Earthly Treasure's Divine Efficacy, Inner Strength Breakthrough

By the time the sun was three poles high, Xie Yuan and Situ Qin had gathered in the dining hall for breakfast.

The two of them had spent the entire night rampaging through the Judicial Surveillance Commissioner's Residence. When they first returned, they had still been brimming with energy; after collapsing for a brief nap of two hours, they were up again.

Only, both wore the same faint dark circles beneath their eyes. One look, and anyone could tell they had spent the night out doing something naughty.

Everyone in the residence saw it, yet everyone pretended not to.

The maids and servants were one thing—they deferred to Situ Qin in all matters. Aside from her personal maid Xiao Qing, who dared to say a word or two, no one even tried to remonstrate with her. But even Li Tai and the female steward who oversaw the inner residence showed no unusual reaction, as though whatever Situ Qin chose to do, they would simply obey her orders.

Xie Yuan keenly noticed this. It was as though she had no elders in her family at all—there was only "Situ Qin's household," with every decision made by herself alone. She was remarkably free.

Even if Situ Qin truly lived here alone, the rules of a great clan should not have been like this. There ought to have been some elderly matron or senior relative watching over her.

Moreover, judging from yesterday's banquet, Situ Qin's status was clearly a cut above everyone around her. She had been held in the center like the moon surrounded by a host of stars. Even the heir apparent of Yun Mountain Prince seemed no nobler than she was... It inevitably gave Xie Yuan many guesses.

Of course, once he learned that Li Tai was a grandmaster listed on the Soaring Dragon Ranking, Xie Yuan knew her identity could not be ordinary.

Not merely extraordinary—extraordinary beyond measure.

Yet during their later conversation, Xie Yuan had asked about Situ Qin's family background, and she had not answered directly. He tactfully refrained from digging further. The young masters and ladies at the banquet had all called her Miss Qin as well, never revealing any other identity.

Why did it feel as though they had known each other for ages, and were already close, yet she still carried an air of mystery...

Holding a bowl of congee, Xie Yuan drifted off slightly.

"Chief Escort Leader Xie, what are you daydreaming about?"

A slender hand waved before his eyes as Situ Qin, seated across the table, asked curiously.

Xie Yuan came back to himself, drained the remaining congee from his bowl, and smiled.

"I didn't sleep well. My mind wandered."

"Tch. A Three-Refinement martial artist who cultivates both body and inner strength, and you still can't stay up all night?"

Situ Qin pursed her lips and shot Xie Yuan a sidelong look.

In Xie Yuan's eyes, Situ Qin's usual speech, mannerisms, gait, and bearing all inadvertently revealed a touch of elegance. It was obvious she had been steeped in refinement since childhood, possessing the bearing of a great clan.

Yet when she was with him, she was usually quite casual and easygoing, never putting on airs. She was like the girl next door, which was why they had hit it off so well from their very first meeting.

And now, there was something more than ordinary friendship between them.

Xie Yuan smiled and stopped dwelling on it.

Situ Qin was Situ Qin. As for her family background, it was not important.

After the two finished breakfast and waited a while, Zheng Qingyang came calling.

Xie Yuan thought that, logically speaking, the schedule of such a famed physician ought to have been packed full. Yet Situ Qin had sent someone to invite him at dawn, and he had arrived before noon.

After exchanging greetings with Yun Prefecture's foremost physician, Xie Yuan said with a smile, "Master Qingyang truly is a sage hand of medicine. My neck injury is already ninety-nine percent healed."

"Hehe, you flatter this old man, Little Mister Xie. I see there are still faint scars on your neck. Later, I'll prescribe some more medicine to eliminate any future trouble."

Zheng Qingyang said with a smile, stroking his beard.

Situ Qin nodded repeatedly, her eyes curving into crescents as she said, "No scar would be good. No scar would be good."

"..."

Xie Yuan pretended not to hear. Taking out those draft prescriptions, he handed them to Zheng Qingyang.

"Then I must thank Master Qingyang. But I did not invite you here to trouble you over such a minor injury. I have a question and hope you might enlighten me.

"I happened to obtain a prescription, but I cannot figure out what it is meant for, so I wished to ask you to take a look."

Zheng Qingyang accepted the several draft prescriptions. After a glance, he kept only one.

"The final version should be this one. The proportions in the earlier ones do not make much sense."

Xie Yuan and Situ Qin exchanged a glance. Seeing Zheng Qingyang speak with such certainty, both were convinced.

The white-haired physician stared at the prescription for a long while, muttering the names of the medicinal ingredients under his breath. Then he furrowed his brow.

