Ultimate True Lord

Among the group, a rather experienced herb gatherer spoke up.

Jiang Ming was also secretly surprised to hear this. He did not expect that he would encounter a red herb as soon as he led his team into the deep mountains.

"Everyone take out strips of cloth, wet them with water, and cover their mouths and noses."

"Never inhale the powdery substance from the night-blooming cereus. It has hallucinogenic properties. If inhaled, it can cause dizziness and blurred vision at best, and at worst, mental confusion and hallucinations. It can be very dangerous in the deep mountains."

The herb gatherer continued to offer reminders.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ming's heart stirred slightly.

Then, the entire team got ready, covering their mouths and noses with damp cloths. They then walked forward until they reached the large tree.

Jiang Ming stared intently.

It turns out that the big tree was not actually a night-blooming cereus.

Instead, a strange flower inexplicably grew beside the trunk of this large tree. The flower was intensely beautiful, entirely purplish-red, with layers of petals covered in a layer of fuzz, resembling the wings of a moth.

A gentle breeze blows, and fine dust particles drift away with the wind.

"It looks a bit like fuzz, and a bit like mycelium."

Jiang Ming felt that the face looked somewhat familiar.

He stepped forward, about to examine the Ephemeral Flower up close, when his gaze suddenly sharpened.

Jiang Ming was shocked to see that there were two or three footprints that appeared out of nowhere next to the red herb.

"Has anyone been here?"

He immediately became alert and spoke up to warn them.

The footprints were covered with a layer of dark purple mycelium-like growths.

As Jiang Ming watched, his eyes narrowed, and he immediately realized something was wrong.

"This wasn't because someone stepped on it, but because the mycelium grew into a footprint-like shape. I don't know how it formed."

Just then, the most senior herb gatherer in the group stepped forward, stared at the strange phenomenon before him for a while, and then spoke.

"There was an ancient legend that circulated in the mountains before."

"Legend has it that deep within the Yancang Mountains, there lives a reclusive True Lord who has attained enlightenment. The True Lord occasionally descends into the mortal world to patrol the mountains, and wherever he passes, spiritual energy gathers, naturally giving rise to these rare and precious red herbs."

The herb gatherer, who was in his forties, sighed with some emotion.

"I've been gathering herbs in the mountains for twenty years, and this is only the second time I've encountered such a strange phenomenon. It's likely that the True Lord passed through here not long ago..."

Jiang Ming stood aside, skeptical of such a legend.

He was more inclined to believe that the footprints here were caused by some unknown reason. But, having transmigrated to another world, there were also extraordinary things like practicing martial arts. If there really were some strange and supernatural forces involved, it seemed quite normal.

Fifteen minutes later.

Several skilled herb gatherers dug the entire Epiphyllum oxypetalum plant out of the ground, with minimal damage to the root system. After a little cleaning, they placed it in a box, which Jiang Ming kept close to his body for safekeeping.

This epiphyllum is much more precious than the common red peony.

If the agreement reached between Jiang Ming and Wen Jin is followed, he can directly receive half of the red medicine, which is equivalent to sixty or seventy taels of silver!

This is definitely a great start for the herb-gathering team in the deep mountains!

However, Jiang Ming's joy did not last long.

His attention was now focused on scraping off the purplish-red, poisonous pollen. This pollen was hallucinogenic; if accidentally inhaled, it could quickly produce hallucinogenic effects, causing mental confusion.

If this could be mixed into one's own lime powder.

Once it's scattered, it's useless if the enemy turns to dodge. If they don't hold their breath and inhale the powder, they'll feel dizzy and lightheaded within a short time.

Take this opportunity, and you can easily defeat the other party!

As for this hallucinogenic poison powder that Jiang Ming called You Tan powder, the antidote is the juice of the You Tan flower itself.

He only needed to keep a little bit of the sap on his body as an antidote. When he sprinkled the powder, he wasn't afraid of a sudden change in wind direction that might accidentally injure him.

In front of the big tree.

