Looting Medicinal Herbs

"Hiss~"

Staring in astonishment at the enormous stockpile of medicinal herbs before him, Xiao Yan couldn't help but gasp. Behind him, even Xun Er, whose standards had risen considerably, couldn't help but cover her mouth in disbelief.

Too many!

Xiao WuXin watched Xiao Yan and the other's reactions with a smug look on his face. Little brat, you're so ignorant! When he first entered this place, he almost fainted from happiness.

With a slightly trembling finger, Xiao Yan pointed at the densely packed display cases of medicinal herbs in front of him and asked in a trembling voice, "Uncle Wuxin, are all these really medicinal herbs?"

This is simply a dreamlike scene.

"Of course." Xiao WuXin stood proudly and said calmly, "Alright, just pick whatever you like. Just tell me what you want."

What Xiao WuXin didn't say was that these were only a part of the whole; there were also some extremely rare medicinal herbs that needed to be preserved using special methods, so they weren't just put in the medicine cabinet like a hodgepodge.

And those are the most valuable!

"Thank you, Uncle Wuxin." Xiao Yan was unaware of all this; he was currently looking at the medicinal herbs with shining eyes.

However, Xiao Yan fortunately remembered Elder Yao 'Elder Yao instructions and said to him in his heart, "Teacher, just tell me what you've got your eye on!"

The Elder Yao remained silent. The Xiao Clan's terrifying stock of medicinal herbs had once again shattered his worldview. He was starting to doubt whether the other party was really just an ordinary Dou Zong family.

They've practically looted the entire Magical Beast Mountain Range! But soon, his Alchemist instincts took over...

And so, Xiao Yan listened to Elder Yao's internal monologue, which sounded like a country bumpkin's, "This is a fourth-grade medicinal herb, the Earth Demon Lotus, and it's five hundred years old! It's the main ingredient for refining the Earth Demon Pill! The Clear Heart Vine, the Joyful Union Flower, the Withered Wood Branch, the Heavenly Heart Marrow... these are all good stuff!"

Xiao Yan couldn't help but roll his eyes, thinking to himself, "Teacher, is this enough? Aren't you ashamed?" Elder Yao's behavior made him doubt whether he had made the wrong choice.

Isn't he a master alchemist whom even the Pill King Gu He looks down upon? Why would he value these medicinal herbs, which are at most fourth-grade, so much?

In fact, this was just a stress reaction caused by the Elder Yao not having been in contact with medicinal materials for a long time and suddenly encountering such a rich supply of medicinal materials.

It's like someone who has been starving for a long time suddenly seeing a Manchu Han Imperial Feast laid out in front of them—how could they possibly resist!

Otherwise, for Grandmaster Alchemist like him, there would be very few medicinal herbs left that could evoke his emotions.

"Hmph~" The Elder Yao realized he had been slightly out of line, so he quickly composed himself and reverted to his usual sage-like demeanor. "Now let's start looking for medicinal herbs!"

"Bone Cleansing Flower, Purple Leaf Orchid Grass, Azure Wood Lotus..."

Seeing the Xiao Clan's abundant supply of medicinal herbs, the Elder Yao had no intention of saving any and directly instructed Xiao Yan to prepare nearly a year's worth, selecting only the best quality herbs. In the end, Xiao Yan even felt a little embarrassed.

"Teacher, can you please go easy on me?" Xiao Yan pleaded, afraid he wouldn't be able to explain it to Uncle Wuxin!

"What are you afraid of? Do you think your uncle doesn't know what's going on?" In just a short while, Elder Yao once again directed Xiao Yan to take away a lot of medicinal herbs. He couldn't help but sigh to himself, "It's been a long time since I've experienced the feeling of squandering medicinal herbs. Ah, so satisfying!"

The extra medicinal herbs were naturally prepared by the Elder Yao to teach Xiao Yan the art of alchemy, and he also took many others that he thought would be useful.

