Within those herbal fields, first to fourth-grade Dao medicinal plants were abundant, numbering at least twenty to thirty thousand in total!
Fifth-grade Dao herbs numbered roughly over two thousand.
Sixth-grade Dao herbs, about over nine hundred.
And seventh-grade Dao herbs, about over two hundred.
So many Dao herbs caused even Ye Yunfei's breathing to grow slightly heavy.
One could say that if these herbs before their eyes were taken into the outside world, they would certainly trigger a frenzied scramble among all the factions and martial artists in the Xuanhuang Star Domain and its neighboring star domains!
Their value was simply too great, almost impossible to estimate!
"Master, look! That mountain is so peculiar!"
Suddenly, Hu Miao pointed into the distance and called out.
They saw that behind the plots of herbal fields, there stood a small, low hill.
The hill was only a few dozen meters tall, and its body was actually silver in color, as if cast entirely from white silver, emanating strands of silvery light.
Atop the summit of this low hill grew a half-meter-tall sapling.
The sapling was completely black, resembling charcoal.
On this small tree hung three fruits. Dark clouds coiled around the peak of the silver hill, from which lightning would strike down from time to time, hitting the black sapling. However, all these striking bolts of lightning were absorbed by those three fruits.
"Master, that small tree is truly strange! It must be a remarkable treasure!"
Hu Miao's gaze fixed on the black sapling as she spoke.
"This is Black Geng Thunder Wood, a Thunder-elemental Heaven and Earth Treasure, of incalculable value.
Black Geng Thunder Wood takes three hundred years to blossom, another three hundred years to bear fruit, and another three hundred years to ripen. If a human martial artist consumes its fruit, it can greatly enhance their martial cultivation talent; if consumed by demonic or monstrous beasts, it can elevate their bloodline level.
Moreover, since Black Geng Thunder Wood constantly devours lightning energy, if a living being obtains and consumes its fruit, they will gain a Thunder-related ability, enabling them to control lightning!"
Ye Yunfei explained.
"It truly is incredibly precious!"
Upon hearing this, Hu Miao couldn't help but stick out her tongue in amazement.
"Actually, that silver hill is even more precious. Because that is a Profound Magnetic Mountain! This is a truly priceless treasure!"
Ye Yunfei said, his gaze burning with fervor as he stared at the silver hill.
"Profound Magnetic Mountain?"
Hu Miao, Huang Shang, and the five Academy students were all taken aback. None of them had heard of it.
"If this Profound Magnetic Mountain is forged into a treasure, its power would be limitless. Since such a treasure has come across my path, I absolutely cannot miss it!"
Ye Yunfei declared.
"Over there are more than a dozen corpses. They should be from those who came in earlier."
Huang Shang pointed to the edge of a nearby herbal field.
They saw, beside those herbal plots, over a dozen bloody corpses lay sprawled, evidently not dead for very long.
"Yes, likely those who broke in not long ago. For them to have fought their way to this point, their strength must be considerable, probably disciples from some major faction."
Ye Yunfei swept a glance over the dozen or so corpses and said.
"Alright, let's make haste. First, gather all the Dao herbs in these fields. Then, I'll retrieve the Black Geng Thunder Wood and the Profound Magnetic Mountain."
Ye Yunfei instructed.
"Move!"
With a wave of his hand, Ye Yunfei led the charge into the sprawling medicinal fields and began picking the Dao herbs.
Hu Miao, Huang Shang, and the five students also hurried into the fields and started harvesting.
"So many Dao herbs!"
Everyone was extremely excited. Especially the five Academy students who had never witnessed such a scene before. Their hands trembled slightly as they harvested the herbs, their hearts pounding wildly.
All of these were Dao herbs! The fields contained tens of thousands of them combined!
A short while later.
Finally, every single Dao herb had been harvested!
"Senior Brother Ye, here you are."
The five students had stored all the herbs they had picked into spatial rings and handed them to Ye Yunfei.
They understood that Ye Yunfei had brought them along and protected them out of a sense of duty as fellow students of the Heavenly Dao Academy. To put it bluntly, they were actually a burden to him. Furthermore, without Ye Yunfei, the five of them had absolutely no ability to get this far on their own. Therefore, they dared not keep the herbs they had gathered and handed them all over.
"These herbs are what you picked yourselves, and so they are yours. No need to give them to me."
Ye Yunfei said.
"Ours?"
The five students were stunned.
Although the speed at which the five of them harvested was far slower than Ye Yunfei, Hu Miao, or Huang Shang, each had still gathered nearly a thousand herbs. They had even managed to collect several dozen sixth and seventh-grade Dao herbs! And now, Ye Yunfei wanted them to keep them all!
"Senior Brother Ye, these herbs are too precious. We can't accept them," one female student said.
"Yes, they are far too valuable. Senior Brother Ye, please take them," the other four students hurriedly added.
