Chapter 138: Blue Poplar Tree

Blue Poplar Tree?

Is this the formula Crimson Lotus deciphered? Why are there only three characters? Didn't Ma Wu taste dozens of medicinal herbs?

Were the rest merely added to mislead others?

But was there really any need to use several dozen ingredients just to hide the name of a single one?

These questions raced through Li Banfeng's mind. He knew he would have to ask Ma Wu about it.

When Ma Wu woke up, his mind felt clearer. He planned to work out the formula again, only for Li Banfeng to tell him that he had lost the medicated powder.

Ma Wu was filled with regret. He said, "Brother Li, that medicated powder was so precious. I can't believe you lost it!"

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Forget about the powder for now. Do you know what a Blue Poplar Tree is?"

"I do," Ma Wu said, nodding. "This place was famous for just one thing: the Blue Poplar Tree. Back then, there wasn't a village here at all. Hunters came chasing after those trees, one batch after another. They stayed longer than they planned, built huts, then houses, and before anyone noticed, Blue Poplar Village was born."

So that's how Blue Poplar Village got its name?

Li Banfeng thought.

The news from Ma Wu instantly lifted his spirits. He grinned and asked, "Brother Ma, where can we find a Blue Poplar Tree? Let's go chop one down."

"Chop one down?" Ma Wu burst out laughing. "Brother Li, you're fearless. Forget about chopping a whole tree. Do you have any idea how hard it is to pluck even a single leaf?

"The Blue Poplar Tree went extinct thirty years ago due to the relentless harvesting. Some people claimed to have seen one deep within the new land, but no one knows if that is true. And even if it was, that place is not somewhere ordinary people could go.

After a short moment of thought, Li Banfeng said, "Why don't we try our luck?"

Ma Wu looked utterly baffled. "Brother Li, why would we try our luck with that? A Blue Poplar Tree isn't even something we can use."

Li Banfeng asked, "What exactly is the Blue Poplar Tree used for?"

Ma Wu could not make sense of Li Banfeng's intentions.

If he doesn't even know what it's used for, why does he suddenly want to find one?

he grumbled inwardly before answering, "The Blue Poplar Tree is used for forging weapons. Grind its branches into powder and mix it into molten iron, and the weapon forged will be extraordinarily tough. If you add the leaves, the weapon will even carry a natural poison."

Forging weapons? Isn't this supposed to be a medicinal herb?

Li Banfeng thought. It was clear he had completely misunderstood the Blue Poplar Tree.

Ma Junyang said, "Brother Li, if you need a weapon, we can buy one. Just forget about the Blue Poplar Tree. Craftsmen capable of working with it no longer exist."

The Blue Poplar Tree has no medicinal properties? No. That can't be right. It has to have some medicinal effect. Otherwise, the bronze lotus wouldn't have given him this hint for no reason, Li Banfeng thought.

After pondering for a moment, he still decided to search for the Blue Poplar Tree.

Ma Wu sighed and said, "Fine. I'll pack up and go to the new land with you. Let's try our luck."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "Don't go. Stay here and look after things. Just give me any clues you find."

Ma Wu was worried about Li Banfeng, but as he thought about it carefully, he realized he could really become a burden if he went along. He pulled out a notebook crammed with everything he had picked up since arriving in Blue Poplar Village. He flipped through it, stopped at one page, and tapped it with a finger.

"There are plenty of rumors about the Blue Poplar Tree," he said to Li Banfeng, "but most of them are rubbish. This one, though, might be real. About half a month ago, an old hunter told me he'd seen one growing in an orange grove in the new land. He even asked me what it was worth on the market. That old fellow has a solid name in the village. I don't see him making things up for fun."

The old hunter was called Shen Xueyong. That very day, Li Banfeng went straight to his house, set thirty silver dollars on the table, and asked him about the Blue Poplar Tree.

Shen Xueyong accepted the money, counted it five full times, tucked it into his clothes, and said to Li Banfeng, "The Blue Poplar Tree is in the orange grove. Starting from the village entrance, it takes about half a month to reach it."

"Half a month?"

Li Banfeng froze for a moment. He hadn't expected it to be that far.

"For ordinary folk, it takes half a month," Shen Xueyong said. "The road is long and nasty. However, it is different for a level-one Wanderlust Cultivator. If they run at full strength, never stop to rest, and use Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Calamity, they can make it in five or six days. As for a cultivator of a higher level than that, I am not sure then."

If a level-one Wanderlust Cultivator needed five or six days, then a level-two Wanderlust Cultivator would probably need only three. This was a distance that Li Banfeng could accept.

However, the real problem was that he couldn't run at full speed. He had to bring the old hunter along, since he didn't know where the orange grove was.

