After searching the Qinling Mountains for spiritual herbs to no avail, Luo Jiang decided to leave. He planned to head to Beiping to consult Ding Yuncheng; since Ding dealt in medicinal materials, he surely knew where to find rare herbs, and perhaps he might even find spiritual herbs growing in such locations.
Luo Jiang lacked experience in these matters, as he didn't know how to track down the origins of such ingredients. Back when he was at the Tianyun Taoist Temple, his senior brothers would often venture into the deep mountains to gather herbs, but they never took him along, deeming him too young. Later, after his master and senior brothers had all descended the mountain, he lived alone and was too busy cultivating and killing Japanese invaders to find time for herbalism.
Leaving the Qinling Mountains, he used the Wind-Riding Technique to cross the Yellow River and arrived in Shanxi Province. This area was a tangled web of territories held by the Jin-Sui Army, the Eighth Route Army, and the Japanese invaders, consisting of a mix of occupied zones and liberated areas. The Japanese held the large cities, while the Eighth Route Army and guerrilla forces operated in the surrounding countryside, and the Jin-Sui Army occupied the smaller county towns.
Chapter 145