Star Martial Era: The Way of Star Light Cultivation-Chapter 73 - 69 Searching the Mountains for Treasures

The manual listed 149 common medicinal herbs found in Green Mountain, 33 rare medicinal herbs occasionally encountered, 34 commonplace extraordinary items from Heaven and Earth, and 14 rare extraordinary items seldom seen.

The value of each item was marked alongside its description.

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For example, the most common deer horn grass, when harvested, was valued and purchased by the Institute at one tael of Silver for each plant.

Within the deer horn grass, some were aged and contained a faint aura of Star Power, which cultivators could sense upon approaching.

Based on the strength of the Star Power, the herbs were classified as ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred, two hundred, five hundred, or a thousand-year-old herbs.

There were even more that were called one-star, two-star, three-star, four-star, five-star, six-star, and seven-star medicinal herbs.

The Institute increased the purchasing price for these herbs by multiples or even ten-folds.

A common deer horn grass was bought by the Institute for one tael of Silver each, but a one-star, or ten-year-old herb, was bought for five taels of Silver each, and a three-star, or fifty-year-old herb, was bought for fifty taels of Silver each.

The higher the star level, the more valuable it was.

But relatively speaking, ordinary medicinal herbs were most common, one-star and two-star could still be found, but anything above three-star was sought after but seldom found.

For this Mountain Search and Treasure Gathering, the Institute set a minimum requirement for all disciples.

Each disciple had to harvest and hand over medicinal herbs or extraordinary items valued at two hundred taels of Silver.

Meeting this requirement would earn them a passing grade and a record of Small Merit.

Failure to meet the requirement resulted in a mark of poor performance.

Consecutive marks of poor performance three times or accumulative five would result in expulsion from the Institute.

Those who harvested and handed over extraordinary items worth a thousand taels of Silver would receive an evaluation of ‘Good’ and earn a record of two Small Merits.

And those who handed over items valued at two thousand taels of Silver would receive an evaluation of ‘Excellent’ and earn a record of three Small Merits.

After accumulating five records of Small Merit, one could qualify to purchase a Star-picking Order.

For the value of harvested medicinal herbs and items exceeding two hundred taels, the Institute would take a fifty percent cut, and for values above two thousand taels of Silver, the Institute would take a twenty percent cut thereafter, all the rest would belong to the individual.

It could be converted into Silver or Starlight of the Star-picking Tower as needed.

Those who hid their private stash would be expelled from the Institute!

Besides, there were ranking rewards, with rewards for the top thirty in harvested value.

These were the basic rules for the Mountain Search and Treasure Gathering organized by the Jinshan Taoist Institute.

Once into the mountains, disciples could either form groups or act independently.

They were each given three emergency alert transmissions.

Although the event was said to span three days, in actuality, there were five days, since the days for entering and exiting the mountains were not counted.

Enter the mountains on the 9th, and after a full three days, one could leave the mountains on the 13th.

Task completers could also return earlier if they finished their tasks.

Xu Jin calculated that the timing was just right.

If he returned from his task on the 13th, his younger sister would return home on the 14th, and he would also be home.

Many disciples were seeking companions for their journey along the way.

Xu Jin, however, was not in a hurry to find anyone.

He felt it was not necessary.

Not because he had confidence in his own strength.

But rather, in such matters, finding someone trustworthy was too difficult; conflicts could easily arise, and one could be easily betrayed.

Xu Jin’s attitude was better to lack than to be excessive!

“Brother Xu, have you found a companion to travel with?” Suddenly, Lu Xianbing approached him.

“Not yet.”

Xu Jin thought Lu Xianbing wanted to team up with him.

Although he had some understanding of Lu Xianbing, the knowledge wasn’t deep enough, and Xu Jin wasn’t keen on partnering up for now.

Of course, in terms of Cultivation Level, Lu Xianbing was quite qualified, already at the Sixth Layer of the Dining Dawn Realm, one of only three this Star-pointing Season.

Just last night, Ren Xiaoxiang had broken through to the Sixth Layer of the Dining Dawn Realm.

As Xu Jin was thinking about how to reject him, Lu Xianbing suddenly lowered his voice, “If you’re confident in your own abilities, it’s best not to team up.

After all, with so many Instructors, instructors, and even the Vice Dean around, there are not too many safety concerns.

However, teaming up means potentially halving your gains.

If you don’t want to team up, you can refuse or say that you’re already teaming up with me.”

Suddenly, Xu Jin understood.

Lu Xianbing’s approach wasn’t just out of kindness; it was also to find a shield, a mutual shield.

After all, everyone seeking them out was a disciple of the Institute; a direct refusal might be somewhat hurtful.

This green-clothed offspring of an official sure knew how to conduct himself.

Sure enough, along the way, several people came to them looking to team up, including some disciples in the 5th, 6th, and even the Seventh Layer from the Dining Dawn Realm.

There were slightly more people looking for Lu Xianbing, about a dozen, while only two or three sought out Xu Jin.

All were turned down.

Xu Jin also realized that those Dining Dawn Realm disciples of the 6th and 7th Layers who came to Lu Xianbing to form teams didn’t really want to team up.

Instead, they probably wanted to make connections with Lu Xianbing.

No matter how Lu Xianbing’s future Cultivation progressed, his father, Lu Chang, being a Lord-lieutenant, made him an incredibly valuable acquaintance.

Lu Xianbing, usually a man of few words, actually talked quite a bit when with friends.

He shared a lot of information that Xu Jin didn’t know.

Of course, this was perfectly normal, as Lu Xianbing’s sources of information were quite different.

For instance, the monthly treasure hunts by the Taoist Institute were actually meant to supply resources for the Star-picking Tower.

