Hearing Zhang Xuan's intentions, Elder Qin frowned. "I am able to successfully forge the Golden Heart Pill, but... due to the limitations of my technique, I have a high requirement on the medicinal properties of the Golden Heart Pill. Thus, I can't allow the slightest damage to the Golden Heart Pill during the harvesting process. Otherwise... the chances of success will be greatly reduced!"
The stronger the medicinal properties of medicinal herbs, the easier it would be to concoct them. He could be considered an expert in herbalism, but he was much weaker in pill concoction. Thus, he was extremely strict when it came to picking them.
"Elder Liu and I will go to the Herb Garden with you. With the combined strength of the three of us, it should be much better," the junior sect master said.
"This …"
Elder Qin pondered for a moment and his brows were still furrowed. "Not only is Young Sect Master's innate talent high, he also has a unique understanding of medicinal properties. Not to mention Elder Liu, with the three of us working together, we can let the Golden Heart Grass retain more than seventy percent of its medicinal properties! But … it was still not enough! Only by reaching 90% will I have a greater chance of successfully refining the Golden Heart Pill. "
Young Sect Master waved his hand, "Let's make a bet! If we fail, we can only say that the heavens want to destroy our Qingyuan Sect. "
"Fine!"
Elder Qin nodded. "Then let's get ready to pick the herbs …"
But before he could finish his words, he suddenly thought of something. "Since it's a gamble, why don't we change the method?"
Unable to comprehend Zhang Xuan's intentions, the Young Sect Leader and Elder Liu hurriedly turned their gazes over.
"If the three of us go and pick it, there's a 90% chance that we'll be able to retain its medicinal properties. However … if we take a gamble, we might be able to retain 100% of its medicinal properties!"
Elder Qin didn't explain. Instead, he instructed. Not long after, Shao Yang and Shao Jun rushed over.
"I have a mission for all of you. Go and pick a three-thousand-year-old Golden Heart Grass. The requirement is that its medicinal properties are at least 90%!"
Elder Qin said.
The faces of the two boys changed. Just as they were about to reject the offer, the elder continued, "If you succeed, I'll reward you with another twenty White Essence Pills! Failure … will be treated as fertilizer to fill up the herb garden! "
"Elder Qin, we …"
Their faces paled, and their bodies stiffened.
"You don't have any room for negotiation. If you don't agree, I don't mind making a move right now!"
Raising his eyebrows, Elder Qin exuded a powerful aura.
He was also a Golden Immortal expert.
"Yes …"
Knowing that Zhang Xuan was a man of his word, the two apprentices glanced at one another before nodding. "Yes!"
After they had walked far away, the young sect master and Elder Liu looked over in confusion. "You mean to let these two medicine apprentices go and gather herbs? More than 90%? How is that possible … "
If even they couldn't complete it, how could two ordinary medicine apprentices complete it?
When did Elder Qin become so childish?
"I know you don't believe me, but I'm also betting!"
Knowing their worries, Elder Qin pointed to the Immortal Cloud Ganoderma on the table and said, "Please take a look!"
"This?" The young sect master and Elder Liu were both shocked.
Even though the difficulty of plucking the Immortalcloud Ganoderma was lower than that of the Goldheart Grass, it was still not something that any ordinary cultivator could succeed in. Yet, the Immortalcloud Ganoderma before him actually had seventy-two perfectly intact roots. Even if he were to see it with his own eyes, he would still find it hard to believe.
"The two of them are the ones who plucked it. Even though I don't know how they did it, I would still like to see if they can bring about another surprise!" With his hands behind his back, Elder Qin gazed into the distance, seemingly deep in thought.
"If they were able to pluck the Immortal Cloud Ganoderma in such a perfect condition … it shouldn't be too difficult for the Goldheart Grass to retain 90% of its medicinal properties!"
After understanding what was going on, the young sect master didn't say anything else. He was also looking forward to seeing what the two apprentices would do.
…
"It seems like Elder Qin is suspicious …"
Returning to the herb garden, Shaojun rubbed his glabella.
"The Immortal Cloud Ganoderma was plucked perfectly, so there's no way he wouldn't be suspicious. Forget it, let's get through this crisis first …" Shaoyang shook his head.
