Guo Mingxuan''s hands even began to tremble.
He had to resist the urge to break open one of the ginseng roots just to inspect the inside.
Before he could do anything, Elder Hou suddenly strode forward.
With a casual wave of his sleeve-
A powerful gust of energy exploded outward.
Li Tianyu and Guo Mingxuan were instantly sent tumbling several meters away.
Elder Hou then stepped forward and stood directly in front of the massive roots, staring at them with wide eyes.
After a long moment, he inhaled sharply.
"Th-this..."
His voice trembled.
"This really is Earth spirit ginseng!!"
For a moment, the surrounding Outer Sect disciples stood frozen in shock.
Then the entire courtyard erupted into chaos.
"Earth spirit ginseng!!"
"I can''t believe those giant roots are actually Earth spirit ginseng!!"
"How is that even possible?!"
"How could Earth spirit ginseng grow this big?!"
"Those roots are long!"
"As big as an adult human body. Th-that''s... ginseng?!"
The noise of the crowd grew even louder as people beganparing Alex''s enormous roots with the one and half meter Earth spirit ginseng Guo Mingxuan had just submitted.
The difference was so ridiculous it felt unreal.
Alex stood there, staring in confusion at the chaos unfolding around him.
Why were they making such amotion over a mere Earth Spirit Ginseng of this size? If he truly wanted to, he could have easily grown it to five meters tall. The one he brought today was already restrainedpared to what it could be.
Li Tianyu and Guo Mingxuan seemed to havepletely forgotten the pain from being thrown aside by Elder Hou.
Both of them scrambled back toward the roots and knelt down again, examining them with trembling hands.
Meanwhile, Elder Hou began carefully inspecting each massive root one by one.
His face was filled with a mixture of shock and delight.
Everyone''s crazed reaction left Alex feeling slightly uneasy.
In his eyes, these people were acting like lunatics.
It was just Earth spirit ginseng, wasn''t it?
Alex slowly stepped backward and tried to get Elder Hou''s attention.
"Elder..." he called out loudly.
He was suddenly worried that this man—and everyone gathered here might refuse
to give him the merit points he needed for the library.
"Wonderful! Incredible!"
Elder Hou burst into excitedughter as he gently ran his hands along the massive roots.
Apparently, he hadn''t heard Alex speaking at all.
"Earth spirit ginseng of this size is extremely rare!"
He excitedly continued examining the roots.
"Only after growing to one and half meter can Earth spirit ginseng develop such dense golden veins."
He nodded repeatedly.
"At this stage, it''s no longer simply a spirit medicinal herb."
"It has be a primary ingredient for many elixir pills, and it can even serve as the
main ingredient to restore missing limbs and save lives."
"Everyone, listen carefully."
Elder Hou suddenly raised his hand.
"Take a deep breath."
Looking extremely excited, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply
"Can you smell that fragrance?"
"It smells like flesh and bone, doesn''t it?"
"That is the unique aroma that appears once Earth spirit ginseng reaches one and half meter!"
“As long as a person still draws breath, this herb can bring them back from the brink of death. Truly amazing! I never thought that in my lifetime I would be able to see
this herb that until now only existed in the records of history!”
Li Tianyu and Guo Mingxuan immediately inhaled deeply.
The surrounding disciples also crowded closer, eagerly trying to smell the fragrance. Alex cleared his throat awkwardly.
He remember In the cultivation world, spiritual nts do not grow only from soil and water. They grow from qi.
Ginseng in particr is known as a spirit-absorbing herb. One of the most senisive reacts to living essence around it.
So on the libraby he focuned an old record about.
When animals passed through the forest and relieved themselves near a young earth spirit ginseng, the herb grew noticeably faster. At first it sounded ridiculous, but the sect elders eventually understood the reason.
It was not the urine itself.
It was the life essence inside it.
Urine carries a tiny amount of expelled Essence of life residue from the body.
For ordinary people this residue is weak and scattered. But for a cultivator whose meridians are open and whose dantian stores spiritual qi, even bodily waste contains trace spiritual essence.
Spirit herbs like ginseng are extremely sensitive to that essence.
When the liquid seeps into the soil, the herb absorbs the residual life-qi.
It is simr to a diluted spiritual fertilizer.
And Alex was mostly piss on that ginseng to make them grtow beigger. And now all
of them smeelign it like crazy.
At this point, Alex was fully convinced that everyone here waspletely insane.
"Elder..." he called again.
Suddenly, Elder Hou''s body trembled violently.
His eyes burst open.
mes of rage appeared within them.
His expression twisted with fury.
"DAMMIT!"
"What the hell happened here?!”
His furious voice echoed across the courtyard.
"Someone actually bit a chunk out of it?!"
"Earth spirit ginseng this old contains extremely concentrated energy! It absolutely
cannot be eaten raw!"
“Which idiot bit a piece off and ruined its purity?!"
Elder Hou looked utterly heartbroken.
To him, this was like discovering a perfect piece of priceless jade—
Only to find that part of it had been damaged by pests.
His head snapped upward.
His gazended directly on Alex.
"It wasn''t me!" Alex blurted instantly, stumbling a step backward.
The way the elder was staring at him made the hairs on his neck stand up. This old man was clearly unhinged, and from the aura rolling off him, Alex had no doubt the elder was more than capable of beating him into the ground if he felt like it.
A few days earlier, while digging up the Earth Spirit Ginseng, Alex had run into a small problem.
He had been starving.
