Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 284: Chapter 188 Cooperation_2

“`

“As long as I can leave the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, waiting a bit longer doesn’t matter!” Li Shiming said with a smile.

He had already considered that the Senluo Sect would have certain measures at the juncture of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and the territories of the major sects, but he hadn’t expected a blockade, which was unimaginable in terms of the manpower and resources required.

However, considering the current power of the Senluo Sect, it wasn’t difficult for them to accomplish such a feat.

He had already spent so much time; waiting a little longer was no big deal.

Leaving with Xu Chuan would be much safer than trying to find his way out on his own.

...
If Xu Chuan had no way to leave the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, how could he have entered them?

“Mr. Xu, do you have the entry token of the Thousand Illusion Sect?” Xu Chuan hesitated briefly before asking.

His mission was extremely important, and if Li Shiming were to accompany him, he had to confirm the truth of what Li Shiming had said.

Although Li Shiming had saved him, which should have qualified him as trustworthy, given the importance of the mission, Xu Chuan had to be absolutely certain.

“This is it!” Without hesitation, Li Shiming took out the introductory Jade Dishware bearing the mark of the Thousand Illusion Sect.

Xu Chuan’s Spiritual Thought swept over it and verified the authenticity of the Jade Dishware.

“Mr. Li, please don’t take offense. Once we leave the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, I will apologize then!” Xu Chuan said apologetically with a bow.

“There’s no need for such formalities, Mr. Xu. If you have matters to attend to and cannot bring me along, I can wait for you somewhere. All I ask is for you to take me with you when you leave!” Li Shiming understood his intentions and said with a smile as he waved his hand.

“I am actually hoping for Mr. Li’s assistance. Your skills in formations are high-level, are they not?” After confirming Li Shiming’s identity, Xu Chuan’s trust in him increased to a reliable level, and naturally, he wouldn’t pass up such a valuable helper.

“I wasn’t assessed on that at the Heavenly Sea Sect!” Li Shiming didn’t directly answer, but his response was almost an admission of being a High-level Array Master.

“Mr. Li, the introduction Jade Dishware you just took out is for ordinary outer sect disciples of the Thousand Illusion Sect. Joining the sect with such a token only affords one the status of an outer sect disciple, which in terms of resources and Cultivation Techniques, is vastly different from that of an inner sect disciple.

If Mr. Li can help me complete my mission, I can secure you a status of Inner Sect Disciple within the Shushan Sect!” Xu Chuan proposed earnestly.

Having seen the capabilities demonstrated by Li Shiming, Xu Chuan harbored the idea of recruiting him for assistance, not just in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, but also as an asset to his sect.

Li Shiming had not expected Xu Chuan to make such an offer. His recent experiences in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains had given him some basic knowledge about the major sects of Beishu.

The Shushan Sect was one of the top-ranked major sects in Beishu, a sect of the Righteous Taoist path, with good relations with other major sects of the Righteous Path.

He had an arrangement with Yin Shilan, but he wasn’t necessarily bound to join the Thousand Illusion Sect. Being part of the major sects on the Righteous Path, it would be easy to maintain contact.

Moreover, he could sense that Master Luo, Yin Shilan’s mentor, did not have a good impression of him. If he joined the Thousand Illusion Sect, Master Luo wouldn’t protect him.

“Mr. Li, you don’t need to make a decision right away; it’s not too late to decide after we’ve left the Ten Thousand Great Mountains!” Seeing Li Shiming hesitate, Xu Chuan said with a smile.

As long as Li Shiming was interested in the Shushan Sect, he would give his all to help in the upcoming mission. That was what Xu Chuan needed.

With enough time to think, Li Shiming wasn’t in a rush to decide.

“The reason I’ve entered the Ten Thousand Great Mountains is for a Mu Yang Three-leaf Clover!” Xu Chuan revealed his purpose.

If Li Shiming hadn’t seen the Six-fingered Sound Demon’s collection of books, he might not have known what the Mu Yang Three-leaf Clover was.

It was precisely because he knew what the Mu Yang Three-leaf Clover was that his face showed a look of surprise.

“`

“It seems Mr. Li is aware of the Mu Yang Three-leaf Clover. My master once saw an immature plant during his travels in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and made a record of it,” said Xu Chuan, somewhat surprised that Li Shiming recognized the Mu Yang Three-leaf Clover. He continued.

