Chapter Eighty: Huaguicao

  A group of people set off in a northerly direction, trudging through the yellow sand, one foot deep and the other shallow.

  Fortunately it was daytime, and the temperature wasn't very high. If you were to travel in the desert during spring or summer, you wouldn't be able to go out at noon. The sand's surface temperature would be enough to scorch a layer of skin off a person.

  At the beginning, everyone was very excited, after all, most people saw the desert for the first time, and the feeling of stepping on the sand was particularly good. Only three or four hours later, no one spoke anymore, leaving only the energy to pant "huff huff".

  "It can't be done... I'm not going to make it," Ding Jie exclaimed at noon, carrying a large bag on his back. As the son of a wealthy family since childhood, he had never suffered hardship, and in recent years, his body had been drained by wine and women. When it came to long-distance travel, he was even less capable than Zhou Tong.

  Ding Jie plopped down on the ground, wiping away the sweat from his forehead, and waved his hand repeatedly, apparently unable to move anymore.

  Lao Bat raised his head to look at the sun, then looked at the whirlwind in the distance and said: "If we continue like this, it's definitely not going to work. After the dragon whirlwind, there must be ice and snow. At this speed, before we find the camel poison, those grasses will wither."

  Song Jian looked at the crowd, Qin Hua Yu and Di Hao were also exhausted, Di Hao's physical strength was still good, but he was carrying the backpacks of Qin Hua Yu and himself, so he was naturally very tired. On the other hand, Mo Mo was still very relaxed.

  Zhou Tong also slightly bowed his waist and panted heavily.

  "Otherwise, some of us will stay here first, put down our bags and only bring food, travel lightly, in this way, it should be around 11 or 12 at night when we return." Song Jian said.

  Old Bat looked around and then pointed to a huge sand dune not far away, saying: "Let's just rest here, this sand dune can be a landmark, so we won't get lost when we come back. The tired people will rest on the spot, don't go far, and set up tents on the east side of the sand dune at night to block the wind."

  Ding Jie applauded continuously.

  That sand dune is like a small mountain, very big, so even if you're far away, you won't miss this place.

  Ding Jie and several companions, plus Di Hao and Qin Hua Yu, all need to rest in place and enjoy the desert scenery around here.

  Song Jian turned his head and said to Zhou Tong: "Zhou Tong, you wait here too, I'll be back as soon as possible."

  Just as Zhou Tong was about to refuse, Old Bao had already spoken up: "Everyone wait here, just the two of us will go. Rushing in the desert is hard work, let alone competing with the desert's icy snow for time."

  Momo stepped on Mongolian boots and said: "Dad, I'll go with you."

  Lao Ba Te waved his hand and ordered Song Jian to bring some food, then set off immediately.

  Lao Ba Te was already sixty years old, but his physical strength was among the best of a dozen people, except for Song Jian.

  Without Zhou Tong and others' burden, plus having lost over thirty pounds of luggage on his body, he is still walking very easily at the moment.

  "The young man is quite capable," Old Bao said with a smile, revealing a row of white teeth.

  Song Jian's pace was also getting faster and faster, he looked at Old Bate in surprise and said: "Old man, your physical strength is even better, I've been practicing martial arts since I was a child, my body is strong and sturdy, but you're already at an old age, yet you still have such endurance."

  Old Bao smiled slyly and said, "Young man, why don't we have a competition?"

  Song Jian glanced at Old Bate.

  Old Bate didn't wait for Song Jian to respond, his legs slightly bent, his left foot flicked to the left, kicking out a pile of sand, his right foot flicked to the right, also kicking out a pile of sand. Then Old Bate was like a sand-throwing machine, zooming forward at high speed with a "whooshing" sound.

  Song Jian was naturally unwilling to fall behind, although he had not practiced any qinggong or the like, but after taking Xǐ Suí Dān and practicing Wuji Health Qigong for several months, his physical strength and endurance were very strong.

  "Clang clang clang", Song Jian deepened his footsteps, one shallow and one deep, chasing after Old Bate.

  In just a few short minutes, Old Bao had already run off into the distance, leaving only a black shadow behind him. Song Jian, on the other hand, was getting more and more exhausted as he ran.

  "This won't do, the desert is too soft, my feet can't get a good grip, every time Old Bat lifts his leg and puts it down, his foot slides sideways, is that right?" Song Jian thought for a moment, then discovered that when his foot slid sideways as he landed, his foot wouldn't sink in too deep, and when he lifted his foot, he could push off backwards to get more power.

  "So that's how it is," Song Jian smiled easily, imitating Old Bao's style, his feet splayed outward to the left and right, kicking up clouds of sand as he sped up.

  After running for more than half an hour, Old Bater stopped and looked back, only to see Song Jian was just a few hundred meters behind and was quickly catching up.

  Old Barte was somewhat surprised to see Song Jian master the trick of running in the desert so quickly. The trick of running in the desert, however, was not invented by Old Barte himself, but rather something he had learned from a book he had picked up unintentionally in a desert ruin. Relying on this skill of flying over sand, Old Barte was also a famous figure in his youth, known as the "Desert Prince" in the hearts of many women. But now, Song Jian had somehow managed to learn it just by looking at it for a few moments.

  "Could it be that this young man from the Central Plains is actually so much smarter than us?" Old Bart was somewhat defeated. However, he didn't know that even if someone was extremely intelligent, it would still be impossible to grasp the secrets of desert sprinting in a short amount of time. But Song Jian had practiced Wuji Qigong, which gave him strong control over his limbs and precise force, so he was able to master it after just a few glances.

