Absorbed Them All

"This Purple Crystal can even absorb the energy from medicinal ingredients? That's right! The 'medicinal power' contained within medicinal ingredients is essentially just a form of energy!"

"Warriors' physical strength improves after consuming medicinal ingredients precisely because their bodies absorb the medicinal power and refine the energy within them."

Yi Yun suddenly understood. He had conducted many experiments over the past few days, preparing flames, hot water, rough cloth rubbed to generate static electricity, and other things Yi Yun considered "full of energy." However, the Purple Crystal wouldn't absorb any of this so-called "energy."

The energy the Purple Crystal could absorb, he now summarized, was starlight, Savage Bones, medicinal power, and the Vital Energy cultivated within Lian Chengyu.

Come to think of it, aside from the ethereal starlight, the other energies were all related to the cultivation of Martial Practitioners in this world!

Even starlight might be related to cultivation; perhaps there were cultivation techniques in this world that absorbed starlight.

As for Savage Bones and medicinal ingredients, there was no need to even mention them. These were excellent for improving a Martial Practitioner's body and for Marrow Cleansing.

It seemed only these cultivation-related energies could be absorbed by the Purple Crystal.

However, if the Purple Crystal absorbed the medicinal power from the Pill Fruit, would this Pill Fruit still be useful?

It was probably ruined!

Although the Pill Fruit looked intact, it was essentially just a good-looking piece of medicinal dregs, possibly not even as good as ordinary dregs.

Yi Yun knew that Pill Fruits couldn't be eaten directly; they had to be refined through special methods.

And these refining methods were known only to the high-ranking members of the tribe.

It wasn't just Pill Fruits; other medicinal ingredients on the Lian Clan's medicinal mountain were similar. For ordinary people, consuming them would be like poison, causing not only no benefit but also severe abdominal pain due to inability to digest the medicinal power, potentially leading to death with blood flowing from all seven orifices!

If it weren't for this, the Lian Clan wouldn't have felt at ease letting these poor villagers gather herbs on the mountain. If they secretly ate them while gathering, who would know?

But now, the Purple Crystal had absorbed the medicinal power from the Pill Fruit and was feeding it back into Yi Yun's body. Yi Yun felt no toxic side effects.

This was the miraculous nature of the Purple Crystal.

It transformed the originally violent energy into a gentle energy suitable for ordinary people to absorb, allowing Yi Yun to freely consume and absorb the herbs on the mountain without anyone knowing!

It was truly done without anyone noticing!

Realizing this, Yi Yun couldn't help but smile.

"Yun'er, what are you smiling about?" Jiang Xiaorou shouted from below. She had been worried about Yi Yun, fearing he might fall. Falling from such a height onto the rocky ground would have dire consequences.

"Sister Xiaorou, look what I have!"

Yi Yun plucked the Pill Fruit, which had completely lost its medicinal power, and tossed it down.

"A Pill Fruit? What a big one!"

Jiang Xiaorou's heart leaped with joy, but then a wave of sadness washed over her. A twenty-year Pill Fruit was a good medicine, but her brother had no right to enjoy it. This medicinal ingredient still had to be sent to the tribe, refined by the tribe's elders, and then used to cleanse Lian Chengyu's body.

With a heavy heart, Jiang Xiaorou placed the Pill Fruit into the herb basket.

Their task was to gather eight taels of herbs each, calculated based on the lowest-grade medicinal ingredients. A twenty-year Pill Fruit would be weighed more heavily. If their luck continued like this today, at least their food supply was secured.

It was a tragic thought: she and her brother risked their lives gathering herbs, and even with incredible luck, collecting many precious ingredients, they were merely paving the way for others.

"Yun'er, that's enough, don't climb any higher."

Jiang Xiaorou cried out in distress as she saw Yi Yun climbing over ten meters up. No matter how hard he tried, the harvested herbs still belonged to someone else; what was the point?

But Yi Yun pretended not to hear, because he saw a faint spiritual light rising near a crooked pine tree growing on the cliff not far away. There was a medicinal ingredient there!

Yi Yun scrambled over in a few swift movements. Holding onto the pine tree trunk with one hand, he carefully plucked a small, umbrella-shaped herb from the base of the tree with the other.

"Black Lingzhi, a medicinal ingredient more valuable than the Pill Fruit."

Yi Yun rejoiced inwardly and unceremoniously absorbed all the energy from the Black Lingzhi. For a moment, that exhilarating feeling returned. Yi Yun clearly felt the energy from the Black Lingzhi enter his heart and then flow through his bloodstream to every part of his body, nourishing his flesh and blood. The sensation made Yi Yun want to moan with pleasure.

After all, Yi Yun had been in a state of hunger for days.

Especially after the Marrow Cleansing, Yi Yun was so hungry his eyes were practically glowing green. Yi Yun was not yet capable of hunting alone, yet his body was growing rapidly and desperately needed energy.

Consuming large amounts of food could provide energy, but ordinary meals couldn't compare to medicinal ingredients. This single Pill Fruit and this stalk of Black Lingzhi were a godsend to Yi Yun!

Yi Yun felt that after the Purple Crystal absorbed the Black Lingzhi, with repeated blood circulation, the medicinal power of the Black Lingzhi entered his body. He not only felt strength filling him but also his eyesight improved. He could previously only vaguely see ants ten meters away, but now he could clearly see their thoraxes, abdomens, and six delicate legs.

