Li Wei continued to clean the stone wall. Following the name 'Zhang Zigu,' there was a date inscription: the Gengzi year of the Daoguang era.

"The Gengzi year of Daoguang, what year is that?" These characters were also legible. Li Wei traced the inscription on the stone wall and looked up, asking softly.

"1840, that's the twentieth year of Daoguang!" Zhang Yang whispered. At this moment, Zhang Yang was the most exhilarated; this was a place his ancestor had visited, and the inscription was his ancestor's handwriting. This held a profound significance for him.

Li Wei paused slightly, looked up immediately, and blurted out, "The year of the Opium War?" The Gengzi year of Daoguang was indeed the twentieth year of Daoguang, and the most famous event of that year was undoubtedly the Opium War. It marked a turning point in modern Chinese history, from which the nation began a century of suffering. Li Wei might not have known the exact year of Gengzi, but the Opium War was indelibly etched in his memory.

"Yes, that very year!" Zhang Yang smiled faintly, slowly gazing at the characters carved into the wall. After more than a century of wind and sun, the inscription had lost some of its original splendor. Yet, one could still discern that the depth of each character was uniform, bearing a powerful, vigorous stroke, which spoke volumes about the profound internal energy his ancestor possessed.

"Dr. Zhang, is it here?" Li Wei asked again. He was only slightly curious about the Gengzi year; the Opium War had no bearing on him. It was merely a casual inquiry. What concerned him most was whether they could find what Zhang Yang needed; that was the crucial point.

"Yes. I am absolutely certain, this is the spot!" Zhang Yang nodded firmly. His ancestor's name was present; the location was confirmed. However, Zhang Yang was uncertain if the Soul-Returning Grass still remained here. 1840 to the present day was nearly one hundred and sixty years. In such a long span, anything could have happened.

"Dr. Zhang, let's hurry and look!" Li Wei sounded anxious. His grandfather lay in bed, relying entirely on what Zhang Yang was searching for to save his life. It could be said that the entire family's hope rested on them, waiting for him to return with good news.

Zhang Yang hesitated slightly and said quietly, "Mr. Li, why don't you wait for us on the helicopter? We will return immediately once we find the item, and then we can all leave together!" Zhang Yang suggested this because he was mindful of another record in the secret manual. His ancestor had failed to obtain the Soul-Returning Grass because a spiritual beast—a rather powerful one—guarded the area. The spiritual beast could not kill him, but trying to take the grass from its protection was futile. In the end, his ancestor had to leave in frustration, leaving behind this regret.

"Dr. Zhang, don't worry. I won't slow you down. Furthermore, I swear that I will keep this location a secret from absolutely everyone!" Li Wei chuckled and shook his head. He had thought Zhang Yang wanted to hide a secret and was trying to dismiss him. Li Wei genuinely did not want to leave at that moment. He held no interest in the place itself. As long as Old Qiao could be saved, that was all that mattered, which was why he insisted on staying, to ease Zhang Yang's mind.

"Very well, but you must follow behind us. If anything goes wrong, you must leave immediately!" Zhang Yang nodded helplessly. Li Wei had misunderstood his intentions, and it was inconvenient for Zhang Yang to elaborate further. In Zhang Yang's heart, there was a flicker of hopeful chance: the spiritual beast his ancestor found back then must have been at its peak strength. After so many years, whether that beast still existed was unknown. Perhaps the spiritual beast had already met its natural end. Spiritual beasts lived long, but their lifespans were finite. Common ones lived only two to three hundred years, like the Fox-Tailed Marten, which seldom exceeded three centuries. The Golden Crown Python was an exception—a particularly mighty spiritual beast.

The group, equipped with their gear, proceeded slowly forward. Wuying’s small head had already popped out. Finding the Soul-Returning Grass still relied on Wuying; its nose was the keenest. If the grass was here, it absolutely would not escape its sensitive snout. This small island was not large; circling the entire island would take at most a little over two hours. Zhang Yang walked at the front, Long Feng closely following, with Li Wei bringing up the rear. Each man held a sharp military knife, useful for clearing the way.

"Jee-jee-jee!" Not long after they started, Wuying suddenly chirped, its nose twitching incessantly. A surge of joy shot through Zhang Yang's heart. He could sense that Wuying had discovered a treasure, a genuine one. Only things imbued with spiritual energy qualified as true treasures for Wuying. The energy of this current discovery was faint, but any spiritual energy was detectable by its nose. A treasure with weak spiritual energy had a high probability of being the Soul-Returning Grass.

Strictly speaking, the Soul-Returning Grass wasn't a rare celestial material or a potent spiritual medicine. It was a seemingly ordinary plant that simply required a longer time to grow, thus accumulating a trace of spiritual energy, classifying it merely as a spiritual object. The Soul-Returning Grass bore no fruit; it was just a clump of grass, and only the leaves had efficacy. If a normal person consumed these leaves, at most, they would feel slightly more energized with no unusual changes. However, for Old Qiao, it was a lifesaving boon. Just a few stalks of Soul-Returning Grass could significantly strengthen his depleted spirit, invigorating the body and subsequently restoring his health, thereby alleviating his suffering.

