At the far end of his vision, along the edge of the Medicine Garden, three adjoining, seemingly unremarkable plots came into view.
From a distance, he could see a blood-colored vine growing in one of them.
The vine was only three feet long and translucent throughout, with fine red threads faintly visible inside, as though blood flowed through it.
In the second plot, an azure immortal fungus lay hidden beneath several withered leaves.
Three milky-white streaks flowed slowly across its surface, and occasionally a crystalline drop of medicinal dew slid off its edge.
The last plot was a nearly dried-up stone pool.
Within it stood a jade-colored lotus, with only a few petals that had yet to wither.
Only a shallow layer of water remained beneath the lotus.
As Su Shi'er looked over, he could faintly see a hazy lotus silhouette manifesting on its own beside the flower.
"Red marrow immortal vine, azure essence immortal fungus, Soul-Quelling Jade Lotus!"
Su Shi'er named them one after another, unable to conceal the delight on his face.
He had long since committed the appearances of the three main ingredients in the pill formula to memory.
The three immortal medicinal plants before him matched those descriptions exactly.
But before Su Shi'er could approach them, something happened.
The ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled slightly.
The little water remaining in the stone pool rapidly seeped underground through cracks in its bottom.
The hazy lotus silhouette beside the jade lotus began to waver as well.
The smile vanished from Su Shi'er's face, and his gaze swiftly shifted farther away.
Behind the plots, a fissure that had originally been only an inch wide was silently expanding.
Spatial fluctuations flickered faintly within it.
As the fissure widened, the ancient runes that had connected the plots were gradually pulled