"We should hurry over. It's been so long since my Senior Brother saw me, he must be worried sick!"
Xie Qinglan thought to herself with full confidence. After all, these past years, her Senior Brother had always been exceptionally caring toward her.
Song Wanníng didn't try to stop her. She simply led Xie Qinglan quickly toward the source of the five-colored radiance.
At the same time, the beasts of Cannibal Valley had also noticed the disturbance. Forget about fear—every one of them was now charging in that direction, eager to seize whatever treasure lay ahead.
When Song Wanníng arrived, the palace gates stood wide open. Outside, broken plants and trampled earth bore the marks of beastly claws and hooves. Clearly, many had already gone inside.
"Qinglan, once we're in, if we get separated, be careful. The beasts here in Cannibal Valley are all of considerable cultivation."
Xie Qinglan was still young, only at Divine Transformation stage. If she ran into one of those beasts, it would be more than she could handle.
"Alright. You be careful too, Wanníng!" Xie Qinglan nodded gravely and stepped into the palace.
As expected, the instant they entered, the scene shifted.
Song Wanníng looked around. There was no sign of Xie Qinglan anywhere. Her gaze grew somber as she studied her surroundings.
The air was thick with the heady fragrance of medicinal herbs, so strong it almost burned its way into her lungs. Not far away, a white scroll floated in midair. Beside it, a brush glowed with a shimmering azure light, hanging suspended as if waiting.
She stepped closer. Three characters were written boldly across the scroll: Bai Yao Lu — Compendium of a Hundred Medicines.
Song Wanníng understood instantly. This palace was another inheritance hall.
The thought of Xiao Heyun, a man skilled in all four arts of cultivation, made her lips curl slightly, though her eyes only grew colder, bringing with them the shadow of unwelcome memories.
Back then, Mu Zixu had stubbornly refused to grant her the inheritance, even though she had been more capable. He had gone so far as to suppress her at every turn and even tried to have her killed. If she ran into the same thing again today…
Heh.
The cold light in her eyes faded. She strode straight to the scroll. Closing her eyes, she readied herself. Since she had come, she would prove her worth.
The fragrance filled her senses. She had to identify each herb in that mingled scent and write its name down, one by one. This was the most basic exercise for a pill refiner, yet also the most difficult. There were countless spirit herbs in the world—who could claim to know them all, let alone recognize them by scent alone?
And here, so many fragrances were interwoven, making them even harder to distinguish. Song Wanníng pushed aside all distractions. In her mind, she returned to her earliest days of pill refining. Back then, her master had worried her cultivation was growing too quickly and her mindset could not keep pace. To temper her heart, he had set her to study alchemy.
No one had expected her to possess a rare talent for it. She had learned at astonishing speed, to the point where several pill grandmasters had joked about stealing her from her master. In those days, she had lived in the pill chamber, holding herself to the strictest standards.
If she was going to do something, she would push herself to the limit.
If she wasn't suited for it, she would give it up quickly rather than waste time.
…
Elsewhere, Xiao Heyun was also inhaling deeply, feigning calm, though inside he was in constant conversation with his system.
"System, lend me some points right now. I have to get this inheritance."
He had spent most of his time chasing and flattering women. As for the four arts of cultivation—he hardly had time to practice.
Not that it mattered. The system was his cheat.
Now, at such a crucial moment, he needed its help.
"Host, you already owe more than three hundred points."
The system sounded exasperated. He hadn't even repaid what he'd borrowed last time.
"Don't worry. Once I bed Xie Qinglan, I'll get over ten thousand points. I can pay you back easily."
Xiao Heyun found the system laughably stingy.
The system hesitated, then grudgingly transferred him the points.
He immediately exchanged them for the system's Herb Discernment function. Suddenly, the muddled scents in the air separated into perfect clarity.
Opening his eyes, he wore the look of someone entirely in control. Lifting the brush, he began writing down the herb names at speed.
The faster he wrote, the more smug his expression became.
Wherever he went, he was the most outstanding. These treasures were his by right—no one else could take them.
…
In the Immortal Realm, Wuji Sect.
Dao Qing sat beneath a bodhi tree, sipping tea while watching the sudden opening of a palace in the lower realm.
That palace had once been his traveling medicine house. But during one expedition, he had strayed into a spatial storm and nearly lost his life. In his panic to escape, he had thrown away many treasures, including the medicine house. By the time he was rescued, it was gone, lost who knew where.
Now, not only had it reappeared, but people had entered it. The so-called trials they would face were simply the exercises he himself had used to learn pill refining—tests that now served as a convenient measure of skill.
Dao Qing remained calm. He already had seven disciples and was not looking to take more. Still, if someone's talent or temperament suited him, he might make an exception. Choosing a worthy inheritor in the lower realm would not be a bad idea. He savored his tea, a gift from his youngest disciple, Situ Yue. The brew was mellow and lingering, with a deep bitterness that left a long, fragrant aftertaste. It had become one of his recent favorites.
Speak of the devil.
Situ Yue came bouncing toward him with her senior brothers. Behind them walked a woman with a dark expression—his eldest disciple, Lan Yue.
Dao Qing's gaze paused briefly.
Ever since he had accepted his youngest disciple, his eldest had been… different. The two had never gotten along, so seeing them arrive together was unexpected. Still, he didn't interfere in their quarrels. His disciples were all dear to him, and he would not take sides.
"Master, what are you doing here?"
Situ Yue hopped up to his side and dropped onto the stool beside him without hesitation, clinging to his arm and pouting playfully.
Affection softened Dao Qing's expression. He patted her head. "The medicine house I lost has stirred again. I'm watching from here."
"Oh, there are people inside!"
Situ Yue's bright eyes fixed on the water mirror. Her gaze landed on Xiao Heyun, and she blinked at the sight of his striking face.
A perfect, devastatingly handsome man!
As a shameless face-connoisseur, Situ Yue's eyes lit up.
"He's amazing! Look how fast he's writing. Unlike me—I still haven't learned how to tell herbs apart…"