However, the Elder Yao was shrewd and experienced; although he had a lot of things, most of them were actually worthless. They were just for beginners.

Moreover, with his sharp eyes, he could naturally tell that many extremely precious medicinal herbs were missing and were obviously stored elsewhere.

This is why the other party is so fearless: take whatever you want, I'll admit defeat if you feel any pain! Adhering to the principle of not taking advantage of a bargain, Elder Yao naturally won't hold back.

Finally, after about two hours of ransacking, Xiao Yan shakily ended his bandit-like act. Just as he turned around, he saw Xiao WuXin looking at him with a complicated expression.

Even with Xiao Yan's thick skin, he felt embarrassed at this moment and laughed, "Uncle Wuxin, I'm sorry, I took a little too much."

"Is this a little bit?" Xiao WuXin asked quietly, leaving Xiao Yan speechless and Xun Er covering her mouth and chuckling.

This was just a slight exaggeration, don't take the details so seriously!

"Don't worry, Uncle Wuxin, I won't use these medicinal herbs recklessly." Xiao Yan knew that the things he had taken were really too terrifying, so he assured him.

"Suit yourself. A gentleman's word is as good as his bond." Xiao WuXin waved his hand. "Since I said you could take whatever you wanted, these are yours."

"Thank you, Uncle Wuxin." Xiao Yan was overjoyed, and then hurriedly left the Medicine Hall with Xun Er under the other party's undisguised gaze.

"Hey, I wonder what the clan leader and this kid are up to." Xiao WuXin sighed as he watched Xiao Yan run away.

If Xiao Zhan hadn't personally given the order that Xiao Yan could take any medicinal herbs below the fourth rank, the latter would never have been able to pry so many things out of the Xiao Clan's treasury.

But...

Xiao WuXin frowned, recalling the medicinal herbs that Xiao Yan had taken away. Most of them were first-grade, and there were some second-grade ones, but very few.

A bold guess surfaced in his mind: Could it be that this kid is preparing to learn alchemy? But that doesn't make sense. Alchemy requires a master, and he hadn't heard of any Alchemist apprentices.

Shaking his head, Xiao WuXin finally gave up thinking about it. He figured he might as well refine a few more batches of pills instead. He then stepped into the Medicine Hall again.

On the other side, Xiao Yan couldn't wait to say goodbye to Xun Er and return to his room, excitedly saying, "Teacher, come out quickly! What was that method you mentioned?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a transparent figure floated out of the ring on Xiao Yan's hand. Although it wasn't the first time Xiao Yan had seen it, he still felt very uncomfortable.

However, these are not the main points. Xiao Yan is only concerned with whether he can break through to the Dou Zhe within a year and defeat Nalan Yanran in the Three-Year Agreement.

Hearing Xiao Yan's urging, Elder Yao scolded, "Look at how impatient you are, would I lie to you?"

However, this time, the Elder Yao didn't keep us in suspense any longer. His aged voice echoed in the room, "You should know that at the Dou Zhi Qi stage, the human body's meridians are extremely fragile and cannot withstand the cleansing power of elixirs. Therefore, the cultivation speed of Dou Zhi Qi is extremely slow."

Xiao Yan nodded, as Xiao HuoHuo deeply understood this. He had spent a full six years in the Dou Zhi Qi stage, and that was only because of his exceptional talent and the massive investment of resources from his family.

This is an axiom of the Fierce Qi Continent, but Xiao Yan knew that Elder Yao's words were not nonsense and there would definitely be a follow-up.

As expected, a look of pride suddenly appeared on Elder Yao's face. "But after many years of experimentation, I have finally developed a medicine that can work on the Dou Zhi Qi stage - Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid."

"Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid?" Xiao Yan murmured.

"That's right, Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid can greatly accelerate the Dou Zhi Qi stage and the speed at which the human body cultivates Dou Qi."

The effect was simple and direct, but Xiao Yan was susceptible to it.