In the end, the old hunter couldn't act as his guide.

"Sir, I really would like to make another trip into the new land with you," he said. "You know your stuff. A few days ago, I asked Young Master Wu about the price of the Blue Poplar Tree. He told me he'd pay one thousand dollars for a single leaf."

"Is that too little?"

The old hunter let out a long sigh and shook his head. "I can't say it's too little. If it were the Song Family calling the shots, they might not even offer three hundred. But this is the Blue Poplar Tree. The Blue Poplar Tree!

"Sir, you may not know what it's used for. Mix even a single leaf into molten iron, and there's no need to add poison at all. The weapon will carry its own poison, and that poison can last for more than ten years. Forty years ago, one leaf like that could sell for tens of thousands."

Li Banfeng furrowed his brow. By all logic, Ma Wu shouldn't have driven the price down that far.

The old hunter gave a bitter smile. "It's not Young Master Wu's fault. The Blue Poplar Tree is extinct, and the craftsmen who knew how to use it are gone as well. There's no market for something like this anymore, so Young Master Wu really can't offer a higher price."

"When I first heard about the Blue Poplar Tree, I was overjoyed," the old hunter said. "My heart leapt, and I was ready to throw myself into the work and give it everything I had. But when Young Master Wu named his price, that joy drained away. I was left disappointed."

"Three days ago, I went into the new land again to try my luck in the Green Bamboo Grove. I thought I might run into the Hundred-Bamboo Immortal and strike it rich. I did meet it, but luck wasn't on my side. I failed to catch the Hundred-Bamboo Immortal and ended up with the Hundred-Bamboo Piercing Heart instead."

After saying that, the old hunter lifted his clothes and pointed to the rows of translucent holes spread across his chest.

"I didn't count them properly," he said. "A hundred would be nonsense, but there should be twenty or thirty."

Li Banfeng counted them carefully. There were twenty-eight in total. Through twenty-six of them, he could see the wall behind the old hunter as clearly as daylight. One of the remaining holes had only half healed, exposing flesh that still writhed faintly beneath the skin. The last one had almost closed, leaving only a shallow scar behind.

The old man was badly injured. There was no way he could venture into the new land again.

What puzzled Li Banfeng most, however, was how the old hunter had managed to stay alive.

"May I ask something a bit presumptuous? Which Daoist Path are you from?" Li Banfeng asked as he handed over another ten silver dollars. He knew that asking about someone's cultivation was taboo, and not something one could expect answered for free.

The old hunter accepted the coins and laughed. "You may laugh at me. I am a level-two Physique Cultivator. I am just a worm."

By "worm," he meant an earthworm.

He truly couldn't afford to underestimate such lifeforms. Their ability to heal themselves alone was enough to fill Li Banfeng with envy.

Although he could no longer enter the new land, the old hunter did not take Li Banfeng's money for nothing. He drew him a map. He couldn't read a single character, so the map wasn't precise, but it was clear enough to follow.

"This mountain path is called Gourd Gully," he said. "The farther you go, the narrower it gets, until it pinches tight, then opens up again. There are mosquitoes all along the way, especially at the narrowest stretch. Big ones and small ones swarm together so thick you can't even open your eyes. You have to move fast there. Linger even a moment, and they might drain you dry."

"After Gourd Gully comes Red Clay Ridge," he said. "It's a marsh. You can't move fast there, and every step has to be watched. I once saw a man sink into that place. Before he could finish half a pipe of tobacco, he was gone, swallowed clean by the mud.

"I'm not afraid of it because I can climb out. If you don't have that skill, bring a sturdy walking stick and probe your way forward, one step at a time.

"Then there's the Iron-thread River. If you want to cross it, don't enter the water under any circumstances. After that, you will see the Little Yellow Spring. That path is deadly, and it's long. Very long. As you walk, you have to keep an eye on the wind's direction.

"Beyond Little Yellow Spring lies the Orange Grove. That is a good place. The oranges can be eaten, but you have to behave yourself. Whether you encounter the Blue Poplar Tree or not...depends on your fate..."

The old hunter explained every place along the route and even stressed the importance of food supplies.

"Don't bring too much food. The journey is dangerous. It's better to go hungry than weigh yourself down. Once you reach the Orange Grove, there will be food to eat."

Li Banfeng grew curious. "Based on the route you described, a round trip would take a month. If you don't bring enough food, what do you eat along the way?"

The old hunter laughed. "I can eat soil. Different soils have different flavors. The mud in Red Clay Ridge is the best. Rich and full-bodied, like it's been braised in soy sauce. You wouldn't even need salt."

Li Banfeng was left speechless. He could only admit defeat. After bidding the old hunter farewell, he returned to the warehouse to prepare his supplies.

