Chapter 254: Heavenly Soul Medicine Garden, Ten-Thousand-Year Medicine King

After reviewing all his gains, Wang Yu found his knowledge of soul cultivation to be nearly complete, eliminating any future concerns about legacies. Even his path in body cultivation presented no long-term difficulties. The trip to the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest had resolved all such issues.

The only thing he lacked now were the necessary resources, which would be the most time-consuming aspect to resolve.

After confirming that this level of the Scripture Repository held no more secrets, Wang Yu approached the staircase. The moment he stepped down, he found himself instantly outside the repository, at its main entrance.

Long Yiran had already emerged, prompting Wang Yu to ask, "How much time has passed?"

"Not long, only about two months," she replied. "Brother Wang, are you pleased with your gains?"

"I suppose I've achieved most of what I desired," Wang Yu responded. "And you, Master Long?"

At this, Long Yiran produced a new jade slip, clearly inscribed recently, and handed it to Wang Yu. Inside was information related to the Heaven and Earth Token, a legacy from the Scripture Repository. It detailed a Tier 4 soul cultivation technique called the Heaven and Earth Soul Refining Art. However, unlike the Ancient Soul Art, it was only a mid-grade technique. It also contained numerous secret arts, elixir recipes, and diagrams for soul artifacts. After examining it, Wang Yu discovered some of the content would be useful to him.

"Thank you," Wang Yu said.

"There's no need for thanks; we agreed on this beforehand," she replied. "Where shall we go next?"

Wang Yu responded without hesitation, "The medicinal garden."

The Heavenly Soul Sect's medicinal garden was sure to contain numerous spiritual herbs for soul cultivation. Having just acquired several elixir recipes, it was an opportune time to visit.

The Heavenly Soul Sect had been destroyed so suddenly and completely that even the space around its mountain gate was shattered, transforming into a secret realm. Sustained solely by the Nether Tiger Array, it had remained virtually untouched by accidental intruders for millennia.

After the medicinal garden, the Heavenly Soul Sect's treasury was another highly anticipated destination.

There were still many areas within the ruins to explore, such as obtaining more disciple tokens from blood corpses to gain access to every floor of the Scripture Repository. Their ultimate progress depended entirely on their own limits.

"Leave it to me," Long Yiran declared, readily taking charge. She pulled out her small compass and began her calculations, pinpointing their direction within moments.

"The earth's veins seek spirits; the Azure Emperor shows the way," she murmured. "Plants guide; the wind scents the earth's essence. The spiritual energy of vegetation is strongest to the east; it's most likely that way—let's go!"

"Alright," Wang Yu affirmed.

Wang Yu felt a touch of envy for the compass. This artifact, known as the Feng Shui Compass, had its crafting method detailed in the second profound chapter of the "Earth Mother Sutra" on Geomancy Secret Arts.

Its required materials differed from those for ordinary magical artifacts. It necessitated earth energies from the four cardinal directions, stellar qi from the heavens, supplemented by the essence of four winds and four waters, and was refined from black copper. The process was not only intricate but also resulted in a fragile treasure, prone to damage.

The compass in Long Yiran's hand clearly showed its age, with signs of decay along its edges, suggesting it was likely among the treasures she acquired when she received her legacy.

Guided by the Feng Shui Compass, they easily located the area within the Heavenly Soul Sect ruins where the spiritual energy of plants was most abundant. "Is this the Heavenly Soul Medicinal Garden?" Wang Yu asked.

"There's no mistake," Long Yiran affirmed confidently.

Long Yiran confidently vouched for it.

After leaving the Scripture Repository, they traveled for several days, crossing numerous areas shrouded by arrays, before finally arriving at the medicinal garden.

The area was enveloped in a misty, blood-red fog, permeated by the distinctive spiritual energy of countless herbs. It was enclosed by white walls, defensive arrays, and various restrictions, stretching as far as the eye could see.

"With such dense blood mist, there must be blood corpses inside," Wang Yu observed. "Let's try using a token first."

"Good idea," Long Yiran agreed.

