Yue Zhao rubbed his temples, clearly troubled."Xuan Jade Ginseng is an Earth-grade herb. Cultivating it is incredibly difficult. Technically, we only need a hundred-year-old specimen, but its survival rate is so low that even finding a ten-year-old one is rare."
"As for Bishui Fruit, it's a high-grade Mystic-level herb. Very delicate. It requires a huge amount of water to grow, and it only appears occasionally on islands deep within the ocean. We need one that's five hundred years old. But so far, we have no leads whatsoever."
Yue Zhao listed the herbs with practiced ease, clearly having studied the Butian Pill recipe in great detail. His ability to rattle off specifics on the spot showed how much groundwork he had done.
Xuan Jade Ginseng.
Bishui Fruit.
Yun Jin's expression grew more serious.
These two herbs were clearly going to be a pain.
"Senior Brother, if finding a mature plant is too difficult, what about getting seeds instead?" Yun Jin asked. "I've improved quite a bit in herb cultivation recently. I'm now a third-rank planter, and with some tweaks I made to my technique, my actual results surpass even some fourth-rank planters. If I can get the seeds, I think I can force them to grow in time."
After all, neither herb required millennia to mature.
As for the cultivation difficulty, she still had the Simplification System. If she gathered more Emotional Value over the next few days, she might be able to fix the issue.
Yue Zhao responded immediately. "I do have a few Xuan Jade Ginseng seeds. But for Bishui Fruit… absolutely nothing. Not even a hint."
"Then let's cultivate the ginseng first," Yun Jin said without hesitation.
Yue Zhao took out a few tiny seeds. Then, with a determined look, he added, "Bishui Fruit grows in the ocean's depths. I'll go search for it myself. Don't worry, Junior Sister. I will find it."
"Alright," Yun Jin nodded. "Just be careful."
There was no need for more words between them.
Yue Zhao nodded back and began preparations for departure.
This wasn't a blind search.
He had the financial resources to put out a generous bounty first, gathering leads, then follow those clues one by one.
There was less than a month left.
Yun Jin still needed time to refine the pill.
He figured he had around ten days.
Ten days to move every contact he had.
No matter what, he had to find the Bishui Fruit.
If everything else was ready but they lacked this one final herb, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. As Yue Zhao was preparing to leave, he ran into Si Wanning returning. The two quickly decided to travel together.
Since Yue Zhao wasn't supposed to show his face, Si Wanning altered her appearance and went to the marketplace to post a bounty.
Anyone who could provide a lead on Bishui Fruit would be rewarded with spirit stones. The more detailed the information, the higher the reward. A genuine discovery would earn a massive payout.
The reward was so generous that attention came flooding in. Soon, Yue Zhao and Si Wanning had collected several promising clues. They discarded the obviously fake ones and were left with five solid leads.
They split up to follow them. If either of them found the fruit, they would immediately notify the other with their communication token.
~
Tianjian Peak.
Yun Jin had already examined the Xuan Jade Ginseng seeds carefully.
[Xuan Jade Ginseng: Low-grade Earth-tier. Possesses balanced Five Elements. Requires elemental harmony to grow. An imbalance or deficiency in any element will cause the plant to wither.]
Five-element harmony…
Yun Jin's gaze sharpened.
When it came to Five Elements, she couldn't be more awake. Because the person in this world most compatible with them… was her.
That's right. Herself.
This world wasn't completely without Five-Spirit-Root cultivators.
But during cultivation, most gradually developed imbalances—some elements becoming dominant, others fading.
Yun Jin was different. She had never practiced any elemental-based techniques. From the beginning, she had only cultivated a single Mystic technique.
Her spiritual energy was completely balanced.
What if I used my spiritual power to nurture the ginseng?
Deep in thought, Yun Jin made her way toward the spiritual fields.
Sensing the formation shift, Ye Cheng quickly came out and greeted her with reverence. "Master."
Yun Jin glanced over the field.
Clearly, Ye Cheng had worked hard. What was once barren land on Tianjian Peak was now organized and flourishing, showing clear signs of vitality.
Yun Jin nodded. "Disciple, find me an empty field. I'm going to plant something."
"Yes, Master."
Ye Cheng thought for a moment. "Most of the more fertile plots are already planted. There are still a few unused ones, but they're not very rich in nutrients."
"That's fine," Yun Jin replied.
Xuan Jade Ginseng required Five Element balance, not rich soil. That was enough.
Ye Cheng relaxed. He led her to a corner plot, still untouched and wild.
"Master, I'll use Earth Control to prep the soil now," he offered.
Just as he was about to move, Yun Jin stopped him. "No need. I'll handle it myself."
Xuan Jade Ginseng thrived best in elemental harmony. So she would create a perfectly balanced environment, down to the last detail.
Ye Cheng respectfully stepped back, curious to watch. His young master had already created too many miracles to count. The deeper he studied her techniques, the more he sensed their boundless mystery.
And though he had already reached second rank, putting him theoretically on par with her during their past spar, he still felt completely inferior when applying the techniques.
He couldn't help but feel ashamed.
Even with Yun Jin personally transferring her cultivation to him, he still struggled. He felt like he was wasting her painstaking effort.
While Ye Cheng was lost in reflection, Yun Jin began.
She used Earth Control to swiftly till the soil.
Then, she released her Five-Element spiritual energy into it, over and over.
Whenever she ran low on energy, she popped a pill and continued.
Her extravagant use of pills didn't faze Ye Cheng. What puzzled him was just what kind of spiritual plant needed this much balanced spiritual energy to grow.
Yun Jin infused her spiritual power into the soil the entire night.
By dawn, the ground was saturated with balanced Five-Element energy, forming a rare and precious elemental harmony zone.
However, this artificially created balance wouldn't last long. The moment she stopped pouring in spiritual energy, it would begin to fade.
So she kept the flow steady while retrieving the ginseng seeds.
She had three in total.
She planted the first one.
Xuan Jade Ginseng was too high in grade. Simplifying its cultivation process would require a high-level Simplification attempt, which she didn't have right now.
So, she would try it the old-fashioned way first.