With questions cleared and all instructions conveyed, Assistant Elder Ki retreated to the rear edge of the floating platform from where she had spoken as if opening space for someone's appearance. And indeed, just a moment later, even if in a somewhat flashy way, the primary Elder council's member, the factual head of the [Delicate Forest Palace], Hudie Xiuying, the [Brave Hairstreak], appeared.

Surrounded by a cascade of flower petals summoned just by the peak Warrior Emperor's will, appearing from thin air as if they had always been there but merely a form for the aura she released, Hudie Xiuying's strangely colored, in a mix of pink and violet, eyes slowly scanned the one thousand cultivators present.

And while the distance between her and some was enormous, with Bai Qi's position being some quarter of a mile away, neither the gaze nor her voice appeared to be far, with Bai Qi and every other cultivator in the enormous hall feeling as one of the strongest vassals of the [Great Forest Sect] was talking and looking only at them.

"Once again, I congratulate everyone who obtained the qualification or had the luck and skill to reach this point. Now, without delay, let us begin the [Martial Path of the Herbs." In contrast to such a flashy entrance, the [Brave Hairstreak] words were brief and lacked the explanations and reasons from her first discourse.

And the revered cultivator, one of the few peak Warrior Emperors of the region, had only finished talking as the entire room glowed golden, the sign of a formation activating.

"Enjoy the boon of the [Sixty-three wing flaps of the Fairy], fight, collect, gather, or convince the herbs to become your harvest!" With what appeared to be a teleportation formation already activated, the last part of Hudie Xiuying's speech nearly missed everyone's ears, or maybe it wasn't even meant for everyone..? "I wish you the best of luck!"

***

Teleportation rarely took more than a single instant, but this time? It was not the average case. Of that, Bai Qi was absolutely sure. After all, not only the formation examined each of the participants but also retrieved every item from them, including, to Bai Qi's surprise, even the ones inside one's [Void Pool], an ability that, supposedly, no one should have, considering the gathering being for Warrior Lords only. And even if there were some Sages mixed in there, there were no Warrior Kings - the explanations specifically addressed that.

While Bai Qi's clothes were of standard materials, he was sure the cultivators dressed in spiritual garments were also somehow stripped of them. After all, didn't Elder Ki mention that everyone would have nothing but their weapon intent?

Recalling the flashy-dressed girl that had asked the question about attacks outside the [Petal Stages], Bai Qi's mood somewhat improved, even if it had soured by the knowledge that, at least to the formation controller, his secrets were now known, especially the one he had no desire to share, his [Void Pool].

Indeed, while he doubted the formation would be capable of analyzing every single item, the discovery of something like a used [Insight Heart], which, while used, could still reveal several things about him, or most importantly, the [Devastating God of Fire] set that Bai Qi was yet to fuse with, his cultivation preventing him from doing something so risky, was nothing but trouble. Maybe the [Delicate Forest Palace] was a righteous power, but still..!

And how could Bai Qi not feel so when the registration began just after he appeared, or that his location had been very convenient, as opposed to many of the cultivators that had arrived at the obelisk's plaza before him?

***

After what appeared to be some ten breaths, Bai Qi, at last, sensed that the formation had stopped. He opened his eyes, even if thoughts about the unwarranted and unexpected risks still weighed on him. Yet, as he looked around, his mind slowly calmed, returning him to his usual manner of thought, clear of any doubts, concentrated on his task.

Looking around, Bai Qi discovered he was in what appeared to be an enormous garden, with no one in sight. Before moving to either of the dozens of herbs, orderly growing in similar-sized patches akin to flowerbeds, he examined himself, checking and confirming everything.

As the Assistant Elder said, he had nothing but his clothes, at least from what he usually carried and wore. As for what he didn't have before, it was a strange [Holding Pouch], one that didn't appear to be made of cloth, feeling more like if weaved from grass, and a bright, violet-colored mark on the back of his left hand, one that looked akin to a cross formed by four petal-like shapes. And while he couldn't be sure, the lack of qi, aura, and even mind-power prevented him from confirming it - he was confident that it was this mark, the one introduced as a life-saving formation, the one responsible for his absolutely sealed cultivation.

"Should I..?" With nothing gained by just standing there, Bai Qi murmured to himself, even if he already had the answer, which translated into him starting to walk towards the nearest flower bed, intending to examine the herbs closely. After all, without his senses, he couldn't even be sure that there was nothing rare in the elaborate but still mixed, even if somewhat ordered, arrangement of grasses, flowers, and other spiritual herbs.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

***

Herbs, herbs, and even more herbs; They would be the entirety of Bai Qi's world for the next two hours. And even so, he had not picked any, with his grass-green [Holding Pouch] equally empty as at the first moment on this strange land, nothing but a succession of flowerbeds.

"Hmm, a [Scorching Wing]." Lowering himself in the middle of a patch of purple moss - [Thunder Moss] - covered with flecks of white flowers - [Tears of a Light Spirit] - Bai Qi examined the single, the star of this composition, spot of bright red, the high-tier Spirit-herb, the [Scorching Wing] mushroom.

