Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

"A Cultivation Room?" Yuan Lang the Pill Master said. "The Medicine Vein has a Cultivation Pavilion with many such rooms. However, to prevent disciples from losing focus, you must pass the first assessment to use them. That assessment requires you to memorize all nine thousand types of medicinal ingredients."

Medicine Vein disciples primarily studied the Medicine Dao. Martial Arts was merely a secondary pursuit.

"Oh." Ling Fei nodded slightly.

"Additionally, the Cultivation Rooms are graded. To access a high-level room, you need Contribution Points. For example, you can earn points by cultivating superior medicinal herbs or refining high-grade medicinal liquids. With these points, any disciple can go to the Medicine Vein's Martial Pavilion and exchange them for Attack Techniques."

"You can even get weapons and Elixirs," Master Yuan Lang said. "As for these matters, someone will deliver detailed information to you later."

"Remember, now that you've joined the Medicine Vein, Alchemy is your foundation. Your ability to establish yourself here depends entirely on your achievements in the path of alchemy." Finally, Master Yuan Lang added a special warning, fearing Ling Fei might neglect one pursuit for the other. If that happened, it would put him in a difficult position.

After all, Medicine Peak had its own rules.

"Don't worry, Master. I won't let my martial arts practice delay my studies in alchemy," Ling Fei said.

"Very good!" Master Yuan Lang nodded and then took his leave.

A short while later, a figure flickered on the mountain peak as a young man in a Medicine Robe flew over.

Seeing the figure appear, Ling Fei immediately went to greet him.

"Junior Brother Ling Fei, I've brought you some things." The young man said as he landed and walked to the courtyard gate.

"Thank you, Senior Brother," Ling Fei said with a cupped-fist gesture, taking the Storage Ring.

"Inside is a Magic Sword, and our Medicine Vein's Medicinal Manual..." the young man said with a smile.

"Senior Brother, please!" Ling Fei briefly sensed the contents of the Storage Ring before inviting the young man into the courtyard.

Afterward, the two went to a pavilion by a small stream.

"My name is Yuan Chong. Like you, Young Master Ling, I am a disciple of Yuan Lang," Yuan Chong said with a smile. "In the future, Junior Brother, if there's anything you don't understand about alchemy, feel free to ask me."

"I will," Ling Fei said, cupping his fist.

"This is my Waist Token," Yuan Chong said, taking it out. "If we leave a soul imprint on each other's tokens, we'll be able to communicate."

Ling Fei had also received a Waist Token during the initiation ceremony.

'It can do that?' Ling Fei was delighted. He immediately took Yuan Chong's Waist Token and imprinted his own soul signature onto it.

Afterward, Yuan Chong left his own soul signature on Ling Fei's Waist Token as well.

And just like that, the two Waist Tokens could now miraculously be used for communication.

This was all possible because Ling Fei's Waist Token had been imprinted with his own soul signature.

The soul imprint acted as a trigger, activating the Array Patterns inside the Waist Token and enabling simple communication.

This method of using Waist Tokens for communication had been around for a long time in the Martial Arts World.

"Well then, I'll be taking my leave. If you need anything, Junior Brother, just send me a message." Yuan Chong smiled, then rose to depart.

Ling Fei watched Yuan Chong leave, then returned to his courtyard.

By now, his four Medicine Attendants had arrived—two young men and two young women.

"Young Master, do you have any instructions?" one of the beautiful Medicine Attendants asked in a delicate voice, bowing to Ling Fei.

They were all new recruits to the sect.

Becoming a Medicine Attendant was a rare opportunity for an ordinary person, as it allowed them to learn a great deal about alchemy.

"For now, just take care of my daily needs. Once I've made some progress in my studies, I'll assign you specific tasks," Ling Fei said.

He then immersed himself in studying the Medicinal Manual.

After studying for a while, Ling Fei realized, 'The Pill King Scripture already contains all the knowledge from this Medicinal Manual, and its explanations are far more thorough.'

With the Pill King Scripture, he had no need to read these ordinary medicinal manuals.

He then set aside the Medicinal Manual and continued to study the Pill King Scripture.

Ling Fei studied the Pill King Scripture for three straight days.

「Seven days later.」

His Heart Spirit withdrew from within his mind.

'I've now memorized the properties and characteristics of all nine thousand medicinal herbs. On top of that, I've also finished classifying them all by their medicinal properties.' A glint flashed in Ling Fei's eyes.

Memorizing the medicinal herbs was only the first step.

The truly important part was classifying all of them.

That way, during Alchemy, you would know at a glance which type of ingredient you needed and how to use it.

After memorizing all the medicinal herbs, Ling Fei went to the mountain peak where Yuan Lang the Pill Master lived.

In a private courtyard, Master Yuan Lang was quizzing Ling Fei on the properties of various medicinal herbs, testing to see if he had truly memorized them.

"The Purple Crystal Branch. What are its properties and characteristics?" Yuan Lang the Pill Master asked from his large chair, his eyes narrowed at Ling Fei below.

He had already asked Ling Fei several questions, but Ling Fei's answers were fluid and effortless, as if he had truly mastered the contents of the Medicinal Manual.

"The Purple Crystal Branch?" Ling Fei's expression grew serious as he replied, "In our Southern Wilderness, the Purple Crystal Branch is divided into two types. One is the Purple Crystal Essence Branch, which grows in the Southern Heaven Mountain Range. This plant is wondrous; even if the crystalline branches are broken off, they will regrow as long as the roots remain, allowing for a sustainable harvest. It prefers shade and abhors the sun... When refined, the purple liquid inside has the miraculous effect of regenerating flesh. It can be made into a powder for external application or refined into a flesh-regeneration pill for internal use."

"The other type is the Purple Crystal Cold Branch. This variety is nurtured by Cold Essence Qi, making it a Cold Attribute Spiritual Essence that grows in frigid lands, such as the cold mountain regions near the Beiming Sea. It thrives in the cold. If refined, its Purple Crystal Essence Liquid can mend meridians and strengthen bones, making it a key ingredient in the Tendon Continuation Pill. However, before it can be used in alchemy, its Cold Qi must be dispelled to extract its medicinal properties..."

Ling Fei's answer was perfectly fluid, delivered in a single, smooth flow. He didn't seem to need to think at all.

His demeanor suggested he had long known these medicinal ingredients by heart.

"Excellent, excellent! You not only know the herbs' habits, but you're also clear on their medicinal effects. It seems you've truly mastered the Medicinal Manual," Master Yuan Lang said, his face beaming with delight. "Next, you can start cultivating medicinal herbs. While you're doing that, you can also observe your senior brothers performing Alchemy."

After all, cultivating medicinal herbs takes time.

In the meantime, you can observe others to learn the techniques of Alchemy.

"Yes!" Ling Fei said with a nod.

"Good. First, go to the Medicine Hall to collect the seeds for a hundred types of medicinal herbs and begin cultivating them," Master Yuan Lang said, stroking his beard with a smile.

"Then this disciple will take his leave," Ling Fei said, bowing before he withdrew.

'He's a genius. It only took him seven days to master the Medicinal Manual. His memory is more than ten times greater than that of an ordinary prodigy.' Watching Ling Fei's departing figure, Master Yuan Lang looked pleased. 'If he can gain skillful control over the Earth Fire, he might just become an outstanding Alchemist.'

It wasn't unheard of for people in the Medicine Vein to achieve greatness using Earth Fire.

Some had even managed to refine Upper Grade Elixirs with it.

'Perhaps Ling Fei could become an Alchemy Master like that, too.'