"Eh? This old man has indeed never seen this prescription before. But judging from the proportions of these ingredients, it is quite ingenious. Still, every one of them is rather unorthodox. Put together, I fear it is no wholesome medicine."

Xie Yuan said frankly, "To be honest, I happened to obtain this from an enemy. Yet I do not know what medicine he is selling from his gourd."

Zheng Qingyang stroked his beard and pondered for a long time before saying, "If that is the case... How about this? Give me one day. I'll return and prepare it according to the prescription. Then we'll know."

A smile appeared on Xie Yuan's face as he said gratefully, "Then many thanks to Master Qingyang!"

"No matter, no matter. I have always been interested in prescriptions I have never seen before."

Zheng Qingyang waved with a smile, then hurried away with the prescription in hand. It seemed he had not been speaking merely out of politeness.

Xie Yuan and Situ Qin saw Zheng Qingyang off. Then, after choosing his words carefully, Xie Yuan said:

"Miss Qin, I've imposed on your household for many days already. Once I receive Master Qingyang's reply tomorrow, I intend to take my leave and return to Cloudshine."

"Ah? You're leaving?"

Situ Qin froze for a moment, the words slipping out before she could stop them.

Xie Yuan nodded.

"Actually, I'd planned to leave today, but since this prescription hasn't been deciphered, I'll trouble you for one more day. You know, the escort agency will be settling matters with Vajra Gate in the next few days. Factoring in the journey, I should get there a little early."

"I see... all right."

Situ Qin revealed a reluctant expression and sighed.

"I was even going to keep you here for a few more days. You haven't tried any of the famous snacks in the streets and alleys of Yun Province Prefecture yet. But if you have business to attend to, there's nothing to be done."

Xie Yuan said with a smile, "Leave something to look forward to, so I'll have a reason to come back next time, right? When that time comes, I'll have to trouble you to show me around."

Situ Qin's eyes lit up at once.

"That's true. Then once you've dealt with your business, you must come back as soon as possible!"

"No problem."

As they spoke, they returned to the main hall, where a maid stepped forward.

"Chief Escort Leader Xie, your medicine has finished brewing."

Xie Yuan's eyes brightened. Since he would be staying for another day anyway, he could take the medicine and practice his cultivation directly to test its effects. Besides, Situ Qin herself was here, so he could ask the right person for guidance.

Just as the two were having a servant bring over the medicine, the steward came to report again.

"Miss, the craftsman has opened that box."

Both Xie Yuan and Situ Qin grew interested. Peng Yue had hidden that box away as though it were a treasure—what could it contain?

The box was brought up. Situ Qin dismissed the servants, then leaned in with Xie Yuan and slowly opened it.

A faint glow spilled from within.

A small golden flower appeared before their eyes. The box was like a flowerpot, with soil packed inside and the flower planted in it.

The flower was golden all over, divided into nine petals. Each petal emitted a faint golden radiance, and together they shone brightly enough to make the daylight-lit room seem several shades brighter.

"Nine Yang Flower!"

Situ Qin let out a low cry, seemingly greatly startled.

Xie Yuan could tell that this thing was a treasure, but he had never heard its name before, so he could only ask humbly, "Miss Qin, what is a Nine Yang Flower?"

Situ Qin blinked.

"The Nine Yang Flower is an earthly treasure. It can help nourish one's essence and blood and generate inner qi, nourishing both inside and out. It's quite precious.

"I never expected Peng Yue to have hidden away such a treasure. I wonder whether he was planning to give it away or use it himself. Hehe, this is going to make his heart ache for a long time."

Xie Yuan was slightly startled upon hearing this.

It was actually an earthly treasure!

Spirit medicines were said to include Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures—spiritual objects born of heaven and nurtured by earth, all possessing extraordinary effects. Martial artists further divided them into two categories according to their efficacy and rarity.

Heavenly Materials were those exceedingly rare spiritual objects found only in legends. They could bring the dead back to life and restore flesh to bare bones, turn decay into the miraculous. Even across the entire cultivation world, they were extraordinarily difficult to find. Once one appeared, even Grandmasters could not resist risking their lives to fight over it.

Earthly Treasures were a step below—precious and rare, seldom seen in ordinary times, yet capable of bringing immense benefit to people. Martial artists still pursued them with all their might, but they could not be bought even for a thousand gold.

Xie Yuan looked at the flower shining with brilliant light and asked curiously, "Is this flower very hard to come by?"

"Not that hard. There's one in my storeroom."

Situ Qin casually flaunted her wealth.

