A Qualified Companion

Zhang Xuezhou got first place in his preschool class at the age of five, but his greatest achievement was just running errands.

Huo Qubing, at the age of five, possessed the strength of over a hundred jin (approximately 50 kg). He became the leader of a group of children and was responsible for pulling them away from the secret place.

Comparing the tasks the two had to do, Zhang Xuezhou realized he was nothing special.

But he had to boast about his abilities to maintain the image of a wise man and make Huo Qubing believe in the wisdom man's encouragement, and even help him according to the wisdom man's instructions.

In short, Zhang Xuezhou is promoting pseudo-success philosophy, spouting nonsense to motivate Huo Qubing.

If he were just a motivational speaker, Zhang Xuezhou wouldn't care whether Huo Qubing succeeded or failed after being hyped up. But since his life was at stake, Zhang Xuezhou had to be more careful to avoid getting himself caught up in this secret place.

"Does training like this really make me as strong as an ox and as fast as the wind?"

"Absolutely! Even if you don't believe in yourself, you have to believe in me. Look around, which Technique Method is as strong and resilient as me? Not to mention, I can even fly!"

Watching Huo Qubing lift the blue bricks and jump higher and higher, Zhang Xuezhou could only sigh that Huo Qubing was too young and his body was not fully developed. He also lacked elixirs like the "power pill," otherwise, once Huo Qubing gained strength, dragging him would be no problem at all.

As he flew around observing the place with the ritual vessel in his hand, Zhang Xuezhou could only marvel at the strangeness of this secret place.

This secret place has indeed been cultivated into a huge medicinal herb garden.

Perhaps the cultivation of medicinal herbs in secret locations in the early days wasn't so outrageous, but the accumulation of time over many years was astonishing, allowing Polygonatum and Ganoderma lucidum to continuously reproduce and spread.

Zhang Xuezhou also discovered a large medicinal herb called "Flesh Lingzhi" in the secret place. This herb grows on the soil and is relatively rare. He searched everywhere but only found two.

The fleshy Ganoderma has a common name: Tai Sui.

The colors of the Tai Sui vary: red ones resemble coral, white ones resemble fat, black ones resemble lacquer, blue ones resemble kingfisher feathers, and yellow ones resemble purple gold.

Although Tai Sui comes in various forms and has no direct medicinal effects, it is still considered a major elixir by many Alchemist.

Leaving aside the ideas of other schools of thought, Tai Sui is understood by the Yin-Yang School as a panacea, meaning that it can be added to any kind of elixir.

Pills made with added Ganoderma lucidum may be less effective or more effective; no Yin-Yang Yin-Yang School Alchemist can truly say for sure. However, some great Alchemist of the Yin-Yang School have made top-grade pills by adding Ganoderma lucidum in the past, thus demonstrating their strong belief in the efficacy of Ganoderma lucidum.

This is the prevailing perception across generations, and Zhang Xuezhou has no intention of subverting or refuting it.

He obtained a white fleshy Ganoderma, which was shaped like a head. It was not large among fleshy Ganodermas, but it was as hard as iron and weighed over 800 jin. He also obtained a green fleshy Ganoderma, which was somewhat shaped like an upright wooden stake. Its texture was also as hard as iron and it weighed over 1,000 jin.

Unlike Ganoderma lucidum, which cannot survive without soil, this kind of medicinal herb can live even when suspended in the air. It will not die even after being placed in a sachet for three to five years. Zhang Xuezhou is not afraid that the Ganoderma lucidum will spoil when placed in the Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag.

He also tried his luck when he was preparing to refine the elixir.

Regardless of the efficacy of the flesh-like Ganoderma lucidum, Zhang Xuezhou felt that these two Ganoderma lucidum were quite old and had grown with abundant Spiritual Qi, so the probability of positive effects should be higher than negative effects. Even if they had no effect, it wouldn't be a bad thing.

He shouted in the air, instructing Huo Qubing to continue practicing his strength, then jumped down to the ground and casually dug away the loose soil under an oak tree.

If there were only one or two purple Ganoderma lucidum in the secret place, Zhang Xuezhou felt he would have gotten away with it immediately. However, there were at least several hundred, possibly even a thousand, purple Ganoderma lucidum growing in this secret place, and the number of Polygonatum sibiricum was even greater.

The sheer quantity deterred Zhang Xuezhou from any thought of excavation; he also couldn't possibly digest so many potent medicines.

Let alone Zhang Xuezhou, even the new emperor would be hesitant and uncertain about how to effectively utilize these single-variety medicinal herbs after seeing them.

