Chapter 45: Hundred Grass Liquid
Ye Fan and Pang Bo overpowered Han Feiyu, dropping jaws all around. In the eyes of the onlookers, these two eleven or twelve-year-old youths were ferocious to an "unbelievable" degree. Though they had clearly not cultivated any divine power source, they had beaten a clan elder's descendant senseless, nearly crippling him, leaving many of the gathered spectators stunned and speechless.
"These two are too savage!"
"At just eleven or twelve years old, how can they possess such divine strength?"
"Fighting bare-handed, suppressing Han Feiyu, and even sending the Azure Wood Treasure Seal bestowed by Elder Han flying—it's truly unbelievable!"
The surrounding crowd buzzed with discussion.
At this moment, even the older disciples who had joined earlier and cultivated to higher levels, stationed under other cliffs, noticed the commotion. Upon learning that Elder Han's grandson, Han Feiyu, had been brutally beaten, an uproar ensued.
"Those two youths look quite refined—how are they so fierce? Truly, you can't judge a book by its cover..."
Ye Fan and Pang Bo had always kept a low profile, but now they became the center of attention. Disciples from other cliffs, upon hearing the news, also gathered around to catch a glimpse of these two fierce individuals.
"What? That Pang Bo is a Spirit Seed?"
When the crowd learned of this, they all showed expressions of shock. The older disciples understood what a Spirit Seed meant—it was the future inheritor and hope of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven, a figure destined to lead the sect toward glory.
"No wonder he's so valiant—he's blessed with extraordinary talent."
"Han Feiyu really kicked an iron plate this time. He won't be able to retaliate in the future; he'll just have to swallow this humiliation..."
Now, as the crowd looked at Pang Bo, their expressions were complex, their feelings indescribable. Many quickly decided to build good relations with Pang Bo from now on.
Meanwhile, Ye Fan and Pang Bo weren't idle. Unconcerned with the stares around them, they picked up the small jade bottles scattered on the ground, totaling over thirty bottles of Hundred Grass Liquid. The few youths who had started the trouble had been planted headfirst into the mud by Ye Fan and Pang Bo, but the Hundred Grass Liquid they had snatched was all left behind.
New disciples could only receive one bottle of Hundred Grass Liquid every three months, highlighting its preciousness. Yet the two had suddenly obtained over thirty bottles, instantly making the onlookers green with envy.
"Those fellows who cultivated divine patterns should have even better stuff on them..."
Ye Fan and Pang Bo weren't satisfied. They turned their gaze to the several youths stuck in the mud. These individuals had all cultivated traces of divine power, nurturing a single divine pattern in their Sea of Suffering, putting them a cut above ordinary disciples. They were certainly "richer" than the younger boys.
Exchanging a glance, the two began pulling them out like green onions, dragging the five youths from the mud one by one and searching them thoroughly.
"How come each of them only has a few bottles of Hundred Grass Liquid..."
Ye Fan and Pang Bo searched every inch of their bodies, finding only five bottles per person—less than what they had obtained earlier. Their dissatisfied expressions left the onlookers utterly speechless.
Today, each cliff had distributed Hundred Grass Liquid. The amount received naturally varied according to one's cultivation level. These five youths each getting five bottles was already decent.
Li Fei and Wang Jing hadn't left yet, watching everything unfold. They exchanged glances, at a loss for words. They had never seen such unconventional junior brothers before.
At this moment, the youths lay sprawled on the ground like mud, still too weak to get up. After Ye Fan and Pang Bo finished looting them, they exchanged another look and, with no sense of propriety, tossed them back into the lotus pond. This time, however, they didn't plant them headfirst, fearing they might cause fatalities if left too long. Then, they pulled out the younger boys as well, casually throwing them into the muddy water.
Finally, Ye Fan and Pang Bo approached the Azure Wood Treasure Seal. They tried pushing it with force but found it too heavy. Even if they could lift it, it wouldn't be usable in combat. After kicking it a couple of times, they strode away.
The crowd stood dumbfounded. These two were like locusts—in broad daylight, without a hint of panic or shame, they had stripped everyone clean and even considered hauling away the Azure Wood Seal...
"Senior Brother Li Fei, Senior Sister Wang Jing, thank you!" Ye Fan and Pang Bo shouted loudly from a distance after squeezing out of the crowd, then quickly disappeared.
Han Feiyu's face was ashen, his heart seething with rage. He didn't even bother to retrieve the Azure Wood Treasure Seal and headed straight for a valley deep within the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven.
The valley was vast and open, filled with medicinal fields planted with exotic flowers and rare herbs. The air was thick with the fragrance of medicine and dense with spiritual energy. The entire valley was covered in precious herbs, with no other vegetation. The medicinal essence and herbal vapors released by the growing spirit plants made it almost a valley of spiritual abundance.
