Heart Nourisher

Ning Xiaochuan crushed the Nourishing Heart Grass, absorbed it into his bloodstream, and drew it into the Heart Nourishing Cauldron.

He held two Low-Grade Profound Stones in his hands, using Martial Dao Profound Qi to grind them into crystal grains. He absorbed them into his blood and into the Heart Nourishing Cauldron.

Everyone had heartfire within their bodies, and its energy was incomparably immense. The heartfire of a martial artist at the Profound Qi Fourth Level was even more powerful, enough to refine Nourishing Heart Grass.

The medicinal vapor of the Nourishing Heart Grass had originally been gaseous, but now it began to liquefy.

The first drop of Heart Nourishing Elixir successfully condensed.

It worked! He could become a Heart Nourisher! Ning Xiaochuan was thrilled. This single drop of Heart Nourishing Elixir was worth eight thousand Small Coin, four times the value of a First Grade Nourishing Heart Grass.

Continue!

Only a small portion of the Nourishing Heart Grass's medicinal vapor had been consumed. He could still condense more Heart Nourishing Elixir! The second drop condensed!

The third drop of Heart Nourishing Elixir!

In the end, he failed to condense a fourth drop. After all, this was his first time refining Nourishing Heart Grass. Being able to condense three drops of Heart Nourishing Elixir was already quite remarkable.

The vast majority of Heart Nourishers could only condense one drop of Heart Nourishing Elixir when refining Nourishing Heart Grass for the first time. Only exceptional geniuses could grasp the techniques of refining Mysterious Medicine in a single attempt and produce two drops of Heart Nourishing Elixir.

"Only three drops? It would have been great if I could condense the fourth. Then I could earn another eight thousand Small Coin. Sigh! This will have to do!"

The three drops of Heart Nourishing Elixir were wrapped in Martial Dao Profound Qi and carried out through his blood vessels, dripping from Ning Xiaochuan's fingertips into three small bottles he had prepared beforehand.

The Heart Nourishing Elixir was green, each drop no larger than a bead of dew, carrying a fragrant, sweet scent.

Ning Xiaochuan hurriedly capped the three bottles. These were treasures! They must not evaporate! Three drops of Heart Nourishing Elixir were roughly worth twenty-four thousand Small Coin, ten times their original value.

As for the damaged Low-Grade Profound Stone, it had originally been the size of a spade, but now it had shrunk by a circle, with roughly one-tenth consumed.

"Haha! Now I'm really going to get rich!"

Naturally, Ning Xiaochuan was exhilarated. Now that he had become a Heart Nourisher, wealth would come rolling in like a river!

"The Profound Qi in my body has increased again. Refining Mysterious Medicine can actually increase cultivation too. This is truly killing two birds with one stone."

What Ning Xiaochuan did not know was that other Heart Nourishers could not increase their cultivation while refining Mysterious Medicine. Only a freak like him, possessing the Seven Aperture God Demon Heart Palace, could achieve such a thing.

Because his Heart Nourishing Cauldron was placed within a Heart Aperture, while refining Mysterious Medicine, the Heart Nourishing Cauldron also refined the Profound Stone grains, turning them into threads of Profound Qi. The Heart Aperture assimilated them and fused them into his bloodstream, naturally increasing his cultivation.

Other Heart Nourishers, however, kept their Heart Nourishing Cauldrons inside their Martial Heart Palaces. Martial Heart Palaces naturally repelled foreign objects, so the Profound Qi within Profound Stones could not be directly absorbed by them and could only merge into the medicinal liquid.

It was precisely for this reason that martial artists could not directly absorb Mysterious Medicine into their blood. Both the blood and heart rejected external substances. Only pills refined through a Heart Nourisher's Heart Nourishing Cauldron could be directly absorbed.

In short, a Heart Aperture could contain any foreign object, then assimilate it and turn it into something beneficial to its owner.

Condensing the Heart Nourishing Cauldron and refining the Nourishing Heart Grass took Ning Xiaochuan most of the day. It was already late, and dusk had arrived.

Ning Xiaochuan planned to sell the three drops of Heart Nourishing Elixir right away.

Ning Xiaochuan arrived before an enormous six-story building. Jade pillars, red walls, and stone-paved floors made it appear exceptionally solemn and magnificent. Many people entered and exited, most of them martial artists.

A gold-inlaid plaque hung above the entrance—Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall.

The Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall was one of the Yulan Empire's three foremost Heart Nourishing Halls. It was enormously wealthy and powerful, one of the pillar industries of the Golden Roc Conglomerate. It had many Branch Halls throughout the Yulan Empire and had even recruited quite a number of Heart Nourishers of its own.

Rumor had it that the Golden Roc Conglomerate's hidden master was the current Yulan Empire's foremost king—the Great Golden Roc King! Its backing was naturally as solid as iron.

"Young lady, I would like to sell some Heart Nourishing Elixir. Which counter should I go to?" Ning Xiaochuan politely bowed to a maid at the entrance and asked in a humble manner.

"You're a Heart Nourisher?" The maid looked only sixteen or seventeen. Her skin was fair and tender, and she wore clean white clothes. She asked curiously.

Ning Xiaochuan thought for a moment, revealed a mouthful of snow-white teeth, and smiled as he nodded.

"Heavens! Heart Nourisher, it should be this servant who bows to you. Forgive me, forgive me! This servant did not understand the rules and neglected you, Heart Nourisher." The maid's lovely face turned pale in fright as she hurriedly knelt to salute Ning Xiaochuan.

The young man before her was a great Heart Nourisher, while she was merely a maid. How could she dare let a Heart Nourisher bow to her? If word got out, her legs would surely be broken.

