Chapter Two: The Mountain Treasure

[Chronicles of Mountains and Seas · Clouds and Mist Mountains, Chapter Nine: The mountains rise high, dense with forests. Amid them lie marshy pools, thunder rumbling, rain moistening, the sun and moon mingling their influence, veils of mist shrouding the peaks. In these mountains, the roar of beasts sometimes fades in the shadowed valleys, their remains corroded and tainted, the earth’s miasma rising, transforming into malignant vapors—thus, poison. Fallen beasts and woodland creatures, left to rot for years in the damp, release turbid airs that, under sun and moon, change into noxious fog—this, too, is poison. At dawn and dusk, when yin and yang alternate, the poisonous miasma is at its strongest.]

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[Essence Consumption]: One of the patrolman’s innate divine abilities. Allows one to feed on celestial dew and clouds, to absorb the essence of grains, the life force of myriad beasts, to swallow pestilence and toxic miasma, and refine the treasures and spirits of earth and mountain.

[Earth Sense]: One of the patrolman’s innate divine abilities. All things have their rhythms: rivers, trees, strange beasts, and so on. Even the land and mountains pulse with hidden currents. By sensing these earth veins, one can survey the mountains and perceive all living things.

Yang Fan’s shock quickly gave way to elation.

He began examining the changes in his body—his condition was excellent, the wound at the back of his head had healed, and when he tightened his fist, he felt his strength had grown considerably.

A slight twitch of his nose, and two streams of air were drawn in, flowing into his body. Instantly, he refined the beneficial elements from the air, integrating them into his flesh and blood.

This was one practical use of Essence Consumption, a peculiar form of cultivation in itself.

Yang Fan closed his eyes and sensed everything within a meter around him, every detail clear as day.

An ant crawling beneath a leaf by his left foot, a beetle behind his right heel, a larva three feet underground feeding on tree roots, particles drifting in the air.

Even with his eyes closed, even in utter darkness, he could “see” it all with crystal clarity.

Especially living beings—each radiated a unique aura or glow. Ants shimmered red, trees glowed green, and so on, though all rather faint.

Within a meter, he perceived all, a full three-hundred-sixty degrees with no blind spots.

Beyond that, up to ten meters, his sense grew fuzzier with distance, but he could still detect living creatures and the breath of life.

“Amazing!”

Yang Fan was astonished.

“To wield this without any cultivation—this is an innate divine power? And it hardly consumes any energy!”

He noticed a faint sense of weakness, but it was negligible.

Opening his eyes, he activated Earth Sense again, and could still do everything he’d just done, though with his eyes open, it felt a bit disorienting.

A beast’s roar echoed from afar, reverberating through the mountains and startling flocks of night birds.

“Time to descend the mountain.”

Or, at the very least, to find a safe place to pass the night.

He patted himself down—his food was gone, his water skin missing, even the herbs he’d gathered had vanished without a trace.

“If I find out who did this, I’ll make them pay.”

Yang Fan cursed inwardly.

Drawing on his memories, he determined his bearings.

He was halfway up the mountain. To return to the encampment, he’d need to descend, cross a stretch of forest, and only then reach his original starting point.

Yet the mountain woods at night were far too dangerous, even for someone with divine powers.

Yang Fan suddenly turned his head to the left—a multi-legged ironclad beetle had appeared there. Though invisible to the naked eye, he sensed it clearly.

The creature radiated a crimson glow, leaving a trail wherever it crawled.

“Multi-legged ironclad beetle—its body thick with bristles, venomous. Touching it blisters the skin, causing unbearable pain; its bite inflicts agony lasting a full day and night, driving most to suicide. The juice of the red mulberry weed is the cure.”

Knowledge of poisonous insects surfaced in Yang Fan’s mind, and he turned away at once.

He pushed his Earth Sense to its limit, searching his “prior self’s” memories for a nearby cave.

Under the night sky, he found the mountains unusually lively.

Especially the poisonous insects, snakes, and ants—either on the hunt or being hunted. Large animals, by comparison, were much fewer. Even the birds had returned to their nests, with only night hunters like owls still active.

He detoured beneath a tree, reached into a hollow, and found a few wild walnuts, cracking them and popping them into his mouth as he walked.

In the grass nearby, he spotted wolfberries, their red fruits sweet to the taste.

“When my fate awakens further and my powers grow, won’t I be able to roam these mountains at will?”

Only now did Yang Fan truly appreciate the patrolman’s formidable abilities.

With Earth Sense alone, he could nearly go anywhere unimpeded.

Up ahead was a cave—not deep, but suitable for temporary shelter. Yet Yang Fan turned to the left instead.

There sat a stone the size of a millstone.

In his senses, beneath the stone was a dense green glow, with wisps of black mist swirling around it.

“A mountain treasure?”

Yang Fan was thrilled.

He focused his senses and “saw” its form—it resembled a shriveled, miniature monkey.

“Monkey Ginseng, seven inches long!”

He grew even more excited.

The manual from the Hall of Healing described this very spiritual herb.

[Monkey Ginseng]: The essence of the earth, a type of ginseng. Its leaves are long and serrated, it favors shade and grows in moist places. The leaves are bitter with a stench that wards off insects and beasts alike. The body resembles a macaque; it grows an inch every three years, and nine inches is a treasure.

Yang Fan hurriedly moved the stone aside and, using a branch, began digging. Soon, he unearthed the Monkey Ginseng.

It looked like a tiny macaque, though its surface showed signs of decay.

“If I hadn’t found it, it would have turned to dust in a few more days.”

Yang Fan examined it, feeling a pang of regret.

At that moment, the earth seal in his mind trembled gently, and lines of information appeared before his eyes.

The first half matched what he already knew, but there was more.

[Monkey Ginseng]: Twenty-one years of life, recently afflicted, initial decay, containing 3 units of earth essence, edible when split down the middle. Monkey Ginseng grows an inch every three years, nine inches is a treasure; then it shrinks an inch every three years, and one inch becomes a spirit.

“So Monkey Ginseng can become a spirit?”

Yang Fan was surprised.

But such things were far too difficult to nurture—not only were the growing conditions harsh, but poisonous insects and snakes attacked, fierce beasts sought them out, and humans coveted them as well.

Clutching the Monkey Ginseng, Yang Fan quickly made his way to the cave entrance, sensing for danger—no wild beasts, no poisonous insects inside.

Relieved, he rolled over a stone and sealed the entrance after entering.

The faint starlight vanished completely.

Inside, the cave was pitch black.

Yet Yang Fan felt perfectly at ease.

His dagger and short blade had been taken, but after a moment’s hesitation, he split the Monkey Ginseng down the middle.

Right now, enhancing his own strength was paramount.

All else was secondary.

Instantly, a fresh fragrance spread out. Yang Fan inhaled deeply, watching as two streams of green vapor rose from the Monkey Ginseng and were drawn into his body.

The ginseng quickly withered.

In mere moments, this spirit treasure that had not yet matured into a true mountain treasure was as shriveled as tinder, its essence depleted.

With a little force, the Monkey Ginseng crumbled to dust.

Yang Fan realized his own information had changed.

[Earth Essence: 3]

At the same time, a stream of information flowed into his mind.

Earth essence could be used to increase his awakening, or for other wondrous purposes—though the conditions were not yet met.

“Enhance awakening!”

Yang Fan did not hesitate for a moment.

In an instant, he felt the three streams of energy merge and course through his entire body, radiating through every meridian and organ, fusing with his very being.