Three Sects and Two Halls

Lan Tianyu listened quietly as Lan Xiaozhu recounted the story. Her eyes grew brighter and brighter, eventually shining with a brilliant, dazzling light. The vivid narration made it seem as if the scene were truly unfolding before her.

"A stroke of genius."

When Lan Tianyu heard Ye Tong asking for compensation for his mental distress, she couldn't help but interject in admiration. That kid was truly too wicked.

Lan Xiaozhu said proudly, "Isn't that right! When he asked for money again, even I was a little displeased, thinking he was truly insatiable. But who would have thought he would only ask for one tael of Blue Silver? Miss, you should have seen the expressions of the surrounding onlookers at that moment; they were completely awestruck by him."

Lan Tianyu nodded, praising, "His wisdom and methods are difficult for even those powerful individuals with considerable status to match. Truly remarkable."

Lan Xiaozhu strongly agreed with her young lady's words. Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, she quickly said, "Miss, I've discovered that he's not only very wise, but also quite skilled in another area!"

Lan Tianyu was even more surprised and asked, "What else?"

"Carving jade."

Lan Xiaozhu thought of the exquisitely crafted, beautiful jade bottles and said with heartfelt admiration, "The jade bottles used to hold the medicinal pills were carved with unparalleled exquisiteness on the outside. Each animal was lifelike, each plant vibrant, and even the calligraphy on the bottles was filled with elegant charm. Seeing those jade bottles, I couldn't help but be reminded of your paintings, Miss."

"Are they really that good?"

Lan Tianyu's curiosity was thoroughly piqued.

Lan Xiaozhu nodded emphatically and said very seriously, "Xiaozhu speaks no falsehoods; they are truly exquisite. This is also why he charges extra for the jade bottles when selling the medicinal pills, because the carvings on those bottles are very valuable."

Lan Tianyu urged, "With you praising them like this, I'm even more curious. Go buy a bottle of medicinal pills for me. I want to see if it's as exaggerated as you say."

"Uh..." Lan Xiaozhu's expression faltered, and she mumbled, "Miss, we can't buy them anymore."

Lan Tianyu asked with some confusion, "Why?"

Lan Xiaozhu said, "All the remaining medicinal pills were bought out by Jin Qiusheng. I personally saw all the jade bottles being wrapped up and taken away by Jin Qiusheng's subordinates."

Upon hearing this, a flicker of disappointment crossed Lan Tianyu's eyes. She was already a master of painting and calligraphy, and since carving and painting stemmed from the same source, Lan Tianyu naturally wanted to witness Ye Tong's work.

Lan Xiaozhu suddenly clapped her hands as if remembering something and said with a smile, "Old Master Bai, yes, yes, that's the Old Master Bai who greatly admires your paintings, Miss. He bought four bottles of medicinal pills from Ye Tong yesterday."

Lan Tianyu's eyes lit up, and she asked with a smile, "If I'm not mistaken, Old Master Bai lives in Tian-character Pavilion, room 101, right? Xiaozhu, I remember there's some osmanthus cake left from this morning. Go pack some, and let's go deliver it to Old Master Bai."

"Alright!" Hearing her young lady's command, Lan Xiaozhu happily ran out.

However, a quarter of an hour later, the mistress and servant returned disappointed because Old Master Bai had already gone out.

The sun rose and set, and the sky gradually darkened.

Zui Qingshan, who had spent the entire day lingering in the county town but ultimately gained nothing, appeared outside the pavilion where Ye Tong lived. Looking at Ye Tong squatting by the stove, waiting for the medicinal cuisine to be ready, Zui Qingshan's eyes flickered with a strange light. He inquired, "I heard you set up an array formation here today? Causing the people of the Gao Family to retreat in defeat?"

Ye Tong felt a natural wariness towards Zui Qingshan, or rather, he felt a natural wariness towards all strong individuals. He calmly replied, "That is indeed the case."

