When Mu shi arrived at Zhang Xuan’s manor, they realized that Senior Byzantium Helios had wrapped everyone within his power, so no one had been injured in the catastrophe.
At this very instant, Zhang shi was standing before a towering cauldron, bellowing furiously.
“What did you guarantee me before the pill forging? To be unable to withstand even the medicinal energy of a mere grade-7 pill, how can you have the cheek to call yourself a Saint artifact? Saint artifact your head!”
He was indeed very infuriated by this incident.
That fellow had promised him that it would have no trouble forging a grade-7 pill. That was the reason he had gone to the extent of using the Impartation of Heaven’s Will to control Apothecary Lu and the others so as to guarantee that there were no mistakes in the steps at all.
All of the medicinal herbs prepared were of excellent maturity, and there was no mistake whatsoever, so the pill was swiftly formed.
Yet… in the instant that the pill was formed, it turned out that the one who would drag his feet wasn’t Apothecary Lu and the others but the Guardian Saint Artifact of the Master Teacher Academy, Golden Origin Cauldron!
Unable to properly hold in the rampaging energies harnessed within it, the lid of the Golden Origin Cauldron abruptly burst open, resulting in the energies destroying everything in the area.
It was fortunate that no one was injured, but his manor… It was gone just like that!
“I-I didn’t know that you were going to forge such a potent pill either…” Berated by Zhang Xuan, the Golden Origin Cauldron tried to explain itself indignantly.
It was indeed a Saint artifact, but it was a weapon cauldron and not a pill cauldron. Even though a formation had been cast over it to manage the temperature regulation, its physical structure still wasn’t optimized for pill forging. Forging an ordinary grade-7 pill was already stretching its limits, but the pill that Zhang Xuan was forging just had to be the Grand Intermittence Pill… It was already a huge blessing that it wasn’t blown to smithereens on the spot!
“If you had been able to hold on, that pill would have surely reached grade-8! Look, due to your error, the final product is only a grade-7 Inscribed Pill. What a huge waste of those precious medicinal herbs!” Zhang Xuan harrumphed coldly.
He knew that the Golden Origin Cauldron couldn’t be blamed for this matter, but he simply couldn’t hold back his rage.
One must know that there was a huge qualitative difference between a grade-7 Inscribed Pill and grade-8 pill!
It was such a waste of Jiang Qingqin’s Phoenix Timber Core and the high maturity medicinal herbs that the other old elders of the Apothecary School had prepared for him!
“Grade-8? Grade-7 Inscribed Pill?”
On the other hand, after hearing those words, Apothecary Lu and the others finally understood what kind of pill they had just forged, and their bodies wouldn’t stop trembling in excitement.
Big Brother, the Grand Intermittence Pill is a grade-7 pill in itself. It is already an incredible feat to forge it to the level of an Inscribed Pill. There is no guarantee that 8-star pinnacle apothecaries would be capable of doing the same.
And yet, you were thinking of forging it to the level of a grade-8 pill?
Man, you are really about to break out of the atmosphere!
“Forget it. At the very least, the pill is fine. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to compensate for it even if I were to sell you off!” After berating the Golden Origin Cauldron one last time, he took a deep breath and released his anger before storing the pill in a jade bottle.
After which, he finally noticed the presence of Mu shi and the others. He clasped his fist and greeted, “Mu shi, school heads!”
Recognizing the pill, Mu shi asked, to verify the matter, “Senior Uncle… the pill that you have just forged, is it the Grand Intermittence Pill?”
“That’s right.” Zhang Xuan nodded.
“To be able to forge the grade-7 Grand Intermittence Pill to the point that Pill Mist is produced… Inconceivable, truly inconceivable!” Mu shi exclaimed. “The Grand Intermittence Pill has the ability to regrow limbs. If it isn’t inconvenient, may I ask why Senior Uncle is forging this pill?”
As a pill overflowing with vitality, the Grand Intermittence Pill could heal even the most severe injuries and even induce the regrowing of limbs. It wouldn’t be too far off to claim that the pill only fell short of bringing back the dead. Not to mention, the pill that Zhang Xuan had forged was just a step away from reaching grade-8.
“It is to save a junior,” Zhang Xuan replied.
After which, he gestured for the Byzantium Helios Beast to bring Wei Ruyan over before taking out the jade bottle once more.
“Is this the person whom Senior Uncle hopes to save?” Mu shi frowned.
“That’s right.” Zhang Xuan nodded.
