Evan Yang and Brocade waited outside until the spirit body appeared, describing to Evan the location on the mountain where the thing had shown up, so he and Brocade could check it out the next day.
The next morning, once the strange energies had faded and the spirit body was gone, Evan said to Brocade, "Let's go."
Following the route given by the spirit body, they rushed up the mountain to the spot where the herb had supposedly grown. But when they arrived, Evan looked puzzled. "Huh?"
"Boss, it's just a pile of rocks! There's no herb here," Brocade exclaimed in surprise.
Evan frowned, "Could it be that this thing only appears at night? Weird."
Brocade was already spooked by the strange phenomenon and said, "It must have something to do with nighttime. Looks like we can't get it during the day."
"Headache. Guess we'll have to wait until night and try again," Evan sighed helplessly.
So the two of them waited again. When night fell, the spirit body reappeared, and Evan curiously asked, "That thing seems impossible to find during the day."
"Really? Is that even possible?" The spirit body replied, puzzled.
After Evan explained what had happened, the spirit body said, "I'll go check." It disappeared for a while, then returned and said, "That thing's gone, but I found it somewhere else."
"What? It can move around?" Evan asked, puzzled.
"I don't know about that either," the spirit body replied, shaking its head.
Evan thought for a moment and asked, "Is there any way to catch it?"
"I have no idea," the spirit body said.
"Looks like we can only get in at night," Evan muttered, but entering at night wasn't so easy.
After staying there for a while, Evan saw the spirit body pacing back and forth. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind and he smiled, "I've got a way."
"Boss, what are you thinking?" Brocade asked, puzzled.
Evan grinned, "Just watch me." With that, his soul left his body and materialized. Brocade was shocked to see Evan's soul stepping inside under his gaze. "That actually works?"
"Of course! If a spirit body can go in and out, then a soul should be able to as well," Evan said with a smile.
"But a soul can't actually attack anything," Brocade said, still puzzled.
"Other people can't, but I can," Evan chuckled. "My soul's not like anyone else's—it's been tempered. Just watch over my body for me, I'll be right back."
Brocade nodded, and Evan followed the spirit body up the mountain. Sure enough, Evan spotted the plant and crouched down with a smile, "Finally caught you."
Evan reached out to pick it, but the plant suddenly darted away at incredible speed. Evan was startled. "That fast?"
Evan quickly chased after it, but didn't dare tackle it directly—if he damaged it, it would be useless. So he kept following it all around the mountain.
The spirit body couldn't keep up, and Evan soon realized he'd gotten separated from it, being led around by the plant. After a while, it lured him into a cave. Evan sensed something was off. "What the...?"
Curious, Evan followed it into the cave to see what the plant was up to. After a bit, he reached the interior and was stunned by what he saw—patches of the same plant growing on scattered rocks.
"So many?" Evan was overjoyed at the sight. He grabbed several at random, but noticed these didn't react like the previous one. "Why aren't these responding?"
Evan collected a bunch without hesitation, then spotted the one hiding and moving around. He quietly snuck up on it, and since he was sensitive to plants, he quickly pinpointed its location. While picking, he slowly edged closer to it.
When Evan finally reached out to grab it, the plant realized what was happening, but it was too late—Evan had already caught it. He grinned, "Let's see where you run off to now!"
"Let me go, Great Immortal!" the plant suddenly struggled and spoke.
"Hey, you can talk?" Evan said with a smile.
The plant replied, "Yeah, of course I can."
"How come you can talk but the others can't?" Evan asked curiously. The plant answered, "I have spiritual awareness—they don't. Plus, I'm their king!"
"King? Spiritual awareness? No wonder you're so crafty, able to move and even hide! So tell me, do you hide during the day and only come out at night?" Evan suspected this was the case—if he hadn't been lured here, he never would've caught it.
The plant said, "That's right, that's exactly how it is. Great Immortal, please let me go. If you want the others, just take as many as you want."
Evan smiled, "I've already taken almost all I need. But you—I'm actually very interested in you."
"I'm useless to you, so why are you looking at me like that?" the plant said, feeling frustrated.
"So, are you the only one here with spiritual awareness?" Evan asked, curious.
