"Would you like to see the spirit herb, Supreme elder?" Lin Mu questioned upon seeing the curiosity in the old man's eyes.
"Why not?" Hua Langya replied.
"Sure, but before that…" Lin Mu said as he looked around. "I think it would be better if this place is locked up, just in case." He added.
The supreme elder simply made a few seals with his hand and runes appeared in the air.
~shua~
The runes turned into formation arrays that secured the hall.
"That should be enough." Lin Mu said before making some distance.
~thud~
In the next second, a blurry distortion appeared in the air before it turned into the figure of the spirit herb. Seeing it, Hua Langya's eyes went wide.
The spirit herb was currently rooted in some soil that was covering a block of peak grade spirit stone. It gently swayed in the air and looked to be calm. Even Lin Mu was surprised upon seeing this.
"It has certainly become comfortable…" Lin Mu muttered.
Hua Langya approached the spirit herb and extended his hand towards it.
~SLAP~
But before it could even get within a meter of the spirit herb, it was ruthlessly slapped away.
"That's a strong spirit herb," Hua Langya said as he looked at the scratch on his hand that was just made by the spirit herb.
"Yeah, you need to be careful around it. As long as you don't try to touch it, it should stay calm." Lin Mu reckoned.
"I see…" Hua Langya said and gazed at the spirit herb.
"By any chance… does supreme elder know about this spirit herb?" Lin Mu asked, hoping that the man would know.
"Hmmm… I've read about something familiar but I don't know for sure." Hua Langya said with furrowed brows. "I'll call in Elder Pigu. He'll be more than happy to figure that out." He added.
"That'd be good," Lin Mu accepted, and the other elder was called.
~WHOOSH~
"I'm here! I'm here!" Elder Pigu's voice was heard in less than thirty seconds. "Where's the spirit herb! Where's the sentient spirit herb!?" he said with excitement.
It was very evident that the man was very passionate about seeing the spirit herb.
"Come in," Hua Langya said before waving his hand and opening the barrier temporarily.
~Creak~
The doors slid open and in walked the portly elder. As soon as his eyes settled on the spirit herb, the pupils in them went wide.
"MARVELOUS! AMAZING! THIS… THIS…" Elder Pigu exclaimed out loud and approached the spirit herb.
"Wai—"
~slap~
Lin Mu wanted to warn the man, but it was a bit too late.
~thud~
Elder Pigu was slapped away and hit the wall of the hall.
"Are you okay, Elder Pigu?" Lin Mu asked with concern.
"I'm fine!" Elder Pigu replied and quickly stood up, a smile on his face.
He didn't even mind the whip like mark that was on his face now. It was turning red very rapidly but it didn't seem like he felt any pain.
~drip~
A drop of blood slid down the elder's lips.
"Are you sure you're okay, Elder Pigu?" Lin Mu asked again.
I'm good! Don't worry, I just want to take a look at this marvelous specimen." Elder Pigu said.
"Umm, as long as you don't get within a meter of the spirit herb, it won't attack you." Lin Mu informed.
"Ah, I see. So it's responsive to distance too. I'll note that." Elder Pigu said before making circles around the spirit herb and observing it in detail.
He didn't even blink for five minutes and simply nodded to himself while whispering something under his breath.
"Um… do you know what spirit herb this is then, Elder Pigu?" Lin Mu questioned.
"I don't." The man admitted.
"You don't?" The supreme elder said in confusion. "I could recognize some of the features, but I wasn't sure if it is the same plant." He added.
"I mean, I can tell that too. But the reason I don't know about this spirit herb is because it has never existed before." Elder Pigu replied.
"What?" Lin Mu was confused.
"This spirit herb… it has the features of a couple of different spirit herbs." Elder Pigu informed.
Hearing this, the supreme elder was surprised even more.
"You mean to say a new hybrid?" He questioned.
"Possibly. Though it could just be a species, we never encountered as well." Elder Pigu answered.
"Can you explain more, Elder Pigu?" Lin Mu questioned.
He had read a few more records, but didn't find anything matching this spirit herb. thus thought that elder Pigu might have some more insights into it.
'If he can tell just the name, I should be able to find it on my own too.' Lin Mu thought.
"This spirit herb, I can see the traces of at least two other spirit herbs in it. The first one is the Sickle Leaf Grass and the second one being the Purple Amaranth Herb." Elder Pigu answered.
"Oh? What are they good for?" Lin Mu asked further.
"The Sickle Leaf Grass is actually a sentient spirit herb, too. Just not on the same level as the usuals one. It can attack whatever gets near it with its sharp sickle like leaves. They attack beasts with it and the blood that drips down is absorbed by them as nutrition.
In a way, you could say that it is a carnivorous spirit herb. Though other than this, it actually has little to no medicinal value.
The Purple Amaranth herb is completely opposite to this one, though. It is a very good spirit herb that is rich in wood attribute spirit Qi and is used in a lot of different alchemical pills.
Since it is so rich in wood attribute spirit Qi, it is often used a a substitute when there are weaker ingredients used, or they need to counteract a strong ingredient with the Earth attribute." Elder Pigu explained.
Elder Pigu explained a few finer details which intrigued both the supreme elder and Lin Mu, making them think that this spirit herb was rather unique.
