Entering the Medicine King Pavilion

Before Jiang Lu could finish speaking, two shrieks rang out.

Chi Li and Cangchen stared wide-eyed at each other, their pupils dilated, disbelief written all over their faces. The two of them had recovered a tiny bit of their strength!

Before forming the contract, they had not possessed even a trace of spiritual power!

Chi Li opened her mouth and spat a ball of fire to one side. Cangchen immediately sprayed out a burst of water to douse it, then began laughing uproariously.

"Hahahaha—"

Heaven had not abandoned them!

Do not be fooled by the fact that they had only recovered the strength of the first rank. Against these ordinary demon beasts and spirit beasts of the lower realm, they could still fight even opponents at the third rank!

Just wait until they turned the lower realm upside down!

Seeing the smug looks that had suddenly appeared on the two of them, Jiang Lu faintly sensed something ominous. Could these two be huge troublemakers?

But when she looked again at their obedient appearances, they did not seem like it.

Hopefully, she was overthinking it.

Now that she knew this tree hollow had been made by these two little creatures, there naturally were no treasures inside. She placed them on her shoulders, one on each side, and walked out of the cave.

"Do you two know anything about this place?"

Jiang Lu asked as she walked.

"Master, we don't know." At her words, Chi Li awkwardly tucked her head into her feathers.

Would Master abandon them because she thought they were useless?

Chi Li and Cangchen exchanged a look, helplessness surfacing in their eyes. No, they could not sit still and await doom. There could only be the two of them by Master's side!

Jiang Lu had no idea of the storm clouds churning in the beasts' eyes. She led them through twists and turns until they emerged from the dense forest.

There seemed to be quite a few presences lurking in the shadows outside the forest. Yet the instant she emerged, those presences stiffened.

The cultivators who would usually leap out from hiding to rob people acted as though they had not seen her and continued watching the forest entrance.

As for why no one robbed Jiang Lu after she emerged from the forest, it was entirely because she looked poorer than anyone else. She did not even have a cloth sack to carry things in, and the two spirit beasts on her shoulders were merely first-rank.

They did not believe she possessed a storage pouch. Dressed in those rags, she was not worth a second glance even on the road.

What was more, she was only at the first level of Qi Refinement, yet she had already contracted spirit beasts—two of them at that. Only cultivators with limited talent would do such a thing.

To put it bluntly, they simply did not think Jiang Lu's meager belongings were worth taking.

Jiang Lu swaggered out of the forest, only to spot a crowd gathered before a notice board in the distance.

Only when she approached did she learn why.

The West River City branch of the Medicine King Pavilion was recruiting apprentices. The Medicine King Pavilion spread throughout the entire Crimson Wasteland Spirit Domain. Its strength did not fall short of the three supreme sects or the ten great aristocratic families. Most alchemists and pharmacists chose to join the Medicine King Pavilion, and for that very reason, its influence had grown ever more immense, making it one of the foremost powers.

However, its requirements for recruiting apprentices were strict. Applicants had to be Rogue Cultivators who had never joined any force, be at least at the first level of Qi Refinement, and possess either a Fire Spirit Root or a Wood Spirit Root.

A Rogue Cultivator was a cultivator without the support of a Lineage. Those from Qi Refinement families could also try their luck, but those from Foundation Establishment families were expressly forbidden.

This was also to prevent them from becoming too entangled with various factions. After all, once a Lineage became a Foundation Establishment family, many would choose to attach themselves to one power or another.

Others might not qualify, but Jiang Lu fit the requirements perfectly. Standing before the notice board, she carefully read the conditions for becoming an apprentice.

If you can't find the book by searching its title, try searching for the author instead. It may simply have been renamed!

Having arrived in another world, Jiang Lu was like someone with both eyes plunged into darkness. She needed systematic learning and an understanding of this world's rules, and the Medicine King Pavilion happened to suit her needs.

Besides, she urgently needed a place where she could learn about this world and study.

Joining the Medicine King Pavilion did not mean one would belong to the faction forever. So long as one did not take anything that should not be taken, there would be a chance to leave in the end. After leaving, one could still claim to have stayed at the Medicine King Pavilion. If one truly had ability, one would not fare poorly.

Following the directions on the notice, she headed for the branch pavilion in West River City. Quite a few other cultivators accompanied her, all hoping to give it a try as well.

When Jiang Lu arrived before the Medicine King Pavilion, she saw that it occupied no small area. The place where pills and spirit herbs were sold had three floors. Even such a remote branch possessed a building like this; in other cities, it would surely be even more magnificent.

Registration was in the corner to the right of the entrance. When she walked over, she saw two fairly long lines already formed, and immediately stepped behind one of them.

Many cultivators lowered their heads in disappointment and left. Had they not said that anyone meeting the requirements could apply? It seemed there were other methods of screening that had not been disclosed.

Soon, it was Jiang Lu's turn. The person seated behind the desk looked up at her, pointed at the crystal on the table, and said airily,

"Put your hand on it."

Jiang Lu did not understand why, but she placed her hand on it. The crystal slowly turned green.

"That will do. Take this wooden token to the back."

Seeing the crystal turn green, he gave her a satisfied look and said with a smile.

What he tested here was one's degree of sensitivity toward plants. Though some cultivators possessed Wood Spirit Roots, their perception of plants was not particularly strong, so recruiting them would be of little use.

Moreover, many of those who came possessed Fire Spirit Roots or Wood Spirit Roots, but very few met the requirements. Who could blame this place for being so remote?

Having finally recruited one, he was naturally pleased.

Jiang Lu walked toward the back in a daze, holding the wooden token. She had passed just like that?

Then she grew happy. Hehe!

"You're a disciple who passed the test, right?"

Seeing someone arrive, the disciple in gray raised her head to look at Jiang Lu. Someone had finally come. She let out a breath and asked gently.

Jiang Lu nodded.

"What is your name? Where are you from?"

The female cultivator took the wooden token from Jiang Lu and set it aside.

"Jiang Lu, from the Mortal Realm."

The female cultivator paused at her words and could not help looking Jiang Lu over a few more times. This female cultivator was young and had come from the Mortal Realm, yet she possessed her current strength. She must have encountered some sort of fortuitous opportunity.

Then, upon noticing the two spirit beasts on her shoulders, she wore an expression of understanding.

Since she had come from the Mortal Realm, she was certainly a Rogue Cultivator. They were not afraid that cultivators would lie, because the consequences were not something they could bear.

Spiritual power flowed around her fingertips as she engraved Jiang Lu's name onto the wooden token. A flash of green light passed over it, and she instructed Jiang Lu to imprint a trace of her aura into it. Her disciple token was complete, and Jiang Lu took it into her hand.

She then followed Yue Ying toward the back.

"My name is Yue Ying. You can call me Senior Sister Yue or Senior Sister Ying. Like you, I'm an apprentice."

"I just arrived earlier than you. This is where we live. You can choose any room you like. All the daily necessities have been prepared inside. For these next two days, you can look around. Once apprentice recruitment is finished tomorrow, we'll naturally tell you what you need to do."

Jiang Lu nodded. This was truly perfect timing. Had she arrived one day later, she would have missed this opportunity.

After asking a few more questions, she chose one of the rooms and settled in.