“This young lady’s body is currently too frail. I fear that your Grand Intermittence Pill might be a little too potent for her current condition. The chances are that it could end up worsening her condition instead,” Mu shi said.
As the common adage among physicians went, ‘over-nourishment kills the frail’.
Even for a Saint realm 3-dan expert like him, it would be difficult to absorb and assimilate the overwhelming medicinal energy contained within that Grand Intermittence Pill fully, let alone an unconscious and frail young lady.
Most likely, her body would be utterly destroyed by the overwhelming medicinal energy before it could work its wonders.
“It’s not a problem.” Zhang Xuan waved his hands casually.
He uncorked the jade bottle, and a dense surge of spiritual energy immediately gushed into the surroundings. In the next instant, a pill abruptly surged into the air, attempting to flee.
At the level of a Grade-7 Inscribed Pill, the Grand Intermittence Pill possessed spirit, granting it the instinctive ability to avert danger. Even though it hadn’t developed sentience yet, given sufficient time, it could develop sentience like the Golden Origin Cauldron. If it were allowed to continue developing, a day might come when it could even morph into a human.
“Trying to flee? Come back!”
However, Zhang Xuan seemed to have expected that the pill would react in such a manner. With a cold harrumph, he abruptly closed his fists, and a surge of energy suddenly emerged from the pill itself, sealing its movements.
Following which, the pill was forcefully pulled back to the ground by the surge of energy.
Having gone through the books in the library of the Apothecary School, Zhang Xuan knew that grade-7 pills possessed such a property, so he had left a hand in advance.
Using his zhenqi to support the Wei Ruyan’s lower jaw, Zhang Xuan opened her mouth and fed her the Grand Intermittence Pill.
Tzzzzzzzz!
As soon as the pill entered her body, a sizzling sound reminiscent of searing metal coming in contact with iced water sounded. At the same time, Wei Ruyan’s ghastly pale face gradually began to regain a healthy red glow. However, a short moment later, it stopped.
At this point, even though Wei Ruyan seemed to be in a better state than before, she was still in a deep sleep, and there was no sign of her regaining consciousness.
Zhang Xuan quickly placed his fingers on the other party’s pulse before heaving a sigh of relief.
If it had been someone else, perhaps they might have succumbed to the overwhelming medicinal energy contained within the Grand Intermittence Pill and died.
However, Wei Ruyan was a unique case. Her unique constitution was so powerful that she could even poison a saint herb like the Ten-leafed Flower while unconscious. A grade-7 Inscribed Pill might contain immense medicinal energy within it, but most of it had turned into nutrients to feed her Innate Poison Body.
While the Grand Intermittence Pill wasn’t enough to cure her affliction entirely, it did help her body to recover to perfect health. Even the trauma that she had suffered back in her mother’s womb had healed as well.
With the recovery of her body, even if her soul remains unconscious for the time being, she shouldn’t be in any danger… Zhang Xuan thought.
“To still remain unconscious despite having consumed the Grand Intermittence Pill… Senior Uncle, what kind of affliction is this young lady suffering from?” Mu shi asked in astonishment.
One must know that the Grand Intermittence Pill was so potent that it would be difficult for him to bear it! It was one thing for a frail patient to be fine after consuming it, but for her to remain unconscious after that, the affliction she was suffering from sure was fearsome!
“On top of her frail physical body, her soul has suffered some damage as well. Even though her body has recovered with the consumption of the Grand Intermittence Pill, her soul is still far too weak for her to regain consciousness,” Zhang Xuan explained.
At that instant, he suddenly thought of something and asked, “Mu shi, do you know where I can obtain living saint herbs that can nurture souls? I need as many of those as possible!”
He didn’t have any clue as to where he could find saint herbs to nourish Wei Ruyan’s soul, but Mu shi might know where he could source them.
After a moment of contemplation, Mu shi shook his head. “I do know of a few places that sell saint herbs capable of nurturing souls, but all of them are dried. Living saint herbs… I really don’t have any idea in mind.”
“You don’t know either?” Zhang Xuan sighed in disappointment.
He could easily find dried saint herbs in the Apothecary School and Physician School as well, but it was a pity that those were useless for Wei Ruyan’s current condition.
For his treatment, the saint herb must be alive.
At this moment, Zhong Dingchun, who was among the group of school heads who had gone over to check out the situation, abruptly spoke up. “Zhang shi, if you really require a living saint herb, I do know of one in Hongyuan City!”
As the head of the Physician School, he maintained an intelligence network on medicinal herbs so that he could easily source them when he required them.
