This gorge had been untouched for a long time. Though dangerous, it grew various spiritual herbs rarely seen in the outside world.

First-grade herbs were a given, and in just a short while, the two of them had already found several types of second-grade spiritual herbs. If this place could be developed, it would make an excellent family herb garden.

However, even if development wasn’t possible, Wang Hao still had his farm. Obtaining seeds was still a gain. Apart from the main ingredient, the Condensing Essence Fruit, he had already gathered all the spiritual herbs needed for the Foundation Establishment Pill. He had also found several types of herbs used for the Qi Gathering Pills needed in the early Foundation Establishment stage.

Besides spiritual herbs, the two also came across second-grade spirit wood. Unfortunately, second-grade spirit wood was too hard. Wang Hao’s sword strike only left an inch-deep wound. Felling a single tree would take at least three days, and they dared not waste that much time. However, if they couldn’t get out, they would have plenty of time to deal with these spirit trees.

Submitting these things to the family could earn them tens of thousands of contribution points. Contribution points were a key factor in the family’s decision regarding the allocation of Foundation Establishment Pills. This was also why Wang Hao wanted to take the second-grade spirit wood even though he already had seeds. Having an extra path to a Foundation Establishment Pill was never wrong. If he couldn’t find the Condensing Essence Fruit, the family would be his last hope for Foundation Establishment.

“Ah, we’re running out of jade boxes for collecting spiritual herbs. I regret not bringing more!” After turning a corner, Wang Yanzhao sighed while looking at the field of Blood Qi Grass! Blood Qi Grass was an important spiritual herb for refining healing pills and was quite valuable. Just this patch before them had over a hundred mature plants, worth over two thousand Spirit Stones!

“Let’s just pick some mature ones directly. Even if we had jade boxes, our storage bags aren’t big enough anyway. The stuff is right here; we can come back another time if we get the chance.” Wang Hao had his farm, but its output was mainly used to develop and upgrade the farm’s land. The usable output was minimal. Besides, who would complain about having too many Spirit Stones? If the two of them could haul away all the spiritual herbs and spirit wood from this entire gorge, they could directly bid for a Foundation Establishment Pill at the next auction, saving them the trouble of searching for some Condensing Essence Fruit.

After just over a day of traversing the gorge, Wang Hao and his companion had filled their storage bags to capacity. As a result, when they later encountered some rare or highly valuable spiritual materials, they had no choice but to start discarding less valuable items. Even the Golden-Eyed Duck was carrying a large bundle on its back.

Wang Hao glanced at the map. The “ruins” were now right before them. He signaled to Wang Yanfeng to stop paying attention to the spiritual grasses on the ground and quickly move forward.

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. When the two stood before a wooden hut, they couldn’t help but look at each other in dismay.

Previously criticized by Wang Hao, Wang Yanfeng finally had a chance to retort. He smiled and questioned, “Is this the building you saw?”

“How was I supposed to know it would be like this? I only got a brief glimpse from high above!” Wang Hao quickly observed the hut. “This was probably left by a cultivator who fell into this valley by accident, just like us.”

Hearing this, Wang Yanfeng’s expression turned serious. “If that’s the case, we might also find it difficult to get out.” He pointed at the hut. “This person could build a hut; he must have lived here for quite some time.”

“Eighth Uncle, don’t be so pessimistic. The fact that this house is still standing means there are no demonic beasts here. Isn’t that good news?” Wang Hao tried to console him. “Moreover, this person might have already left. If we look for traces, we can surely find a way out too!”

“Hmm, you’re right. Let’s first see if this person left any information!” Wang Yanfeng began searching around.

The house wasn’t big—just two rooms in total—and they soon found information carved on a black stone by the bedside in the bedroom.

It said that the owner of the hut was a rogue cultivator named Lan Mu. While hunting demonic beasts with a hunting team in the Duan Yuan Mountain Range, they encountered a Tier 2 High-Grade demonic beast and were forced to scatter and flee. With no way out, he jumped into this valley.

It also mentioned that his spirit beast died saving him, expressing his grief and so on.

Later on, it described how this valley was rich in spiritual plants with no high-tier demonic beasts. As long as one was careful about poisonous insects, there wasn’t much danger. He lived here for ten years and still hadn’t found an exit, even after cultivating to the ninth layer of Qi Refining.

