Early in the morning, Xin Bailin was waiting by the entrance. He wore a full-length, snow-white brocade robe. With a slender figure, handsome complexion, and elegant poise, he was a brilliant personage.
After the courtyard gate opened, Xin Bailin faintly smiled: “Brother Lingxiu.”
Xu Lingxiu wore a full-body purple robe today. With his charming features and arrogant attitude, he looked noble and extraordinary. The moment he stepped out of the gate, he saw his sworn enemy. The corner of his mouth curled up, and he replied with false sincerity: “Brother Bailin.”
Xin Bailin had already walked close to Xu Lingxiu and flicked his sleeves: “Today, this Xin has accepted the orders of the City Lord. I’ll be guiding everyone to get those rewards for winning that Pill Battling Assembly. Brother Lingxiu and company, please follow me.”
Xu Lingxiu glanced at him, and said without any expression: “Since it’s like this, I’ll have to trouble Brother Bailin.”
Gu Zuo, who was following behind: “...”
Li Yunquan rubbed his nose.
After witnessing this scene, even though they didn’t see anything, they somehow vaguely felt like there were saber lights and sword shadows... Although, the majority of the enmity only came from Xu Lingxiu’s side.
However, nothing bad happened. Under the guidance of Xin Bailin, the group quickly arrived at the Myriad Medicine Tower’s fourth floor.
There were still lots of medicinal ingredients on this floor. While Gu Zuo had gone on a spending spree previously, he only had the power of an individual. It was basically impossible to empty out the Myriad Medicine Tower. As a result, this floor was soon replaced with a batch of medicinal ingredients. It also wasn’t rare to see ones with good product grades among them.
When Gu Zuo looked over, his eyes stopped moving.
He wanted them! He wanted them! He wanted them!
He felt his warm blood boiling over. Those never-seen medicinal ingredients — He wanted all of them!
After that, Gu Zuo’s mind didn’t have any other thoughts. He just stared at the medicinal ingredients that weren’t available before, or he hadn’t been able to continue purchasing due to a lack of funds. He started to calculate everything in his heart.
Spirit Conk Mushrooms, Thousand-Autumn Vines, Lava Fruits...
He needed to properly consider how many stalks he’d select.
Gu Zuo’s expression was soon perceived by Xin Bailin, Xu Lingxiu, and the others.
Xin Bailin’s eyes flashed with hints of interest.
Meanwhile, Xu Lingxiu paused. He wanted to slap him a little.
Of course, Gu Zuo quickly restrained his drooling looks.
When he was buying on his own before, there weren’t any problems no matter how much he drooled. Now, he was in the company of others. If his expression was too blatant, that would make the Sect lose face.
When Xu Lingxiu saw that Gu Zuo had exercised restraint, he felt pleased.
Otherwise, when they went back, Xu Lingxiu would’ve lectured him for losing so much face.
Granted that Gu Zuo’s current ability was very strong, Xu Lingxiu, whose identity and position were higher, could still scold him. Not to mention that he now considered Gu Zuo as one of his own. As such, he wanted scold him even more.
Xin Bailin didn’t pay too much attention to Gu Zuo. He merely said to Xu Lingxiu: “Brother Lingxiu, the medicinal ingredients here are all acceptable as rewards. Everyone can make their own selection.”
Xu Lingxiu nodded his head, and immediately pulled Gu Zuo along to the other side: “...Do you know what to do?”
Gu Zuo promptly said: “Rest assured, Senior Sect Brother Xu. I’ve already thought about it!”
Xu Lingxiu: “...”
Never mind. A pharmacist could never be parted from his medicinal ingredients. This was normal.
The one Junior Sect Brother Gu followed was just the young master of a small country’s aristocratic family. It was inevitable that he wouldn’t have any channels to get medicinal ingredients in higher quantities and better conditions. He took advantage of the situation to store some up, so he was also considered to have a plan in mind.
...It had to be said that due to Gu Zuo’s strength and performance, even a haughty person like Xu Lingxiu would make excuses for Gu Zuo whenever he made some moves.
Afterwards, Gu Zuo and Xu Lingxiu went their separate ways.
One’s own medicinal ingredients would be chosen by themselves. Gu Zuo naturally went straight to his destination and directly pointed out the ten types of medicinal ingredients he wanted.
Spirit Conk Mushroom, twenty-thousand years old, valued at twenty thousand gold.
Lava Fruit, ten-thousand years old, valued at fourteen thousand gold.