"But this flower is an item of utmost yang. Its effects in generating blood and aiding qi are particularly obvious. It's useful to anyone below the Grandmaster realm, and it has always had a price but no market."

Hearing this, Xie Yuan could not help showing a hint of longing. Still, the two of them had obtained it together, so it would not be right for him to claim it all for himself.

Just as he was about to ask whether they could split it in half, Situ Qin directly plucked the Nine Yang Flower and held it out before Xie Yuan.

"Chief Escort Leader Xie, here, have a little flower."

Xie Yuan froze and looked up.

The young woman held up the little flower, her smiling face incomparably radiant beneath its golden glow.

"Miss Qin, this isn't..."

"All right, stop talking nonsense."

Situ Qin directly stuffed the flower into his hand.

One look at Xie Yuan's expression told her that he wanted it, and it truly suited his needs. Naturally, she was happy to make his wish come true.

"Women can't use this flower anyway, or I wouldn't have left it sitting around. Don't I still have another one?"

"All right, all right, I know what you're going to say. Next time we go exploring somewhere, just let me have the thing I want. I'll yield this one to you for now—fair and square, perfectly justified."

Xie Yuan looked at the Nine Yang Flower in his hand, momentarily at a loss for words. All he could do was nod and sigh.

"Miss Qin, thank you."

"No need to be so polite. We agreed—you owe me another expedition and its spoils."

Situ Qin blinked.

"This flower is simple enough to use. Have the pharmacy add it directly to your medicinal decoction, then simmer it for another three hours. I see that the Inner Strength you cultivate belongs to the upright and balanced type, and so does my prescription. Adding this yang-aspected earthly treasure directly won't go wrong."

Xie Yuan did as she said and waited eagerly for another three hours.

Seeing him fidgeting like an ant on a hot pan, Situ Qin could not help but smile. She pulled him over to the waterside pavilion to listen to her practice the qin, cleansing his heart and tempering his nature.

A melodious tune rippled across the lake and through the pavilion. Listening to Situ Qin's qin music, Xie Yuan gradually calmed down.

During the break between two pieces, he asked curiously, "Miss Qin, I've never seen you cultivate, yet your cultivation is far from weak. How does that work?"

"Who said I don't cultivate? Aren't you watching me right now?"

Situ Qin said with a smile.

Xie Yuan froze.

"You mean..."

"Watch closely."

Situ Qin pressed her hand to the strings and gave them a gentle sweep.

With a resonant Zheng!, the guqin rang out with a murderous note. Xie Yuan vaguely sensed an invisible force rushing toward him, and the hairs all over his body stood on end.

Before he could react, the melon before him split cleanly in two, its cut as smooth as if sliced by a blade.

Xie Yuan was stunned.

What was this, the Six Meridian Divine Sword?

Formless and intangible—if he had not been warned, he would never have seen it coming.

More remarkably, when that force shot forth, only the melon was cut open. The fruit plate, the low table, and Xie Yuan himself remained completely untouched. Its control was simply astounding!

Xie Yuan praised her from the bottom of his heart.

"Divine beyond measure... Miss Qin's strength is terrifying indeed! Are you really only at the Fourth Refinement?"

"What strange nonsense."

Situ Qin said with an amused smile.

"My technique focuses on the inside. My Blood Qi is only at the Fourth Refinement; as for my Inner Breath, it's just a little stronger."

She put it very modestly.

Xie Yuan picked up the melon, took a bite, and cupped his hands.

"As expected of fruit cut by a divine art—it's a little more fragrant than if it had been cut by an ordinary knife. My thanks to Miss Qin for the fruit slices!"

Situ Qin giggled, shooting him a sidelong glance.

"You wish! Now you know that I'm very diligent in my training too, don't you?"

Xie Yuan nodded with a sigh.

"You play the qin every day, and I accompany you in playing the qin every day. I thought we were both frittering away our ambitions on trifles—turns out you've been secretly grinding away."

Damn it, he hated people like this the most.

Situ Qin could not understand his rustic slang, but she grasped his meaning and smiled.

"All right, all right. Look, your medicine is here."

Xie Yuan turned his head and saw a maid bringing over the medicinal decoction. Its base color was brownish yellow, yet it emitted a faint golden glow, making it seem exceedingly wondrous.

His spirits lifted. Rising to his feet, he bade Situ Qin farewell.

"Miss Qin, continue practicing your qin at leisure. I'm going back to work hard as well."

Situ Qin nodded with a smile and lightly waved her hand.

Xie Yuan took the medicine himself and strode out of the waterside pavilion.

Behind him, qin music rose once more, rising and falling in cadences as it gradually drifted away.

