Aromatic Silk Beauty, Immortal Herb

The silence lasted for a long time.

Suddenly.

Elder Xu rose from his chair again, an astonishing light bursting from his aged eyes. "I've got it! I've got it!"

"Child, you can still be saved! I've thought of a way!"

He grabbed Long Zhanye's hand and said urgently, "You said just now that Old Man Gu... knows how to refine elixirs and make medicine, right?"

Long Zhanye nodded blankly.

"Then that's it!" Elder Xu lowered his voice excitedly.

"Those who refine elixirs and make medicine, especially those obsessed with that path, have absolutely no resistance to one thing!"

"Aromatic Silk Beauty!"

"Aromatic Silk Beauty?" Long Zhanye repeated blankly.

"That's right! An immortal herb hailed as the 'bane of all poisons'! To every alchemist and poison master, it is a priceless treasure they dream of obtaining!"

"With it in hand, the success rate for refining many forbidden elixirs and neutralizing strange poisons will rise greatly! No true alchemist can resist its temptation!"

A shrewd gleam flickered in Elder Xu's eyes.

Long Zhanye asked anxiously, "Elder Xu, then... where is the Aromatic Silk Beauty? How can we obtain it?"

The excitement on Elder Xu's face faded slightly, replaced by a look of resolve. "Steal it!"

"Steal it?!"

"That's right. Our Body Sect's treasury contains an Aromatic Silk Beauty!"

"It was a rare treasure that the previous sect master, old Sect Master Du Bisi, seized at tremendous risk back then, even coming into conflict with Shrek Academy for it!"

"It has always been sealed away as the treasure guarding the treasury. Ordinary elders have no authority to use it."

"The treasury's guardian treasure?" Long Zhanye's heart sank again.

Elder Xu lowered his voice and said word by word, "Sect Master Du Busi is currently in closed-door cultivation, and Great Elder Golden Roc is temporarily overseeing all sect affairs..."

"But if we report this through the proper channels and wait for layer upon layer of approval, setting aside whether it would even pass, there definitely won't be enough time!"

"So... I'll risk defying all convention for once and act first, report later! I'll go... steal it!"

Long Zhanye was stunned and hurriedly shook his head. "Elder Xu, how can you do that?!"

"That's the treasury's guardian treasure! If this is exposed, you..."

"There's no time to worry about that!" Elder Xu cut him off decisively.

"Use it as a bargaining chip and make a deal with that Old Man Gu! As long as he agrees to treat you, we'll offer this immortal herb as payment!"

"Once your stubborn illness is cured, the sect will gain a future pillar. Then I'll go beg the sect master for punishment!"

"One immortal herb in exchange for the rebirth of a peerless genius and hope for the sect's future—no matter how you calculate it, it's worth it!"

Seeing that Long Zhanye was still worried, he patted his shoulder and forced out a comforting smile.

"Don't worry, child."

"Grandpa Xu has been in the sect for so many years. I know the treasury guards fairly well. If I'm careful, it may not be impossible."

"You just stay here and wait peacefully!"

With that, Elder Xu stopped hesitating, turned around, and strode out.

"Grandpa Xu!" Long Zhanye watched his swiftly disappearing back vanish through the door, his heart engulfed by immense guilt and gratitude.

Several days passed, yet the side room remained deathly silent inside and out.

Long Zhanye thought that perhaps even Elder Xu had ultimately run out of options and could not retrieve that treasure guarding the treasury.

It seemed even this final sliver of hope would be crushed.

He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling with hollow eyes. Even his sorrow seemed to have gone numb.

On the afternoon when he was almost ready to give up completely, hurried yet deliberately muffled footsteps approached from afar and stopped outside the door.

Then, with a creak, the door was pushed open, and a travel-worn, somewhat disheveled figure slipped inside.

It was Elder Xu!

His face was filled with a mingling of panic, tension, and lingering fear, with cold sweat still wet on his forehead.

The instant he entered, he spun around and tightly shut the door, even bolting it, moving as quickly as a thief.

