Clear Heart Pill (Seeking Recommendations, Collections!)

"How do you intend to sell this guide?"

Ye Qin's expression remained unchanged, his tone flat, as if he were inquiring about something entirely worthless.

The dark-skinned man had been carefully observing Ye Qin's demeanor, but seeing that Ye Qin remained indifferent after flipping through the guide—not treating it as anything of significance—he couldn't help but feel a slight sense of disappointment. Still, since Ye Qin had asked for a price, he pushed the book with effort.

"This Illustrated Guide to Rare Herbs is truly excellent. It doesn't just contain detailed illustrations; it also includes complete formulas. If you, little brother, could manufacture any of the medicines inside to sell, you would absolutely make a fortune. It's a pity I'm not in this line of work and don't understand pharmacy, otherwise, I would never sell this book. One price: one Gold Leaf. It's an absolute bargain. What do you think, little brother?"

"I believe the herbs recorded inside are indeed rare, as I have seen every single one of them in the herb manual at the Herb Gathering Hall—not a single one missing. But to ask for a Gold Leaf? Aren't you trying to swindle me? This book isn't worth that much. Ten Silver Leaves at most. If you're willing to sell, I'll take it; if not, forget it."

Ye Qin held the tattered Illustrated Guide to Rare Herbs in his hand and brushed the dust off the cover.

The man grew anxious. "How is it not worth that much? It contains medicinal formulas! Any single formula is worth that price."

Ye Qin let out a cold laugh. "The rare herbs recorded inside simply cannot be found. What good is a formula if you don't have the ingredients? I've been at the Herb Gathering Hall for years, and I haven't seen more than a few of these herbs. Furthermore, the Hall is full of formulas; the ones attached here aren't exactly unique. If you don't believe me, take this guide to the Herb Gathering Hall and try to sell it to the masters there. See if they'll even take it."

Hearing Ye Qin mention selling the book to the Herb Gathering Hall, the dark-skinned man's spirit deflated. In truth, he had already been to the Hall, hoping to sell the guide for a high price, but one of the herb-appraisal masters had only glanced at it for a moment before tossing it back, claiming the book was full of long-recorded herbs and common formulas with no real value. Selling it to the Hall for a high price was impossible.

The man had been looking for a young, inexperienced disciple from the Herb Gathering Hall to offload the book onto, and he had happened upon Ye Qin. He just hadn't expected Ye Qin to be so experienced and sharp-eyed—he wasn't going to be fooled.

"Don't look at it as if the rare herbs and formulas make this book valuable. At most, it's worth ten Silver Leaves. Ordinary people have no use for it because they don't know how to identify or process herbs. For those of us who specialize in this, it's a chicken rib—the herbs are too rare, not seen for ten or twenty years, or even absent for the last fifty or sixty years. Let alone making medicine, what use is a book with formulas but no ingredients? I'm only buying this to keep as a reference."

"Fifty Silver Leaves!"

"Thirteen!"

"Twenty. That's the price. Any lower and I won't sell!"

The dark-skinned man's face was full of heartache as he gritted his teeth.

Ye Qin thought for a moment. This price was within his psychological limit, so he took out twenty Silver Leaves and exchanged them for the Illustrated Guide to Rare Herbs. Afterward, Ye Qin continued to browse other stalls in the market, hoping to find spirit stones. But after searching the entire market, he found nothing of note.

Unless he tested them personally, it was difficult to determine if a stone could be moved into his Purple Mansion using his divine sense. However, in a crowded public market, he couldn't possibly attempt such a thing. He could only rely on visual inspection and intuition to see if the stones on the stalls were spirit stones. Unfortunately, such visual inspection was almost entirely ineffective, as simple observation could not distinguish between a spirit stone and an ordinary rock.

Finding nothing, Ye Qin left the market with his only purchase, the Illustrated Guide to Rare Herbs.

Although he hadn't found any spirit stones, obtaining this guide was a significant gain. On the final few pages, he had unexpectedly seen an illustration of Dew Grass: a solitary little blade of grass with a single drop of dew hanging from its tip.

When he first saw the image at the stall, he had nearly revealed his astonishment. Fortunately, he had already cultivated the first layer of Sitting and Forgetting Selflessness, which allowed him to completely control his expressions; otherwise, he would have surely shown his shock on the spot.

Leaving the trade market and walking along the streets of the county town, Ye Qin couldn't wait to open the guide again to confirm that it was indeed Dew Grass. The guide even referred to this exceptionally rare little plant as "Dew Grass," a very fitting name.

It also recorded the herb's flavor, medicinal effects, and physical characteristics.

Included was a medicinal formula that used the precious Dew Grass as the primary ingredient, along with a dozen other rare but not priceless herbs as secondary ingredients, to create a top-grade restorative medicine known as the Clear Heart Pill, specifically designed to treat internal energy deviation in martial artists.

As far as Ye Qin knew, there were many types of medicines for treating internal energy deviation, categorized into low, medium, high, and top grades, each capable of suppressing different levels of damage. The more severe the deviation, the higher the grade of medicine required to resolve it.

The Clear Heart Pill belonged to the top-grade category and could treat even the most severe symptoms of internal energy deviation. However, because Dew Grass was so rare, such top-grade medicine had not appeared in the martial arts circles of Ping Province for decades.

Most of the restorative medicines currently available in the martial arts world were between the high and low grades.

Among the first-class and top-tier experts in Ping Province, the number of people who died from internal energy deviation every year was by no means small. Having a Clear Heart Pill was almost equivalent to having an extra life-saving talisman.

Ye Qin still had dozens of stalks of Dew Grass stored in his Purple Mansion, so he considered crafting a Clear Heart Pill or two for himself, just in case. If he ever hit a snag during his cultivation, he would have a life-saving medicine on hand. Since the main ingredient was readily available, using one stalk of Dew Grass wouldn't significantly impact his cultivation progress.

Ye Qin tucked the guide away and weighed his coin purse. With over one hundred and sixty Silver Leaves left, he walked briskly toward the jade shops in the county town. He didn't hold high hopes, merely intending to take a casual look. If he could find a spirit stone, that would be for the best; if not, there was nothing to be done.

Those who specialized in the jade business would certainly be more familiar with various strange stones than he was, and perhaps they would know where to find stones filled with spiritual energy. Even if he had to pay a heavy price, he was determined to obtain one.