Chapter 11: Taking Root!

“Can the pills of an alchemy apprentice even be eaten?” Lin Donglai expressed deep skepticism.

“They can be eaten, they can! Roger and Yu Jiang both bought them. They’re muscle-tempering pills called ‘Tendon-Refining Pellets.’ They’re made from a low-grade spiritual plant called Wolf-Tendon Grass. You can buy ten for a single spirit stone. After taking one, practicing the Tendon-Changing and Marrow-Washing Stance is extremely effective.”

“The assessment is coming up soon. Even if there are only three days left, it’s worth a try to cram at the last minute.”

Lin Donglai thought that made sense. After all, he only possessed a low-grade five-element root, and his cultivation progress was slow. Before the mysterious seed in his mind was refined with essence blood, it only provided some synergistic effects when he practiced the Peiyuan Breathing Technique.

“Alright, I’ll go with you. We’ll pay back the spirit stones together when the time comes.”

The moment he held the two spirit stones, each the size of a small egg, the mysterious seed in his mind sent out a thought of “craving.”

For days, whenever the Dao seed sent out a craving to bask in the sun, Lin Donglai would go sunbathe, even tanning his skin slightly.

When the Dao seed craved water, Lin Donglai would drink two or three pots at once, and strangely, the water never seemed to enter his stomach.

When the Dao seed craved earth energy, Lin Donglai would walk around barefoot, and the earth energy would flow in through his Yongquan acupoints, heading straight into the space where the Dao seed resided.

Only Lin Donglai was secretly mocked by others: “A mud-legged peasant is just a mud-legged peasant…”

This seed was Lin Donglai’s greatest secret. In front of Ding Zhen, Lin Donglai ignored the Dao seed’s craving for spiritual energy.

He only secretly reassured it: “Don’t be impatient. Once I have spirit stones, I’ll feed them all to you!”

Besides, buying pills was the priority now. Only by completing the tendon-tempering practice early could he begin marrow-washing, and only after marrow-washing could he condense essence blood.

Furthermore, Lin Donglai had to prioritize the hundred-day assessment first. Otherwise, if he were demoted to a menial laborer, it would be even harder to find a suitable environment for cultivation. He placed great importance on these two years of the “Immortal Seedling” cultivation period.

Once he successfully guided energy into his body, he would consider this little ancestor’s desire to absorb spiritual energy. After all, he would be able to cultivate by then, and the spiritual energy he cultivated would be spiritual energy as well.

Holding the spirit stones in his hand, ignoring the mysterious seed’s craving, Lin Donglai walked down the mountain path with Ding Zhen. Looking at the scenery in the distance, he felt refreshed.

Three months of training hadn’t been without gains; at the very least, his strength had increased, and his complexion was ruddy, looking much better than before.

Cultivating the body and nurturing the spirit—it was nothing more than this.

Their descent was light-footed. In less than two quarters of an hour, they reached the foot of the mountain. There was only one road here, leading to Lingxi Peak.

Walking further past Lingxi Peak would lead to the various peaks of the Outer Sect.

At the foot of the mountain, there were indeed seven or eight scattered stalls. Calling it a “small market” was a bit of a stretch, but there were many people looking. Whether they were menial disciples or Immortal Seedlings, they were all quite destitute.

Ding Zhen had clearly done his research beforehand, leading Lin Donglai straight to a stall run by a bald disciple.

This disciple had no hair and no eyebrows; he was the alchemy apprentice who sold Tendon-Refining Pellets here. Besides the pellets, there were some herbs laid out as well.

A wooden sign read: “Prescriptions Filled.”

Boiling medicinal soup to drink, while not as good as pills, was commonly used by innate martial artists in the mortal world, and the effect was the same.

“Craving!”

The mysterious seed in his mind sent out a thought again, but it wasn’t directed at the pills, but at those herbs. He didn’t know if it was one specific plant or all of them, but the craving was even more intense than it had been for the spirit stones.

“Give me ten Tendon-Refining Pellets.”

“And give me ten Marrow-Nourishing Pellets.”

“Three spirit stones,” the bald alchemy apprentice quoted familiarly. “Tendon-Refining Pellets are one spirit stone for ten; Marrow-Nourishing Pellets are one spirit stone for five.”

Ding Zhen acted decisively, purchasing two bottles of pills.

Seeing Lin Donglai remain indifferent and not buy any pills, Ding Zhen couldn’t help but ask, “Donglai, aren’t you buying any? Why borrow spirit stones if you aren’t going to use them?”

Lin Donglai shook his head. “I’ll get a prescription and boil some medicinal soup instead.”

He wanted to see what exactly the mysterious Dao seed was craving.

It was nothing more than metal, wood, water, fire, or earth.

“Small Peiyuan Tendon-Refining and Bone-Forging Soup. One dose has three effects, carefully blended from twelve low-grade spiritual herbs and twenty-four semi-spiritual herbs. Five doses for just one spirit stone,” the bald disciple said smoothly.

