Long Chen went to the Pill Institute and headed straight to the Medicine Garden. He quickly found the person in charge of the Medicine Garden, since they had already interacted before, so this time they were quite familiar with each other.
The person in charge hurried over to greet Long Chen when he saw Long Chen arrive: "Third Master, you're here again. This time, you're ... Do you have any instructions? Last
time, Long Chen took some herbs, but he turned a blind eye. Long Chen didn't expose their tricks of withholding herbs, transplanting them privately, and pocketing their own pockets. Everyone understood it without words.
"Prepare some rare herbs for me. I want live ones, one of each. I'll pay you three times the price the Dan Institute would pay for it." Long Chen didn't waste words and got straight to the point.
"Third Master, don't say anything you need. Just say it directly. Money or not—that's too formal." The person in charge said with a flattering smile.
As long as Long Chen didn't make things difficult for them, they were already burning incense. They didn't even dare to think about making money off him.
"Go ahead and get it. Each plant isn't worth much. I can't let you work for nothing. Consider it treating you to tea." Long Chen waved his hand and said.
He knew that those guarding the herb garden had a network of connections and knew everyone else in the garden.
Long Chen couldn't be bothered to collect each plant from the medicinal gardens one by one, so he simply let them help, which would save a lot of time.
The person in charge didn't dare to slack off and hurried off to get to work. After an hour, he brought back over three thousand herbal medicines.
"Third Master, a few of the medicinal garden managers aren't here, so for now we've only received these. What do you ...think?" the person in charge said.
Long Chen curled his lips. From the flickering look in his eyes, he could tell what he was thinking—this guy was testing Long Chen.
"Then take these first. Here are thirteen thousand immortal crystals, here are for you." Long Chen directly tossed him a bag of immortal crystals.
The person in charge was overjoyed, but put on an extremely humble expression and said, "Third Master, you flatter me. It's my honor to serve you—how could I accept your money?" "
Third Master never lets others do things for free. Take these immortal crystals, then try to contact those people and help me get more spiritual herbs. I'll come back tomorrow." After Long Chen finished speaking, he walked out.
"Third Master, rest assured, even if I run my legs to death, I will make sure everything is arranged for you." The person in charge of the herb garden hurriedly shouted loudly.
Long Chen left the herb garden and threw all the rare herbs into the chaotic space to plant them. Soon, the area of the herb garden within the chaotic space expanded significantly.
Long Chen knew that guy wasn't willing to put in any effort. He was afraid that if Long Chen only said he'd give money, if he didn't give it later, he'd lose out big.
So he only took a portion to test Long Chen, and Long Chen not only gave money, but also gave a larger portion. That way, he could rest assured and would prepare more rare medicines for Long Chen next time.
After leaving the medicine garden, Long Chen bought a relatively better pill furnace and recovered the original furnace. Although some depreciation fees were charged, seventy percent of the cost was still recovered. The pill institute was still considerate in this regard.
Long Chen spent over thirty thousand immortal crystals to buy a new pill furnace. The quality was much better than his old one, but the price was still painful.
But to do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools. There was no other way. By the time Long Chen returned to the Divine Academy classroom, half a day had passed, yet Mu Qingyun still couldn't feel the pulse of the long sword.
At this moment, Mu Qingyun's face was somewhat pale. Seeing Long Chen return, he approached him uneasily and said,
"Third Brother, am I really that stupid?"
No matter how hard Mu Qingyun tried, she could never sense the pulse of the long sword, which greatly damaged her confidence. She had been the second strongest on the Divine Daoist List, her talent was immense, but today, her confidence had been severely shaken.
"Not bad, just average stupidity." Long Chen pondered for a moment and said.
"Third Brother, ..."
Mu Qingyun glared at Long Chen with a hint of embarrassment and annoyance. He had expected Long Chen to comfort her, but instead, Long Chen didn't hesitate to rub salt in her wound.
"Just joking, don't take it too seriously." Long Chen said with a smile.
"But I ..."
"You're too impatient. Many things are rushed and you can't get things done. But what sword cultivators really rely on is not talent, but a persistent willpower."
Let's wrap up today's training for now. Everyone, stop here. Long Chen called out to everyone.
"Third Master, didn't you say you were supposed to train all day? It's only been half a day, and it already stopped? Li Cai ran over, drenched in sweat.
Teaching so many people is exhausting, but the admiring looks in their eyes excite them like they've been injected with adrenaline, and before they know it, they've become addicted.
"You've taught you almost everything in theory. Let's go to the hunting grounds together. Training without a sense of crisis means progress is too slow."
After Long Chen finished speaking, he directly had Mu Qingyun apply for a flying boat, forming a hunting party of two thousand people and heading straight to the hunting area.
The Divine Academy's hunting area was a place for disciples to practice real combat. There was some danger here, but as long as there were enough people and disciples were cautious, the chance of death was still very low.
The fierce beasts here were all carefully selected and thrown in, mostly with weak bloodlines, limited combat power, just perfect for disciples to practice.
But following Long Chen's instructions, the flying boat sped for four hours before Zhong Ling finally couldn't hold back and said,
"Third Brother, further ahead is the hunting zone. We're about to enter the wilderness. Without the protection of the hunting formation, terrifying beasts will appear. One wrong move and the entire army could be wiped out."
The Divine Academy's hunting zone marked a territory at the boundary of the academy, protected by special formations. Powerful beasts outside couldn't enter, and weaker ones inside couldn't escape.
Beyond the hunting area lies an endless wilderness, filled with countless dangers. Who knows how many people ignored warnings, entered the wilderness, and never returned.
So, for them, that area is a forbidden zone that no one dares to cross.
"If you want to become strong, how can you not take risks? Since he had chosen cultivation, which was the path of no return, there was nothing left to fear. Long Chen shook his head.
"Buzz buzz buzz"
Suddenly, a barrier appeared ahead. The barrier trembled and sounded an alarm. Crossing the barrier, they entered a dangerous place.
Long Chen didn't stop, letting Mu Qingyun pilot the flying boat, crossing the barrier and speeding straight toward the Wild Lands.
Once they crossed the barrier, the hearts of the disciples present clenched instantly—they had entered a completely unknown world.
The flying boat sped across the high mountains. After only the time it takes to burn an incense stick, a sudden explosion rang out. The boat trembled, and darkness instantly fell. The disciples inside shook violently, and Zhong Ling and the others cried out in alarm.
A gigantic toad, thousands of zhang long, suddenly appeared from nowhere, opened its bloody maw, and with a curl of its tongue, it actually grabbed the flying boat and dragged it into its mouth, causing Zhong Ling and the others to scream in panic.