Ning Xiaochuan had not expected a simple gesture of courtesy to make her so terrified. Feeling somewhat apologetic, he hurriedly smiled. "I only came to sell a few drops of Heart Nourishing Elixir. I'll have to trouble you to lead the way. Thank you!"

Still shaken, the maid saw that the Heart Nourisher had not blamed her. Only then did she rise and respectfully lead Ning Xiaochuan into the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall.

The other three maids also let out sighs of relief and stood up. One patted her chest and said, "Good thing the Heart Nourisher did not get angry."

"This Heart Nourisher is so kind. He doesn't have that lofty, unapproachable air at all, and he's so young. If only he would take a liking to me and let me become his maid." Another maid looked utterly smitten, her eyes practically brimming with peach blossoms.

"Keep dreaming! Do you think just anyone can become a Heart Nourisher's maid? Even the young ladies of many great families want to become a Heart Nourisher's maid. That way, they might receive the Heart Nourisher's guidance and benefit without end!"

To these maids, the status of a Heart Nourisher was beyond reach. The Hall Master of the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall, for instance, was a Grand Heart Nourisher, an honored guest of royal and marquis residences, a figure who stood on equal footing with kings and marquises!

"Heart Nourisher, please wait here for a moment. This servant will immediately invite the steward." The maid led Ning Xiaochuan to a counter, then gracefully withdrew.

Ning Xiaochuan smiled and nodded. After waiting a moment, he saw a beautiful woman in a Heart Nourisher Robe emerge from behind the counter. He hurriedly stepped forward, took out three small bottles, placed them on the counter, and said with a smile, "Steward, there are three drops of Heart Nourishing Elixir. How much do you think they are worth?"

Behind the counter stood a beautiful woman dressed in a moon-white robe. She gently lifted her sleeve, revealing a pair of fair, jade-like hands. Her fingers were like stalks of jade-green scallions, soft and slender.

Her bearing was elegant, her figure tall and graceful, and her skin snowy white. Every gesture of hers revealed an air of refinement.

Her name was Yu Qianqian, and she was the thirteenth princess of the Great Golden Roc King Residence!

Yu Qianqian's status was exceptionally noble. Wearing a Novice Heart Nourisher Robe, she had originally come to the Heart Nourishing Hall to seek instruction from Grand Heart Nourisher Guo Shidao. When she heard the maid report that a young Heart Nourisher had arrived at the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall, she came personally to receive him.

Yu Qianqian was curious. Every Heart Nourisher was a great figure worthy of respect, and if she could recruit one into the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall, that would naturally be for the best.

Although both were descendants of kings and marquises, Yu Qianqian was a princess, while Ning Xiaochuan was merely a sickly invalid of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion. Their statuses were as far apart as heaven and earth, so there had been no connection between them, and they had never met before. Even if they had met, someone of Yu Qianqian's status would never have formed an impression of a sickly invalid.

Yu Qianqian possessed an innate aura of nobility. Revealing a row of gleaming white teeth, she opened one of the small bottles. A fragrant and dense medicinal vapor wafted out. The scent was incomparably rich and pure. She stared in surprise at the thin youth across from her. "Did you refine this Heart Nourishing Elixir?"

Ning Xiaochuan said, "That's right. About how much can these three drops of Heart Nourishing Elixir sell for?"

"We must first test the grade, purity, and attribute of these three drops of Heart Nourishing Elixir before setting a price." Yu Qianqian summoned a maid and had the three small bottles sent to the second floor of the Heart Nourishing Hall.

Ning Xiaochuan was not worried that the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall would swallow his Heart Nourishing Elixir. To the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall, three drops of Heart Nourishing Elixir were far too insignificant.

Yu Qianqian's starry eyes were like twin pools reflecting autumn moons. She conversed with Ning Xiaochuan. "I am the Elementary Heart Nourisher Yu Qianqian. May I know how to address you, sir?"

"Ning Xiaochuan," Ning Xiaochuan said.

Yu Qianqian found the name somewhat familiar, but did not think much of it. "How long have you been a Heart Nourisher, Young Master Ning?"

"I just condensed my Heart Nourishing Cauldron today and refined Heart Nourishing Elixir for the first time," Ning Xiaochuan said.

"Then that means Young Master Ning has not officially become a Heart Nourisher yet?"

Delighted, Yu Qianqian immediately began trying to recruit Ning Xiaochuan. "Among the Three Great Heart Nourishing Halls, our Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall has always offered the best benefits. Heart Nourishers who join us receive many advantages: high monthly stipends, noble titles and official posts, cheaper Mysterious Medicine purchases than elsewhere, and lessons from Advanced Heart Nourishers every month. Would Young Master Ning consider it?"

"There's a monthly stipend every month?" Ning Xiaochuan asked.

For a doctor, the first consideration was naturally salary. One needed a stable income before considering other benefits.

Yu Qianqian said, "An Elementary Heart Nourisher who joins the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall receives a monthly stipend of five hundred thousand Small Coin. As seniority increases, the monthly stipend will increase accordingly."

"Five hundred... thousand." Ning Xiaochuan's heart skipped a beat. Without even thinking, he said, "All right. It's settled!"

He could not help it! It was a figure of wealth he simply could not refuse.

After all, Ning Xiner was a direct descendant of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion and a top genius in the Divine Body Realm, yet her monthly allowance was only five hundred thousand Small Coin.

The moment an Elementary Heart Nourisher joined the Golden Roc Heart Nourishing Hall, he would immediately rise to the status of a direct descendant of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion. Such was the nobility of a Heart Nourisher.

The maid returned carrying the three small bottles. She respectfully bowed to Yu Qianqian and said joyfully, "The test results are out. First Grade Heart Nourishing Elixir, supreme purity, and its attribute is... Primal Chaos Attribute!"