Chapter 542: Awakening Herb Cultivation Success

"Passionflower? Excellent!" Garden Master Xue nodded, then her expression turned a little awkward. "As for mid-grade spirit stones, I only have one here..."

Her medicine garden did indeed contain a few Passionflowers, with the oldest being 700 years old, which she could offer. However, regarding mid-grade spirit stones, even as a Pinnacle Mortals Realm, Fourth Dan expert, she possessed only one. Spirit stones of that caliber circulated only within the Illusion Feather Empire; the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance only used low-grade spirit stones. Even the entire royal family couldn't produce many, let alone her.

"Only one? One is fine!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

He needed the Passionflower to cultivate Soul Awakening Grass, which was for his personal use. However, the mid-grade spirit stone was not for that purpose. For weak plants to rapidly develop spiritual energy, the pure spiritual energy from mid-grade spirit stones was essential. Relying solely on low-grade spirit stones would likely prolong the process significantly.

"I'll prepare them now!" Garden Master Xue turned and hurried away.

She returned shortly. The items Zhang Xuan requested would be incredibly difficult, almost impossible, to gather in a few months for others. But for the Myriad Kingdoms City's premier medicine garden, all the required herbs were readily available, making the search simple. She even found a seedling of the Earth Vein Spirit Vine.

"My treatment requires absolute quiet. Please have everyone leave, Garden Master Xue!"

Grafting spiritual energy required the techniques of a Witch Soul Master. Although this profession was lost, and few would recognize it even if performed, it was still better to be cautious.

"Yes!"

Garden Master Xue knew that many techniques were exclusive secrets and that powerful individuals often preferred not to display them to others. She nodded immediately and led everyone away from the medicinal field. Once everyone had left, Zhang Xuan let out a breath. He looked at the spirit vine seedling before him, and with a thought, his witch soul left his body, beginning the treatment.

"Why has Master Teacher Zhang been in there so long? He still hasn't come out. Do you think he'll be able to buy the Passionflower?"

In the living room, Zhao Feiwu and Jin Conghai paced anxiously, constantly glancing outside. Only herb cultivators or master teachers were permitted into the medicinal field. As attendants, they couldn't enter and could only wait there. To their surprise, they waited for two or three hours. It was now completely dark, and still no one had emerged, filling them with anxiety.

"He should be able to... he's Master Teacher Zhang after all!" Jin Conghai said with a slight hesitation. Ever since they had met this young man, he had easily accomplished everything he set out to do, making them wonder if there was anything he couldn't do.

"I know Master Teacher Zhang's capabilities, but... I've long heard that Garden Master Xue has an eccentric personality and doesn't even give my father, the Alliance Head, any face. Now that the Earth Vein Spirit Vine is also in trouble, she'll surely be even more agitated. Trying to buy herbs from her at this time will be incredibly difficult. I'm afraid... that as soon as Master Teacher Zhang speaks, she won't just refuse but will actually drive him out!"

Although she admired Master Teacher Zhang's abilities, Zhao Feiwu was still quite worried. This Garden Master Xue was someone who didn't even regard her father, the Alliance Head of the Myriad Kingdoms Alliance. If she were in a good mood, it might be possible to buy something by paying a sufficient price and offering some kind words. But now... with the Earth Vein Spirit Vine half-dead and her mood at rock bottom, the difficulty of buying medicine would probably increase severalfold. She feared that Master Teacher Zhang might be expelled before he even had a chance to speak. Such things had happened before. An envoy from the Alliance Head's residence had been driven out in exactly this manner.

"This... it really is possible..." Jin Conghai was startled and also showed concern.

"It seems Master Teacher Zhang is determined to get the Passionflower. If it really doesn't work out, we'll have to go back and implore my father to step in. If he intervenes, Garden Master Xue should... not refuse!" By the end of her sentence, even she lacked much confidence. If her father's influence were useful, the envoy wouldn't have been driven out back then. Garden Master Xue, relying on her immense strength, was unyielding. Even with her considerable wit, Zhao Feiwu felt a headache and had no ideas. In the face of absolute power, all strategies were useless.

"It seems that's our only option... Look, someone's coming!" Jin Conghai nodded, unable to think of a better solution. Just as he was about to speak again, he suddenly froze and pointed forward.

Outside the living room, a figure approached. "It's Master Teacher Zhang..." It was indeed Zhang Xuan, who had entered earlier.

"Don't even think about it, he must have been driven out..." Seeing him appear alone, Zhao Feiwu forced a bitter smile, and she and Jin Conghai rushed forward to greet him.

"Master Teacher Zhang, you're out. It's okay if you couldn't buy the Passionflower. I'll go back and inform my father immediately, and he'll personally intervene to help you purchase it..." Approaching him, Zhao Feiwu saw that the young man's face was slightly pale and he looked a bit dejected, as if he had suffered humiliation. She quickly offered words of comfort.

"That's right! Garden Master Xue is famously eccentric. Please don't be upset..." Jin Conghai added hastily.

"Huh?" Before he could even speak upon his return, he was being comforted by the two, leaving Zhang Xuan speechless. Just as he was about to explain, he heard hurried footsteps behind him. Garden Master Xue and the others were hurrying towards them.

"What do you want?" Seeing their anxious faces, Jin Conghai quickly stepped in front of Zhang Xuan and the princess.