Thousand-Autumn Vine, ten-thousand year old vine, valued at twenty-three thousand gold.
Thunder Spirit Fur, thousand year old shedding, the fur of nine sheds, valued at eleven thousand gold.
Moon Supporting Branch, five-thousand year old branch, valued at nineteen thousand gold.
Silk of the White-Heart Silkworm, thousand year old cocoon, valued at twelve thousand five hundred gold.
Ten types of medicinal ingredients, and all of them were the main ingredients for precious medicinal pills. While there were some that the present Gu Zuo couldn’t refine yet, it was no match for the pill prescriptions he possessed! As a result, he selected them without any pressure.
Gu Zuo’s selection speed was very fast. The main ingredients he chose were no more than forty thousand gold. Most of them were around ten thousand gold. After making his selection, an attendant of the tower saw this and felt that Gu Zuo wasn’t greedy at all.
One needed to know that with this kind of opportunity to obtain rewards, there were pharmacists in the past who directly chose medicinal ingredients that were worth over a hundred thousand gold! But unless they happened to need that kind of medicinal ingredient, that kind of etiquette was just too unsightly... Any pharmacist who had some foundation wouldn’t do such a thing.
At first, Xu Lingxiu was worried that Gu Zuo would choose poorly. He saw what had happened, and felt relieved. His own eyesight was also outstanding, and he selected eight stalks not long after. Many of the prices of the previously mentioned ingredients were ten to twenty thousand gold as well.
Not to mention Li Yunquan. He was an old fox, so naturally he wouldn’t provoke the people of Danyun City.
Qingyun Sect wasn’t the first batch of people to choose medicinal ingredients, but the behavior of every person from Qingyun Sect wasn’t lacking. The people on the entire floor saw this, and their hearts were free from worry.
After the selection was finished, Xin Bailin looked at Gu Zuo: “Brother Gu, since you’re here, why don’t we...also pick those?”
Gu Zuo understood what he meant. This originally was to complete the negotiations. He nodded and agreed: “Okay, no problem.” He thought about it, “Can Senior Sect Brother Xu go with me?”
In fact, Xu Lingxiu had been very attentive towards him the whole time. Although Xu Lingxiu couldn’t choose any spirit medicines, he should’ve also been willing to gain some insights as a pharmacist.
Almost as if Xin Bailin had known earlier that he’d encounter this kind of question, he nodded his head and said: “Naturally there’s no problem. I just don’t know if Brother Lingxiu will do me the honors?”
In any case, this was just doing a favor. It wasn’t bad to have one more person.
Xu Lingxiu seemed to stare blankly. He actually didn’t expect Gu Zuo to take the initiative to mention this... The corner of his mouth stirred, almost like he wanted to smile. However, he immediately recovered his usual expression: “Deference is no substitute for obedience.”
Indeed. He also wanted to take a look.
Soon after, Li Yunquan said his goodbyes.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go. Rather, he knew that it was impossible for Xin Bailin to bring another person along based on his identity — That fifth floor was too mysterious. If Xu Lingxiu didn’t have the potential to become a Golden-Level pharmacist, even if Gu Zuo mentioned him, Danyun City wouldn’t have allowed him to go.
As of now, it was just a mutual exchange between high-end, promising, and young pharmacists going together.
Once Li Yunquan left, Xin Bailin led them out of the fourth floor to a certain corner. Then, he swiftly pressed down on a mechanism, which opened an enormous iron door.
Because the fifth floor was tightly guarded, it wasn’t on the same path as the other four floors. If one really wanted to go in without a guide, they’d have to break through seven or eight to even a dozen checkpoints to be able to reach their destination. Moreover, even if they got through, there were still many powerhouses to suppress. Generally speaking, it was basically impossible to steal spirit medicines from here!
As Gu Zuo followed Xin Bailin forward, he felt that this place’s design was extremely clever. Although he sometimes saw the mechanisms, he couldn’t understand how those mechanisms worked. He also didn’t know how to decipher them. As for Xin Bailin, he only needed to hold a token and swipe it through a groove on the wall in front of a closed checkpoint. After pressing some buttons, the mechanism would deactivate and wouldn’t set off an alarm.
Xu Lingxiu watched all of this, and slightly sank into contemplation.
They walked along a very roundabout path for a long time. Finally, after passing through a small copper door, they entered a hidden chamber.
