The starting station for the high-speed rail ticket is Qi Yuan, and the final destination is Han Ning City in Zhouyuan Province.
Driving from Qi Yuan City to Han Ning City, where Phoenix Tail Town is located, covering one thousand three hundred kiloters on the highway, takes about a full day, including ti for stops and rest.
Now, there is a direct high-speed rail service between the two places; it takes only seven and a half hours to travel from Qi Yuan.
He Kao thought it would be very far, but didn’t expect it to be so quick. This is the infrastructure of the industrial and information era; if it were ancient tis, who knows how long it would take to travel, and ordinary people might never reach it in their lifeti.
If the weather is good, flying would be faster, with a flight ti of a little over two hours. Of course, the fastest way is to use the Invisibility Ability to arrive instantly.
However, Old Man Jiang’s arrangent was none of the above; he booked him two train tickets instead.
The first ticket starts from Qi Yuan, heading west into Bachuan Province, where a transfer is needed in a very secluded small county. The second ticket departs from this small county, crossing the Dabashan Mountain Range to reach Han Ning City.
The two tickets are not for the sa day; He Kao has to stay in that small county for two nights. What could have been a one-step journey ends up taking him two days.
He Kao called Elder Jiang but couldn’t get through; it seed the old man had hidden in the grotto heaven again. He really wanted to go straight to the Flower Shocking Grotto Heaven to ask what was going on, but he held back.
If Jiang Daozhen arranged it this way, there must be a reason. Interacting with a Grand Calculator from the Lingxi Sect is often like this—the other party is always mysterious and never explains things in advance.
This way of doing things actually makes sense because if so things are said in advance, they might not happen at all, resembling a bit the observer effect in quantum states.
Could macroscopic things have observable and comprehensible quantum states?
Yes, of course, they can. A simple thought experint can prove it. The experint isn’t the famous "Schrodinger’s Cat," but the "Precept of Prophecy" that every Lingxi Sect disciple must understand.
If there is a fortune-teller who foresees that Zhang San will be hit by a rotten egg thrown from downstairs tomorrow when he goes out, if he tells Zhang San, then Zhang San won’t go out the next day, thus avoiding the rotten egg.
Then is his prophecy still accurate? If unsaid, it’s accurate; if said, it’s inaccurate; or hearing makes it inaccurate, not hearing makes it accurate! This is just an analogy; actual events are far more complex than this example.
The "Precept of Prophecy" also has a common saying—heavenly secrets cannot be divulged.
Although He Kao has not yet mastered Lingxi Skill, as a Hidden Moth, he must have a profound understanding of the principles of various Techniques, so he knows what the "Precept of Prophecy" is.
On that afternoon, He Kao got off the train in Dangguan County, located in the northeast of Bachuan Province. This is a remote small county with a population of only three hundred thousand, historically known for its very inconvenient transportation.
Nowadays, thanks to the large-scale infrastructure developnt in Eastern Country, a high-speed rail line also passes through the county, its significance akin to opening a teleportation door.
Unfortunately, the high-speed rail station is fifteen kiloters from the main urban area, which is quite far for a small county.
This isn’t a problem with the line but a deliberate plan. The local governnt hopes to develop the surrounding area centered around the high-speed rail station, intending to build a new urban area.
Regrettably, after over a decade of large-scale real estate developnt, the potential of a small county is very limited; even without the impact of the pandemic, it’s hard to develop a new area around here.
Thus, although the high-speed rail station has been completed for five or six years, upon exiting the station, there’s nothing but wasteland in sight, aside from convenience stores and fast food inside; nearby, there isn’t even a simple room selling wonton.
The surrounding area consists of undeveloped reserve land held by the local governnt. Exiting the station, one can only see taxis and motorized tricycles soliciting passengers, but He Kao walked away instead of taking a ride.
Actually, He Kao had been here before; his footsteps had illuminated the entire map of Eastern Country and large overseas regions, but previously, he had only traveled through at night without stopping.
