Once he entered, he sat down cross-legged, reached out, and placed his hand onto the stone altar. Rumbling filled his mind as he once again entered that familiar void.
In front of him were 1,000,000 flickering fragments of medicinal plants and spirit creatures. Eyes gleaming with focus, his hands began to fly about and reorganize the pieces.
1,000. 5,000. 10,000….
30,000. 50,000. 80,000
This was the most difficult of all the tests he had taken so far. Soon, sweat was dripping down his face, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked crazed, as if he had forgotten about everything else. He was fully immersed in the process of reconstructing plants and vegetation, and spirit creatures. His hands hurt, and his mind reeled, and yet he kept going.
Before long, the test was over, and Bai Xiaochun sat here, his hands trembling as he put the last medicinal plant together. With that, his vision went blurry, then cleared, and he was back in the log cabin.
Breathing heavily, eyes shining with satisfaction, he wiped the sweat from his brow and clenched his fists.
Please go to
install our App to read the latest chapters for free
Chapter
37: Heaviness-in-Lightness
Ten stone steles, ten 1st place spots!
The three peaks on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect were completely shaken.
Outside the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, a buzz of conversation could be heard. People were speeding over from all directions to catch a glimpse of the little turtle in 1st place on all ten stones steles. Gasps rang out.
“Ten 1st place spots! The little turtle actually did it!”
“The last time anyone in the Spirit Stream Sect ever took ten 1st place spots in the stone steles was a thousand years ago! How could I ever have imagined that I would see something like this in my life!?”
Everyone was clamoring in shock, and although many people had predicted that this would happen, it was still a shocking event. That was especially true considering the previous three months, in which one stone stele after another fell into the hands of the little turtle. When people thought about that, they simply couldn’t stay calm.
“Just who exactly is the little turtle…? In less than half a year, he started from the third stone stele and then swept through all his competition in the rest of them. This guy is totally famous!”
“His skill with plants and vegetation completely exceeds Zhou Xinqi’s. Maybe in the future, there will even be another master apothecary in addition to Zhou Xinqi!”
In the same moment that the little turtle secured 1st place on all ten stone steles, the steles began to vibrate, letting off intense rumbling noises that that merged together, and then were joined by the sound of a clanging cauldron coming from further up the mountain.
It was as if someone were striking a medicine cauldron with an enormous log. The muffled booms spread out through all of Fragrant Cloud Peak, and then echoed out to fill the entire south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect. It was accompanied by a medicinal aroma that filled the area, and caused the mists that covered Fragrant Cloud Peak to grow even thicker.
At the top of Fragrant Cloud Peak was an Immortal’s cave where Elder Zhou was in the middle of feeding some of his cherished five-colored spirit birds. When he heard the sound of the cauldron, his eyes lit up with surprise.
“The Fragrant Cloud Cauldron?” He sent his divine sense out and instantly detected what was happening among the ten stone steles outside the 10,000 Medicines pavilion. His expression immediately flickered, and he stepped out into the air.
Next, Elder Sun appeared, along with other Foundation Establishment cultivators. All of them had heard the sound of the cauldron, and were now proceeding in the direction of the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, excited expressions on their faces.
The last to appear was Li Qinghou, who had been in the middle of meditation. When he heard the sound of the cauldron, his face flickered, and he looked outside. Then, he transformed into a beam of colorful light that shot toward the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.
As the sound of the cauldron rang out, the crowd grew even more excited. Both the Outer Sect and Inner Sect disciples of Fragrant Cloud Peak were completely shaken, and many began to rush in the direction of the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.
“That’s… the sound of the precious treasure of Fragrant Cloud Peak, the Fragrant Cloud Cauldron!”
“Someone took ten 1st place spots at the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion! That hasn’t happened for a thousand years! This is unheard-of!”
Excitement even broke out on Green Crest Peak and Violet Cauldron Peak. Big Fatty Zhang was hanging his head as a beautiful, alluring woman berated him. That woman was none other than the old shrew that Big Fatty Zhang had complained to Bai Xiaochun about. As soon as she heard the sound of the cauldron, her expression flickered, and she looked off into the distance. Big Fatty Zhang’s face fell in shock as he did the same thing.
“The sound of the Fragrant Cloud Cauldron. Could it be that some disciple on Fragrant Cloud Peak has actually gotten perfect results in all of the tests?”
Similar scenes played out on Green Crest Peak, causing the Elders and the Peak Lord there to look over in astonishment.
More and more people were filling the area around the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion.
Bai Xiaochun was there in the crowd, and when he heard the uproar, he looked up at the ten stone steles. Although he didn’t join in with the shouting, his heart was filled with an indescribable feeling. He stood there, a smile growing on his face; not a complacent smile, or a lofty smile, a smile of pure happiness.
It had taken him more than a year to work this miracle. He had started from the first stone stele, then taken 1st place in all ten. However, having a bunch of 1st place spots didn’t mean much to him in the end. The most important thing was that he had gained a complete mastery over plants and vegetation, as well as the spirit creatures, something that apprentice apothecaries needed to be proficient in.
He had crafted an unprecedentedly deep foundation. As he thought back to the long days and endless nights he had spent obsessively studying plants and vegetation, and then spirit creatures, Bai Xiaochun sighed emotionally.
In the entire Spirit Stream Sect, there weren’t even any Inner Sect disciples who had such a strong foundation in their skill with plants and vegetation. Currently, Bai Xiaochun was feeling very satisfied.
Soon, numerous beams of light could be seen flying through the air, all of them emanating powerful cultivation base fluctuations. Among them were Elder Zhou, Elder Sun… and of course Li Qinghou.
They looked over the ten stone steles, and the little turtle in the 1st place spot, and their eyes began to shine brightly. That was especially true of Li Qinghou. That little turtle design caused him to first start in shock, then begin to laugh loudly, a strange expression on his face. He looked out over the crowd, and caught sight of Bai Xiaochun, after which a glint of praise appeared in his eyes that no one could detect.
After a long moment passed, he flicked his sleeve and left, quite happy after having guessed that the little turtle belonged to none other than Bai Xiaochun.
Soon, the other members of the Senior generation left. However, more and more Inner Sect disciples were showing up to stare in shock at the little turtle. After all, they had all risen up from the Outer Sect, and knew very well that only Outer Sect disciples were allowed to challenge the stone steles. They also knew how difficult of a challenge that was.
“Any Outer Sect disciple who can do this is definitely a Chosen….”
“Hmph. We’re journeyman apothecaries, so all we care about is spirit medicines. Incredible skill with plants and vegetation is meaningless if you can’t synthesize spirit medicine!”