The plant sighed, "Yeah, it's not easy for plants like us to develop spiritual awareness. Most die halfway through. I'm the last one left."
"I see. If you're just stuck here bored, why not come with me?" Evan said with a smile.
"Go with you? For what? To be your medicine? No way," the plant protested immediately.
"Relax, I've got something you'll like—something that'll definitely help your cultivation," Evan said with a smile, thinking this plant could become a true spirit if it kept cultivating.
The plant stared at Evan, curious. It didn't have eyes or a mouth, but could sense his spiritual awareness. "Something I'll like? What is it?" it asked suspiciously.
Evan smiled, "You'll know once you come out with me."
"You're not tricking me into coming out, are you?" the plant said, feeling frustrated.
"You're already caught by me. If I wanted to refine you into medicine, you couldn't stop me, so why bother wasting so many words? Right?" Evan said with a smile.
The plant replied, "That's true. Fine, I'll go with you and see."
Evan chuckled, then picked up some of the herbs, keeping the sentient one in his hand, and left the cave. When he reached the foot of the mountain, he saw the spirit body talking with Brocade.
When he saw Evan appear, Brocade was overjoyed. "Boss, I thought something happened to you!"
"It's fine, I just went into a cave," Evan said with a smile.
"A cave? What kind of cave?" Brocade asked, curious.
Evan explained what had happened, then walked out. He found that the plant could freely enter and exit the area. When Evan's soul returned to his body, he smiled at the plant, "Watch closely." A gentle energy flowed from his hand.
When the plant sensed the energy, it exclaimed in delight, "I love this! What is it?"
"If you follow me, I'll give it to you regularly," Evan said with a smile.
The plant thought for a moment, then said, "Alright, I'll follow you from now on."
"Good, I'll let you absorb some first. Take your time refining it," Evan said with a smile. He infused it with some Heaven-Cold qi, then put it into a treasure.
"Boss, what kind of plant was that just now?" Brocade asked, curious.
Evan smiled, "That's the herb we were after—and it has spiritual awareness. I grabbed some of the ordinary ones for the family, but I'm keeping this one for myself."
"Spiritual awareness? Boss, you really lucked out," Brocade exclaimed.
Evan laughed, "Yeah, it's pure luck."
"So what do we do now?" Brocade asked, curious.
Evan smiled, "Mission accomplished. Let's head back to see the Dragon Patriarch."
Brocade nodded, then looked at the spirit body. Evan thanked it, "Thanks for all your help along the way."
"Don't mention it, it's what I should do. If you ever can, give me a physical body—I hate only existing at night, always lonely," the spirit body said to Evan.
Evan thought for a moment, "You really want a body and to leave?"
"Yes," the spirit body replied.
Evan considered, then said, "Alright, I'll help you forge one." He crafted a small body for the spirit, just like he'd done for souls before. When the spirit entered its new body, it was overjoyed. "Thank you!"
"Boss, you can actually do that?" Brocade said, laughing.
Evan laughed, "Well, I am a refiner. I've got at least that much skill."
The spirit body was overjoyed, bouncing around. The next day, it eagerly waited to see if it would disappear. Evan and Brocade stayed nearby until daylight flooded the sky. The spirit, still in its body, remained—but it didn't dare open its eyes.
Evan thought for a moment, then found something to make a light-blocking cover for its eyes so it could open them.
"Done," Evan said with a smile.
The spirit body said gratefully, "Thank you, thank you so much."
"You're welcome. I'm heading out now," Evan said, standing up.
Hearing Evan was about to leave, the spirit body said, "Wait, don't go yet. Let me take you somewhere—it might be good for you."
Evan asked curiously, "Where?"
"Follow me," the spirit body said with a smile, leading Evan and Brocade. But they were spotted by the demon dragons.
When the demon dragons saw Evan and Brocade, they shouted in shock and anger, "We finally found you! Get them!"
Evan picked up the spirit body, letting Brocade lead the way. They vanished again, leaving the demon dragons fuming. The spirit body led Evan into a waterfall inside Shifting Mountain—a strange sight. Evan and Brocade entered the waterfall, curious.
Inside the waterfall, Evan asked curiously, "What is this place?"
"I always come here at night—it's beautiful. Every time I visit, I feel energized. Do you feel it too?" the spirit body asked.