Chengdu had a rare few light rain showers, which improved everyone's mood slightly. Although the western regions that received the rain were not drought-stricken areas, it was at least a good sign. Perhaps the ups and downs of the people across the country moved God, Lin Yao thought to himself.
Of the tourists, only Ruan Lingling was a local from Chengdu. However, her family background made her unable to be a qualified tour guide, so she hired a professional tour guide from a travel agency for the self-driving tour.
Wuhou Temple, Du Fu Thatched Cottage, Jinsha Site Museum, Luodai Ancient Town, Pingluo Ancient Town, Longquan Lake, Dujiangyan Irrigation System, and Qingcheng Mountain provided a wonderful experience for Xiao Guli and Nannan, who accompanied them on the trip.
Lin Yao didn't have any particular interest in these historical sites; he was just accompanying his uncle and sister-in-law Alina to see something new. The Wuhou Temple was crowded with tourists, and without a guide's explanation, Lin Yao even felt that the park in the Wangchao Mansion area was less interesting than the temple's historical sites and legendary tales.
The only thing that truly captivated Lin Yao was the several thousand-year-old iron trees inside the Wuhou Temple. These plants, known as thousand-year-old iron trees, were lush and verdant, with thick, towering trunks and new branches sprouting everywhere, completely unlike the usual straight iron trees with only one main trunk.
Two of the cycads were probably not a thousand years old, but they were likely several hundred. Lin Yao only wanted to "eat" these two cycads. The medicinal properties contained in such centuries-old herbs must be amazing. However, he didn't break off even a single needle or leaf to test them. He could only fantasize about it in his mind, thinking that he would start buying up large quantities of cycad fruits and older cycad plants in a while.
"Dad, these books are so tall!" Little Guli looked up at the pine trees that stretched vertically into the sky from Lin Yao's arms.
"Yes, these books have been growing for many years. Because the forest is very dense, they all need sunlight, so they grow upwards as fast as they can, becoming taller and straighter. Lili will also grow very tall in the future." Lin Yao patiently explained to Xiao Guli, without tilting his head back, worried that tilting his head back would cause him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
At this time, Lin Yao accompanied his uncle Lin Hongqi to visit Qingcheng Mountain. The title of "the most secluded place under heaven" was well-deserved. After entering the mountain gate, all the hustle and bustle disappeared. Only the tranquil forest and the humid air with the fragrance of flowers and grass surrounded him, making him feel refreshed and as if his body and mind had been cleansed.
The dense, towering pines and cypresses on both sides of the stone steps obscured the sky, leaving only fragmented, dappled shadows. Looking up, one could feel the grandeur of the plants and the insignificance of humankind.
A barely perceptible breeze blew by, and Lin Yao shuddered, abruptly stopping in his tracks.
"Big brother, please take care of Lili for me, I have something urgent to attend to." Lin Yao shoved Xiao Guli into Ge Yong's arms and immediately rushed towards the cliff next to him. "Uncle, you guys go first, wait for me at that pavilion halfway up the mountain, there's a place to rest there."
At this moment, Lin Yao was excited. The thorns mixed in with the dense bushes could not slow down his climbing. Ignoring the bloodstains on his hands from the thorns and leaves, he struggled to squeeze through the bushes, his goal being the direction from which the breeze was blowing.
"Yao'er, what are you doing? It's not safe over there, come back!" Lin Hongqi shouted. Although it was not yet midsummer and the venomous snakes should not be active yet, there were many poisonous insects in the wilderness and the terrain was also very complicated. It was very dangerous for Lin Yao to rush into the jungle where there was no path.
"Uncle, I have something urgent to attend to. You guys go first. Don't worry, there won't be any problems," Lin Yao replied loudly, without turning around, his movements even more urgent.
The cause of all this was that gentle breeze. After inhaling the grassy breeze through his nostrils, the little grass on his chest immediately became active. The tendrils that turned from the seed tails wrapped around his lungs and even extended directly to his nostrils, making Lin Yao realize that the breeze contained a mysterious substance that the little grass desperately needed.
What exactly is it? Lin Yao pondered as he parted the bushes and weeds blocking his way.
Previously, the grass only reacted to medicinal materials that entered its body. Holding a wild ginseng that was hundreds of years old could not arouse its activity. The medicinal aroma mixed in with the fragrance of those wild ginsengs should be very faint, or the medicinal aroma was bound in the medicinal material itself, and the emitted medicinal aroma was not enough to arouse the grass.
