"Relying on just the two of us, it would be difficult to guarantee complete success. Aside from you, Junior Brother Qin, I've also invited a friend to lend a hand. He is already on his way to the abandoned abode and should arrive very soon. If you are interested, Junior Brother, we can depart immediately. Once we break the restriction, the main root of the Earth Fire Coiling Tung will belong to you, while that friend and I will split the fire tung sap equally. What do you say, Junior Brother Qin?"
Yu Daiyue had evidently worked out a plan beforehand and proposed the division directly.
The Earth Fire Coiling Tung had a single taproot—its main root—which was the most quintessential segment of spirit wood in the entire tree, comparable in quality to black flame camphor wood.
However, the most valuable part was not the Earth Fire Coiling Tung itself, but rather the fire tung sap nurtured within its hollow trunk, a rare spiritual medicine.
Having been invited merely as a helper, if Qin Sang took the main root, he could hardly lay claim to the fire tung sap as well; otherwise, the arrangement would never satisfy everyone.
Hearing the offer, Qin Sang did not immediately agree, falling into silent contemplation instead.
If not for Yunyouzi's prior invitation, making a trip with Yu Daiyue would have been fine. But right now, he was waiting to meet with Yunyouzi, and their agreed-upon date was right around the corner.
A round trip to the ancient cultivator's abandoned abode would take at least two months.
Most unfortunately, the two schedules directly conflicted!
Furthermore, he had obtained black flame camphor wood from Old Man Dique's belongings, and his ebony sword had already devoured and refined it, fully satisfying his cultivation needs. For the time being, his demand for spirit wood was not all that pressing.
Compared to the Earth Fire Coiling Tung, Qin Sang valued the medicine garden far more.
Yu Daiyue's friend was already en route. Moreover, with the trial space inside the abode destroyed and the stone stele exposed to the open, entering the ancient cultivator's abandoned abode was much easier now.
There were quite a few people venturing inside to hunt for treasures. Delays brought complications; the others certainly would not wait for him to finish dealing with the medicine garden.
He could not have both.
After weighing his options, Qin Sang could only offer a tactful refusal.
Being turned down by Qin Sang was clearly something Yu Daiyue had not anticipated. He could not help looking astonished. "Junior Brother Qin, a spirit tree like the Earth Fire Coiling Tung cannot be found just anywhere. Won't you reconsider carefully?"
Qin Sang gave an affirmative grunt and said with genuine regret, "To be frank with you, Senior Brother Yu, that other matter is truly vital to me and cannot be missed. I cannot ask you and your friend to wait around for me alone. If someone beats you to the Earth Fire Coiling Tung, I would be entirely to blame. If you are short on hands, Senior Brother Yu, I can help you contact Senior Brother Mu Yifeng. Senior Brother Mu is far stronger than I am and would be of much greater use when breaking the restriction."
Yu Daiyue knitted his brows tightly and offered a few more words of persuasion. Seeing that Qin Sang's mind was made up, he shook his head ruefully and stood up. "What a pity. I heard you had been in closed-door cultivation in your cave dwelling all this time, so I assumed you had free time on your hands. I did not expect such an unfortunate clash in timing. It was presumptuous of me. In that case, I will trouble you no further."
Qin Sang had originally planned to let Mu Yifeng claim the main root of the Earth Fire Coiling Tung so that he could buy it back from him later.
From the looks of it, Yu Daiyue seemed uninterested in the suggestion.
As Qin Sang escorted Yu Daiyue out of the cave dwelling, he added, "Senior Brother Yu, once you and your friend obtain the main root of the Earth Fire Coiling Tung, if you have any thought of parting with it, please consider me. I will certainly do everything I can to offer a price that satisfies you both."
A forced smile squeezed onto Yu Daiyue's lips. "Of course I trust your word, Junior Brother Qin. But before the item is even in hand, it is too early to speak of such things... Please, Junior Brother Qin, head back inside!"
An escape light landed atop the peak of a snowy mountain.
Yu Daiyue stared toward Qin Sang's cave dwelling, which had already shut its entrance. The smile on his face had vanished at some point, replaced by an exceedingly somber expression.