However, neither the True Disciple Token nor the Heaven and Earth Token could deactivate the medicinal garden's protective array. The residual power here was significantly stronger than that found in the Scripture Repository. It was possible these tokens were never intended for the medicinal garden array; logically, they would need to find an Elder's Token specific to this garden. Such a token, however, would not be easily found.

"Can you breach the array?" Wang Yu asked.

"I'll try," Long Yiran replied.

A moment later, a disheartened Long Yiran, beads of sweat on her brow, shook her head.

"This array is connected to the earth's veins," she explained. "Inside, there are several core medicinal fields that provide a continuous supply of plant spiritual energy to the formation. There must be 'great medicines' within!" 'Great medicines' typically referred to spiritual herbs that had gained sentience.

Medicinal ingredients like ginseng, reishi mushrooms, and fleeceflower root, valued by their age, were most prone to gaining sentience. The older they grew, the more potent their medicinal properties became, with no discernible limit. These plant spirits were a type of demonic being, yet inherently possessed wisdom. Their native growing environments were highly conducive to the cultivation of spiritual herbs. When captured by major powers, they typically became the "Kings of the Medicinal Garden." If an important figure in a sect faced imminent demise, these medicine kings would be used to extend life or heal injuries, serving as a vital part of the sect's foundational strength. Legend even claimed that a medicine king aged ninety thousand years could assist one in achieving the Deity Transformation stage.

To his knowledge, the Anti-Spirit Blood Sect possessed at least ten or more medicine kings. While this might not sound rare, they were seldom found in the wild forests, with only scattered traces reported in the Vermillion Bird Divine Mountain and the Savage Ancient Plains.

It was certainly plausible for the Heavenly Soul Sect to possess such medicine kings. However, it was somewhat unusual that they hadn't been taken during the Blood Demon Chaos.

This wasn't the first time they had encountered an unbreakable array. Wang Yu typically reserved his Forbidden-Breaking Talismans for truly necessary situations. However, the clear value of this medicinal garden justified using such a powerful trump card.

"Let's first walk around the medicinal garden and search for weak points in the array," Wang Yu suggested. "If we absolutely cannot break through, I will try using a Forbidden-Breaking Talisman."

"Understood," Long Yiran replied.

Long Yiran nodded repeatedly and followed dutifully behind Wang Yu, two golden rings reappearing in her eyes as she scanned their surroundings.

This reconnaissance lasted several more days.

"—I found it!" Long Yiran exclaimed.

Wang Yu's eyes lit up at her words, and he turned to his reliable companion. "The array that uses the medicine king as its core," she explained, "is both strengthened and weakened by it. After these past few days of investigation, I've discovered that something is wrong with the medicine king inside. It appears to have been unrooted for a long time, which has created a vulnerability in the array. This is the weak point."

Without waiting for Wang Yu to prompt her, Long Yiran immediately set to work.

One by one, array patterns transformed into thick talismans, imprinting themselves upon various nodes of the towering white wall. They eventually formed a peculiar formation: outer trigrams enclosing an inner square.

"It's done!" she exclaimed. Visible spiritual light began to overflow, and the inner square transformed into a gateway. Long Yiran stepped through first, with Wang Yu following closely behind.

"Such incredibly dense blood mist," Long Yiran gasped the moment they stepped inside.

Compared to the ruined environment outside, the Heavenly Soul Medicinal Garden concentrated far more spiritual energy from the Tier 5 spiritual veins. The blood mist was so pervasive that visibility was almost zero, making it impossible to see one's hand in front of their face.

They stood on black, medicinal-rich soil, within a shallow groove along the wall, which appeared to be a deliberately constructed channel for irrigation, much like a rice paddy.

"Don't move," Wang Yu cautioned. "The blood mist can block spiritual perception. If we separate, it will be difficult to find each other again."

Long Yiran acknowledged his warning by squatting down and picking up a handful of the medicinal soil, bringing it to her nose.

"This is supreme spiritual soil," she noted, sniffing. "It contains abundant medicinal qi from decayed herbs, which is incredibly beneficial for spiritual plant growth. Following the flow of earth energy, the first medicine king, which also serves as an array eye, should be located in that direction."

