Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 266: Herding Sky Grass

Two months of rigorous training had given the four of them a deeper understanding of the jungle.

Demon beasts at the Golden Core Stage and above generally possessed a strong sense of pride. Unless they were provoked by something like the Ancient Barbarian Bloodline, which incited the collective wrath of demon beasts, they wouldn’t act in groups.

“That’s indeed strange. In theory, my bloodline should exert a suppressing effect on demon beasts, but I didn’t feel that during the battle just now.” Man Gu recalled the peculiarity during his battle earlier. The Ancient Barbarian bloodline always had an overwhelming advantage against demon beasts. Since awakening his bloodline, Man Gu had never encountered such an unusual situation.

Lu Yang frowned, contemplating the reason.

“Ahhh, what is this?!” Suddenly, a piercing scream interrupted Lu Yang’s thoughts.

“Song Wuguo,[1] why the hell are you screaming?!” Song Hua chided his companion. Everyone was deep in thought, yet your sudden outburst threw all of us off track.

“L-look!” Song Wuguo sat on the ground, trembling as he pointed at the demon beast he had just disemboweled.

He had wanted to paunch it and extract the demon beast’s inner core as gratitude to Lu Yang and the other three for saving their lives, but the abnormality of the inner core had startled him.

Lu Yang walked over and saw that the lone wolf had been eviscerated. In its dantian area was a somewhat dim inner core wrapped in withered yellow leaves. The leaves were thin and densely packed, connected by white, thread-like strands that were sticky.

He covered his right arm with spirit energy and extricated the strange inner core. “There’s nothing odd with the inner core. Does that mean the issue lies with the leaves?

“Let’s dissect the other demon beasts!”

Everyone immediately set to work, slicing the demon beasts open. Soon, the results were clear—the inner cores of all five demon beasts were wrapped in the same withered yellow leaves.

Lu Yang racked his brain to rummage through everything he had learned, but nothing matched these leaves. “Does anyone recognize these leaves?”

Even the knowledgeable Meng Jingzhou shook his head.

Tao Yaoye and Man Gu also shook their heads.

As for those from the Song Family, it went without saying that their knowledge couldn't even compare to Tao Yaoye and Man Gu's, being limited to only identifying common spirit plants.

The two bodyguards, who had lived in the Demon Suppression Pass all these years, had also never seen such leaves.

“I keep feeling like I’ve seen this in a book somewhere... Could it be the Herding Sky Grass?” Song Wuguo muttered softly.

“Herding Sky Grass?” Everyone turned to look at Song Wuguo.

Song Wuguo immediately felt the immense pressure from their gazes. He was timid and had always preferred reading books to interacting with people. It was his first time being at the center of attention like this.

“Wuguo, do you recognize where these leaves come from?”

“It...it just looks familiar. I’m not entirely sure either, but I once saw an ancient text from the Great Yu Dynasty in the scripture library, and it was a notebook of a great pill-concocting master. It mentioned a spirit herb named the Herding Sky Grass, and the drawing in the book looked very similar to this.

“The book stated that the Herding Sky Grass initially grows like a weed. It possesses an impressive camouflage ability, mimicking the appearance of plants around it. When it is about to mature, it will begin to devour demon beasts, using them as nutrients to accelerate its growth. At the same time, it can also parasitize a part of itself within demon beasts, controlling their every move and making them go out to gather food for itself.

“The ‘herding’ in Herding Sky Grass is derived from its parasitic nature, meaning ‘to herd.’

“You know the corpse-driving spells, right? Legend has it that the cultivator who created such spells had drawn inspiration from the parasitic methods of the Herding Sky Grass.”

“What a wicked grass!” Meng Jingzhou furrowed his brow, sensing the malevolent nature within the Herding Sky Grass.

“Immortal Fairy, have you heard of the Herding Sky Grass?” Lu Yang secretly asked the Everlasting Immortal Fairy.

“There are a few minor inaccuracies, but it’s mostly correct.” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s reply confirmed the existence of the Herding Sky Grass.