A moment later, Yu Daiyue conjured his escape light once more and swept away into the distance.
Behind him on the mountaintop, he left a barely audible cold snort.
***
After seeing Yu Daiyue off, Qin Sang did not resume his meditative cultivation. Instead, he took out a jade pendant.
The pendant was fashioned from the purest white jade.
It had been given to him three months ago when Yunyouzi came to visit.
Qin Sang channeled a wisp of spiritual power and infused it into the jade pendant.
The next instant, a piercing beam of light burst from the pendant, illuminating the entire cave dwelling. Qin Sang had anticipated the dazzling brilliance and narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing intently at the jade.
The radiance blossoming from the pendant grew brighter and brighter, turning almost milky white and exceptionally dense. Immediately afterward, the light shifted, forming a circular mirror-like surface directly above Qin Sang's palm.
Within the mirror was a scene depicting a distant mountain.
Clouds and mist seemed to swirl around the peak, obscuring the view—whether due to the great distance or the obstruction of a restriction was difficult to tell.
All that could be seen along the distant mountain's silhouette were several beams of light piercing through the clouds and mist, shooting straight toward the sky.
These beams varied in color, some vivid, some dim. They were not mere light; spiritual power surged within them, bearing a striking resemblance to the emergence of rare treasures into the world. In truth, this was not the divine luminescence of treasures, but rather the aura radiating from the concentrated medicinal potency of maturing spiritual herbs.
Among them, a streak of dark yellow vapor ranked within the top three, particularly conspicuous.
Looking at this dark yellow vapor, Qin Sang recalled what Yunyouzi had said back then.
"Junior Brother Qin, the scene in the jade pendant is not very clear, but one can still discern something from it. The spiritual herb beneath that yellow light is very likely Xuanwen Huangjing.
"As you may not know, Junior Brother, the Heyun Pill was originally named the Xuanwen Heyun Pill. Yet because it lacked the primary ingredient, Xuanwen Huangjing, it could never be concocted.
"Later, a senior made repeated attempts and altered part of the pill formula, using two other spiritual herbs in place of Xuanwen Huangjing. Incredibly, they succeeded in refining a spirit pill with similar efficacy, its medicinal potency only slightly weaker than that of the Xuanwen Heyun Pill.
"Due to the scarcity of spiritual herbs in the cultivation world, such ingredient substitutions are commonplace nowadays. Most end in failure, but some actually produce medicinal effects even stronger than the original formula.
"Lacking Xuanwen Huangjing, calling it the Xuanwen Heyun Pill would be a misnomer, so the characters 'Xuanwen' were dropped, leaving only Heyun Pill.
"However, the Xuanwen Heyun Pill possesses a property that the Heyun Pill does not, one derived from Xuanwen Huangjing itself.
"If this spiritual herb has reached sufficient maturity, it can be used to refine the Huangling Pill, which elevates one's cultivation. Moreover, the older its age, the more pronounced its medicinal effect, with the greatest benefits for Foundation Establishment cultivators. The Xuanwen Heyun Pill inherits this effect as well.
"Therefore, even if the Xuanwen Heyun Pill fails to cure your hidden injuries, Brother Qin, you need not worry about making the trip in vain. By refining the remaining medicinal potency, you can use it to advance your cultivation. At the very least, it can push you right to the bottleneck of the middle Foundation Establishment stage, sparing you more than a decade of bitter cultivation."
Yunyouzi had paused before adding another remark.
"On the formula for the Xuanwen Heyun Pill, the most precious ingredient is the Xuanwen Huangjing. Aside from that, the other herbs are commonplace materials that can be purchased at Taiyi Elixir Pavilion. Once you have gathered the ingredients, Brother Qin, this old Daoist will open the furnace and refine the pills for you free of charge. While my alchemy skills cannot compare to those of my martial uncles, I still have a seventy to eighty percent certainty of success. Of course, if you feel uneasy, this old Daoist can also introduce you to several of my martial uncles. However, you must be mentally prepared—their remuneration certainly will not be cheap."
Chapter 275