Joy surged within my heart; heaven truly leaves no man without a path! Although this spirit herb garden was not large, it contained a great many spirit herbs, and none of them were of low grade. They were precisely what I urgently needed right now.
I suppressed the excitement in my heart, straightened my disheveled clothes, and tried my best to make myself look a little less disheveled before stepping inside.
"Who goes there?!"
The moment I stepped into the spirit herb garden, I heard an aged and stern shout. Immediately after, an old man wearing a grey robe appeared before me. With a wrinkled face, sharp eyes, and holding a rusted hoe in his hand, he looked just like an ordinary, run-of-the-mill old farmer.
"Junior Lu Chen pays respects to Senior." I hurriedly cupped my hands in a bow, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.
"What are you doing here?" The old man looked me up and down, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes. Clearly, he looked down on my wretched appearance.
"Senior, it's like this. I encountered a fierce beast in the mineral vein and fled all the way here by mistake," I forced a wry smile and said sincerely, "I am severely injured and urgently need spirit herbs to heal my wounds. I beg Senior to grant me a convenience, allowing me to go in and pluck a few spirit herbs. I will certainly repay you handsomely in the future!"
"Handsomely?" The old man sneered. "Just you, and you think you can talk about a handsome reward? Take a look at what state you're in—aren't you afraid of dirtying my spirit herb garden?"
My expression stiffened and displeasure rose in my heart, but I still maintained my patience and said, "Senior, I..."
"I what I? Scram at once! Don't be an eyesore here!" The old man waved his hand impatiently, giving me no chance to speak at all.
"Senior, you..."
"What, you still want to force your way in?" The old man's face darkened, and he slammed his hoe down onto the ground. Instantly, a powerful aura emanated from him, pressing down on me until I could barely breathe.
A shock went through my heart. Only then did I realize that the old man before me was no ordinary person, but a genuine immortal cultivator whose cultivation was not low either—at least High-level Qi Condensation.
"Senior, please calm your anger. Junior has no such intention." I took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in my heart, and wore a helpless smile on my face. "I merely wish to exchange some items for a few spirit herbs..."
With that, I took a cloth pouch from my bosom and slowly opened it, revealing a few stones inside that emitted a faint spiritual glow... "These are spirit crystals I accidentally obtained deep within the mineral vein. Although the quantity is small, it is still a small token of my appreciation. I ask Senior to kindly accept them." I offered the cloth pouch with both hands, though my heart was bleeding. These spirit crystals had been obtained through a narrow escape in an abandoned spirit mine, and I had intended to keep them for my own cultivation. Never had I expected that I would now have to take them out to trade for spirit herbs.
The old man glanced at the cloth pouch, a flicker of greed flashing in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it and let out a cold snort. "You think you can trade just this tiny bit of stuff for my spirit herbs? You really don't think much of my spirit herb garden, do you!"
I cursed the old fox inwardly while keeping my expression calm, and continued, "Senior jests. Junior knows this bit of stuff is negligible, but Junior has nothing else to his name and is truly strapped for cash. I beg Senior to show some flexibility for the sake of Junior's utmost sincerity. In the future, Junior will surely repay you double!"
"Hmph, beautifully said! Who knows if you're deliberately trying to swindle this old man?" The old man was not moved in the least; instead, he grew even more vigilant. "I see you're acting all sneaky—you're probably a spy from some sect, trying to come and steal my spirit herbs!"
"Senior, I..."
"Cut the crap! Since you refuse to tell the truth, don't blame this old man for being impolite!" Without waiting for me to finish, the old man directly made his move. I saw him wave the hoe in his hand, and immediately a fierce gust of wind came hurtling toward me.
Startled, I hurriedly dodged to the side while summoning the Qingfeng Sword, watching the old man vigilantly.
"Hmph, kid, you've got a few tricks up your sleeve!" Seeing his first strike miss, a trace of surprise flashed in the old man's eyes, but he quickly calmed down. "Do you really think you can escape the palm of my hand just like that? How naive!"
With that, the old man quickly formed hand seals with both hands and chanted incantations under his breath. Immediately after, the scenery around me began to change rapidly; the lush spirit herb garden instantly transformed into a forest shrouded in dense fog.
"Not good, it's an array formation!" I cursed inwardly and hurriedly tried to charge out of the fog, only to find that I was already trapped within the formation, and this formation was extremely bizarre—I could not find a single flaw in it.
"Kid, just honestly wait to die! Haha..." The old man's voice came from all directions, filled with triumph and mockery.
Anxiety consumed me, yet I was helpless. I could only watch as the surrounding fog grew thicker and thicker, and gradually, blurred figures began to appear before my eyes...
Within the fog, countless fierce gusts of wind struck like phantoms. Wielding the Qingfeng Sword, I parried them frantically. Although these gusts appeared intangible, they were incomparably sharp. After just a few moves, my clothes had already been slashed open with several gasps.
"Kid, don't waste your energy. This is my tier-three restriction array. A mere Qi Condensation kid like you wants to break it?" Old Man Zhang's voice echoed in the fog, brimming with teasing and mockery. "Surrender obediently, and this old man might still leave your corpse intact!"
I clenched my teeth and cursed inwardly, yet dared not lose focus. The old bastard was right; this array was indeed exquisite. No matter what methods I tried, I could never find the key to breaking it.
Just as I was flustered and exasperated, a subtle fluctuation suddenly transmitted from the fog. My heart stirred, and I immediately concentrated, carefully sensing this fluctuation. Soon, I discovered that this fluctuation seemed to be coming from a certain direction within the array, and faintly, I felt a sense of familiarity.
Could it be...? A thought suddenly flashed through my mind, but before I could ponder it further, the sound of footsteps reached my ears once again.
"Lu Chen, you really are here!" A familiar voice came from outside the fog, carrying a hint of triumph and ruthlessness. "Let's see where you can run this time!"
It was Wang Strong! My heart sank; I never expected that they would actually chase me all the way here.
"Wang Strong, what do you want?" I asked in a deep voice while watching the surrounding fog vigilantly.
"What do I want? Naturally, to kill you!" Wang Strong's voice was filled with killing intent. "You've got a death wish for daring to snatch my things!"
"I can give you the items, but you'll need to have the life to take them!" I said coldly while secretly channeling my spiritual energy, preparing to deal with the impending battle.
"Hmph, death is at your doorstep and you're still talking big!" Wang Strong sneered. "Brothers, get him! Kill him!"
As soon as his voice fell, a flurry of chaotic footsteps sounded from outside the fog, clearly indicating that Wang Strong and his men had charged into the array.
My heart tightened. The current situation was extremely unfavorable for me: on one hand, I had to face the siege of Wang Strong and his group, and on the other hand, I had to figure out a way to break the array and escape.
"Kid, you'd better worry about yourself!" Old Man Zhang's voice sounded once more, carrying a trace of schadenfreude. "This array is this old man's proudest creation. Even if you can break it, you won't escape the palm of my hand!"
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. Now was not the time to panic; only by remaining calm could I find a glimmer of survival.
I closed my eyes and concentrated all my attention on the fluctuation I had sensed earlier. As my perception grew clearer and clearer, I discovered that this fluctuation actually...
"Found it!" I snapped my eyes open, a brilliant light flashing in them. Ignoring the clamoring of Wang Strong and his men, I walked straight toward the direction from which the fluctuation came.
"Stop! Where do you think you're going?" Wang Strong shouted sternly when he saw this.
I ignored him and accelerated my pace, because I knew that as long as I could...