These herbs were fresh, with the roots still attached; it was clear they were grown by the alchemy apprentice himself.

“Give me five doses of the Small Peiyuan Soup,” Lin Donglai said.

“Drinking soup? Aren’t you afraid of the bitterness?”

Ding Zhen assumed Lin Donglai didn’t trust the alchemy apprentice’s skills. After all, the *Records of Cultivation* stated that if the quality of the pills was too poor, there would be an accumulation of pill toxins. While medicinal soup was inferior, as long as one didn’t eat the dregs, there were basically no issues, though it was less convenient than pills and required the effort of boiling.

“I’m not afraid.”

“Good!” The bald alchemy apprentice gathered the herbs and instructed, “One dose can only be boiled once. Do not use iron or copper utensils; you must use a clay pot, and it must be new—don’t use one that has been used to boil other medicine. Boil five bowls of water down to two. Drink one portion before training and one after.”

“Understood!”

The bald alchemy apprentice quickly gathered five doses of herbs for Lin Donglai. They were indeed twelve low-grade spiritual herbs and twenty-four semi-spiritual herbs. Unlike the processed herbs in the mortal world, spiritual herbs in the cultivation world were more effective the fresher they were; processing them would actually cause a loss of spiritual energy.

“Since there is Small Peiyuan Soup, is there also Large Peiyuan Soup?” Lin Donglai asked curiously.

“There is, but that’s for body-refining cultivation. Of course, if you’re injured and need to recuperate, you can drink it too; it’s a great tonic for vital energy.”

Lin Donglai didn’t use the remaining spirit stone, intending to go back and try feeding it to the mysterious Dao seed.

Having bought the medicine, they naturally wanted to return and test the effects. Neither of them lingered, immediately heading back to Immortal Seedling Peak.

Upon returning, Ding Zhen went back to his room to take his pills and train.

Lin Donglai also returned to his room.

He unwrapped the herbs to see what the mysterious seed was craving.

He discovered that the seed craved every single spiritual herb, though some cravings were stronger and some weaker.

The stronger ones looked very fresh.

The weaker ones were a bit wilted.

Lin Donglai held the low-grade spiritual herbs and semi-spiritual herbs in his hands, closed his eyes, and began to practice the Peiyuan Breathing Technique.

He saw that with every breath, the mysterious seed began to breathe as well. Immediately, a pale cyan energy was drawn out from the herbs, drilling into his palms and turning into a cool sensation that rushed straight to the crown of his head, making him feel so comfortable he wanted to moan.

Having lost that pale cyan energy, the herbs withered instantly, their vitality severed. The leaves turned yellow and even grew black spots, completely turning into medicinal dregs.

Meanwhile, the area around the mysterious seed in his mind gained more color, with a faint cyan mist shifting like clouds.

“Craving!”

The mysterious seed still didn’t feel it was enough.

Lin Donglai simply opened the remaining four doses of herbs, held them all in his hands, and practiced the Peiyuan Breathing Technique.

In just a moment, these herbs also had their cyan-green energy extracted into Lin Donglai’s body.

This cyan energy was then swallowed and exhaled by the seed, and he could see the seed becoming more verdant. The green on its surface seemed to flow, and its vitality became even more vigorous.

“Craving!”

The herbs were gone.

What the seed craved now was the remaining spirit stone.

“You’ve absorbed so many of my herbs! These were meant to assist my Tendon-Changing and Marrow-Washing Stance! How come there’s no reaction at all?”

Lin Donglai felt a massive loss! He felt he had been swindled by this seed! If he had known, he would have just boiled the medicine to drink himself.

After all, the hundred-day assessment was still looming!

“Should I… feed it the spirit stone too?”

His expression shifted for a moment.

Lin Donglai finally made his decision!

Burn the bridges!

Take a gamble! If it really didn’t work out and he was demoted to a menial laborer, he would just have to wait for another opportunity!

Lin Donglai held the spirit stone in his hand, closed his eyes again, and practiced the Peiyuan Breathing Technique.

Sure enough, as the seed breathed, a suction force pulled the spiritual energy out of the stone. Then, this energy circulated through the meridians in Lin Donglai’s body before heading toward his mind.

*Crack!*

A faint sound, but in Lin Donglai’s mind, it felt like a thunderclap, leaving him stunned for a long time.

The shell of the seed had cracked open a fissure.

The mysterious Dao seed didn’t start sprouting a shoot yet.

Instead, it first extended a rootlet thinner than a mosquito’s leg. This rootlet was white at first, but then the cyan energy attached to it, turning it cyan-green. Furthermore, many even finer, fuzzy root hairs grew out from this rootlet.

This tiny rootlet didn’t need soil; it just took root in the void, yet it made Lin Donglai feel refreshed, as if his entire body were at ease!