The best way to process the purple lingzhi and the polygonatum is to refine the Qi and Blood Creation Pill. Zhang Xuezhou used two hundred demon cores for the two purple lingzhi and one polygonatum, and used the remaining parts to make dozens of Ten-Complete Tonic Pills and Grain Avoidance Pill.

The amount of demon cores needed to transform the countless medicinal herbs covering the mountains into the Creation Pill is astronomical, and the auxiliary medicines required are also beyond the reach of ordinary people.

For various reasons, even though this place is under the control of the new emperor, it wouldn't be a problem for Zhang Xuezhou to come in and take a few purple Ganoderma lucidum and Polygonatum sibiricum plants. Planting them here would be much better than digging them up and losing their medicinal effects.

Aside from taking two fearless Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms, Zhang Xuezhou didn't cause any damage to the secret place.

To Zhang Xuezhou's surprise, he still hadn't found the core of the secret formation.

Normally relying on his Acupoint-Fixing Technique to charge around recklessly, Zhang Xuezhou never expected that he would be unable to find the core of the formation, the array eye, both inside and outside this secret place.

This situation is not unusual, meaning that the array was constructed deep underground, beyond the detection range of Zhang Xuezhou's Acupoint-Fixing Technique.

If Zhang Xuezhou dug down even a ten-foot section of this secret place, he felt the chances of discovering the array's core and its layout would be much higher.

He couldn't just randomly dig through the entire secret area and try his luck. After figuring it out, Zhang Xuezhou could only honestly try his luck.

Even if all else fails, he still has a five-year-old child to take care of.

"Jump higher, don't slack off!"

Huo Qubing was too young to practice cultivation, so Zhang Xuezhou could only teach him using clumsy methods of body refinement.

No matter how heavy the object, it can be lifted back and forth, or it can jump high while carrying a blue brick.

If it weren't for the lack of resources, Zhang Xuezhou thought Huo Qubing could have tied two sandbags to his legs for training.

"Won't I die from training like this?" Huo Qubing shouted, clutching five blue bricks. "Even my uncle didn't train like this when he was a kid!"

"Your uncle could only drive a horse-drawn carriage when he was a child, he didn't have the time or energy to train like this," Zhang Xuezhou corrected. "I believe you can do it, you're a natural strongman, keep it up! Keep trying!"

"But I feel something's wrong!" Huo Qubing shouted, "The more I practice, the thirstier I get! Your Grain Avoidance Pill can only stop me from being hungry, but it can't stop me from being thirsty. I feel like I might die of thirst if I continue!"

"Don't be afraid. People used to live in this place, so there must have been water to drink. You can drink as much as you want!"

Zhang Xuezhou thought for a moment, then began rummaging through the palace ruins.

Lifting up the collapsed beams and tiles, Zhang Xuezhou searched extensively but couldn't find any wells or reservoirs. It seemed that finding water here was entirely up to fate.

Looking at the blazing sun high in the sky, Zhang Xuezhou felt a little unsure of himself.

"Take a break if you're tired from practicing!"

Zhang Xuezhou reached out and called out, and Huo Qubing's body, which had been struggling to jump, immediately fell down, instead lying on the ground playing with the arrow grass spirit.

Clearly, Huo Qubing understood the meaning behind Zhang Xuezhou's words and knew that Zhang Xuezhou wouldn't be able to get water in the short term.

"You're a great cultivator, don't you have a single water-gathering Technique Method?"

After waiting for a long time, Huo Qubing still saw Zhang Xuezhou bring water, which made him, who was extremely thirsty, call out.

"I only know how to handle sand, I haven't learned water magic!"

Zhang Xuezhou replied dejectedly amidst the palace ruins.

As a cultivator who can Grain Avoidance even with breathing, Zhang Xuezhou has no problem surviving and doesn't need those little tricks Technique Method to help him live.

But he really needs to think more about Huo Qubing, lest the latter die of thirst instead of starving.

"What kind of nonsense is this?!"

With these thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuezhou's immense strength, granted by his physical body technique, allowed him to rummage through the debris effortlessly. He was not afraid of being injured by sharp splinters or broken tiles, and he would occasionally throw out rotten wood and push out collapsed bluestone and tiles.

"So many words, is it an explanation or introduction to a secret place?"

After rummaging through the palace and clearing out the area near the remains, Zhang Xuezhou discovered numerous inscribed characters.

This delighted him, as he felt that blindly searching was far less effective than simply copying homework.

Huo Qubing, who was lying down to rest, was grabbed by him.

Huo Qubing, who could recognize ancient characters, was clearly well-suited to be a translator.