Heaven Herding Grass

Two months of grueling training had given the four a solid understanding of the dense forest. Demon beasts at or above the Golden Core stage possessed immense pride. Unless confronted with something that provoked collective outrage among beasts—such as the Ancient Barbarian bloodline—they never moved in packs. "It really is strange. Normally, my bloodline suppresses demon beasts, but during that fight just now, I didn't feel that suppression at all," Man Gu said, recalling the anomaly from the battle. The Ancient Barbarian bloodline was an unfailing trump card against demon beasts; ever since awakening it, Man Gu had never encountered such a situation. Lu Yang frowned, pondering the cause. "Ah—what is this?!" A sharp shriek suddenly shattered Lu Yang's train of thought. "Song Wuguo, what are you howling about!" Song Hua snapped at his companion. Everyone was trying to think, and that yell had completely scattered their thoughts. "L-Look!" Song Wuguo sat on the ground, trembling as he pointed at the demon beast he had just gutted. He had originally intended to dissect the beast and extract its inner core as a token of gratitude for the four saving their lives, only to be terrified by what he found inside. Lu Yang walked straight over. The lone wolf's belly had been sliced open, revealing an inner core nestled at its dantian. It looked dull and lifeless, wrapped tightly in withered yellow leaves. The leaves were slender and dense, bound to one another by sticky, white threadlike filaments. Coating his right arm with spiritual energy, Lu Yang lifted the bizarre inner core. "The core itself is normal. Does that mean the problem lies with these leaves?" "Go dissect the other beasts!" Everyone set to work dissecting the carcasses, and the result soon became clear: the inner cores of all five demon beasts were wrapped in the same withered yellow leaves. Lu Yang searched his memory, but found nothing that matched. "Does anyone recognize these leaves?" Even the well-traveled Meng Jingzhou shook his head repeatedly. Tao Yaoye and Man Gu likewise shook their heads, indicating they had no idea. The Song family members were even more at a loss; their knowledge fell far short of Tao Yaoye's and Man Gu's, limited only to identifying common spiritual plants. As for the two bodyguards, they had spent years stationed at Demon Quelling Pass, yet they had never seen foliage like this either. "I feel like I've read about this in a book somewhere... Could it be Heaven Herding Grass?" Song Wuguo mumbled under his breath. "Heaven Herding Grass?" Everyone turned their heads in unison to stare at him. Song Wuguo felt an immense wave of pressure. Timid by nature, he had loved reading since childhood and disliked socializing; this was the first time so many eyes were fixed on him. "Wuguo, do you know where these leaves come from?" "I-It just looks familiar, but I can't say for sure. In the Scripture Pavilion, I once saw an ancient text from the Great Yu era—notes left by an alchemy grandmaster. It mentioned a type of spiritual herb called Heaven Herding Grass, and the drawing in the book looked just like this." "The text said that in its early stages, Heaven Herding Grass looks just like common weeds and possesses extraordinary camouflage, perfectly mimicking whatever plants grow around it." "When it approaches maturity, it devours demon beasts, using them as nourishment to fuel its growth." "At the same time, it can implant part of itself as a parasite inside a demon beast's body, controlling every move the beast makes and sending it out to hunt for more food." "The 'herding' in Heaven Herding Grass comes from this parasitic trait—it grazes and herds them like livestock." "You all know about corpse-driving arts, right? Legend has it that the cultivator who created corpse manipulation drew inspiration from the way Heaven Herding Grass parasitizes its hosts." "What a sinister grass!" Meng Jingzhou frowned. A distinctly wicked aura clung to the very idea of it. "Fairy, have you heard of Heaven Herding Grass?" Lu Yang asked the Immortal Fairy in secret. "A few minor errors, but mostly on the mark," she said, essentially confirming its existence. Having rarely received this much attention, Song Wuguo grew increasingly excited as he spoke: "Brother Song Hua, Heaven Herding Grass is so rare that even Body Integration experts have seldom laid eyes on it! It's tremendously beneficial to their cultivation. If we harvest it, return to the clan, and present it to Great-Grandfather, our standing in the Song Family will be set in stone!" "With a little maneuvering, the position of clan patriarch might even be within your grasp!" "Is this thing really that extraordinary?!" "Truly! That ancient text was written by a Body Integration alchemy grandmaster who only saw two stalks in his entire life. It even recorded that refining Heaven Herding Grass into a Heaven Herding Pill can advance a Body Integration cultivator by a minor boundary!" Song Hua's eyes lit up. It was indeed a treasure. However, he quickly cooled down. "We were almost hunted down by that grass just now. With our abilities, how could we possibly harvest it and come out alive? It would be better to head back, inform our uncles, and ask them to step in." "If we let our uncles handle it, how would the credit be divided? Brother Song Hua, don't worry—we truly have a chance of harvesting it ourselves." "How so?" "Heaven Herding Grass can control at most ten demon beasts. Since these five were all in the Golden Core stage, that proves the strongest beasts it can manipulate are at the Golden Core stage. In other words, it has at most five Golden Core demon beasts left at its command." "As long as Young Master Meng lends a hand, five Golden Core beasts are nothing to fear!" Song Hua considered it and realized the logic held. Cultivators from the Meng Family and the Dao Seeking Sect shared a common principle: they never relied on medicinal pills to force breakthroughs. Therefore, neither the Meng Family nor the Dao Seeking Sect would compete with them for the Heaven Herding Grass. "That settles it. Once I obtain the Heaven Herding Grass, I will report this to the family and present a lavish reward to thank the four of you!" The Song Family placed great weight on their word and would not break faith. Song Hua made no attempt to conceal his intentions, speaking his mind openly. Hiding his thoughts now would only sour relations between the Meng and Song families if Meng Jingzhou found out later, doing far more harm than good. Meng Jingzhou agreed on behalf of the group. They had already planned to uproot the Heaven Herding Grass anyway; its threat was simply too great. If left unchecked to prey on beasts and cultivate nourishment, who knew how many lives would be lost. "We were attacked from this direction, so the Heaven Herding Grass is most likely over there!" Song Wuguo said, recalling their escape route. Having remained the calmest among them, he still remembered the path they had fled along. "Let's move!" Once the rest was over, the group set off deeper into the dense forest. Ten figures darted through the woods, taking turns expanding their divine sense to search for traces of the Heaven Herding Grass. "The ancient text mentioned that Heaven Herding Grass favors dark, damp environments! Please focus your search on such areas!" Song Wuguo called out loudly. "Understood." "Found it! Right in the middle of that swamp!" Song Hua shouted, his voice laced with excitement. "Don't drop your guard! The beasts controlled by the grass might be nearby!" Lu Yang warned everyone through his divine sense. No sooner had the words left his mind than a chorus of beastly roars echoed from directly above. "Roar—" Five formidable demon beasts appeared overhead, glaring down at them. "Stick to the plan! Pair up! Our Dao Seeking Sect takes the front lines, the Song Family provides support, and the two bodyguards team up against one!" "Right!" Everyone responded in an instant. Lu Yang engaged a beast, with Song Wuguo covering his flank, while Song Hua backed up Meng Jingzhou. *Clang!* The Green Blade Sword slid from its scabbard. A streak of silver sliced across the air like a crescent moon in the night sky, brilliant and inviolable. The sword light transformed into fierce killing intent, clashing head-on with a beast. From the corner of her eye, Tao Yaoye watched the Heaven Herding Grass in the middle of the swamp, an inexplicable sense of unease lingering in her heart. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss, yet she couldn't pinpoint exactly what.