The Star-picking Tower was an ancient divine artifact, enigmatic in power, with many functions extremely potent and irreplaceable.

Every country and Star Hall had a main tower, and there were branch towers in various states and counties or even at strategic locations.

However, once the main tower and the branch towers of the Star-picking Tower were built, they weren’t maintenance-free.

The operation of the Star-picking Tower required the consumption of vast amounts of Star Power.

For example, just consider the Martial Arts Secret Realm where, during combat training, as soon as someone dies in battle, their Star Power is immediately replenished.

The martial artists didn’t expend anything, but the Star-picking Tower actually did.

This includes functionalities like Starlight Transmission and so on.

Therefore, all countries and Star Halls needed to regularly inject various treasures containing Star Power into the Star-picking Towers to replenish their consumption.

The demand for Star Power in the branch towers of the Star-picking Tower in each state and county would be replenished by dividing it among the users.

Currently, the Jinshan County’s Star-picking Tower branch was shared among three parties, the Jinshan Taoist Institute, Tianyang Branch, and Cangming Branch, among which the Jinshan Taoist Institute had the most significant share.

On the way, Xu Jin learned even more.

At 11:45 AM, all disciples had arrived at the entrance of Green Mountain’s hinterland, the Jinshan Branch.

Rows of big pots were lined up, all filled with meat.

After all the disciples had had their fill, they picked up four days’ worth of dry food packs and a water bladder and could then enter the mountain on their own.

Watching the disciples entering the mountain one by one, Xu Jin couldn’t help but feel amazed.

A world with extraordinary powers really was different.

In his past life, if a group of powerful individuals with no outdoor experience were to survive solo in the deep woods for three to five days, out of ten, eight would likely die.

But with Star Power as a foundation, it was a different story.

Fifteen minutes later, Xu Jin and Lu Xianbing took their supplies and entered the mountain.

After crossing a mountain ridge, they parted ways.

Xu Jin’s destination was a long, deep canyon visible in the distance, named Ghost Pine Valley on the map, where packs of wild wolves roamed.

It was recommended for disciples of the Dining Dawn Fifth Layer and above.

Having learned the Flying Star Step, the advantage was immediately evident.

When crossing mountains, a burst of the Flying Star Step could propel him five to six meters high, enough to surmount most dangers, and his speed was also very fast.

Half an hour later, Xu Jin reached Ghost Pine Valley.

But shortly after entering the valley, he found six or seven wolf carcasses; the blood not yet dry, which meant some fellow Taoist Institute disciples had gotten there first – and not just one of them.

After searching around, he only found seven Ghost Pine Towers, amounting to three and a half taels of silver.

Looking at the map, Xu Jin pondered for a while, deciding to adjust his strategy.

The places he could see on the map, other fellow disciples could see as well, especially spots recommended for Dining Dawn Fifth or Sixth Layer disciples, were actually very safe.

Even a Fourth Layer disciple could try their luck.

Therefore, to achieve a great harvest, one must go farther and to more dangerous places.

Xu Jin had set for himself a target for this mountain venture: to gain at least the next month’s provisions for cultivation.

Currently, Xu Jin’s expenses amounted to a minimum of 350 taels of silver every five days, which translated to over two thousand taels a month.

And first, he had to contribute two hundred taels of treasures to the Taoist Institute; if the haul was less than two thousand taels, the Institute would take a fifty percent cut; only after the Institute took a twenty percent cut of amounts over two thousand taels could he keep the rest.

In total, he needed to collect upwards of four thousand taels.

Xu Jin’s ideal target was a haul of five thousand taels or more.

Because he also needed to fund his upgrade at the Candou Platform.

After some thought, Xu Jin finally set his sights on Golden Eagle Peak, the furthest location on the map, recommended only for disciples of the Dining Dawn Seventh Layer and above.

Beyond that lay areas so dangerous that Dining Dawn Realm disciples were advised not to enter.

Xu Jin decided to head there and tentatively explore the dangerous areas.

One reason was that he had a safety ace up his sleeve, and the second was, after so many days of actual combat in the Martial Arts Secret Realm, Xu Jin had a realistic understanding of his true combat power – with his ability for instantaneous Star Skill, he should be able to engage and emerge unscathed against some Seventh Layer opponents.

Of course, there was no need to waste his safety ace unless necessary.

The Fourth Tier Dawn Emblem given by the green-clothed man was worth a thousand taels of gold, and even the Three-star Vortex Blade Emblem given by Ning Yuchan was worth four thousand taels of silver in the market.

If he had to use it, the loss would not justify the means.

But if needed, it must be used.

Xu Jin didn’t want to be reckless, but to gain more rewards, taking some risks was essential.

With his destination set, Xu Jin no longer took detours.

Relying on the Flying Star Step, he headed straight towards the peaks and valleys, making for Golden Eagle Peak.

Two hours later, just before darkness fell, Xu Jin, not sparing his Star Power, finally arrived at Golden Eagle Peak.

Along the way, he picked up another gain of over ten taels of silver, which he threw into his backpack.

Perhaps because Xu Jin did not spare his Star Power in hurrying over, there were no signs of other people on Golden Eagle Peak.

In just a few minutes of searching below a cliff, he found over a dozen Songluo Grass.

Xu Jin was delighted.

Each Songluo Grass was worth two taels of silver, and among them, two vaguely resonated with Star Power, which must be one-star Songluo Grass.

A one-star Songluo Grass was worth ten taels of silver.

With a gentle leap, he hung from the cliff face and harvested thirteen Songluo Grass, two of which should be one-star Songluo Grass.

As Xu Jin collected the Songluo Grass, his Candou Platform suddenly flash with a flicker of starlight.

No stranger to the Candou Platform, Xu Jin was instantly thrilled.