Chapter 123: Chapter 120: Recognizing a Master

In a secret chamber within the Ding Palace, a white-haired old man sat before a Medicine Cauldron. Ethereal as an immortal, he was dressed in a magnificent, wide-sleeved white robe. Three cinnabar dots adorned his forehead. He had a renowned name: the Ding Palace Master, Wan Xianzhong.

As the Palace Master of the Ding Palace—the most powerful faction on the Extreme Martial Continent—he had been under immense pressure for years. A thousand years ago, a Martial Artist named Venerable Wan Gu came to the Ding Palace seeking a Medicine Cauldron. Truth be told, a single Medicine Cauldron was like a piece of scrap metal to the Ding Palace. But the Ding Palace Elders of that era were arrogant, their eyes fixed on the heavens, and they refused to pay him any mind. Naturally, Wan Gu did not get the High-Grade Medicine Cauldron he desired. In a fit of rage, he used some unknown Secret Technique to summon thousands of skeletal soldiers in armor, which surrounded the Ding Palace and launched a frenzied assault. At that moment, all the Elders were horrified. They were Cauldron Masters; while their Cultivation might advance much more easily than others, their combat experience was inferior to even a Martial Sect from a Mercenary Corps.

That battle threw the Ding Palace into a state of panic. Left with no choice, the previous Palace Master issued a call to arms, seeking help from other families to break the siege. With the Ding Palace asking for aid, nearly every family in the Central Continent gathered outside the palace at the first opportunity. The ensuing fight was naturally much easier. Those skeletal soldiers were extremely weak; the only issue was that they would keep reviving unless completely obliterated.

When the battle ended, the Ding Palace Elders secretly wiped away their cold sweat. But just then, terrible news arrived: the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture, the Palace’s Most Valuable Treasure, had vanished without a trace. As soon as this news broke, the previous Palace Master and the Elders immediately silenced all reports. After sending the various Central Continent families on their way with elixirs, the upper echelon of the Ding Palace began to grow anxious. The Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture was a Medicinal Scripture that the Ding Palace’s founder, Senior Medicine Dust, had spent his entire life creating. It contained the most comprehensive knowledge of Medicinal Herbs on the Extreme Martial Continent and powerful elixir formulas, ranking it as the Ding Palace’s number one treasure.

But after that battle, the Medicinal Scripture had vanished. The one who disappeared along with it was that very same Venerable Wan Gu. Anyone could figure out that it was Venerable Wan Gu who had stolen the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture. Enraged, the Ding Palace announced to the world, issuing a bounty: any Martial Artist who captured Venerable Wan Gu could come to the Ding Palace to receive one Holy Spirit Pill.

The Holy Spirit Pill, a Holy Grade Elixir, could no longer be refined in the present day. Even the Ding Palace itself possessed only four. It was said that a single Holy Spirit Pill could increase one’s chances of successfully breaking through to the Martial Saint realm by twenty percent. A full twenty percent! The number of people at the Peak of the Venerable realm on the entire Extreme Martial Continent was innumerable, but you could count the number of Saints on one hand. This showed just how difficult it was for a Venerable to advance and become a Saint.

A thousand years had passed, and the position of Ding Palace Master had fallen from the previous generation onto Wan Xianzhong’s shoulders. Along with it came the task of finding the palace’s lost treasure. However, just in case, the second Ding Palace Master had long ago placed a special Seal on the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture. This Seal not only prevented any liquid from corroding it but also blocked one’s line of sight. Unless someone could break the Seal on the Medicinal Scripture, it was absolutely impossible to peek at its contents.

As for claiming ownership of the Medicinal Scripture, that was even more impossible. Not only was blood a liquid, which the Seal would automatically repel, but even without the Seal, no one else could claim ownership. This was because claiming ownership had a prerequisite: one must first claim ownership of another specific item.

