CHAPTER 127: 【096】STRANGE STONE TEMPLE IN THE MOUNTAINS, CAVE OF THE FIVE POISONOUS CREATURES

On the steep cliff of five to six hundred meters, a nimble figure was swiftly jumping and climbing on the near-vertical rock surface, below where clouds swirled and birds circled, creating an illusion of being in a fairyland.

"Finding this thing is really tough. If it weren’t for my Lightweight Skill, even if someone discovered it, they wouldn’t be able to pick it."

Wang Longhu pulled himself up with one hand on a rocky edge jutting out only about three to four centimeters from the cliff, instantly springing up more than three meters high like being loaded with a spring. As he looked at the medicinal herb just a few meters above his head, he couldn’t help but marvel.

Once he got closer, Wang Longhu took a careful look at the herb that had made him climb into such a dangerous place to collect.

Its leaves were long and oval-shaped, very tender to the touch. The veins on the front were clear, while the back had a bit of silver-white color. In the middle of the four leaves, a pale purple flower was blooming.

Next to it was another plant, but it hadn’t grown to the flowering stage yet, just bearing orange-red round fruits.

This was precisely a rare wild medicinal herb with high medicinal value, capable of treating diseases like encephalitis B, appendicitis, tonsillitis, mumps, mastitis, venomous snake and insect bites, ulcers, and inflammations.

Renowned doctor Li Shizhen once described Seven-leaf Flower as ’Seven-leaf Flower, the deep mountains are my home, boils and ulcers, upon encounter, handled easily’.

Several years ago, the price of Seven-leaf Flower was five to six hundred per pound, but this year, due to the scarcity in the wild, it has skyrocketed to 1500 per pound, a substantial profit.

As Wang Longhu was about to dig it out by the roots, his ears suddenly twitched, picking up faint strange noises nearby. He glanced in the direction of the sound.

Just half a step away, a brown snake about one meter long with a triangular head was coiled on the cliff, raising its head and incessantly flicking its tongue towards Wang Longhu.

The snake had a large triangular head, a long and pointed snout, a brownish body with many square spots on its back, a short and thin tail, and the scales at the tip were laterally flattened and sharp.

In the lecture hall, learning to identify snakes was as essential as memorizing the appearance and value of medicinal herbs because, in real encounters, you needed to know whether the snake you faced was venomous or non-venomous.

Unfortunately, the one before Wang Longhu now was the infamous Pit Viper.

This name might not be familiar to the average person, but it had another well-known title: ’Five-step Snake’.

The venom of the Pit Viper contained potent hemolytic proteins and intense hemorrhagic effects. Once bitten, the wound would bleed continuously, and even bandaging couldn’t stop it, leading to widespread hemorrhaging throughout the body.

It barely takes a few seconds for a person to lose consciousness, making the Pit Viper one of the most feared creatures for herbalists in the wild.

Wang Longhu didn’t expect to run into such a venomous snake even after climbing several hundred meters up the cliff; it was truly unfortunate.

Fortunately, snakes typically won’t attack unless provoked. Wang Longhu didn’t mind it and continued reaching out to dig up the Seven-leaf Flower rooted in the soil.

But as he was thinking this, the Pit Viper suddenly struck.

The entire snake’s head shot forward swiftly, aiming to bite Wang Longhu’s face.

"Courting death!" Wang Longhu’s eyes turned sharp in an instant, and he shot out a finger with a speed faster than the Pit Viper, flicking it right on the snake’s forehead.

At the moment Wang Longhu’s fingertip touched the Pit Viper’s head, the whole snake head exploded on the spot, leaving the rest of the snake body headless, wobbling, and falling off the cliff.

Now that Wang Longhu’s Form Strength was mixed and pure, his finger could crack a tree with just a touch, a strength that the Pit Viper couldn’t withstand.

Even the giant python from yesterday would be finished in a single move against Wang Longhu today.

He packed up the Seven-leaf Flower, unaffected by the Pit Viper’s small interruption, and looked around to see if there were any other herbs he hadn’t yet discovered nearby.

Just then, the clouds in the sky were blown apart by the wind, and a ray of harsh sunlight pierced through the gaps to illuminate the land.

Though it had been overcast, the sunlight suddenly turned incredibly bright, making the sunshine on a person unbearably hot, causing Wang Longhu to feel slightly dazed.

As his gaze shifted to the north, the daze in Wang Longhu’s eyes deepened.

"What is that?" Wang Longhu couldn’t help but exclaim.

Today, the clouds and mist in the mountains blanketed the forest in white, making visibility very low.

In ancient times, such phenomena were termed ’miasma’, which were harmful rather than beneficial to the human body in excessive quantities.

However, just when the sun’s rays broke through, the fog in the mountain thinned, slowly revealing the landscape that had been hidden.

In the northern forest, as the mist receded, a triangular-roofed stone pagoda appeared.

In such an uninhabited area, the existence of an ancient man-made building left Wang Longhu exceedingly shocked at first glance.

Taking out a map, Wang Longhu, unlike ordinary herbalists, had reached the blue-marked unknown territory as early as the second day.

No one from the factory had ever been here for exploration, leaving no information available.