Chapter 259: Heavenly Pasture Grass

Two months of training had given the four a sufficient understanding of the dense forest.

Demonic beasts above the Golden Core stage generally possessed strong self-esteem. They wouldn't act collectively unless they encountered situations that provoked widespread outrage among demonic beasts, such as those involving ancient barbarian bloodlines.

"It's certainly a bit strange. Logically, my bloodline should have a suppressive effect on demonic beasts, but I didn't feel that during the recent battle," Mankun recalled the unusual sensation he experienced during the fight.

The ancient barbarian bloodline had always been advantageous in battles against demonic beasts. Since successfully awakening his bloodline, Mankun had never encountered such a situation.

Lu Yang frowned, pondering the reason.

"Ah—what is this?!"

Suddenly, a sharp cry interrupted Lu Yang's thoughts.

"Song Wuguo, what are you yelling about?!" Song Hua reprimanded his companion. Everyone was trying to think, and his shout had disrupted their concentration.

"You-you guys, look!" Song Wuguo sat on the ground, trembling as he pointed at the demonic beast he had disemboweled.

He had originally intended to dissect the demonic beast to extract its inner core as a way to repay Lu Yang and the others for saving his life, but the unusual appearance of the inner core startled him.

Lu Yang walked straight over. The solitary wolf had been disemboweled, revealing an inner core in its dantian area. The core was somewhat dim and encased in withered, yellowish leaves. The leaves were thin and dense, connected by sticky white fibrous threads.

Lu Yang covered his right arm with spiritual energy and carefully removed the strange inner core.

"The inner core itself seems normal. So, the problem must be with the leaves?"

"Go dissect the other demonic beasts!"

Everyone promptly began dissecting the other demonic beasts, and the results quickly emerged: all five demonic beasts had inner cores encased in the same withered, yellowish leaves.

Lu Yang racked his brain, going through all his learned knowledge, but nothing matched the leaves. "Does anyone recognize these leaves?" he asked.

Even the well-informed Meng Jingzhou repeatedly shook his head.

Tao Yaoye and Mankun also shook their heads, indicating they didn't recognize them.

The Song family members, needless to say, were even less knowledgeable than Tao Yaoye and Mankun; their expertise was limited to identifying common spiritual plants.

The two bodyguards, who had lived in Demon Suppression Pass for years, had also never seen such leaves.

"I feel like I've seen this in a book somewhere... could it be Shepherd Grass?" Song Wuguo whispered.

"Shepherd Grass?" Everyone turned their heads to look at Song Wuguo.

Song Wuguo immediately felt immense pressure. He was timid and afraid of trouble, preferring to read books over interacting with people since childhood. This was the first time so many people had looked at him at once.

"Wuguo, do you know the origin of these leaves?"

"I-I just find it familiar. I'm not sure, but I once saw an ancient text from the Great Yu era in the Scripture Pavilion. It was a master alchemist's personal notes, and it mentioned a spiritual herb called Shepherd Grass. The drawing in the book looked very similar to this."

"The book said that Shepherd Grass initially grows like a common weed, possessing strong camouflage abilities. It adapts its appearance to match the surrounding plants."

"When it approaches maturity, it consumes demonic beasts, using them as nourishment to aid its growth."

"Additionally, it can parasitize a part of itself inside demonic beasts, controlling their every move and making them forage for it."

"The 'Shepherd' in Shepherd Grass comes from its parasitic nature, meaning to herd or graze."

"You know the spell for driving corpses, right? Legend has it that the cultivator who created that spell was inspired by the parasitic methods of Shepherd Grass."

"What an insidious plant!" Meng Jingzhou frowned. This Shepherd Grass exuded an air of malevolence.

"Fairy, have you heard of Shepherd Grass?" Lu Yang secretly asked the Immortal Fairy.

"There are a few minor inaccuracies, but broadly speaking, it's about right." The Immortal Fairy's statement effectively confirmed the existence of Shepherd Grass.