Sensing Ye Tong's vigilance, Zui Qingshan glanced at the Medicine Slave, who was looking down silently, before asking, "Do you truly know how to set up array formations?"

"A little," Ye Tong nodded slightly. Being prudent was necessary, but sometimes one couldn't be too low-key.

Zui Qingshan said, "As everyone knows, only cultivators who have broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage can set up array formations and activate them with their true essence. Cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage only have vital energy in their bodies and cannot activate array formations. How did you manage it?"

"Heh heh." Ye Tong chuckled at this, and instead of answering, he asked, "Senior, as a Foundation Establishment expert, do you have any secrets?"

"That..." Zui Qingshan was rendered speechless by Ye Tong's question. As a cultivator, he naturally had his own opportunities, but they were not something he could reveal to outsiders.

Fearing he might anger this Foundation Establishment expert, Ye Tong continued, "As the saying goes, nothing is absolute. My true identity is that of a Pill Master. Although I specialize in concocting poisons and refining them, the process of alchemy necessarily involves the principles of array formations. Therefore, we have unique methods to ultimately activate the formations."

"So that's how it is. In that case, the medicinal pills you sold earlier were all personally refined by you?" Zui Qingshan's face showed a look of realization, and he continued to inquire.

"That's right!" Ye Tong had no intention of hiding anything and nodded, saying, "Those medicinal pills were all refined by my own hands."

Hearing this, Zui Qingshan re-examined Ye Tong. He was quite moved. He had learned of everything Ye Tong had done today. If it weren't for the sect's disciple recruitment standards, he would have already extended an invitation to this far-sighted, almost demonically intelligent young man.

"What a pity!" Zui Qingshan sighed regretfully and turned to walk towards the adjacent pavilion.

The Medicine Slave finally raised his head and looked at the direction of the door where Zui Qingshan had disappeared, saying thoughtfully, "Young Master, I think I've guessed something."

Ye Tong asked, "What have you guessed?"

The Medicine Slave looked towards where Zui Qingshan had vanished and said, "If I'm not mistaken, he should be from the Three Sects and Two Halls. The reason he's in Zifu County is likely to select outstanding young talents to recruit into them."

The Three Sects and Two Halls?

Even with some memories from his previous life, Ye Tong had stayed in the mountains since birth and knew very little about the outside world. He looked at the Medicine Slave with confusion and asked, "What are the Three Sects and Two Halls?"

The Medicine Slave explained, "The land we live on is called the Eastern Mu Continent. This continent has four empires, three regions, and two seas. You should know the four empires: Tianlan Empire, Cangqiong Empire, Luoyan Empire, and Sky Net Empire. The three regions are: Golden Phoenix Mountain Range, Barren Great Marsh, and Sky Burning Sand Sea. The two seas refer to two straits, the Ten Thousand Zhang Sea Trench and the Sky Splitting Canyon."

"Within the territories of the four great empires, there are the Three Sects, Two Halls, and Eight Great Families. These are terrifying forces with thousands of years of inheritance. I won't explain the Eight Great Families; you'll learn about them later. Let me tell you about the Three Sects and Two Halls: they are Fengshan Sect, Wanxia Sect, Falan Sect, Shengyuan Hall, and Qianyin Hall."

"The Three Sects and Two Halls widely recruit disciples, and every year, cultivation geniuses from across the continent are absorbed into them, becoming a part of them. I don't know how profound their foundations are now."

"This world is actually so vast, and it has inherited sects," Ye Tong nodded silently upon hearing this. He now had some understanding of the world's power structure.

The Medicine Slave asked curiously, "Doesn't Young Master want to join the Three Sects and Two Halls? Rumor has it that it's a sacred place for cultivation."

Knowing his own circumstances, Ye Tong shook his head and said, "If I didn't have the Poison Body, I might be interested. But now, joining the Three Sects and Two Halls is too extravagant for me. My greatest wish recently is to resolve the issue of the Poison Body; I won't consider anything else."

