The Rise of the Black Plain
Chapter 88 - 88: Warrior-Grade Medicine (*)

"Cough, uh, yes, you heard it right. You can find a Warrior-grade herb in the region..." the old man said, sounding disinterested.

"Ahh, just as I said. Now, let's go to that place right away," said a black-haired young man while looking at the rest of his group.

They had heard this rumor from a coachman in the City of Flowers, so they came to this store to see if this information was right. Naturally, since they had only heard this rumour that there was a ripen spiritual herb in this region, but they didn't know the exact location to look for it.

After the group received the old man's confirmation, they soon left the store and headed towards one of the city's exits.

Meanwhile, Minos approached the old man and asked curiously, "Sir, can you tell me a little more about this subject?"

The old man looked at Minos for a second and thought contemptuously. 'Another poor fellow interested in this news? Judging from his aura, he must have recently reached level 37. So why does he want to know about it? He won't be able to make use of it until the Spiritual Tournament anyway.'

The old man had obtained this information from his subordinate and had used some of his acquaintances to spread this news among the young people passing through the City of Flowers.

These people would be participating in the upcoming Spiritual Tournament!

And since he couldn't do anything with that herb, the old man intended to gain some crystals from some competitors who were interested in it. He knew that probably none of them would be able to harvest this herb, but that would be their problem...

After being silent for a brief moment, the old man said, "You need to pay 500 low-grade crystals for the information."

Minos immediately handed over a small bag containing the crystals, prompting the old man to continue, "Well, a few days ago, I was informed by a subordinate that there was a Warrior-grade herb at the Peak of the Fog region.

It's called Rainbow Fruit and has already matured. If you are unfamiliar with the region, you can buy a map for 2,000 low-grade crystals."

"Hmm."

Minos then paid quickly and collected the map from the old man. After that, he and Ruth went looking for a hotel to spend the night in this city.

Along their way, Ruth finally asked a question curiously. "Minos, why were you interested in that information before?"

She did not understand how a Warrior-grade herb could move Minos' interest. First, he didn't need it to increase his cultivation speed.

Second, it was only one herb and wouldn't be of any use to his soldiers either.

Third, he had enough crystals to buy many of such herbs if he wanted to.

Minos chuckled and said, "Haha, just because I don't need it doesn't mean that I can't be interested. But the main reason is that it can benefit me more than you think."

Ruth furrowed her brows and asked. "How?"

"I plan to harvest this herb and plant it in the Black Plain. It might just be one for now, but it has valuable seeds."

In the Spiritual World, seeds of spiritual herbs seeds weren't easily found in markets.

They were highly precious, and so the families that sold these herbs would collect the seeds before selling the herbs away.

That's because seeds were useless in the creation of spiritual pills.

As a result, these families refuse to give up their seeds since this would increase the supply of these herbs in the market, thus reducing the huge profits collected by these powers. As a result, it wasn't easy to buy seeds in the Spiritual World.

And even if someone were to sell these seeds, their price would be considerably high!

Ruth understood Minos' intention, but she still had many doubts about it. She then continued to ask, "But I believe that other people must already be competing for this herb. Do you think it is worth getting involved in this? Perhaps it has already been harvested."

Minos smiled and caressed Ruth's face affectionately before responding, "Not necessarily. It is not that simple to harvest herbs."

"If you want to preserve the spirituality of both the seeds and the rest of the plant, then there are certain conditions that must be met as you harvest the herbs.

Firstly, the person who collects must have specific knowledge and technique of harvesting it. And since each herb has its own characteristics, even an alchemist who is skilled in harvesting a certain herb may not know how to harvest the another.

Moreover, when we are dealing with wild herbs, similar to the one in question, harvesting becomes even more challenging. As you may know, alchemists study extensively about the various available herbs. But most of the spiritual herbs cataloged by them are those that have been 'domesticated' long ago. Therefore, the ones that grow naturally in the wild are much more complicated.

And the second way to harvest such a spiritual herb is to have a heightened spiritual sense. In the case of a Warrior-grade herb, the cultivator must be at least in the 6th stage of cultivation in order to precisely sense the plant's spiritual essence, enough to harvest it without causing any damage.

