NFBE Chapter 110 Jade Bamboo Forest
Chapter 110 Jade Bamboo Forest
The next morning, Shen Xu woke up again amidst the fallen leaves and couldn't help but sigh deeply. He had originally planned to clean the house yesterday afternoon so he could move in that evening, but he had unexpectedly wasted too much time in the sect's main hall, and he might not have time to come back and clean the courtyard today.
The weather wasn't very good today. The air was very humid, and the entire Qingzhu Peak was shrouded in a thin layer of white mist. Even the sun was hidden behind the thick clouds and disappeared. A gentle breeze suddenly rose, and the bamboo forest of Qingzhu Residence rustled. The bamboo forest began to lean in the direction of the wind, and then suddenly bounced back.
Without sunlight, the once lush green bamboo forest has lost its vibrant color and turned into a deep, dark green.
Facing the chilly wind, Shen Xu slowly walked out of Qingzhu Residence. Feeling the approaching storm, he couldn't help but sigh, "This kind of weather is only suitable for staying at home and drinking tea!"
The sect's main hall is located at the top of Green Bamboo Peak, which is naturally the windiest place. There are already three people inside the main hall at this moment. They all look solemnly at the sunless exterior of the hall, as if something terrifying is hidden in the howling wind.
"Elder, have you ever seen such weather on Green Bamboo Peak?" Song Qi couldn't help but ask.
The old man shook his head and said, "Since the patriarch left, Qingzhu Peak has never experienced such severe weather in three hundred years."
"What's going on? Is there something wrong with the formation?" Song Qi asked, frowning.
"It shouldn't be. Green Bamboo Peak is the core of the great formation, and it's also suppressed by the Qinyun Bamboo Branch left by the patriarch. If something went wrong here, the great formation outside would have collapsed long ago."
"It's more like an omen. All things have a spirit. Qingzhu Peak must have sensed some great danger from somewhere, so it's using this method to warn us. Sect Leader, has anything happened in the Qingzhu Mountains recently?"
"Everything seems to have been calm until now. If something major were to happen, the cities below would surely report it to their superiors!"
"Send someone to investigate! This rain won't come," the elder said slowly.
"Strange, why did the wind suddenly stop?" When Shen Xu reached the mountainside, the wind suddenly disappeared, the clouds dispersed to reveal the golden sun shining brightly, the pervasive mist was instantly dispelled by the sunlight, and the temperature gradually warmed up, and Qingzhu Peak returned to normal.
The abnormal weather puzzled Shen Xu. This sudden change in weather must mean something, but unfortunately he wasn't a professional stargazer and couldn't see what meaning such weather might have, but he was certain it wasn't anything good.
When Shen Xu reached the summit, he discovered that someone had already arrived at Green Bamboo Peak before him.
"Junior Brother Shen, we're only missing you among the three of us for sparring," Lu Qingshan said with a smile.
"I told you we'd see each other again soon!" Wang Ya said with a mysterious expression.
"So Senior Brother Lu and Senior Sister Wang already knew about this, and I only found out yesterday?"
"You left too early. The sect leader couldn't find you even when he wanted to notify you," Wang Ya complained.
“Now that everyone’s here, let’s go in together! The sect leader and Qiqi are probably waiting for us inside,” Lu Qingshan said.
"No need, I'll take you directly to the Jade Bamboo Forest." Song Qi's voice came from the main hall, and soon he brought Yang Qiqi to the three of them.
Upon seeing the three, Yang Qiqi gracefully bowed and said, "Qiqi greets Senior Brother Lu, Senior Brother Shen, and Sister Wang!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Ya immediately said with dissatisfaction, "Why do I have to be ranked after Shen Xu? Qi Qi, you're being too biased!"
"It's because we value Sister Wang that we let her appear last!" Yang Qiqi said playfully.
"Haha, I love hearing that."
"The Jade Bamboo Forest is one of the most core areas of the sect, because the Jade Bamboo produced in the Jade Bamboo Forest is one of the sect's main sources of income. Jade Bamboo is a variant of Jade Bamboo, which can be used for alchemy and weapon crafting. It is an extremely high-quality eighth-grade material, and the hundred-year-old Jade Bamboo can even be ranked among the seventh-grade materials."
Only one out of every thousand green bamboos on Green Bamboo Peak has a chance of producing a Jade Green Bamboo, so most of the Jade Green Bamboos were consumed internally by the sect at that time.
However, a hundred years ago, a brilliant and talented predecessor discovered a method for artificially cultivating Jade Bamboo seedlings. Since then, the sect has planted Jade Bamboo in an area with the most abundant spiritual energy on Jade Bamboo Peak. Now, more than a hundred years later, those Jade Bamboo planted back then have grown into a lush forest and become the sect's greatest wealth.
The place I've chosen for you is the core area of the Solomon's Seal Forest—the century-old Solomon's Seal Forest.
Shen Xu remembered this place; it was a major disaster area where everyone was scrambling to loot. At the time, he didn't have a spatial container, so he could only take advantage of the chaos to cut down some old jade bamboo and bury it in a hidden place.
When he went to look for it again, he found that it had already been poached, which made him so angry that he couldn't sleep well for three days.
It is worth noting that a perfectly intact century-old Jade Bamboo can fetch several thousand Yuan-Nourishing Pills on the black market, and the Jade Bamboo Forest contains approximately a hundred century-old Jade Bamboos, not to mention countless others of other ages.
It seems the Green Bamboo Sword Sect has really gone all out for Yang Qiqi this time, allowing them to freely enter and exit such a core area.
The four followed Song Qi to an entrance hidden in the thick fog. At first glance, it looked somewhat similar to the Cloud and Mist Bamboo Realm, but upon closer inspection, they were different. The Cloud and Mist Bamboo Realm was connected to another space, while this place used illusion magic to hide the internal passage.
Upon entering the dense fog, Shen Xu discovered that a small fog array had been set up here. He had no idea how those madmen had found such a hidden place in his previous life. In any case, when he came here, the Jade Bamboo Forest was directly exposed in front of him.
When Song Qi took out a white array plate, the mist around them immediately dispersed, creating a passage large enough for one person to pass through. "You all stay close to me, otherwise it will be troublesome to get stuck in the surrounding mist!" Song Qi reminded everyone.
As they continued along the path, the fog gradually thinned, and they soon emerged from the fog's reach, revealing a clear and open space before them.
A unique bamboo forest appeared before them. Unlike ordinary green bamboo, the outer shell and leaves of the bamboo here showed a jade-like texture, as if these green bamboos were not wood, but bamboos carved from green jade.
Moreover, these jade bamboos not only have the texture of jade on their surface, but when a breeze blows, the bamboo leaves flutter and collide, producing melodious and pleasant sounds like jade chimes.
The four of them were stunned by the dreamlike scenery before them. Even Shen Xu, who had been here in his previous life, had only seen broken bamboo stalks. He had never seen such a well-preserved bamboo forest!
The century-old jade bamboo in the middle of the jade bamboo forest is as thick as a big arm, and it has almost completely become a bamboo-shaped green jade planted in the rocks.
Of course, the Green Bamboo Sword Sect wouldn't do something like draining the pond to catch all the fish; the branches and leaves of those century-old Green Jade Bamboo are the Green Bamboo Sword Sect's biggest source of income.