Chapter 187: Midnight Thief of Sacred Herbs

Ye Liuyun circled around Shi Yuan several times, praising his inheritance endlessly. Shi Yuan could already petrify and was strong in combat; now he has three heads and six arms, making him unbeatable within their tier!

Ye Liuyun immediately gave the spiked mace he had obtained and the blood‑thirsty demon blade to Shi Yuan as a congratulatory gift.

These two False Holy Artifacts were spoils he seized from a Xuemo Sect disciple; keeping them was of little use, so he gave them to Shi Yuan to complete his arsenal.

Shi Yuan gratefully took the weapons. Now each of his hands held a weapon, making him even more imposing!

"If Qiong Qi and Bai Hu found out, they'd probably be provoked, right?" Ye Liuyun knew these Monster Beasts were constantly competing to raise their realms.

"Ha ha, it's precisely because they know that they can't sit still. They all went out to scout!" Shi Yuan retracted his true form, then transformed into a dark‑faced hulking man and said naively.

"Scout?" Ye Liuyun sensed something off and immediately asked for clarification.

"They each studied a few items inside the academy, have been observing for days, just waiting for you to return and fetch them for them!" Shi Yuan grinned broadly.

"They haven't caused any trouble, have they?" Ye Liuyun asked anxiously, not knowing what those guys were up to.

"Not yet. While you were away, Lei Ming blocked them and prevented Qiong Qi from acting." Shi Yuan replied.

Hearing that, Ye Liuyun felt relieved. He then let Shi Yuan continue cultivating, while he returned to his residence, cultivating his Soul and taking out the violet snake scale armor he had obtained from Blood Thunder Peak.

Neither he nor the Monster Beasts nearby could use the scale armor, but he could forge it now and keep it for others.

So, following the forging information in the Sea of Consciousness, he crafted five sets of armor matching the design; the violet scale armor glittered brilliantly and looked very handsome. Then he inscribed Defense Array onto each piece.

His Divine Sense is now much stronger, so these tasks are not particularly complex.

After he finished his errands, Lei Ming also returned. Hao Chengfeng was with them, and it seemed they had already become familiar.

Ye Liuyun went out to greet them; Lei Ming let out a cheer and leapt straight into his arms.

"Little brother, you finally came back! If you hadn't returned, I wouldn't have been able to keep an eye on those few!"

Hao Chengfeng added, "You finally made it back! If you don't return, those subordinates of yours will cause a huge disaster!"

"What's wrong?" Ye Liuyun asked curiously.

"Ask them yourself! Now that you're back, I don't have to watch over them." With that, Hao Chengfeng left the Grand Hall.

"What's the situation?" Ye Liuyun asked Qiong Qi directly.

Qiong Qi exclaimed excitedly, "We discovered a herb garden containing many Holy Herbs, including the Golden Sword Grass that Bai Hu needs! I also found a spot of Earth Core True Flame that can amplify my fire power!"

Upon hearing that, Ye Liuyun knew those two locations couldn't be simple; otherwise they would have acted already.

"First, tell me the details!" Ye Liuyun knew Qiong Qi and Bai Hu were getting impatient after seeing Shi Yuan grow stronger.

"Both of these treasure sites fall under the jurisdiction of the Lingyao Hall and are protected by Formations…" Qiong Qi began explaining. After days of scouting, they had already drafted an action plan, only needing Ye Liuyun's cooperation.

Ye Liuyun thought it over, then went with Qiong Qi to inspect, finding no issue. Since the master had said everything depends on oneself, acquiring it would be his own ability.

So they decided to act that night.

After night fell, Ye Liuyun left Shi Yuan and Lei Ming to guard the house, placed Qiong Qi and Bai Hu into the Storage Ring, and slipped down the mountain.

Their operation could not escape the Grand Elder's Divine Sense. Yet the Grand Elder merely smiled helplessly, shook his head, and did not intervene.

Lingyao Hall is the Main Institute's department responsible for cultivating, refining, and managing medicinal herbs and pills.

The herbs are located on Lingyao Peak, a solitary mountain, covered with countless Formations of all sizes specifically to guard the herbs.

A Saint guards the summit, but since no one ever trespasses here, he isn't overly vigilant. After night falls, he begins cultivating as usual.

Ye Liuyun dared not use Divine Sense to probe, only Illusion Pupil, which pierced the wall from afar, revealing the Saint cultivating. Once the Saint entered deep meditation, Ye Liuyun released Qiong Qi and began the operation.

Qiong Qi first shattered the outermost Formation, then turned to destroy the Formation that had just been activated, and led Ye Liuyun past multiple Formations to a field of Holy Herbs.

Along the way they also evaded two patrol squads of disciples. Those disciples' Divine Sense was weak, so they couldn't detect Qiong Qi or Ye Liuyun.

Qiong Qi led the way, while Ye Liuyun activated Illusion Pupil to watch for patrolling disciples and to probe hidden Formations, soon arriving at a small herb plot.

In that small plot, three Holy Herbs were growing, one of which was the Golden Sword Grass.

This Golden Sword Grass is extremely useful for Bai Hu to enhance Golden Light attacks, almost doubling the attack power, which is why he is so interested in it.

Without hesitation, Qiong Qi began breaking the Formation. After creating a breach, Ye Liuyun flashed in to steal the herb.

Moreover, they had prepared in advance, bringing several similar herbs for substitution.

They acted unseen and unheard, and the herb was obtained smoothly.

Once in hand, Ye Liuyun handed the Golden Sword Grass to Bai Hu inside the Storage Ring. Bai Hu swallowed it on the spot without hesitation, fearing that if discovered later there would be no chance to eat it.

Just as Qiong Qi and Ye Liuyun were preparing to withdraw, the Saint's Divine Sense suddenly swept over.

Both Qiong Qi and Ye Liuyun were startled. Qiong Qi immediately took out a garment, draped it over himself, and lay prone on the ground. The garment already bore pre‑etched Formation that evades Divine Sense detection.

Ye Liuyun, meanwhile, instantly activated Lingkong Art, tearing through space, appearing exactly where the Saint's Divine Sense had just scanned.

Fortunately, the Saint wasn't overly suspicious; his main focus was those few herbs. After scanning and seeing the herbs still present, he moved on to investigate elsewhere.

Qiong Qi and Ye Liuyun both exhaled in relief.

"Shall we go?" Qiong Qi asked Ye Liuyun with Divine Sense, still a hint of lingering intent.

"Go!" Ye Liuyun decisively placed Qiong Qi into the Storage Ring and withdrew from Lingyao Peak.

It wasn't that he didn't want to seize a few more herbs; it was that if the Saint noticed any irregularity in the herbs, they would be exposed and couldn't escape.

Just now, if the Saint had paid a bit more attention or expanded his detection range, they would have been exposed! He was so nervous his heart felt like it was in his throat!

The objective was achieved, and they even secured two extra herbs; Ye Liuyun decided to call it a day.

He is still unfamiliar with the Main Institute; stirring up a hornet's nest could attract more Saints.

After leaving, Qiong Qi restored the Formations to their original state, and the two returned to Tianqian Feng, placing Bai Hu back into Dongtian Dadian.

Then he and Qiong Qi set out again, rushing toward the location of the Earth Core True Flame that Qiong Qi mentioned.