But heaven never seals off all exits. Once when he tried to walk to the end of the gorge—advancing nearly ten thousand li—he discovered a pond spanning several li in area. In the center of the pond was a small island with a Condensing Essence Fruit tree growing on it. This excited him immensely. Although swallowing a Condensing Essence Fruit raw was dangerous, it could increase one’s chances of Foundation Establishment by twenty percent. As long as Lan Mu achieved Foundation Establishment, he could fly out of this valley.

However, upon investigation, Lan Mu found that beneath the pond lurked a Tier 2 Mid-Grade fish demon guarding the Condensing Essence Fruit tree. He was no match for it; both attempts ended with him returning severely injured.

Finally, he noticed signs that the Condensing Essence Fruit was ripening and knew it was his last chance. He decided to risk everything in one final attempt. If he missed it, he would be trapped at the bottom of this valley for life. So he recorded his life story on this stone: if he succeeded, he would destroy it; if this stone remained, he hoped later arrivals would collect his remains.

“It seems Lan Mu failed!” Wang Hao sighed softly. The information about the Condensing Essence Fruit excited him, but news of its guardian demonic beast filled both of them with despair.

Wang Yanfeng also looked dejected and defeated. After a long while, he said, “Let’s first go investigate and look for an exit. If there really is no way out… we’ll have to follow Lan Mu’s method—cultivate to the ninth layer of Qi Refining—then join forces to try stealing the Condensing Essence Fruit together; maybe we’ll succeed!”

Remembering that neither of them had particularly good spiritual roots made him laugh self-deprecatingly. “Resources here are abundant; perhaps the Golden-Eyed Duck will advance to Tier 1 High-Grade before us! Then we can get out! We can ask family Foundation Establishment cultivators to come retrieve the Condensing Essence Fruit!”

This wasn’t much of a plan, but currently, it was all they could do!

Fortunately, Wang Hao carried an alchemy furnace with him; both were alchemists. With so many spiritual herbs at the valley bottom plus Wang Hao’s farm, they wouldn’t lack cultivation resources. Within a few years, both could reach the ninth layer of Qi Refining.

Although the old house left by Lan Mu hadn’t collapsed yet—it wasn’t livable anymore—so the two built two new wooden huts nearby, plus a larger shed to store living supplies. The location near the stream ensured no shortage of drinking water, and the mountains offered plenty of wild fruits. If Lan Mu survived over ten years here, Wang Hao, with his farm, certainly didn’t need to worry about survival issues either!

Thus, they settled down here—usually cultivating and practicing spells. When lacking pills, they went out to gather herbs and refine them. If they truly couldn’t find a certain herb, Wang Hao secretly took some from his farm to supplement the supply!

Time flew by—two years passed just like that!

Wang Hao remained at the eighth layer of Qi Refining, though his Qi improved somewhat and his strength increased a bit too! Meanwhile, Wang Yanfeng was nearing a breakthrough into the ninth layer of Qi Refining himself—free from worldly affairs and entanglements, his cultivation speed increased significantly! Already, several times he uttered phrases akin to “Such joy here makes one forget home!”

“Come try Eighth Uncle’s newly refined Yellow Dragon Pills! The herbs here have sufficient age, so the refined pills have a better effect than those in the market!” Holding two jade bottles, he beckoned towards Wang Hao and laughed, saying, “I reckon in less than a year’s time, your uncle will advance into the ninth layer of Qi Refining! A few more years to reach Qi Refining Perfection!”

“Eighth Uncle, I still have plenty of pills left. Keep and use them yourself,” Wang Hao said. As someone whose farm was fully developed, he certainly wouldn’t lack pills now; he even possessed six plots of black soil land!

Family disciples and sect disciples enjoyed various benefits and welfare, but similarly were required to devote at least half their time working on family or sect tasks—cultivation speed not necessarily faster than resource-rich rogue cultivators. Though come to think of it, which rogue cultivator didn’t lack resources?

“Forgot you also are a Tier 1 High-Grade alchemist. Fine then, your uncle keeps them! If run short later, ask uncle!” In a good mood today, he pointed towards the wine and dishes on the stone table and said, “Come keep uncle company and drink a couple of cups! I already finished refining pills and plan to go into seclusion to cultivate for a period of time! The next time we meet, nephew, uncle might be years older!”