Dangguan County is located on the south slope of the Dabashan Mountain Range, with a large contiguous mountainous area within its territory, featuring significant elevation differences and complex climate conditions, rendering few regions suitable for living and farming.
In these mountains, there is a large dicine field operated by Magic Sect disciples since ancient tis, its size is very significant, also known as Ba Mountain dicine Field, where a lineage of sorcerers is stationed.
The Ba Mountain dicine Field is much larger than Lin Qingshuang’s Qihuang Spirit Garden and appears completely natural without walls.
A grandmaster from the Observing Body Sect, nad Zhao Sanjin, once secluded himself here. The nearby Dabashan Mountains are rich in various spirit dicines, and he usually led a group of disciples to gather dicine and practice alchemy in the mountains, imparting Techniques and Alchemy Techniques.
Spirit dicine naturally grows mostly in places difficult for humans to reach; only high-tier individuals have the skill to gather them. Perhaps the reason is simple; if they grew in easily reachable places, they might have long been harvested.
Moreover, rare spirit dicines are often ford by special environntal factors, and even if seeds are moved elsewhere, they may not sprout, or the sa plant may no longer have the corresponding efficacy.
A hundred years ago, Zhao Sanjin was gathering dicine and practicing alchemy here, and his master and grandmaster began their secluded cultivation here even earlier. The content passed down this lineage includes not only Secret Techniques but also various knowledge related to spirit dicines.
In the vast, sparsely populated mountains, they have detailed records of spirit dicines’ distribution and growth conditions, including plant communities, environntal causes, optimal harvesting years, and annual maturation conditions, among others.
Spirit dicine certainly can’t be completely harvested at once; its natural communities must be protected, cultivated as much as possible while allowing them to grow in their natural environnt, with key areas utilizing natural topography to arrange arrays.
In recent years, their descendants, leveraging secular relations and guiding based on national policies, have designated these vast mountain areas as natural reserves and national forest parks.
The Ba Mountain dicine Field’s area is too large to be circled like the Qihuang Spirit Garden; generations of sorcerers have left simple marks on its outskirts, serving only as Divine Sense prompts.
As long as cultivators above the Third Realm enter that area, they will sense sothing.
If you pick a few ordinary herbs for personal use or ergencies, it’s acceptable... but the rare spirit dicines in clearly marked areas should not be disturbed.
In terms of seniority, Zhao Sanjin is two generations higher than the current Observing Body Sect Leader Wild Phoenix. He had served as the Observing Body Sect Leader before the establishnt of the New Eastern Country, and after stepping down, he returned to Dabashan Mountain to live in seclusion, and has been silent ever since.
It is said that he may have already passed away, yet so suggest he is still alive, and if so, he should be over 140 years old by now.
Zhao Sanjin certainly has disciples and heirs, but among his children and grandchildren, few have achieved success in cultivation. However, among his great-grandchildren, a high-tier cultivator nad Zhao Ci erged.
Zhao Ci is the disciple of his grand-disciple and is now thirty-two years old. Three years ago, he broke through to the Tier Four cultivation, considered a rising talent in the Magic Sect, and was endorsed by this group of sorcerers as the direct branch master.
Recalling the tales of the Magic Sect in his mind, He Kao walked to the hotel.
The place he was staying was booked by Jiang Daozhen for him, called Beiyuan Manor, a garden-style hotel built against the mountain, about ten kiloters from the main city, quite upscale with pricey rates.
Even though the local area is just a small county town, many people often organize events and etings here. Beiyuan Manor not only caters to local custors but occasionally hosts national conference activities.
He Kao saw secret code marks that only Magic Sect disciples could understand outside the gate of Beiyuan Manor and inside the lobby. It ant the owner was not at ho.
This was obviously intended for Magic Sect disciples, with the underlying ssage being that passing fellow sect mbers should feel free to act, as the owner apologizes for not being able to personally greet them temporarily.
