Tale of an Ordinary Cultivator

Zhao Yunxiao had made up his mind by now.

After making sure that Cheng Kai had indeed left, he began to look around for tracks left behind by the giant tree ostriches.

Thankfully, Zhao Yunxiao already knew that these monsters enjoyed living in the trees, so that severely narrowed down the areas that he had to search, making things much easier.

With that, he was able to quickly find the traces that he was looking for.

Zhao Yunxiao looked back once again in the direction that Cheng Kai left towards.

Only after being doubly sure that Cheng Kai was not standing right there staring at him, Zhao Yunxiao tightened his grip on his halberd and started heading deeper into the forest, following the traces left behind by the giant tree ostrich.

This was not Zhao Yunxiao’s first time seeing giant tree ostriches in the wild.

He once had a close shave in the past, spotting a giant tree ostrich perched in a tree from afar.

Back then, he had thought that it was a regular bird and was even about to hunt it down.

Fortunately for him, an unsuspecting beast wandered into its hunting range at the same time.

Zhao Yunxiao could still vividly remember the way the giant tree ostrich suddenly dove down from the tree, splitting the beast’s skull open with a single swipe of its talons.

All of that was done with such ease that it sent shivers down his spine just by watching, especially after realising that had he moved just a bit faster, it could easily have been him who ended up with the split skull instead!

When he returned to the sect that day, Zhao Yunxiao immediately headed for the Sect Library, spending the next few hours looking up every last bit of information pertaining to giant tree ostriches.

It might be misleading because of how easily Cheng Kai dispatched of them, but giant tree ostriches were extremely powerful beasts considered to have strength equivalent to cultivators at the peak of the Essence Physique realm!

If not for the fact that he had witnessed with his own eyes how Cheng Kai took down both of the giant tree ostriches, Zhao Yunxiao would never even think about trying to rob, no, trying to explore a giant tree ostrich’s nest!

Giant tree ostriches did not usually roam too far from their nests, so he knew that this would be a short trek.

And just as expected, it did not take long before he finally stumbled on his target.

Giant tree ostriches usually nested in the trees, and this pair was no exception.

In order to protect their eggs, they had constructed a nest near the top of a huge plum tree.

It was a nest made of twigs and branches, weaved together expertly to form a tight cocoon-like structure. There was also soil plastered on the outside, making sure that there were absolutely no gaps except for an opening at the top, though even that opening at the top was currently covered by a wide slab of stone.

The nest held strong even with the slab of stone pressing down on it, testament to the strength of the nest walls.

It was almost as tall as a man and about one and a half metres wide.

Nested atop the plum tree, the nest stuck out like a sore thumb, almost as though it was afraid that others would not be able to find it.

Zhao Yunxiao let out a wry smile upon seeing this.

Only a creature as strong as the giant tree ostrich could afford to create an outlandish nest like this without any fear of others discovering it.

It’s like announcing to the world that I am right here, so come get me if you dare!

Of course, he was not complaining about it as it definitely helped to save him some time.

Even though Zhao Yunxiao knew that the pair of giant tree ostriches had already been taken care of by Cheng Kai, he still approached the nest in a cautious manner.

After all, it was well known that giant tree ostriches liked to hide precious spiritual herbs in their nests.

In the case where other beasts had discovered the unguarded nest before him, he might just find himself open to attacks if they were still around.

He carefully spread out his spiritual sense, slowly checking out his surroundings.

After making sure that there was nothing menacing in his direct vicinity, he slowly extended his spiritual sense towards the huge nest.

Zhao Yunxiao might be unable to see within the covered nest, but he managed to sense a strong spiritual energy within.

That was definitely good news.

A strong spiritual presence within meant that the nest was not empty at least, which meant that there was still a chance that he could obtain what he was here for.

Of course, whether he would end up finding more than what he wanted within the nest was another question altogether.

Zhao Yunxiao slowly crept forward from within the trees, his grip tightened around his halberd and his senses heightened, constantly scanning his surroundings.

Watch the environment.

Watch the flow of energy.

Keeping Cheng Kai’s earlier words in mind, Zhao Yunxiao kept himself on his toes, making sure that he would be ready for any sudden attacks.

Thankfully, there were no unwelcomed surprises while he approached, and he eventually arrived by the side of the huge nest.

Zhao Yunxiao stayed a short distance away, carefully using his halberd to lift the stone slab covering the opening to the nest.

It was heavy!

The stone slab looked thin, so Zhao Yunxiao had imagined that it would not weigh too much.

However, he was in for a rude shock when he actually tried to lift it.

Although it was not so heavy to the extent that he was completely unable to lift it, it was still enough to demand quite a bit of effort from him.

That was completely unnatural for a normal slab of stone.

But the moment Zhao Yunxiao managed to lift up the stone slab, he immediately understood why that was the case.

Spiritual energy gushed out from the nest like a tide, just like lava erupting escaping the mouth of an erupting volcano.

The sudden emergence of so much spiritual energy not only rustled the branches and leaves, but even the trees in the direct vicinity swayed along, as though they were performing a welcome dance for the arrival of precious spiritual nourishment.

