Back into the Mountain Forest

"Old man, Elder Xu did the real work refining those pills. I only helped with a few odds and ends. Besides, I didn't come here for the pills."

Su Yan did not accept it. This was a second-tier pill, even if it was only second-tier low grade.

Even a single pill like this would probably be worth three to five hundred taels of silver. In a small town like this, money alone might not be enough to buy one.

"If I tell you to take it, take it. My injuries only need one pill, two at most. If you'd helped me just for the pills, I wouldn't give you any."

Song Qi had quite a temper himself. "Don't just make me your backer. If you've got what it takes, become mine. The Sinew-Mending Meridian-Continuing Pill mainly heals injuries, but taken as a tonic, it can also firm up your foundation and clear away the hidden injuries left by the Golden Ape Jade Body Art's external conditioning."

The Golden Ape Jade Body Art was, after all, an external conditioning art. It required more than nourishing the skin, muscles, and sinews with qi and blood; it also required constant tempering and medicinal supplements.

Tempering would leave hidden injuries.

If an ordinary practitioner progressed slowly enough, those accumulated injuries would eventually heal.

But with this boy's drive and cultivation speed, he was bound to have accumulated some hidden injuries.

"Take the pill and get some rest. You've probably spent all your silver, haven't you? I'm not lending you money for cultivation. Go into the mountains and find it yourself."

Song Qi sent him on his way. Preparing the ingredients for the Sinew-Mending Meridian-Continuing Pill had cost him quite a bit of silver.

Of course, it was not as though he could no longer afford to lend Su Yan money.

But he would not give it freely. Rather, he would offer some help only when Su Yan truly needed it.

A martial artist needed to be honed through hardship. Entering the mountains was cultivation, too.

Su Yan left Song Qi and returned to his own room.

"The old man really is generous."

Looking at the Sinew-Mending Meridian-Continuing Pill in his hand, Su Yan chuckled softly.

Without hesitation, he opened his mouth and swallowed the Sinew-Mending Meridian-Continuing Pill.

Unlike first-tier medicines such as the Three-Origin Decoction, the pill dissolved the instant it reached his stomach. A distinct, surging wave of medicinal power immediately flooded his body.

The surging medicinal power battered relentlessly through his meridians, nearly bursting them. At the same time, a healing force continuously seeped into them.

Tearing, repairing, strengthening...

As the Sinew-Mending Meridian-Continuing Pill cycled endlessly through these three processes, it brought Su Yan pain every bit as fierce as soaking in Poison-Skin Powder.

One worked from the outside in, while the other brought pain from deep within his bones.

My meridians aren't like those of experts at Blood Moving or Origin Nurturing. They haven't fully opened yet. This is going to hurt.

Su Yan realized this in an instant. Gritting his teeth, he focused and divided the surging medicinal power into three streams.

The first tempered his skin, steadily advancing his Skin Refining cultivation.

For the second, he set the Golden Ape Jade Body Art's cultivation cycle in motion, directing most of the medicinal power into the process of tempering his body.

The final portion barely responded to Su Yan's control or direction. It instinctively seeped into his muscles and sinews, slowly strengthening his flesh and firming up his tendons and bones.

Nearly two hours passed before he finished the initial absorption. Su Yan could clearly sense that still more medicinal power lay hidden within his body, enough to sustain several days of cultivation.

[Body Tempering Realm: Skin Refining 160/400 (major accomplishment)]

[Golden Ape Jade Body Art: 30/100 (entry level]

When he saw Song Qi again the next day, many black strands had appeared amid his graying hair. His frame was robust, his aura steady.

With a single glance, Su Yan knew that Song Qi had probably done more than recover from his injuries. He had seized the momentum to enter the Origin Nurturing Realm as well.

Su Yan offered a few words of congratulations. Song Qi claimed he had simply been lucky, but his grin stretched so wide he could barely close his mouth.

Heaven only knew how long he had waited for an opportunity like this.

Su Yan did not linger. He packed his things and left Xu Zhongdao's residence.

With Song Qi's affairs settled, it was naturally time for Su Yan to attend to his own.

He reached the street, but before he could leave town, he heard murmurs drifting through the crowd.

"Something's happened again. The Little Mountain Society's medicinal fields were robbed last night, too."

Su Yan frowned. First the Hundred Herbs Hall, then the Little Mountain Society. At this rate, something serious was bound to happen.

Clop, clop, clop!

The urgent pounding of hooves rang out, and the crowd scattered to make way. Head constable Xu Guan galloped toward the outskirts, accompanied by dozens of constables and yamen runners, all looking fierce and determined.

Out of town to crush the bandits!

