The extraordinary journey begins with the Ouroboros Stele.

Chapter 145 Herb Gathering Ground, Thunder Valley

"This is the entrance to the second-grade herb-gathering area."

"Unlike first-grade herb gathering areas, second-grade herb gathering areas have already established a stable connection with the real world, so there is no need to go through a specific ritual to enter."

"Furthermore, second-grade herb-gathering sites constantly release a special energy into the mortal world; you should be able to sense it."

Fulanwu began to explain, looking at Lin Ye.

Lin Ye took a deep breath and felt something in the air that made his breathing easier.

It felt somewhat like breathing in the high levels of negative oxygen ions in a forest, but even better; my body became more active under this magical power.

If he fights in this state, he's about half a percent stronger than when he's outside.

"We martial artists call this special energy 'spiritual energy,' while the Black and White Society calls it 'spiritual factor.'"

Fulanwu spoke, raised his hand and gently swiped, a wisp of light white energy gathering in his palm.

"This is spiritual energy, and it is the fundamental reason why the herb-gathering grounds can nurture so many spiritual materials and precious medicines."

"However, for those below the sect leader level, spiritual energy cannot be absorbed directly. It can only be absorbed after being transformed by spiritual materials, precious medicines, or the evil energy of heaven and earth."

Lin Ye looked at the wisp of spiritual energy in her hand and nodded slightly.

I did feel great when I breathed in that spiritual energy just now, but my physical condition didn't improve at all.

And once you stop breathing, that feeling will fade; it can only be maintained by being in a Reiki environment.

"Let's go in." Fulanwu casually dispersed the spiritual energy.

The two arrived in front of the vortex of colorful light, and Fulanwu took out a token and handed it to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye took it; it was a red jade token with a red whale relief on the front and the words "Red Whale" engraved on the back.

"This is the medicine token," it says, containing the power of a spirit, and is an essential item for entering the herb-gathering area.

"Only sect leaders can create medicine tokens, and the two we have were made by our master himself."

Fulanwu began to explain.

Lin Ye was somewhat puzzled, "Since only sect leaders can create this, why not allow sect leaders to enter the second-grade herb-gathering area?"

Fulanwu shook his head. "I don't know. But I heard from a friend that every herb-gathering site has a major opportunity that could determine its survival."

"Even if a martial artist encounters this opportunity, they cannot take it away, but a sect leader has the chance to take it away."

"That's why, in order to prevent the herb-gathering area from collapsing, sect leaders are restricted to entering only grade three herb-gathering areas, because even a sect leader can't take away the great opportunities there."

Lin Ye nodded. "I see."

It seems the water in the herb-gathering area is quite deep.

Then, the two, holding the medicine tokens, walked into the vortex of colorful light.

After a dizzying moment, the two found themselves in a forest.

Fulan took out a map, unfolded it, observed the surroundings, and marked their current location.

"We are now on the edge of the minefield where we gather herbs, about a two-day hike from Thunder Valley," she said.

Lin Ye looked at the map, which was divided into blue and red sections.

The left side is marked as the Thunder Domain, with a valley in the center; the right side is marked as the Fire Domain, with a volcano in the center.

Their location was in the lower left corner, about half the width of the map, from Thunder Valley, the center of Thunder Domain.

"Two days' walk, which means this place is as far from Thunder Valley as the coast to Iron Harp? The herb-gathering area is actually this large?"

He was somewhat surprised, completely unexpected; he had thought it was just a mountain range or even a few hills.

Fulanwu put away the map and smiled. "The cave is much bigger than this place, at least as big as a province."

Lin Ye was startled. No wonder they said that the third-grade herb-gathering area was comparable to the real world.

Such a large area would take even a master martial artist a month to traverse in a straight line.

"Let's go. Three days from now will be the time when the thunder energy in Thunder Valley is at its peak, and the thunder tribulation energies that are formed will also be the strongest."

Fulanwu spoke, and the two immediately headed towards Thunder Valley, their figures flashing through the forest and disappearing in the blink of an eye.

As evening approached, an open space was filled with felled trees, leaving only stumps.

A bonfire was lit in the center, its light reflected in the forest.

He glanced around and indeed found some ingredients along the way.

Without exception, they were all at the mortal level, and their improvements were mostly minor.

In addition, while passing through a hill, he also discovered a plant called "Mirogen".

It's not food, but its strength is comparable to that of an ordinary martial arts master.

He speculated that it might be possible to find the innate Mirogen there.

Although the "Innate Divine Skill" might not significantly improve his abilities, it was something he could master step by step, so he couldn't let it go.

Moreover, as the saying goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," and "One cannot become abnormally strong without accumulating small improvements."

The reason he was so strong at the stage of practicing the "Shaking Circle" technique was because the accumulation of small improvements over time led to a qualitative change.

Just then, a loud "boom" came from afar and quickly approached.

"boom!"

The enormous white snake crashed through the trees, and it was as thick as a water vat.

"hiss"

With a hiss, the white snake straightened its upper body.

Lin Ye stood up, ready to fight, but then he saw the white snake's head crash down heavily.

A figure emerged from the marks left by the white snake; it was Fulanwu.

A moment later, a grill was placed over the campfire, and plump snake meat was laid out on it.

Golden oil dripped down, sizzling and releasing the unique aroma of snake meat.

"Here, eat this, it'll do you good."

Fulanwu laughed and tossed over a cleaned snake gall, its entire body emerald green, and as big as a fist.

Lin Ye caught the snake gall.

【Ingredient Name: White King Snake Gallbladder】

[Ingredient Category: Spiritual Materials]

[Ingredient Tier: Lord Tier]

Edible part: the whole body

[Effects of Consumption: Moderately increases Strength, Constitution, and Intelligence attributes. Moderately improves Dynamic Vision.]

"Thank you, senior sister," he said.

Fulan smiled, turning the snake meat over the grill, and simply nodded.

Lin Ye stopped being coy and stuffed the snake gall into his mouth, swallowing it whole.

It's fortunate that I'm a martial artist now, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to swallow something this big.

[Strength: 1.74] → [Strength: 1.75]

[Constitution: 1.80] → [Constitution: 1.82]

[Intelligence: 1.28] → [Intelligence: 1.29]

After a short while, the heat gradually disappeared, and the bitter taste in my mouth also faded.

"It's done baking, enjoy!"

Fulanwu handed over a skewer of roasted snake meat, the skin of which was already golden brown and slightly charred.

The following evening, Lin Ye and Fulanwu climbed to the top of a barren mountain.

Looking down, an extremely large valley appears at your feet.

The bottom was shrouded in blue and white mist, while pale blue mist floated above. The rock walls appeared blue-black, and flashes of electricity could be seen from time to time.

Even just standing on the edge of the valley and looking at it, I still felt my hair stand on end, as if some great terror was hidden under the mist at the bottom of the valley.

Besides the two of them, there were some other people on the edge of the valley, some with tents set up and others sitting quietly waiting.

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