Chapter 152: Chapter 147: The Pursuing Oriole

Zhao Lin found a secluded spot, took out food and water from his bundle, and ate to replenish his energy while he rested.

Before entering the mountain, every disciple had prepared at least three days’ worth of rations. Zhao Lin had purposely brought a double portion.

If he happened to encounter a suitable exotic beast, he might be able to absorb its Essence Soul, after which he would definitely need to eat a large amount.

But from the looks of it now, this Five Finger Mountain chosen by the elders did indeed have many rare medicinal herbs, but the exotic beasts were few in number and not powerful enough.

After resting, Zhao Lin continued his search for medicinal herbs.

Perhaps he had used up all his good luck in the morning. In the afternoon, he only managed to gather some low- to mid-grade medicinal herbs. He hadn’t found a single top-grade herb like the Pine Amber Sunflower, Lonely Immortal Grass, or Earth Luo Fruit.

As the sun began to set, Zhao Lin decided he would try a different peak tomorrow.

Five Finger Mountain had five peaks in total. There was no need to spend all three days in one place. Index Finger Peak and the Ring Finger Peak were also worth a visit.

SCRAPE...

Zhao Lin leaned in, squeezed into the hollow of a White Fruit Tree, and carefully used a trowel to scrape at the roots of a Purple Ganoderma. With a couple of gentle twists, he had it in his hand.

’A fine specimen!’

He brought it out to examine it carefully, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face.

This Purple Ganoderma was called Purple Mulberry Ganoderma, and because it was shaped like a cow’s tongue, it was also called Ox-tongue Ganoderma. It mostly grew in rotting tree hollows.

Many wild animals would find caves or tree hollows to hide in before they died, so they could pass away in peace. Purple Mulberry Ganoderma grew by drawing nourishment from these animal carcasses.

Therefore, Purple Mulberry Ganoderma was suitable for refining pills for Blood Realm martial artists. One of the main ingredients of the Five-Six Pill—the reward for this autumn harvest—was Purple Mulberry Ganoderma.

Zhao Lin opened his herb box and carefully stored the Purple Mulberry Ganoderma away.

Just then, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from a distance.

The sound moved from far to near, seemingly heading in his direction.

’Why is someone else coming over?’

Zhao Lin frowned.

He had been doing his best to avoid meeting other disciples.

Although he had defeated those two disciples from the Fire Jade Department in just a few moves, the actual gap in their strength wasn’t that large.

It was entirely because his opponents were unaware of his Divine Power and had tried to clash with him head-on from the very beginning.

It was just like the time during the Wuxiang Institute’s entrance test. He had defeated Shi Jiangyong in only two moves, yet he had fought Li Ying for fifty or sixty rounds afterward. In reality, the two of them were almost identical in strength.

Keep a low profile and don’t actively cause trouble—this was the strategy Zhao Lin had decided on before entering the mountain.

He possessed a keen sense of smell; there was no need for him to steal herbs from others.

The footsteps grew closer. There seemed to be another, lighter, and more delicate sound rustling through the grass. It didn’t sound human, more like some kind of small animal.

The sound was unusual. It seemed to be tracking him, searching for him. Zhao Lin couldn’t help but become vigilant.

After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to avoid them for the time being.

Sound reflected and refracted constantly in the forest, so it didn’t travel as far as it would in an open area. This weakened his advantage in hearing.

Being able to hear the footsteps meant the person was already close.

Zhao Lin put the herb box back into his bundle, quickly left the tree hollow, and headed east along the mountainside.

About fifteen minutes later, he was sitting on a large rock with his back against a big tree. His eyes were downcast, as if he were waiting for something.

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE...

The footsteps returned.

’Is this never going to end?’

Zhao Lin slowly opened his eyes, his expression grim.

’Who’s tracking me?’

’Does someone know I got an Earth Luo Fruit and is specifically coming to steal it?’

’The news might have been spread by those two disciples from the Fire Jade Department, or it could have been Zhang Xiaoshan...’

’But on a peak this large, finding a specific person wouldn’t be easy.’

At this thought, the two words "Fragrant Mink" flashed through Zhao Lin’s mind.

’Since they’re actively seeking me out, I might as well see who it is!’

Zhao Lin stood up, scanned his surroundings, and saw an area of rocky terrain ahead to his right. He walked into it quickly.

He chose this spot for two reasons.

First, this kind of rocky terrain obviously wouldn’t have any rare medicinal herbs. If someone came here, their target would definitely be him.

Second, the area had sparse trees and only low-lying shrubs, making it difficult to hide.

If a conflict were to occur, he at least wouldn’t have to worry about being ambushed.

Zhao Lin stood in the center of the rocky terrain, staring fixedly outward.

’I don’t cause trouble, but I’m not afraid of it either. If someone really wants to make a move on me, then we’ll see who ends up robbing whom of their herbs.’

...

"Sigh, what a miscalculation! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have wasted time talking to him. We should have just tried to snatch it. I don’t believe he would have dared to destroy the Earth Luo Fruit."

"Yeah! He who hesitates is lost. It’s too late for regrets now."

"I never expected that newcomer to be so strong. I completely misjudged him."

"He must be like Zhong Yewu from the Gold and Stone Department, focused on raw strength. We both got careless. If we had attacked him together from the start, we might not have lost..."

The ones speaking were the tall, thin disciple and the short, stout disciple from the Fire Jade Department. After circulating their energy for a while to recover their strength, they were now aimlessly searching for medicinal herbs.

"If we hadn’t gone soft back then, the Earth Luo Fruit would be ours."

The tall, thin disciple was still fixated on what had happened.

"Forget about it. The right thing to do now is hurry up and find some herbs. If we really leave empty-handed, we’ll be a laughingstock," the short, stout disciple said, his voice tinged with reluctance.

"What Earth Luo Fruit? Why do you two look so dejected?"

A deep, gruff voice rang out.

Both of them were startled by the voice. They looked up, and upon seeing who was speaking, they simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief and said in unison, "Brother Xiang!"

The newcomer was Xiang Bao. He grunted in acknowledgment and asked, "What were you two just talking about?"

"Sigh, don’t ask!"

"An Earth Luo Fruit slipped through our fingers..."

the tall, thin disciple and the short, stout disciple complained.

Xiang Bao’s heart tightened. He had relied on his Silver-spotted Fox to gather over a dozen medicinal herbs, a few of which could be considered rare treasures. But compared to an Earth Luo Fruit, they were all lacking by more than just a little.

"Don’t rush. You two, tell me slowly."

"Sigh, Zhang Xiaoshan from the Water Mirror Department found an Earth Luo Fruit, and the two of us happened to run into him."

"We were going to take it, but someone else interfered..."

Taking turns, the two of them explained how they had encountered Zhang Xiaoshan and then how they had been defeated and robbed by Zhao Lin.

The more Xiang Bao listened, the more surprised he became. A thought suddenly occurred to him: the newcomer the two were talking about was the person he was looking for.

This wasn’t just a gut feeling. According to their account, Zhao Lin was incredibly strong and also very fast.

The person he was looking for had reached the summit before both him and Zhong Yewu, which meant that person must excel in speed.

At this thought, Xiang Bao’s heart pounded with excitement.

If the same person was responsible for all these things, then that meant the Pine Amber Sunflower, the rare herb from the summit, and now the Earth Luo Fruit...

Just these three herbs alone were enough to rank in the top five! If he just put in a little more effort from here, securing first place in the autumn harvest would be a sure thing!

"What’s the name of the disciple who defeated you, and what does he look like?"

Xiang Bao asked in a low voice.