The Herb Garden

Following Senior Brother Fang's directions, Xiao Yu flew on his flying sword for an hour before arriving at Hundred Herbs Mountain.

Hundred Herbs Mountain lay on a broad plateau within Autumn Moon Peak. It had earned its name from the hundred-odd varieties of spirit herbs cultivated there over the years.

Looking at the white barrier of light covering more than ten mu before him, Xiao Yu took out the mission jade token Senior Brother Fang had given him from his Storage Bag.

He raised the jade token toward the barrier. A streak of green light immediately shot from it and vanished into the restriction, after which Xiao Yu waited patiently.

Before long, a section of the barrier near the ground melted away like ice and snow, revealing a doorway-like opening a little taller than a person and five feet wide.

Xiao Yu stepped inside and followed a small path for a while before stopping outside a courtyard bearing a plaque that read "Bing Seven." The courtyard was large, covering several mu.

Before he even entered, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted out. Xiao Yu's spirits lifted, and he drew a deep breath of the abundant spiritual energy before walking inside.

Only after entering the garden did Xiao Yu get a clear look at its interior.

Three thatched huts built from dry grass and bamboo stood in the center, surrounded by square plots divided by irrigation channels and arranged in neat rows.

Every plot flourished with herbs, some familiar to Xiao Yu and others unfamiliar. Flowers of various colors grew around them, filling the entire garden with vibrant hues and lush greenery.

At that moment, a handsome young man in his twenties stood at the door of the middle hut, smiling at Xiao Yu. He wore black and carried a large blue-green sword on his back.

Such attire was standard for most Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment Stage disciples of the Giant Sword Sect. Calling it part of the sect's culture would hardly have been an exaggeration.

Xiao Yu had a similar large sword, but it was only a mid-grade magical artifact, nothing worth showing off, and he did not want to carry it on his back. He also found the look rather embarrassingly theatrical and did not particularly like it, so although he had always worn black, he had never carried that sword on his back.

Seeing the young man, Xiao Yu did not dare be discourteous. He stepped forward and cupped his hands.

"Greetings, Senior Brother. I am Xiao Yu, the disciple who accepted the task of tending this Medicinal Garden. I have only just arrived and still have many questions, so I must trouble you to clear up a few things for me."

"No need to be so polite, Junior Brother. My name is Wang Yuan. I wouldn't presume to call it clearing up your doubts. These are simply the key points we need to go over during the handover. Even if you hadn't asked, I would still have explained everything. Otherwise, the assignment here really wouldn't be easy to complete." The handsome young man smiled faintly, then continued.

"Come with me, Junior Brother. I'll first introduce you to the spirit herbs growing in the fields."

He led Xiao Yu to the rightmost herb plot and pointed at several dozen plants inside. Each had a slender stem split into three branches, with five diamond-shaped leaves arranged in a circle on each branch.

"This is firecloud ginseng. It likes sunlight, and these plants are fifty years old. Both Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators can use it, and its medicinal potency changes greatly with age. At four or five hundred years old, it would be quite useful even to Golden Core cultivators. When tending it, you need to watch out for a pest called the Golden Needle Worm. Don't let it get into the stems, leaves, or roots, or else..."

"This is seven-star grass. Mature seven-star grass is the best material for making blank paper for low- and mid-grade talismans. It's easy to look after. You only need to..."

"This is spirit-subduing lingzhi. Aged spirit-subduing lingzhi is one of the main ingredients in the Qi-Gathering Pill, a pill used by Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators. Of course, at its current age, it's only effective for Qi Refining cultivators. You'll need to..."

"This is moon-gazing flower..."

"Yellow ball grass..."

"Moon plum grass..."

For the better part of the day, Senior Brother Wang introduced Xiao Yu to the spirit herbs growing in the Medicinal Garden, explaining their names, habits, uses, precautions, and more.

The two walked along the paths between the herb plots as he explained.

After making their way around the entire Medicinal Garden, they finally returned to the thatched huts. "Whew, that covers all the spirit herbs grown in Bing No. 7 Medicine Garden. There are also books in the living quarters with information on them. You can read them whenever you have some free time," Senior Brother Wang said, letting out a long breath. After spending most of the day describing more than a hundred spirit herbs, along with some medicinal plants also found in the mortal world, his mouth and throat were thoroughly dry.

"Thank you, Senior Brother. I'll keep that in mind!" Xiao Yu thanked him again.

"Oh, right. Of these three huts, the middle one is where the caretaker lives, the one on the left is the storeroom, and the one on the right is for miscellaneous supplies. The spiritual energy here is quite dense and very helpful for cultivation. You'll see once you try it."

"Also, this is the token that controls the restriction outside. Only with it can you control the restriction and enter or leave freely. Otherwise, anyone wanting to get in would have to break through the barrier." As he spoke, Senior Brother Wang handed Xiao Yu a token.

Taking the token, Xiao Yu secretly rejoiced. With the restriction shielding him, he would not have to worry about anyone discovering his use of the gourd, provided he was careful. This really was the perfect place.

"Of course, a Medicinal Garden with benefits like these also comes with strict requirements. Every three months, a Qi Refining steward disciple from the sect will inspect the growth and numbers of the spirit herbs. Every six months, a Foundation Establishment Stage martial uncle will come to collect the required quantity. If you fall short, the punishment is very severe, so you'll need to be careful."

"Yes, thank you for the advice, Senior Brother. May I ask when the last inspection or herb collection took place?" Xiao Yu asked after thanking him.

"A little over ten days ago, Martial Uncle Li brought the inspection steward here to collect the spirit herbs. Don't worry, Junior Brother. Your next delivery isn't due for another six months. You'll have plenty of time to familiarize yourself with everything here." Thinking Xiao Yu was worried about meeting the quota, Senior Brother Wang reassured him.

"Heh, that puts my mind at ease. I was worried I wouldn't do well on my first assignment, but with six months to spare, I'll have enough time to learn the work here." That was what Xiao Yu said, but in truth, he wanted to establish the inspection steward's schedule so he could begin accelerating the spirit herbs' growth as soon as possible.

"Well, I've said everything that needs saying, and I should get back to my own affairs. I'll leave this place in your hands, Junior Brother Xiao." With nothing more to explain, Senior Brother Wang prepared to leave.

"All right, Senior Brother Wang. I wish you success in Foundation Establishment and a great leap in your cultivation!"

"Heh, may your kind words come true. I'm off!"

After seeing Senior Brother Wang off and returning to the hut, Xiao Yu could no longer contain his joy. He clenched his right fist and pumped it before his chest. "Good things really have been coming one after another lately. Now I've solved both the problem of where to accelerate the spirit herbs' growth and where to get seedlings, all at once."

In the preceding years, Xiao Yu had constantly thought about the Heaven-Controlling Bottle, often imagining how he would use it if he obtained it. As a result, he knew a fair amount about spirit herbs, having asked his father to collect numerous books introducing them for him to study.

Of course, given his father's capabilities, these were only ordinary books, but they still recorded the medicinal properties, uses, and other details of most spirit herbs commonly used in the cultivation world. He had read them many times and already had a vivid understanding of them. All he lacked was the chance to compare that knowledge with actual plants.

He only needed to identify the hundred-odd spirit herbs in this Medicinal Garden against the books, and he would soon be familiar with them.

Besides those books, Xiao Yu had naturally asked his father to collect pill formulas as well, given their importance. However, formulas commonly used in cultivation generally fetched high prices in the Southern Heaven Cultivation World. His father had little money and had not managed to acquire any formulas that actual cultivators used.

Still, his father had collected formulas for prized medicines of the mortal martial world, such as the Yellow Dragon Pill, Golden Marrow Pill, and Great Restoration Pill.

Refining these prized martial medicines naturally required neither Earthfire nor a superior pill furnace. An ordinary furnace and mundane fire would do, and he had gathered those supplies years ago.

The living hut contained pitifully few furnishings: just a wooden bed, a table and chairs, and a meditation cushion.

Xiao Yu walked over to the cushion and sat cross-legged, then took out a thread-bound book. It contained the methods for preparing the Yellow Dragon Pill, Great Restoration Pill, and Golden Marrow Pill. He opened it and began reading slowly and carefully. He needed to commit every step and key point in preparing these pills to memory.

The next day, as the sun rose, Xiao Yu placed the little gourd at the foot of his wooden bed. The previous night, he had made a small hole high in the side of the hut, and sunlight now shone through it at just the right angle.

After the sunlight had shone on the little gourd for a while, densely packed specks of purple light appeared again, scrambling to burrow inside. As the purple specks entered, a great quantity of spiritual energy gathered around them and streamed endlessly into the gourd along with them.

Five days later, another drop of purple liquid formed inside the gourd. Xiao Yu dripped it into a bowl of clean water, then went to a corner of the Medicinal Garden where he had planted the various medicinal herbs required by the formulas together. Carefully, he poured the water mixed with purple liquid over their roots. They would be ready to harvest the next day.

And so, as Xiao Yu studied pill formulas and accelerated the herbs' growth, three months slowly passed.

That day, after seeing off the steward disciple who had come to inspect the garden, Xiao Yu returned to his bedroom and took out a small cauldron with three legs and two handles, ready to try preparing pills.

The formulas were extraordinarily detailed, specifying which parts of each herb to use, how to wash them, the quantities required, their condition... everything from the subsequent heating and control of the fire to extracting the medicinal potency was recorded in detail from beginning to end.

Over the past three months, Xiao Yu had read these instructions countless times. With the gourd's help, he had also prepared a large supply of the required herbs. Today, it was time to begin refining pills.

He lit the spirit charcoal and began heating the pill furnace.

First, the pill furnace had to be cleaned thoroughly, ensuring no grime, dust, or anything else remained...

Next, the herbs had to be processed according to the formula.

Not daring to be careless in the slightest, Xiao Yu followed each instruction...

Understanding was one thing, but putting it into practice still led to plenty of mistakes.

As expected, his first attempt at pill refining ended in failure.

He rested briefly, reviewed the reasons for his failure, then fired up the furnace again.

Bang!

Second attempt: failure.

Tenth attempt: failure.

More than ten days later, with sunken eyes and a haggard face, Xiao Yu looked at the twenty-odd bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills, Great Restoration Pills, and Golden Marrow Pills before him and smiled in satisfaction.

Though preparing these pills had not gone particularly smoothly, they were, after all, only prized medicines of the mortal martial world, far less difficult to make than pills for cultivators.

After wasting a great quantity of ingredients, he had finally succeeded. These twenty-odd bottles were the fruits of his efforts during that time.

Xiao Yu put away the pills and all the scattered items on the floor, then lay down on the wooden bed fully dressed and fell into a deep sleep.