Chapter 19: A Sudden Surge of Malice

Lu Xiaotian took a wooden box from the carriage and opened it, revealing three stalks of purple seven-leaf spirit grass lying within.

"How much would the shopkeeper value this herb?" Lu Xiaotian asked, suppressing the wild joy in his heart and maintaining a composed expression. In his eyes, this spirit grass was countless times more precious than the Polygonum multiflorum, but he did not know how much it was worth to these ordinary people.

"If the shopkeeper offers an outrageous price, our transaction ends here," Lu Xiaotian added indifferently, noticing the fat shopkeeper's eyes flickering. He knew that showing too much interest in the herb would only work against him.

"This purple grass is quite helpful for regulating one's qi and blood; its efficacy is good. Logically, it wouldn't amount to that Polygonum, but rarity makes things precious. The scarcity of this purple grass is even harder to come by than a hundred-year-old Polygonum. If you had two such Polygonum, I would take it upon myself to declare these three purple grasses yours," the fat shopkeeper said after a moment of contemplation.

"No matter how rare it is, it depends on its efficacy in regulating qi and blood. Trading this Polygonum for three purple grasses... while this herb is indeed useful to me, it is not so indispensable," Lu Xiaotian said impatiently. "If this won't work, I'll go to the next shop."

"You are quite a shrewd fellow. Very well, let's just consider it making a friend," the fat shopkeeper said with a bitter smile, realizing he couldn't squeeze more profit out of the deal. He had not yet discovered any special use for these purple grasses, so exchanging them for a forty-year-old Polygonum was actually a very profitable trade.

"Farewell!" After stowing the spirit grass, Lu Xiaotian tossed the Polygonum to the fat shopkeeper and cupped his hands. Using an ordinary wooden box to store such spirit grass would cause its spirituality to leak; a spiritual jade box was required. However, if he were to take out a jade box from his storage bag now, it would be too shocking. It was better to leave as quickly as possible.

"I wonder if you have any other highly valuable herbs? Miaozhi Hall will always pay a high price to acquire them," the fat shopkeeper said with a smile, looking at the bulging bundle on Lu Xiaotian's back after receiving the Polygonum.

"If I have a need later, or if Miaozhi Hall has more of this purple grass, I will return," Lu Xiaotian replied with a slight frown before stepping out the door.

Not long after Lu Xiaotian left, the fat shopkeeper clapped his hands, and a powerful young martial artist emerged from the back of the pharmacy. "What are your orders, Manager Ma?"

"Follow that youth. Follow him and see what purpose those purple grasses serve. Also, if circumstances permit, test whether there are other precious herbs in his bundle."

The smile on Manager Ma's face turned into an air of authority before the young martial artist. In his eyes, these purple grasses were merely ingredients for common qi and blood regulating medicines, and their medicinal properties were somewhat aggressive rather than top-tier. Yet, Lu Xiaotian was willing to trade a forty-year-old Polygonum for them, which was quite unexpected. Since the purple grass wouldn't be of much use in his hands, discovering its special purpose through this youth might be an unexpected windfall.

"Yes!"

The young martial artist bowed in response, flashed out of Miaozhi Hall, and trailed behind Lu Xiaotian. Looking at Lu Xiaotian's bulging backpack, a flash of greed crossed the young man's face. Being able to casually produce a forty-year-old Polygonum was not something an ordinary person could do. Furthermore, Lu Xiaotian's remark about being able to conduct similar trades suggested there might be herbs of equal or even greater value in that bag.

His annual salary was less than thirty taels of silver. He followed Lu Xiaotian all the way out of the county town to the wilderness north of the city. The young martial artist glanced around; seeing no one, he finally shouted with confidence, "Kid, stop!"

"Do you need something?" Lu Xiaotian turned around.

"Leave your bundle and those purple grasses, and then you can get lost!" the young martial artist snorted.

"You are from Miaozhi Hall. Did your manager instruct you to do this?" Lu Xiaotian asked.

"You don't need to know that. While I still have some patience, you'd better do as I say. Otherwise, it's perfectly normal for there to be one more corpse in the wilderness," the young martial artist said, slowly closing in on Lu Xiaotian.

"If you have the guts, come and take them yourself."

Lu Xiaotian spread his hands. By now, the leopard had silently appeared not far behind the young martial artist. The leopard was several sizes larger than a normal leopard; if brought into the county town, it would likely cause panic and trigger a military crackdown, so Lu Xiaotian had instructed it to wait in the wilderness outside the city.

A few small green ants also paused in the grass. In fact, the young martial artist had sensed them since he stepped out of Miaozhi Hall, but he wanted to see what the other party intended to do. He simply hadn't expected the youth to be so malicious.

"Since you are hell-bent on death, don't blame me!" With a sinister grin, the young martial artist lunged forward, his hand clawing rapidly toward Lu Xiaotian's crown.

*So, I can't be blamed.* Lu Xiaotian's expression turned cold. Martial artists who previously seemed lightning-fast now appeared clumsy and slow when performing their techniques. It seemed this was a change in his body after practicing the *Hunyuan Sutra*. Feeling composed, Lu Xiaotian did not order the leopard to strike. Instead, he drew his dagger and, with lightning speed, slashed across the young man's wrist.

The young martial artist felt his vision blur, followed by a scream of agony. Clutching his right wrist as blood sprayed like a fountain, he stared at Lu Xiaotian in horror. He never expected that this seemingly ordinary youth could move with such incredible speed.

"Get lost. Tell your manager not to harbor any ill intentions, or next time, it won't be as simple as severing your tendons."

Lu Xiaotian spoke coldly. The black-robed elder was still lurking in his sea of consciousness, and he didn't know when the man might break free. Although Lu Xiaotian was young, the elder's presence served as a constant reminder that he had to eliminate him as soon as possible, or he would always be a sword hanging over his head. He didn't want to fall out with Miaozhi Hall just yet, as he had only obtained spirit grass from them so far; otherwise, based on the young man's actions, he would have slit his throat.

"Yes, yes!" Terrified and having lost most of his combat effectiveness with his right hand disabled, the young martial artist didn't dare stay a moment longer. He fled back the way he came in a state of panic.

Lu Xiaotian scanned his surroundings. Once certain no one was watching, he placed the spirit grasses into jade boxes and entered the mountains. He found a relatively secluded cave, cleaned it out, took out one of the spirit grasses, plucked a leaf, and swallowed it.

A massive and aggressive surge of spiritual energy dissolved within his body. He used his consciousness to guide this energy through his meridians.

"Eh?"

Lu Xiaotian soon discovered that aside from the portion being converted by his meridians and dantian, a significant amount of the energy was slowly vanishing within his body, with only a small fraction being converted into essence qi. Startled, he moved his primordial spirit to the mysterious barrier within his body. There, amidst the originally white mist, wisps of green mist were drifting. These green threads emitted a faint, lively aura, enticing him to make contact with them.