Chapter 94: Tiger Soul

The treasure vault was vast, spanning several thousand square meters. Yun Che walked directly to the herbal storage area and stood beside a long row of black wooden drawers. He took a sniff and immediately said, “Count down to the fourth drawer from the top. The two pieces near the right edge are thirty-six-year-old Bloodfire Grass essence. Take one out.”

Xiao Baicao was dumbfounded on the spot. The labels for these medicinal herb drawers were hidden on placards at the very top; unless you pulled the placard down, you couldn't see what was written on them. There were thousands of different types of medicinal herbs stored here. Even Xiao Baicao, who frequented the vault the most, only knew the general location of most herbs and found it difficult to locate them precisely without looking at the labels. Yet, this divine physician, standing at least two steps away, facing a large section of tightly closed black wooden drawers, effortlessly called out the name of an herb from inside.

Xiao Baicao stepped forward and opened the drawer; it indeed contained Bloodfire Grass essence. Although he knew "Evil Hearted Saint Hand's" medical skills were unparalleled, he was still profoundly shocked and utterly convinced. He secretly sighed that a divine physician was truly a divine physician, a realm he could never hope to reach in his lifetime.

Yun Che walked for a while through the herbal storage area, gathering most of the required medicinal herbs. During this time, he didn't open a single drawer, yet he specified the exact location and age of each required herb. With each herb Xiao Baicao retrieved, his inner shock and admiration deepened. As the dignified Chief Elder of the Pill Hall, from the largest sect in Divine Moon City, he was now humbly bowing and bustling along behind Yun Che, carefully retrieving herbs according to his instructions. Yet, he didn't feel anything was amiss; instead, he increasingly considered it an honor.

“That’s enough herbs. Where are the spirit jades stored?” Yun Che asked after finishing with the herbs.

Xiao Baicao approached Yun Che, holding the black wooden box filled with herbs, and respectfully said, “Spirit jades are usually kept with precious artifacts, in the innermost part of the treasure vault.”

After speaking, Xiao Baicao led Yun Che to the deepest part of the treasure vault. The deeper they went, the denser the spiritual energy became. The storage for precious jades was no longer black wood, but rather cold jade, which was dozens of times rarer and more valuable than black wood. Hundreds of cold jade cabinets appeared before Yun Che. These hundred cabinets alone were priceless.

“There’s indeed the scent of Purple Vein Heavenly Crystal. The purity is the same as the one in the hall earlier. It must be the same piece, right?”

“Yes, it’s the same piece. Our sect is a small one; possessing even a small fragment of Purple Vein Heavenly Crystal is extremely rare,” Xiao Baicao nodded. At the same time, his admiration intensified beyond measure. Medicinal herbs still had discernible scents, but the spiritual aura of precious crystals and spirit jades wasn't as distinct as the scent of herbs. Yet, this divine physician, with just a sniff, not only identified it as Purple Vein Heavenly Crystal but could even discern its purity. The longer Xiao Baicao interacted with this divine physician, the more he felt a sense of inferiority. He deeply felt that this divine physician was like an impossibly tall mountain, and in front of him, he was less than a lump of mud.

“This Purple Vein Heavenly Crystal was originally intended as a tribute to the main sect at year-end. With the Young Sect Master’s incident, we had no choice but to take it out. Fortunately, with your assistance, not only did you save our Young Sect Master, but you also spared us from parting with such a priceless treasure. Your great benevolence, senior, I truly don't know how to repay it,” Xiao Baicao said, deeply moved.

“Oh? You have to offer such precious treasures to the main sect every year?” Yun Che asked. He knew that branch sects had to make daily offerings to the main sect. But a heaven-and-earth treasure like Purple Vein Heavenly Crystal was extremely difficult for even the Four Great Sects to obtain. If they had to offer something of that caliber every year, it would be too demanding.

“No, that's not the case. The main sect stipulates a minimum of 100,000 Purple Profound Coins annually. Each year, the main sect bestows upon us supreme-grade pills refined by them. The more we offer, the more the main sect reciprocates, sometimes even with high-level profound skills and high-grade profound artifacts.”

“One year… a hundred thousand Purple Profound Coins?” Yun Che secretly took a sharp breath. This Xiao Sect, they were practically vampires. But these branch sects had to dutifully pay up. Otherwise, without the main sect’s pills and profound arts/skills in return, the branch sects would gradually decline. And if the title of “Xiao Sect Branch” was revoked, these branch sects would lose their backing entirely.

Speaking of high-grade profound artifacts, Xiao Baicao remembered something. He turned and pointed to a pale longsword at the center of a weapon rack behind him, saying proudly, “Senior, please look. This sword is called ‘Tiger Soul.’ It's the most precious treasure the main sect has bestowed upon us in recent years, and it's the only Earth Profound artifact in New Moon City. Even in the main sect, it's exceedingly rare. Legend has it that it was personally forged by the Chief Sword Forging Elder of the Main Sect’s Artifact Hall. Its blade is fused with the profound core power of an Earth Profound White Tiger and its lingering soul. It can easily cleave through defensive profound artifacts below the Earth Profound Realm. When swung with profound energy, one can even faintly hear the roar of a tiger. For years, the Sect Master has regarded it as one of the sect's most valuable treasures, unwilling to use it himself. He only hopes to present it to the Young Sect Master on his wedding day, so he may be like a tiger with added wings.”

The “Tiger Soul” sword was three feet three inches long and entirely white. However, it wasn't the lustrous white of jade, but an eerie, pale white. Its blade was irregularly shaped, slightly twisted, and upon closer inspection, appeared as if pieced together from tiger bones. Even from a distance, one could faintly feel an unsettling malevolence emanating from the sword.

“It is indeed a good sword.” Yun Che gazed at the Tiger Soul sword and slowly nodded.

