Chapter 46: Golden Core!

A thousand-year-old ginseng.

“Heavens, how much would one of these be worth…” Gu Qingcheng’s beautiful eyes widened as she gazed at the lush green leaves, each at least as tall as a person.

“I have no idea,” Ye Tian shook his head, murmuring to himself.

Wild mountain ginseng already possessed remarkable medicinal properties, and its rarity only made it more precious. Even a single ten-year-old ginseng plant could fetch thousands or even tens of thousands. As for a century-old wild specimen, it was an unparalleled treasure—priceless and nearly impossible to find, even in the Changbai Mountains, renowned for their abundant wild ginseng.

Years ago, at an auction in Jilin Province, a two-hundred-year-old “King of Ginseng” had a starting bid of five million and ultimately sold for an astonishing fifteen million.

The reason was simple: for the people of the Dragon Nation, whose obsession with longevity bordered on fanaticism, such treasures had never lacked a market and were always fiercely pursued.

A hundred-year-old wild ginseng could command a sky-high price in the tens of millions.

But a thousand-year-old specimen?

Its value would likely be measured in hundreds of millions.

With this realization, the siblings gasped in shock.

Ye Tian had no doubt about the age of these seven ginseng plants—just the size of their aboveground stems and leaves far surpassed ordinary cultivated specimens by more than tenfold.

Besides, this was an immortal’s cave; could an immortal possibly deceive them?

“What are you waiting for? Let’s get started,” Gu Qingcheng’s eyes flashed with excitement. Without another word, she took out all the tools from her bag.

Red cords, oilcloth, copper coins, brushes…

These tools for harvesting ginseng filled half her backpack, but they were absolutely essential. Before coming here, Ye Tian had stressed that thousand-year-old ginseng had developed a spirit; if they didn’t tie red cords and set up formations around them,

The ginseng might truly run away!

“All right, stand back. I’ll handle this myself.” Ye Tian took the red velvet cord and skillfully looped it around the stalks of all seven ginseng plants, tying each with a special knot and linking them together with a unique formation.

Then, chanting softly, he tied copper coins to each.

“Let’s do this!”

With the ritual complete, Ye Tian wasted no time. Using the surrounding earth, he began digging with precision.

The spade flashed back and forth, sending clumps of soil flying.

It wasn’t until he glimpsed the golden-yellow body of the ginseng emerging from the rich earth that he slowed his pace, carefully loosening the soil and gently brushing away the dirt from the roots.

The entire process took over an hour.

At last, he lifted a wild ginseng from the ground, as long as his arm, with root hairs dense as strands of hair.

This was thanks to Ye Tian’s practiced skill; his speed was already impressive. Even the most seasoned ginseng digger, without such cultivation and endurance, would have collapsed from exhaustion by now.

Yet, he wasn’t unscathed either. Once a single ginseng was unearthed, a sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead.

“Maybe you should rest a bit?” Watching him work, Gu Qingcheng felt exhausted on his behalf and couldn’t help but express her concern.

“No need. We must hurry,” Ye Tian shook his head, then pointed at the cave wall. “Go fetch some moss and mix it with soil to wrap up the ginseng.”

After harvesting,

“Got it!”

While Gu Qingcheng packed the treasure, Ye Tian promptly began digging up the second plant.

In total, more than eight hours passed before the last ginseng was finally unearthed.

Looking at the seven precious plants, now securely wrapped in moss, Ye Tian let out a long sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion.

“We’re rich! We’re rich!” Gu Qingcheng was beside herself with excitement, carefully placing each wrapped ginseng into her backpack, separating them with foam to prevent damage.

“Tell me, junior brother, if we sell this ginseng, could we build a manor as big as the Qian family’s estate?”

“Absolutely. If you like, once we’re safely back in Zhongdu, I’ll buy the land and build you an even grander one,” Ye Tian replied with a smile.

“Promise?” Gu Qingcheng squinted her lovely eyes.

After a brief rest, Ye Tian sprang up and began searching the cave.

“What are you looking for? Didn’t we already dig up all the treasure?” Gu Qingcheng asked in confusion.

Ye Tian shook his head. “An immortal’s abode surely holds more than just one kind of treasure.”

As he spoke, he walked past the stone trough and followed the stream to its source, arriving at a stone platform where spring water constantly dripped down.

At first glance, the platform seemed merely designed to collect spring water. But following the channel, he noticed a small, pitch-black round hole beneath the clear water.

The opening was only the size of a glass bead. Ye Tian reached in to probe, but found nothing noteworthy.

“How strange,” Ye Tian muttered, puzzled.

Could it be that the immortal had designed such a grand cave just to hide a few ginseng plants?

Though these thousand-year-old ginseng were treasures beyond compare in the mortal world, they seemed somewhat lacking for a place belonging to an immortal.

As he pondered, Gu Qingcheng approached.

“Junior brother, look—the necklace you gave me is glowing!” With that, she pulled out from her collar a bead strung on a red cord.

It was the very pearl they’d found in Xu Manjin’s vault. Since Gu Qingcheng liked it, Ye Tian had casually put it around her neck.

Who would have thought she’d kept it on her all this time?

Now, this little trinket, shining like a night pearl, was emitting a dazzling light, pulsing as if it were breathing!

“I figured, since it was hidden in Xu Manjin’s treasury, it had to be something valuable, so I’ve worn it ever since,” Gu Qingcheng said, affecting an air of mystery. “Now that it’s glowing so brightly, do you think it might be a key of some sort?”

“It must sense treasure nearby and glows automatically!”

Pouting, Gu Qingcheng handed the bead to Ye Tian. “Why don’t you try putting it in that hole?”

“Alright.”

Ye Tian took the bead, frowned slightly, and without hesitation, placed it into the little hole he had just discovered.

A series of sharp cracks echoed out.

The stone platform suddenly split down the middle, slowly sliding apart to reveal a small hollow inside.

In the center of this space sat a shining golden orb.

Drip. Drip.

Spring water dripped onto the golden orb, splashing cool droplets into the air.

But Ye Tian felt a wave of heat flood his body, his head threatening to explode.

“A Golden Core!”

His voice trembled, and, hands shaking, he reached out to cradle the golden orb.

“A Golden Core? What’s that?” Gu Qingcheng asked, bewildered, as she picked up the glowing necklace that had fallen into the hollow.

“Is it some kind of treasure? Honestly, it doesn’t look half as nice as my necklace.”