Chapter 741: Feathered Immortal Grass

"Hero Yan, you've just broken through to a new realm, and your foundation isn't stable. The most important thing now is to find a quiet place for secluded cultivation," Lu Yang kindly advised.

"Daoist Master, you're right," Hero Yan replied, showing immense respect for Lu Yang. Ever since Lu Yang and his four companions arrived, Fangshan Island had gained a fifth-grade spiritual脉, and he himself had successfully overcome his tribulation, becoming a Nascent Soul cultivator.

With the help of the fifth-grade spiritual脉, his two brothers also had a slight chance of cultivating to the Nascent Soul stage.

He never imagined that his earlier kindness in informing Lu Yang about True Monarch Ma's banquet would yield such a reward.

Wait, come to think of it, True Monarch Ma's banquet seemed to have been just this morning.

Hero Yan mentally reviewed the day's events:

Morning: Attended True Monarch Ma's banquet.Noon: Invited Lu Yang and his four companions to Fangshan Island.Afternoon: Spiritual脉 abnormality, emergence of the Immortal Ascension Herb.Evening: Twelve Nascent Soul cultivators attacked; he took a Spirit Condensing Pill and became a Nascent Soul cultivator.

"What should we do with the Immortal Ascension Herb? Should we take it back, or eat it now?" Lu Yang and his four companions gestured at the herb, considering which method would be more beneficial.

"How about we pluck a leaf and try it, to see how many years of cultivation it can boost?" Li Haoran had heard of the Immortal Ascension Herb but had never seen it before, let alone eaten it.

Lu Yang shook his head, rejecting Li Haoran's idea: "Immortal herbs are precious. If we pick a leaf without a proper way to seal it, its medicinal properties will dissipate through the wound, making it not worth the effort."

"If we consume it all at once, while it can quickly boost cultivation, it will lack the necessary foundation, which would be detrimental to future cultivation."

Typically, the Immortal Ascension Herb is consumed by cultivators in the Integration stage or Tribulation Transcendence stage. Achieving perfection in these two stages doesn't require enlightenment but rather diligent, time-consuming effort.

"In my opinion, we should take it back to the sect and hear what Senior Sister has to say."

Everyone nodded. That was a valid approach.

Lu Yang placed the immortal herb into a wooden box and affixed several talismans to it.

Late at night, when everything was still, the wooden box began to shake incessantly, as if an invisible hand were touching it.

The box opened, and the immortal herb shook its head, stealthily climbing out.

It looked up at Lu Yang, who was meditating and cultivating, and smirked disdainfully.

"You want to eat me? Dream on."

Despite its bravado, it remained vigilant, carefully crawling off the bed. The moment it tried to push open the window, the lamp lit up, illuminating the entire room.

A spine-chilling voice came from behind the immortal herb.

"It truly is an immortal herb that has gained sentience."

The Immortal Ascension Herb sharply turned its head and saw Lu Yang with a half-smile.

*Swish, swish, swish*, four figures appeared in the room, completely surrounding the Immortal Ascension Herb.

"Senior Brother Lu really guessed right; this is a small herb king!" Tao Yaoye gazed at the Immortal Ascension Herb with shining eyes.

"To think we'd find a small herb king in the East Sea," Li Haoran marveled. Immortal herbs were already rare, but to find one of the 'small herb king' caliber was extraordinary. Even Tribulation Transcendence cultivators would likely fight over it.

"It's my first time seeing a small herb king. Is it tasty?" Mang Gu had never been to the herb garden.

Earlier, while they openly discussed how to handle the immortal herb, Lu Yang had secretly conveyed to them his suspicion that it was a small herb king.

That evening, when the immortal herb heard they were taking it back to the sect, it indeed stopped pretending and revealed its true nature.

Actually, Lu Yang wasn't just suspicious; he had heard from the Immortal Fairy that, judging by its age, this immortal herb was planted in ancient times. Its owner might have been the Holy Son who bullied men and women and was thoroughly beaten by the Immortal Fairy.

That Holy Son also possessed an Immortal Ascension Body. Seeing that he couldn't defeat the Immortal Fairy, he borrowed power from his future self, elevating his cultivation to the Void Refinement stage.

And then he was beaten even more severely.

"I reckon it was planted here in ancient times. After I beat him a few times, he got confused and forgot where he planted the immortal herb," the Immortal Fairy confidently analyzed, and her reasoning surprisingly made some sense.

Lu Yang felt that this Kunlun Holy Son was truly unlucky.

Having grown from ancient times until now, it was obvious it must have gained sentience.

Sentient spiritual plants naturally yearn for freedom. They are rooted in the soil their entire lives, unable to move. Once they finally gain the ability to move, they naturally want to roam around and play.

The Immortal Ascension Herb usually moved around Fangshan Island through its spiritual脉. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been legends about extraordinary treasures within the spiritual脉 on Fangshan Island.

This time, it resonated with Tao Yaoye, and its presence was discovered by Lu Yang and the others. It knew it would definitely be taken back, so it played dead during the day to make Lu Yang and the others lower their guard, planning to escape at night.

Unfortunately, its plan didn't succeed.

"Who planted you back then?" Meng Jingzhou asked curiously.

"Humans, mind your tone!" The Immortal Ascension Herb looked down on humans as short-lived beings. Of course, demons were also short-lived in its eyes.

A ball of pure Yang flame appeared in Meng Jingzhou's palm, and his tone turned chilling: "How about we roast it and eat it?"

His barbecue skills hadn't dulled, not to mention that all three founders of their barbecue joint were present.

Mang Gu, understanding the hint, pulled out the Mang family's eighteenth-generation ancestral seasoning. If luck was on their side, he might even be able to let the first ancestor of the Mang family possess him for the barbecue.

Feeling the scorching flame, the Immortal Ascension Herb fanned its leaves, attempting to extinguish the fire in Meng Jingzhou's palm, and chuckled nervously: "Just kidding! Why can't you take a joke?"

"It's not that I don't want to tell you; I really don't know who planted me."

"When I was planted, I wasn't a small herb king yet."

Lu Yang nodded. This was true. If the Immortal Ascension Herb had been a small herb king in ancient times, the Kunlun Holy Son would have carried it everywhere, even if it meant carrying a flowerpot daily.

"Fairy, the Kunlun Holy Son isn't still alive, is he? Should we return it to its rightful owner?" Even in the treacherous East Sea, Lu Yang's conscience remained intact.

The Immortal Fairy waved her hand dismissively: "No need. He's already dead. According to ancient rules, this immortal herb should belong to me, but I don't need this thing anyway. It's a gift for you young ones."

Lu Yang's heart skipped a beat. He never imagined that the ancient Great Age struggle was truly brutal. Even someone as powerful as the Immortal Ascension Body died at the hands of the Immortal Fairy. And judging by the Immortal Fairy's tone, this Kunlun Holy Son wasn't even considered a formidable enemy.

"That was when I was still a half-immortal. The Kunlun Holy Son... oh, he was already the Holy Lord by then... insisted on fighting me. As usual, he couldn't beat me, so he continued to use his Immortal Ascension Body to borrow strength from his future self."

"And then you killed him?"

"No, that's not it. He borrowed power from his future self and essentially 'borrowed himself to death'."

Lu Yang was utterly confused, completely failing to understand what had happened.

Seeing Lu Yang's dullness, the Immortal Fairy patiently explained: "His future self was already dead. When he borrowed power from his future self, he also borrowed that state of death, which caused his present self to die."

"See? Doesn't that create a closed loop?"

Lu Yang: "..."

Wait, why is my mind even more muddled now?

Fairy, are any of your opponents normal people?