Making plans

Seeing Su Yan's expression, Xu Zhongdao offered an explanation. "Your body absorbs medicine better than that of an ordinary martial artist at the peak of Skin Refining, and you can bear the pain. So I've been gradually adjusting your medicines to suit your body and give you a push."

Su Yan's eyes flickered. "Analyze each specific problem according to its specific circumstances?"

Xu Zhongdao's eyes lit up. "Well said. Yes, that's exactly it. A thousand people have a thousand different bodies. Even the martial arts of different schools must be adjusted by each practitioner before they can reach minor or even major mastery, working out something that suits them."

"The same goes for medicine. The pills on the market can be used by most people, and they certainly work, but compromises have been made in certain respects. Surely you don't think an apothecary or alchemist is merely a tool for making medicine?"

Su Yan immediately shook his head. "Of course not. I just didn't expect it to be tailored to this extent."

"It doesn't usually go that far. Even wealthy households can, at most, have their health adjusted from time to time. They can't afford to have physicians and apothecaries constantly assist their cultivation."

That wasn't hard to understand. Having an apothecary continually adjust the cultivation resources you used according to your physical condition was no simple matter.

It required not only considerable manpower and resources, but also sufficient trust in the apothecary.

Otherwise, who would dare try something like this, starting off with several different poisons?

Su Yan, however, felt no fear. He bowed respectfully to Xu Zhongdao. "Thank you, Elder Xu."

Elsewhere in Cloudcang Town, in another large courtyard.

Gu Hong stood before an old man with his head lowered, his expression respectful. "Father, if we don't think of something soon, that old bastard Song Qi will have his injury cured."

"Then let him cure it."

Gu Changfeng wore black robes embroidered with gold-thread cloud patterns and a python-patterned waist guard. His figure resembled a fierce, sinewy wolf as he practiced his stance in the courtyard.

A half-formed wolf phantom appeared over his body, rising and falling with his breathing as though drawing in vital energy and channeling it into him.

Though he looked to be in his fifties or sixties, he was full of vigor, with some of a young man's vitality.

His eyes were cold as he said flatly, "He's wasted so many years. Even if he recovers, he'll only be in the Origin Nurturing Realm. Entering the True Intent Realm? A fool's dream."

"But he..."

"Hong, you must distinguish what matters most and what is most urgent."

Gu Changfeng cut him off. "The Wild Mountains will soon reopen. Miasma Valley, Ancient Forest Mountain, and Nine-Turn Peak have all been closed for over six or seven years. There should be plenty of precious savage beasts and Treasure Plants. Leaving Second Tier savage beasts aside for now, Second Tier Treasure Plants and mountain produce are worth a fortune."

He ended his Stance Training and exhaled at length. Faint white mist actually curled around him.

"Every faction will fight tooth and nail over them. If we don't prepare in advance, we'll suffer for it. The factions in town, the independent households in the mountains, and Pang Tianfeng stirring up trouble will all be difficult to handle. What does Song Qi amount to?"

Gu Changfeng sneered. "The chief told me that shortly after this expedition to open up the mountains, the upper sect will send people to collect tribute. That's the real prize."

"Father, you mean the Beast King Sect?"

Gu Hong's expression shifted, a hint of delight appearing on his face.

The Beast King Sect reigned supreme in Lingnan Prefecture. Even the Great Li Dynasty's prefectural Demon-Slaying Bureau was overshadowed by it. Numerous commandery cities, counties, and towns—especially the hundred thousand Wild Mountains of Lingnan Prefecture—were entirely under the Beast King Sect's sway.

First came the Beast King Sect. Only after it came sects such as the Nine Peaks Sect, the Lihuo Sacred Sect, and the Danxuan Sect, each holding its own renowned rivers, great mountains, and commanderies and counties.

The Great Li Dynasty controlled the populous cities, while the sects controlled renowned rivers and spiritual mountains. Each had its advantages and disadvantages, and they kept one another in check.

The sole exception was the Beast King Sect.

The Beast King Sect forged alliances far and wide and commanded savage beasts. Its strength was formidable, and many of its disciples descended from the mountains to establish themselves in the secular world. Its influence reached every commandery and county; calling it deeply rooted was no exaggeration.

The whole of Bailu Commandery lay within the Beast King Sect's sphere of control, and Cloudcang Town was naturally no exception.

Every household had some connection to the Beast King Sect, greater or lesser, through the offering of tribute.

