Herbal Compendium (Please Keep Reading, Please Vote Monthly)

After entering the city, Ning Tianchen turned into the street on the right at a fork in the road.

This street was packed with people. Stalls lined both sides, displaying a dazzling array of goods, while all kinds of people moved through the crowd amid a constant clamor.

"Whoa, the city is actually this lively."

The scene was similar to what he had seen as a child in the village towns of his previous life.

This must be the marketplace of Barack City.

The city was so large that he naturally could not search every district one by one for Ning Rongrong.

Given what he knew of Ning Rongrong, whenever she encountered such a bustling marketplace, she would definitely come here to join in the fun.

Moreover, Ning Rongrong was generous with her money. Whenever she went shopping and saw something she liked, she would even buy out the entire stall.

With a little asking around, it would not be difficult to find her.

As Ning Tianchen walked down the busy street, his eyes remained alert to the people moving nearby, while the corners of his gaze constantly swept over the stalls.

There were so many goods on display that he could not possibly take them all in with a single glance.

Before long, Ning Tianchen's attention was drawn to a stall selling miscellaneous items.

He stepped forward, picked up a book from the stall, and examined it carefully, confirming that he had not mistaken it.

"Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul?"

If he remembered correctly, wasn't this the work of a certain Master?

Could that Master have come to Barack City?

At that thought, he raised his head and glanced at the owner of the stall.

As he recalled, Yu Xiaogang was a middle-aged man with Short Flat Hair. Yet the owner before him was an Old Man with graying hair and beard.

The Old Man's body was tough and powerful, clearly not the sort of physique Yu Xiaogang, a man who muddled through life, would possess.

The Old Man lay on a rocking chair and snorted. "If you're not buying it, don't touch it!"

Ning Tianchen did not get angry. Raising the book in his hand, he asked, "This book is quite rare. If I'm not mistaken, it was never officially published. Yours is either the only copy or a handwritten copy."

The Old Man naturally knew the book's origins. He replied casually, "An old friend of mine left it here for sale. But if you know the author of this book, then I'll give it to you."

Ning Tianchen did not answer immediately. Instead, he opened the book and examined its contents.

Sure enough, the contents were Yu Xiaogang's so-called "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul." Nine of its points were common knowledge and had long since been proposed by others.

Based on the books Ning Tianchen had read in the sect library, he could immediately identify the origins of five of those theories. Yet when Yu Xiaogang wrote this book, he had not cited their sources, instead passing them off as his own theories.

What was more, he shamelessly added his own opinions to every one of those theories.

But any descendant of a major family could see the plagiarized elements in those opinions.

The sole point that was not plagiarized was merely him insulting himself in a roundabout way.

A book like this would have been perfectly fine as an introductory popular science book, yet it had to be presented as Yu Xiaogang's personal original theory.

Fine, he would keep it. In the future, when looking up soul master theories, searching through this book would also be more convenient.

"I won't take it for nothing." As he spoke, he placed a Gold Soul Coin on the stall.

"Hehe, what an interesting little fellow. I think we'll meet again before long." The Old Man chuckled, then covered his face with the palm-leaf fan in his hand and ignored everyone else.

"What a strange old man," Ning Tianchen murmured.

This book had certainly come from Yu Xiaogang. But Yu Xiaogang had a wide network of acquaintances; who knew how many people he had given copies to?

Tucking the book into his clothes, he continued searching the streets for Ning Rongrong.

It was not that he refused to put the book into his Soul Tool. There were simply too many pickpockets here. If he was not careful, his Soul Guidance Ring might be stolen, and then he would have no way to explain it to Ning Rongrong.

After wandering around for roughly half an hour, Ning Tianchen spotted another book stall.

Curious, he walked over to it.

His gaze swept across the stall before finally settling on a book without a cover.

Picking it up, he opened to the first page.

It was an illustrated compendium. It contained drawings of many medicinal herbs, as well as introductions to their effects and characteristics.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't read it if you aren't buying it. If you finish reading it, who am I supposed to sell the book to?" Seeing Ning Tianchen engrossed in it, the middle-aged owner snatched the book away.

During the struggle, Ning Tianchen happened to glimpse the final few pages. The herbs recorded there seemed to be Immortal Herbs.

The book had already been taken away, so he could not be certain whether they truly were Immortal Herbs.

After a pause, he smiled and asked, "Boss, where did this book come from?"

The owner gave him a wary look and snorted. "I collected all these books from around the city. If you aren't buying, hurry up and leave. Don't interfere with other people buying books."

Ning Tianchen smiled faintly and took out a Gold Soul Coin from his pocket. "Boss, I like hearing stories. If there's a story behind this book, this Gold Soul Coin is yours."

As a descendant of a major family, money was the one thing he lacked least.

Looking at the glittering Gold Soul Coin, the owner nearly drooled.

But he knew the truth himself. What story could this book possibly have? A few days ago, he had merely collected it as scrap from a noble household.

Seeing that it was still in decent condition, he had set it aside to sell separately.

"Oh? Which noble family?" Ning Tianchen asked.

The owner wore a bitter smile. "It seemed to be either the Dragon Serpent Family or the Ruan Family. I can't remember clearly."

Ning Tianchen rubbed his chin.

Since it had come from a major family, the medicinal herbs recorded in the book were most likely genuine.

He tossed the Gold Soul Coin into the owner's hand, and the owner knowingly handed the book to him.

As he flipped through its contents, Ning Tianchen saw many medicinal herbs that were both familiar and unfamiliar.

"Aromatic Silk Beauty, Black Jade Divine Bamboo."

The herbs recorded in this compendium were, at the very least, high-grade medicinal ingredients. Most of the rest were Immortal Herbs.

Immortal Herbs were exceedingly rare. The family that had once possessed this book had likely never found any of the herbs recorded within and thus considered it useless, casually throwing it away.

Besides, many of the Immortal Herbs in the book did not clearly state their effects, so even if ordinary people obtained them, they would have no use for them.

After wandering through the marketplace for another One Incense Stick Time, he suddenly noticed a large crowd gathered directly ahead.

"Hurry over and take a look! The young miss of the Dragon Serpent Family is tearing into a little rich girl right in the street. What a sight! You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you miss it."

As soon as someone started shouting, others immediately responded.

Ning Tianchen searched his memories before finally recalling it.

The Dragon Serpent Family should be the family of the Peerless Dragon Snake Couple. Their family's young miss should refer to their Granddaughter, Meng Yiran.

With Meng Yiran's fiery temperament, she really might get into an argument with someone in the street.

Besides, her family was in Barack City, so she had even less reason to be afraid.

As for the other little rich girl...

Ning Tianchen's heart tightened. Could it be Rongrong?

Given Ning Rongrong's temperament, she really was capable of doing something like this.