Ma Wu tried to talk him out of it. "Brother Li, the Blue Poplar Tree has no market. It's not worth risking your life."

Li Banfeng refused to listen.

Ma Wu sighed, clearly at a loss. "Fine. If you won't let me go, then at least take Zuo Wugang with you. You shouldn't be going alone. You need someone to watch your back."

"If he goes with me, what will you do here?" Li Banfeng had hired Zuo Wugang precisely because Ma Wu was too weak.

After packing his things, Li Banfeng set out at dawn and ran south until he reached Gourd Gully.

The mosquitoes were truly countless. From more than five kilometers away from Gourd Gully, great swarms were already visible, flying straight at his face.

The old hunter had suffered greatly on the journey because his supplies were limited. Li Banfeng, however, had the full resources of Blue Poplar Village. With those resources, along with the old hunter's accumulated experience, he had far more ways to deal with the dangers ahead.

He pulled a small jar from his backpack, poured out the grease, and smeared it over his body.

The grease had been refined from nine-footed toads. These toads loved nothing more than mosquitoes and could swallow tens of thousands in a single day. The moment the scent spread, the mosquitoes fled from it.

While the grease was still fresh, Li Banfeng broke into a sprint. In less than half an hour, he had blasted through the entire fifteen-kilometer canyon.

After leaving Gourd Gully, he reached Red Clay Ridge. He no longer dared to move recklessly. He slowed his pace and used his Tang saber as a walking stick. Guided by Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Calamity, he advanced forward carefully.

"Softened strings conceal a quiet ache, murmuring of a lifetime of ambitions left unfulfilled," the Tang saber said. "My lord, I was a famous weapon in my day. Is it really appropriate to jam me into rotten mud like this?"

Li Banfeng prodded the path ahead with his Tang saber and replied, "So long as the meaning is conveyed, that's enough."

The Tang saber snapped, flinging mud from its blade. "What meaning could this possibly convey? Being jammed in rotten mud? My lord, this is nothing but humiliation."

It took Li Banfeng over five exhausting hours to make his way across the seven-kilometer marsh.

After passing Red Clay Ridge, he arrived at the Iron-thread River. Its dark waters stretched over thirty meters wide, rushing from west to east.

Those who could fly crossed the river with ease. Those who could not had to depend on enchanted artifacts or spirit-bound items.

However, no one was ever permitted to swim across. Not even a Water Cultivator could do so, for there was no water in this river. What flowed through the riverbed was a mass of writhing iron-thread insects.

Driven by some unknown force, the iron-thread insects wriggled in a single direction. Anyone who stepped into this "river" would be swarmed instantly, countless insects drilling into their flesh. They would crawl into every opening, and where none existed, they would force their way in. The body would soon become a living nest, the insects feeding, breeding, and spreading from within.

Li Banfeng could not fly, nor did he possess any flying enchanted artifact.

His method of crossing the river was simple. He took out the key, opened the door to the Pocket Dwelling, stepped inside, tossed the key onto the opposite bank, and exited from there.

After crossing the Iron-thread River, he entered another stretch of wilderness. There was nothing unusual about it; he simply needed to run straight through.

After walking for a full sixteen hours, he was almost halfway there.

He moved so quickly for several reasons. Firstly, there was no need to scout the route, as the old hunter had already mapped it out for him. Secondly, a level-two Wanderlust Cultivator was naturally fast. And third, Li Banfeng had prepared thoroughly. His luggage did not slow him down in the slightest, as everything was stored within the Pocket Dwelling and could be accessed whenever needed.

At this pace, he would not need three days. If he kept running, he would reach the Orange Grove by two or three in the afternoon the next day.

However, he did not plan to run any farther. The journey had consumed too much energy, and his legs were trembling uncontrollably.

For a homebound cultivator, returning home to sleep was fundamental to cultivation. It was also the proper conduct of a homebody.

He entered the Pocket Dwelling, took off his mud-soaked clothes, and seated himself beside the gramophone.

Clang-a-lang-lang~

The gramophone asked with concern, "Husband dear~ You are covered in dust. You must have gone out to get groceries."

"My wifey, don't be so anxious. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll definitely bring back some fine ingredients."

Li Banfeng finished two cans of food and a box of biscuits before sinking into a deep sleep.

The gramophone was clearly displeased. As it washed his clothes with steam, it complained, "Tomorrow, tomorrow... He says tomorrow every day. Even after helping him reach level three in cultivation, I still have to starve."

Author's Note:

PS: Li Banfeng was not giving empty promises! He would be passing through the Little Yellow Spring, which is a great place for getting "groceries" for the gramophone!