Chapter 820 The Mysterious Herb Valley
Ye Xuanyue hesitated for a moment, then looked at the middle-aged man who had not fallen behind and asked,
“Where is this place?”
A trace of conflict flashed across his expression.
“This place…”
He hesitated, then smiled bitterly and scratched his head.
“Forget it, forget it. The three of us have been through life and death together. I am Hou Xiaoyong.”
Ye Xuanyue and Leng Moran exchanged a glance.
Ye Xuanyue’s impression of this middle-aged man was not bad. Judging from their previous interactions, he seemed to be a thoughtful person, and his character was decent.
Ye Xuanyue gave her name and Leng Moran’s name, then continued to ask,
“What is this place?
And, is the Hidden Peace Market just gone?”
Hou Xiaoyong scratched his head, his voice inevitably sounding somewhat dejected. Unlike Ye Xuanyue and Leng Moran, he had practically lived at the Hidden Peace Market for a long time and had some feelings for that place.
“Of course it’s gone.
The Spirit Beasts made such a big move; they weren’t playing around. They probably intended to completely destroy that market. However, people inside could definitely escape if they really wanted to.
Just from what I know, there are several large forces inside with plenty of hidden cards. Even surrounded by Spirit Beasts, they had a seventy or eighty percent chance of escaping.
The ones who had it tough were cultivators like us with no backing. We were probably just cannon fodder.
And even if one Hidden Peace Market is destroyed, there are other markets to go to.
As long as a new location is found, a new Hidden Peace Market will be built.”
As he spoke, his voice became noticeably lighter.
He had obviously come to terms with it himself.
"Enough with such heavy talk."
"Maybe it wasn't necessarily bad luck. Otherwise, we wouldn't have come here. This is a good place!"
When he said this, he even looked quite excited.
Ye Xuanyue raised her eyebrow slightly, then said,
"Hmm? What's so good about this place?"
Hou Xiaoyong's expression turned somewhat smug.
"You don't know? This should be a hidden herb valley where Spirit Beasts grow medicinal herbs! They probably chose this location deliberately. This is a desert—who would think there is an oasis inside? They've likely planted many medicinal herbs here."
Ye Xuanyue found this strange and asked,
"Spirit Beasts can grow medicinal herbs?"
Hou Xiaoyong thought for a moment before explaining,
"They couldn't at first. They learned it from humans later. Spirit Beasts are naturally very intelligent, so it's not surprising they understand these things. Also, among Spirit Beasts, some races are close to nature and can sense heaven and earth's spiritual energy. They have a big advantage over humans when it comes to growing things. I don't know if there are any Spirit Beasts guarding it inside. If not, we've truly hit the jackpot."
He didn't seem to have any intention of keeping it all for himself.
After learning that the young girl beside him was an Alchemy Grandmaster, Hou Xiaoyong practically wanted to enshrine her! Even if he obtained tons of medicinal herbs, without an Alchemy Grandmaster to refine pills for him, what was he supposed to do—chew them like carrots?
Clutching this young lady's thigh, ensuring she could make pills for him—that was the most important thing.
Thinking of this, Hou Xiaoyong couldn't help but look quite pleased.
At first, he had thought it was trouble—but later he realized it wasn't trouble at all, but rather a sweet, sweet jackpot.
Ye Xuanyue's expression wasn't as optimistic. She blinked her eyes, then said,
"But wouldn't there be Spirit Beasts guarding this place?"
Hou Xiaoyong thought for a moment and replied,
"There definitely were originally. But for the Beast Alliance to destroy the Hidden Peace Market, they probably mobilized a lot of high-ranking Spirit Beasts from the area. The defenses here must have been significantly weakened."
His eyes were full of desire.
"So, what do you say? Should we go in and take a look?"
Ye Xuanyue looked at Leng Moran twice. Hou Xiaoyong actually thought that between Ye Xuanyue and Leng Moran, Ye Xuanyue should be the one in charge. The reason was simple—Ye Xuanyue was a noble Alchemist!
But in reality, looking at the two of them, there didn't seem to be any hierarchy. Their relationship appeared quite equal.
Leng Moran lowered his head, thought for a moment, then said,
"There should be a Formation set up inside."
Ye Xuanyue glanced at Leng Moran, and Little White's voice sounded in her mind,
Master, we can try to go in and take a look. This guy isn't wrong. This place in front of us really might be an herb valley. We might be able to get a lot of good stuff inside.
Since Little White said so, Ye Xuanyue made up her mind. She walked forward.
As they ventured deeper, they could indeed feel a flowing spiritual energy, much richer than the surroundings. They didn't see any herb gardens yet, but this oasis covered a large area. They were probably inside.
Leng Moran blinked his eyes, then said,
"There’s a Formation set up here, hiding the true situation inside."
As Leng Moran spoke, he carefully observed the surroundings.
When Hou Xiaoyong heard Leng Moran's words, his expression immediately became excited.
"A Formation… You understand Formations?"
Leng Moran did not answer him, which made Hou Xiaoyong somewhat awkward. Leng Moran naturally understood Formations.
Back then, he had even broken the Formation of the Voice Listening Pavilion.
To be honest, the Formations set up by these Spirit Beasts were much cruder—just relatively ordinary concealment Formations. Leng Moran could still break them.
His gaze held a sharp glint as he said in a low voice,
"Take ten steps to the left. There's a rock. Move it to the right—then place it on top of another white rock."
Ye Xuanyue watched him instruct Hou Xiaoyong with a smile. Leng Moran's tone was still quite convincing.
Hou Xiaoyong scurried about busily.
Ye Xuanyue smiled, then said softly,
"Break it."
As soon as Ye Xuanyue spoke, the spiritual energy suddenly burst forth violently. A pleasant fragrance of medicinal herbs rushed to her nose. She took a deep breath.
This fresh, clean scent of medicinal herbs instantly lifted one's mood.
And with the surge of spiritual power, the empty land before their eyes suddenly revealed vast stretches of herb gardens! Streams of water flowed around the plots, and countless medicinal herbs grew in abundance.
Hou Xiaoyong's eyes nearly popped out of his head in surprise—he hadn't expected that young man to actually break the Formation so easily!
These two were truly amazing. One could refine pills, the other understood Formations… and most importantly, at such a young age, their Cultivation Strength was frightening. He wondered what their origins were, which family could raise such descendants.
But he couldn't dwell on that now. His only thought was to hurry and grab as many medicinal herbs as possible!