  When Song Jian caught up, Old Batei shook his head in defeat. In terms of physical strength, Old Batei was no match for Song Jian. Now that Song Jian had also mastered the method of sprinting in the desert, continuing to compete would only end in Old Batei's loss.

  Song Jian bowed his head towards Old Bate and said: "Thank you, thank you, old man!"

  Lao Bat looked at Song Jian with a puzzled expression, "Why thank me? We haven't found the camel's poisonous grass yet."

  "It's not because of that matter, old man. The previous test was very enlightening to me," Song Jian smiled and didn't explain further. The two people continued to head north quickly.

  After this trial, Song Jian had a deeper understanding of the Wuji Health Cultivation Technique he had been practicing. All along, Song Jian thought that the Wuji Health Cultivation Technique was just a physical exercise for strengthening the body, and it was too weak for actual combat, although it could borrow force to counterattack with softness overcoming stiffness, but its attacking power was always a bit weak. When encountering real masters, such as Dongbei Erhu, Song Jian's kung fu couldn't break through their defense at all.

  But today, through the previous comparison, Song Jian finally realized that Wuji Qigong is also a state of mind for martial arts. Wuji, without shape but can change infinitely, mastering the state of mind of Wuji Qigong, then learning other martial arts will be very fast. For example, in the future, Song Jian can learn Bajiquan, learn Baguazhang, and use them in combination with Wuji Qigong to make up for the lack of attacking power.

  Song Jian and Old Bate were both very fast, without any other people to slow them down. By three o'clock in the afternoon, the two of them had arrived at a piece of ruins.

  "That's where I encountered the camel poison back then. This place used to be an ancient city, but it became a ruin due to the desert. Although no one lives here, it has become a habitat for desert animals. Where there are animals gathering, there will be slaughter, so there is a lot of rotting flesh and blood around here, which increases the chances of camel poison appearing." Old Bater pointed at the abandoned ancient city in front of them.

  Song Jian nodded in agreement.

  Two people searched for a while, Song Jian's eyes were sharp and soon saw a fist-sized flower that resembled a baby's face, growing under a ruined wall. The flower was blood red, with a color like fresh blood.

  "Found it!" Song Jian's heart was excited, he took out an aluminum box and walked towards the blood-red infant flower. This flower was the Bone Dissolving Grass that Song Jian had been searching for, also a necessary medicine for refining the Bone Tempering Pill.

  Tempering Bone Pill, after taking it, can make one's muscles and bones strong and powerful, but to achieve this effect, the highly toxic medicine that can melt bones and cut tendons, Huaguicao, must be used. It is a case of "no destruction, no construction", so the role of Huaguicao in Tempering Bone Pill is very important. Of course, if the amount of Huaguicao is not well controlled, taking it may result in immediate vomiting of blood and death.

  Song Jian approached the huà gǔ cǎo, opened the aluminum box, and gently scooped it up along with the sand and soil on the ground. The aluminum box contained a desiccant, which was well-sealed, so even in the Jiangnan water village area, the huà gǔ cǎo could be preserved for a long time.

  Song Jian and Old Bao Tuo searched for another hour before finding three stalks of Huagucao. The two quickly returned afterwards.

  The last medicinal herb for Tempering Bone Pill has finally been obtained.

  Song Jianxin was excited in his heart, with the Tempering Bone Dan, his strength could be greatly improved in a short period of time. Later, even if he were to face Ge Yunhu again, he would have the power to protect himself.

  Not long after sunset, Song Jian and Old Bate returned to the hill and found Zhou Tong and others.

  Lao Bate looked at the distant Long Xuanfeng and said, "Everyone, let's gather our things and head back. Let's try to return to the village before the temperature drops."

  As Old Barty said solemnly, everyone packed up their luggage and rushed to the village. This time, Old Barty did not return by the original route, but chose a shortcut and went straight ahead.

  It was two or three o'clock in the morning when a group of people finally returned to Old Bate's home, and by the time they got home, Ding Jie and others were already lying on the ground, not wanting to move at all.

  "Old lady, get a fire going, don't let these children freeze," Old Bao ordered.

  The old woman had already gathered firewood and prepared charcoal, she lit the stove brightly, a group of people leaned against the charcoal stove, wearing sleeping bags, and fell fast asleep.

  The next day, Song Jian woke up to truly experience the harsh cold of the desert area. After the temperature dropped, everything around him was frozen. Although there was little snow, the snowmelt seeped into the sand and instantly froze it into hard clumps.

  Song Jian calculated that they had been out for almost a week, and he was worried about Xu Si's safety, so he decided to return immediately. Xiao Han also worried that if they stayed too long, they would be blocked by the heavy snow, so after a brief rest, they set off in their carriage and returned.

  On the road, Ding Jie muttered in the intercom, complaining that this trip was too suffering and didn't play anything.

  Some people joked that it's because he didn't get a woman.

  Ding Jie grumbled a couple of sentences, then said: "In the future, it's better to avoid women, it's too embarrassing, and this physical strength is not even as good as Zhou Tong's sister."

  "Stop dragging me into this, you rascal."

  Everyone laughed again, and after a trip, the relationship between everyone was indeed much better.

  Zhou Tong turned her head and glanced at Song Jian, with happiness overflowing in her heart. She felt that this time, she was the one who gained the most.

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  Thank you for the second reward from the friend who resigned, thank you for your support.

  Please collect, it's really important, thank you.