And well, there are certainly some people in this city who meet these requirements. However, the experienced alchemists who are capable of doing so would not be interested in a single Warrior-grade herb and the same could be said for the Spiritual Kings."

It was not easy to harvest and reproduce wild spiritual herbs. Certainly, even a grade-2 alchemist would require a long time to achieve this without outside help. All of this made such types of herbs less alluring to those specialists.

"This leaves only those cultivators who are weaker and have fewer crystals, who will be keeping an eye on this herb. But it is also highly probable that any of them will be able to harvest it without causing harm to it."

"What if someone does manage to do it?" Ruth asked, smiling.

"Well, in that case, it won't matter. And we will continue our journey as if nothing has happened," Minos said, simply shrugging his shoulders.

Ruth then asked curiously, "But do you know how to harvest spiritual herbs like that? You are not even an alchemist."

"Hmm, luckily, I have learned a way to collect spiritual herbs. All I need are the right tools," Minos said, sporting a smile on his face.

Back in the Spatial Kingdom, Minos had inherited a set of tools which were specifically designed for collecting spiritual herbs. And according to his knowledge, these tools had been crafted by a high-level blacksmith and an array master at the request of Henricus Longus. These tools repelled spiritual energy, which made them perfect for harvesting spiritual herbs.

And with their unique characteristics, they could only be used at the right parts of the herbs, in the regions where there was no flow of spiritual energy or was minimum!

Minos then added before they finally reached the hotel, "With that, I can save some crystals from the Black Plain. The cost of spiritual herbs alone covers almost half the price of a pill."

...

They entered a building that was more than 10-stories high and headed towards the hotel reception. Minos then slapped his hand on the counter and said with a wide smile on his face. "Receptionist, give me a double room."

On hearing this time, Ruth didn't hesitate or showed any thoughts of objection. Instead, a beautiful smile appeared on her face.

In fact, now she wanted it herself. Being alone in a room was what she had been desiring for days. Even if she still wasn't sure of giving herself to Minos, she was very anxious to be touched intimately by him and to touch him too!

Their stay in the Valley of Beasts for nearly four days had prevented them from progressing any further in their 'games,' as at least one of them needed to be vigilant against the potential dangers in their surroundings.

And this significantly heightened their sexual tension!

"Here you go, sir. Your room is number 801," a young man said with a smile as he handed the keys to Minos.

A moment after getting the gets, Minos grabbed one of Ruth's hands and proceeded to lead her to the central part of the entrance hall, where there were four elevators.

As they waited for the elevators, Minos locked his eyes with Ruth and smiled. He had little to no intention of starting to cultivate as soon as he got to the room. Rather, today he wanted to switch things up a little bit.

Understanding Minos' longing desire, Ruth smiled slightly. She was happy that he had the same intentions as she did. It was much better to be with someone who shared similar desires!

...

Finally, the two arrived at their room which was on the 8th floor of the hotel.

This room was even better than the previous ones that Minos had stayed in. It even had an air conditioning array that regulated the temperature within the room!

There were numerous lights in the room, it was spacious, had a designated area for cultivation, a kitchen, two bathrooms, and a beautiful view of the City of Flowers itself. The rest was, as usual, a big bed and decor matching the ambiance of the place.

Minos swiftly turned around and locked the door before approaching Ruth, who was already sitting on the edge of the bed.

Not wasting another breath, he closed in and locked his lips with that of her as the two passionately began to kiss with their tongues intertwining while undressing each other gradually and exchanging some gentle caresses.

Ruth's eyes were filled with a misty haze, the desire in them was obvious, while her face was flushed red, hair tied into a big ponytail which no one doubted would soon be set loose with how things were turning out between the young Stuart and the beautiful woman.

As for Minos, his expression was quite regular, apart from the unmistakable lust in his eyes. The young woman before him indeed had a stunning body, which captivated him to a level that he never felt before.

And though he met many beautiful women and even had a 'session' with the lovely Elena, his attraction for Ruth had reached a whole new level.

By now, Ruth was partially naked, while Minos was bolder and stood completely naked. But when Ruth's gaze landed on Minos' rod, the young lady blushed even more. It seemed even larger than the volume she could already feel during some of their 'games'!

"So big..." the young woman murmured in a low voice, and it was hard to guess what she was thinking.