The array master had again efficiently pointed the way, but a sense of foreboding lingered in Wang Yu's heart. The last time the blood mist gathered, they encountered a blood corpse giant that neither of them could handle. The current blood mist concentration in the Heavenly Soul Medicinal Garden far surpassed that previous encounter. While their individual strengths had significantly increased, there was no guarantee they could contend with a higher level of danger.

Moreover, after the Nether Tiger Suppressing Prison Array had been triggered twice, the secret realm's spatial stability was already compromised. Another activation... and who knew what might happen.

After a moment's thought, Wang Yu produced a Void Escape Talisman. With his left hand, he gently grasped Long Yiran's wrist, causing her face to flush, leaving her momentarily speechless.

Wang Yu quickly cleared his mind, pulling her towards the array eye. In the Heavenly Soul Medicinal Garden, the medicine king was undeniably the most valuable item, so it was only natural to head in that direction first.

After only a few steps, Wang Yu stopped dead. Beneath his feet, he found an abundance of Ghost Cry plants, the primary ingredient for Tier 2 Soul Origin Pills. He had previously only acquired a significant amount with Jin Miaoshan's help, so it was astonishing to find them growing so commonly here.

He carefully gathered them one by one, collecting a total of thirty-two plants. As per their agreement, he gave half to Long Yiran, which seemed to make her even more flustered.

They continued onward, and more Tier 2 spiritual herbs came into view. Due to their wild growth, many weren't in prime condition, but there were also numerous perfect specimens.

"Yinluo Snake Fruits, Evil Root Fruits, Corpse Scent Taro… Jade Lotus White Stems," Wang Yu listed as they picked.

For some unknown reason, the spiritual herbs were scattered haphazardly, not at all resembling systematic cultivation. It was more as if birds had consumed spiritual herbs and then indiscriminately scattered seeds through their droppings, which then germinated. They grew in tangled clusters, with a chaotic mix of varieties.

Half an hour later, Wang Yu's pace suddenly quickened, and his expression lit up with pleasant surprise. He had discovered yet another ingredient for the Exquisite Inner Elixir.

"—The Hundred Grass Qi Root!" With the Golden Qi Root and the Turbid Qi Root already in his possession, only one more Qi Root was needed to restore this ancient elixir recipe to its original glory. He wondered if the even more precious and rare Seven Aperture Qi Root might also be found here. He carefully collected it and sealed it within a jade box.

"Master Long," Wang Yu said, turning his head, "this spiritual plant is something I've been searching for tirelessly. The next Tier 3 spiritual herb we find will be yours."

"There's no need to be so polite, Brother Wang," Long Yiran replied. "I trust you."

"Very well then," Wang Yu conceded. Since she didn't mind, he said no more, and his excitement for the Heavenly Soul Medicinal Garden grew. It felt akin to collecting gold, an activity easily becoming addictive.

The unknown gains coupled with simple acquisition conditions made this medicinal garden an incredibly worthwhile discovery. He wondered what magnificent treasures awaited them in the Heavenly Soul Sect's treasury. The remnants of an ancient dominant power were surely enough to make both of them immensely rich.

Soon after, perhaps due to their proximity to the array's core, the quality of the spiritual herbs dramatically improved. Each new discovery was almost always a Tier 3 plant. Even when divided between them, their haul surpassed what they had gathered from the poisonous plant fields beneath the Serpent Manor, and every item was a rare variety, commanding prices several times higher.

Wang Yu also managed to find various primary ingredients for refining Tier 3 soul elixirs, accumulating almost all he needed. Perhaps he could even begin refining them once they left.

Of course, to ensure success, he preferred to fully master an elixir recipe, thoroughly comprehend its principles, and gain refining experience through the system's placement function before attempting actual alchemy.

Now that he had mastered more elixir recipes, he realized that alchemy skills and recipes had a symbiotic relationship: improved alchemy led to higher quality elixirs, and perfecting recipes provided substantial refining experience, which, in turn, advanced his alchemy skills.

This meant that the third slot, which he had specifically reserved for alchemy, could now be rotated with elixir recipes, enabling him to master perfected Tier 3 alchemy even faster.

(End of chapter)