White-Robed Chief

Panda Novel

“Can Wind Speed Grass or Titanium Grass grow in the Spirit Medicine Nursery?” Chu Li asked.

“No, they won’t survive there.” Ni Hong shook his head.

Zhou Huang added, “They really can’t be grown there.”

Chu Li asked, “Do you have pictures of the Wind Speed Grass and Titanium Grass?”

“Are you planning to look for those two herbs?” Ni Hong cast a sidelong glance at Chu Li.

Chu Li nodded. “There’s a chance that I might find them.”

“You must be dreaming!” Ni Hong sneered. “What makes you think that you can find it when the Holy Church of Light has failed to do so?”

“I’ve always been quite lucky.” Chu Li said, “I survived despite being pushed down a cliff. I even met with a fortuitous encounter. After that, the Saint chose me to become an inner mountain disciple. Initially, I was merely a disciple of one of the minor associations in town. If these things could happen, anything is possible.”

“Haha!” Ni Hong burst out laughing.

Chu Li smiled and asked, “Elder Ni, you don’t believe me?”

“Alright, you’re certainly luckier than most people.” Ni Hong shook his head and said, “Messenger!”

Ni Hong’s voice was hoarse, but it echoed into the distance. A disciple in green clothes quickly walked out from the cave. The disciple bowed and made a fist salute. “Elder Ni.”

“Go and get the Thousand Herb Scripture,” Ni Hong said.

“Yes.” The green-robed disciple politely bowed before he entered the cave again. After the disciple turned around, he disappeared without a trace.

Chu Li could see the disciple gracefully and hurriedly walking inside the cave when Chu Li looked through the Omniscient Mirror. The disciple walked for about a hundred meters before he entered a circular stone room that was fully furnished. There were bookshelves on all four walls of the room. The night-luminescent pearls that were embedded in the stone walls illuminated the room in a gentle glow.

The green-robed disciple took a thick silk bound book from the bookshelf, in which it resembled the heavy dictionaries that were present in the past generations. The disciple turned around and used the light-body technique to move quickly. In an instant, he appeared before the group again.

“Elder Ni, here’s the Thousand Herb Scripture.” The disciple used both of his hands to offer the item to Ni Hong.

Ni Hong pointed at Chu Li. “Let him see it.”

The green-robed disciple passed the thick Thousand Herb Scripture to Chu Li.

The disciple obviously recognized him. Chu Li was wildly arrogant, but his cultivation level was unrivaled. The disciple could only look up to Chu Li because he was so far behind him.

The disciple secretly sighed to himself. He was also a genius at cultivation, but he was afraid of being compared to others. When he compared himself to Chu Li, the green-robed disciple realized that he was merely an ordinary person. Fortunately, all the new disciples felt the same way as him.

Chu Li beamed as he took the Thousand Herb Scripture from him. “Thank you very much, Senior Brother Zhu.”

Chu Li knew this disciple as Senior Brother Zhu. Although this man, named Zhu Suifeng was a quiet and average-looking person, his cultivation level was quite advanced. Zhu Suifeng was ranked among the top five disciples because he was far more focused and hardworking than the average person.

Zhu Suifeng smiled before he withdrew himself.

Ni Hong scoffed, “The Thousand Herb Scripture was passed on from the ancient times. Unfortunately, you can’t find most of these Spirit Herbs anymore. There are only several species of Spirit Herbs that still exist today. When most people read it, they would simply consider the contents of the Thousand Herb Scripture as myths and legends.”

Chu Li asked, “Elder Ni, will you give me the Thousand Herb Scripture?”

“You’re so bold!” Ni Hong angrily spat. “The Thousand Herb Scripture could have been secretly transmitted during the ancient times, but it’s not that useful anymore. You can have it. Don’t bother looking for the Spirit Herbs that are listed there. You should count yourself lucky if you encounter something that you recognize.”

Chu Li nodded.

Chu Li could enter Hundred-Thousand Hills. Aside from that, Spirit Cranes Peak was also filled with Spirit Herbs. It was similar to the current hills that were filled with medicinal herbs. However, Chu Li could not recognize most of those Spirit Herbs. There were numerous treasures around him, yet he was unaware of that. The Thousand Herb Scripture meant nothing to a normal person, but it was priceless to Chu Li.

“It doesn’t matter if you waste some Spirit Herbs because you can grow them quickly. You should practice by refining the Muscle Gaining pill first. This is the easiest Spirit Pill and it allows your wounds to heal faster,” Ni Hong said. “Messenger!”

Zhu Suifeng appeared again.

“Get him several stalks of the Spirit Herbs that are used for the Muscle Gaining Pill.” Ni Hong said, “Send it to the darkroom.”

“Yes,” Zhu Suifeng quickly replied before he left once more.

Chu Li asked, “Elder Ni, do you have any formulas?”

“Which formulas do you want to see?”

