Medicine King Valley

The next morning, Luo Jun got out of bed, stretched, and his joints cracked. It was already bright outside. Looking at the time, it was almost nine o'clock, and breakfast time had already passed.

Did I oversleep? Why didn't anyone wake me up? It's so inconvenient to be alone in a room; I should have set an alarm.

Actually, Luo Jun didn't sleep much last night because his Vital Energy Cultivation was progressing slowly. After Ling Xin left, he spent the first half of the night meditating and circulating his energy in bed. Although the effect wasn't much, progress was better than nothing. Little by little, he would eventually reach the bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

He didn't lie down to rest until after 4 a. m. He thought he would only need two or three hours of sleep, but he ended up sleeping until now.

Luo Jun opened the door and happened to see Xu Yiming walking towards him. He was slightly taken aback when he saw him come out. "You were awake a long time ago? Why didn't you come out?"

To be honest, although Luo Jun had only slept for a little over four hours, he didn't look tired at all. His eyes were bright and alert!

"Oh, just a little morning exercise," Luo Jun replied casually. "Are you all ready to leave?"

"Yes..." he said, handing over a set of jianbing guozi wrapped in oil paper. "Seeing that you hadn't come down for breakfast, everyone guessed that you'd been working hard on the case these past few days, so they wanted you to sleep in a little longer. They prepared everything before asking me to come and wake you up. This is breakfast I brought for you."

"Thank you, Godfather!" Luo Jun immediately took the food and started eating. Xu Yiming laughed and said, "Stop being so glib. I specially added an extra egg and chicken leg meat for you. Eat slowly so you don't choke."

While eating breakfast, they went into the courtyard and found that everyone was already prepared to set off, and the vehicles were all assembled, but the horses were nowhere to be seen.

As compensation, Lu Fei's group also arranged for the Heart Refining Realm to help.

Aside from those few, the rest of the Heart Refining Realm and Foundation Establishment are basically at the minimum standard of the third level. They can fight well in battle thanks to their Mind Condensation abilities, but they are not very good at tasks that test basic endurance. However, overall, they are still stronger than the average Foundation Establishment Realm.

They could travel eighty li a day, setting up camp to rest after dark, which meant they ran at about five kilometers per hour during the day. Running at this speed empty-handed was nothing to them, and they didn't feel tired even after a whole day. But pulling a load of over a thousand kilograms was a true test of endurance.

Luo Jun recalled what Tie Jingang had said when he first arrived in Yunzhou City, and wondered if he was serious.

Therefore, when forming groups, he deliberately mixed up the people according to their cultivation level, ensuring that each group had a First-class Expert. At the same time, he also carefully controlled the ratio of Mind Condensation and Qi Cultivation to prevent any group from falling behind.

Although Luo Jun's cultivation level was low, he got along well with everyone along the way and played an important role several times. His senior brothers and sisters were happy to take care of him, and no one complained. Luo Jun was happy to have some peace and quiet, following behind the carriage, walking and circulating his inner energy to continue his cultivation.

This carriage, including the cargo, must weigh at least a thousand catties. The horses in the Martial World world are strong and robust, so it takes two horses to pull one carriage!

Of course, Tie Jingang had also considered the lineup for the group. There was a big difference in strength among the students. People like Ling Xin, Lao Miaomiao, Lu Fei, Xiao Tianlei, and Tian Yang had not only reached the Concentration Realm, but also had a very solid foundation in strengthening their roots and cultivating their essence. This kind of burden was nothing to them.

Although the students are all Cultivators, without relying on luck, most of them only have five to eight times the strength of an ordinary person, and are not even as strong as a sturdy horse when it comes to pulling a cart. Of course, the students' strength will be greatly enhanced when they circulate their vital energy, and their strength can even increase more than tenfold after activating their protective qi, but this combat state is also very energy-consuming and cannot be sustained.

"Luo Jun has come down too, so everyone's here." Tie Jingang clapped his hands. "Now, there are only four days left until the deadline. We still have over 300 li to go, which means we have to travel more than 80 li a day on average. If we continue to use horses to pull the carts, we might not make it in time. So I've decided that for the next four days, we'll have people take turns pulling the carts to get to Medicine King Valley as quickly as possible!"

As for the weakest, Luo Jun, he was assigned to Lu Fei's group, along with Xu Yiming and Zhao Jian. This was mainly because they had a good relationship, and Lu Fei could take care of him. Moreover, he secretly instructed him that Luo Jun, being only at the Body Refinement Realm, would definitely fall behind in pulling the cart. Rather than this kind of endurance training, it would be better to let him find opportunities to cultivate his vital energy and start building his foundation as soon as possible. If possible, he should not be assigned the task of pulling the cart.

However, according to Tie Jingang, this is also a form of spiritual practice!

He divided the forty-five students into five groups of nine, each responsible for a carriage. He didn't care how the groups were assigned shifts, but the carriages had to be kept moving at a steady speed!

Although they were somewhat prepared, the students still let out a series of wails when they heard the news.

Thanks to the students' efforts, the team moved forward faster than expected, and the journey went smoothly. They finally arrived at Medicine King Valley on the morning of the fourth day.

Medicine King Valley is located in the Southwestern Branch of the Central Plains, directly south of Yunzhou City. It is the border between the Central Plains and the Southern Borderlands, and is a mysterious valley with lush flowers and plants and exotic beasts.

Legend has it that this place was originally the Base Camp of the Blood Gu Sect in Southern Borderlands. Although the people of Southern Borderlands are proficient in Gu Technique, they initially used them to heal the sick and save lives. Later, they developed techniques like Gu Poison to harm people. But as the saying goes, techniques are inanimate while people are alive. Just like a knife, which can kill people or perform surgery to cure diseases, Gu Technique are the same. They are neither good nor bad, but simply a technique unique to the people of Southern Borderlands.

