Chapter 161: Urgent Need for Spiritual Medicine

In the mountains, years hold no meaning.
Spring and autumn are merely passing travelers.
In the blink of an eye, four years quietly slipped away.

Among the majestic peaks and ranges of Mount Taiji, the scenery remained unchanged. Every year, new disciples entered the mountain gates, bringing a breath of vibrant, youthful faces. As they walked by the shores of Serene Heart Lake, they would hear senior brothers and sisters jokingly refer to the flocks of spiritual ducks and geese in the lake as their fellow disciples. They would also catch sight of a moss-covered stone tablet quietly recording twenty-one once-brilliant names.

The third senior sister, Master Yushu, remained as restless as ever, fond of visiting various sects to converse on the Dao.

The eldest senior brother, Master Yuquan, continued his quiet cultivation in the Hut of Ease. Occasionally, he would descend the mountain to preach and teach at the Taiji Dao Academy, even bringing Little Grass along to use as a living example of his cultivated Dao of the Oneness of All Things.

Outside Jiang Min's dwelling cave.

Having been long unattended, the entrance was choked with overgrown weeds.

Inside the dwelling, multiple layers of array formations overlapped, masking all movement and aura. Yet, if one could pierce through the veil of the arrays to witness the interior, they would realize that the space within was entirely empty.

Presently.

Within the Paradise in the Palm.

Deep inside the mine of the extreme yang spiritual vein beneath the lake.

A slender figure sat cross-legged on a worn straw mat. Within her half-closed palms rested a second-tier peak demonic core brimming with potent demonic power. A startling devouring force emerged from her hands, drawing the vast, boundless demonic energy from the core into her palms, causing the core to steadily grow dim and translucent.

Not only that.

Wisps of extreme yang spiritual Qi continuously emerged from the glittering extreme yang mineral veins all around. Centered upon the figure, they converged into a vortex that rushed toward her, flowing through her rhythmic breathing and into her nasal apertures.

The person cultivating deep within the lake-bottom mine was none other than Jiang Min.

At this moment.

At the center of her dantian, the once-chaotic Dao seed had completely transformed into a pale golden hue. A searing heat radiated from the seed, giving birth to wisps of intense, blazing yang fire that twisted and burned as they coiled around it.

What defines a Golden Core? It is none other than the pill of pure yang.

How is a yang pill formed? By stripping the yin and purifying the yang from the Dao seed, banishing all yin medicines until the yang medicine begins to take shape, cooking it with spiritual fire until it is refined into the great elixir of the pure yang golden core.

Therefore, what Jiang Min needed to do was continuously temper this consummate chaotic Dao seed with yang Qi until it transformed into a brilliant golden pure yang Dao seed. That would mark the minor completion of Foundation Establishment, allowing her to proceed to the next stage of refinement.

Aside from the Dao seed that had already turned pale gold, the spiritual Qi in Jiang Min's dantian was far denser than before. This boundless spiritual power resembled an ocean, endlessly rising, falling, and rippling within her dantian. Such spiritual foundations at the early stage of Foundation Establishment could actually rival the grand completion of Foundation Establishment! It was truly astonishing.

Rooted deep within the dantian was also a plain, unassuming peach branch.

Extremely potent demonic energy flowed through the pathways of the peach branch, and a cluster of primordial spiritual light faintly condensed within its trunk, gathering an intimidating surge of demonic power. This was the elixir embryo naturally formed after the peach branch devoured massive amounts of demonic energy, though it still lacked the opportune moment to fully condense and complete its transformation...

After a long while.

Jiang Min slowly opened her eyes.

The second-tier demonic core floating in her palm shattered into a pile of grayish-white powder, leaving not a shred of demonic power behind.

She flipped her palm and produced a complex, silvery-white astrolabe, upon which the sun, moon, and stars hovered, moving slowly in a unique pattern. The compass below was composed of concentric rings of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the outermost of which was also slowly rotating to display the current time.

"Four years have passed..."

Jiang Min lowered her gaze, reading the date displayed on the astrolabe, and murmured softly.

"Over the past four years, I have consumed numerous heavenly treasures rich in yang Qi and cultivated in this place abundant in yang energy, yet I have still failed to temper a pure yang Dao seed. I am still quite a distance away from the minor completion of Foundation Establishment."

During these years of closed-door cultivation, she had consumed Supreme Yang Essence, Flood Dragon Yang Pills, and many earthly treasures and spiritual medicines bestowed by Monarch Guanqi. The resources she had consumed were enough to supply several ordinary cultivators to reach the minor completion of Foundation Establishment, yet they still had not brought her Dao seed to a state of pure yang.

This had nothing to do with having five spiritual roots.

It was simply because the consummate Dao seed she had established was so powerful that the energy and resources required were exponentially greater.