The Mu Yang Three-leaf Clover, a Third-grade Spiritual Medicine, is something that Foundation Establishment cultivators simply cannot obtain.

Legend has it that spirit beasts guard Third-grade Spiritual Medicines, and the spirit beasts capable of guarding them, even if not at the Golden Core strength, possess the power of Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

“Mr. Xu, relying on the strength of just the two of us, trying to harvest Third-grade Spiritual Medicine would be quite difficult, wouldn’t it?” Li Shiming reminded him.

“I must obtain the Mu Yang Three-leaf Clover, and that’s why I asked for your help. I didn’t have full confidence on my own, but with you, our chances greatly increase!” Xu Chuan said with determination.

“Since the Mu Yang Three-leaf Clover is important, I imagine the Shushan Sect has no shortage of Golden Cores. Any one of them could easily pick the Mu Yang Three-leaf Clover, right?” Li Shiming asked curiously.

“The Senluo Sect is attempting to unify the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, and they have issued a notice to all major sects, forbidding any Golden Core from entering. If a Golden Core from our sect were to enter at this time, it would incite conflict between two great sects!” Xu Chuan explained.

Li Shiming was skeptical of this explanation. Golden Core cultivators, if cautious, could simply avoid important formations and wouldn’t possibly be detected, let alone spark a conflict!

But he did not pursue the question further, as there must be reasons he was unaware of.

Xu Chuan was also helpless. He could trust Li Shiming, yet he could not trust the cultivators of the Shushan Sect. This was somewhat absurd but was indeed the case.

Take the incident where he was intercepted by Senluo Sect cultivators; his movements were secret, and there weren’t many cultivators who knew of them.

Yet, the Senluo Sect cultivators were able to wait accurately on his inevitable route and even set traps in advance. He did not believe for a second that their encounter was coincidental.

There must have been a traitor who exposed his movements, allowing the Senluo Sect cultivators the opportunity to set traps.

Had it not been for Li Shiming’s intervention, he might have ended up dead at the hands of Senluo Sect cultivators or grievously injured, struggling to survive somewhere.

In any case, his mission would no doubt have failed, which would have suited the wishes of certain cultivators just fine.

“Mr. Li, if you can help me obtain the Mu Yang Three-leaf Clover, I can convince my master to accept you as a Registered Disciple, sufficient for you to become akin to a half True Inheritor of the sect!” Xu Chuan thought for a moment and increased his offer.

Li Shiming’s thoughts whirled. He now guessed that the Mu Yang Three-leaf Clover might be linked to the life of a certain cultivator.

The Mu Yang Three-leaf Clover is a Supreme Yang substance, and a Third-grade Supreme Yang article like this has a natural dispersing effect on the Yin poison energy during the Golden Core Stage. If made into Elixir Pills, the effect would be even more pronounced.

To be honest, Li Shiming was tempted; the lure of becoming a half True Inheritor was significant.

His talent for the spirit root seeds was relatively poor, meaning that even when he was in the Heavenly Sea Sect, no Golden Core had proposed to take him as a disciple.

His position within the sect was entirely due to his abilities with formations and his relationship with Yin Shilan.

“Very well, Mr. Xu, since you put it that way, I will do my utmost!” Li Shiming responded solemnly.

A smile appeared on Xu Chuan’s face. Although he had a trump card for dealing with spirit beasts, who knew what kind of unexpected events might occur on this journey.

Having a trustworthy companion, and one with not insignificant strength, brought more hope to his challenging quest for the herbs.

In the days that followed, Xu Chuan led the way, and together with Li Shiming, they flew toward a location in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

Although Li Shiming did not ask their final destination, he could tell from their direction that it should be an area marked as dangerous on the map, not within the realm of Senluo Sect’s influence, but belonging to spirit beasts.

Moreover, throughout these few days, through Li Yuanba’s Identity Jade Disc, he checked the task concerning Xu Chuan.

The task description had changed from dealing with one cultivator, Xu Chuan, to dealing with Xu Chuan and two other cultivators of similar strength. This task had been upgraded to a level three mission in Li Yuanba’s Identity Jade Disc.