Returning to his guest room, Xie Yuan regulated his breath briefly, then picked up the bowl of medicine and drained it in one gulp.

Even after so long, the medicinal liquid was still scalding hot. The moment it entered his stomach, an inaudible Boom! seemed to ring out, setting his entire body ablaze.

Xie Yuan felt as though a fireball were burning in his abdomen, sending searing heat through all four limbs and every bone in his body. In an instant, he turned bright red.

He let out a muffled groan. Bead-sized drops of sweat rolled down his forehead like a curtain of rain.

"Hold your breath, focus your mind, and recite the mnemonic!"

Xie Yuan had cultivated for some time now, and his will was firm. Enduring the discomfort, he forcefully steadied his mind and began circulating the Still Stance mental method of the Nourishing Body Skill.

With the medicinal power guided, it circulated through his meridians along with his Inner Breath, then washed through his blood vessels with his Blood Qi, refined again and again.

Time slowly passed. The heat within his body dissipated bit by bit, gradually dispersing into every part of him.

Xie Yuan gradually grew accustomed to the sensation. Though his body remained scorching hot, his breathing became ever steadier as he immersed himself in cultivating and digesting the medicinal liquid.

Three days later.

Xie Yuan opened his eyes, and it seemed as though a flash of golden light passed through them.

He let out a long breath, exhaling for the time it took to drink a cup of tea. An ordinary person would have suffocated to death long ago.

The temperature in the room rose slightly. Xie Yuan expelled the last scraps of medicinal residue his body could not digest, finally finishing his cultivation and rising to his feet.

Chopping Wood: (7465/10000)

Golden Bell Cover · Second Layer: (869/1000)

Nourishing Body Skill · Fourth Layer: (16/4000)

Eight Trigrams Mountain Shaking Fist · Proficient: (135/1000)

Moon Slaying Axe · Proficient: (69/1000)

Galloping Wolf Saber Art · Perfected

Heaven Concealing Art · Beginner: (73/1000)

Black Heaven Book: (???/???)

Looking at the enormous changes before him, especially the tremendous progress in his foundational cultivation method, Xie Yuan clenched his fist hard!

The effects of combining the Nine Yang Flower with the medicinal liquid were striking and abundant. At his current realm, he could not even fully make use of all the medicinal power.

Xie Yuan's Blood Qi had been raised by a huge margin. His bone-forging progress was nearly complete, and even the Golden Bell Cover had surged forward by more than half.

Of the Outer Refinement Four Gates, bone forging was not as difficult as tendon stretching in its finer details. Yet it was the fourth gate. Aside from the sequence of external martial arts progressing from outside to within, this was also because it required the greatest quantity of Blood Qi.

To strengthen the hundreds of bones throughout the body and bring about a qualitative transformation—one could easily imagine just how abundant that Blood Qi needed to be.

Thus, many martial artists at the third refinement had to accumulate for a long time, building up strength through steady effort before bursting forth, before they could meet the standard.

No matter how gifted Xie Yuan was, such grinding accumulation could not be achieved overnight.

Yet with this earthly treasure, he had directly fulfilled the most difficult part, nearly accomplishing it in a single day!

With his Blood Qi greatly increased and the Golden Bell Cover advancing by leaps and bounds, Xie Yuan's strength had grown by an unknown amount. He felt power filling every inch of his body.

And this was not even the most delightful surprise, for the Nine Yang Flower nourished both inside and out.

Xie Yuan had not expected that Situ Qin's prescription, combined with the Nine Yang Flower, would directly push the Nourishing Body Skill into its next stage, reaching the fourth layer!

This brought a direct transformation in his strength. Inner Strength had always been his greatest confidence in being invincible among those of the same rank; every breakthrough was an enormous improvement.

Xie Yuan swung his arms through the air a few times. They felt both light and brimming with power. His strength was no longer what it had once been.

"This trip to Yun Province Prefecture has brought harvests as vast as the heavens. And then there's the mysterious and unfathomable Heaven Concealing Art... Mm, that night at the Judicial Surveillance Commissioner's Residence, holding hands so intensely pushed its progress by nearly a hundred.

"This escort run was completely beyond expectations, yet the result was a perfect ending."

Aside from suffering a setback at Lu Lao San's hands... but sooner or later, he would pay him back.

Xie Yuan was excitedly taking stock of his gains from the journey when he suddenly felt that something was wrong, as though he had overlooked something.

As he thought, his hand slowly dropped, and his brows gradually drew together.

With a bang, he flung open the door and asked the startled maid outside, "How many days has my door been shut?"

"R-Replying to Chief Escort Leader Xie, three days."

"Three days???"