Chapter 521: Sorry, I Dug Up a Top-Grade Ginseng

Ning Fei walked into the Canyon.

The ginseng harvesting teams noticed him, and many people looked over.

One of the team leaders even came over specifically to chat with him.

"Hello, Ning Guan master. My name is Zhang Dong," Zhang Dong said with a chuckle. "I really love watching your live streams. I can't believe I get to meet the real person today."

Ning Fei smiled and replied, "Hello. I wanted to come here and harvest some ginseng too. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Of course not. Changbai Mountain belongs to Huaxia; all Huaxia people can come and harvest. Besides, whether you can get the opening eyes and dig up a big club all depends on the Mountain God's will."

"If Mountain God Lao Batou grants you fortune, you'll be able to dig up a Five-Leaf Grade big club. If Mountain God Lao Batou doesn't, you won't have much to show for it even if you bust your back for half a month," Zhang Dong replied.

Ning Fei nodded. These were the traditional customs of ginseng harvesting. 'Opening eyes' meant finding something good, and a 'big club' was top-grade ginseng.

After that, Ning Fei and Bai Yi walked deeper into the Canyon.

The mountain harvesters occasionally took out their mobile phones to snap a few pictures, then sent messages to their kids, relatives, or friends:

"I saw Ning Guan master today."

This earned them plenty of awe and envy.

The viewers in the live stream watched Ning Fei's broadcast intently.

Everyone wanted to know what kind of wild ginseng Ning Fei could find.

Even the harvesters would occasionally throw glances his way.

Zhang Dong offered a reminder, "Ning Guan master, we've already been harvesting in this Canyon for three days. We've definitely found a good number of treasures, so you probably won't see any Five-Leaf Grade ginseng left."

Ning Fei simply replied, "That's fine. I'm just looking around."

With that, Ning Fei set his backpack down and turned his gaze toward a nearby cliff face.

"The mountains in this Canyon are a mix of soil and rock."

"And as you can see, a lot of weeds are growing right on the surface of the cliff," Ning Fei said leisurely as he stretched his limbs. "That means there could be other plants up on the cliff face too."

The viewers were thoroughly confused.

What was he talking about?

Wasn't he here to dig up wild ginseng? Why was he staring up at the cliff?

"Also, I think I just spotted something."

After dropping that line, to everyone's absolute shock, Ning Fei began to climb.

The harvesters in the Canyon were all dumbfounded.

"What is he doing?"

"Does ginseng grow on cliffs?"

"I've never heard of such a thing!"

"Impossible. Ginseng only grows in the shade and needs to absorb a massive amount of nutrients."

"Exactly! The soil on a cliff face wouldn't be fertile enough!"

The mountain harvesters clamored in discussion.

Ning Fei's actions were completely beyond anyone's expectations.

The drone followed closely behind him.

By this time, Ning Fei had already reached his target spot.

"Look here, everyone. These are the leaves of a ginseng plant. They're mixed in with the weeds, so they aren't very obvious."

"The soil on this part of the cliff is quite loose, and judging by the type of weeds growing here, the soil is acidic, which is quite suitable for ginseng."

"Plus, the weeds rot away every year, creating soil rich in humus. That makes it an even better environment for a ginseng plant to survive."

As he spoke, Ning Fei gripped a rock outcropping with one hand and started digging with a wooden stick in the other.

By now, the mountain harvesters had stopped their work and gathered around to watch him.

His actions were so far outside the norm that everyone was captivated.

Ning Fei wasn't too high up—only about eight or nine meters off the ground—so the harvesters could clearly see the ginseng.

"It really is ginseng!"

"Ginseng actually growing on a cliff... Now I've seen everything."

"For years and years, no one ever thought to look up."

"With all those weeds on the rock wall, who could have guessed there'd be ginseng mixed in?"

"It's coming out! By the looks of it, it's at least a Five-Leaf Grade!"

The harvesters kept chattering, and much of their amazed discussion was picked up by the live stream.

Even the locals were stunned!

"Good lord, Ning Guan master is incredible! I'm completely dumbfounded watching this!"

"Can someone explain what Five-Leaf Grade means?"

"A Five-Leaf Grade means it's close to a hundred years old and considered a top-grade ginseng. The absolute highest is a Six-Leaf Cluster, which is the ultimate, perfect ginseng."

