Chapter 149 - Journeying Through The Mortal Realm

Qiu Ling went back to the herbs he had dug out half-way. He finished his work, put them in his spatial ring, too, and had a last look around, before he whipped out the jade slip once again.

Mn, there were quite a few other herbs he needed and they were scattered around the whole mortal realm. There was actually some pretty flower from the highest mountain, some strange looking, thorny plant in an ice desert and the fruit of some tree in a deep chasm.

"Why were the Grand Elder and that beast taming guy making such a ruckus because of that? Getting that Flaming lion's tail wasn't difficult at all and the rest doesn't look much harder either."

Qiu Ling shook his head and put the jade slip back into his spatial ring. They were humans, after all, he should have expected this. He took out the book the best taming Elder had given him and browsed through it while climbing up the stairs.

Aiya, there were a lot of strange beasts in the human realm! What did he need from those? Some kind of horn, some feathers, … It looked like nothing much. The only problem was that they even wanted things like the bone marrow that he wouldn't be able to get without killing the spiritual beasts.

Qiu Ling frowned and closed the book. He'd see about that when the time came. He hurried up the stairs and arrived outside the ruins again.

Ah, he should hurry up. He leaped up into the air and motioned with his hands. The vapor that shrouded the ground rose up and condensed into a cloud. Qiu Ling stepped onto it, sat down and let the wind blow it forward to his next destination.

He had decided to go to the ice desert first. Though it seemed strange, it wasn't that far from the Court of Flames. Only one river separated them. Qiu Ling curiously looked down at it. It seemed quite normal. In fact, it was beautiful to see, lying between that dark, slightly reddened barren ground and that sparkling ice. If one looked closer, one could feel the strong spiritual energy from it, though.

"Ah, maybe I should have taken Jing He with me. He certainly would have liked this."

Qiu Ling sighed. Yes, it would have been great: Sitting on this cloud together with him, holding him in his arms so that he wouldn't feel cold and pointing out what he could see down below … Mn, that would have been perfect.

Qiu Ling looked back in the direction of the Yun Zou sect. Maybe he should go and invite him? He moved his fingers and the wind stopped. His cloud hovered in the air.

He wanted to have him with him. But then again … Jing He himself had said that he hadn't been able to cultivate. He would be defenseless. Sure, Qiu Ling didn't doubt that he could protect him but he still felt a bit nervous. That Grand Elder and the other guy had been quite clear on the fact that this was dangerous. It might just be easy for him because he was a dragon. He really shouldn't involve Jing He.

Qiu Ling sighed and moved forward again. It just wasn't possible now. But as soon as the old geezer had refined the pill and Jing He's spirit veins were remodeled they could venture into the human realm however much they wanted. Mn, he'd take Jing He to all those places then. Not only would they be able to enjoy the scenery and each other's company then, it would also help further the bond between them in Jing He's mortal life. After all, he would be able to finally live through the adventures he desired when they went out together. Mn, this plan was really good. He should hurry up.

Qiu Ling motioned and the wind carrying him picked up. He sped over the icy desert until he finally spotted another lake. This time, it was a normal lake. Well, as normal as it was for a lake to be completely free of ice when in this environment.

Qiu Ling didn't think about it any longer, though. He jumped from his cloud and hurried through the snow, looking for the strange, thorny plant he was supposed to find. This time, he didn't have any problems. He immediately spotted it some steps away from the edge of the lake. One side of the plant was completely green and small leaves actually sprouted from it. The other side was covered in ice, though, and sharp thorns pointed toward the outside. It was as if the leaves had rolled up because they feared the cold.

Just like at the Court of Flames, Qiu Ling dug out the whole plant and even took the time to gather some more of them. It would not be amiss to have a little more. He didn't dally in the ice desert, though. There weren't any more plants around anyway, at least he couldn't see any. He should better hurry and return to his beloved's side instead of wasting his time searching for anything. If there really was something Jing He might need, he could come back here and get it for him or they could just stop here when they were journeying outside together.

He hopped back onto his cloud and continued on with his quest of gathering the ingredients for the Amethyst Lightning pill. As he had already noticed, this task wasn't difficult for him at all.

Reaching the top of a mountain and finding some little flower that grew right on the precipice where one wrong step could cost one's life? Tch, he'd just fly up on his cloud and dig it out while leisurely sitting there.

Venturing into some old ruin filled with traps to find some fern in a moldy corner? Ah, he loved seeing new places if they had style! Those traps? It felt a bit itchy when he accidentally stepped into one.

Getting the horn of a ferocious spiritual beast that might impale you on said horn or trample you beneath its hooves? Well, being a dragon naturally made him the king of spiritual beasts here in the mortal realm. If he wanted a horn, he would get one. All he had to do was appear and ask for it.

He felt bad about it, though. Most of the ingredients needed for that Amethyst Lightning pill required things from those spiritual beasts that they needed to live. As a dragon, Qiu Ling couldn't bring himself to kill them. This wasn't a war or some fight for honor between enemies of the same caliber. This would be a king cruelly murdering his subjects for his own benefit. He just couldn't do that.

Thus, the spiritual beast from the lava lake got quite a bit of company in the spatial ring. Qiu Ling was determined to ask that Elder from the Yun Zou sect if there was another way to get those things without harming the spiritual beasts. And if the Elder knew nothing, then he'd go and ask the old geezer. Maybe he just hadn't thought of the right way. And if there really wasn't one, then he could still consider what to do. Maybe that pill could be made without those ingredients.

There were only two things that were slightly more … difficult to get. The tree he was supposed to find in a deep chasm and the seaweed-like herb at the ground of the sea. But the problems Qiu Ling encountered with them didn't have to do with danger. Instead, it were things of the past that troubled him.