect saw that Fang Qing and Han Li had taken out so many spiritual herbs, they were all as if they had lost their parents.

Although, when counted as a single sect, their Hidden Moon Sect still harvested the most spiritual herbs, a total of seventy-five.

However, when Qiong Laoguai made a bet with Fuyunzi and Li Huayuan, they compared the combined number of spiritual herbs in Huangfeng Valley and Qingxu Sect.

In this way, Li Huayuan became the ultimate winner.

"Haha, bring it here, Fuyunzi, quickly bring out the Bloodline Flood Dragon's core..."

Li Huayuan laughed heartily, his old face flushed with excitement.

Fu Yunzi opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Although he was extremely unwilling, he couldn't renege on his promise under everyone's watchful eyes, so he could only reluctantly throw out the Blood Thread Dragon Pill.

Li Huayuan took the Jiao Dan, examined it with great interest for a few moments, and then looked longingly at Old Monster Qiong.

Facing this person who was the number one below the Nascent Soul stage, he dared not be too presumptuous.

Old Monster Qiong snorted coldly, casually tossed out three invisible needle talismans, and vanished in a flash.

Li Huayuan waved his sleeve, rolling up the three invisible needle talismans into his hand. After glancing at them a few times, he put them into his pocket.

Suddenly, he thought of something, looked sharply at Han Li, and said with a smile:

"What's your name? How many years have you been in the valley?"

However, he did not notice that after Li Huayuan finished speaking about accepting Fang Qing as a disciple, he looked at Fang Qing with a pained expression several times.

They looked as if they had missed some important treasure.

Let reading always be a chapter faster than others.