"Master Teacher Zhang, here are a hundred herbs, each around five hundred years old, as a small token of my appreciation. Furthermore, from today onwards, my West City Medicine Garden will be your eternal friend. Whatever Master Teacher Zhang needs, just say the word, and any medicine I can provide here will be given to you absolutely free!" Ignoring the tense Jin Conghai, Garden Master Xue approached Zhang Xuan, suddenly bowed deeply, and presented a storage ring, speaking.

"Eternal friend?"

"Free provision?"

Seeing the eccentric Garden Master Xue, who didn't even give face to the Alliance Head's residence, bowing and offering medicine the moment she arrived, Zhao Feiwu and Jin Conghai's eyes simultaneously widened. What on earth had happened...? Wasn't this person unyielding? How... how did she suddenly become like a student, bowing and offering medicine?

"Compared to Master Teacher Zhang, our herb cultivation methods are pitifully weak!"

"Thanks to Master Teacher Zhang, otherwise, this Earth Vein Spirit Vine would have had no hope of revival!"

Just as they were wondering what was going on, they heard murmurs from the crowd. "Master Teacher Zhang... cured the Earth Vein Spirit Vine?" Understanding dawned on them. They exchanged glances, going crazy at the same time. They had overheard Master Teacher Zhang's conversation with Lu Zhan earlier; a person who didn't even know what herb cultivation was had gone and cured the Earth Vein Spirit Vine, which a family specializing in herb cultivation couldn't heal... How could this entire situation feel so utterly unreliable?

"Master Teacher Zhang not only bought the Passionflower but also had Garden Master Xue personally escort him out of the medicine garden, even claiming all future herbs would be provided for free... and he cured the Earth Vein Spirit Vine?" At the Alliance Head's residence, Alliance Head Zhao's eyes widened as he listened to his daughter and Jin Conghai's report, his shock long refusing to subside...

Sitting cross-legged in his room, Zhang Xuan stared at the deep red flower before him. A fresh 700-year-old Passionflower! With enough medicinal ingredients and Witch Soul Master techniques, curing the Earth Vein Spirit Vine wasn't too difficult. By grafting, the vine regained its spiritual essence, for which Garden Master Xue was naturally extremely grateful.

The main purpose of this trip to the medicine garden was the Passionflower. Once he had it, he didn't linger and returned with Zhao Feiwu and Jin Conghai to the residence prepared for him. It was a modest manor, very close to the Alliance Head's residence, fully equipped with guards, attendants, and maids, saving Sun Qiang the trouble of finding them.

Upon arrival, after arranging for the Demonic Celestial Beast to rest, Zhang Xuan went straight into his room and took out the herb.

"Soul Extraction!" With a thought, a clear soul surged out from his acupuncture points. Zhang Xuan beckoned with his hand, and the flower, previously in front of his physical body, floated before him.

"Soul Awakening Grass is cultivated by carving soul-gathering formations onto plants capable of containing soul imprints... then using the soul to provide power for rapid growth..." After reviewing the cultivation method for Soul Awakening Grass in his mind, Zhang Xuan's eyes focused on the flower before him. Although Passionflower was a spiritual herb, it lacked its own spiritual essence, allowing it to easily accommodate a Witch Soul Master's soul power. Otherwise, if it were a spiritual herb with its own essence, other souls would immediately dissipate upon contact, thus nullifying any soul-awakening effect.

Soul power surged, and a powerful force enveloped the flower before him. The entire flower slowly began to change its appearance and form. Having completed his cultivation of the Heaven's Path Witch Soul Art, his soul power alone had already reached the Pinnacle Mortals Realm, Second Dan, significantly stronger than his true qi cultivation. Although cultivating Soul Awakening Grass was not easy, with his current soul power, he could accomplish it with ease.

For three consecutive days, he did not leave his room. Finally, on the fourth day, the fresh red flower before him shimmered with a soft hum and transformed into a pristine white seedling. The Soul Awakening Grass had been successfully cultivated!

"If I nourish it with my soul daily, it should mature in one or two months!" Zhang Xuan nodded with satisfaction. Although he had cultivated the Passionflower into Soul Awakening Grass, it was still a seedling and couldn't be used directly. However, there was no hurry; it would mature in at most one or two months. At that time, once it was made into Soul Awakening Incense, he should be able to revive Lu Chong, fulfilling a long-held wish.

Spending these three days hidden in his room, constantly using soul power, had left him feeling quite fatigued. With his soul returned to his body, he took out the mid-grade spirit stone he had "tricked" from Song Chao, absorbed its energy for a while, and fully recovered before finally stepping out of his room.

Outside, the sun was shining brightly. Before he even entered the courtyard, he saw Sun Qiang approaching. "Young Master, Master Teacher Su and Master Teacher Ling are here. They said they wish to see you."

Master Teacher Su Fan and Master Teacher Ling Yuheng were the two four-star master teachers who had invited him to participate in the Master Teacher Tournament back in Tianwu Kingdom.

"How did they know I was here?" Zhang Xuan paused, then shook his head. After arriving in Myriad Kingdoms City, he hadn't concealed his tracks. He had even gone to the West City Medicine Garden and solved the Earth Vein Spirit Vine problem. It wasn't surprising that the Master Teacher Pavilion, as the authoritative presence in the region, would uncover this information. He had previously said he would visit them as soon as he arrived in Myriad Kingdoms City. Now that he had been here for several days without going to the Master Teacher Pavilion, they couldn't wait any longer and had come looking for him.

"Let's go see them!" Understanding the situation, Zhang Xuan didn't say more but lifted his foot and walked towards the living room.