"That's true!" The Medicine Slave nodded gently. He knew very well that his young master suffered immensely from the Poison Body every so often.

Tian-character Pavilion, Room 101.

Bai Musheng, dragging his weary body, returned with his two attendants. After a day of hard work selling the goods he brought back from outside the county town, he had made a considerable profit, but the elderly man was still finding it a bit too much.

"Huh?"

Bai Musheng suddenly noticed Lan Tianyu, who rarely appeared, waiting with her maid outside the gate of his courtyard. With a look of confusion, he approached and asked with a smile, "Why is Miss Tianyu here?"

Lan Tianyu, her veil in place, exuded a gentle, jade-like aura. She bowed slightly and smiled, "I've brought some pastries made by my maid today for Old Master Bai to taste."

To offer pastries?

Bai Musheng, with his sharp mind, immediately realized that her intentions were not as simple as they seemed, and she likely had another reason for visiting. He didn't expose her, instead smiling and saying, "In that case, I must thank Miss Tianyu. Please, come inside."

"Thank you!"

Lan Tianyu followed Bai Musheng into the pavilion. After they were seated in the tea room and her attendant served the fragrant tea, Lan Tianyu picked up her cup, pushed aside her veil, and took a sip. She then set it down and smiled, "Excellent tea."

Bai Musheng waved his hand and chuckled, "The osmanthus cake is also quite good."

Lan Tianyu smiled and said, "Actually, Old Master Bai, you can probably tell that my visit today has another purpose. I heard you purchased four bottles of elixirs yesterday; are they still with you?"

"They are."

Bai Musheng's mind conjured the image of that shrewd and irritating young man, and he felt a pang of annoyance.

Lan Tianyu asked, "Could you sell me one of each?"

Bai Musheng was surprised, "You came all this way just for this?"

"Precisely!" Lan Tianyu replied with a smile.

Bai Musheng inquired, "Since Miss Tianyu wishes to purchase the elixirs, why not go directly to that young man? Why come to me instead?"

Lan Tianyu said, "Ye Tong has already sold out."

"Sold out?"

Bai Musheng blinked in surprise, then relaxed. "That's right. Although that kid is quite cunning, the elixirs he refines do have excellent medicinal properties, and they're much cheaper than those sold in shops. It's not surprising they sold out."

As he spoke, he gestured to a servant attending him. Soon, a wooden box was placed on a nearby table.

Bai Musheng took out four jade bottles and poured out one elixir from each.

"Is this it?"

The moment Lan Tianyu saw the jade bottles, her eyes lit up. She was an art enthusiast, and her greatest passion in life was appreciating and creating paintings. While carving and painting weren't identical, one being a three-dimensional pattern and the other a two-dimensional one, they shared similarities.

Lan Xiaozhu, seeing her mistress's expression, couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle, "Miss, wasn't I right? These jade bottles are exquisitely carved; they would be quite valuable even if sold on their own."

"You're absolutely right," Lan Tianyu glanced at her and nodded. "The carving skill is indeed exquisite; they are truly rare items."

Hearing their conversation, Bai Musheng asked with some surprise, "Miss Tianyu, you're not actually here for the elixirs, but only to see the bottles, aren't you?"

Lan Tianyu smiled faintly, "I heard Ye Tong's carving skills are superb, so I couldn't help but be curious and came to bother you. Old Master Bai, may I ask if you would be willing to part with these jade bottles?"

Bai Musheng thought for a moment and said, "I'll give you two."

Lan Tianyu quickly replied, "In my eyes, each bottle is worth ten thousand silver. I don't need the elixirs. I will purchase the two jade bottles for twenty thousand silver."

"Twenty thousand silver?"

Bai Musheng hadn't expected the jade bottles to be valued so highly by Lan Tianyu. However, he didn't want to take too much advantage of her. He said, "Twenty thousand silver is a bit too much for the bottles. How about this: I'll give you half of each elixir bottle as well. After all, I only spent ten thousand silver for the entire bottles."