Mou Wenjie looked at the wild ginseng in his hand and couldn't believe it was true himself! A wild ginseng of such quality is truly rare, and if it were to be auctioned off, it would definitely fetch a sky-high price. To think that such a treasure has ended up in his hands, just thinking about it excites him!
Despite the excitement, it's still important to take rest when necessary. Even though the sky had already turned dark, Mo Wenjie couldn't continue walking further. Instead, he had to look for a place to settle down. So, he began searching for a cave. Searching for a cave in the mountains wasn't something new to him. In no time at all, he actually found a cave. As he stepped inside the cave, he saw many animals and insects. Mo Wenjie wouldn't be polite with them; he would drive them all away to prevent any potential poisonous or wild animal attacks.
Mo Wenjie scattered the powder he had prepared in advance to repel insects and animals around the cave entrance, to prevent poisonous creatures and fierce beasts from entering. After preparing everything, he began to sit cross-legged and adjust his breathing. The sounds of various animals outside the cave entrance, such as cicadas and crickets, filled the air. As night deepened and the silence enveloped, the sound of water flowing from a distant waterfall also entered his ears.
There was nothing to say through the night. The next morning, Mo Wenjie opened his eyes, looked around the environment inside the cave, and he was still very satisfied. If he could come here for a rest every day without being too far away, that would be great. But if it was indeed too far, he couldn't afford to come back for rest; that would be too time-consuming. Thinking of this, he muttered to himself: It seems there won't just be one cave here; let's take things as they come and deal with any real trouble when it arises. Let's continue moving forward!
Mo Wenjie continued to move forward, but suddenly stopped in his tracks. He smelled a faint fragrance here, was it the scent of some flowers? He had never noticed such a scent before. Although he couldn't quite identify what it was, he knew it must be nearby. So he set out to find out what it was.
Mo Wenjie began searching for the source of the fragrance. Following the scent, he walked about one hundred and twenty meters before he discovered that a tree's fruit emitted a delightful fragrance, uplifting his spirits. This puzzled Mo Wenjie. He had never seen such fruit before and couldn't name it specifically. Without much thought, he plucked one and took a bite. The fragrant sweetness from the mouth to the esophagus and into his stomach was instantaneous. Mo Wenjie quickly felt a surge of energy moving throughout his body, bringing immense comfort. With little hesitation, he swallowed another fruit and sat cross-legged to absorb its energy. No one could have anticipated that such a small fruit would possess such potent energy, making Mo Wenjie feel exceptionally full of vigor. This was truly astonishing! What exactly was this fruit? Mo Wenjie began searching his mind for any information but came up empty-handed. Frustrated, he shook his head and decided to put aside the mystery of its identity for now. It didn't matter what it was; he planned to store all of it since he already knew its benefits. If it could be preserved easily, he would keep it stored; otherwise, he would incorporate it into the refining of qi-generating pills according to its effects—boosting potency and increasing yield in one go. Why not do something beneficial? There was no need to overthink things anymore; let's start collecting the fruits instead! Since they are fruits, they must have a name, right? What should we call them? Mo Wenjie pondered for a long time with no solution in sight as he shook his head helplessly—he really didn't know what name to give them?
After much thought, Mo Wenjie still couldn't come up with a name. Well, let's not waste any brainpower on it; just call it "Xiangqing Fruit." I'll record its benefits in the herbal compendium so that future generations can easily recognize it. Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated and began collecting the fruits. To his surprise, the single tree was laden with enough Xiangqing Fruits to fill three large baskets. This delighted him greatly. If these Xiangqing Fruits could be preserved, that would be wonderful. He estimated that they couldn't be preserved easily, so he would look around for any fallen fruits near the ground from before. After being exposed to wind and sun, they would have dried out. If he could find some dried Xiangqing Fruits and taste them to see if they still had effects, then he could dry and preserve them. If the dried Xiangqing Fruits lost their efficacy due to losing moisture, storing them would indeed be a problem. It might turn into quite a hassle then.
Thinking of this, Mo Wenjie began searching for the dried Xiangqing Fruits. Since no one had ever come here before, the leaves on the ground were thick and had been exposed to wind, sun, rain, and exposure to the elements. Most of the fallen leaves had already decayed!
