Chapter 36

Beyond the stone door lay another world.

Here was a vast space, spanning several miles in every direction.

Above, the ceiling was inlaid with a massive pearl radiating light and heat like the sun, illuminating the entire space as bright as day.

The ground was rich, black soil.

The soil was divided into numerous plots, planted with a dazzling variety of rare flowers and medicinal herbs.

Each medicinal herb thrived vigorously, brimming with spiritual energy; even the youngest were surely centuries old.

This was, unmistakably, a massive herb garden!

“I’ve hit the jackpot! This time, I’ve truly hit the jackpot!”

Su Chen, gazing at this scene, was so excited he nearly jumped up.

He strode into the herb garden, his eyes sweeping over the medicinal herbs, muttering to himself nonstop.

“This… is five-thousand-year-old Dragon Blood Vine! Good heavens, the vines are nearly as thick as my arm! If used for body tempering, the effects are unimaginable!”

“And this—Purple Patterned Xuan Shen! Look at these patterns—it’s at least ten thousand years old! This is the main ingredient for crafting a supreme Qi-replenishing immortal elixir!”

“Heavens, that patch… is Star Sand? And there’s so much of it! This is the top-tier auxiliary material for crafting soul-based elixirs—long extinct in the outside world!”

The more Su Chen looked, the more astonished and exhilarated he became.

The variety and age of the medicinal herbs in this garden far exceeded his wildest imagination.

Many of these herbs he had only ever seen in diagrams and records within Patriarch Bodhi’s scripture hall—he never imagined he’d see them in person.

This Canglang Hermit must have been a mad alchemist in life; otherwise, he could never have gathered so many rare medicinal herbs.

When he died and his Dao was extinguished, this garden was left untended.

Unexpectedly, misfortune turned to fortune—these herbs grew freely for thousands of years without being harvested, reaching astonishing ages and potency.

This was nothing less than a mobile treasure vault!

Su Chen forced himself to suppress the urge to harvest immediately, walking slowly and carefully around the entire garden.

In a corner of the garden, he discovered a spiritual spring.

The spring’s source was small, no wider than a bowl, continuously bubbling forth milky-white water.

The water contained extremely pure spiritual energy.

Clearly, the entire garden was irrigated by this single spring.

“Earth Vein Spiritual Spring!”

Su Chen stared at the milky-white water and exclaimed again in shock.

A single drop of this could transform a mortal, granting them a new body and freedom from all illness.

For cultivators, it was the supreme treasure for refining the physical body and purifying magic power.

And here, there was an entire spring source!

Su Chen felt his heart could barely withstand this cascade of surprises.

Without hesitation, he immediately took out every jade bottle and jade gourd he owned from his storage magic artifact and began carefully collecting the spiritual liquid.

He filled over a hundred jade bottles, yet the spring’s output showed no sign of diminishing.

Su Chen knew this spring was connected to a small underground spiritual vein—so long as the vein endured, the liquid would flow endlessly.

He did not drain it dry; after collecting enough for his own use, he stopped.

Then, his gaze turned to the medicinal herbs he had long coveted.

Harvesting medicinal herbs was a skilled art.

Especially these high-age herbs—their roots and stems were extremely fragile; a single misstep could damage their potency.

Fortunately, Su Chen had learned many methods for handling medicinal herbs from the *Compendium of Alchemy*.

He took out his axe, wrapped its blade in immortal energy, and carefully excavated each herb along with the surrounding soil, then transplanted them into a space magic artifact he carried on his person.

This space artifact had limited room, but it could simulate the external environment, preserving the herbs’ vitality.

He worked tirelessly for a full day and night, harvesting only about one-third of the herbs he recognized—those with the greatest age and highest value.

Looking at the spiritually radiant treasures inside the space artifact, Su Chen grinned from ear to ear.

With these herbs, plus the *Compendium of Alchemy* and the Three-Transmutation Golden Core, his future cultivation path would be far smoother.

At least until he reached the Heavenly Immortal realm, he would never again worry about cultivation resources.

He did not empty the entire garden.

First, his space artifact had limited capacity.

Second, he followed the principle of sustainable development.

After all, he might return to this cave in the future.

Having finished all this, Su Chen departed the herb garden contentedly and closed the stone door once more.

He returned to the main cavern, carefully wrapped the Canglang Hermit’s bones in a clean white cloth, and placed them in his storage magic artifact.

“Elder, your gift is deeply remembered by this disciple.”

He bowed again toward the empty stone platform.

Then, he prepared to leave.

But before departing, he had one final task.

He walked to the cave entrance, formed hand seals, and channeled immortal energy to reconfigure the array at the entrance.

He set up the same “Minor Teleportation Illusion Array” as before.

But after his improvements, even if left unattended, the array would remain functional for a thousand years without failure.

Having completed all this, Su Chen finally felt at ease.

He believed that with this new array guarding it, unless a Jin Xian expert in arrays came personally, no one would ever discover this cave again.

This would become his first secret base in this Journey to the West world.

He cast one final glance at the cave he had unexpectedly found, then vanished without delay, reappearing atop the sheer cliff outside.

The sea breeze brushed his face; the sunlight was perfect.

Su Chen took a deep breath, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

This unexpected windfall had once again greatly strengthened his foundation.

Now, it was time to attend to real business.

Having settled all matters in Canglang Cave, Su Chen stood atop the cliff beside the Western Sea, his heart surging.

This unexpected opportunity had granted him immense gains—not only the lifelong treasures of an ancient Heavenly Immortal, but also a long, smoothed path for his future cultivation.

He gazed across the vast, misty Western Sea, no longer hesitating.

“Rise!”

Su Chen uttered a soft command, and beneath his feet, a cloud of cyan immortal energy formed, lifting his body slowly into the air.

This was not the supreme technique of the Somersault Cloud, but the most basic cloud-riding art of immortals.

After becoming a Human Immortal, he had naturally awakened it.

Though slower than full-speed wind-riding or even the “Earth-Shortening” technique, it was stable and consumed minimal energy—perfect for long journeys.

The cyan cloud carried Su Chen like a streak of light, speeding eastward.