Could it be that the source of this gentle breeze holds some rare and precious treasure? A true gem?
Thinking of this, Lin Yao became even more excited, feeling full of energy, and his steps became more determined. He no longer cared about the sharp thorns tearing his pants.
A gentle breeze blew from the mountainside to the left of the stone steps. Lin Yao climbed with effort, following the wind's direction. The mountainside, untouched by human hands, was overgrown with vegetation and extremely uneven. The dense rocks and decaying tree stumps made even the occasional clear space difficult to find a foothold. Often, with each step, the jagged rocks and tree stumps hidden beneath moss and grass would reveal their menacing nature. Fortunately, Lin Yao hadn't heeded the guide's advice and had worn thick-soled sneakers, which prevented the sharp edges of the rocks and stumps from piercing his feet, but the pain from his entire weight pressing down on them was unavoidable.
After struggling for nearly half an hour, Lin Yao looked back and could see from the towering pines that the stone steps leading to the tourist site were only a few hundred meters away. He received a call from Ge Yong, who told them to take the cable car to the top of the mountain first, as he would have to stay longer.
After painstakingly clearing out a small space, Lin Yao sat down abruptly, rubbing his calves which were sore from the scrapes, and then took off his shoes to rub his feet, feeling a wave of frustration.
The breeze disappeared, and the air was filled with the rich fragrance of flowers and grass, but Lin Yao lost his way—the direction that could help him find the mysterious thing that the grass was interested in.
The grass was still very active, as could be felt from the frequent movement of its tendrils, but Lin Yao's heart sank deeper and deeper. His only weather vane was gone. Even if another breeze blew in now, it wouldn't be from the same source; instead, it would only make him more disoriented. Besides, the wind direction in the forest was constantly changing; the direction he felt wasn't necessarily where his target was. Lin Yao had already followed the breeze several times, always turning at earthen slopes or dense groves of trees. Heaven knows where his target was hidden in such a complex environment.
Sigh... Lin Yao sighed, feeling somewhat discouraged. He wanted to lie down and rest, but even this small wish couldn't be fulfilled. There were dense bushes and shrubs everywhere, and there wasn't a single good spot.
"I should get up. Maybe that thing is right next to me." Lin Yao thought to himself as he struggled to his feet and squeezed his way in from a random direction.
After walking less than five meters, Lin Yao suddenly paused, hope rekindled in his heart, and he involuntarily called out aloud that he had found a solution.
The grass suddenly lost its vitality, and the tendrils of its nostrils retracted. This indicates that there is nothing it wants in the air at this location. If we follow this method and check several directions, we can find the final target.
The mysterious substances left behind by the breeze along the way can be detected by the grass, which is the best compass. As long as you ignore the direction you came from, the place where the mysterious substances remain is the route to follow.
He had to hurry, or another gust of wind would wipe out all the existing traces, making it impossible to find the target again unless he staked out the place permanently. However, having read fantasy novels, Lin Yao was still worried about staking out the place. Some rare treasures might only release their medicinal properties when they bloom or mature. Who knew when the next opportunity would come after that?
Lin Yao became excited as if he had taken an aphrodisiac, and secretly regretted not having brought a dagger with him. At this moment, let alone a dagger, even a fruit knife would have made him move faster. His arms, which were infused with true qi, were very strong. Chopping down these bushes with a fruit knife was a piece of cake. But there was no going back. He could only rely on his physical strength and the breeze to race against time. He could not let the opportunity slip away.
Left, three meters, no, turn back. Right, three meters, five meters, seven meters, keep going down. Every time he reached a small slope or dense forest, Lin Yao had to choose a direction. If neither left nor right was correct, he would either cross the dense forest or climb the slope and march in a straight line.
Lin Yao was lucky; during the hour the breeze stopped, no new wind arose, allowing him to continue searching for the source of the medicinal scent. Ge Yong called three more times, each time Lin Yao dismissed him with a simple sentence, his tone increasingly impatient. He was busy searching for something, without a moment's rest; even his body, modified by the grass, felt extremely tired. Traveling through the jungle was truly inhuman. At this moment, Lin Yao felt immense respect for the soldiers fighting in the jungle; they were so powerful, and so incredibly hardworking.
Having already crossed a mountain, the vegetation was denser and the terrain more treacherous, further away from the tourist route. Fortunately, the early spring weather was mild and there was no wind. Lin Yao continued his search for his target, panting heavily.