Jiang Ming collected a considerable amount of purplish-red You Tan powder and put it all into a bottle. After sealing the bottle, he carried it with him.

Next, he continued to lead the team deeper into this misty forest.

The forest was exceptionally vast, seemingly without end. The entire herb-gathering team wandered around for a long time, but it seemed they were still stuck in a small area.

Of course, this could also be due to the thin layer of gray fog in the air. The fog obscures the view, making it difficult to distinguish front from back, left from right. A person's figure becomes barely visible beyond ten meters, greatly limiting visibility.

For this reason, the guards in the herb-gathering team were extremely vigilant, always on guard against bandits who might suddenly emerge from the fog.

However, even two days later, when the herb-gathering team finished their work and descended the mountain, they still hadn't encountered any other people, whether bandits or other herb-gathering teams heading into the mountains.

That's normal, after all, the Yancang Mountains are so vast, and the Misty Forest covers a large area. How could you possibly run into someone so easily?

After the trip, everyone in the herb-gathering team, who were going into the mountains for the first time, breathed a sigh of relief. Only Jiang Ming felt a little regretful.

He had just acquired a special hallucinogenic powder and wanted to find someone to test its effects. Two days passed, but no unlucky soul came along.

The herb-gathering team traveled from the heart of the Yancang Mountains to Wangyue City, which took them about a day.

On the day he returned to the Wen family pharmacy, Wen Jin stood at the door to personally greet him.

Upon hearing that the herb-gathering team in the deep mountains had achieved a resounding success, he was overjoyed, his face beaming with smiles. One red peony flower is equivalent to one and a half ordinary red peonies, plus a considerable amount of white peonies harvested in early spring.

It can be said that the harvest was plentiful.

This time, the most basic task for the herb-gathering team going into the mountains was simply to familiarize themselves with the routes and get the team working together. If they did well in these two areas, they would have been considered successful. Unexpectedly, they actually got off to a great start.

On the bluestone square.

Jiang Ming took out a box containing red medicine from his pocket and handed it directly to Wen Jin.

Wen Jin took the box and handed it to the pharmacy manager who was accompanying him, giving him instructions.

"Take it and handle it properly. Divide it into two parts according to the rules. After you've handled one part, bring it back."

The manager quickly agreed.

Unlike regular white medicine, red medicine can be stored for a very long time without affecting its medicinal properties, even if it is split in half.

Wen Jin turned back to Jiang Ming and spoke warmly.

"Old Jiang, today is a day to celebrate. I've already had someone book a room at the Hongyun Restaurant in the inner city to welcome you back and give you a good start."

Then he turned around and shouted to all the herb-gathering team members.

"Everyone has had a tough time going up the mountain these past few days."

"This was a great start! Everyone will be rewarded. Go to the accounting office later to collect your share!"

Immediately, a joyful cheer erupted from the ranks.

"The Second Young Master is righteous!"

"The second young master is very generous!"

"..."

Just then, under the eaves of a house in the distance.

Wen Hong, the eldest son of the Wen family, was quietly watching the unusually lively scene in the square with one of his personal subordinates.

The subordinate lowered his voice and spoke.

"Young Master, the Second Young Master's herb-gathering team in the deep mountains has actually been set up! Such a harvest on their first trip into the mountains. At this rate, he's slowly building up his power, ready to compete with you in the future..."

Wen Hong remained calm, gently shaking his head, revealing little emotion.

"Wen Jin is quite lucky."

He spoke calmly.

"The strong-strength disciple of the Red Sand Martial Arts School that he sponsored before has actually broken through to the soft-strength realm. His insight is indeed quite unique..."

Wen Hong paused, his gaze sweeping over the spirited Wen Jin and Jiang Ming beside him, his tone remaining calm.

"However, with just a soft strength and a fledgling herb-gathering team in the deep mountains, you think you can compete with me for control of the Wen family? Right now, more than half of the Wen family's businesses, connections, and resources are in my hands."

"He's still far from ready..."