Chapter 125: Scavenging Medicinal Herbs

"Hiss—"

Staring wide-eyed at the massive, one might even say oceanic, reserve of medicinal herbs before him, Xiao Yan could not help but gasp. Behind him, even Xun Er, whose horizons were much broader, could not help but cover her small mouth.

Too many!

Xiao Wuxin, meanwhile, looked at the reactions of Xiao Yan and his companion with a smug expression. Little brats, never seen the world, have you! He remembered when he first entered this place; he had nearly fainted from sheer happiness.

With slightly trembling fingers pointing at the dense rows of herb cabinets ahead, Xiao Yan said in a shaky voice, "Uncle Wuxin,

are these really all medicinal herbs?"

This was simply a dreamlike scene.

"That goes without saying." Xiao Wuxin stood proudly and said indifferently, "Alright, go ahead and pick. Just let me know if you see anything you like."

What Xiao Wuxin did not say was that these were merely a portion,

and there were some extremely precious medicinal herbs that required special preservation methods,

so they were not just tossed into the herb cabinets like a hodgepodge.

And those were the most valuable ones!

"Many thanks, Uncle Wuxin." Xiao Yan did not know this; he was currently looking at these herbs with eyes shining bright.

However, Xiao Yan was fortunate enough to still remember Yao Lao's instructions, and he said to Yao Lao in his heart, "Teacher, if you see anything you like, just say so!"

Yao Lao was somewhat silent. The Xiao Clan's terrifying stock of medicinal herbs had once again refreshed his worldview; he almost doubted whether the other party was really just an unremarkable Dou Zong family.

Had they ransacked the entire Magical Beast Mountain Range? But soon, the instinct of an Alchemist took the upper hand...

And so, Xiao Yan listened as Yao Lao rambled in his heart like a country bumpkin, "This is a fourth-tier medicinal herb, the Earth Demon Lotus, and it's five hundred years old! It's the main ingredient for refining the Earth Demon Pill. Heart Clearing Vine, Acacia Flower, Withered Wood Branch, Heavenly Heart Marrow... these are all good things!"

Xiao Yan could not help but roll his eyes,

and said in his heart, "Teacher, that's enough,

aren't you embarrassed?" Yao Lao's behavior made him wonder if his choice had been a mistake.

Wasn't he a Grandmaster Alchemist whom even Pill King Gu He looked up to?

To think he would value these herbs, which were at most fourth-tier, so highly.

In fact,

this was just a stress reaction caused by Yao Lao not having come into contact with medicinal herbs for a long time,

and suddenly encountering such a rich store of them.

It was just like a starving person suddenly seeing a full imperial feast laid out before them; how could they possibly hold back!

Otherwise, for a Grandmaster Alchemist like him, there were not many medicinal herbs left that could cause his emotions to fluctuate.

"Hmph, hmph~" Yao Lao also realized he had been slightly uncomposed, immediately reined in his thoughts, and returned to that appearance of an otherworldly expert. "Now, let's start looking for the herbs!"

"Bone Washing Flower, Purple Leaf Orchid Grass, Green Wood Lotus..."

Seeing the Xiao Clan's immense wealth in medicinal herbs, Yao Lao had no intention of saving anything. He directly directed Xiao Yan to prepare nearly a year's worth of supplies, and he picked only the good stuff. By the end, even Xiao Yan felt a bit embarrassed.

"Teacher, can't you go a bit easier?" Xiao Yan asked pleadingly; he was afraid he wouldn't be able to explain himself to Uncle Wuxin!

"What are you afraid of? Do you think your uncle doesn't know what he's doing?" In just this short time, Yao Lao had once again directed Xiao Yan to swipe quite a few more herbs. He could not help but sigh in his heart,

it had been so long since he felt the sensation of squandering medicinal herbs; it felt great!

The extra herbs taken were naturally for Yao Lao to prepare for teaching Xiao Yan the art of alchemy,

and he also took quite a few others he thought might be useful.