“If even you, senior, say so, then the Young Sect Master will surely be delighted with it,” Xiao Baicao said.

Yun Che then had Xiao Baicao retrieve a piece of extremely pure Red Spirit Jade and a piece of Water Spirit Jade. With this, all the required materials were collected. Yun Che showed no interest in the treasure vault, cleanly and efficiently heading towards the exit. Throughout the entire process, his hands remained clasped behind his back; everything was retrieved by Xiao Baicao, and Yun Che didn't even touch the boxes.

After leaving the treasure vault, Yun Che went straight to the Pill Hall to refine medicine. Xiao Baicao, who had been waiting outside, recounted everything that happened in the treasure vault to Xiao Tiannan. He lavished praise on Yun Che's divine skill of identifying herbs through drawers and his "noble integrity" of not touching anything, utterly astonished.

Xiao Tiannan, however, smiled calmly and said, “This is the true demeanor of a distinguished expert. Furthermore, given Huangfu He's level and experience, perhaps there's nothing in this entire treasure vault, aside from the Purple Vein Heavenly Crystal, that would even catch his eye. Sigh, to be honest, I previously doubted his identity as Huangfu He. But now, even if you told me he wasn't Huangfu He, I would never believe you.”

Before they knew it, Divine Physician Yun had stayed at the Xiao Sect's branch for three days. For these three days, Xiao Tiannan and Xiao Luocheng lived in a constant state of shock and pleasant surprise. With all meridians shattered, complete restoration was originally impossible without Purple Vein Heavenly Crystal. Even with it, achieving a flawless recovery was nearly impossible, and it would take several months.

But now, after only three days, just three days! All of Xiao Luocheng's severed meridians were reconnected, and their vitality grew stronger. The degree of recovery was so high that even witnessing it firsthand, they could hardly believe it.

They increasingly revered this divine physician, who seemed to have descended from the heavens, as a god. Xiao Luocheng's address of "Grandpa" became smoother and more affectionate—almost more heartfelt than calling his own biological grandfather.

These past few days, Yun Che went to the treasure vault at least three times daily, always calling Xiao Baicao to accompany him. Each time, he never touched anything himself, simply taking what he needed and leaving.

“Senior, look, my son's meridian injuries are becoming increasingly stable. I believe that with your presence, all his severed meridians will fully heal within a month. It's just the profound veins' injury... I wonder what your plans are, senior?”

For three consecutive days, Yun Che had been treating Xiao Luocheng's arm and meridian injuries, yet he had consistently left the shattered profound veins untouched. If the profound veins couldn't be repaired, Xiao Luocheng would remain a cripple. And the longer it was delayed, the more difficult the repair would become. Although he now harbored no doubts about "Divine Physician Huangfu's" medical skills, seeing him delay addressing the profound veins made him increasingly uneasy.

Hearing Xiao Tiannan's words, Yun Che pondered for a moment and said, “Sect Master Xiao, I originally intended to begin treating his profound veins on the very first day. But at that time, Luocheng acknowledged me as his grandpa, becoming my grandson. Regarding these profound veins, I must give it more careful consideration.”

“More careful consideration? What do you mean, senior?” Xiao Tiannan's heart stirred.

Yun Che turned his eyes and stroked his beard. He looked at Xiao Luocheng with a gentle expression and asked, “My grandson, do you wish to become an unparalleled expert?”

The moment this question was asked, both Xiao Luocheng and Xiao Tiannan's hearts violently leaped, almost making them jump up in excitement. Xiao Luocheng nodded frantically, “Yes! Of course, I do! Your grandson dreams of it!”

Yun Che slowly nodded and said, “Judging by your current profound veins, your previous profound energy level was probably at the tenth level of the Nascent Profound Realm, right? Such strength might be considered decent among your peers in this small city. However, it's still worlds apart from the level of an unparalleled expert! In my lifetime, I've seen countless young experts. Some at your age have already reached the Spirit Profound Realm, or even the Earth Profound Realm!”

Yun Che's few nonsensical words made Xiao Luocheng and Xiao Tiannan gasp. Reaching the Spirit Profound Realm or Earth Profound Realm at sixteen or seventeen? Could such people truly exist? Could they even be called human? They would be monsters!

“It would be effortless for me to repair your profound veins, but afterwards, you would have to cultivate again from the Elementary Profound Realm. However, with your grandpa here, there is a method that will allow you to directly enter the Earth… Profound… Realm after your profound veins are repaired!”

Yun Che's last few sentences sounded like thunderclaps in the ears of the Xiao father and son, leaving them dumbfounded.

Sixteen years old… and immediately reaching the Earth Profound Realm! If anyone else had said such a thing, the Xiao father and son would have surely thought him insane! But who was this man? He was the Evil Hearted Saint Hand! A prodigy hailed as the number one divine physician in the Profound Sky Continent! The power he had displayed these past few days had left them utterly awestruck. Could his words be false?

Xiao Luocheng felt so overwhelmed with happiness that he was about to faint, and he asked with trembling lips, “Grandpa, is there really… really such a method?”

“Heh heh, do I, your grandpa, seem like someone who speaks carelessly?” Yun Che smiled “benevolently.” “This method, throughout the entire world, only I can accomplish it. And to complete this method, two conditions are required. First, your profound veins must be shattered. And second…”

“What… what is it?” Xiao Tiannan took a step forward, unable to wait. Reaching the Earth Profound Realm at sixteen was unheard of and unseen in the Azure Wind Empire. If it were truly achieved, his son Xiao Luocheng would undoubtedly be the foremost figure among the younger generation in the entire Azure Wind Empire, unprecedented and unparalleled. Just thinking about it made his whole body tremble with excitement.

“A… Dragon Pill,” Yun Che said slowly.