Low enough to nearly touch it with his nose, Bai Qi smelled and examined the mushroom, somewhat surprised by such a perfect exemplar, as the two pieces forming the [Scorching Wing] cap were usually known to appear as if slightly burned, their quality to consume sunlight being the cause. Still, the mushroom had not yet climbed from its original grade, with a couple of years still required for such to happen.

But even if it wasn't close to becoming an Earth-tier grade herb, Bai Qi still considered the mushroom to become his first harvest, especially as he himself had uses for it.

After thinking that a start was still required, Bai Qi decided, and recalling the correct manner for such specimens, summoned a trace of saber intent. Then, controlling it with the index finger of his left hand carefully but quickly cut the two feet stalk right on the sixth inch above the ground.

*Slash* *Glimmer*

Immediately as Bai Qi cut the stalk, the pouch on his belt shone in a greenish hue, and the mushroom, before it even fell on the ground, shone the same, a moment later disappearing.

Aware of many different settings for holding and storage treasures, it was still a first for Bai Qi to feel how the pouch filled up by one hundredth. And that without him having even a speck of cultivation!

As it would turn out, Bai Qi had harvested the mushroom right in time, as a moment later, a shout entered his eyes, one that could have very much distracted Bai Qi from correctly judging the angle, speed, and force to use for the cut.

"How?!" A shocked voice, its owner someone that looked even younger than Bai Qi, resounded.

"Huh?" Unused to being taken by surprise, Bai Qi nearly jerked, his head turning to face the one who would be the first person he saw since his arrival to this land.

"How can you be in the middle of all that herbs without being shocked or burnt?!" The short and skinny boy shouted again, this time asking the entirety of the reason behind his shock while quickly approaching and pointing at the moss and flowers.

"Oh, this?" Understanding what the boy was shocked by, Bai Qi slowly stood up and walked out of the flower bed, returning to the unpaved roads connecting all of them.

***

"Hiding one's presence? But how? Don't we already have our cultivation sealed? What do we hide then?" Barraging Bai Qi with questions after the latter revealed the reason why the usually hostile herbs ignored him entirely, the boy, who introduced himself as an outer disciple of the same power Zeng Hui was, [Bleeding tree of the Penghou], looked at him in surprise, his green eyes wide in endless surprise.

"As all mortal hunters do, but I can not explain further, the learning process being instinctive and lengthy." While Bai Qi rarely refused to help or explain something - there was nothing he could do except say that to the boy. After all, how could he explain something learned from the time spent as a mortal or low-level cultivator to someone born with an innate Soul-realm which allowed one to mask the presence by recalling aura?

"Mortal hunters?" The young Lao De's eyes went even wider as he looked at the cultivator in front, incapable of understanding what Bai Qi meant by the word - mortal.

"Mmm, people with no cultivation still have to eat - you know? - So they train to hide themselves from beasts, even common ones. I had a brief chance to see how it's done and then trained to do it." Actually, Bai Qi lied, as he had used what he learned during his previous life, but it wasn't a big lie either, as he did so by observing mortals in the few planes that did have them during his travels.

In any case, time was running out, and even if Bai Qi decided to teach Lao De something about hiding one's human presence, it would take just too long, and Bai Qi still had to gather another 99 herbs. Thus, he quickly excused himself and attempted to leave the boy behind, only to find that as he moved, Lao De followed. Inwardly shrugging, Bai Qi ignored his unexpected entourage and started towards a slightly farther away flower bed that shone brightly in red, orange, and yellow hues.

***

As a wise immortal once said, [The essential step is the first, then one must merely remain on the path.] And while at the current moment, the competition wasn't anything requiring Bai Qi to force or convince himself, the truth about taking the first step was there.

From a single herb in his [Holding Pouch], and in less time than the one it took him to pick the first, Bai Qi got to the point where it felt half-full. Neither of his picks had been of the most valuable herbs, supposedly scattered on the grounds and which he was yet to see. Still, each flower, mushroom, moss, or other type of spirit herb Bai Qi picked would definitively attract the attention of any Master.

Be it a healer or a pill master - no one could ignore the pristine quality of Bai Qi's pickings, the absolutely correct way of harvest, and the preservation of every single petal, leaf, or root as the supposedly uneducated cultivator gathered them.

And now, as the fourth hour since the start of the competition approached its end, the sun beginning to lower, Bai Qi felt something strange in the air. It was as if something was attracting him towards the south direction, where the already reducing flower beds ended entirely, giving place to an enormous grassland.

Without cultivation to analyze or understand the reason for such attraction, Bai Qi still guessed it to be a kind of hypnosis via aroma, even if he could smell nothing. The reason? Zen Hui's co-disciple, Lao De, who had been following Bai Qi since their meeting two hours ago, suddenly had stopped doing so, and his figure was now visible several dozens of feet away, moving at utmost speed towards nowhere else than the same place Bai Qi felt suddenly attracted...