However, Yao Lao was an old fox,

and while the things he took looked like a lot, most were actually not very valuable. They were just for introductory purposes.

Furthermore, with his sharp eyes, he could naturally tell that many extremely precious herbs were missing, clearly stored elsewhere.

This was the reason the other party was so unconcerned; let you take them, and if they felt a pinch, they'd lose! Adhering to the principle that it would be a waste not to take advantage of what was free, Yao Lao naturally would not hold back.

Finally, after about two hours of ransacking, Xiao Yan tremblingly ended his bandit-like behavior. Just as he turned around, he saw Xiao Wuxin looking at him with a complex expression.

Even with Xiao Yan's thick skin, he felt embarrassed at this moment and laughed, "Uncle Wuxin, sorry, I took a little bit too much."

"Is this just a little bit?" Xiao Wuxin asked gloomily. Xiao Yan was speechless, and Xun Er covered her mouth and giggled.

It was just a slight exaggeration, no need to focus so much on the details!

"Don't worry, Uncle Wuxin, I won't waste these herbs." Xiao Yan also knew that what he had taken was truly terrifying, so he offered a guarantee.

"As you wish. A gentleman's word is as good as gold." Xiao Wuxin waved his hand. "Since I said you could take whatever you wanted, these belong to you."

"Many thanks, Uncle Wuxin." Xiao Yan was overjoyed, and then hurriedly left the Pill Hall with Xun Er under the other party's unabashed gaze.

"Sigh, I wonder what kind of medicine the Clan Leader and this kid are brewing in their gourds." Watching Xiao Yan's retreating back, Xiao Wuxin sighed.

If it weren't for Xiao Zhan personally giving the word that Xiao Yan could take whatever fourth-tier herbs and below he wanted, the latter would absolutely never have been able to pry so many things out of the Xiao Clan's treasury.

However...

Xiao Wuxin frowned, recalling the herbs Xiao Yan had taken; a large portion were first-tier, and there were second-tier ones too, but very few.

A bold guess surfaced in his mind: could this kid be preparing to start learning the art of alchemy? But that didn't seem right either; the art of alchemy required a master, and he hadn't heard of any Alchemist in the clan taking on an apprentice?

Shaking his head, Xiao Wuxin finally gave up on thinking about it. If he had the spare time, he might as well refine a few more furnaces of medicinal pills, and he stepped back into the doors of the Pill Hall.

On the other side, Xiao Yan impatiently bid farewell to Xun Er, returned to his room, and said excitedly, "Teacher, hurry and come out. What is that method you mentioned?"

As soon as the words fell, a transparent figure drifted out from the ring on Xiao Yan's hand. Although it was not the first time Xiao Yan had seen it, he still wasn't very used to it.

However, that was not the point. Xiao Yan only cared now about whether he could break through to the Dou Zhe stage within a year and defeat Nalan Yanran in the Three Year Agreement.

Hearing Xiao Yan's urging, Yao Lao scolded, "Look at how impatient you are; do you think I would lie to you?"

However, this time Yao Lao did not continue to play coy, and his aged voice sounded in the room: "You should know that during the Dou Qi Refining Stage, the human meridians are extremely fragile and cannot withstand the scouring of a medicinal pill's potency. Because of this, the cultivation speed during the Dou Qi Refining Stage is extremely slow."

Xiao Yan nodded; he, Xiao Huohuo, had deep personal experience with this. He had spent a full six years in the Dou Qi Refining Stage, and that was only because he was gifted and the clan had invested a massive amount of resources.

This was an axiom of the Dou Qi Continent, but Xiao Yan knew that Yao Lao's words were not just empty talk; there must be a follow-up.

Sure enough, pride suddenly appeared on Yao Lao's face, "But after many years of experimentation, I have finally researched a type of medicine that can be used during the Dou Qi Refining Stage—the Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid."

"Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid?" Xiao Yan murmured.

"That's right, Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid can greatly accelerate the speed at which a Body Cultivator practices Dou Qi during the Dou Qi Refining Stage."

The effect was simple and crude, but that was exactly what Xiao Yan liked.