Suddenly, Lin Yao stopped in his tracks. The reaction from the little grass stirred up a strange emotion in him, a feeling of surprise mixed with a sense of bewilderment.
Has the target been found? The little grass is more active than ever before, its tendrils extending into its nasal cavity. Lin Yao even felt these tendrils reach the wings of his nose, making him feel a little itchy. Could these tendrils be extending directly out of its body? Could this mysterious substance be a gas?
The brief pause left Lin Yao feeling utterly exhausted, as if his entire body was falling apart, and he just wanted to sit down. Looking up, he saw a mixed forest, with dense, unidentified trees growing everywhere. These trees, completely unsuitable for timber, were all very thick, their twisted trunks and branches looking chaotic. Beneath them grew a dense thicket of small shrubs and rose-like plants.
This is giving me a headache. Am I going to have to rush into this thicket?
Lin Yao glanced at the dense bloodstains on the back of his hands and the tattered sleeves of his clothes. After only a moment's hesitation, he rushed into the thicket. All for Xiaocao! Lin Yao silently encouraged himself.
The target was indeed here. Lin Yao already knew the answer in his heart. At this moment, the tendrils of the grass automatically detached from its body, extending from its nostrils and mouth, swaying in the air, like coral polyps waving their tentacles to suck food from the seawater in a TV show. The tendrils of the grass were invisible to the naked eye. Even when he had previously wrapped them in true energy and they detached from his body, Lin Yao could not see their existence. However, Lin Yao could sense their location and shape through his mind. Now, he had no more doubts. He directly endured the pain from the sharp grass and rushed towards the direction in which the tendrils were extending.
It took Lin Yao about twenty minutes to walk about ten meters into the mixed forest. When he finally freed himself from the entanglement of a clump of vines, he suddenly realized that he was no longer bothered by the vegetation and had entered a special space.
Overhead, dense tree trunks and sap covered the entire sky, obscuring even a single glimmer of light. All around, a dense canopy of vegetation formed a solid wall, enclosing an area roughly the size of a bedroom—a mere dozen square meters—making one feel as if trapped within an impenetrable fortress.
Lin Yao looked down. In the dim light, the ground in front of him was a grayish-white rock. The rock was very large, occupying a space of more than ten square meters. Its surface was layered, like some uneven millstones stacked together.
To get a better look, Lin Yao crouched down and reached out to touch the rock. Before he could even reach it, he was suddenly jolted, his pupils contracted sharply, and his mouth opened even wider.
This is a Ganoderma lucidum! Such a huge Ganoderma lucidum!
Reishi mushroom is a specialty of Qingcheng Mountain. This fungus, which feeds on the branches, stumps, and roots of dead trees, is an excellent medicinal material. Reishi spores are rich in polysaccharides, polypeptides, triterpenoids, amino acids, proteins, and other active substances, which are extremely beneficial to the human body. However, it has a fibrous outer shell, making it unsuitable for direct absorption and digestion. Therefore, if people buy reishi plants directly, they can only be used for ornamental purposes; the medicinal effects of stewing them in soup are minimal, and very little of the effective components are absorbed by the body, with the vast majority being excreted, resulting in waste.
For the human body to utilize the medicinal effects of Ganoderma lucidum, the Ganoderma lucidum spores need to be broken down. Generally speaking, this work can only be done by manufacturers of medicinal materials. Some broken-down Ganoderma lucidum spore powders on the market are products that can be effectively absorbed by the human body. The "breakdown rate" is the key indicator that determines the quality of the product.
Lin Yao was somewhat dazed. How many years would it take for such a huge Ganoderma lucidum to grow to reach such a size? It must have been at least several thousand years old. He wondered how huge the tree stump buried in the ground it was attached to must be. It was probably an ancient plant. The miscellaneous branches surrounding it were also attached to this Ganoderma lucidum, wrapped around the thick branches, forming a mysterious parasitic relationship. Lin Yao couldn't understand why these miscellaneous trees hadn't withered and died.
The little grass became increasingly excited, interrupting Lin Yao's thoughts. Its tentacles had already extended onto the Ganoderma lucidum and were swaying rapidly. Lin Yao could also feel that the grass's tentacles had begun to absorb the medicinal energy, but something seemed to be wrong. This rich medicinal energy was intermittent, flowing along the tentacles through his nostrils and mouth and being absorbed into the seed area on his chest.