Treasure Hunting

Chapter 20 The New Quest

Hearing Zachary's question, Mimi fell silent. She was searching for information to answer his question. After what seemed like ages, she said once more, "According to my analysis, this ink is made from the flower juice of a very rare plant in the world called Datura. If you want to make the words written by the ink on the scroll visible, you must apply Datura's root juice on the scroll."

"Where can I find this Datura?" Zachary asked.

"It's extremely rare, so you won't be able to find it," Mimi replied.

"Oh, never mind then," Zachary said as he rolled his eyes.

"Do you want to store this treasure?" Mimi asked.

Zachary threw the scroll randomly and it disappeared, stored by Mimi into the storage space. Then, he exited the system and went back. Soon afterwards, he caught up with his team members to finish his patrol quest with them.

"Why did it take you so long?" Benjamin asked when Zachary finally showed up. He stared at Zachary with suspicion in his eyes. He suspected that Zachary must be keeping a secret from him.

"It's because I am suffering from constipation," Zachary said. It was the first excuse that came to his mind. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Benjamin looked at Zachary suspiciously, but didn't ask any further questions.

After completing the patrol quest, Zachary returned to the Logistics Hall and received the reward, a first-grade white cultivation-aiding pill. He then went back to his treehouse and entered the system. In the system, Mimi's tender voice greeted him once more, "The new main quest is released. Head to Herbal Mountain to collect a century-old ganoderma hidden at the peak."

"It's a weird system. Finally, the new main quest has been activated. It seems like I will take a trip to Herbal Mountain tomorrow," Zachary muttered. He then entered the cultivation quest mode to start the challenge.

The cultivation quest this time was to run ten laps around the entire Welkin Sect within four hours.

The Welkin Sect was neither big nor small. Running one lap around the entire Welkin Sect at normal speed needed at least an hour. For ten laps, at least ten hours would be needed. Thus, such a cultivation quest was not easy.

But Zachary had mastered Shadow Pace well. With it, he finished the task easily within four hours. He received some points after he completed the cultivation quest.

Early in the morning of the next day, Zachary went to the Logistics Hall to obtain the daily quest. This time, he needed to go to the Herbal Mountain to collect herbs. However, he encountered his enemy, Benjamin, again during the quest.

Zachary kept a low profile on the way to the Herbal Mountain and did nothing out of the ordinary. He still noticed that Benjamin would look back to check on him from time to time, as if he was afraid that Zachary would run away or take a secret route.

'What the hell is this guy thinking?' Zachary thought secretly. Benjamin seemed a little different lately. He was attentive at times, while he'd be on very high alert and kept a distance from Zachary at other times. Zachary felt that he needed to keep an eye on Benjamin in case he planned to do something unexpected to hurt him.

According to the quest, each disciple needed to collect three herbs. Anyone who couldn't complete the quest would not receive any pill. Thus, after they arrived at the Herbal Mountain, the disciples immediately went off on their own directions to search for herbs.

"I should look for the ganoderma first," Zachary murmured as he remembered his main quest. Zachary didn't forget about his main quest, but herb collection was based mostly on his luck. He couldn't just get whatever he wanted. Besides, the disciples of the Welkin Sect collected herbs from the Herbal Mountain all year round, and the number of herbs available had been greatly reduced. But there was an exception. The peak of the mountain was abundant with herbs because it was rich in essential energy. However, this was also the reason why it was home to some powerful and fierce martial beasts. No common disciple dared to go there to collect herbs. It was marked as a forbidden area.

After Zachary disappeared to collect herbs, a figure appeared and said, "Let me see what secrets you are hiding." Then, he disappeared and followed Zachary.

According to the description of the quest, a century-old ganoderma was hidden under a strange rock at the peak of the Herbal Mountain. Thus, Zachary's searching range was reduced substantially, and it was also a risk for him. Since the peak was listed as a forbidden area, he was not supposed to be there. Thus, he needed to ascend to the peak quietly and without being noticed.

Zachary was also worried of encountering a powerful martial beast that might kill him. But the risk was not something that could prevent him from going for the quest. The Dog Soul Ring that he received as a reward greatly improved his treasure hunting ability. It also granted him the ability to hide his aura.

Zachary lifted the Dog Soul Ring and integrated his martial energy into the ring. He then saw a shadow the size of a palm shoot out from inside the ring. He felt that it was magical. The shadow fused with his body. He suddenly felt that his sense of smell, vision, and hearing had been increased considerably. Odors existing within a hundred meters around him were immediately picked up by his nose as if they came from somewhere very close; similarly, the scenery became vivid and clearly visible to his eyes, and also his ears became aware of the lightest sounds no matter how soft.

His heightened senses filled him with great confidence. When he entered the area, he was immediately impressed by the thousands of steep and rugged rocks in front of him. From time to time, he saw beast

shadows flashing by very fast. There were many gaps between the rocks and he knew that the ganoderma should be hiding among the gaps.

He began to process all the scents around, and focused on searching for the specific smell of the ganoderma. After some time had passed, he smelled a bitter, strange and very strong smell. He suspected that it might be the smell of ganoderma. He then traced the smell, and soon, in the gap between two strange rocks, he found the ganoderma, and immediately became thrilled. He just couldn't believe how lucky he was. However, when he looked up, he saw a fierce martial beast wandering nearby, and it looked very powerful.

The presence of the beast brought great risk to the task of approaching the ganoderma, but he had no other choice. So, he summoned his courage and walked stealthily and silently towards the ganoderma under the nose of the martial beast. When he reached it, he quickly pulled it and packed it in a cloth bag that he prepared beforehand. He left carefully and silently and then dashed quickly towards the perimeter of the forbidden area as soon as possible.

As soon as Zachary left the forbidden area safely, he heard a loud laugh. Then a voice said, "I knew it! I always felt that you were plotting something. But I didn't expect that you actually had the guts to break into the forbidden area to steal the treasures..."

Zachary turned towards the sound of the voice. He then saw that Benjamin was standing in front of him.

He stared at the cloth bag in Zachary's hands.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zachary said while shrugging his shoulders.

"If you don't want people to know your secret, give me the treasure you found. If you find anything else in the future, give me half. Only then will I keep your secret," Benjamin threatened.

"Do you really think anyone will believe you?" Zachary responded with a light smile and started to leave.

When Benjamin saw Zachary leaving, he immediately went to try and grab the cloth bag. But, before he reached the bag, he felt a flash in front of him. In the blink of an eye, Zachary disappeared.

Benjamin felt frustrated. He was not willing to give up the chance to get a free treasure. And so he immediately chased after Zachary. But despite his best efforts, he could not find where Zachary went.

While climbing down the mountain, Zachary picked up several first-grade herbs with great ease and then returned to the Logistics Hall.