First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 69: Trading Medicine for Medicine, the Five Stages of the Inner Furnace Realm

The skies grew darker and darker.

Outside the ruined temple, the night was dark as ink, silent save for intermittent howls of distant wild beasts. