"Not bad, lad!" The Pill Sage gazed at Tang Yan, intense delight flashing in his eyes.
"Your disciple Tang Yan pays his respects, Pill Sage!" Tang Yan hurried forward to offer his greetings.
"No need to stand on ceremony. To think someone so young could have such attainments in the Pill Dao. Not bad, not bad! You have something of my bearing in my younger days!
"It seems my path of the Pill Dao has found a successor!" The Pill Sage laughed in gratification.
"Senior, you pioneered the Pill Dao, the foremost figure throughout all history. How could your disciple compare to you?" Tang Yan casually offered a little flattery.
"Hahaha!" The Pill Sage laughed again, readily accepting Tang Yan's flattery, then asked, "Do you know why I left this trial behind?"
Tang Yan pondered for a while before offering his understanding. "To make a tree grow tall, one must strengthen its roots. To make a stream flow far, one must dredge its source.
"Only by laying a solid foundation and understanding the medicinal properties of herbs well enough can we master pills and advance the Pill Dao. That is the first point.
"Unassuming medicinal herbs can play an enormous role at a critical moment, so herbs have no distinction of high or low status. If useful, they are good medicine. That is the second point.
"These are my humble views. Please instruct me, Senior."
"Good! Very good! My thirty thousand years of waiting have not been in vain!
"Indeed, I wanted to tell future generations of the equality of all medicines. There is no need to exaggerate the importance of high-grade resources. Using resources wisely is our most powerful weapon.
"When prosperity reaches its height, decline follows; when adversity reaches its extreme, fortune turns!
"The Human Clan will not