Legend of the Great Sage

Chapter 1372: The Hundred Herbs Garden

When Ruan Yaozhu saw the smile, it was in the rising sun, filled with a sense of vigour, which made her smile as well.

The entrance of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes was not as noisy or busy as the Heaven Perturbing casino, but it was still a place where people came and went. On top of that, they were all formal and inner disciples too. When they saw how they smiled at each other, it threw them all into a reverie of thoughts.

Ruan Yaozhu had originally been waiting for Li Qingshan in a sheltered spot. Now, all the disciples saw her and came up to greet her. “Senior sister Ruan!” However, they all thought inside, Who’s this man? Why is he so close with senior sister Ruan?

Perhaps due to Li Qingshan’s presence, Ruan Yaozhu seemed slightly unnatural. “Junior brother Li, let’s go to the Hundred Herbs garden.”

“Alright!” Li Qingshan immediately noticed the puzzled gazes from the people around him, as well as their undisguisable envy.

Li Qingshan followed the nine-coloured deer out of Myriad city, arriving on a small island five hundred kilometres away.

The island was lush with vegetation, forming a deep, green colour. Birds circled through the air. It brimmed with life. Sure enough, it was a wonderful place.

However, Li Qingshan could not see any proper spiritual or immortal herbs no matter how he looked around. “Is this the Hundred Herbs garden?”

“Not yet!”

As Ruan Yaozhu said that, the nine-coloured deer had already descended from above, landing on the tiny island.

Li Qingshan immediately sensed how extraordinary the tiny island was. The spiritual qi was abnormally dense, almost on par with Si Long’s dwelling. There were many formations cast down on the island, all invisible, like a tight encirclement. The security was definitely no less tight than Myriad city. If it were not for Ruan Yaozhu leading the way, he could forget about setting foot here.

“Kid, you sure are fortunate. We’re only doing this because you helped us win so many bookmarks!”

The nine-coloured deer slowed down and followed a small path through the forest, arriving before a picturesque scene.

On top of the deep, green grass stood an archway woven from vines and other plants. There were even flowers blooming on the archway. Under the morning sun, it was like a world from a fairytale.

With a leap, the nine-coloured deer vanished into the archway. The entrance rippled with light like a rainbow.

Li Qingshan seemed to understand what was going on. He stepped through the archway.

Immediately, an exceptional world unfurled before his eyes. This was a hidden abode.

The place was not particularly large, less than five hundred kilometres across, but there were overlapping mountains, valleys and rocks, as well as deserts, tundras, swamps, and lakes. However, it did not seem cluttered or messy at all. It merged together naturally, like it was a painting, like it had been condensed from an entire world.

Li Qingshan had seen his fair share of sights. As the god of a world, there was nothing surprising about that. However, this land of five hundred kilometres was filled with countless exotic herbs, either competing against one another under the charming sunlight or hiding away silently in the deep valleys.

He did not know how to appraise herbs, but even he could tell their value with great ease. The spiritual qi here was unimaginably dense, even well beyond Si Long’s dwelling, and Si Long’s dwelling was only so large too.

He immediately understood why the security on the island was so strict, as well as why those people were envious of him. This place was probably even more important than the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes in the Myriad sect.

The worst possible situation that could occur to the heavenly tomes was getting stolen, but that would not exactly be a loss. Probably everything within the pavilion was stored within the old turtle’s mind, so it would be nothing even if the entire place went up in flames.

However, if this place were robbed or destroyed, probably even a hundred thousand years would not be enough to restore everything.

Apart from direct disciples, who could possess a dwelling like Si Long’s? Ruan Yaozhu said she wanted to help him find a stable job. What he gained was clearly not just stability.

Ruan Yaozhu smiled. “Welcome to the Hundred Herbs garden!”

“I really don’t know what to say.”

Li Qingshan sighed. He had recently obtained the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, so he was in need of tremendous amounts of spiritual qi. The environment here was basically built for the Qilin Transformation too.

Ruan Yaozhu smiled. “You don’t have to be so polite. You can pay me back by working hard!”

Li Qingshan felt like she had become much more lively ever since she arrived in the Hundred Herbs garden. He smiled. “Alright, tell me what I need to do.”

“There’s no hurry. I can tell you’re exhausted, so why don’t you take a break first? Oh right, you’ve already obtained a heavenly tome from the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, right?”

“Yes.”

Ruan Yaozhu asked curiously, “What heavenly tome is it? If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. I practise the Heavenly Tome of Nature.”

Li Qingshan said in praise, “The dao follows nature. Sounds very powerful.”

“It’s nowhere near that powerful. According to the spirit reverend, the heavenly tome should be called the Heavenly Tome of Minor Nature. It’s still very far away from the true dao! However, it is good for taking care of plants, so I was arranged to watch over the Hundred Herbs garden.”

Li Qingshan grinned. “What a coincidence then. My heavenly tome is only a single word off yours. I received a similar comment too.”

Ruan Yaozhu became very curious. She could not bother with being gentle and considerate anymore, urging him. “Tell me what heavenly tome you practise! I’ve even told you mine already.”

At her cultivation, cultivation methods were no longer just cultivation methods, but a proper path. Every single heavenly tome was a path, virtually representing everything in a cultivator—their thoughts, their powers, their disposition, and so on.

“Senior sister, I practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, or should I call it the Heavenly Tome of Minor Liberty.”

Ruan Yaozhu thought of something. Surely there really was that bit of destiny between them? She blinked her eyes. “I’ve never heard of a heavenly tome like that. Don’t tell me you’re lying to me?”

Li Qingshan patted his chest and said in guarantee, “I’ll never lie to you.”

“I hope you can stick to your word then.” Ruan Yaozhu gazed at him and smiled, which instead made Li Qingshan feel a little guilty inside. He thought, Hopefully.

Ruan Yaozhu explained in a very serious manner, “The Heavenly Tome of Liberty. It must be connected to Maheśvara. I wonder how effective it is. It must be very different from my Heavenly Tone of Nature. It’s only a single word off. There are many heavenly tomes that the spirit reverend has commented on like that.”

Li Qingshan said, “How can it be ineffective? This heavenly tome cost me a grand total of eight hundred and fifty Green Jade bookmarks. If it weren’t for senior brother Le Tian’s financial aid, who knows how long it would have taken before I could obtain it.”

“Then you really have to thank senior brother Le. However, I really don’t know how you’re going to win this gamble.”

Ruan Yaozhu sighed before saying seriously, “If you need Greed Jade bookmarks, I can lend them to you, but there are set rules for work and contribution. I can give you a little more bookmarks as compensation, but the contribution you earn is connected to the rules of the entire Myriad sect. If you have a large contribution, then it’s a large contribution. If it’s small, then it’s small. If you’ve made a contribution, then you’ve made a contribution. Regardless of who it is, I won’t show any favouritism.”

“Don’t look down on me. I, Li Qingshan, am not a deadbeat who sponges off his woman. You don’t have to worry about me too much either. I have an ingenious plan in mind. I’ll definitely make Le Tian lose his Green Jade bookmarks!”

“What sponging off women? Who’s worried about you!?”