There was a legend in the Ding Palace that the palace once possessed two great treasures. One of them was a small cauldron, the very Medicine Cauldron that Medicine Dust had once used. Tempered by the passage of time, this Medicine Cauldron had gradually advanced to the Emperor Grade along with Medicine Dust’s rising Cultivation. It was the Ding Palace’s Emperor’s Weapon. However, it had vanished without a trace one hundred thousand years ago. Strangely, all the Elders unanimously demanded that no one search for it, and from then on, they were to act as if the cauldron had never existed. And the prerequisite for claiming ownership of the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture was to first claim ownership of this very cauldron.

Wan Xianzhong sighed. The elixir before him was nearly complete. A rich fragrance was already seeping out from the Medicine Cauldron, filling the entire secret chamber. But at that very moment, a series of urgent knocks came from outside.

"Palace Master! Palace Master! Something terrible has happened! Palace Master!"

Judging by the voice, it was a Medicine Boy at the door. Wan Xianzhong didn’t get angry. Instead, he controlled his Primordial Power to quickly solidify the elixir. Although it had a few flaws, it was still a decent Sixth Grade Elixir. Hurriedly placing it in a bottle, Wan Xianzhong quickly opened the door and said gently, "What is it? You’re in such a hurry. Speak slowly."

The Medicine Boy took a deep breath and exclaimed loudly, "Palace Master! Just now, the Sealing Crystal that monitors the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture began to glow intensely! Someone must have found the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture and is in the process of claiming ownership!"

"What?! Take me to see it, quickly." Wan Xianzhong felt both joyful and worried. He grabbed the Medicine Boy’s arm, and with a stomp of his foot, a ripple spread out. In the blink of an eye, he and the Medicine Boy vanished from outside the secret chamber.

In the rear hall for the Ding Palace’s upper echelon, a group of Elders and high-level managers were gathered, looking at each other in dismay. Each face wore an expression of either surprise or worry. Just then, the space in the rear hall rippled. Abruptly, a Spatial Rift appeared out of thin air, and Wan Xianzhong and the Medicine Boy stepped out of it.

"Palace Master!"

Everyone shouted in unison. Wan Xianzhong’s expression was serene, looking like a transcendent immortal. "It seems what the Medicine Boy said is true. Fifth Elder, can you detect the location where the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture has appeared?"

Hearing this, an old woman stepped out from the group of more than a dozen people. She was also dressed in white, but on her collar was a lifelike insignia of a Medicine Cauldron that shimmered with golden light. This was the Elder’s insignia of the Ding Palace. Ordinary members had a Bronze Medicine Cauldron insignia, while the management level wore a Silver Medicine Cauldron mark.

The old woman said respectfully, "Palace Master, the Seal is far too old. I can only roughly estimate the region where the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture has appeared, but I cannot pinpoint its exact location."

"Is that so? That’s enough. Once we know the region, we should be able to find it quickly using a Detection Crystal Stone. It’s been dormant for a thousand years. At last, we’re going to get it back." Wan Xianzhong was filled with emotion. This matter had weighed on his heart for so many years, and now, he finally had a lead.

"Yes! The general area should be here." As she spoke, the Fifth Elder took out a complete map of the Extreme Martial Continent and drew a circle on it. The circle was over the northern part of the continent, and within that circle was the Xuanling Empire...

At this moment, Mu Chen wore a thoughtful expression as he flipped through the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture with one hand. But when he turned to the second page, he discovered that there was nothing written on it. In disbelief, he continued to flip through a few more pages, but every single one was just like the second: completely blank.

’Could this Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture be a fake?’

But neither its material nor the phenomenon that occurred when he dripped his blood on it suggested it was a fake.

’Is it an illusion?’

Mu Chen opened his eyes, a purple light swirling within them as his Purple Sky Demon Pupils activated. But the book in his hands was still just a book. When he flipped through a few more pages, what he saw was no different from before. ’What on earth is going on?’ Mu Chen was completely baffled.

Just then, the Snow Qilin shook its head and quickly wriggled out of Mu Chen’s arms. It immediately spotted the giant, golden book. After a couple of soft chirps, the Snow Qilin’s tender and ethereal voice appeared in Mu Chen’s mind, "Daddy, there’s something yummy on this book. Can I eat it?"