"Jee-jee-jee!" Wuying continued to call, and Lightning also poked its little head out, scanning the surroundings. Soon, Lightning also cried out. Zhang Yang understood what it was communicating: there was no danger nearby, nor were any other spiritual beasts present. Just moments before, Lightning had deliberately released its spiritual beast suppression aura, carefully sensing everything around them. At the very least, it detected no other spiritual beasts. No spiritual beasts, yet the high possibility of the Soul-Returning Grass existing—this was undoubtedly the best possible outcome for Zhang Yang.

"Let's go!" After the two little ones gave their warnings, Zhang Yang felt somewhat relieved and strode forward. Li Wei stared in amazement at the two little creatures on Zhang Yang’s person. Initially, he had considered Lightning and Wuying just Zhang Yang’s pets, and he had been curious about Zhang Yang keeping a marten and a rat as pets. But now, he suddenly realized these two were extremely intelligent and intuitive, and Zhang Yang seemed to depend on them for something important.

Zhang Yang moved quickly, soon reaching the mountainside. Here, Wuying’s calls grew even more urgent. Zhang Yang understood; he wasn't far from what he sought.

"Let's go ahead; there’s a cave up there!" Zhang Yang pointed forward. Hidden a dozen meters ahead was a concealed cave. If Wuying hadn't directed him with its feelings, he would never have found this spot. An uninhabited, desolate island, and such a hidden cave—it was no wonder the Soul-Returning Grass had survived until now. Zhang Yang's tension eased considerably. At the same time, a small thread of curiosity remained: how exactly did his ancestor locate this place and discover the existence of the Soul-Returning Grass? It was too well-concealed.

The cave was small, allowing only one person to enter. It was pitch black inside. Li Wei took out lamps from his backpack. Each person took one, and they proceeded inside together. They hadn't walked far before they emerged from the cave into a small, modest valley. From above, sparse sunlight filtered through the dense canopy. The sky above the valley was narrow, choked with interwoven branches and vines, making it impossible for anyone flying overhead to detect this small valley, leading them to assume it was just the mountain peak below. Looking up from below, the structure appeared large at the bottom and small at the top, resembling a volcanic crater, though the valley floor supported abundant growth, clearly ruling out a volcanic vent. Standing at the mouth of the cave, gazing at this miraculous valley, even Zhang Yang marveled at the sheer wonder of nature's creation.

"Jee-jee-jee!" Wuying called again, and Zhang Yang followed the direction it indicated with his eyes. With that single glance, his eyes tightened abruptly. To one side of the valley was a patch of grassland covering about an acre. These plants looked unremarkable, only twenty to thirty centimeters high, resembling common weeds. But upon closer inspection, one would notice that these grasses were not soiled like typical weeds; every leaf lacked even a speck of dust or debris, appearing exceptionally bright. This was the Soul-Returning Grass. Zhang Yang had only seen descriptions in the secret manual and had never witnessed this spiritual object firsthand.

"Mr. Li, Old Qiao is saved!" Zhang Yang broke into a grin. The start had been rough, but the result was excellent, even perfect. Such a large expanse of Soul-Returning Grass would certainly suffice to save Old Qiao.

"Dr. Zhang, you really found it? Where?" Li Wei followed Zhang Yang’s gaze but could discern nothing, unable to help asking. He sounded excited as he spoke; they were saved—his grandfather would finally be saved.

"Right there!" Zhang Yang smiled and pointed toward the patch of grass. Li Wei paused slightly. Previously, Zhang Yang had only mentioned searching for a type of medicinal herb, never suggesting it would look like this patch of weedy growth. Li Wei had expected something rare, the kind seen on television that grew singularly, either on cliffsides or in deeply hidden spots. This field of grass looked altogether too ordinary.

"I'll go pick it!" Li Wei took out his military knife and moved to step forward.

"Wait!" Zhang Yang grabbed him. He understood Li Wei's excitement, but the Soul-Returning Grass could not simply be cut and used. A specific method was required. If cut directly, the grass's already scarce spiritual energy would dissipate immediately, rendering it truly common weed. If given to Old Qiao in that state, its efficacy would be drastically reduced. Collecting such a spiritual item with minimal energy required it to be uprooted entirely to preserve its spirituality. Once pulled, it could not be stored in ordinary containers either, as that would also cause the spiritual energy to leak away. The best receptacle for the Soul-Returning Grass was jade. Zhang Yang had prepared beforehand; he possessed a large jade box suitable for storing the grass. After stopping Li Wei, Zhang Yang strode toward the grassy patch; he needed to harvest the Soul-Returning Grass himself.

When he was one meter from the grass, Zhang Yang’s heart rate suddenly accelerated, and a strong premonition of unease erupted.

"Squeak-squeak-squeak!" "Jee-jee-jee!" The two little creatures cried out almost simultaneously. Without thinking, Zhang Yang bolted backward. An object suddenly materialized in front of him. Before he could clearly see what it was, Long Feng’s Snow Whip lashed out.

………… Second update, base two chapters complete, more to follow!