Seven-Rank Purple Ganoderma

Inside the palace, Chen Li, who was relying on his looks and his usual brutish persona to argue his case and tearfully recount the Dragon Elephant Sect's contributions to the Sun Moon Empire, seemed to sense something as well.

But the distance was simply too great, and too many auras lay between them. That sensation flashed by for only an instant before vanishing.

Even at the level of a Titled Douluo, Chen Li trusted that his instincts would not be wrong. Something outside had definitely drawn his attention.

Yet in his current state, Chen Li had no way to determine what had triggered his intuition. He could only continue his tearful complaint while pondering the matter in confusion.

Xu Tianran did not notice Chen Ming's change. After delivering the item before Xiao Hongchen, he took a jade box from his Soul Tool and pushed it toward Chen Ming.

When the lid opened, a rich medicinal fragrance spread through the air, and the carefully preserved herb within came into Chen Ming's sight.

It was a pale-purple Immortal Herb, its top shaped like a canopy and a ganoderma, with a jade-green stalk beneath it and seven tiny leaves growing below.

"This is... Purple Ganoderma? Seven-Rank Purple Ganoderma?"

Chen Ming forced himself not to look at the "metal" now sitting before Xiao Hongchen. Instead, he focused on the herb in the medicine box before him.

Purple Ganoderma was precious, but it was not uncommon on the Sun Moon Continent.

The Sun Moon Continent was famous for cultivation through Drug Abuse and the development of Soul Tools. As everyone knew, wilderness resources were limited, while the number of people who needed medicinal herbs for cultivation was nearly limitless.

After the wild herbs growing in regions accessible to and explored by humanity had been heavily depleted, people began cultivating medicinal herbs themselves to sustain future development.

Naturally, the Sun Moon Empire was no exception.

As an industrialized nation in particular, the Sun Moon Empire was extremely sensitive when it came to raw materials. It would never allow anyone to choke it by the throat over such matters.

It was said that when the Sun Moon Continent and the Douluo Continent first came into contact across the sea, envoys from the Sun Moon Empire brought back the seeds of several precious herbs native to the Douluo Continent and attempted artificial cultivation on the Sun Moon Continent.

Although most of those seeds had been eliminated over time for various reasons, the Sun Moon Empire had domesticated some precious medicinal herbs originally native to the Douluo Continent, including Purple Ganoderma.

Around four thousand years ago, the Sun Moon Empire had already begun planting Purple Ganoderma on a large scale.

Through the efforts of countless people, Purple Ganoderma, this precious herb that strengthened one's foundation and nourished one's essence, had become a very common medicinal ingredient on the Sun Moon Continent, widely used in all kinds of prescriptions and pills.

But although Purple Ganoderma had become common, that did not mean the Purple Ganoderma produced by the Sun Moon Empire was of particularly high quality.

On the contrary, because the Sun Moon Continent's soil was less fertile than that of the Douluo Continent and was not Purple Ganoderma's place of origin, the Sun Moon Empire's Purple Ganoderma was relatively low in quality. Its main advantage was simply its enormous quantity.

The Purple Ganoderma commonly found in the Sun Moon Empire came in three types. The first was unranked Purple Ganoderma, usually three to five years old. It looked like an ordinary mushroom and cost only one Gold Soul Coin per stalk.

In this era of depreciated Gold Soul Coins, it was an herb even commoner Soul Masters could use regularly. Many expensive dishes simply used Purple Ganoderma of this quality as mushrooms.

The second type was First-Rank Purple Ganoderma and Second-Rank Purple Ganoderma. First-Rank Purple Ganoderma was around fifteen years old, while Second-Rank Purple Ganoderma began at roughly fifty years and also demanded a better growing environment.

Naturally, they were more expensive. First-Rank Purple Ganoderma cost around fifty Gold Soul Coins, while Second-Rank Purple Ganoderma cost over five hundred Gold Soul Coins. They were medicinal herbs used by most nobles.

As for the third type, Third-Rank Purple Ganoderma, it required more than two hundred years of growth in the Sun Moon Empire's soil to develop. Its foundation-strengthening and essence-nourishing effects increased considerably, but its price also exceeded several thousand Gold Soul Coins.

And Purple Ganoderma above the Fourth Rank?

Sorry, but the Sun Moon Continent's limitations were right there. Apart from a small number of high-energy regions, roughly one Fourth-Rank Purple Ganoderma might appear only after every ten Third-Rank Purple Ganoderma had grown for a thousand years.

The Sun Moon Empire had spent nearly two thousand years on this matter and still had not overcome this obstacle or achieved mass production of Fourth-Rank Purple Ganoderma...

In truth, even Third-Rank Purple Ganoderma could not be considered mass-produced in the Sun Moon Empire. It only seemed to be produced in an endless stream because cultivation and usage had been planned out well.

Judging by its age, this Seven-Rank Purple Ganoderma had either been among the first batch planted when the Sun Moon Continent had first obtained its seeds, or it had been purchased by the Sun Moon Empire from some corner of the Douluo Continent. There was no other possibility.

The Nine-Rank Purple Ganoderma was described in the Original Work as a Quasi-Immortal Herb, the strongest herb in the world apart from Immortal Herbs. A Seven-Rank Purple Ganoderma possessed at least Thirty Percent of the medicinal potency of a Nine-Rank Purple Ganoderma.

It might not truly grant a Soul Master a complete transformation, but it was still a rare and precious heavenly treasure capable of allowing a Soul Master to break through the limits of their original aptitude.

Its ability to purify Soul Power and remove impurities was especially useful to Sun Moon Empire Soul Masters, whose bodies contained many impurities due to Drug Abuse.

After all, once their Soul Power had been purified, it meant they could take even more pills.

For those Soul Masters who had been stuck before a bottleneck for a long time without advancing even a single step, such a Purple Ganoderma represented hope of breaking through to the next realm.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, this gift is far too precious."

Chen Ming said that with his mouth, but his hands did not stop. He directly put the Seven-Rank Purple Ganoderma back into its box, then pushed the two treasures before Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen toward them.

Seeing Chen Ming like this, the sibling pair Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, who did not dare make the decision themselves yet were reluctant to part with such precious treasures, exchanged a glance and gritted their teeth before accepting them.

In truth, the thing that attracted Chen Ming most was not the Seven-Rank Purple Ganoderma. If it had only been the Seven-Rank Purple Ganoderma, Chen Ming would never have acted so decisively. He would have tested the waters before considering whether to accept the gift.

But because that piece of metal had affected and resonated with his Martial Soul and bloodline, Chen Ming had no choice but to act somewhat more aggressively.

Watching the three accept his gifts, Xu Tianran nodded inwardly.

Children truly were easier to fool than adults. This future heir of the Dragon Elephant Sect may be more rational than an ordinary child, but he still lacked a few degrees of maturity.

I do not need the support of their families. As long as they do not oppose me becoming Crown Prince, there will be much I can accomplish.

By the time I ascend that position and become emperor, they will have matured as well and be qualified to become my confidants. When that time comes, with one call from me, will not the younger generation of the Sun Moon Empire all fall under my command?