Once they entered, Gu Zuo felt a chill spread over his face. Why did it seem like an icy cavern in here? Could it be that spirit medicines needed to be preserved in a “refrigerator” to prevent them from spoiling?
With such questions in his heart, Gu Zuo and Xu Lingxiu walked in side by side. They followed Xin Bailin deeper inside.
When Xin Bailin took out a pearl and tossed it into the air, the entire cavern was illuminated. Then, they discovered the true situation — As it turned out, there wasn’t only an ice cave here. Instead, there were quite a few caves. The environments of each cave were all different!
After Gu Zuo saw a sparkling and translucent orchid plant entrenched in heaps of ice, he promptly understood.
This was certainly due to the different growing environments that the spirit medicines required. As a result, they were given imitations!
The facts were indeed as such.
Spirit medicines all had their own spirituality, and they preferred certain environments to grow. Of course, if they weren’t given the appropriate environment, the medicinal properties wouldn’t necessarily deteriorate. However, if there were any serious problems, the medicinal properties also wouldn’t strengthen! Over time, the properties might dull... And if the medicines were given the appropriate environments, they could maintain their spirituality from beginning to end. By absorbing the power in the environment, they could continue strengthening their own medicinal properties.
With this comparison, it was naturally worthwhile to provide the spirit medicines with the appropriate environments.
This stalk of spirit medicine in the ice cave was called the Hundred-Leaved Ice Heart Orchid. While it only had a single flower, it also had a hundred leaves. It had the ability to attack independently — Whenever a leaf swayed back and forth, it could produce a vast stretch of icy mist. Any martial artists who rashly approached it would have their blood frozen, and they would die.
Speaking of which, this was a very dangerous type of spirit medicine.
Gu Zuo recognized it with a glance. After that, his gaze swept over and fell upon an ice pit on the other side.
There was a spirit medicine in that ice pit, too. Lengthy roots clung to the edges of the ice pit. Its shape resembled a chrysanthemum, but in actuality, each of its “petals” were all roots.
This was a type of spirit medicine called the Inverted Growing Buddha. Its roots were exposed on the surface, and its fruit was instead concealed beneath the ice chunks. The most important part of this spirit medicine was the fruit. While those roots appeared to be overflowing with spiritual qi, they were actually just like whips. Each time a root was whipped, it could swiftly freeze an invader. Moreover, the frozen invader would then be whipped into icy fragments.
That’s right. It was also a spirit medicine with an offensive characteristic.
However, the entire ice cave only had these two stalks of spirit medicine.
From this, one would discover just how sparse the number of spirit medicines were.
At this moment, Xin Bailin said: “Has Brother Gu settled on these spirit medicines?”
Gu Zuo hesitated: “I want to take a look at the other couple of caves first. Is that okay?”
Xin Bailin smiled: “There’s naturally no problem with this. After you, Brother Gu.”
Then, Gu Zuo raised a leg and started walking towards another direction.
There were five caves.
The first was an ice cave. The second was warm as spring. The third was burning hot. The fourth was slightly cool and was filled with deep waters. Meanwhile, the fifth had damp soil.
The ice cave had already been looked over. In the environment as warm as spring, Gu Zuo saw several little children.
They looked absolutely adorable. Their hair was tied into small braids, and the braids were decorated with red beads. They looked especially lovely. Whenever someone came over, they would disappear with a whoosh. They were very timid. There was also one who wasn’t able to disappear in time. His body suddenly became transparent. After that, he ran far away like he was about to cry.
Gu Zuo: “...”
These were ginseng babies! They were actually real!
In the modern world, he only knew that animated films had ginseng babies. He had also seen the corresponding introduction in the item books, but in the end, he felt it was a little illusory. He never thought he would get see the real version.
He had a very peculiar feeling...
Upon seeing this, Xin Bailin explained to him: “These are Earth Ginseng that are over a hundred thousand years old. Their attacking power isn’t strong, but they have transformation abilities. They can disguise themselves as children, and can trick harvesters into taking pity on them. Once they find a gap, they’ll promptly escape. Even if they get captured, people will often find it unbearable to take action.”
Gu Zuo heard him speak this way, and the feeling in his heart became even more peculiar.
The ginseng babies in animated films were all pure and adorable. Based on Xin Bailin’s words, why did they seem crafty and treacherous? This should’ve been considered...one’s survival instinct?
After shaking his head, Gu Zuo stopped pondering over this problem.
The medicinal effect of hundred-thousand year old Earth Ginseng was indeed very powerful, but it wasn’t necessarily the most suitable one at the present time. He would still keep choosing.
