Chapter 69: Mountain Search and Treasure Hunt

Since they were entering the mountains, everyone carried full packs on foot.

Each person carried a backpack and tools weighing about twenty jin; from the county seat to the heart of Daqing Mountain, the distance was roughly a hundred li.

For an ordinary person, such a load would be a feat to cover in a single day.

But for cultivators, a light jog would take only two hours.

Even this pace was a concession to this year’s new disciples, whose cultivation base was at Meal-Mist Second or Third Realm.

Otherwise, senior disciples at Meal-Mist Sixth or Seventh Realm could reach the first destination effortlessly in just one hour.

If stamina were ignored, they could arrive in half an hour.

Along the way, the disciples—especially this year’s Star-Picking cohort—discussed the Mountain Search and Treasure Hunt manual issued by the External Affairs Office.

Mountain Search and Treasure Hunt was a regular duty of Jinshan Dao Academy, held once a month.

The manual listed 149 common medicinal herbs, 33 rare and valuable herbs occasionally found, 34 common celestial wonders, and 14 rare and valuable celestial wonders.

Each entry was marked with its value.

For example, the most common Deer Horn Grass, when gathered, was bought by the academy for one tael of silver per plant; among them, aged specimens contained faint stellar energy, detectable by cultivators nearby, classified by age into ten-year, twenty-year, fifty-year, hundred-year, two-hundred-year, five-hundred-year, and thousand-year varieties.

More commonly, they were labeled as One-Star, Two-Star, Three-Star, Four-Star, Five-Star, Six-Star, and Seven-Star herbs.

The academy’s purchase price for these rose exponentially.

Ordinary Deer Horn Grass was bought at one tael per plant; One-Star, meaning ten-year, at five taels per plant; but Three-Star, meaning fifty-year, was worth fifty taels per plant.

The higher the star rating, the more valuable.

Yet comparatively, ordinary herbs were most common; One-Star and Two-Star could still be found, but Three-Star and above were rare finds.

For this Mountain Search and Treasure Hunt, the academy set a minimum requirement for all disciples.

Each disciple must gather and submit herbs or wonders worth at least two hundred taels of silver; meeting this standard earned a passing evaluation and one minor merit.

Failure to meet it resulted in one demerit; three consecutive demerits or five total demerits led to expulsion from the academy.

Gathering and submitting herbs or wonders worth one thousand taels earned a “Good” rating and two minor merits.

Gathering and submitting herbs or wonders worth two thousand taels earned an “Excellent” rating and three minor merits.

Only after accumulating five minor merits could one qualify to purchase a Star-Picking Token.

For herbs or wonders valued above two hundred taels, the academy took half; for amounts above two thousand taels, the academy took two-tenths, and the rest belonged to the individual, convertible at will into silver or Star-Picking Tower starlight.

Those caught hiding items would be expelled!

Additionally, there were ranking rewards: the top thirty harvesters received prizes.

These were the basic rules for Jinshan Dao Academy’s Mountain Search and Treasure Hunt.

After entering the mountains, disciples could travel in pairs or alone; each was given three emergency alert tokens.

Though labeled three days, the actual duration was five days—the two days for entering and exiting were not counted.

They entered on the 9th; after three full days, on the 13th, they could exit; those who completed their task could return early.

Xu Jin calculated: if he returned on the 13th, his younger sister would return home on the 14th, and so would he.

Many disciples sought companions along the way.

Xu Jin did not rush to find one; he felt it unnecessary.

It wasn’t confidence in his own strength.

Rather, in such matters, if you couldn’t find someone trustworthy, conflict was inevitable—and easy to be betrayed.

Xu Jin’s attitude was: better to have none than to have a bad one.

“Xu Brother, found a partner yet?” Lu Xianbing suddenly approached.

“Not yet.”

Xu Jin assumed Lu Xianbing wanted to team up; though he knew Lu Xianbing somewhat, the knowledge was shallow, and he had no intention of partnering.

Of course, objectively, Lu Xianbing was qualified—Meal-Mist Sixth Realm, one of only three in this year’s Star-Picking cohort.

Last night, Ren Xiaoxiang had broken through to Meal-Mist Sixth Realm.

Xu Jin was just pondering how to decline when Lu Xianbing lowered his voice: “If you’re confident in your strength, don’t team up. After all, so many instructors, headmasters, even the deputy academy head are present—safety isn’t a major concern.

But if you team up, your harvest may halve.

If you don’t want to team up, refuse—or say you’ve already teamed up with me.”

Suddenly, Xu Jin understood: Lu Xianbing wasn’t just offering kind advice—he was seeking a shield, a mutual shield.

After all, everyone approaching was a disciple; outright refusal could hurt feelings.

This official’s son knew how to handle people.

Indeed, later on the trail, several others came to ask them to join; even some senior disciples at Meal-Mist Fifth, Sixth, or Seventh Realm approached—though more came to Lu Xianbing, about a dozen, while only two or three came to Xu Jin.

Xu Jin declined them all.

He now saw clearly: those Meal-Mist Sixth and Seventh Realm seniors who approached Lu Xianbing weren’t truly seeking partners—they wanted to connect with Lu Xianbing’s network.

No matter Lu Xianbing’s future cultivation, his father Lu Chang’s position as County Commandant made him invaluable to know.

Though Lu Xianbing usually spoke little, with close friends he was quite talkative.