’Something yummy?’ Mu Chen stared at the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture, looking it over several times, but he couldn’t see anything unusual.

"Ying ying... Can I eat it?" The Snow Qilin shook its head again and hopped directly onto the surface of the book.

Mu Chen thought it over. ’Since I can’t figure anything out anyway, let it eat whatever it wants.’ He nodded in agreement. The Snow Qilin was overjoyed. After two happy chirps, it stood on the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture, opened its mouth wide, and began to suck in air with a WHOOSH. Mu Chen found this baffling, as he couldn’t see what the Snow Qilin was eating.

But after this continued for a moment, a small Golden Bean suddenly emerged from the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture. The bean was only the size of a pinky nail, but the Primordial Power it contained left Mu Chen utterly shocked. Other than the Primordial Power fluctuations from the Snow Qilin’s phantom, this was the most powerful energy he had ever encountered.

SWOOSH...

Finally, unable to resist the Snow Qilin’s suction, the Golden Bean flew through the air and into its mouth. After absorbing the Golden Bean, the Snow Qilin’s eyes suddenly erupted with a golden light. Its entire body was then enveloped in a ball of golden radiance and floated into the air. A golden bean with a long, fiery tail flew out from its body and began to circle around the golden sphere of light. Mu Chen felt it with exceptional clarity—this was the phenomenon that occurred when a Magical Beast advanced in rank. This meant that the power contained in the Golden Bean the Snow Qilin had just swallowed, combined with the energy from its eggshell, was enough for it to advance.

Overjoyed, Mu Chen stared at the golden ball of light for a while, only to find that it just floated there without any change. After watching for a bit, Mu Chen gave a self-deprecating laugh. ’A Magical Beast’s advancement takes at least a day. If the Magical Beast has a powerful bloodline, it can take even longer.’

Feeling it was getting dull, Mu Chen was about to close the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture when he suddenly noticed that black text and colorful illustrations had appeared on it. With a cry of surprise, he excitedly flipped the book back to the second page. Sure enough, the previously blank page now had several colorful illustrations and detailed text.

"Wait, this Medicinal Herb is..."

Mu Chen’s gaze fell upon an ice-blue Medicinal Herb. The herb had no stem, only two leaves. A crystal-clear blue fruit grew on each leaf. Beside it was a detailed textual explanation.

"Ice Spirit Grass, a Seventh-Grade Lower-Rank Medicinal Herb of the Cold Attribute. It mostly grows in extremely cold regions and is currently abundant in the Eternal Frozen Snowfield of the Extreme Martial Continent. It has good Healing properties, but it is more commonly used to maintain a clear Spirit, often by Martial Artists who use Frenzy Battle Skills. When consumed, both fruits must be taken at the same time and fully digested to activate its effects. If the user has the Ice Attribute, there is a high chance of raising their Martial Artist Realm, making it a prime choice for Ice Attribute Martial Artists. If consumed improperly, or if a Fire Attribute Martial Artist mistakenly ingests it, the conflicting Attributes will cause severe side effects. In mild cases, the meridians will be severed, crippling the person. In severe cases, the body will explode and the person will die."

Below that were more Ice Attribute Medicinal Herbs. All in all, this page recorded Ice Attribute Medicinal Herbs of various grades. To understand the situation, Mu Chen flipped the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture back to the first page. He discovered that the first page had changed. The previous passage of text had disappeared, replaced by seven lines of text.

"Cold Attribute Medicinal Herbs: Page 1 to Page 130."

"Fire Attribute Medicinal Herbs: Page 131 to Page 300."

"Neutral Medicinal Herbs: Page 301 to Page 770."

"Dual Attribute Medicinal Herbs: Page 771 to Page 776."

"Other Medicinal Herbs: Page 777 to Page 1,999."

"Immortal Grass: Page 2,000 to Page 2,001."

"Formulas."