As expected of an elder of a sect, he was no ordinary person.
Just by looking at a single herb, he was able to guess that there was something fishy about the way they plucked the herbs, so he intentionally gave them a test.
If they didn't accept it, they would be killed. If they accepted it … they would expose Su Yin, and they would be in deep trouble in the future.
Of course, the latter was still a little lighter, so there was no other choice.
Soon, they arrived before Su Yin.
"I'll have to trouble you to pluck a stalk of Goldheart Grass for us. It must retain at least 90% of its medicinal properties!" Shaoyang went straight to the point.
"Alright!" Concealing his breakthrough, Su Yin followed behind them and returned to the depths of the herb garden. It didn't take long for him to find the Goldheart Grass.
This was also the first time that Su Yin had seen it. It was a stalk of roughly thirty centimeters long medicinal herb with heart-shaped fruits growing all over it. Accompanied by spiritual energy, the heart-shaped fruits pulsated continuously, producing a 'dong dong dong' sound, leaving one in awe.
Walking up to it, Zhang Xuan sniffed it lightly, smiled, and stretched out his hand.
"You're not going to use a medicinal shovel?"
"Be careful. If the medicinal properties of the herb are lost, we'll lose our lives …"
The two medicinal apprentices leaped in shock.
Every time they plucked a medicinal herb, they would use a medicinal shovel to dig a hole in the ground. It was as though they were serving their ancestors, so they had to be extremely careful, fearing that the slightest mistake would occur. To grab the herb like that … Weren't they afraid of angering the spirit of the other party?
Hu!
Before they could recover from their shock, the young man's hand had already landed on the heart-shaped fruits. With a light brush, the beating hearts obediently came to a halt. At the same time, Su Yin grabbed the stalk of the herb and pulled it up.
Huala!
The entire herb was pulled out, but its roots were still intact. Even without examining it, it was clear that there was no loss of medicinal properties at all.
"This …"
The two medicinal apprentices were dumbfounded.
So simple?
Seeing their confusion, Su Yin explained with a smile, "The Goldheart Grass doesn't just look like a heart, it possesses the properties of a heart as well. When it stops beating, the medicinal properties of the herb will permeate the entire stalk. As long as we pluck it at this moment, the medicinal properties will be preserved!"
Even though it was easy to say, it wasn't easy to do it.
Without a deep understanding of medicinal properties and the exact distribution of the medicinal properties, it was impossible to stop the other party's heart from beating.
"Not bad!" The two medicinal apprentices were impressed. Following which, their eyes lit up.
By preserving the medicinal properties of the herb, not only would they be able to preserve their lives, they would also be able to obtain twenty White Origin Pills … If it was said that they only had a slight chance of becoming an inner disciple previously, now, they were a hundred percent certain!
"You should go and rest first!"
Waving his hands, the two of them hurriedly headed to the hall where Elder Qin was.
"It's a success …"
When the young sect master, Elder Qin, and the others saw the medicinal herbs that the two of them brought over, they stared at one another in shock.
It was a gamble from the start, and they didn't expect that they would succeed.
"It isn't easy to pluck the Goldheart Grass. May I know how you did it?"
Unable to hold himself back, the young sect master asked.
"This …" Taking a step forward, Shaojun repeated Su Yin's words to the young sect master.
The young sect master frowned. "This isn't a method imparted to us by the sect, right? May I know how the two of you learned of it and managed to do it so easily? "
"We …" Shaoyang's face paled. Just as he was at a loss for words, Shaojun interjected, "We read about it in a book. Initially, we just wanted to test it out, but to think that it would actually succeed! It seems like it's due to young sect master's good fortune … "
"Hehe! Alright, you can leave now! "
The young sect master waved his hands. After the two of them left, he turned to Elder Qin and asked, "What's wrong with those two? It can be said that they were lucky to be able to pluck the Divine Cloud Ganoderma intact. To be able to pluck the Goldheart Grass without losing the slightest bit of its medicinal properties … It can only be said that their herb-picking skills are high! When did the two of them appear in the sect without my knowledge? "
"There's nothing special about the two of them, but they seemed to have turned into another person today. I suspect that … there's an expert guiding them from behind!" Elder Qin said.