Black Lingzhi was known for improving vision. Although Yi Yun wasn't very knowledgeable about medicinal properties, he roughly knew that the effects of such low-grade herbs might not be so pronounced. The tribe's elders always had to use large quantities of herbs to brew medicine to achieve even minimal effects.

But with the Purple Crystal absorbing the herbs, the effects were immediate and significant.

This Purple Crystal could probably double the efficacy of medicines!

Yi Yun tossed the Black Lingzhi, which had now become "high-grade medicinal dregs," to Jiang Xiaorou.

"Black Lingzhi! Yun'er, how can you be so lucky!"

Jiang Xiaorou found it incredible. A medicinal ingredient of this caliber was usually considered a good harvest if one was found per day, but Yi Yun had collected two such high-grade herbs today. His luck was truly off the charts!

Yi Yun smiled and didn't answer. With the Purple Crystal, as long as he was near a spiritual medicine, a point of light would rise, guiding him like a lighthouse. How could he not find good medicine!

Yi Yun had already climbed over ten meters high. However, after replenishing himself with two medicinal ingredients and perfectly absorbing their medicinal power, Yi Yun felt invigorated and could easily climb another ten meters.

But Yi Yun didn't want to be too astonishing, so he climbed down.

He moved to another spot to continue gathering herbs!

Yi Yun operated under the basic strategy of absorbing everything, gathering everything, and eating everything. He encountered herbs and devoured them like a whirlwind.

He discovered that this Lian Clan medicinal mountain was simply his treasure trove.

He had been starving these past few days, worrying about not having enough energy to cultivate. This Lian Clan's medicinal mountain, however, instantly solved this major problem.

Yi Yun climbed up a cliff. This cliff was very high, and normally very few people could reach it. From Jiang Xiaorou's perspective, she couldn't see what Yi Yun was doing up there at all.

"Yun'er, be careful!"

Jiang Xiaorou's voice came from the bottom of the cliff. Because of the strong mountain wind, it was a bit muffled.

"Sister Xiaorou, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Yi Yun leaped across the rugged and protruding rocks like a nimble mountain antelope. He could ascend a three to four-meter high sheer cliff in just two leaps, using the rock face for leverage.

At this moment, within his field of vision, a ball of light, about the size of a baby's fist, flew out from a crack in a large rock.

This ball of light was ten times brighter than any light spot Yi Yun had seen before!

"Huh? What is this!"

Yi Yun was startled. For something to emit such a bright light, the spiritual herb pressed in the rock crevice must be extremely precious.

Yi Yun pushed aside the rock and, as expected, found a winding Purple Jade Ginseng beneath it. This Purple Jade Ginseng was hidden in a location on a cliff face that was difficult for ordinary people to climb. Therefore, after growing for so many years, it had never been discovered.

This was a fortunate find for Yi Yun.

Yi Yun didn't stand on ceremony and directly used the Purple Crystal to absorb this Purple Jade Ginseng.

Instantly, the Purple Crystal was filled with a hazy purple light. This purple light converged into Yi Yun's body. Yi Yun felt a surge of warmth within him. This warmth flowed through Yi Yun's meridians, spreading to every part of his body, nourishing his internal organs, and even slowly rising to his brain. It made Yi Yun's five senses sharper, while also giving him a sensation of his head heating up and his limbs feeling light and floaty.

This feeling was like being drunk, with his whole body feeling as if it were constantly floating on clouds, yet he felt incredibly hot, making Yi Yun feel as if he had an inexhaustible amount of strength he wanted to unleash!

Yi Yun's whole body itched uncomfortably. He glanced around and saw a large stone on the ground that looked to be two to three hundred jin. Yi Yun felt as if thousands of ants were crawling all over him, and he desperately wanted to vent.

He walked up to the large stone and lifted it in one go.

One! Two! Three!

Yi Yun lifted the stone more than ten times, breaking out in a sweat, yet feeling a sense of exhilaration.

He still didn't feel satisfied, so he carried the rock and did squats and frog jumps, doing twenty repetitions in one go. His legs went numb, and the sweat on his body was evaporated into steam by the heat.

So refreshing!

Yi Yun moved his body casually, and all his joints popped and crackled!

For Martial Practitioners, the foundational stage involves consuming Savage Bones and spiritual herbs to cleanse the body, temper the physical form, and strengthen the soul!

After tempering, this is followed by day after day of arduous practice. Without resources or perseverance, one simply cannot become a Martial Practitioner.

Yi Yun didn't touch the Purple Jade Ginseng. Harvesting a spiritual herb of this caliber might cause a stir, especially since Yi Yun had already absorbed all its medicinal power. He didn't want to cause trouble for himself by picking it.

An ordinary person might not gather eight liang of medicinal herbs in an entire day of non-stop work. However, with the guidance of the Purple Crystal, coupled with his keen senses, sharp hearing, and clear sight, he could spot herbs dozens of meters away. Thus, in just one hour, Yi Yun gathered the sixteen liang of medicinal herbs needed for himself and Jiang Xiaorou.

Of course, these medicinal herbs had already been absorbed by the Purple Crystal, so although they looked intact, they had actually become medicinal dregs.

Yi Yun handed the herb basket to Jiang Xiaorou and instructed her not to hand in the herbs too early, to avoid attracting attention.

"Yun'er... how are you so fast..." Jiang Xiaorou felt bewildered. Her younger brother's speed in gathering herbs was too fast.

"Just good luck, Sister Xiaorou. I'm going down the mountain first. You stay here and pretend to work. I'm leaving!"

As Yi Yun spoke, he sprinted down the mountain.