118. The Herb Garden

After those shattered magical instruments lost their spiritual energy, they turned into ordinary materials. Chen Fengyun immediately spent 3 attribute points to raise his artifact forging skill to the tenth rank of the Mortal Realm.

Then, using these materials, he spent another 9 attribute points to directly upgrade his flying sword, the Mysterious Yin Mirror, and the Spirit Gathering Formation Flag all to the tenth rank of the Mortal Realm. The remaining materials were stored away.

Although his attribute points were halved in an instant, Chen Fengyun was still very excited. Not only had his cultivation improved, but his overall abilities and magical instruments had also been comprehensively enhanced, significantly boosting his combat power.

There were still some things he hadn’t checked yet, so he stored them all in his miniature Heaven’s Cave. Nearly half an hour had passed, and the group of powerful opponents on the other side was about to arrive. He needed to hurry and search elsewhere.

“Hmm, there’s a medicinal garden at the back, and it even has spiritual herbs,” Chen Fengyun suddenly noticed the faint scent of spiritual herbs emanating from a place behind the cluster of buildings.

He immediately mounted his flying sword and sped toward the rear of the building complex. However, several zombies noticed him and howled as they gave chase.

Chen Fengyun observed that most of these zombies were once human, their clothing ancient—likely disciples of this sect. They had lost their consciousness and were only interested in fresh flesh.

“Not playing with you right now; I’ll collect your attribute points after I gather the herbs,” he thought. Though aware that the zombies contained evil energy he could absorb, Chen Fengyun decided to check out the medicinal garden first. Leaving the zombies alive could create trouble for the others later.

“Boom!”

As Chen Fengyun rushed toward the back of the building complex, a sudden loud explosion came from behind. The protective light shield, weakened by damage to its array foundation, finally collapsed under the assault of a group of powerful fighters.

“Yes! The light shield is finally broken. Hurry and grab the treasures!” someone shouted loudly, leaping over the fissure to the other side.

The first to rush over were the master-level experts who acted alone. They spoke little, jumping across the breach at the moment the shield shattered and then rushing into various buildings.

“Be careful, there seem to be zombies over there,” members of the Southern and Northern factions warned each other as they gathered and entered together.

“Howl…”

“Boom…”

The master-level fighters at the front soon encountered zombies within the buildings and engaged in fierce combat. The concentrated battle aura attracted even more zombies, including those that had chased Chen Fengyun earlier, all turning and sprinting back.

No one knew why these zombies had formed. Their faces were pale, their bodies not stiff, and they moved swiftly. Only their hollow, eerie eye sockets, blood-red eyes, and gaping mouths revealed that they were no longer normal humans.

“Everyone be careful!” Wan Jianlin shouted, protecting the younger disciples alongside Zhao Tingfeng, Han Wenjun, and others. Meanwhile, Martin and Hong Zhongshan had already begun searching nearby buildings.

“Get closer to me. We’ll rush toward that building over there,” on the other side, after Chen Fengyun left, Feng Tianbao felt immense pressure. He led a group of people, fighting off zombies as they charged toward a nearby structure.

“Whoosh…”

Chen Fengyun ignored the commotion behind him, crouching atop his flying sword as he swiftly left the building cluster. He arrived outside a courtyard emitting a faint herbal fragrance, confirming the presence of a medicinal garden protected by a defensive formation.

However, the formation’s foundation appeared damaged, allowing the herbal scent to leak out. Quickly examining the area, Chen Fengyun located the broken foundation and slashed it with his sword, completely destroying it and exposing a larger flaw in the formation. Seizing the opportunity, he slipped inside the garden.

The medicinal garden was as large as several football fields, but most of the soil inside was gray, as if its spiritual energy had been drained.

Yet within this vast garden, several patches remained intact, growing varieties of herbs unfamiliar to Chen Fengyun. Still, he could sense that all these were genuine spiritual medicines.

These few surviving herbs had been preserved thanks to specialized defensive arrays around them, and the soil beneath them was also protected, allowing them to continue growing.

Chen Fengyun swiftly moved to one patch and found a nine-leaf spiritual herb, about a meter tall, bearing three red fruits that emitted a delicate herbal fragrance piercing through the defensive arrays.

“These defensive formations are simple. I wonder if destroying them will harm the herbs. But I can transplant the herbs into my miniature Heaven’s Cave, along with the soil around them,” he mused.

Without hesitation, Chen Fengyun began dismantling the defensive arrays surrounding the herbs. In just three minutes, he had completely broken all the formations, releasing an even stronger herbal aroma that quickly spread far and wide.

“Rise,” Chen Fengyun muttered with a frown. He knew that once the herbal scent spread, it would inevitably attract others. But there was no alternative now. Using his flying sword, he severed the herbs and large chunks of the surrounding soil, instantly transporting them into his miniature Heaven’s Cave and planting them in a vacant spot.

“I need to speed up,” he thought, racing toward another herb to dismantle its defenses and transplant it quickly.

However, the opening of this herb’s defensive array also released a powerful herbal fragrance that spread rapidly, permeating the outside space within half a minute.

“Is that herbal scent? Could such a fragrant herb be the legendary immortal medicine?” The treasure seekers inside the building complex were all shaken, thinking that discovering immortal medicine could greatly enhance their strength.

“Howl…” Strangely, the zombies also seemed able to smell the herbs. They turned abruptly and rushed toward the location of the medicinal garden, ignoring the humans nearby.

“Hurry and investigate! We can’t let others get the immortal medicine,” almost all the master-level experts dashed off, abandoning their search for other treasures.

“We don’t need to go. It must be Mr. Chen who found the immortal medicine. Everyone else should continue searching for treasures around here,” Feng Tianbao said, halting his own steps and addressing the Southern faction members.

When those human experts arrived outside the medicinal garden, they saw dozens of zombies fiercely attacking the garden’s defensive formation. The light shield flickered violently, seeming ready to collapse at any moment.