The young sect master narrowed his eyes. "To be able to pluck these two medicinal herbs without losing the slightest bit of their medicinal properties, their herb-picking skills far surpass ours. Most likely, they aren't too far off from the Holy Maiden of the Frigid Cloud Sect!"
"Un!" Elder Qin and Elder Liu nodded in agreement.
Even though the Frigid Cloud Sect specialized in pill forging, they had a deep understanding of the cultivation and harvesting of medicinal herbs as well. This was especially so for the Holy Maiden. It was said that she was able to preserve a hundred percent of the medicinal properties of the medicinal herbs she harvested.
When did such a person appear in their sect as well?
"Elder Liu, go and investigate who the expert behind them is. Do they have good intentions or bad intentions? If they don't have any ill intentions, try to befriend them. If they harbor ill intentions, make a move against them in advance." A glint flashed across the young sect master's eyes.
No one would feel at ease knowing that there was an expert hidden in the sect without them knowing about it.
"Un!"
Elder Liu nodded. Just as he was about to leave, the doors to the hall opened once more, and Shaoyang and Shaojun walked in once more.
As soon as they entered the room, they bowed deeply and said, "Young sect master, Elder Qin, Elder Liu, we … have something to report!"
"Un?"
The three of them were still intending to investigate the matter, but they didn't expect the two of them to return so abruptly.
…
Returning back to a few minutes ago, outside the hall, the two herb attendants were holding onto the White Sun Pill that they had been longing for. However, they weren't happy at all.
"Young sect master, Elder Qin, and the others must have noticed something amiss. What should we do now?" Shaoyang asked worriedly.
"There are two solutions. First, we can return and kill that lad without leaving any traces behind. When the young sect master and the others ask about it, we can feign ignorance and push the blame away."
A glint flashed across Shaojun's eyes.
Shaoyang replied awkwardly, "That won't do. If we kill him and Elder Qin orders us to harvest the medicinal herbs, won't we die as well?"
"That's what I'm worried about as well …"
Shaojun sighed. "Then, we can only go with the second option. We have to come clean with Elder Qin and the others. By then, how they deal with that lad will be none of our business."
"Come clean?"
"Un. Even though it's our responsibility that we failed to protect the herb garden and allowed someone to barge in, given our strength, it's understandable that we were unable to do so. Even if we did commit a crime, it wouldn't be a crime worthy of death … However, if we were to hide it from them, we would be severely punished! "
Shaojun said.
"That's true …" Shaoyang nodded.
Soon, the two of them came to a decision. They decided to come clean with Elder Qin, which led to the earlier incident.
…
"Breaking through the seal of the herb garden and appearing on top of the medicinal herbs, not only was he able to harvest the medicinal herbs unharmed, he was even able to revive the damaged medicinal herbs?"
After hearing the duo's explanation, the young sect master and the others stared at one another in disbelief. It was as if they were listening to a heavenly book.
How deep did one's understanding of medicinal herbs must be in order to accomplish such a feat?
Even though the rumors said that the Holy Maiden was formidable, they had never heard of such an ability before.
"Even though they said that the lad's cultivation was only at Pseudo Immortal realm, how could someone of his cultivation be able to bypass the seal so easily?"
Elder Qin shook his head. "However, it's unlikely that he harbored any ill intentions. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to restore the medicinal herbs and harvest them!"
"Un!" The young sect master nodded. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "How about this? You all wait here. I'll go with them to take a look!"
"Be careful. If you encounter any danger, alert them immediately …" Elder Qin instructed.
The young sect master didn't say anything else. Instead, he had the two herb attendants lead the way, and they headed straight for the herb garden.
"Young sect master, are we going to look for Su Yin directly?"
Shaoyang asked with a trembling voice.
"Bring me to the place where he appeared and where he harvested the Goldheart Grass!" the young sect master waved his hand.
Even though he had heard the duo's words, he still had to see it with his own eyes.
Without saying anything else, the duo led the way, and soon, they arrived at the location where the Immortal Cloud Ganoderma was planted.
This was where Su Yin was lying when he appeared.
The young sect master halted his footsteps and scanned his surroundings.
