Chapter 536: Herbal Medicine Family

The young man who arrived was actually... a four-star master teacher!

"Luo Qingyan greets Master Song!" Seeing the young man, Luo Qingyan immediately turned around, clasped her fists, and respectfully greeted him. If Zhang Xuan had been there, he would certainly have recognized him as the person who bought the Soulless Golden Figurine from him in Honghai City, getting scammed out of a large sum of spirit stones.

"Garden Master Qingyan, what happened to you...?" Song Chao looked at the proud and beautiful garden master, covered in dirt and looking dishevelled, his face full of questions.

After acquiring the Soulless Golden Figurine, he had returned to Myriad Kingdom City. Remembering Master Zhang's guidance, he didn't rest much, instead traveling to various medicinal gardens to purchase herbs. This was how he had met the garden master a few times.

She was beautiful and captivating, a true temptress who had stirred his heart. Why did she now look so dishevelled, as if she had just been severely beaten?

"Please, Master Song, intercede for me!" Luo Qingyan's eyes darted, then a flicker passed through them. She immediately feigned tears and was about to kneel.

"Intercede? What happened?" Song Chao reached out to stop her, looking at her strangely.

"Just now, someone wanted to enter the medicinal garden," Luo Qingyan said, feigning weakness and pitifulness. "I remembered Garden Master Xue's instructions that she doesn't like strangers, so I tried to stop him. Who knew... he ordered his spirit beast to beat me up!"

"Master Song, I truly didn't know he was a master teacher. If I had known, I wouldn't have dared to stop him, nor would I have dared to say another word..."

"He had his spirit beast beat you up just because you tried to stop him?" Song Chao's eyebrows furrowed.

"Actually, it's not the master teacher's fault," Luo Qingyan said hastily. "Although he wasn't wearing master teacher attire and didn't reveal his identity, I should have asked him beforehand. I just made him wait outside without even asking... I beg Master Song to help intercede for me. Qingyan won't dare to do it again next time..."

She spoke words of apology, but in reality, she deliberately downplayed her own rudeness while exaggerating the other party's domineering behavior. This made it seem as if the other party was being unreasonable: not only did he not reveal his identity, but he also deliberately beat up someone who was simply upholding strict rules.

As expected, upon hearing her ambiguous words, Song Chao's expression darkened.

Master teachers represent the Master Teacher Pavilion. When outside, they must always maintain their identity. Behaving so wantonly, what's the difference between that and being a bully?

"Don't worry, this isn't your fault," Song Chao declared, waving his hand. "When I see that fellow later, I will give him a good lesson, so he understands what it means to be a role model and to possess proper teacher's conduct! I'll make him apologize to you!"

It was already outrageous for a master teacher to enter without an invitation, but to beat someone up was simply too brazen!

"Thank you, Master Song!" Seeing that he believed her and was willing to seek justice for her, Luo Qingyan's eyes lit up with excitement. She looked at the young man again, full of admiration.

"Do you see? This is the domineering presence of a four-star master teacher!" Only a master teacher of this level would dare to openly declare that they'd teach another master teacher a lesson!

"Hmph, you were so arrogant just now, letting your spirit beast sit on me with its backside! Just wait until you meet Master Song; let's see how arrogant you can be then!" In her opinion, the other party was not even twenty years old and clearly not as strong as her. Even if he was a master teacher, he'd be at most a two-star. Wouldn't he immediately bow and scrape and obediently listen when facing a four-star?

"I'll take Master Song to him right now!" The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. She hastily led the way.

"Mm!" Song Chao nodded, hands clasped behind his back, and followed, intent on avenging the beauty.

Led by the maid, Zhang Xuan and his companions walked through a long corridor and arrived at a large hall. The room was already crowded with people, easily over a hundred.

The so-called banquet hadn't officially begun, and people were gathered in groups of six or seven, seemingly discussing something.

"Master Zhang, this is where the banquet will be held. The Garden Master will personally come to entertain later. I'll take my leave now!" The maid nodded and withdrew.

If her initial impression of him had been reckless, arrogant, and ignorant, after he helped diagnose her illness and provided a solution, she was thoroughly impressed and now regarded him as an idol.

"Mm!" Knowing she still had to guard the garden gate, Zhang Xuan said no more. He waved his hand and walked into the hall.

"Garden Master Xue usually doesn't even let us into the medicinal garden, so why did she suddenly invite us this time? Is something going on? It can't just be a simple banquet, can it!""You don't know?""I've been away these past few days and only just returned today to receive the invitation. How could I know!""I heard that the medicinal garden's most treasured item, its 'Guardian Treasure,' has fallen gravely ill and could die at any moment. The banquet is just a pretext; the real purpose is for us garden masters to come together and find a solution!""Guardian Treasure? Are you talking about...""Shhh, keep your voice down! I only heard this through internal rumors; I'm not entirely clear on the details!""If that's the case, why not just find someone to cure it directly? Why all this mystery, talking about a banquet...""That, I don't know. You know Garden Master Xue has a strange temperament. She doesn't even care about the Alliance Leader's Mansion, so if she says this, she definitely has her own reasons...""That's true!"

As the three walked among the crowd, hushed conversations reached their ears.