To be honest, if he chose this “ginseng baby”, he probably wouldn’t have had the heart to take action during medicine refinement... Their resemblance to children was too genuine!
In the cave that was as warm as spring, there were several stalks of Earth Ginseng. It was probably because ginseng, this type of medicinal ingredient, was relatively common. As a result, it was like this. But besides the ginseng, this place also had a Human-Shaped Knotweed that was over a hundred thousand years old, as well as a giant Spirit Mushroom whose cap was as large as a parasol. They were also spirit medicines that were good at escaping, and they knew how to transform. Merely, the knotweed would transform into a small person the size of a finger, and the Spirit Mushroom would transform into a miniature horseback rider. Their deceptive characteristics were somewhat weaker than that of the ginseng babies.
Going to the third cave, there was a tall tree in the burning environment. Its entire body was a fiery-red color like a precious stone, and three peaches grew at the top. Each one was as big as a water jar, and they had a red and white coloration. They had completely ripened a long time ago.
Gu Zuo gave it a glance.
He asked: “Is this Flowing-Flames Saturn Peach Tree considered a single stalk of spirit medicine?”
Xin Bailin slightly shook his head: “Each Saturn Peach is considered one spirit medicine. Each Saturn Peach contains a peach pit, which can be taken out for planting. However, this Flowing-Flames Saturn Peach Tree must grow in an inferno. It’s for the best that it isn’t moved.”
Gu Zuo understood.
He thought about it, and knew that it was impossible for them to give him the whole tree.
One should know that a single stalk of other spirit medicines was still a single stalk. It was gone once it was used. But the thing that could be counted as spirit medicine from this Saturn Peach Tree was actually the fruits, which could be grown sustainably. This was definitely a guarded treasure. Thinking about taking it away was too naive.
Yet, a meager Saturn Peach was viewed as one stalk of spirit medicine. Danyun City was also bullying the naive.
It had to be at least two, right?
In Gu Zuo’s heart, there was still a chance.
However, he didn’t propose this, and continued to walk towards the fourth cave.
In the enormous pool, a golden-colored lotus flower was spouting fragrances.
The Seven-Turns Auspicious Rose-Gold Lotus. Whether it was the lotus seeds, the lotus leaves, the lotus flower, or the lotus roots, they all possessed extremely powerful medicinal effects. Moreover, each portion’s medicinal effects were all different.
If this kind of spirit medicine was selected, one obviously couldn’t cut the roots. However, there were three flowers in the pool. On the contrary, a person didn’t need to worry about being unable to obtain an intact one.
Finally, in the cave filled with damp soil, there were five or six types of spirit medicines being grown. Most of them were considered docile, but each stalk also had its own methods that prevented people from easily plucking them.
Only, after Gu Zuo had a look, although he felt that these spirit medicines were pretty good, they weren’t as special as those before... In addition, he also didn’t have the environments for raising the spirit medicines...
After thinking it through, Gu Zuo spoke to Xin Bailin: “Brother Xin, I’ve already come to a decision.”
Xin Bailin believed that with so many spirit medicines laid before them, this pharmacist who seemed to be extremely fond of spirit medicines would’ve been quite starry-eyed. Xin Bailin didn’t expect him to make a decision so quickly.
Hence, his smiling expression became more sincere: “Brother Gu, do tell.”
Gu Zuo’s finger pointed at that Seven-Turns Auspicious Rose-Gold Lotus: “I want one of the lotus flowers, along with at least seven lotus leaves and seven lotus roots. Each lotus root mustn’t have fewer than three joints.”
He didn’t demand his terms carelessly. In the pool, there were at least several dozen leaves. For the lotus roots below, according to normal circumstances, there would be more than a hundred joints. His demands didn’t even reach one third.
Sure enough, Xin Bailin immediately agreed: “Okay. Giving Brother Gu these things will be regarded as one stalk of spirit medicine.”
Gu Zuo nodded in satisfaction: “After that, I want the Saturn Peaches.” He stared fixedly at Xin Bailin, “I don’t want the Flowing-Flames Saturn Peach Tree itself, but I want all of the Saturn Peaches. Although Brother Xin previously mentioned that one Saturn Peach is regarded as one stalk of spirit medicine, you and I both know that the Saturn Peach Tree is a stalk of spirit medicine. I only want the Saturn Peaches. After many years have passed, the Saturn Peach Tree will bear more fruit. In fact, I’m still the one losing out.”