It would appear that spiritual energy had been suppressed within the nest somehow, causing an energy vacuum of sort that ended up sucking in the stone slab and making it difficult to be lifted.

And along with the opening revealed, the suppression of the spiritual energy had been released all at once.

Zhao Yunxiao lit up the moment he saw this.

The fact that the spiritual energy was only just released from the nest indicated he should be the first one to arrive.

In addition, the sheer amount of spiritual energy made it obvious that the spiritual herb within was definitely not ordinary!

But from now on, Zhao Yunxiao also understood that a timer had started for him.

The sudden release of spiritual energy would definitely attract the attention of nearby monsters and spirit beasts.

If he did not want to end up being surrounded on all sides, he had to quickly collect everything and get out of here before these creatures arrive!

Zhao Yunxiao immediately stepped forward and took a good look inside the nest.

Even the inside of the nest seemed rather elaborately constructed – there were ten eggs lining the side of the nest, each rested nicely on small platforms formed from twigs that slightly protruded from the inner wall of the nest.

These were not ordinary eggs, but eggs of a monster at the Essence Physique realm. Just one of it was worth a fortune in the eyes of an outer disciple like Zhao Yunxiao!

But even these precious eggs were not enough to fully capture his attention this time.

Instead, Zhao Yunxiao’s gaze was instantly drawn to something else in the nest.

Right there in the centre of the nest, surrounded by all ten eggs, was a flower that resembled a lily.

At the same time, even the most oblivious person would be able to tell that this was no ordinary lily with a single glance.

It had yet to start blooming, but the colours of the eventual flower were already obvious.

With the further end of each petal being completely black in colour, it actually looked rather odd in contrast to the pure white colour of the inner end.

Trapped in the nest, its roots were actually growing into the inner bottom of the nest. It would seem that at this rate, it was only a matter of time before its roots completely cut through the thick walls of the nest to escape through the bottom.

But most importantly, it was emanating strong waves of spiritual energy, the strongest proof as to just how precious it was exactly.

Darkpetal lily.

Zhao Yunxiao’s heart skipped a beat the moment he recognised this precious spiritual herb.

As expected of the giant tree ostriches, they had high standards when selecting their spiritual herbs too!

While the darkpetal lily’s petals could also be made into tea with nourishing effects, it was best known for its poisonous traits.

Not only did it possess toxic pollen that could numb one’s movements when inhaled, its roots could also be ground into toxic powder that could disorientate one’s mind when ingested.

Fortunately for Zhao Yunxiao, the flower had yet to bloom.

Otherwise, he would have to be extremely careful not to accidentally inhale the pollen, lest he ended up being immobilised here in the wilderness.

And that would be nothing short of a death sentence!

Zhao Yunxiao started off by collecting the eggs.

The eggs of the giant tree ostrich were rather large, but Zhao Yunxiao’s trusted bamboo backpack was still enough to fit them all.

They were not secured to the nest in any manner, so it was easy for him to put them away.

However, collecting the darkpetal lily was not as simple a task.

Its roots had already started growing into the bottom of the nest, so removing it without damaging the roots was a tricky matter.

Zhao Yunxiao could slowly pick away at the nest to free the roots of the darkpetal lily, but he simply did not have the luxury of time to do so right now.

Without hesitation, Zhao Yunxiao brought out a dagger and started tearing away at the nest, cutting it into pieces.

Since he did not have the time to separate the darkpetal lily from the nest, he simply had to bring the nest with him!

That said, there was no need to bring along the entire nest either.

That would not only be unnecessary, but the bulky nest would also impede his ability to remain stealthy while travelling through the forest.

Instead, all he needed was the bottom part of the nest where the darkpetal lily had secured itself to.

The giant tree ostrich’s nest was large and sturdy, but its walls were still nowhere near strong enough to survive an essence energy imbued attack by a cultivator.

Zhao Yunxiao easily tore up the nest, allowing the darkpetal lily to see the light once more.

Once he was left with only the bottom part of the nest, Zhao Yunxiao carefully placed it, along with the attached darkpetal lily, into his bamboo backpack as well.

Now that he had already obtained everything that he needed, Zhao Yunxiao did not dare linger and quickly left the area.

He had absolutely no intention to wait and see which creatures would be drawn to this spot by the sudden emergence of spiritual energy earlier.

In fact, he no longer had any intentions to continue with the rest of day’s hunt as well.

This was an unexpectedly huge reward that he was carrying in his backpack right now.

He could always try to hide it with his pushcart and continue with his hunt just like what he did with his previous preys.

But if it were to end up going missing, he was definitely going to feel like stabbing himself for the stupidity!

Being on Purple Plum Mountain where most were members of the Black Tortoise Sect, he would need to be quite unlucky to have someone discover his hidden pushcart and decide to raid it as well.

However, he was not intending to take chances here.

Zhao Yunxiao always believed in preparing for the worst, and the worst outcome this time was definitely not something that his tender little heart could bear!