Chapter 629: Chapter 411: Seizing the Treasure

Moon Peak was just as its name suggested—like a crescent moon plunged into the earth, piercing straight into the heavens.

Looking from afar, Xu Yang saw Moon Peak exuding an invisible suction, absorbing the radiance shed by the sun. The light surrounding the entire peak was somewhat distorted.

This was because the mountain peak itself possessed the ability to absorb the essence of the sun and moon. That was why Starlight Grass only grew on Moon Peak.

He thought, "Even if I harvest the Starlight Grass and take it back, it probably won’t survive being planted."

He felt his plan to cultivate Starlight Grass was doomed to fail before it even began. Jin Yu had already informed him that certain special Spirit Medicines didn’t just require Spiritual Qi; they also needed specific environments to grow. Therefore, not all Spirit Medicines could be artificially cultivated unless one could recreate their unique environments.

Moon Peak’s environment was so unique that the Starlight Grass likely couldn’t survive away from it. His Yunling Technique would probably be useless on the Starlight Grass, as what it needed was the essence of the sun and moon, not Spiritual Qi.

He thought, "There should be some people here trying their luck."

With a stir of Xu Yang’s Heart Thought, his flesh and skin writhed for a moment before his entire appearance changed.

Although Zuo Mu had said that Starlight Grass was difficult to harvest, it also depended on luck. If one was lucky enough for a Starlight Grass to appear right at their feet, speed wouldn’t be an issue at all.

As he drew closer, Xu Yang indeed spotted shadowy figures with profound auras sitting cross-legged on Moon Peak, waiting for the Starlight Grass to appear. Walking to the base of Moon Peak, several gazes swept over from a distance, looking him up and down. Some even extended their Heart Spirit, attempting to probe his background.

"Hmph!"

Xu Yang let out a cold snort. After operating the Formless Thousand Illusion Skill to alter the power and aura of the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture, he unhesitatingly released his Cultivation of the Celestial Essence Third Layer. In an instant, the probing Heart Spirits retracted, and the scrutinizing gazes vanished one after another.

Choosing an unoccupied direction, he ascended Moon Peak. Upon reaching halfway up the mountain, he sat cross-legged beneath an ancient tree.

Starlight Grass rested during the day and emerged at night. By day, it hid underground to absorb the essence of the sun. Only at night, when the moonlight appeared, would it surface from the earth to absorb the lunar essence. The locations of its emergence were entirely random.

He thought, "The Spiritual Qi is far too scarce."

Moon Peak’s environment was highly unusual. It was filled with a bizarre Force Field that attracted the radiance cast by the sun, but across the entire mountain, there was almost no Spiritual Qi. Xu Yang couldn’t absorb Spiritual Qi to cultivate even if he wanted to, so he could only comprehend and deduce Martial Techniques.

As night gradually fell, the moon climbed above the branches. Just as it had done during the day, Moon Peak absorbed the lunar essence. The entire mountain emitted a faint glow, its rocks looking as though they had been draped in a veil of silver.

At midnight, Xu Yang awoke from his meditation and stood up from the ground. He operated the Formless Thousand Illusion Skill to conceal all his aura and swept his gaze around. A few breaths later, he spotted a glowing Starlight Grass in a patch of weeds, greedily absorbing the lunar essence.

He thought, "The distance is a bit too far."

Xu Yang made a rough estimate; the Starlight Grass was over thirty zhang away from him, which was by no means close. At this distance, even with his Wandering Dragon Void Step at Perfection, he could cross it in an instant. However, the characteristic of Starlight Grass was that as soon as the surrounding Power of the Stars fluctuated, it would immediately retreat underground and vanish without a trace.

He thought, "I’ll give it a try and risk it."

Xu Yang gritted his teeth and boosted his speed to its absolute limit. Like a streak of light, he suddenly disappeared from his spot, his hand grasping toward the Starlight Grass in the weeds. However, before his hand could even reach it, the Starlight Grass hiding in the weeds shrank back underground and vanished. His fingers grabbed nothing but thin air. Refusing to give up, Xu Yang tore through the soil with a single grab, only to find the earth beneath completely empty. There was no Starlight Grass to be seen.