Only then did he realize this hotel was also a property owned by Magic Sect disciples, and its operator should be the sorcerers from the Observing Body Sect branch of Zhao Ci.
Since he saw such secret code marks, He Kao certainly would not try to network with anyone.
The manor’s restaurant serves local specialty dishes, and regulars can even taste so of Dabashan’s wild ga with a greeting. However, this place is a bit remote, with almost no other takeout within two kiloters.
Behind Beiyuan Manor, there is a small path leading into the mountain, with a protection area warning sign indicating it’s a closed conservation area, with a warning that wild animals roam.
Not far up the mountain, you enter the area of Ba Mountain dicine Garden.
He Kao didn’t know why Elder Jiang arranged for him to stay here, as the owner was not present. The only connection to the Magic Sect and techniques nearby was Ba Mountain dicine Garden. Could it be to let him experience Ba Mountain dicine Garden?
But who was He Kao? The Forest Sea Snowfield, the desert’s sandy land, the rainforest wetlands, beautiful valleys and strange peaks, high plateau cold flatlands, where hadn’t he been? What rare birds and beasts, auspicious grass and spirit flowers hadn’t he seen?
If not for this, what other plans could the old man have?
He Kao couldn’t figure it out anyway, so he decided to wander in the mountains. He hadn’t looked carefully when passing by the area before, only rembering so details of resting places.
Like a passing tourist, the next day after eating a buffet breakfast, he road nearby with a backpack, dipped into the woods where no one was, and entered the mountains, cutting across onto the mountain paths.
He Kao did not use the Invisibility Moth Divine Techniques, just walked steadily. He had a whole day and was in no hurry, just here to observe.
Climbing the small ridge in the dense forest and crossing the ridge line, his divine sense suddenly sensed sothing. Soone had used a natural Earth Qi Spirit Core as a marker here, reminding passersby that they had entered the Ba Mountain dicine Garden area.
Ordinary people certainly cannot perceive this, but sorcerers above Tier Three would understand this was an area designated by soone.
Further ahead, there were no traces of roads. The mountains are deep, dense with forests and dozens of peaks layered, with significant fluctuations in height, temperature, and humidity. Sotis it’s shrouded in mist, and other tis the sun shines brightly. Turning into secluded valleys, gentle rains start falling.
After breaking through to the Fifth Realm cultivation, he mastered the Body Control Technique. Though unable to fly freely, as long as his toes have a foothold, he can ascend cliffs and even cross waters, so the terrain does not hinder He Kao’s steps.
As he went deeper, He Kao also saw many kinds of herbs, but most were not cultivation spirit dicines.
Spirit dicines that aid cultivation are subject to various factors such as age, growth environnt, etc., and even the sa species may not et the requirents.
For instance, the Cold Water Pearls ford in pearl mother clams cannot all be Xue Guanghan.
Even if he occasionally saw useful spirit dicines, He Kao did not pick them. This place, after all, is the Ba Mountain dicine Garden. Though it appears as open natural land, it has been maintained and spirit dicines cultivated for centuries.
Today, he was rely here to observe.
Continuing forward had reached a place rarely visited by humans. Except for those who had achieved cultivation like him, even the dicine gatherers in the mountains wouldn’t reach it. Beyond a steep cliff is a gentle slope, and ahead in the mountain valley, a wide flower and grass field surprisingly spans between the forest.
He Kao finally discovered traces left by the sorcerers. The trees in this area have clearly been cleared, allowing such a large expanse of flowers and grass to grow exposed to sunlight. It was late April in the solar calendar, and wild fruits had matured.
This mountain valley was covered with these wild fruits, slightly larger than cherries, resembling hawthorns and crabapples, with long stems, growing on the branches of densely clustered small shrubs, distributed in a fan shape, reminiscent of the crest feathers of a phoenix...
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