Chapter 33: Medicine King Spiritual Liquid

Under the brilliant night sky, the majestic figure of the Enlightenment Tree King overshadowed the moonlight. The junior Medicine Kings splashed happily in the water, and even Lu Yang joined in, becoming one with them. Time seemed to stand still, and the scene was exceptionally harmonious.

Once the junior Medicine Kings had bathed to their content, they sprawled out on the ground and atop the wooden house, sound asleep.

The Enlightenment Tree King, however, wasn't idle. While the junior Medicine Kings slept, it collected the wooden buckets and water, which puzzled Lu Yang.

"What are you doing?" Lu Yang asked.

The Enlightenment Tree King casually replied, "Oh, Elder Ba asked for it. He said bathwater is very valuable and that Daozong Sect disciples love using it."

The Enlightenment Tree King's branches stirred, performing a gesture akin to a shrug, indicating its helplessness regarding human behavior. As a plant, it found some human customs strange. For instance, it knew that humans particularly enjoyed using its "hair"—its leaves—to brew tea, or its "skin" in cooking for added fragrance, perhaps something like cinnamon.

"Oh, right," it added, "Elder Ba even gave the bathwater a nice name: 'Medicine King Spirit Liquid.' You humans are truly cultured; your naming skills are far superior to ours."

"Medicine King Spirit Liquid?"

Lu Yang unconsciously repeated the name under his breath, finding it familiar, as if he'd seen it somewhere before. He quickly realized where. Wasn't this the extremely popular Medicine King Spirit Liquid on the contribution point exchange list? The list described Medicine King Spirit Liquid as a precious fluid specially refined by high-ranking members of the Daozong Sect. So *this* was how it was "specially refined"!

Lu Yang began to question the various strange items on the list. While the descriptions seemed fine, that didn't mean there weren't hidden issues!

In the following days, Lu Yang diligently burrowed through the ground while listening to the junior Medicine Kings ceaselessly chatter about herbal knowledge, leading a very fulfilling life.

"I remember there's a patch of Eight Treasures Lotuses up ahead," the Ginseng Doll said from behind Lu Yang. "They're so soft and pink, absolutely beautiful. Do you want to burrow over and take a look?"

"...Aren't lotuses supposed to grow in ponds?"

"That's right," the Ginseng Doll nodded as if it were obvious.

"Then wouldn't I dive headfirst into a pond if I burrowed through?"

The Ginseng Doll suddenly understood. "Oh, right. You make a lot of sense."

"..."

Following the Ginseng Doll's directions, Lu Yang surfaced from the ground. Not far away were the magnificent Eight Treasures Lotuses, with morning dew condensing and dripping from their petal tips, creating ripples in the water.

The Eight Treasures Lotus had properties for clearing heat, removing dampness, detoxifying, and nourishing the heart, making it a common ingredient in alchemy.

"I just don't know why the Eight Treasures Lotus is called 'Eight Treasures'," Lu Yang mused, recalling something he had read in a book. This was an unsolved mystery among alchemists, with countless of them writing books and citing classics to propose various theories. For instance, some claimed it was named "Eight Treasures" because it had eight effects. Others suggested its name evolved from the Supreme Eight Trigrams. Still others believed "Eight Treasures" alluded to the body's eight meridians, and that consuming the lotus could clear them... In short, there were all sorts of theories.

Lu Yang leaned towards the first theory, that it had eight effects. Whatever else, at least that one sounded plausible.

"You're talking about that? I know!" the Ginseng Doll exclaimed.

"You know?"

The Ginseng Doll put its root-hands on its hips and said proudly, "Yes, the Eight Treasures Lotus was discovered by the Ancient Moon Recluse. We accidentally stumbled into an undiscovered secret realm. Luckily, our cultivation was profound, so the realm wasn't dangerous for us. We had a grand time playing in the realm. When we got tired, we just rested wherever we were, ate, slept, all for the atmosphere. During one of our meals, the Ancient Moon Recluse found a patch of pink lotuses he'd never seen before. I asked him what he wanted to name them, and he glanced at the eight-treasures porridge in his hand and casually said, 'Why not call them Eight Treasures Lotuses?' Later, he took a few lotus plants with him, cultivated them outside, and that's how they reached their current scale."

Lu Yang was speechless. This wasn't the first time he'd heard a story about the Ancient Moon Recluse; each one had an unexpected ending. Other junior Medicine Kings had also traveled far and wide and experienced many things, but none of their tales were as entertaining as the Ginseng Doll's.

Through interacting with the junior Medicine Kings, they gradually accepted Lu Yang. Even when Lu Yang returned to his original size, they didn't shun him; instead, they found the "big guy" quite fun.

A month passed in a flash. During this time, Elder Ba took away the empty spirit stones and the junior Medicine Kings' bathwater, bringing back a large quantity of high-grade spirit stones for the junior Medicine Kings to bury in their original spots. Elder Ba also occasionally harvested many medicinal herbs to supply Pill Cauldron Peak.

"Originally, the Ancient Moon Recluse wasn't called Ancient Moon Recluse," the Ginseng Doll chattered in Lu Yang's ear, recounting the Ancient Moon Recluse's "dark history" as usual. "His surname was Hu, and he called himself Recluse Hu. His handwriting wasn't very good, and once when he wrote his name, the character 'Hu' was written too spread out, causing people to read it as 'Ancient Moon Recluse.' Since he was a naturally nonchalant person, he simply went with it and continued to call himself Ancient Moon Recluse."

Just then, Elder Ba sent a telepathic message to Lu Yang. "Lu Yang, come out for a moment."

When he arrived at the medicine garden entrance, he saw an affectionate couple: the husband was sunny and confident, and the wife was petite and clingy. However, Lu Yang couldn't compliment their choice of clothing. The couple wore garments that resembled swimming rings, incredibly puffy, the kind that would allow them to float even if they fell into the sea. This was their tribe's customary attire.

"Who are these two...?"

"Let me introduce them," Elder Ba said. "These are your seniors, the Silver-Ringed Heavenly King Earthworms."

Lu Yang suddenly understood. It seemed the marital conflict had been resolved, and the couple had reconciled, meaning he no longer needed to dig. Resolving an emotional dispute in just a month was surprisingly fast. He had expected it to be a forty or fifty-episode drama, ending with the heroine losing her memory, the hero awakening it, and finally a happy ending.

"This is Lu Yang," Elder Ba continued. "You two should have heard of him; he's the Sect Master's fourth disciple, personally trained by Yun Zhi."

"Greetings, seniors," Lu Yang bowed. The Silver-Ringed Heavenly King Earthworms were so startled their hearts trembled, and they quickly moved to support Lu Yang, not daring to accept his bow.

"You're Yun Zhi's junior martial brother," the husband said. "My name is Li Yin, but you can just call me Little Li. This is my wife, Little Li."

Who would dare treat the Devil Woman's junior martial brother as a junior? Lu Yang had no idea what kind of image his senior martial sister held in others' minds.

"How did you two resolve your marital problem?"

"What's so difficult about that?" A voice came from underground.

Another couple emerged from the ground, looking exactly like the Silver-Ringed Heavenly King Earthworms.

"Since my wife could split herself into two, becoming a pair of sisters, I naturally could also split myself into two, creating a brother," Little Li said proudly.

The second Little Li couple was also very affectionate.

Elder Ba nodded contentedly; this idea had been his. He was quite responsible; if he caused a problem, he'd solve it.