“I’d like to see the formulas for the Wind Speed Pill, Giant Spirit Pill, and this Muscle Gaining Pill. Can I briefly look through the remaining formulas too? I’m referring to the ones like the Thousand Herb Scripture.”

“Of course I have those.” Ni Hong nodded.

Chu Li smiled and said, “Elder Ni, I won’t have to trouble you in the future once I’ve learned to refine pills by myself.”

Ni Hong sneered twice. “You’re getting ahead of yourself! Lil Zhu, bring the Treasured Pill Scripture over here.”

“Yes.” Zhu Suifeng’s voice echoed from afar.

“Come with me.” Ni Hong led Chu Li to another stone room.

This stone room was much smaller than the previous one that they saw. The room was roughly twenty square meters wide with an alchemy furnace in the center. The furnace was almost the same size as the first one, but the veins on the furnace were slightly inferior because they were not fine enough. The shiny black marks displayed the changes it had underwent over time.

There was a spring water pool next to the stone room. The bottom of the pool could be seen as the water was crystal clear, and several little fishes were swimming inside the pool. Meanwhile, there was a pile of firewood and hard black stones that resembled coal or burnt carbon on the other side of the room.

“Light the fire first.” Ni Hong pointed at the stack of firewood beside them.

Chu Li burnt the firewood before he placed the black coal on top. Hot air quickly drifted from there while thick, billowing smoke spiraled upward. The smoke floated toward the ceiling of the stone room. However, this room was designed in such a unique way that it could suck up the smoke.

At this moment, Zhu Suifeng brought a bamboo basket filled with some Spirit Herbs. Chu Li recognized the Golden Glow Grass. Zhu Suifeng hurriedly passed a silk bound book that was as thick as the Thousand Herb Scripture to Chu Li. “Junior Brother Zhao.”

Chu Li took the book from him before he flipped to the Treasured Pill Scripture and read it first. Chu Li noticed that the Muscle Gaining Pill’s refining method was written there as well.

“You can just refine it according to the instructions here.” Ni Hong said, “This is the easiest one to refine. The most important part is heat control. You have to feel the heat to control it because you can’t open the alchemy furnace to observe it. Anyway, you wouldn’t be able to distinguish anything even if you looked at it.”

Chu Li nodded.

“You can start,” Ni Hong said.

Chu Li opened the furnace’s heavy cover before a faint medicinal scent wafted out. Chu Li poured four ladles of water from the spring pool beside him into the furnace. After that, he threw four types of Spirit Herbs into it. One by one, the four different Spirit Herbs were placed into the furnace.

Next, Chu Li placed the lid back on the alchemy furnace again before he sat in front of it.

“The Muscle Gaining pill will need roughly two hours to be refined,” Ni Hong said. “The intensity of the flames will affect the duration. Using either two or four flints will also produce different results. It’ll probably take a little while longer if you’re not good at controlling the fire, but it won’t take longer than three hours. You need to realize when the pill has been refined on your own. You’ll smell a strong fragrance once the pill is refined. However, it’ll be too late for you to extinguish the fire once you’ve noticed the sweet scent. The pills will only be effective if you extinguish the flames at the exact second before the fragrance is released. At any other temperature, the pills will be useless.”

Chu Li nodded.

“Alright, you have to feel it on your own. The key lies in the feeling!” Ni Hong said, “The ability to feel it is the innate talent of a Pill-refining Master. Let’s see if you have it.”

Ni Hong left with Zhou Huang after he spoke.

Chu Li sat on the cattail hassock in front of the alchemy furnace. He then retrieved the Thousand Herb Scripture and hurriedly browsed through it to memorize the contents.

Chu Li recalled Spirit Cranes Peak while he looked through the Thousand Herb Scripture. Chu Li tried to remember the details surrounding Spirit Crane Peak to see if his desired spirit herbs were there.

The thick silk bound book contained a total of one thousand and two pages. When Chu Li finished reading the Thousand Herb Scripture, he discovered that there were thirty types of spirit herbs throughout Spirit Cranes Peak, including Titanium Grass. Wind Speed Grass could not be found there, but Chu Li was undeterred. Although there was no Wind Speed Grass in Spirit Cranes Peak, the Spirit Cranes could help Chu Li find it.

The Spirit Cranes were as intelligent as youths in their prime. Two old cranes were even smarter than a human when they worked together. The cranes could recognize anything that was drawn even with a pen. It would not be difficult for Chu Li to ask the Spirit Cranes to assist him in finding several stalks of Wind Speed Grass because they were on good terms.

Chu Li yearned for the Wind Speed Grass as he looked through the Thousand Herb Scripture. As a matter of fact, Chu Li’s strength would greatly increase if he could consume several Wind Speed Pills and a Giant Spirit Pill.

Then, he retrieved the Treasured Pill Scripture that contained a total of three hundred and sixteen pages and three hundred and sixty formulas.

Although Chu Li did manage to find the formulas for the Muscle Gaining Pill, Wind Speed Pill, and Giant Spirit Pill, unfortunately, the Miracle Cure Pill’s formula was not written there.