It was rare for Song Wuguo to feel valued, and he grew more excited as he spoke. “Big Brother Song Hua, this Herding Sky Grass is so rare that even Fusion experts may not have seen it. It’s incredibly beneficial for their cultivation. If we can retrieve it, bring it back to the family, and offer it to our great-grandfather, our status within the Song Family will be solidified!

“With some extra effort, the position of clan head might even be within your grasp!”

“Is this thing really so rare?!”

“Absolutely! That ancient text I read belonged to a Fusion pill-concocting master, and even he had only seen two Herding Sky Grass in his whole life. The records also noted that refining the Herding Sky Grass into the Herding Sky Pill can raise a Fusion cultivator’s cultivation by one minor realm!”

Song Hua’s eyes lit up. This is indeed good stuff. But he quickly regained his composure. “We almost got killed by the Herding Sky Grass. Given our abilities, how could we possibly pluck it and get out alive? It’s better to return and inform our uncles so that they can handle it.”

“But if we let our uncles intervene, how do we determine who gets the credit? Big Brother Song Hua, don’t worry, we actually have a chance to get our hands on the Herding Sky Grass.”

“How so?”

“The Herding Sky Grass can control a maximum of ten demon beasts. Since these five are at the Golden Core Stage, it implies that the Herding Sky Grass can only manipulate Golden Core demon beasts. That leaves only five more Golden Core demon beasts under its control.

“With Young Master Meng’s assistance, those five Golden Core demon beasts won’t be a threat!”

Song Hua ruminated about it and agreed it did make sense. Cultivators from both the Meng Family and Dao-Seeking Sect have one thing in common—they never use pills to directly elevate their cultivation stages.

Therefore, neither the Meng Family nor the Dao-Seeking Sect will compete with us for the Herding Sky Grass!

“Here’s the situation. Once I obtain the Herding Sky Grass, I will definitely report it to the clan and reward the four of you generously!” The Song Family wouldn’t renege on their promises.

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Song Hua had chosen to share his true thoughts openly. If he tried to conceal his intentions now, only for Meng Jingzhou to discover them later, it would damage the relationship between the Meng and Song families; the gains would not make up for the losses.

Meng Jingzhou accepted on behalf of the group. They already had plans to eradicate the Herding Sky Grass as the threat it posed was too enormous. If left unchecked, it would continue to hunt for nutrients, and who knew how many more lives would be lost.

“We were attacked by demon beasts in this direction. It’s very likely that the Herding Sky Grass is over there!” Song Hua recalled their escape route. He was the calmest and made sure to memorize the path they took.

~~~

“Let’s set off!” After a brief rest, the group headed deeper into the jungle.

Ten figures traversed through the jungle, taking turns to extend their spiritual consciousness and search for traces of the Herding Sky Grass.

“The ancient text mentioned that the Herding Sky Grass prefers dark, damp environments. Everyone, please keep that in mind when searching for it,” Song Wuguo reminded loudly.

“Got it.”

“Found it! It’s right in the middle of that swamp!” Song Hua hollered, his voice filled with excitement.

“Don’t let your guard down! The demon beasts controlled by the Herding Sky Grass may be nearby!” Lu Yang used his spiritual consciousness to warn the group.

Right as he finished speaking, they heard a roar coming from above them.

Five mighty demon beasts appeared overhead.

“Follow the plan we discussed earlier and pair up! The Dao-Seeking Sect will be the main combat force, the Song Family will provide support from the sidelines, while the two bodyguards will team up to take on one demon beast!”

“Understood!”

Everyone instantly sprang into action. Lu Yang engaged one demon beast, with Song Wuguo providing support from the sidelines, while Song Hua backed Meng Jingzhou up.

Clang! The Qingfeng Sword was unsheathed. A silver light flashed past like the argent moon in the night sky, radiant and inviolable. The rays from the sword morphed into fierce killing intent, clashing with one of the demon beasts.

Tao Yaoye glanced at the Herding Sky Grass in the swamp from the corner of her eye, an inexplicable uneasiness lingering in her heart. She couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was amiss, but she just couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

1. This is actually an interesting name, since it literally translates to “no fruit.” It suggests that the person’s endeavors will not bear fruits and they will have no achievements. ☜