Song Wuguo, rarely given such attention, became increasingly excited as he spoke: "Brother Song Hua, this Shepherd Grass is so rare that even Integration Stage grand cultivators have never seen it. It benefits even Integration Stage cultivators in their cultivation! If we manage to collect Shepherd Grass and bring it back to the family to offer to Great-Grandfather, our position in the Song family will be secure for good!"

"And if we play our cards right, the position of clan leader could even be yours!"

"Is this thing really that rare?!"

"Truly! The ancient text I read was by an Integration Stage master alchemist, and he only encountered two Shepherd Grass plants in his entire life. The text also stated that refining Shepherd Grass into Shepherd Pills could raise an Integration Stage cultivator by a minor realm!"

Song Hua's eyes lit up. It was indeed a treasure. But he quickly calmed down: "We were almost hunted by the Shepherd Grass. With our abilities, how could we possibly harvest it alive? It would be better to go back and inform our uncles and ask them to intervene."

"If we let our uncles intervene, how would the credit be calculated? Brother Song Hua, don't worry, we really might be able to harvest the Shepherd Grass."

"How so?"

"Shepherd Grass can control a maximum of ten demonic beasts. These five are all Golden Core stage, meaning it can only control Golden Core stage demonic beasts at most. In other words, it only has five Golden Core stage demonic beasts left under its command."

"With Young Master Meng's help, these five Golden Core demonic beasts are nothing to fear!"

Song Hua considered it and realized it made sense.

Cultivators from both the Meng family and the Dao Inquiry Sect shared a characteristic: they would not use pills to directly advance their cultivation realms.

Therefore, neither the Meng family nor the Dao Inquiry Sect would compete with them for the Shepherd Grass.

"That's the situation. Once I obtain the Shepherd Grass, I will certainly report it to my family and express our gratitude to the four of you with generous gifts!"

The Song family honored their promises and would not break their word.

Song Hua didn't hide anything, openly stating his true intentions.

If he concealed it now and Meng Jingzhou discovered it later, it would harm the relationship between the Meng and Song families, making it not worth the trouble.

Meng Jingzhou agreed on behalf of the group. They had already intended to eliminate the Shepherd Grass; its threat was too great. If it were allowed to hunt and gather nourishment unchecked, an unknown number of people would perish.

"We were attacked by demonic beasts from this direction, so the Shepherd Grass is likely over here!" Song Wuguo recalled their escape route. He had been the calmest, even remembering the path while fleeing.

"Let's go!" After their rest, everyone set off towards the depths of the dense forest.

Ten figures moved through the dense forest, taking turns extending their divine sense to search for clues of the Shepherd Grass.

"The ancient text states that Shepherd Grass prefers dark and damp environments. Please keep that in mind while searching," Song Wuguo reminded loudly.

"Understood."

"Found it! It's in the center of that swamp!" Song Hua shouted, his voice filled with excitement.

"Don't drop your guard! The demonic beasts controlled by the Shepherd Grass might be nearby!" Lu Yang warned everyone through divine sense.

No sooner had Lu Yang finished speaking than they heard the roars of demonic beasts from above.

"Roar—"

Five majestic demonic beasts appeared above their heads.

"As planned, let's pair up. We of the Dao Inquiry Sect will lead the main attack, the Song family members will provide support, and the two bodyguards will team up against one!"

"Understood!"

Everyone reacted instantly. Lu Yang engaged one demonic beast, Song Wuguo supported Lu Yang, and Song Hua supported Meng Jingzhou.

*Clang*

The Azure Edge Sword was unsheathed, a silver light flashing through the air, like a bright, unassailable silver moon in the night sky.

The sword light transformed into a sharp killing intent, confronting a demonic beast.

Tao Yaoye observed the Shepherd Grass in the middle of the swamp out of the corner of her eye. An inexplicable sense of unease lingered in her heart.

She had a feeling that something was amiss, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.