The seal of the herb garden was indeed as they had said. It was completely undamaged, and there wasn't the slightest bit of damage to it. In other words, the other party didn't break through the seal to enter the herb garden.
The other party wasn't a cultivator of their sect, so it went without saying that he didn't have a token. However … to be able to do so, he had to be a Dao Integration realm cultivator at the very least!
Even the sect leader of the Clear Origin Sect wasn't at that level … It would be a walk in the park for the other party to destroy them. There was no need for him to hide it!
"Are these the medicinal herbs that he crushed?"
After inspecting the seal, the young sect master lowered his head to look at the medicinal herbs before him.
"This …"
The young sect master clenched his fists tightly, and his face paled. "Are you sure that he crushed these medicinal herbs?"
"Yes!"
The two herb attendants nodded in unison.
"These are medicinal herbs that are around three thousand years old. Even with pill fire, it's difficult to purify them into medicinal liquid. Don't you find it strange that they were crushed?"
The young sect master asked.
The two herb attendants were stunned.
They were only responsible for taking care of and harvesting medicinal herbs. They rarely destroyed medicinal herbs, so they didn't know whether they were resilient or not. They immediately came to a realization after hearing the young sect master's words.
Medicinal herbs that were around three thousand years old … When their medicinal properties were at their peak, the resilience of their leaves would be on par with Celestial artifacts. This was also the reason why the pill fire was extremely high. Yet, the medicinal herbs were crushed and their sap splattered all over the place. Clearly, something was amiss!
"More importantly, not only are the fractures of these medicinal herbs perfectly intact, more importantly … the greener they are, the greater their potential!" the junior sect master said.
"Medicinal herbs … have potential?" The two herb attendants were perplexed.
"Of course!"
The young sect master said. "Just like spirit beasts and humans, medicinal herbs have a lifespan as well. The medicinal herbs that we usually refer to as three thousand years old and five thousand years old don't really have a lifespan of three thousand years or five thousand years old. You should understand this point, right?"
The two herb attendants nodded.
The medicinal herbs that they referred to as three thousand years old didn't actually have a long lifespan. Some of them only had a lifespan of one to two hundred years or even shorter. The reason why they were referred to as such was to differentiate wild medicinal herbs.
Wild medicinal herbs didn't possess as much spiritual energy as they did here, and it was impossible for them to have such fertile soil. As such, it was natural that they would take a long time to grow. Take the Goldheart Grass for example. It would take roughly three thousand years for it to grow to thirty centimeters.
On the other hand, it would take less than two hundred years for it to be grown artificially!
However, due to the similar nature of medicinal herbs, they were also referred to as three thousand years old.
Just like fine wine, a twenty year old wine was just a few drops of twenty year old wine mixed into a bottle. More than ninety-five percent of it was new wine.
Otherwise, how could there be so many of them in the cellar?
"Wild medicinal herbs can indeed live for several thousand years, but … cultivated medicinal herbs enjoy the best care from the start. If they grow too quickly in the early stages, it would be a little excessive, resulting in their lifespan being greatly reduced. Putting aside three thousand years, they wouldn't even be able to live for a thousand years!"
The young sect master said. "Initially, these medicinal herbs would wither after a hundred years even if they weren't plucked … But now, putting aside a hundred years, even if they were to live for another three hundred or five hundred years, there wouldn't be any problem at all!"
"…"
The two herb attendants widened their eyes in shock.
If that was the case … not only did that young man bring these medicinal herbs back to life, he even extended their lifespan and increased their potential. Wasn't his understanding of medicinal herbs a little too frightening?
"Quick, bring me to him …"
At this moment, the young sect master was a hundred percent certain that the young man was an expert. Without saying anything else, he gestured for the two herb attendants to lead the way.
Soon, they arrived at Su Yin's room. Instead of entering, he clasped his fist and bowed. "Clear Origin Sect's young sect master, Shao Qing, is here to pay respects to Brother Su Yin!"
"Young sect master?"
Inside the room, Su Yin was stunned for a moment before a bitter smile appeared on his face.
Needless to say, he had been exposed …
Ever since he entered the Celestial Realm, he had been keeping a low profile. How could he have attracted so much attention that the young sect master would come over personally?
Could it be because of the Three Beasts?
But … he didn't release them either!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