This time, Xin Bailin wasn’t that happy.
This was the so-called “Asking for sky-high prices, and paying with rock-bottom funds”. As a son of the City Lord, how could he listen to what Gu Zuo said? At once, he spoke: “Although it’ll bear fruit again in the future, these Saturn Peaches are over a hundred thousand years old. If we waited for the next batch, who knows how many years it’d take? Otherwise, the medicinal properties would be far inferior to the current ones.”
Gu Zuo replied: “A single Saturn Peach Tree will inevitably produce more than three peaches. In the past, your side should’ve picked many of them.”
Xin Bailin faintly forced a smile: “Counting the ones in the past, there were no more than seven peaches. Four of the picked peaches had already been used up countless years ago. There aren’t many that remain now, so they’ve become increasingly precious.”
Gu Zuo pursed his lips. He raised two fingers: “In that case, just two peaches. I can’t go any lower.”
Xin Bailin immediately ended the bargaining: “Then it’s a deal!”
Gu Zuo’s heart was very pleased.
Even if he was backed by Qingyun Sect, Danyun City was an enormous power, too. He couldn’t make a selection that caused too much heartache. If not, what was he to do if they secretly made trouble for him later on?
When it came to the ginseng babies where the amount was high, Gu Zuo wasn’t satisfied with picking from those. But if he chose something where there was just one stalk available, that would removing things by the root, and it would be easy to trigger the other party’s resentment!
Thus, Gu Zuo picked the Seven-Turn Auspicious Rose-Gold Lotus, which was quite extraordinary. Its lotus flower, lotus leaves, and lotus roots were all actually medicinal ingredients with mild and stabilizing properties for refinement. Giving them to his big brother, Gongyi Tianheng, couldn’t have been more suitable.
Then came the Saturn Peaches. This was classified as something with comparatively large amounts of heat. Moreover, the reason why it was called the Flowing-Flames Saturn Peach was because the power of a large sun was stored within it. It made his heart stir. He felt that it would be very useful to his big brother. As for the amount of Saturn Peaches, he knew that there was certainly no way to take all of them away. As such, two peaches would always be better than one.
Off to the side, Xu Lingxiu looked at Gu Zuo’s choices, and felt that there weren’t any problems. He himself had also looked at all of the spirit medicines and had increased his insights. His mood was rather good.
Soon after, Xin Bailin brought Gu Zuo to the side and gave him a brush, a piece of paper, an ink stick, and an ink stone. He watched Gu Zuo write down the method, pill prescription, and techniques of the Spirit Devouring Pill Refining Method. Meanwhile, he went to carefully harvest the spirit medicine. Using a top-notch jade box to contain them, he delivered them to Gu Zuo’s side.
Following which, one handed over the prescription and one handed over the medicinal ingredients. Both of them were extremely happy.
Just like this, the transaction was smoothly settled to everyone’s satisfaction.
Afterwards, a group of people left the fifth floor’s secret warehouse.
Xin Bailin hurriedly went to hand over the prescription, while Gu Zuo was indulging in his successful venture. He used his consciousness to perceive the countless medicinal ingredients in the storage space while contentedly following Xu Lingxiu back to the courtyard.
A big harvest!
Truly a big harvest!
The feeling of having countless medicinal ingredients was really delightful!
Clear River City, Qingyun Sect’s base of operations.
A tall and handsome young man appeared over there. After reporting his recently completed mission, he swiftly departed.
At the same time, the foreign affairs manager was left with a face full of confusion.
As a major first-class power, Qingyun Sect had strongholds like this all over the Qingyun Continent. Every time an Inner Sect disciple went out to complete a mission, it was the foreign affairs managers who conducted the investigation and confirmation.
This time around, what confused the foreign affairs manager was that the Inner Sect disciple who completed the mission only brought some bones that hadn’t completely decayed, some tattered clothing, a token that was full of holes, and other things. There wasn’t a head, which could conclusively prove an identity. The matter had become a little difficult to investigate.
However, foreign affairs managers weren’t to be trifled with. Often times, if Inner Sect disciples needed to complete high-difficulty actions, the methods were indeed out of their control. Wasn’t it the manager’s duty to conduct various kinds of confirmations?
As a result, he promptly journeyed out.
However, through his investigation, the foreign affairs manager was given quite the fright.
This, this was truly inconceivable!
T/N: Thanks for the corrections, Charysa.
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