He shared many things Xu Jin didn’t know.

Naturally—Lu Xianbing’s information sources were different.

For instance, the academy’s monthly Mountain Search and Treasure Hunt was truly meant to supply the Star-Picking Tower. The Star-Picking Tower was an ancient divine artifact, its power unfathomable, with many irreplaceable functions; every nation and star temple had a main tower, and branch towers stood in every state, county, and strategic location.

But once built, the main and branch towers were not maintenance-free.

The Star-Picking Tower’s operation consumed vast amounts of stellar energy.

Take the Combat Arena: when a combatant died, their stellar energy instantly replenished—though the combatant didn’t expend it, the Star-Picking Tower did.

So too with Starlight Messaging and other functions.

Thus, every nation and star temple regularly contributed treasures infused with stellar energy to replenish the tower’s reserves.

The Star-Picking Tower branch towers in each state and county received their share from the users who divided the allocation.

Currently, the Jinshan County branch tower was shared by three parties: Jinshan Dao Academy, Tianyang Branch, and Cangming Branch—with Jinshan Dao Academy receiving the largest share.

Along the way, Xu Jin learned much more.

At three-quarters past noon, all disciples arrived at the Jinshan Villa at the entrance to Daqing Mountain’s heartland.

A dozen large pots stood in a row, all filled with meat.

After a hearty meal, each disciple received four days’ worth of dried rations and a water bag, then entered the mountains alone.

Watching disciples depart one by one, Xu Jin sighed.

A world with transcendent power was truly different.

In his past life, a group of untrained strongmen sent alone into deep wilderness for three or five days would see eight out of ten die.

But with stellar energy as a foundation, it was different.

Fifteen minutes later, Xu Jin and Lu Xianbing, after gathering supplies, entered the mountains.

After crossing one ridge, they parted ways.

Xu Jin’s target was a distant, long, deep valley visible on the horizon—Map name: Ghost Pine Valley, home to packs of wild wolves, recommended only for Meal-Mist Fifth Realm and above.

The benefits of Flying Star Step were now evident.

When climbing, a burst of Flying Star Step could launch him five to six meters high, easily clearing most steep terrain, greatly accelerating travel.

After half an hour, Xu Jin reached Ghost Pine Valley.

But soon after entering, he found six or seven wolf corpses, blood still fresh—some academy senior had beaten him there, and not just one.

After searching, he found only seven Ghost Pine Tassels, worth three and a half taels of silver.

Studying the map, Xu Jin pondered a while, then decided to adjust his strategy.

What he could see on the map, other disciples could see too—especially locations recommended for Meal-Mist Fifth or Sixth Realm were very safe.

Even Meal-Mist Fourth Realm disciples could risk it.

To achieve great gains, he must go farther, into more dangerous areas.

For this mountain expedition, Xu Jin set himself a goal: to gather enough resources for at least one month of cultivation.

Currently, Xu Jin consumed at least three hundred and fifty taels of silver every five days; for a month, that meant two thousand taels or more.

First, he had to submit two hundred taels to the academy; for amounts under two thousand taels, the academy took half; for amounts above two thousand taels, the academy took two-tenths, and the rest was his.

He needed to gather at least four thousand taels.

His ideal goal was five thousand taels or more.

Because he also needed to upgrade Can Dou Platform.

After consideration, Xu Jin set his target on the outermost location on the map: Golden Eagle Peak, recommended only for Meal-Mist Seventh Realm and above; beyond that lay dangerous zones not advised even for Meal-Mist cultivators.

Xu Jin decided to go there—and attempt to explore the dangerous zones beyond.

First, he held a life-saving trump card; second, after many days of combat arena training, he now had a realistic grasp of his true combat power—his ability to instantly cast star spells meant he could defeat some Meal-Mist Seventh Realm cultivators without injury.

Of course, if unnecessary, he didn’t want to waste his life-saving trump card.

The fourth-grade Dawn Seal given by the man in blue robes was worth a thousand taels of gold on the market; even the Three-Star Whirling Blade Seal from Ning Yuchan was worth four thousand taels per piece—using it would be a net loss.

Of course, when needed, he’d use it.

Xu Jin didn’t want to be reckless, but to gain more, taking some risk was necessary.

Once he fixed his destination, he no longer detoured; using Flying Star Step, he leapt over ridges and peaks, heading straight for Golden Eagle Peak.

An hour later, just before dusk, Xu Jin, despite the stellar energy cost, finally reached Golden Eagle Peak; along the way, he gathered another dozen taels’ worth of loot, stowing it in his pack.

Perhaps because Xu Jin had rushed using stellar energy, Golden Eagle Peak was currently unoccupied.

After merely a few minutes of searching, beneath a cliff, he found over a dozen Songluo Herbs.

Xu Jin was overjoyed.

One piece of Songluo grass costs two taels of silver; there were two pieces, and they faintly emitted star force—likely first-rank Songluo grass.

First-rank Songluo grass is worth ten taels of silver.

With a light leap, he hung upside down from the cliff and harvested thirteen stalks of Songluo grass, two of which were likely first-rank Songluo grass.

The moment Xu Jin touched the Songluo grass, his Candou Platform suddenly flickered with a faint starlight.

Xu Jin, who had long been familiar with the Candou Platform, instantly rejoiced.

(End of Chapter)