Those words flashed through Su Yan's mind. But with such a commotion, could they really catch Pang Tianfeng?

He set the thought aside. Whether they succeed or not, Pang Tianfeng isn't operating near Yunqian Village. I'll stay around there and find some poisonous herbs. Helping the Darkwater Centipede and Velvetfire Scorpion keep breaking through is what really matters.

With that thought, Su Yan quickened his pace and headed straight for Yunqian Village.

The villagers were surprised to see him return, but they did not find it particularly strange.

Ever since Su Yan had made something of himself in martial arts, they had known that young Yan would eventually leave Yunqian Village. It was only a matter of time.

He gave some snacks he had bought to Xie Bao next door.

Then Su Yan picked up his basket and weapons and went straight into the mountains.

With his Stance Training at major accomplishment and the Golden Ape Jade Body Art added to his cultivation, Su Yan's steps were lighter than ever.

Two or three bounding strides carried him seven or eight meters. To him, the mountain trails had become as easy to traverse as a level road.

Su Yan plunged into the mountains and immediately released the Darkwater Centipede and Velvetfire Scorpion.

Once out, the two Bound Insects were like roaming dragons returning to the sea, immediately darting through the mountain undergrowth.

Su Yan did not stay long in the Outer Mountain. These slopes had mountain produce, but not the valuable medicinal herbs he wanted.

Upon reaching the Inner Mountain, Su Yan began carefully searching through the thickets and old forest, his basket on his back.

Moss covered the roots of ancient trees. Their towering branches overlapped, admitting only dappled sunlight.

The ground was covered in broad-leaved Water-Dropping Guanyin, some waist-high and others as tall as a person, along with lush green ferns shaped like fox tails.

Insects and beasts rustled through the undergrowth, while Su Yan's eyes gleamed.

"Hidden water all around, light falling in spots. A damp place like this should have some Water-Dropping Gold."

Su Yan's gaze settled on the largest Water-Dropping Guanyin. What people called Water-Dropping Gold was the mutated root of a Water-Dropping Guanyin.

It absorbed the surrounding vital energy, first growing exceptionally large before rapidly shrinking into a hard, dark-yellow rhizome. In flowing water, it looked golden, hence the name Water-Dropping Gold.

It was highly poisonous, but its medicinal potency was second only to Treasure Plants. It could stimulate qi and blood and increase physical strength.

Even if it was not used by martial artists, it had other applications, so it fetched a good price.

Su Yan ordered the Darkwater Centipede over, and it crawled forward to dig around the roots of the Water-Dropping Guanyin.

Under its sharp mouthparts and jointed legs, the soil was scraped away, fully exposing the enormous rhizome.

Hiss, hiss.

The Darkwater Centipede burrowed inside. Within moments, it found a depression among the clustered roots. Scraping away the dead outer layer, it immediately revealed a streak of dark gold. It was indeed Water-Dropping Gold.

"A lucky start."

Su Yan's face lit up as he collected it. This fist-sized piece of Water-Dropping Gold was the essence of the entire clump of Water-Dropping Guanyin.

After putting away the Water-Dropping Gold, he did not linger. Instead, he began exploring even more actively.

His Mountain Trekking skills had already improved considerably. Now he used his expertise to mark out search areas, which the Darkwater Centipede and Velvetfire Scorpion then combed carefully.

Naturally, his search for medicinal herbs went much faster. In just one morning, he had already filled half his basket.

"I'll keep the Water-Dropping Gold to make poison. There's no need to keep the old ginseng, Fo-ti, or Blood Essence; I can sell them all. But this Bamboo Jade Tooth..."

Taking stock of his haul, Su Yan hesitated over what to do with the newly discovered Bamboo Jade Tooth.

Bamboo Jade Tooth was a Treasure Plant. It nourished the body and replenished blood, among other effects. Strengthening his body would naturally benefit his martial training.

"I'll sell it first for some silver and replenish my tonics. These Treasure Plants grow in the mountains, and with the Darkwater Centipede, finding them isn't difficult. My Hardwood Bow and Broad Saber might both need replacing, too. That'll cost money as well."

Having made up his mind, Su Yan hurried down the mountain and headed for the Mountain Market.

By the time he reached the Mountain Market, it was already evening. Constables and yamen runners had now been stationed in the Market Ward.

Farther inside, he frowned as he watched the people coming and going.

Here and there among the crowd, he spotted burly men. Some were dressed shabbily, some wore thin straw rain capes for traveling, and others wore close-fitting martial attire.

Their appearances varied, but their eyes tracked every passerby like hunting hounds.

They had only one thing in common: each carried sharp weapons. They were nothing like ordinary townsfolk.