Chapter 2721: An Unremarkable Town

"Now even humans have come to join the fun," Earth Mother said unhappily, "Annoying!"

Ling Jinbao said: "This is the territory of Balin."

"What's wrong with Balin?" the Earth Mother's avatar sneered, "Three hundred years ago, there was no Balin in the human world."

Its lifespan is too long; to Earth Mother, even these human nations, even a long-lived nation like Bekaa, are nothing but fleeting blossoms.

Just existences that are born in the morning and dead by evening.

Ling Jinbao probed: "You wouldn't happen to be thinking...?"

"Thinking what? We're only staying twenty-odd days, no need to bother with them." The Earth Mother's avatar yawned in a very human way, "A few thousand people pose no threat to me. I will open a barrier to keep them from approaching. Just as I told you, for the next twenty-odd days, I want to sleep soundly and recuperate."

Immortal Mingke immediately said: "You've suffered long enough. With us watching over the plains, you just need to rest easy."

For these three years, Earth Mother has tended the plains day and night without rest—it differs from normal beings and does not need regular sleep.

Only when returning to its birthplace, during nutrient absorption, does it sleep soundly.

Earth Mother's return this time is not just to gather supplements but also for deep recuperation. This is like villagers who go out to work for three years, finally return home, and surely want to enjoy a hearty meal, take a hot bath, and then bury themselves in a sound sleep.

The Dragon's Abyss Pit is Earth Mother's favorite big bathtub.

Earth Mother also wasn't polite with them: "Fine, then I'll sleep. Wake me only if something major happens."

Everyone understood—whoever dares to shout to wake it early will incur its wrath.

After being busy outdoors year after year, how can one not be allowed to sleep in?

"You can control the plains through this avatar."

As soon as the words fell, the red light in the stone man's avatar's eyes turned green, and its posture visibly became sluggish.

Earth Mother's true self went to slumber; this little stone man is merely a caretaker controller. The immortals issue commands, and it will do its best within the permitted authority.

Seeing Earth Mother eager to leave, Ling Jinbao continued the earlier topic: "Why are there so many people west of Dragon's Abyss?"

It's not surprising he's suspicious—originally, the Blazing Sky Plains were a human forbidden zone, yet suddenly a human settlement appeared on its edge...

Earth Mother's whereabouts should have been especially secretive, but now, ten thousand people actually live nearby.

Ling Jinbao felt uneasy.

No matter where, humans are always the greatest destabilizing factor.

But he couldn't well advise Earth Mother to leave, for this town currently shows no sign of threat.

Immortal Mingke said: "I'm also uneasy, so I went into town to scout. The townsfolk look like ordinary people, with some outsiders passing through. The town has all the usual livelihoods, and Dragon's Abyss West has them too. Oh right, the buns and sweet rice cakes from the bun shop are quite delicious."

After speaking, he produced an oil-paper bundle.

The food's aroma, together with the steam, burst forth.

The red sticky cake was a full four layers thick, and also contained taro paste, dates, candied fruit, and glutinous millet.

Ling Jinbao's eyes lit up—Immortal Mingke is still as ever a people-person, going out to play and not forgetting to bring companions a little gift.

He said thanks, then took it and ate it by hand: "Not bad, not bad—soft, glutinous, fragrant! Ah, it's been ages since I ate outside food."

After walking underground for over two months, his mouth was practically tasteless.

Ling Jinbao had only recently become an immortal and still had worldly cravings.

"What is Dragon's Abyss West's main livelihood?" he chewed the sticky cake, his speech a bit unclear, "Do you still remember White Pine City we visited? It looked prosperous, the people lived and worked in peace, but actually it was remote and couldn't support tens of thousands. The root cause is that the Heavenly Demons set up an experiment in White Pine City to raise humans, feeding them well."

"I recall, White Pine City could only operate by relying on blood transfusions from other cities." Immortal Mingke smiled, "But Dragon's Abyss West is different—it mainly sells Dragon Blood Grass."

"What is that?"

Immortal Mingke pointed casually at the dark red forest below: "The Blazing Sky Plains are unfriendly to humans, but Dragon's Abyss West's townsfolk discovered in recent years that a grass growing in this forest, if dosage is controlled for medicinal use, can crush or dissolve the rock tumors and worm tumors in one's body after consumption. They named this newly discovered herb 'Dragon Blood Grass'."

"Newly discovered?"

"A discovery from three years ago." Immortal Mingke had clearly asked more than one person in Dragon's Abyss West, "This town also began to prosper three years ago. Balin has several wealthy merchants and officials who simply moved here, prioritizing monopolizing these resources."

"If one could precisely destroy internal tumors without surgery, then this Dragon Blood Grass would truly be worth cultivating." In the era of spiritual qi resurgence, humanity's new medicinal varieties burst forth, but not all chronic ailments can be treated with spiritual elixirs.

The so-called "rock tumors" and "worm tumors" are actually tumors. They absorb nutrients more voraciously than normal tissue; spiritual elixir potency is seventy percent absorbed by them, instead stimulating their growth, making them larger and more dangerous to patients' lives.

Therefore, once a patient is diagnosed with rock tumors, they cannot consume spiritual elixirs but must instead undergo dissection surgery. Those with this skill are truly rare; postoperative healing is also a major hassle, as surgery easily invites infection.

The emergence of Dragon Blood Grass is undoubtedly a boon for these patients.

It thus became a rare commodity, becoming the pillar industry of Dragon's Abyss West, which sounds entirely reasonable.

Living off the mountains, eating from the grasses—appropriate.

Ling Jinbao nodded, considering this matter temporarily settled.

Qingdi Jun also came over, took a piece of sticky cake without asking, then asked Immortal Mingke: "What does Dragon Blood Grass look like?"

"I don't know—I haven't gone to the medicine shop to buy any."

Qingdi Jun munched the sticky cake in big bites, unafraid of the heat: "Just now, the returning bird demons also reported human figures in the Blazing Sky Plains, and they found several small huts. Plants were planted both in front and behind the huts, like felt, but blood-red."

Planting is more efficient than gathering. Though the Blazing Sky Plains are originally unsuitable for human habitation, these people, for money, truly can adapt anywhere.

"Perhaps it is Dragon Blood Grass?" Ling Jinbao asked Qingdi Jun, "Have you ever seen this herb before?"

Qingdi Jun is a master of plant systems, certainly well-versed, but:

"No."

Immortal Mingke also said: "It's said to be a specialty of the Blazing Sky Plains, nowhere else."

After eating, Qingdi Jun sucked his fingers, then raised his hand to summon the two bird demons down, ordering them to fly to the forest keeper's hut and steal a few stalks of red grass from their medicinal plot.

He wants to see for himself.

Then he said to the two immortals: "Next time either of you goes to Dragon's Abyss West, help me get a prescription or finished product for treating rock tumors, so I can test it."