He thought, "No wonder Zuo Mu and Wenshan stood guard for half a month but didn’t even get a single strand."

His speed was already comparable to a Celestial Essence Fourth Level Martial Artist, yet he couldn’t even harvest a Starlight Grass just a little over thirty zhang away. It seemed one truly had to rely on luck to harvest it. He honestly hadn’t felt the so-called fluctuation in the Power of the Stars. Despite having concealed all his aura, he had still influenced the Power of the Stars.

He continued walking on Moon Peak with his aura concealed. He successively discovered several more stalks of Starlight Grass, but without exception, he failed to harvest any of them.

He thought, "It seems the Formless Thousand Illusion Skill is useless too."

He had originally counted on the Formless Thousand Illusion Skill and the Wandering Dragon Void Step, but both were clearly ineffective. Of course, this was actually to be expected. If one could easily harvest Starlight Grass just by bringing these two Cultivation Techniques to Perfection, Moon Peak’s Starlight Grass would have been picked clean long ago; it wouldn’t have waited for him to arrive. Although Spirit Bone Celestial Prides were rare, he wasn’t the only one.

"So it’s a newcomer."

"It’s his first time at Moon Peak, huh."

"Forget about the Celestial Essence Third Layer. Even with the speed of an expert at the Celestial Essence Fifth and Sixth Layers, it’s impossible to harvest a Starlight Grass beyond ten zhang."

Through Xu Yang’s actions, the onlookers immediately understood that it was his first time at Moon Peak. Anyone who had stayed here for a long time wouldn’t act like him, because as long as a Starlight Grass appeared beyond ten zhang, even an expert at the Celestial Essence Fifth Layer wouldn’t be able to harvest it.

Soon enough, Xu Yang couldn’t be bothered to waste any more energy and found a new spot to sit down.

When day broke the next morning, he did not leave. Having finally made the difficult trip to this place, it was only natural to stay a few more days and try his luck. During the day, he left Moon Peak to absorb Spiritual Qi and cultivate, returning at dusk. Several days passed in a row, yet he gained nothing.

On this day, just as midnight arrived, he routinely concealed all his aura and swept his gaze across his surroundings. To his surprise, five or six stalks of Starlight Grass sprouted one after another within a radius of several dozen zhang. Xu Yang instantly felt greedy.

After such a long time, this was the first time so many stalks of Starlight Grass had appeared nearby. One of them looked like a lightbulb, frantically absorbing the lunar essence within a dozen zhang. Its entire body was crystal clear, emitting a pungent, refreshing fragrance.

He thought, "The medicinal age of this stalk is at least twenty years."

A twenty-year-old Starlight Grass could be exchanged for at least two hundred credits, or if traded for Spirit Coins, it could fetch an absolute minimum of two to three thousand Spirit Coins. Unfortunately, this particular Starlight Grass was over twenty zhang away from him; there was absolutely no possibility of obtaining it.

He thought, "To think so many appeared nearby today, yet not a single one popped up right in front of me."

"Leave the Starlight Grass!"

Just as Xu Yang was pondering, an explosive shout rang through the night sky. Rolling soundwaves spread out, causing the lunar essence on Moon Peak to ripple. All the emerged Starlight Grass retreated underground and vanished.

He thought, "Someone is killing for treasure!"

His mind stirred. It was likely that someone had gotten lucky and harvested a Starlight Grass, only to be discovered and attacked. This was also the first time someone had managed to harvest a Starlight Grass in the several days he had been here.

The sound of Gang Qi clashing rang out. A few breaths later, he saw several brightly glowing figures rush out of Moon Peak one after another, fighting their way into the night sky.

He thought, "They are all experts at the Celestial Essence Fourth Layer."

Xu Yang didn’t follow them. Although he also coveted the Starlight Grass, with his Cultivation, it was highly unlikely he could snatch the item. There weren’t just one or two Celestial Essence Fourth Layer experts in pursuit, but seven or eight. With his current Combat Power, he could at most match a single Celestial Essence Fourth Layer expert; against two, he could only flee for his life. There was no need to take such a risk.

