Hidden Moth-Chapter 496 - 282: Pure Yang Essence Found in Extreme Cold

As the voice fell, Elder Gu sent a Divine Thought. He Kao was startled and quickly waved his hand, "No, no, I can’t learn it well, mainly because I can’t learn that demeanor..."

Elder Gu shook his head and said, "It’s right if you can’t learn it well. Concealing, blending truth and falsehood is more believable! By then, it’s not you who is exposed, but others who will think they’ve seen through your actions."

He Kao still resisted, "But the Hidden Moth Gauze is no longer with me; I gave it to Lan Jiwan."

Elder Gu: "You may retrieve it when you need it."

He Kao: "Why him and not you, Elder?"

Elder Gu replied with profound mystery, "It has to be him, it must be him; this is a task from the Ancestral Hall... Although this action can deter the masses, the risk is also high. You can only tell Mei Guyu. If anything happens, you two can discuss it."

He Kao had to nod helplessly, contemplated a bit, and asked, "Last time, Elder Li also asked me to take him to Mount Everest here, was he here to save people too? Why do you all love coming here?"

Elder Gu: "This is my first time at Mount Everest Base Camp, just happened to be here. As for Old Li, he came to gather medicine last time..."

Last time Li Xiuyuan came, he was searching for a parasitic Spirit Plant named Golden Sun Dodder. Its living environment requirements are extremely harsh: it needs places with strong and prolonged sunlight, and meanwhile, great diurnal temperature variation, extremely cold temperatures.

Such places are rarely found, and the only known place that can satisfy both low latitude and high altitude conditions is near the snow line of the Himalayas’ sunny slopes; almost all are unreachable uninhabited zones. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Neither near Phoenix Tail Town nor Qihuang Spirit Garden can cultivate Golden Sun Dodder. It grows in extremely harsh cold regions but absorbs the essence of the scorching sun, enabling the crafting of various Spirit Medicines.

In ancient times, it was used to craft one of the most common low-tier elixirs, namely the Essence Nourishing Pill suitable for Foundation Establishment and Tier One Sorcerers, which He Kao had also consumed. Due to its overly intense spiritual effect, only a tiny portion is needed in the formula.

Do not underestimate low-tier elixirs, although He Kao no longer needs them now, everyone experiences the phase where they are essential. It is the most widely applicable cultivation aid, with the broadest demand, defining the core of the Magic Sect.

Golden Sun Dodder is too precious and rare, so for a thousand years, the sect’s ancestors have continually improved and developed new formulas, replacing it with other more attainable Spirit Medicines, and it is hardly used in commonplace formulas like the Essence Nourishing Pill.

But in some high-tier elixirs, Golden Sun Dodder remains irreplaceable; it is the main ingredient in the Pure Yang Pill, for instance. It’s said that the Pure Yang Pill even has the effect of reversing aging, with its primitive formula having the legendary Vermilion Fruit as its main ingredient.

In fact, while its spiritual effects do not exaggerate to reversing aging, it still assists high-tier sorcerers and Great Success cultivators like Gu Chun and Li Xiuyuan in cultivation.

The Vermilion Fruit cannot be found in the world, and even He Kao has only seen it in novels. Through various trials, generations of ancestors have discovered that by combining several auxiliary materials, Golden Sun Dodder can achieve similar spiritual effects to the Vermilion Fruit, thereby making the Pure Yang Pill.

Elder Li came to the area around Everest last time to gather Golden Sun Dodder to craft the Pure Yang Pill. If crafting succeeds, He Kao might even get a share because of his "contribution," but that’s only a possibility.

Upon hearing this, He Kao quickly asked, "Did Elder Li manage to find any Golden Sun Dodder last time?"

Gu Chun sighed, "It’s not that easy; he returned empty-handed. Initially, he planned to give you some after crafting the Pure Yang Pill, as compensation for the Ancestral Hall utilizing your assistance — us elders could take less."

Later we heard you proactively asked for the stocked Spirit Awakening Pill and Awakening Incense, so it’s not that we asked you for help in vain..."

He Kao became anxious, "Why didn’t you tell me earlier? You should have informed me last time; I may not have other skills, but there’s absolutely no issue with helping gather medicine!"

Gu Chun turned his head, "Do you know where to find it?"

He Kao: "The Himalayas stretch over two thousand kilometers long, hundreds of kilometers wide, and the sunny slope snow line has many places too! Why stick to Everest?

This place has crowds, pollution, making it unlikely to find Golden Sun Dodder. I’ve been near other qualifying locations, and upon careful recollection, there might be Golden Sun Dodder growing; just hadn’t paid much attention then."

Gu Chun: "Those places you mentioned aren’t easy to access, lacking transportation, and even if riding a Flying Divine Artifact, there’s risk, and no guarantee of findings either."

He Kao hurriedly said, "Leave it to me; I’ll go find it!"

Gu Chun’s eyes sparkled, showing interest immediately, instructing, "Golden Sun Dodder is a multi-year parasitic plant, parasitizing on the roots of other highland plants like Tahuang.

In winter, they’re invisible; in other times, they’re hard to identify, only noticeable in midsummer when flowering and spiking. But it’s wrong to pick them in summer and autumn because they lose much of their spiritual effect when they’ve grown tall and flower spikes have emerged.

Therefore, ancient medicine gatherers would find them when they flower in midsummer, mark the location, and return in early spring the following year to pick the roots. If not done this way, only careful Divine Sense observation works, though the efficiency would be very low...

Currently, it’s early April, with their shoots just puncturing the ground, making it prime picking time. However, this window is very short, no more than half a month, and hard to identify, missing it means waiting another year.

I planned to stay a few more days at Everest Base Camp as well, to try my luck and see if any can be found nearby."

He Kao: "I’ll try these few days, searching along the Himalayas... I remember over a thousand miles west, I might have seen something resembling Golden Sun Dodder."