Bibi Dong Reconfirms the Importance of Immortal Herbs

After the palace banquet concluded, Qin Yao returned to the Sunset Forest with Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling.

Once he had safely stowed away the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, he began his cultivation.

Qin Yao's life soon returned to its previous rhythm.

He practiced on his own in the mornings, took time in the afternoons to instruct Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, and continued training through the evenings.

Once every month, he would head into Heaven Dou City to spend the better part of a day in the back garden of the Crown Prince's Residence.

Dugu Yan had long since grown accustomed to this schedule. Every morning on the day Qin Yao was set to enter the city, she would unfailingly hang his black-gold robe at the entrance of the stone cave, along with a neatly folded, clean hair ribbon.

The first few times Ye Lingling witnessed this, she assumed it was some sort of special arrangement, only realizing the truth later on.

"He goes to see that Young Master every single month?"

Dugu Yan, busy organizing the clothes drying on the rock wall, didn't even turn her head.

"Like clockwork. No matter what he was doing the day before, he goes the next day, rain or shine."

Ye Lingling fell silent for a moment. "And that Young Master, she..."

"The Young Master waits for him just as unfailingly."

Dugu Yan replied calmly.

When Qin Yao instructed the two in their cultivation, his style mirrored his personality: cold, rigid, direct, and devoid of nonsense.

Dugu Yan had already adapted, but Ye Lingling had suffered quite a bit at the beginning.

"The release range of your Nine Heart Begonia is not small, but in actual combat, your teammates cannot all stand within three meters of you."

"But my soul power and mental strength aren't enough to support such a large range."

"Then train until they are. You are someone who has consumed immortal herbs; do you understand?"

Ye Lingling bit her lip, said nothing more, and obediently stepped back to practice again.

Dugu Yan sat cross-legged nearby, ears pricked, feeling a secret sense of satisfaction.

Good heavens, someone else was finally getting roasted by His Highness just like her.

However, although Qin Yao's words were merciless, his guidance was always incredibly useful.

Ye Lingling's problem was obvious: she relied too heavily on the healing properties of the Nine Heart Begonia itself while neglecting the efficiency of her soul power output.

To put it bluntly, her foundation was excellent, but she lacked training, and her actual combat experience was practically zero.

Qin Yao spent three days having Dugu Yan chase Ye Lingling, forcing Ye Lingling to maintain her healing arts while on the move.

More importantly, this was to build synergy between the two.

Qin Yao naturally could not be with them at all times; if there were missions in the future, the two would be a team.

On the first day, Ye Lingling collapsed on the ground, unable to get up, and cried for half an hour.

On the second day, she only cried for ten minutes.

On the third day, she didn't cry, but she had become somewhat traumatized by Dugu Yan.

"Yanzi, don't come over here!"

"His Highness told me to chase you, so I have to chase you. Can't you just stop running so slowly?"

"Can you put away the poison in your hands first!"

"If I put it away, how can we simulate real combat? Don't worry, Lingling, I've controlled the dosage; at most, your arm will just go numb."

"You said that last time too! My whole arm was numb for an hour!"

Qin Yao sat on a rock in the distance, watching the two run back and forth across the valley floor, occasionally correcting Ye Lingling's posture.

Although Ye Lingling had a cold temperament, she was soft-hearted by nature. When pushed to the limit, she would only complain a little, but the next second she would still practice honestly.

This obedient personality was perfectly suited for a healing-type support.

Dugu Yan, on the other hand, was increasingly taking on the air of an "instructor." Her movements while chasing were crisp; she released poison when she needed to and used Serpent Shadow Entanglement without a hint of hesitation.

Sometimes, Qin Yao would add a few words after training concluded.

"Dugu Yan, the diffusion speed of your Jade Phosphorous Purple Poison can be faster. Next time, try infusing soul power pulses into the poison mist to increase the penetration efficiency of the toxin particles."

"Yes!"

"Ye Lingling, continue to practice hard."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Qin Yao stood up to leave, paused, and then added:

"You were better today than you were yesterday."

Ye Lingling froze, her face flushing red.

Dugu Yan made faces from behind:

"See? His Highness praised you."

"Shut up," Ye Lingling replied in a low voice.

Dugu Yan grinned, leaning in close to Ye Lingling's ear:

"That 'shut up' of yours, you learned that from the Holy Son, didn't you?"

Ye Lingling's face turned even redder.

The days passed at a leisurely pace.

Qin Yao's Soul Power Level continued to climb from level fifty-three.

Dugu Yan's soul power was also growing; the cultivation effects within the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well were truly formidable.

Ye Lingling showed the most progress. Under the dual enhancement of the lingering medicinal effects of the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid and the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, her soul power climbed to level forty-two within a single month.

In the blink of an eye, two months passed.

Martial Soul City, Pope Palace.

Bibi Dong sat upright on the papal throne, holding a newly delivered intelligence report in her hand.

The one reporting was Yue Guan.

He knelt in the center of the great hall, his tone respectful and steady:

"Salas reports that over the last two months, Holy Son Qin Yao has mostly been absent from the city. According to my subordinates' findings, he has been in long-term secluded cultivation deep within the Sunset Forest."

Bibi Dong flipped a page of the report.

Written on it was Qin Yao's latest Soul Power Level: fifty-three, a five-ring Soul King.

Bibi Dong closed the report and set it on the armrest.

A while back, Qian Daoliu had sent word that Qin Yao had broken through eight levels in three months, jumping from forty-three to fifty-one. At the time, she had found it absurd.

Now, a few more months had passed, and that number had become fifty-three.

Just what kind of monster was the Worship Hall cultivating?

"Yue Guan."

"This subordinate is here."

"That immortal herb you mentioned before, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum."

Bibi Dong tapped her fingers lightly on the cover of the report.

"What is your level now?"

Yue Guan lowered his head: "Reporting to the Pope, after I consumed the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, my soul power broke through to level ninety-six."

The hall fell silent instantly.

Bibi Dong did not speak.

The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum that Yue Guan had obtained from Qin Yao—Yue Guan had been stuck at the level ninety-five bottleneck for years without any progress, but that immortal herb had allowed him to break through directly.

The value of the immortal herbs had been verified once again.

Bibi Dong's fingers stopped moving.

"How many more immortal herbs does Qin Yao have on hand?"

Yue Guan carefully considered his wording: "As far as this subordinate knows, there are at least several more."

Bibi Dong was silent for a moment:

"How is Nana's cultivation progress?"

"Nana is currently a level forty-eight Soul Ancestor. Xie Yue and Yan are both level forty-nine, and both are about to break through to level fifty."

Bibi Dong picked up the report again, her heart still deeply tempted by the immortal herbs.

"Yue Guan, what do you think could move the Holy Son to trade his immortal herbs?"

Yue Guan looked up, his tone very direct: "A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, or an External Soul Bone. Aside from those, this subordinate cannot think of anything else."

Bibi Dong tapped her fingers against the armrest a few times.

Martial Soul Hall did not have many Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones in its inventory, and every single one had a designated purpose; they could not be moved easily.

However, Bibi Dong did have something in her possession that was not quite top-tier, but was definitely something she could offer.

A fifty-thousand-year Mental Aggregation Wisdom Skull.

This skull came from a fifty-thousand-year-old mental-type soul beast, and its quality was considered top-notch among fifty-thousand-year soul bones.

It was originally intended to be the grand prize for the Spirit Master Tournament. If the Martial Soul Hall team won, Hu Liena would have received this head bone, but now, the immortal herbs were more important.