Cooking anything out in the wilderness would have taken time, and Alex had been
far too tired andzy to bother. The ginseng itself was enormous—almost asrge as a person-so he had simply bit off a small corner.
He had even been careful about it.
Alex had shaved the edge neatly, making sure it looked natural. With a root that massive, he had been absolutely certain no one would ever notice unless they examined it extremely closely.
But who would have thought this lunatic elder would actually inspect every single corner of the herb?
Alex swallowed.
This old man really checked the entire thing... piece by piece.
How could he possibly have imagined that it would lead to this kind of disaster when
he submitted the mission?
Or that a single bite mark would cause such chaos among these lunatics?
When the surrounding disciples heard Elder Hou''s usation, they all leaned closer
to inspect the roots.
Sure enough...
On thest ginseng root, there was a very obvious bite mark.
Elder Hou stared at the damaged section for a long time.
Finally, he let out a long sigh.
After all, he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his obsession with the
Dao of medicine was well known.
However, the Earth spirit ginseng Alex had brought was so unbelievable-so
That he hadpletely lost hisposure earlier.
Finally, he slowly lifted his gaze and looked deeply at Alex.
Then he flicked his sleeve.
Elder Hou took a deep breath as he stared at the massive Earth spirit ginseng roots.
"This Earth spirit ginseng is extreme super-grade..."
He paused, his eyes burning with excitement.
"No... wait..."
"This is supreme-grade!"
His voice rang loudly across the courtyard.
"Yes. Record it as supreme-grade. The reward will be 10,000 merit points!"
The entire crowd gasped.
Normally, nt-growing missions only rewarded around ten merit points.
At best, someone might receive one hundred.
But now-
Ten thousand merit points.
The number was so shocking that the entire courtyard erupted into stunned
whispers.
Off to the side, the young assistant stared in disbelief.
For years and years, it had been incredibly rare for a spirit nt to even bebeled
super-grade.
But supreme-grade?
That level had not appeared in hundreds of years.
Alex''s eyes instantly lit up.
Ten thousand!
He hurried over and handed his identity medallion to the assistant.
The assistant hesitated for a moment, then nced nervously toward Elder Hou,
who was still obsessively examining the giant roots.
Finally, he clenched his teeth and transferred the 10,000 merit points into Alex''s
medallion.
As soon as the points were confirmed, Alex grabbed his medallion and immediately
turned to leave.
He had already made up his mind.
He was nevering back to deal with these lunatics again.
Just as he reached the edge of the courtyard—
"Wait."
Elder Hou''s voice suddenly rang out behind him.
"What is your name?"
Alex turned around.
"Alex," he answered immediately.
Then he quickly added,
"My name is Jun Jiu, and Li Chingxue is my sister."
Beforeing here, Alex had never imagined that his Earth spirit ginseng would cause such an enormousmotion.
Now he was a little worried.
So he quickly dropped Li Chingxue''s name as a protective warning.
"Hmph."
Elder Hou snorted softly, clearly annoyed.
"You think you''re clever, using your sister''s name, don''t you?"
"The Wudang Sect is one of the great sects with a long history. Do you think I would
covet your little secret? I am not that low."
He looked at Alex calmly.
"There are always disciples who appear with their own secrets... and their own
fortunate opportunities."
He flicked his sleeve dismissively.
"I will not lower myself to asking exactly how you managed to cultivate this Earth
Spirit Ginseng."
Then his eyes narrowed slightly.
"But next time you grow something like this..."
"You bring it directly to me."
"I will make sure you receive an appropriate amount of merit points."
Finally, Elder Hou waved his hand again, dismissing Alex.
But Alex suddenly felt that this could be trouble. If all these people thought he was hiding some secret method, every pair of eyes would be fixed on him from now on
So he bowed and said, "Elder, to tell the truth, there is no secret behind this Earth Spirit Ginseng. I was simply lucky. Someone once visited my courtyard and left me a note
about how to grow this herb of you want, I can give you the noted received."
Everyone present was shocked.
"So there really was a mysterious elder helping him!"
"Yeah! I''ve heard stories like this before. Some people receive guidance from
wandering masters, and their herbs turn out extraordinary!"
Elder Hou stood up abruptly, his eyes widening.
"Are... are you sure you want to share it with me?"
"Of course Alex replied calmly. The
ink + memorized the method years ago, so I can write it down.
Elder Hou immediately turned to his assistant. "What are you waiting for? Quickly bring paper and ink!”
The assistant hurried forward and ced the materials in front of Alex.
Alex quickly began writing. His brush moved swiftly across the page, and within just
a few minutes he finished and handed the paper to Elder Hou.
The elder immediately grabbed the paper and began studying it with intense focus.
People nearby craned their necks to peek at the contents, and soon the entire
crowd was staring at the sheet.
No one could pay attention to anything else anymore.
Meanwhile, Alex clutched his identity medallion tightly as he slipped out and left the
Missions Office as quickly as possible.
His destination was clear.
He headed straight toward the library of Thousand Herbs Peak.
Only after he had already disappeared down the mountain path did someone
suddenly p his forehead.
"Wait a minute!"
The man stared toward the door Alex had just left through.
"Didn''t he say his name was Jun Jiu?”
The crowd paused
Another disciple frowned and said slowly, “Now that you mention it... doesn''t that
name sound familiar?"
A third disciple''s eyes widened.
"Isn''t Jun Jiu the number one name on the test ranking stone stele at the Medical
Pavilion?!"