Then, instead of immediately going to Long Zhanye, he first peered anxiously through the crack in the door for quite some time.

After listening intently for a moment and confirming there was no movement outside, he finally let out a long breath and swayed as though he had been drained of all strength.

He turned around and saw Long Zhanye sitting up in bed. A complicated expression blending excitement and danger burst from his eyes.

He rushed to the bedside in several steps, his voice extremely low but unable to conceal his excitement. "Zhanye! Grandpa Xu... brought it!"

As he spoke, he carefully took something from the inner layer of his close-fitting clothes.

It was wrapped in layer after layer of soft silk.

His fingers trembled slightly as he peeled back the silk layer by layer with utmost care.

At last, a strange plant appeared before Long Zhanye.

It was a flower. Its pale pink petals were as thin as cicada wings, yet seemed carved from the purest crystal.

The petals layered over one another, while the center was a slightly darker pale violet. That violet was rich and pure, like a solidified purple diamond, radiating a mysterious and noble aura.

The entire flower had neither roots nor soil, yet it remained brimming with life. An elegant, rich medicinal fragrance that refreshed the heart spread outward.

In an instant, it filled the entire room and invigorated everyone's spirits.

Merely smelling that fragrance, Long Zhanye could sense the extraordinary nature of this immortal herb!

"Aromatic Silk Beauty..." Elder Xu looked at the immortal herb he had obtained at such enormous effort and risk.

His eyes burned, but even more than that, he was overwhelmed with the excitement of relief. "Grandpa Xu... did his best."

"What comes next depends on you, child. You must convince that Old Man Gu!"

Long Zhanye suppressed the wild joy and bitterness in his heart. He knew the weight of this immortal herb.

He reached out with both hands and accepted it. Its slight weight now felt as heavy as a thousand jun, pressing down on his heart.

This would be his only hope, the key that would determine whether he lived or died!

That night, the moonlight was hazy.

Holding that scalding hope close to his chest, Long Zhanye once again arrived at the entrance to the hidden underground cavern.

Knowing the way well, he pushed open the wooden door and headed straight toward where Elder Gu was.

When he knocked on that tightly shut wooden door, Elder Gu's impatient voice immediately came from within. "Who is it?!"

There was a trace of irritation in his voice, as though he did not even want to ask who had come.

"Elder Gu, it's me, Long Zhanye," Long Zhanye said calmly outside the door.

There was silence inside for a moment, followed by an even more impatient dismissal. "You? What are you here for again?"

"Didn't I make myself clear? I won't see you! Go back!"

Clearly, Elder Gu had made up his mind not to have anything further to do with this "troublesome" youth.

Long Zhanye was not discouraged. He raised his voice slightly, his tone respectful yet firm. "Elder Gu, you need not see me."

"But this junior begs you, no matter what, come out and look at one thing. Just one look!"

Elder Gu inside seemed to have had his curiosity stirred by those words, "one thing."

Or perhaps Long Zhanye's unusual persistence had irritated him, and he wanted to send him away as quickly as possible.

A rustling sound came from inside, followed by footsteps approaching the door and stopping there, but the door did not open.

"Look at what? What could possibly be worth seeing?" Elder Gu's voice came through the door, still stiff and unyielding.

Long Zhanye said no more. He slowly took out the silk wrapping from his chest and carefully lifted one corner.

At once.

That elegant, distinctive, rich medicinal fragrance seeped through the gaps in the poorly sealed door, drifting inside in thin strands.

Inside, Elder Gu, who had been about to rebuke him again, suddenly caught his breath!

That medicinal fragrance... was fresh and rich, containing an indescribably vast life force and pure aura.

He had studied medicinal herbs and elixirs for years, yet had never smelled such a peculiar, high-grade fragrance. Merely inhaling a trace of it made him feel invigorated.

"This... this is..." Elder Gu's voice changed instantly.

His irritation and impatience vanished in an instant, replaced by extreme shock, suspicion, and incredulous excitement.