Xukong had not expected a question like that, but didn't mind answering it.
"Well he can, just not in this world. You would either have to be in a world which can accommodate my presence or… in a place where the rules don't apply." Xukong spoke.
"I see… guess we'll have to wait." Lin Mu said and then looked at Little Shrubby. "Perhaps you'll get to see him in the future,"
"Okay~ I'll wait." Little Shrubby replied.
Lin Mu nodded his head and collected the corpses of the Dagger Beak birds. These were going to serve as some good food for the two of them. Plus Lin Mu was going to benefit from their vital energy too since he was looking to increase his Body cultivation.
While Lin Mu did not have the cultivation techniques for the other three elements, he could still use the basic method of just absorbing more and more vital energy. A fraction of it would still be processed and be used to further the progress of the Five Treasures realm cultivation.
While the progress was rather minuscule, it was still something and better than nothing.
Having collected them, Lin Mu and Little Shrubby continued their journey to the top of the mountain. Their short battle had created enough spirit Qi waves that the rest of the beasts on the mountain had been silenced.
They had strong instincts and knew when to hide when there were strong beings around. From the previous lively atmosphere of the mountain, it was now far more calm and serene.
The mountain was far bigger than Lin Mu had expected when he actually got closer. Plus, the higher he got, the stronger the winds got.
~WOOOO~
"Damn, we can't fly like this." Lin Mu said as he retreated.
"Yeah, even I feel like I'll be blown away." Little Shrubby said.
The winds around the upper part of the mountain were the strongest and it could even prevent a Nascent soul realm cultivator from flying. Lin Mu knew that being knocked away by the winds would not really be a good thing as he may end up in an area that was far more dangerous.
"We should just walk from here," Lin Mu said and landed on the ground.
Little Shrubby did the same, and the two of them continued on foot. The trees at the top were a bit more sparse and were replaced by shorter ones. There were also a lot more shrubs there rather than actual trees.
"Oh? There are some different herbs," Lin Mu said, spotting a few herbs that had leaves that looked like a butterfly's wings.
~SNAP~
But the moment he tried to touch them, the leaves sprouted sharp thorns along the edges of the butterfly like leaves and snapped at Lin Mu's hand.
~Crack~
Of course, there was no damage done as the armor of the Mortal Strengthening scripture blocked it all with ease. Lin Mu was definitely surprised through.
"What plant is this? It can actually attack like this." Lin Mu spoke.
He checked through the records that Adviser Chu had given him but did not find anything in it. He then checked the rest of the records but didn't find anything in them either.
"Do you know anything about this senior?" Lin Mu decided to try his luck with Xukong.
Xukong observed the herb for a bit and spoke.
"Hmm… it looks to be a variant of the Fly Trap herbs. They bite into anything that comes close. This is how they eat their prey if they are unfortunate enough to get close. It's an omnivorous plant but mostly obtains its nutrition from other beasts." Xukong spoke.
"Oh, that's interesting." Lin Mu took note and probed the herb with his spirit sense.
He could tell that there was quite a bit of spirit Qi within the herb.
"What is this used for senior?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Well… it's used as pest control in herb gardens. Alchemists plant them there which prevents some pests which are spirit beasts from affecting the plants." Xukong answered.
"So… it's not used for making pills or anything?" Lin Mu asked doubtfully.
"Not really. Its medicinal content is relatively volatile and doesn't really match well with other ingredients, thus causing the formation of pills to fail. Well, if one really wants to, they can just eat it whole." Xukong replied.
Lin Mu nodded his head and thought he may as well take these spirit herbs. Lin Mu could see several of them spread around the area and they were quite common here.
"How do I keep them… let's see…" Lin Mu said as he looked around.
He then found a relatively large rock and cut it apart to make smaller rocks. He then carved out a container that looked like a flower pot from it and put the Fly Trap herb in it. He did the same for five more such plants and then stored them all in the ring close to some corpses of beasts.
"Now they'll have some food too." Lin Mu muttered.
They then continued onwards to the top and reached it in about half an hour.
~WOOOO~
The top of the mountain was rather bare, and strong chilly winds blew. Lin Mu's hair flapped back and Little Shrubby's fur fluttered under the strong winds.
"Finally… this is quite a dangerous location though." Lin Mu said after feeling the winds.
He looked at the areas around the mountain and the ones far from it. Lin Mu wanted to find the area that was either on the map that Adviser Chu had given him, or directly find the area with the thousand year old Hong Lin trees.
From the top of the mountain, Lin Mu could see more mountains and forests, along with some lakes. And in the very distance, he spotted the lone volcano as well. Red lava flowed down its mouth, looking like fiery rivers.
"Hmm… Adviser Chu did mention that there was a volcano here, so it could be this one. But considering the size of the minor plane, there might be more than that.
Still… better check it out." Lin Mu said.
