Chapter 571: Strange Insects

Several days later.

Qingli Marsh, Fei Family.

The Fei family's ancestral grounds were a sprawling complex of buildings, their depth impossible to gauge.

To Fang Xing's perception, the arrays and other defensive forces within those Cengceng courtyards were certainly far stronger than those in Paper Slave Valley.

After all, Paper Slave Valley was nominally under the Blood Shadow Sect, but in truth, it was the outermost of the outer layers.

He had rarely taken off his leather hide, but now he donned a plain blue robe, tidied himself slightly, and appeared ethereal and detached, walking obediently behind Old Lv.

"First, let's meet the herb garden overseer—Fei Cai. Overseer Fei Cai is a seventh-stage Sensing expert."

Old Lv gave a warning, then turned into a small courtyard.

A delicate, petite woman stepped forward, calling him "Grandpa"—she must be his granddaughter who had married into the Fei family.

Immediately, Old Lv's granddaughter led Fang Xing and Old Lv into another courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, a middle-aged man was cultivating Qi.

Streams of pitch-black malevolent energy swirled around him, forming a storm of malevolence.

'Seventh-stage Sensing—Malevolent Energy! It involves refining one's own Qi into a special malevolent form, infusing one's spiritual power with a trace of malevolence… Simply by relying on one's own spiritual power, without any technique or artifact, one can effortlessly suppress first- and mid-stage Sensing cultivators.'

Fang Xing's mind stirred.

"Ah, Xiao Cui. You brought your grandfather—why bring gifts?"

Xiao Cui spoke a few words, and Fei Cai happily accepted the gifts Old Lv had brought.

Fang Xing clearly saw a flicker of pain on Old Lv's face.

'These Floating Cloud Five Friends have connections, but they're truly broke…'

Recalling Old Lv's hesitant, picky selection of gifts earlier, Fang Xing couldn't help but smile inwardly.

"Hmm, Old Lv, if the herbalist you recommended can save the Dragon King Ginseng, the Reclamation Token will certainly be yours."

Fei Cai, recently overwhelmed by this very matter, gave his assurance.

"This… we simply don't know how to proceed yet. We can only wait and see."

Old Lv dared not make any promises.

"You're Fang Xing?"

Fei Cai looked at Fang Xing, exuding the pressure of a superior.

Unfortunately, to Fang Xing, it was like a joke.

"That's right…"

He answered calmly.

"Do you have confidence in healing the herbal plant?"

"I haven't seen it yet—I have no confidence." Fang Xing spoke plainly.

"Hmm. You're not a braggart. Follow me!"

Fei Cai strode forward, leading Fang Xing and the others to the herb garden.

The herb garden was small, nestled in a tiny valley, with a warm spring well at its center.

'Nature's balance of creation and destruction is truly wondrous…'

Seeing the valley's terrain, Fang Xing couldn't help but admire it inwardly.

Along the way, patrols of cultivators were everywhere, but they all withdrew upon seeing Fei Cai.

Finally, Fei Cai brought Fang Xing to the valley's depths, where a bamboo fence enclosed several ancient tree stumps.

Among the tangled roots, a greenish ginseng plant flickered in and out of view.

Its stems and leaves bore dark spots.

"What do you think?"

Fei Cai asked.

"Somewhat similar to fire poison…"

Fang Xing, gifted in herbalism, carefully replied: "But to know for certain, I need to examine it further…"

"Hmm."

Fei Cai's expression remained unreadable; he pulled out a token and waved it.

The bamboo fence parted automatically, revealing a path.

As Fang Xing stepped inside, he felt ten times the concentration of plant essence compared to outside; he breathed deeply, and his Natural Affinity talent activated instinctively.

He reached out, touched the Dragon King Ginseng's leaves, and communicated with it, gaining a faint hint of information.

Then Fang Xing stepped out of the bamboo fence, now wearing a look of quiet confidence.

"What's your assessment?"

Old Lv asked anxiously; even Fei Cai's hands, clasped behind his back, tightened slightly.

"I won't disgrace your trust…"

Fang Xing smiled.

"Really? The family has already summoned several herbalists to examine it…"

Fei Cai was skeptical.

"They treat headaches with headache remedies and foot pain with foot remedies…" Fang Xing said no more, only: "They saw the fire spots on the plant, so they prescribed cold-natured medicines. Some offered temporary relief, others worsened the condition—correct?"

"Precisely." Fei Cai suddenly felt a flicker of renewed confidence in Fang Xing.

"Though the Dragon King Ginseng has developed fire spots, it hasn't been poisoned by fire—it generates fire poison internally… akin to an evolution, or a self-defense mechanism."

Fang Xing continued.

"Self-defense? Then…?" Fei Cai looked toward the herb garden: "Are there pests in the garden?"

"Indeed."

Fang Xing himself felt a touch of luck—Druids excelled at communicating with plants and animals; in this situation, he had an advantage over orthodox herbalists.

"Please, young friend, lend your aid. The Fei family will reward you handsomely."

Fei Cai's expression turned solemn.

