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At that moment, Jing Lide received a report from his subordinate and hurried to see Xunuo. Upon entering, he asked Xunuo if he was satisfied, to which Xunuo naturally praised him a few times.
Jing Lide then took the opportunity to inquire about Xunuo's alchemy. He pulled out several porcelain bottles of varying sizes from his robe. When Xunuo asked about them, Jing Lide introduced the medicines he had brought one by one. Among them were a few types of external injury ointments, but compared to the Reattachment Ointment, these were nothing more than trash.
Xunuo did not hold back and told him to put away the bottles. He stated plainly that he was looking to refine a holy healing medicine, which was far beyond these ordinary items. He then handed Jing Lide a list of herbs and asked him to prepare several portions.
Jing Lide nearly cried upon seeing the list; although it contained only nine types of herbs, each required decades of aging. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Shishu, you may not know this, but acquiring even one portion of these materials is quite difficult."
Xunuo questioned, "You oversee everything here; you can freely access medicines. What makes these herbs so hard to obtain?"
Jing Lide smiled wryly and replied, "While I do have some authority, the herbs and medicines are managed by designated personnel. I can make decisions on ordinary herbs and medicines, but those on your list are exceptionally precious. It will take some effort for me to acquire them. If you can wait, I might be able to gather them slowly."
Xunuo thought for a moment and said, "I'm not in a hurry. You can come find me once you have the herbs. I plan to stay here for a while, so please do not disturb me unless necessary; I don't want my training interrupted."
Jing Lide quickly assured him, "Rest assured, Shishu; I will only send meals over daily. No one else will disturb you."
Xunuo shook his head and said, "There's no need for meals to be sent; I'll go to the kitchen myself if I'm hungry. Just don't bring anyone else here besides you."
Jing Lide bowed in agreement and left. As he pondered on his way out, he couldn't figure out what this Shishu was really up to. However, since Shishu had given such instructions, he would simply follow them.
What troubled Jing Lide the most was the prescription that Xunuo had given him. The nine types of herbs listed were all available in the Herb Garden, with some even over a hundred years old. However, these aged herbs were meticulously recorded and checked regularly by dedicated personnel at Wuhua Sect. Moreover, Xunuo's prescription required herbs that were at least fifty years old. Each time an herb was used, it had to be documented in detail; Jing Lide dared not use them carelessly. If the sect discovered that even one herb was missing—let alone nine—he would be held accountable.
The only solution now was if any hall within the sect needed these herbs for alchemy; he could try to substitute them with herbs under thirty years old and keep the fifty-year-old ones for himself. Fortunately, since there were more herbs under thirty years old and their supervision was less strict, he could still manage to hide this.
However, thinking back on it, he felt relieved that Shishu hadn't requested herbs over a hundred years old. If that had been the case, he would likely have had to flee for his life. Using any herb over a hundred years old required the master’s decree. Furthermore, every detail regarding how much of an herb was used, how much remained after refining, what medicine was produced in total, how much was used and by whom—all had to be meticulously recorded. As Jing Lide thought about this, he wiped away cold sweat as he walked away.
Xunuo, unable to obtain the medicinal herbs for the time being, settled down to cultivate the Huayang Classic. The excitement of reaching the fifth layer had long faded. Over the past six months, it seemed he had returned to a slow progress. With the experience of being stuck at the fourth layer for over a year, Xunuo understood that this was a painstaking endeavor; impatience would not help. Moreover, as one delved deeper into cultivation, advancing became increasingly difficult and time-consuming.
However, for Xunuo, being able to cultivate was already a blessing. It was far better than standing before Tian Feiyu, trembling in fear and unable to practice the Huayang Classic, which would lead to no progress whatsoever.
Xunuo placed a Meditation Cushion on the ground and sat cross-legged upon it. He formed hand seals and slowly released his Divine Sense, which soon covered most of Mountain Valley. After a thorough exploration, he nodded in satisfaction. He then retracted some of his Divine Sense, enveloping a hundred-foot radius before entering a meditative state to practice the Huayang Classic.
This time, while practicing the Huayang Classic, Xunuo experienced a pleasant surprise. Cultivating within Mountain Valley seemed to be faster and smoother than on Broken Heart Cliff. The unexpected benefits of practicing in the Herb Garden were indeed a delightful surprise. A smile crept onto Xunuo's face.