"Guardian Treasure? Could it be..." Zhao Feiwu's eyebrows furrowed on the side.

"You know?" Zhang Xuan looked at her, seeing her recall something.

"I've read some books about medicinal gardens before and know a little!" Zhao Feiwu nodded, lowering her voice. "It should be the Earth Vein Spirit Vine!"

"Earth Vein Spirit Vine?" Zhang Xuan was puzzled.

Although he had read many books, he hadn't delved into those about medicinal gardens, and this was the first time he had heard this name.

"Yes!" Zhao Feiwu nodded. "This isn't really a secret; most medicinal gardens have something like this. The Earth Vein Spirit Vine is a peculiar plant that can attach itself to earth veins and grow, gathering absorbed spiritual energy, minerals, water... and nurturing the soil, creating incredibly fertile land suitable for growing various medicinal herbs."

Just as a flock of sheep continuously grazing in the same spot will eventually deplete even the densest grass, the same principle applies to medicinal herbs. If only one herb grows in a spot, it's fine, but if too many grow, competition arises for spiritual energy, water, and special minerals. Excessive competition is like a grazed-bare grassland; without nutrient supply, even the most potent herbs will wither. The reason medicinal gardens can continuously supply herbs, enduring over time and ensuring healthy growth for all plants, is precisely because of the existence of this item. Once it declines or dies, the entire medicinal garden is effectively finished, and all herbs in the fertile land will be destroyed.

"With the Earth Vein Spirit Vine present, the medicinal herbs grown in the fertile land are not only much better in color and size than those from ordinary places, but more importantly, their growth speed is also considerably faster. Some legendary five-hundred-year-old herbs can be harvested here in two hundred years. Otherwise, who could live five hundred years just to cultivate a single herb?"

"I see!" Zhang Xuan nodded. He had been somewhat curious before: spirit herbs weren't like rice or wheat, where you could plant vast quantities without issue. These plants had enormous demands for spiritual energy and various nutrients. Even if a medicinal garden's soil was incredibly fertile, it would probably be difficult to supply so many different types. So, such a thing existed.

"If they are talking about this item, no wonder Garden Master Xue is anxious," Zhao Feiwu continued. "Without the Earth Vein Spirit Vine's neutralizing and regulating effect, densely planted herbs would quickly wither..."

This was like a formation that regulated the growth of spirit herbs; once destroyed, the various demands of the herbs would fall into chaos. Without sufficient nutrient supply, it would be strange if the herbs didn't wither.

"Mm!" Zhang Xuan nodded. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a warm voice not far away.

"Brother, are you also here for the banquet with your family elders?" The speaker was a friendly-looking young man with two dimples on his face when he smiled, making him seem rather charming.

"Elders?" Zhang Xuan was startled.

"That's right. The only people who receive invitations are the garden masters, the 'Medicine Kings' responsible for selling herbs, and members of medicinal herb cultivating families. I've met all eight garden masters and seven Medicine Kings of Myriad Kingdom City, but I haven't seen you before. So naturally, you must be here with your elders!" the young man said with a smile.

"Medicinal herb cultivating families?" Zhang Xuan was a little confused. He knew about garden masters and understood what 'Medicine Kings' were, but what were medicinal herb cultivating families?

"You don't know about medicinal herb cultivating families?" Seeing his confused expression, the young man's eyes widened in disbelief.

This was one of the most basic things about medicinal gardens. How did he even get in if he didn't know this?

"Cultivating medicinal herbs requires dedicated care, and our medicinal herb cultivating families are the ones who supply such cultivators to the medicinal gardens!" the young man explained.

Where there are crops, there are farmers. Where there are sheep, there are shepherds... Similarly, where there are medicinal herbs, there are naturally herb cultivators. The higher the grade of the medicinal herb, the more difficult it is to cultivate. Like beast taming or pill forging, it is a very intricate and complex field of study. Cultivating a powerful medicinal herb not only requires time but, more importantly, human and material resources, as well as a wide range of experience.

During the cultivation process, making even one wrong step could prevent the herb from reaching perfect grade (which would be a minor issue), or worse, cause it to wither and die!

Take the Mortal Pill herb, Qingzhou Grass, for example. This herb requires water from a virgin maiden to survive. If the maiden involved has relations with another man, and she then waters it, the entire herb will instantly turn into a cloud of thick smoke and completely dissipate. Qingzhou Grass, meaning "to stay with you," is used to test a woman's purity because of this characteristic.

The Quyue Flower, which resembles a human eye when it blooms, requires someone to constantly dance and sing beside it for it to survive, as if finding joy in the music. Otherwise, it will quickly die.

There are countless other strange and rare medicinal herbs in the world, and cultivating them without systematic inherited knowledge is as hard as ascending to the heavens. It is precisely because of such inheritances that families specializing in cultivating herbs exist.

In the past, when the Master Teacher Pavilion established various professions, they considered herb cultivation. Unfortunately, this profession had a fragmented inheritance with no unified schools of thought. Most critically, it didn't have high cultivation requirements, only needing extensive knowledge. As a result, it ultimately did not become a recognized specialized profession. Otherwise, it would certainly have a place among the myriad trades of the lower nine ranks.