Fruits that were a mix of silver and brown.

Bearing such distinct characteristics, even those who had never come across a grimoire plant would be unlikely to miss it.

With that in mind, the three young cultivators split up and started combing the area.

Old Niu, on the other hand, simply sat down on a thick, protruding tree root to rest. He popped open his wine gourd and started taking big gulps without restraint.

It was an obvious showing of disinterest towards the success of his clients’ aim, but Zhao Yunxiao did not mind that one bit.

Right from the very beginning, Old Niu’s job had only been to help them find this place, not to help them search for the plant. So, it was perfectly understandable for him not to go above and beyond his duties.

In fact, Zhao Yunxiao might even feel sceptical of Old Niu’s intentions if he were to act overly enthusiastic about helping them!

Extending his spiritual sense to scan his surroundings, Zhao Yunxiao slowly started straying away from Old Niu’s position.

Nie Hanchang and Lou Yuan did the same, but there was one singular difference between their actions and Zhao Yunxiao’s.

Even as Zhao Yunxiao was looking around for the grimoire plant, he made sure to keep an eye on Old Niu as well.

He was careful not to directly keep his spiritual sense locked onto Old Niu since doing so had a chance of triggering some form of defensive measure.

Instead, he locked onto Old Niu’s direct surroundings – the grass around him and even the tree root that he was seated on.

By observing even the slightest movements of these objects and calculating how they could have resulted from the changes in Old Niu’s position, Zhao Yunxiao was able to determine Old Niu’s current position and movements to a fair degree.

While making sure that Old Niu was not displaying any signs of being alerted, Zhao Yunxiao slowly moved further and further away.

And when he had finally created a long enough distance between them, Zhao Yunxiao turned a corner and gradually channelled his essence energy to conceal his presence.

[Earthen Clone Technique]

Even before the earth could fully rise up to form into a clone, Zhao Yunxiao hurriedly used a concealing technique on it, making sure that the clone would not be discovered.

Go!

After Zhao Yunxiao Two took form, he immediately started to use his own essence energy for concealment, collected some array flags and spirit stones from Zhao Yunxiao, and then hurried off into the depths of the valley without hesitation.

The entire process happened in a matter of seconds.

It was only then that Zhao Yunxiao started to slowly release the concealment on himself, making sure that there was no abrupt change that could be a greater cause for alarm.

From the looks of it, Old Niu did not seem to have reacted at all.

Good.

This was Zhao Yunxiao preparing for the worst – just in case Old Niu truly had any malicious intents.

It was better to be safe than sorry, especially since Zhao Yunxiao had no idea just how strong Old Niu was and what means he had at his disposal.

If Old Niu turned out to be weaker than them, then it would not be too big of an issue.

But if Old Niu was stronger, then they would definitely need some external help to tide themselves over.

For that reason, Zhao Yunxiao Two was currently searching for a suitable spot where he could set up a killing array!

Now that this had been set in motion, Zhao Yunxiao could finally continue his search for the grimoire plant with a greater peace of mind.

Unfortunately, finding the grimoire plant was not an easy task.

Zhao Yunxiao made sure to scan every nook and cranny, even within small crevices and atop trees, all to no avail.

Yes, the grimoire plant had a particular habitat that it thrived in. But as long as it was within that habitat, it could actually grow on just about any surface.

While this was a strong trait that increased its survivability, it also made searching for it far more difficult since they would have to look just about everywhere for possible traces of it.

Hours went by in a flash.

In the heads of the trio, they could not help but start suspecting that there might not actually be any grimoire plants here.

After all, even if this was a habitat that suited the growth of grimoire plants, and even if grimoire plants had indeed grown here in the past, it was not a guarantee that there would be some growing here right now!

Coincidentally, it was just as such thoughts were surfacing that they suddenly had a breakthrough.

“Junior Martial Brother Zhao, come take a look at this!” Nie Hanchang called out from afar.

“Coming!”

Zhao Yunxiao immediately rushed over, excited at the mere potential for good news. Lou Yuan did the same as well, immediately giving up on searching in his assigned direction to join in the fun.

In contrast, Old Niu remained disinterested and continued drinking even as the duo hurried past him.

“Here,” Nie Hanchang pointed as the two of them arrived.

Zhao Yunxiao could not help but let out a grin.

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Lying deep within a thick shrub was indeed a grimoire plant – one that even had two fruits hanging on its branches!

What Zhao Yunxiao needed in his blueprint was the essence of the grimoire fruit.

Specifically, he needed two-thirds of the amount that could be extracted from a fully ripe fruit to complete the forging process.

However, it was risky to just collect one portion of the materials.

After all, if the forging attempt were to fail, the material would most likely go to waste and no longer be usable in the next attempt.

Therefore, he had wanted to at least collect two fruits, which would give him enough grimoire fruit essence to make at least three attempts.

And this grimoire plant fitted his needs perfectly!

“We actually managed to find one,” Lou Yuan remarked in astonishment. “But how do you intend to bring the grimoire plant with you? You know how sensitive this plant is, don’t you?”

Lou Yuan knew about the grimoire plant as well.

Most parts of the plant would lose their elemental properties soon after the death of the plant. If they ended up harming the plant during the extraction process, there might just be nothing useful left by the time they make it back to Purple Plum Mountain!

“Trust me, I’ve got this,” Zhao Yunxiao stepped forward confidently.

Even though Zhao Yunxiao was currently leaving the management of his garden plot to Lei Wenzhang and Qing Bian, such an arrangement only started long after he took on a job at the Herb Gardens.

