Century-old Ginseng

Facing a group of bold sisters, Qin Dongcheng could only retreat in defeat.

He hadn't expected that among this group of charming and delicate women, including several teenagers, the conversation would be so uninhibited.

It turns out the saying from his past life—that topics in a girls' dormitory are far more explosive than those in a boys' dormitory—was no lie.

From the words of Dong Hongyan, Liang Qiuyue, and the others, Qin Dongcheng knew that their usual chats were likely even more outrageous.

It was better not to provoke them; being the only man among them was truly a disadvantage, and focusing on his cultivation was the only right path.

Qin Dongcheng also knew that Dong Hongyan was joking like this to ease the awkwardness and to get Qin Dongcheng to agree to their arrangement.

After all, these Soul Bewildering Pills were of great value and highly practical, making them excellent items for them as well.

A mere few mandatory missions were hardly worth such rare and priceless treasures.

Moreover, if the Soul Bewildering Pills ran out later and needed replenishing, Qin Dongcheng figured he wouldn't charge them money anyway; the mandatory missions assigned to alchemists, artifact refiners, and the like couldn't all be about slaying demons and eliminating devils.

That was why Dong Hongyan used humor to make it impossible for Qin Dongcheng to refuse the matter and accept the split.

This big sister might seem bold and generous, but she was actually meticulous and would never let her younger sisters or brothers suffer a loss.

Ju Xiaojing, Liang Qiuyue, and the others didn't object either, clearly approving of the matter, which gave Qin Dongcheng a better impression of them.

If he had been coerced by Dong Hongyan into joining their team against his will before, as time passed, Qin Dongcheng began to feel it wasn't so bad.

Although these mandatory missions could be outsourced to other official disciples, they wouldn't be as attentive or reliable as Dong Hongyan and her group; if a mission failed or was overdue, Qin Dongcheng would be the one to face punishment.

After leaving Osmanthus Garden, the group discussed Qin Dongcheng.

"I didn't expect our sixth brother to be so skilled in alchemy and medicine. He can even refine such good things as Soul Bewildering Pills. This is far more powerful and practical than those low-level aphrodisiacs, almost on par with some intermediate pills."

"If I'm not mistaken, the techniques used to refine these Soul Bewildering Pills must include intermediate alchemy skills. In other words, sixth brother's alchemy has long reached the level of a low-level alchemist, he just hasn't taken the assessment yet. He might even be among the best of the low-level alchemists."

"Doesn't this mean sixth brother will soon be able to refine intermediate pills and become an intermediate alchemist? Such a young intermediate alchemist has a boundless future."

"We underestimated our sixth brother. To be able to refine such pills, how could his cultivation realm only be at the early stage of the Body Phase? Perhaps he isn't much weaker than us."

The group's perception of Qin Dongcheng had changed significantly.

If they had only taken care of him before because he saved Dong Hongyan, they had now truly accepted him.

Their team was filled with stunning beauties, so they were never short of people wanting to join; even some True Inheritance Disciples had considered joining their team, let alone Qin Dongcheng, an Outer Sect Disciple.

Without sufficient strength, even if he managed to mingle with them, he would eventually be alienated.

Now that he had revealed his ability to refine Soul Bewildering Pills, they finally began to take this sixth brother seriously.

Yet, no matter how much they guessed, they would never imagine that Qin Dongcheng's current strength was not a bit inferior to any of them.

Even Dong Hongyan, who had one foot in the Tendon Phase Realm, could not match Qin Dongcheng in combat power.

Having repaid the favor to Dong Hongyan and the others, Qin Dongcheng felt much more at ease. He couldn't just let these women work for free whenever they encountered demon-slaying missions; he couldn't bring himself to do that.

If there were more such demon-slaying missions in the future, he could safely let Dong Hongyan and the others help, allowing him to focus on his cultivation.

Although he didn't engage in much real combat, occasionally hunting wild beasts and sparring with Lu Gen and the others allowed his combat experience and techniques to skyrocket, making him no less capable than Dong Hongyan and the others in life-and-death struggles. This was the power of the Heaven Rewards Diligence System.

Occasional critical hits caused his combat experience and techniques to soar, placing him firmly at the top among martial artists of the same rank, and in many aspects, he could even keep up with martial artists of higher levels.

He was not comparable to other alchemists, artifact refiners, or formation masters; a whole group of martial artists at his level would be no match for him.

After taking on several demon-slaying missions, Dong Hongyan and the others hurried away from the Five Elements Mountain Range, likely not returning for another month.

Many disciples skilled in combat took this opportunity to accept numerous missions, earning a large amount of sect contributions and resources.

Most of the alchemists, artifact refiners, and formation masters bled heavily, paying those disciples skilled in demon-slaying to do their missions for them.

The once-ignored demon-slaying missions were quickly cleared out, and Luo Cloud Prefecture began to stabilize day by day.

Qin Dongcheng's cultivation returned to the right track. During this time, Zhen Le hadn't come looking for him; he was probably still recovering from his injuries, and Qin Dongcheng couldn't be bothered to check on his status.

With both legs broken, it would take at least a year or two to recover. By then, who knew what level Qin Dongcheng's strength would have reached.

If he dared to provoke him again, Qin Dongcheng was prepared to deal a heavy blow. One can be forgiven once or twice, but not three or four times.

"You have harvested a hundred-year-old ginseng. Congratulations on triggering a double critical hit! You have obtained two hundred-year-old ginsengs!"

To Qin Dongcheng's surprise, while harvesting a hundred-year-old ginseng worth a thousand gold, he triggered a double critical hit and obtained two, one of which was naturally his.

These were excellent materials for refining intermediate pills and above, each one a priceless treasure.

If Qin Dongcheng hadn't helped guide the grandson of an old handyman, he wouldn't have had the chance to harvest it. He hadn't expected to actually trigger a critical hit.

This old handyman, named Tian Liang, was over seventy years old. He had been a handyman in the Herb Field since he was a teenager, having worked there for over fifty years.

In the Herb Field he managed, several herbs over decades old grew, along with some around a hundred years old. He only harvested one occasionally and was one of the most skilled herb field handymen in the vicinity.

Even the various managers held the Herb Field he was responsible for in high regard and wouldn't let people in easily.

Qin Dongcheng had gained the opportunity to harvest those precious medicinal herbs by guiding his grandson in practicing the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist. A single critical hit harvest was worth more than all the energy and time he had spent guiding Tian Liang's grandson.

The harvest of this single hundred-year-old ginseng alone far exceeded the effort and time he had invested.