Along the way, some medicine boys bowed to Han Feiyu, but he ignored them completely. With a dark expression, he went straight to a cave dwelling at the valley's depths. Here, the medicinal fragrance was even stronger. In front of the cave, eighteen waist-high medicine cauldrons were arranged in a row, made of some unknown metal, looking ancient and heavy.
"Yu'er, how did you end up like this?" An aged voice asked from deep within the cave. The speaker didn't emerge but seemed fully aware of everything outside.
"One of those two is a Spirit Seed..." Han Feiyu stood outside the cave, grinding his teeth as he reported the details to his grand-uncle.
"If I had known earlier that these two had consumed divine medicine, I would have just needed a bit of their blood. Unfortunately, I received the news too late. Now it's troublesome." At this point, Elder Han in the cave fell silent for a long time before speaking again: "That Spirit Seed... don't provoke him. As for the other, wait and see."
"Grand-uncle means..." Han Feiyu's eyes suddenly flashed with two sharp beams of light.
"I mean, do nothing for now. Just focus on your cultivation." After saying this, the cave fell silent, with no further sound.
"Yes!" Han Feiyu was extremely unwilling but dared not defy Elder Han. He bowed to the cave and then turned to leave.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo returned to their dwelling and began counting their spoils. They had collected a total of sixty-six bottles of Hundred Grass Liquid—an absolute windfall.
"That Han fellow is really a good man..." Both praised him in unison.
After fiddling with the small jade bottles, Ye Fan and Pang Bo gradually calmed down. Though they had defeated Han Feiyu and his group today, a strong sense of crisis arose within them. Mere physical strength, even with the power of a flood dragon or elephant, might allow them to dominate among mortals. But against those who had cultivated traces of divine power and could wield mystical techniques and divine arts, they ultimately lacked versatility and couldn't compete.
They had to train hard immediately—open the Sea of Suffering, connect with the Wheel of Life, and let the divine spring flow freely. Only by harnessing the power source for their own use could they truly grow stronger. That was the foundation of a cultivator.
With this sense of crisis, they urgently desired to become stronger and trained even more diligently. Over the next two days, Pang Bo consumed six bottles of Hundred Grass Liquid in succession, practicing the mystical techniques recorded in the Dao Scripture. Finally, his Sea of Suffering expanded by a circle. But after drinking the seventh bottle, he immediately felt something was wrong. The vital energy within his Sea of Suffering surged chaotically, stabbing like needles with intense pain.
"Damn it, haste makes waste. The teaching elder said new disciples can't withstand too much impact from Hundred Grass Liquid. They only issue one bottle every three months—there's a reason for it..." Pang Bo was drenched in sweat, struggling to endure.
"I'll go find someone," Ye Fan said, about to push the door open.
"No need. I can grit my teeth and get through it." Pang Bo insisted on not seeking help. He held on for most of the day before the pain slowly subsided. Smiling bitterly, he said, "It seems you have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. Ordinary disciples drink one bottle every three months. As a Spirit Seed, I drank six or seven bottles in two days—that's already defying the heavens."
At this point, Pang Bo showed a curious expression. "You also drank six or seven bottles, but you don't feel any pain. Instead, your spirit and energy are fuller than ever. What's going on? Is your Sea of Suffering still without a single ripple?"
Ye Fan shook his head. His Wheel of Life and Sea of Suffering remained utterly still, with no fluctuation whatsoever. The only benefit of practicing the Dao Scripture was that his spirit and energy grew increasingly abundant.
"Drinking six or seven bottles without any reaction—it seems you're far from your limit. Ye Fan, keep increasing the dosage. Maybe something extraordinary will happen."
"How can that be? With my physique, drinking more Hundred Grass Liquid is just a waste. It's better to save it for your breakthrough, so your divine spring can flow sooner and you can reach a higher realm."
"Don't worry. Since they've identified me as a Spirit Seed, they won't skimp on this Hundred Grass Liquid. Elder Wu Qingfeng said more than once that mindset is crucial. He clearly knows my potential but doesn't want me to develop a sense of superiority. Sending me to the Spirit Ruins Cliff to learn the law says it all. This is probably to temper my character. I think everything will change later, and there won't be a shortage of Hundred Grass Liquid."
Pang Bo's reasoning was sound. Ye Fan no longer refused. There was no need for formality between them. They began drinking large amounts of Hundred Grass Liquid.
One bottle, two bottles, three bottles...
Ye Fan silently circulated the mystical techniques recorded in the Dao Scripture. At this moment, he felt nothing unusual himself, but a strange transformation was slowly taking place within his body...