Mo Wenjie carefully searched through the leaves for the former Xiangqing Fruits. Despite the efforts, he found some dried Xiangqing Fruits, but they looked quite unappealing. The black color and the decay of the leaves made them look unsavory. Nevertheless, he didn't give up and ran to the stream to clean them. After his cleaning, the dried Xiangqing Fruits looked a bit better, although they were still not visually appealing. He put one into his mouth and chewed it thoroughly. As soon as he ground it into a paste, an energy surge spread from his stomach to his entire body, making him extremely happy. This meant that dried Xiangqing Fruits still had the same effect as fresh ones! Now he could collect more without hesitation. Although collecting dried Xiangqing Fruits was somewhat troublesome, it would be difficult to find them again once he left this place. Therefore, it was necessary to collect as many as possible here; every finding was valuable and absolutely worth it, no matter how much effort it took or how much waste there might be!
Mo Wenjie was busy searching for dried Xiangqing Fruits here, working tirelessly, with his body and face covered in black dirt. However, his heart was filled with joy. These dried Xiangqing Fruits were really powerful. Adding them to the refinement of pills would significantly improve their effects. Even if he took them out to auction, they would undoubtedly fetch a high price.
After Mo Wenjie finished collecting the dried Xiangqing Fruits, he cleaned them all and stored them in his storage ring. Only then did he leave the place contentedly and continued on his journey!
As Mo Wenjie walked along, he unknowingly passed noon without realizing it. Only then did he begin to feel hungry. He thought for a moment whether to roast a wild rabbit or use some fresh Xiangqing Fruits as sustenance. Eventually, he decided to catch a wild rabbit, as they were everywhere and could be caught anytime. The Xiangqing Fruits, on the other hand, were not commonly found and could not be easily obtained in large quantities. With that said, Mo Wenjie promptly set to work and managed to catch two wild rabbits within no time. He cleaned them up by the creek and set up a grill to start roasting them. Not long after, the delicious smell of roasted meat filled the air!
Mo Wenjie, looking at the greasy and burnt wild rabbit meat, couldn't help but salivate. He smiled and shook his head, thinking that people indeed had a taste for food. After all, he was no different! There was no use in worrying so much. It was better to satisfy his hunger first. The other matters could wait until after he was full. The most important thing was to address the issue of warmth and sustenance first. Other concerns could be resolved once his stomach was content!
Mo Wenjie picked up the roasted meat and ate it voraciously. In no time, he was full. He stroked his bloated stomach and sighed, "Feeling full really makes you not want to move. It's quite nice to rest here." But he rejected the idea, thinking that after eating, it was not good for the stomach to avoid digestion. He thought it over and decided to continue searching for medicinal herbs instead. If he kept wanting to rest like this, he would soon get used to laziness, which would be unacceptable then. With that thought in mind, he stood up and continued walking forward!
The heavens do not bear those who work hard in vain. After four days of searching in this area, Mo Wenjie finally found all the ingredients needed to refine the Purifying Essence Pill. In the evening, he went to the cave and took out all the ingredients. After a careful check, he confirmed that all the ingredients were ready. He thought to himself that regardless of when he would refine the Purifying Essence Pill, it would be better to do it now. Once refined, he could take it as his meal just like others do with bread. In Mo Wenjie's eyes, things considered sky-high prices by others were just some worthless trinkets since they were all herbs he had discovered himself and therefore had no cost attached to them except his labor force. This made him feel quite satisfied. There is nothing more delightful than seeing one's hard work pay off!
Thinking of this, Mo Wenjie began to refine the Purifying Essence Pill. As time slowly passed, sweat beads formed on his forehead, but he paid no mind to wipe it away, continuing to infuse true energy into the furnace. The fragrance of the medicine started to waft out. Mo Wenjie felt a bit of danger, for this was his first time refining the Purifying Essence Pill, and he had also added dried Xiangqing Fruits, which introduced many unstable factors. However, Mo Wenjie was not a novice; he calmed his excited heart and slowly controlled the temperature. As a result, the alchemical furnace quickly stabilized. At this point, he really dared not be complacent. He knew well how expensive the cost of this batch of pills was; even though it was the fruit of his own labor and discovery, it was something that could not be purchased outside. One could imagine how precious these herbs were; they were far beyond ordinary medicinal materials.
After regaining his composure, Mo Wenjie continued to refine the pill. He was infusing true energy into the furnace, making it burn even brighter, while carefully observing the temperature changes inside the furnace. Unbeknownst to him, he had already reached the final stage. He dare not be careless; this batch of Purifying Essence Pill would be much stronger than any previous batch if it could be successfully refined.
Mo Wenjie thought more and more happily, became more and more excited, and felt more and more thrilled. This was his first time refining the upgraded Purifying Essence Pill. It would further enhance his alchemical skills.
Suddenly, dark clouds filled the sky and thunder boomed. Mo Wenjie looked up at the sky and then at the alchemical furnace. He saw streaks of lightning striking the furnace. He slammed his palm against the furnace, ordering, "Open up!"