They offered treasures and conducted trade, seeking protection and opportunities to rise another step.

For the Gu father and son, this was also an opportunity.

Gu Changfeng said, "The chief asked some Beast King Sect disciples about the situation. When the Beast King Sect comes this time, putting ordinary tribute aside, each faction will fight for places to send people into the sect as usual. That has little to do with us."

Gu Hong's eyes chilled, but he nodded. "The upper sect's requirements are extremely high. No matter how capable Cloudcang Town's martial artists under twenty-five are, it's still difficult for them to gain admission."

Gu Changfeng's tone grew solemn. "That's why we must fight for a chance to become registered secular disciples. If we offer enough treasures and render meritorious service, obtaining even one Beast King Sect cultivation method would be a windfall as vast as the heavens. Even if your generation can't enter the sect, the next generation could have a chance."

His father's words stirred Gu Hong's heart. If that truly happened, never mind entering the Origin Nurturing Realm—he might even have a chance to break through to the True Intent Realm and become a figure second to none.

"Father, there are still the first chief, the second chief... and the experts from every faction. With True Intent Realm masters above us, how could our turn ever come?"

"If we render meritorious service to the Little Mountain Society, the chief won't favor one over another. Besides, the Beast King Sect tames beasts to practice martial arts and nurtures true intent through observing and raising them. The key lies in the word 'beast.' If you can find more young beasts during Mountain-Splitting, why fear failure?"

Father and son whispered their plans together. Gu Hong's eyes grew increasingly bright as he learned how to proceed.

By the end, Gu Hong was eager to act and was about to head out to begin making arrangements.

Yet that old fox Gu Changfeng suddenly stopped him. "Wait. That old bastard Song Qi has taken a liking to a boy from a ruined household?"

Gu Hong froze. Remembering Su Yan, anger rose in his heart, and he snorted coldly. "A boy from a lowly mountain-trekking household. He gave that old bastard a Blood Tendon Flower."

"He has some nerve."

Gu Changfeng's eyes were sinister, his tone indifferent. "The Golden Ape Martial Arts Hall's Inner Gate examination is near. It wouldn't do to spill blood. Give him a small punishment as a stern warning, then. Just keep him out of the Inner Gate."

Both father and son were men who repaid even the smallest slight. Since Su Yan had sided with Song Qi, they naturally kept him in mind.

Gu Hong nodded. "I understand, Father."

Following Xu Zhongdao's instructions, Su Yan sought out the medicinal ingredients at various medicine shops in town. Yinred Root was somewhat harder to find, but the Hundred Herbs Hall had it, and it had already undergone preliminary processing.

Treasure plants might be difficult to find, but across hundreds of mountains and the thousands upon tens of thousands of mountain-trekking households in the many mountain villages, someone was bound to find them.

After buying all the ingredients, Su Yan also found an opportunity to delay for a while, pretending he had made a trip back to Yunqian Village to fetch the flesh and blood of the Copper Fox Ape and the Wolf King. He carried bags large and small into Xu Zhongdao's residence.

Just as Xu Zhongdao had said, he was indeed not particularly practiced at refining the Sinew-Mending Meridian-Continuing Pill.

According to him, the Sinew-Mending Meridian-Continuing Pill barely qualified as a second-tier low-grade pill, and even he couldn't casually attempt it.

There was no hurry to begin. He would first understand the medicinal properties and get a feel for them, then proceed slowly.

"Boy, come with me. Watch how I make Redskin Powder."

Su Yan had just handed the materials to Xu Zhongdao when the latter suddenly called him over.

He had no idea what Song Qi had told Xu Zhongdao to make him increasingly interested in him.

"Elder Xu, Redskin Powder is the Hundred Herbs Hall's formula..."

Su Yan looked at Xu Zhongdao, only to hear him say with a shake of his head, "Any expert in using and refining medicines can work out a formula like this. It isn't the foundation of the Hundred Herbs Hall. Old Song said you've also learned Herb Identification and how to distinguish medicinal ingredients. I'd like to see how much you've learned."

"Then thank you for your guidance, Elder Xu."

Su Yan's eyes flickered as an idea stirred in his heart. He had found so many poisonous substances and treasure plants, yet he had only been feeding them raw to his two Bound Insects.

It did have an effect, but it was still somewhat wasteful. If he could refine them into poison pills himself, what would the effect be?