However, over a hundred years ago, a Blood Gu Sect suddenly appeared, mainly active in the border area Southern Borderlands and the Central Plains plains. They used witchcraft to control their followers to do evil, and even developed many cruel and evil arts specifically for harming people. They stirred up trouble in the Martial World and became a cult that plagued the region.

The people of Southern Borderlands once tried to fight against the Blood Gu Sect, but in terms of Gu Technique, the Blood Gu Sect was unparalleled, far surpassing other masters in Southern Borderlands; the martial arts world of the Central Plains Martial World also tried to punish this evil cult, but ultimately, due to their unfamiliarity with Gu Technique, they were defeated by various strange moves... For a time, no one could deal with this evil cult.

Later, a master of medicine who had traveled throughout Nine Provinces land found a way to break the Blood Gu Sect's Gu Technique techniques. Finally, he joined forces with experts from both regions and wiped out this scourge in one fell swoop. In gratitude to this hero, after discussion, the valley where the Blood Gu Sect's headquarters was located, heavenly materials and earthly treasures, was handed over to him and renamed Medicine King Valley. That hero was the first Valley Master of Medicine King Valley.

Today, after more than a hundred years of development, Medicine King Valley has become a major force spanning the Central Plains and the Southern Borderlands. The valley has tens of thousands of disciples who are not only proficient in medicine but also have a thorough understanding of the Gu Technique of the Southern Borderlands. It is especially famous for producing various Miraculous Elixir. In the words of the Main World, it is the number one medicine producer in the [Martial World] world.

"Is this Medicine King Valley?"

The escort team arrived at a bustling town. Although it wasn't very large, its liveliness was in no way inferior to Tongda Town. Upon entering the town, one could smell the fragrance of medicinal herbs in the air. Stalls selling medicinal herbs lined the streets, and more than half of the shops along the street were various pharmacies. Judging from the attire of the pedestrians, they came from the South Sea, including not only medicine merchants from different regions but also Martial World practitioners.

"This is Ten Thousand Medicines Market Town," Li Xinyu introduced. "It's the largest medicinal herb wholesale market in Central Plains Southwestern Branch. Twenty miles south is Medicine King Valley."

"After all, Medicine King Valley is a heavenly materials and earthly treasures sect, and it contains many rare and precious medicinal herbs. It's impossible to just open the valley and do business without restraint. Therefore, the valley is divided into inner and outer sects. inner disciple practice martial arts and alchemy, while outer sect disciples are responsible for managing the sect's medicinal herb business. Initially, a market called Ten Thousand Medicines Fair was set up nearby to facilitate the sale of pills produced by the sect and the purchase of medicinal herbs. Later, it gradually attracted many medicinal herb merchants to settle here, and eventually formed a small town, which is now Ten Thousand Medicines Market Town."

"The notice from Medicine King Valley is that guests should gather at Ten Thousand Medicines Market Town three days in advance. Outer disciples will be there to receive us and should arrange accommodations," Song Qian explained, her eyes suddenly lighting up. "Isn't that Ming Qing!" she exclaimed, calling out from afar and waving.

Everyone looked over and saw a man in his thirties carrying a medicine box, negotiating with several Martial World practitioners. After noticing them, he smiled and nodded. After seeing the others off, he quickly walked over.

"Isn't this Junior Sister Song and Senior Brother Li...? Master has been saying, 'Why hasn't your Hundred Rivers Sect arrived yet...'"

"We encountered some trouble on the way and were delayed..." Li Xinyu said with a smile, then turned to Tie Jingang and said, "By the way, let me introduce you. This is our Hundred Rivers Sect's steward, Tie Jingang Martial Uncle Tie; this is the Three-Drawer Disciple of Medicine King Valley, Ming Qing."

Disciples of Medicine King Valley all carry a medicine box with them. The structure of the box varies depending on their rank. The lowest-ranking disciples have a medicine box that is only the size of a palm with one drawer, and are called Single-Drawer Disciple. The higher the rank, the more complex the medicine box becomes, and the more various pills it can hold. The highest rank is five boxes, which is the rank of elder, and the next highest is the Sect Leader Valley Master.

The Three-Drawer Disciple hold a high position in the sect, especially in the outer sect, where they are considered part of the management and wield considerable power.

Tie Jingang introduced Ming Qing to him, saying, "These are all newly recruited disciples of the Hundred Rivers Sect. We brought them out to broaden their horizons and gain experience on the occasion of the Valley Master's birthday."

"Oh my, Hundred Rivers Sect is truly full of talented people, it's enviable," Ming Qing said with a smile. "The Guest Room prepared for everyone have been ready long ago, I'll arrange for everyone to check in right away."

As he led everyone to their lodgings, Ming Qing explained, "These past few days, more and more Martial World artists have arrived at Ten Thousand Medicines Fair. The inns we prepared beforehand are no longer enough. I specially reserved these for the Hundred Rivers Sect... To be honest, people ask me for rooms every day, but I've been holding back."

"Thank you for your care, Junior Brother Ming Qing." Li Xinyu seemed to be quite familiar with Ming Qing. At this moment, the group passed by a square in the center of town and found that Village Chief.

"Huh? It's the Valley Master's birthday! There are performances in town?"

Ming Qing glanced at it and laughed, "Oh, that's not a stage, it's a fighting ring!"

"A fighting ring?" Deng Qian asked curiously, "We're going to have to fight in a ring?"

"Oh right, you guys don't know yet..." Ming Qing slapped his forehead, then said mysteriously:

"Besides celebrating the birthday of our Martial World Sect Leader Valley Master, Medicine King Valley has another important matter to announce."

(End of this chapter)