Initially, he truly worked hard at the job to acquire the relevant skills involved.

While it might not be up to the level of the plant-obsessed Gu Qiansi, Zhao Yunxiao’s skills with regards to the treatment of spiritual plants, or herbalism in general, were not just at the beginner level.

As long as he knew the correct method to treat a particular spiritual plant, simply putting it into practice was not a tall order for him.

And since he dared to make this journey, there was absolutely no way that he would not have done his homework regarding the extraction method for a grimoire plant.

Thankfully, the grimoire plant did not have any defensive mechanisms, much unlike the frozen spider or darkpetal lily.

Otherwise, on top of trying to keep the grimoire plant alive, Zhao Yunxiao would also have to focus on keeping himself alive!

Zhao Yunxiao got to work immediately, mercilessly getting rid of the surrounding plants so that they would not complicate the extraction process.

Next, he carefully dug out the grimoire with the earth around it intact, making sure not to damage the roots in the process.

Having done countless simulations in his head prior to this, the process went rather smoothly.

Unfortunately, spatial items could only store non-living objects. Therefore, Zhao Yunxiao had to store the grimoire plant, along with the soil around its roots, in a small bag to keep it alive for as long as possible.

“Finally done!” Zhao Yunxiao exclaimed in satisfaction as he looked proudly at the bag in his hands.

“So, what’s with this plant anyway?” Old Niu finally headed over at this point and asked. “Why the need to go to such lengths for it?”

“Well, the main use of the plant is in the culinary field. The roots can be crushed into fine powder that can alter the taste of food by quite a bit,” Zhao Yunxiao explained without hesitation. “It is an acquired taste that doesn’t suit most people, but there is still a small minority who really enjoy it.”

“Is that so?” Old Niu raised an eyebrow, seemingly sceptical of the answer. “I couldn’t tell that you are actually a gourmet chef.”

“Looks can be deceiving after all,” Zhao Yunxiao shrugged.

“Where do you hail from then, if I may ask?” Old Niu probed further.

“We simply belong to a small reclusive sect, nothing worthy of mention,” Zhao Yunxiao scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

“Haha, are you worried that I would judge you? Come on, I don’t even belong to any factions, so anything would be better than my current situation!” Old Niu laughed.

“Still, I would prefer not to embarrass myself. Please understand the feelings of people of low status like us,” Zhao Yunxiao insisted with a sheepish smile.

Old Niu narrowed his eyes, while Zhao Yunxiao retained that embarrassed look on his face.

“...Fine then, I won’t force you if you don’t wish to divulge,” Old Niu finally relented. “Is one enough, though? Or do you need more?”

“This is good enough,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded. “We can go now.”

While it was naturally best to collect as many grimoire plants as possible, Zhao Yunxiao did not want to push his luck either.

After all, it already took hours for them to find this one grimoire plant. Who knew how long it would take for them to find the next one?

If he insisted on looking for more after already getting a sufficient amount, it would just be burdening Nie Hanchang for no good reason.

But before Old Niu could respond, all four of them turned towards the same direction – the direction from which they came.

“Those guys from earlier?” Lou Yuan asked.

“Yeah, the Iron Sabres,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded with furrowed brows. “To think that they actually managed to follow us all the way here, I guess they are still rather capable!”

“I’m not sure how they managed to track us down, but it is best to avoid conflict,” Old Niu said. “How about moving deeper into the valley? Not far from here is where the source of the fog is. If we head in that direction, the thicker density of the fog should prevent them from finding us.”

“The source of the fog? Is it not a naturally occurring phenomenon?” Lou Yuan’s interest was piqued at this point. “What is actually creating this fog?”

“It is natural. After all, the thing that is causing this is a natural resident of the valley – fairymist flowers,” Zhao Yunxiao answered. “They grow in the depths of Ghost Fog Valley, and are responsible for creating the fog.”

While doing his research on the valley, he had naturally looked into the source of the fog as well.

Fairymist flowers were interesting spiritual plants that did not possess any exceptionally special characteristics apart from one thing – they did not rely on regular photosynthesis for sustenance. Instead, they had their own alternative process that actually created mist as a byproduct.

Due to the sheer amount of fairymist flowers in the depths of the valley, this mist eventually came together to create a thick fog that shrouded over the entire valley, inevitably adding a layer of mystery to this place.

“Fairymist flowers?” Lou Yuan rubbed his chin in contemplation. “I’ve actually never heard of them before. Are they located far from here?”

“Not too far, definitely less than half an hour’s walk away,” Old Niu replied.

“Hmm, sounds good. Let’s go take a look!” Lou Yuan turned towards Zhao Yunxiao.

Zhao Yunxiao was not surprised to see the look of curiosity on Lou Yuan’s face.

Had he not done research on Ghost Fog Valley, Zhao Yunxiao would not have heard of the fairymist flower, either.

The main reason why was because the fairymist flower simply did not possess any traits that would interest most cultivators.

But while that was the case, something that naturally created mist definitely sounded like a material that could potentially be incorporated in bespoke equipment designs.

And if Lou Yuan truly was a famous designer, it was only natural for him to want to know about as many materials as possible!

“Fine, let’s go,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded.

Old Niu was right.

While the Iron Sabres might comprise merely ordinary mortals, they were a group familiar with combat.

To avoid any complications, he would prefer not to get into a direct conflict with them out here in unfamiliar territories, especially since they had yet to ascertain Old Niu’s true intentions!