Just as these comments drifted across the screen, Ning Fei's voice rang out.

"It's a Six-Leaf Cluster ginseng. My luck is truly pretty good this time."

Viewers:

"Holy crap! It's actually a Six-Leaf Cluster?!"

Ning Fei continued digging inward with the utmost care.

He could feel a dense aura washing over his face.

Last night, he had read the stars. Due to ginseng recently emerging from the earth, the Spiritual Energy in this region was exceptionally rich.

But for a ginseng plant to influence the stars... its value went far beyond a simple Six-Leaf Cluster.

"It's a Six-Leaf Cluster!"

Below, the harvesters discussed fervently, their eyes filled with envy.

Normally, with so many people harvesting in Changbai Mountain, not even one Six-Leaf Cluster would be found in an entire year.

After all, a Six-Leaf Cluster signified an age of over a century. Perhaps there weren't even that many century-old ginseng plants left in the entirety of Changbai Mountain.

Zhang Dong nodded as well, letting out a sigh of admiration.

"A Six-Leaf Cluster is the highest grade of ginseng, but who knows how many heads it has."

"If it has two heads, its age is probably around two hundred and fifty years."

"If it has three, it might even reach four hundred years!"

"I've only ever seen ginseng like that mentioned in my ancestors' old records."

Wild ginseng had extremely long whiskers that grew deep into the soil, so Ning Fei had to extract it bit by bit, with absolute care.

The root whiskers were densely packed into the rock face. It took Ning Fei a considerable amount of time before he finally managed to harvest the ginseng.

The people below kept their eyes glued to him the entire time.

The drone also broadcasted the harvesting process to the live stream.

This ginseng was massive. As Ning Fei dug deeper, he could see it clearly: the ginseng had five heads.

'Five heads...' Ning Fei thought to himself.

In terms of age, a five-headed ginseng was nearly a thousand years old. It was practically on the verge of becoming a spirit.

'No wonder it was able to shift the stars.'

After a bit more digging, Ning Fei finally pulled the ginseng completely free.

He carefully stowed it away in the cloth bag hanging at his waist, not wanting too many people to catch a glimpse of the five heads.

After all, a five-headed ginseng was simply too shocking to the world.

He doubted these mountain harvesters had ever seen anything like it either.

If everyone saw it, the innocent man would be targeted for his wealth, and it would cause unnecessary trouble.

With that, Ning Fei floated lightly down from the cliff.

Zhang Dong and the others immediately crowded around him.

"Ning Guan master, you are amazing! I never would've imagined there'd actually be ginseng growing straight out of the cliff!"

Ning Fei said, "Only a tiny bit of the plant's leaves were sticking out. It's very hard to spot if you don't look closely. My eyesight is fairly sharp, so I saw it and thought I'd give it a try. I didn't expect to actually stumble upon one."

Hearing this, Zhang Dong said enviously, "Ning Guan master, how many heads did that Six-Leaf Cluster ginseng have? I was looking from below earlier, and it seemed like there was more than one."

Ning Fei just smiled and replied, "It looked like two, or maybe it just grew a bit crooked. I didn't get a very clear look."

Zhang Dong nodded. "Two heads is already incredibly good. Are you looking to sell it? I know a few bosses who buy ginseng. A two-headed Six-Leaf Cluster can fetch a price of around 2.8 million."

Smiling, Ning Fei politely declined Zhang Dong's offer.

He still had a major use for this ginseng.

Between this ginseng, the Ambergris, and a few of the spiritual items stored away in Qingfeng Temple...

It should be just about enough to hatch the Fuzhu.

Shortly after, Ning Fei and Bai Yi departed from Changbai Mountain.

This trip was quick to start and quick to end.

But his brief operation left the viewers thoroughly shell-shocked.

"Why do I get the feeling that treasure hunting is just a game to Ning Guan master?"

"Legends say immortals can sense the locations of spiritual treasures. Do you think it has something to do with that?"

"That's the truth! It's the only possible explanation!"

"All I can say is I'm jealous."

Ning Fei didn't think much of it.

For him, the most important matter at hand was returning to Qingfeng Temple to hatch the Fuzhu.

At that thought, a flicker of excitement flashed through his eyes.