“Oh? Where is it?” Zhang Xuan asked anxiously.
“In the royal palace of Hongyuan Empire, there is a Bodhi Saint Tree. It is known to possess exceptional effectiveness in nurturing souls,” Zhong Dingchun said.
“Bodhi Saint Tree?” Zhang Xuan frowned. He had never heard of such a tree before.
“Rumor has it that the tree was brought back from the wilderness by the ancestors of the current Hongyuan royal family. Knowing that it has the effect of nurturing souls, they chose to plant it in the royal palace to benefit the generations to come. This is the reason the royal offspring of Hongyuan Empire possess exceptionally powerful souls!”
After a moment of hesitation, Zhong Dingchun continued, “However, the tree is one of the most important treasures of the royal family, so I fear that they might not be willing to lend it to you!”
“I see…” Stroking his lower jaw, Zhang Xuan fell into deep thought.
“It happens that there is a banquet at the royal palace tonight. I should make use of the opportunity to take a look at the Bodhi Tree and determine if it will be effective on Wei Ruyan first. If it is, it will be worth giving it a shot.
“Anyway, thank you for your advice, School Head Zhong!” Zhang Xuan clasped his fist.
“There is no need to stand on ceremony, Zhang shi!” Zhong Dingchun hurriedly replied.
After which, Zhang Xuan tried asking for some more details regarding the Bodhi Tree, but it seemed like the others didn’t know much about it either. Thus, he could only shake his head helplessly.
“Zhang shi, I will send some men to help you repair your manor,” Zhao Bingxu said.
It would be truly tragic if the future principal of the Master Teacher Academy were to be rendered homeless, and such publicity could have adverse effects on the inauguration ceremony three days later.
“I will be depending on you, School Head Zhao!” Zhang Xuan nodded in gratitude.
If only he’d known that such a mishap would occur in the forging of the Grand Intermittence Pill, he would have surely taken the others to a clearing to conduct the pill forging. At the very least, he wouldn’t have ended up destroying his own residence.
“Un!” Zhao Bingxu nodded.
After which, Mu shi and the school heads bade farewell and returned to the Master Teacher Academy.
It had already been afternoon when Zhang Xuan first returned to his manor from the Saint Ascension Platform. After which, he had attended the hearing at the Elder Hall and forged the Grand Intermittence Pill. Time passed swiftly, and unknowingly, the sun had already set, allowing darkness to permeate the sky.
Looking at the rubble, Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before gently placing Wei Ruyan in the Myriad Anthive and instructing Sun Qiang, Wang Ying, and the others to spend their night at the residences in the Master Teacher Academy, which they were allocated as guest elders of the Martial Arts School.
After this was done, he was just about to make his way to the royal palace to attend the banquet when something suddenly caught his eye, and he stopped in his tracks.
His gaze swept across his surroundings, and he couldn’t help but notice that the rubble around him seemed to be laid in a formation resembling a massive dragon prowling the grounds.
Is this… the earth dragon? Zhang Xuan’s eyes narrowed in astonishment.
Looking at this formation, he couldn’t help but recall the clue that he had obtained from Wu Yangzi regarding the location of his treasure!
In his old residence, beneath Three Stars of the Earth Dragon!
If what he was seeing before him was the earth dragon in the clue, then… what could the three stars be?
Zhang Xuan immediately turned his gaze upward.
Countless stars scattered throughout the seemingly endless night sky came into sight.
How am I to know which three stars Wu Yangzi is referring to? Zhang Xuan frowned in frustration.
All he had received from the clue was ‘Three Stars of the Earth Dragon’. There was no clue as to which three stars it was referring to, or even their general location!
He might have found the earth dragon, but without the three stars, he wouldn’t be able to pinpoint the location of the treasure. Was he supposed to overturn every inch of ground in the manor to find the treasure?
Besides, if it was possible to find the treasure by doing so, it would have long been uncovered by someone else in the last two thousand years.
Thinking that it might be helpful to get a bird’s eye view, Zhang Xuan executed the Red Dust Heaven Ascending Steps and leaped into the sky.
The collapsed rubble seemed to meander on the ground, connecting with the dark sky at the horizon, as if a massive dragon that was on the verge of soaring into the heavens.
Eye of Insight!
Knowing that it was impossible to find it just like that, Zhang Xuan activated his Eye of Insight before turning his gaze to the point where the earth dragon intersected with the dark sky.
Again, this chapter was only three words under costing another spirit stone.