He remained in meditation for five days. Upon awakening, he silently checked his cultivation progress and revealed a look of joy. Indeed, the results were better than usual; these five days were equivalent to six or seven days of regular practice.
Nodding in satisfaction, Xunuo rose and stepped outside, only to find Jing Lide standing at the door with a worried expression. "What troubles you so, Jing Shizhi?" he asked.
Seeing Xunuo emerge, Jing Lide let out a long sigh of relief. "Master Lu hasn't come out for food in four or five days; it's making me anxious."
Xunuo chuckled lightly. "You needn't worry about that. My cultivation method differs from yours. While I can't completely abstain from food, going without for three to five days is no issue. Since you're here, let's go have some food together."
The two chatted as they made their way to the dining hall. Xunuo only ate a bowl of porridge before pushing the bowl away.
Jing Lide had expected his Shishu to feast after several days without food but was taken aback when Xunuo only consumed a bowl of porridge. He muttered to himself, "What kind of cultivation method is this? Is he about to become an immortal?"
Returning to his grass hut, Xunuo took down his sword and stepped outside.
Eager to practice the Huayang Classic upon entering Mountain Valley, he had set aside the new sword technique passed down by Tian Feiyu. If he became too rusty by the next time he met his master in front of, it would be hard to explain himself. At the very least, he needed to become proficient in this sword technique before speaking up. Kneeling slightly, Xunuo raised his sword and began to slowly dance through the movements of this sword technique.
This sword technique was created by Founder of the Wuhua Sect and was named Seven Star Soul Locking Sword, consisting of forty-nine forms.
After completing one round of movements, Xunuo let out a soft sound of realization and continued dancing through the forms. After completing two rounds, he again expressed mild surprise with another soft sound. Upon finishing the third round, Xunuo sheathed his sword and stood still, a look of understanding on his face.
Xunuo realized after performing the first round that this sword technique, while similar in intent to the first sword style he had learned, was riddled with flaws. Despite the creativity infused in the technique, it inadvertently revealed significant vulnerabilities. By the time he completed the second round, his perspective was even more solidified.
Having practiced his own first sword style countless times, he had reached a level of balanced offense and defense. However, this new sword technique completely shattered Xunuo's understanding of the path of swordsmanship. The strikes were decisive and left no room for hesitation; each move was almost a killing blow, yet each also contained the seeds of defeat. It wasn't until the third round that Xunuo finally understood: so that was how it was.
This sword technique embodied the essence of the Seven Star Sword Formation. The Seven Star Soul Locking Sword Technique consisted of forty-nine forms. When executed by seven people arranged in the Seven Star Sword Formation, it became seven moves, each with seven forms, eliminating any trace of flaw.
In an instant, Xunuo grasped the key to it all. He then thought to himself that if he could execute these seven forms simultaneously, it would be akin to mastering an unparalleled sword technique. Excited by this thought, he mentally rehearsed the first seven forms and felt ready to give it a try.
Suddenly focused, he drew his sword. In the next moment, he felt True Qi surging uncontrollably from his Dantian into the Iron Sword. Without thinking, Xunuo leaped back on one foot, protecting himself with his hands as True Qi surged around him. A loud explosion echoed in his ears as shards of Iron Sword scattered like fireworks.
Xunuo's face turned pale as he checked himself for injuries. Relieved to find none, he sighed inwardly: thankfully there was no one around; otherwise, he might have been pierced by Iron Sword fragments like a hedgehog.
With a sigh, Xunuo lost interest in practicing without an Iron Sword. Even if he had a sword, he wouldn't dare risk his life for practice.
Entering the grass hut, he pondered: this sword technique could invoke Inner Strength; it must be somewhat peculiar. In the future, when practicing it again, he would need to dilute his True Qi before channeling it into the sword to avoid injuring himself.
Without an Iron Sword, Xunuo settled down to cultivate the Huayang Classic and Elixir Formula. Eager to experiment with alchemy, he spent more time on the Elixir Formula in the days that followed. Nearly a month passed without any news from Jing Lide. Xunuo decided to report back to Tian Feiyu once more.
This time Tian Feiyu was aware that Xunuo had been cultivating in the medicinal fields. Although surprised, he understood that his disciple was unconventional and different from others; he only asked a few questions without pressing further.
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