Chapter 211: The Shennong Compendium of a Hundred Herbs
"That's right—you've passed the trial."
The scarecrow gazed at Gu Mo, who was deeply absorbed in studying the plants. If not for the blazing sword intent radiating from him—proof that he was a sword cultivator—anyone who saw him would have thought he was a gifted spiritual botanist.
"Come with me."
Turning, the scarecrow walked toward a small house in the courtyard. Gu Mo hurried after him; the treasures he sought were clearly inside.
Inside, the furnishings were simple—just a meditation cushion and a table. Upon the table rested three items.
"These are my master's legacy. Take them, and I hope you use them well." The scarecrow's tone carried a trace of nostalgia.
Following his gaze, Gu Mo's eyes fell first upon a crystal sphere, within which lay a fragmentary miniature world.
"A Void Crystal Core!"
The moment Gu Mo saw it, he recognized it at once. This was the core of a cave-heaven artifact, and the broken world inside was a reflection of the very cave-heaven they were standing in.
"Correct. This is the core of the cave-heaven," the scarecrow confirmed. "However, this cave-heaven still belongs to my master. In a moment, I'll help you dissolve its binding. After that, you'll need to construct a cave-heaven of your own.
"But don't worry—my master left you some Xirang. It's enough to shape a continent for your new cave-heaven."
"Xirang!?"
Gu Mo's eyes shifted to the small vial beside the crystal core. Legends of Xirang were well known—it was an unparalleled earth-element treasure, with even a speck capable of forming vast landmasses. Land shaped from Xirang naturally brimmed with spiritual energy and could, with guidance, form spiritual veins—making it the finest possible foundation for any man-made world like a cave-heaven.
"So heavy!"
When Gu Mo tried to lift the vial to see what the legendary treasure looked like, he was shocked to find he couldn't move it at all.
"Heh… even a grain of Xirang weighs ten thousand catties. That vial contains at least a fingertip's worth. Not something a mere Core Formation cultivator can lift." The scarecrow chuckled at his plight.
"Inject your core power into it," the scarecrow instructed after his laugh.
Gu Mo complied, and as his energy flowed into the vial, its weight lessened drastically—still heavy, but now just within his ability to lift. Clearly, the vial itself was a treasure, designed to offset Xirang's crushing weight.
He stowed it into his storage space—only to feel a sudden, alarming pressure. His storage realm seemed on the verge of collapse. Hastily, he pulled it back out.
The scarecrow explained, "The vial counters the weight by drawing spiritual energy from its surroundings. Storage spaces lack ambient spiritual qi, so inside one, the vial can't maintain the suppression. The full weight would shatter your storage space. Best store it within the Void Crystal Core instead."
Finally, the scarecrow turned to the third item—a jade slip. "This is my master's legacy technique. Since you've obtained it, you could be considered half a disciple of my master."
Gu Mo solemnly bowed before accepting it.
But the moment his divine sense entered, his eyes widened in shock—the cave-heaven's master was a senior from Shennong Valley! And this wasn't the Taiyi Evergreen Scripture, but the fabled Shennong Compendium of a Hundred Herbs.
This was the highest inheritance for a spiritual botanist—reputed to exceed the Nascent Soul stage. Shennong Valley itself only possessed half of it; the rest had been lost ages ago. Even half of the Compendium was enough to keep Shennong Valley ranked among the top sects. Only its true inheritors could train in it.
The jade slip in Gu Mo's hands, however, seemed to contain the complete text—meaning the cave-heaven's owner came from a time unimaginably distant.
"My master was a registered disciple of Shennong himself," the scarecrow revealed.
Gu Mo's heart pounded. Shennong… real? Not just legend? If Shennong truly existed, he must have been a godlike immortal. And if the cave-heaven's master was his disciple, then… was he the very founder of Shennong Valley?
Before he could dwell further, the jade slip flashed and disintegrated, pouring a torrent of knowledge into his mind. It wasn't the full Compendium, but far more complete than what Shennong Valley currently possessed—its methods reaching as high as the Great Ascension Realm.
Through it, Gu Mo learned the realm progression above Nascent Soul: Spirit Severing, Integration, Tribulation Transcendence, and finally Great Ascension. His current techniques—Taiyi Evergreen Scripture and Grand Yan Celestial Cycle Art—were only at the Divine Transformation level, vastly inferior to the Shennong Compendium. And if Great Ascension wasn't even the Compendium's limit… then the complete version could well reach the level of gods.
A Void Crystal Core, legendary Xirang, and a cultivation method to reach Great Ascension—this was a fortune beyond measure.
"You must not pass on the Shennong Compendium," the scarecrow warned. Gu Mo nodded; such inheritances were never to be spread casually.
"I'll now unbind the cave-heaven core." The scarecrow picked up the crystal sphere and tapped it. The miniature world within began to fade away.
Rumble!
The ground trembled beneath Gu Mo's feet.
"What's happening?"
"When the core is unbound, the cave-heaven collapses," the scarecrow explained calmly, as if relieved. His master was gone, and his mission here was complete.
"Wait, what!?" Gu Mo blurted. He hadn't even finished collecting all the treasures! Grabbing the scarecrow, he tried to rush out—only to be pulled back.
"I am the guardian of this cave-heaven. I will be buried with it," the scarecrow said firmly.
"Senior, you said yourself—everything here belongs to me now, right?"
"Yes."
"Then that includes you!"
The scarecrow chuckled. "Nice try. Guardians are bound to their land. My power comes from this cave-heaven—outside, I'd just be an ordinary scarecrow. But if you want one for yourself, take this."
He reached into his chest and pulled out a wooden heart—the core of his power. With it, Gu Mo could create his own guardian someday.
"Go. You don't have much time." The scarecrow's presence seemed to diminish as he handed over the heart.
Unable to persuade him, Gu Mo ran, gathering along the way every treasure he could carry—fifth-tier materials, peak fourth-tier beast bones, rare herbs, and farming puppets to manage his future fields.
He hesitated at the gate, glancing back at the courtyard, but in the end left it behind. To take a scarecrow from its fields was the cruelest act of all.
Outside, the boulder marking the cave-heaven's entrance vanished. Gu Mo paused, then flew toward the Grand Yan Sword Sect. While his combat power hadn't skyrocketed, the gains were priceless for his future—portable cultivation lands, an herb army for battle, and a peerless technique.
Yet as he approached the sect, he suddenly halted midair.
"Come out."
From the shadows stepped an unremarkable young man radiating Core Formation perfection.
"A demonic sect spy?" Gu Mo recognized the aura immediately. This must be fallout from killing the earlier Core Formation late-stage spy—the demonic sect had sent someone even stronger to investigate.
"You must be Lin Wu," the man said, watching Gu Mo closely. The disguise could fool appearances, but not deduction. Only two people near Grand Yan Sword Sect could kill a late Core Formation cultivator: the famed Sword Lord Xuan Tianhen—and Lin Wu, with his undying core. Since the sect knew Xuan Tianhen hadn't acted, that left Gu Mo.
"And you're stalling for time," Gu Mo said sharply. A powerful Nascent Soul aura was rapidly approaching—another demonic sect leader, risking exposure to kill him. They truly feared him.
After all, a Core Formation cultivator who could slay late-stage peers was already monstrous—but one with an undying core was a nightmare.
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