"Of course, of course…"

Fang Xing approached an ancient tree stump, extending his Druidic perception until he detected several extremely faint life signs.

Though insects have low intelligence, they're still slightly smarter than plants.

Simple commands like "come," "eat"—they could understand.

Shhh!

Shhh!

Soon, Fei Cai saw strange ants emerging from the ground.

He examined them but couldn't identify their species at all.

"They look like 'Spirit-Eating Ants'—the most common pests in spirit fields—but they've mutated…"

Old Lv muttered.

Fang Xing pulled out a bamboo tube, drilled a small hole in it, and collected the mutated Spirit-Eating Ants inside.

"Done. These ants feed on the roots and stems of spirit plants. The Dragon King Ginseng, having developed sentience, evolved fire poison as a defense mechanism. Now that the stimulus is gone, applying some cold-natured medicine will show results in time."

He stood up, clapped his hands.

"How many days will this take?"

Fei Cai remained doubtful.

"Seven days." Fang Xing sensed the Dragon King Ginseng's condition, communicated with it once more, and made his judgment.

Without stimulation, whether human or plant, all prefer to follow their established path—that's path dependency. No one changes without reason.

"In that case, wouldn't you two stay a while longer at the Fei family?"

Fei Cai was warmly insistent: "Old Lv, you can spend more time with your granddaughter…"

Old Lv seemed tempted, but Fang Xing refused outright: "I have other matters."

"Very well. Since that's the case, I won't detain you. In seven days, if the Dragon King Ginseng is well… the Reclamation Token will be delivered to you. If you deceive me…" Fei Cai's voice turned cold: "You know the consequences."

"Naturally."

Fang Xing agreed without hesitation.

…

"Sigh… Brother Fang, why did you say that last line? You've greatly offended Overseer Fei Cai."

After leaving the Fei family, Old Lv complained.

It was just a few extra days.

"I prefer the wilds and nature… Besides, these mutated Spirit-Eating Ants, though harmful to spirit plants, aren't powerful themselves—how did they end up in a heavily guarded ginseng garden?"

Fang Xing toyed with the bamboo tube containing the mutated ants, asking a counter-question.

"You mean… there's a traitor? Why?"

Old Lv looked utterly confused, then suddenly shuddered, falling into ominous silence—no matter how much Fang Xing pressed, he refused to speak.

Seeing this, Fang Xing said no more, but sneered inwardly:

'It seems the Dragon King Ginseng juice from this six-decade harvest likely relates to breaking through the Dao Foundation… a matter of fundamental importance.'

'Old Lv clearly realized something and dares not speak—even regrets getting involved.'

'Too late now—he's already in the game. Trying to withdraw? Not easy…'

…

After parting with Old Lu, Fang Xing walked to a secluded spot, suddenly spread his arms, and transformed into an owl, gripping the bamboo tube and clothes as he flapped his wings and took flight.

This was his newest learned 【Wild Shape】 form!

It proved that flight ability was crucial when one was weak.

Among Qi-Perception Ninth Layer cultivators, without relying on artifacts or talismans… only those who had reached Qi-Perception Eighth Layer and refined a single Gangqi could use their own Gangqi to lift themselves into flight.

Even so, they could not sustain it for long.

To achieve true bodily flight, one must break through to the Dao Foundation!

…

In the wild, a humble wooden hut.

The owl landed and transformed back into Fang Xing's human form.

He donned a leather robe, walked over to the side, watched the sprouting oak seeds, nodded, then picked up a gourd filled with monkey wine and gulped it down.

"The Druid's Dao is nature…"

He looked around and smiled: "Indeed, nature still feels more familiar to me…"

After a brief rest, eating some berries and dried meat, Fang Xing turned his attention to his spoils from this mission.

"Mutated Spirit-Eating Ants?"

A faint smile curled his lips: "They look similar… but the life essence I sense is nothing like that of ordinary pests… little ones, I can feel the savagery and ferocity hidden deep within your bloodline… that is the mighty lineage of the wild, of the primeval wastes…"

Druids possess the Animal Domain; learning to tame beasts and control insects comes quickly.

Now that he had acquired a rare group of exotic insects, Fang Xing felt he should buy a few books on insect taming—there would surely be gains.

After communicating briefly with the little ants and feeding them some of their favored food, Fang Xing settled them down, then resumed reading and cultivating…

Before he knew it, seven more days had passed.

…

Yunlai Market.

Fang Xing did not immediately rejoin the Floating Cloud Five Friends; instead, he found the vendor who had sold him the oak seeds last time.

"Friend has come? Take a look at this piece of 'Qingling Bamboo'?"

The gray-robed vendor smiled upon seeing Fang Xing and opened a jade box.

Inside the box was a section of bamboo, still with its roots, covered in fresh soil.

Fang Xing sensed its vitality and nodded: "Good…"

This Qingling Bamboo was precisely what he had searched for—the plant most suited for planting in the Qingli Marshlands beyond the borders.

He had mentioned it only briefly last time; he hadn't expected the vendor to have found it for him.