Alex stepped into the field and quietly searched for several herbs he needed.
For him, this was more than fair.
He wasn''t stealing recklessly. In fact, he had taken less than one percent of the herbs in the field. In return, he had left behind a method that could increase the field''s production by two hundred percent or more.
If the owner followed the instructions, the harvest would explode.
They would be incredibly wealthy from the field alone.
That was a trade any sensible cultivator would dly ept.
That night, Alex selected five different types of herbs.
He carefully uprooted them and carried them back to his courtyard.
Once home, he rented the herbs in the soil of his yard.
Now he already had twenty-year-old herbs growing in his courtyard. Some could be harvested seasonally, while others could be gathered each year.
There was no longer any need for him to wait.
After that, Alex rested for several days.
He had already calcted the safest method.
If he wanted to gather herbs from the outer fields without attracting attention, he couldn''t act too often. The smartest strategy was to move slowly-visit a different field once every few days, never twice in quick session.
A few dayster, Alex left his courtyard again. That night, he visited another herb field, quietly improving itsyout before taking a few herbs to bring back and rent in his own courtyard.
He continued like this for weeks.
After a full month of doing it, no one seemed to know anything about the mysterious night visits.
This time he headed toward a ce where Outer Sect disciples often gathered. Some chatted. Some drank tea. Othersined about cultivation or the endless work of tending herb fields.
Alex blended into the background and quietly listened.
He wanted to know if anyone had discovered the mysterious paper.
Or noticed the missing herbs.
But after listening for a while, he heard nothing.
No one mentioned a strange paper.
No oneined about herbs disappearing.
No rumors, noints-nothing that suggested anyone had discovered what was happening.
Instead, he overheard something far more useful.
Outer Sect disciples were assigned strict production quotas each year for their herb fields. As long as they met that quota, the sect would be satisfied.
But if they produced more than the required amount, the extra herbs belonged to them.
That meant profit.
Huge profit.
No wonder everyone wanted their fields to produce more.
After hearing that, Alex quickly understood the situation.
Whoever owned the herb field he had improved had likely discovered the paper already.
And they were smart enough to keep their mouth shut.
Why would they tell anyone?
If the field suddenly produced double the harvest, they would quietly be rich. Announcing it to others would only invitepetition or investigation.
Alex smiled faintly.
Good.
That meant his n was working perfectly.
A few dayster, he prepared his backpack again.
Late at night, under the cover of darkness, Alex slipped out of his courtyard and
vanished into the mountain.
When he returned before dawn, five new herbs rested inside his bag.
He rented them carefully in his courtyard.
Then he waited again.
This pattern continued.
Days turned into weeks.
Weeks turned into months.
Eventually, nearly a full year passed.
By that time, Alex''s entire courtyard had transformed.
Every corner of the yard was filled with herbs.
Dozens of varieties grew side by side-rare medicinal nts, spirit herbs, and
special ingredients he needed to produce the best cultivation pills.
What had once been a quiet, empty courtyard was now a dense garden of spiritual medicine.
And Alex finally possessed everything he needed to push his cultivation to the next level.
Everything was finally in ce.
All he needed now was time.
If he let the garden mature slowly, he could harvest the herbs one batch at a time
and refine them into pills. With a steady supply, his cultivation would continue rising without interruption.
His courtyard had bepletely self-sustaining.
For Alex, it was the perfect system.
One day, while visiting the market on Thousand Herbs Peak, he overheard several outer disciples talking excitedly.
They were gathered around a tea stall, their voices buzzing with excitement.
"Did you hear about that mysterious elder?" one disciple said.
"What mysterious elder?" another asked.
"The one leaving those herb field papers!"
The first disciple leaned forward, his eyes shining.
"I followed the instructions on one of those papers,” he said. “And you know what?
This year my harvest increased by a fifty percent."
"A fifty percent?" the second disciple eximed.
"That''s nothing," another man jumped in. "My friend found one of those papers too. His field produced a hundred percent more herbs thanst year."
The conversation immediately drew a crowd.
More disciples joined in, each telling their own version of the story.
People talked about the strange papers that appeared overnight in the herb fields. They discussed the herbs cultivation theories written on them methods most disciples had never even considered.
Some disciples were so curious that they began offering spirit stones just to obtain
one of those papers.
Even several senior disciples started paying attention.
The techniques described in the papers contained fresh insights that even
experienced herb growers found valuable.
Soon, the entire Thousand Herbs Peak was buzzing with discussion.
And everyone reached the same conclusion.
Whoever left those papers behind had to be an elder.
A true master with terrifying intelligence.
Some outer disciples who had not yet received help became desperate.
They began leaving offerings in front of their herb fields-food, spirit stones, and even rare herbs.
On top of the offerings, they ced handwritten messages.
“Please, mysterious elder. Help improve this field.”
"You may take these spirit stones as thanks."
"You can harvest any herbs you want from the field."
More and more disciples began openly inviting the mysterious elder to visit their
gardens.
They hoped the unknown master would appear in the night and transform their fields just like the others.
Before long, the strange phenomenon spread throughout all of Thousand Herbs
Peak.
Meanwhile, Alex quietly observed everything.
Whenever he passed by a field and
noticed it could be improved if
the offerings left by the owner resting enough he would visit that field at night.
He would adjust theyout.
Leave behind a new diagram.
Take a small number of herbs as payment.
Then disappear again.
The next morning, the owner of the field would discover the paper.
And the disciple wouldugh with pure joy.
"I''ve been visited by the mysterious elder!"
It quickly became Alex''s routine.
Night after night.
Field after field.
And over the next year, something remarkable happened.
The herb production of Thousand Herbs Peak exploded.
Outer disciples began harvesting more herbs than ever before.
Some fields produced fifty percent more than previous years. Others doubled their harvest entirely.
The entire mountain was overflowing with sess.
Everyone was happy.
For the disciples, it meant wealth.
For Alex, it was heaven.
He had herbs.
He had spirit stones.
He had everything he needed to push his cultivation forward.
High above the mountain, two figures stood quietly on the peak of a tall cliff overlooking Thousand Herbs Peak.
From there, they could see the entire valley below.
One elder watched the courtyard where Alex lived.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"I must admit,” he said slowly, "the man you brought here is quite entertaining to
watch."
His gaze shifted toward the flourishing herb fields spread across the mountain.
"He has practically stirred the entire Thousand Herbs Peak."
Beside him stood a graceful woman in white robes.
The Sect Master turned toward her.
"Li Chingxue," he said calmly.
"Don''t you think it''s about time... for you to visit that Jun Jiu?”