"No need to be so formal. These herbs don't belong to me. We've all come here together to explore and seek treasure. Whoever obtains a treasure should keep it. Put them away."
Ye Yunfei said.
"Since Master tells you to keep them, just do it. Otherwise, Master might get upset," Hu Miao said with a smile.
"Exactly. Accept them. Don't be so verbose," Ye Yunfei chided.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Ye, for your great kindness!"
Seeing Ye Yunfei's stance, the five students hesitated briefly, then all bowed deeply to Ye Yunfei. Only then did they carefully stow away the herbs they had picked.
Subsequently, each of the five students' breathing grew heavy again, their bodies beginning to tremble slightly from intense excitement. Over a thousand Dao herbs! Among them were fifth, sixth, and seventh-grade ones! This was incredibly precious! One must know that in the Northern Wastelands, a single fifth-grade Dao herb was already priceless. A single sixth-grade Dao herb was something not even the four greatest powers—Heavenly Dao Academy, Li Clan, Jihua Sacred Land, and Tianxuan Sacred Land—could produce! As for seventh-grade Dao herbs, those were even more unthinkable! And yet, they, mere students of the Heavenly Dao Academy, now possessed so many fifth, sixth, and seventh-grade herbs. It was like acquiring an unimaginable fortune overnight! How could they not be thrilled?
By this time, Ye Yunfei was already walking towards the distant silver hill.
Whoosh!
In a single step, Ye Yunfei arrived before the small hill.
Crack!
The dark clouds swirling around the summit of the hill seemed to react. A thick bolt of thunder, as thick as an arm, abruptly struck down upon the hill.
Then.
Crack, crack, crack...
More bolts of lightning and electric serpents began pouring forth from the dark clouds, now targeting Ye Yunfei's position!
"So, a Lightning Gathering Formation has been set up here. It can both gather dark clouds to generate lightning and attack any outsiders who try to pick the fruits of the Black Geng Thunder Wood."
Ye Yunfei remarked.
"However, a mere Lightning Gathering Formation cannot bar my path."
Ye Yunfei gave a faint smile.
The next moment.
Rumble...
A resplendent Nine Palaces Totem Wheel rose from behind Ye Yunfei.
Roar!
From one of its nine grids, a divine beast stepped forth.
This beast had the body of a dragon and the head of a human, its belly distended high, from which the clear sound of thunder could be heard from time to time.
The Thunder Beast! One of the nine divine beasts of the Nine Palaces Totem Wheel!
"This place brims with concentrated thunder and lightning energy, perfect for cultivating the Thunder Beast,"
Ye Yunfei said with a smile. Such an environment of thunder was a rare opportunity.
Rumble...
The Thunder Beast raised its head and let out a long howl, then strode forward. All the lightning bolts striking towards Ye Yunfei landed on the Thunder Beast's body, only to be completely absorbed, vanishing in an instant!
Following closely behind the Thunder Beast, Ye Yunfei walked leisurely towards the Profound Magnetic Mountain.
However, just as Ye Yunfei approached the Profound Magnetic Mountain...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The earth began to tremble violently.
"Stop! Who dares to steal my treasure?!"
A powerful surge of Soul Power swept outwards. Then, from the deepest part of the valley, a giant golden eagle flew out!
This golden eagle, emanating dazzling golden radiance, soared through the air with astonishing force. Its body was over a hundred meters long. A pair of sharp, piercing eagle eyes glared at Ye Yunfei as if beholding a mortal enemy.
Roar!
A furious tiger's roar echoed. From the valley's depths, a red tiger, spitting flames, charged forth!
Boom! Boom!
A leopard wreathed in dazzling flashes of lightning leaped forward!
Hiss…
A white snake, riding a white cloud, crashed through one towering ancient tree after another as it slithered out from the forest.
And a pitch-black dog, its body swirling with Yin-attribute chilly mist, burrowed out from somewhere underground and charged distantly towards Ye Yunfei.
In a brief moment, five monstrous beasts with terrifying auras appeared, charging madly at Ye Yunfei.
Each one possessed overwhelming momentum, the energy pressure they released resembling towering waves.
"Master, be careful!"
Hu Miao couldn't help but call out a warning.
"Hateful intruders, you've picked all our Dao herbs clean! And you even dare to try and seize the Black Geng Thunder Wood? You deserve death!"
The five monstrous beasts transmitted powerful pulses of Soul Power, addressing Ye Yunfei's group.
At the same time.
"It's Ye Yunfei! I see him! That's Ye Yunfei!"
"Bad news! Those are herbal fields, and the herbs within have all been harvested!"
...
From behind, a group of martial artists appeared, rushing forward urgently.
"Ye Yunfei! How dare you murder members of our Wu Clan! Kneel immediately and commit suicide to atone for your crime!"
A tall, handsome young man charging at the forefront roared angrily.
This young man was none other than the Wu Clan's genius, Wu Yang!