"I only have half a bottle of Spiritual Yang Ginseng Liquid left. If I finish consuming this and still haven't reached the minor completion of Foundation Establishment, I will have to leave seclusion and search for other rare treasures."

With this thought, Jiang Min put away the astrological compass and produced half a bottle of emerald spiritual liquid emitting a golden glow, preparing to open it and consume it.

Suddenly, her heart stirred.

For the divine sense left upon her jade token had been awakened by Little Grass.

"Could something be the matter?"

Puzzled, Jiang Min temporarily left her straw mat in the mine cave, her thought flashing as she vanished from the subterranean cavern and reappeared in her dwelling cave after a lapse of several years.

Withdrawing the heavy array formations,

she saw Little Grass outside the barriers, clutching the jade token with a few of its blades, flying back and forth in frantic anxiety.

"A-Ling, what happened?" Seeing its flustered state, Jiang Min asked as she walked toward it at a leisurely pace.

Upon seeing the array lift and reveal Jiang Min after a long absence, Little Grass immediately darted forward. "A-Min! A-Ling missed you so much!"

Then, it anxiously blurted out, "Monarch Guanqi has been injured! It looks very serious, and Master Yuquan has even gone down the mountain to search for medicine."

"Master Yushu, who is almost never on the mountain, has also returned and has been guarding outside the Monarch's dwelling cave, refusing to let anyone go near."

Hearing this, Jiang Min frowned.

Her master was injured?

For cultivators, especially sword cultivators, sustaining injuries was commonplace. However, for the third senior sister, who rarely stayed on the mountain, to return and stand guard, and for the eldest senior brother, who hardly ever left the sect, to descend the mountain in search of medicine, the matter must be grave indeed.

"I will go take a look. Wait for me here at the dwelling."

With that, Jiang Min stepped out of the cave.

Summoning a small sword, she rode her sword to the main peak of Jade Sword Peak, the dwelling place of Monarch Guanqi—the Sitting-in-Oblivion Cave.

As soon as she landed,

the figure of Master Yushu slowly materialized before the cave entrance, as if she had been standing guard there the entire time. Seeing Jiang Min arrive, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Junior Sister Yuyao, why have you emerged from seclusion?"

"Greetings, Senior Sister Yushu."

Jiang Min cupped her fists in salute, then said, "A-Ling sent me a message saying that Master—"

Before she could finish, Master Yushu interrupted her with a rather helpless tone, "Sigh! I told A-Ling not to disturb your closed-door cultivation, but it went and told you anyway. Very well, this is no place to talk; let us go to Cloud-Viewing Pavilion to speak."

Jiang Min nodded and followed Master Yushu along a neighboring mountain path. After walking a short distance, an octagonal pavilion perched on the edge of a cliff came into view at the path's end. From the pavilion, one could overlook a vast sea of clouds, hence its name, Cloud-Viewing Pavilion.

The two took their seats inside.

Master Yushu formed a hand seal with one hand, then flicked her finger to cast a sound-proofing barrier, wrapping the pavilion in a translucent spiritual curtain. She turned serious first and said, "This matter must not be leaked. We must keep it hidden for as long as possible. Currently, aside from the few of us, only several grand-masters in the sect and Monarch Hanyue know the truth."

Jiang Min nodded and promised, "Understood, Yuyao comprehends."

Seeing that Jiang Min understood the gravity of the situation, Master Yushu sighed and said, "Master has been injured. Grand-master Jingzhen is currently treating him. During this time, the sect and several grand-masters have already expended numerous spiritual medicines to heal Master, but some ingredients are still missing, so Eldest Senior Brother went down the mountain to find them."

"How did he get injured?" Jiang Min asked with a solemn expression.

Master Yushu clenched her fist slightly and frowned, "According to Eldest Senior Brother, Master returned covered in wounds, barely holding on, and collapsed right outside his Hut of Ease. Eldest Senior Brother hurriedly fetched the grand-masters to treat him, but right now... Master has yet to regain consciousness. Only when he wakes up can we know who inflicted such wounds upon him."

Jiang Min had not expected that while she was secluded for so long, so many events had transpired in the outside world.

She quickly asked, "Senior Sister, which spiritual medicines are lacking?"

Master Yushu shook her head, looking somewhat deflated. "Many are missing: Earth Fire Spiritual Fat, Dark Thunder Quartz, Millennium Exorcism Thunder Ginseng, Thunder Jade Pith..."

Jiang Min's heart stirred slightly.

Most of these spiritual medicines were items used to cleanse filth and suppress evil. Could it be that Monarch Guanqi had not merely suffered ordinary injuries, but had fallen victim to some pernicious, dark art?

The spiritual medicines mentioned by Master Yushu were indeed exceptionally precious; the vast majority of them she had never even laid eyes upon.

As for the Thunder Jade Pith... she still had quite a bit of it left.