After a while, the fighting individuals completely disappeared from the vicinity of Moon Peak, leaving the outcome unknown. Moon Peak returned to tranquility, and the Starlight Grass that had sunken underground began to pop up again one after another.

As Xu Yang was scanning his surroundings, his vision suddenly brightened. He abruptly looked down to see a crystal-clear Starlight Grass slowly sprouting from the ground right in front of him. It seemed to be the exact same twenty-year-plus Starlight Grass he had seen earlier. The Starlight Grass before him rapidly absorbed the lunar essence. It was astonishingly less than three feet away from his foot.

Almost without any hesitation, Xu Yang’s hand snatched out like a bolt of lightning. Unsurprisingly, his fingers successfully grasped the Starlight Grass. In that instant, he actually felt as though he had grabbed a living creature. The Starlight Grass in his hand exerted a tremendous force, trying to shrink back underground.

Xu Yang quickly raised his other hand and thrust it into the ground, pulling up all the soil beneath this Starlight Grass in one fell swoop. The Starlight Grass, which had previously looked somewhat illusory, rapidly solidified. Its struggling ceased, and it lay quietly in his grasp.

He thought, "My luck is truly not bad."

He hadn’t even expected to actually get a harvest, let alone a Starlight Grass of such a high medicinal age.

He thought, "I shouldn’t stay here long!"

Recalling the scene of that person being hunted down earlier, Xu Yang didn’t hesitate at all. His body shot into the sky like a wisp of green smoke. However, he had barely flown a hundred zhang when his five senses caught greedy gazes locking onto him. Looking back, he saw two phantom-like figures tailing behind him. They had concealed all their auras and movements; only two pairs of greedy eyes stared at him fixatedly.

The two didn’t speak, nor did they make a fuss, let alone rush forward to attack immediately. They were clearly afraid that making a move now would attract others.

He thought, "One is at the Celestial Essence Fourth Layer and the other at the Celestial Essence Third Layer. They should be in the same group."

Since the two weren’t making a move, Xu Yang was even less inclined to fight right now. If they attracted others, even though he was a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride, he would have no choice but to hand over the Starlight Grass to save his own life. Treading through the cover of night, the three figures rapidly distanced themselves from Moon Peak without alerting anyone else, plunging into the mountain range and vanishing from sight.

Xu Yang flew swiftly for a while. The radiance of the Starlight Grass in his hand retracted, transforming it into a small plant that looked as if it were carved from jade, with only a faint luster flowing across its surface. Reaching back, he took a Spirit Box out of his Beast Hide Bag, quickly placed the Starlight Grass inside, and stored it away safely.

Half a quarter-hour later, the three of them were over twenty li away from Moon Peak.

At this moment, the two following him could no longer hold back and shouted from behind, "Hand over the Starlight Grass, and we’ll spare your life."

The Martial Artist with a Cultivation at the Celestial Essence Fourth Layer stopped hiding his aura. His energy erupted from his body like an active volcano. A violent shockwave exploded with him at the center, instantly snapping an unknown number of ancient trees in the mountain forest below.

"Brother, we only want the Starlight Grass and don’t want to kill anyone. Don’t force our hand," shouted the man at the Celestial Essence Third Layer.

The two began to accelerate, circulating their power without any concealment, causing their speed to surge drastically. Xu Yang also felt they had gone far enough. A fight here wouldn’t attract the people from Moon Peak. His body rapidly descended. The moment he landed on the ground, the two men had already flanked him from the left and right, boxing him in.

"Hand over the item, and you may leave on your own. My word is my bond; I am Yu Hong," the Celestial Essence Fourth Layer expert shouted, refraining from attacking directly.

Xu Yang knew his opponent wasn’t a soft-hearted person. The only reason for the restraint was that the item was in Xu Yang’s hands, and they were worried that backing him into a corner would cause him to destroy the Starlight Grass.

"Brother, it’s not worth fighting to the death against the two of us over a single stalk of Spirit Medicine. It’s best if you know what’s good for you."

The Celestial Essence Third Layer cultivator took a step forward. His pressure swept over like a tide, posing as if he were ready to strike at any moment.

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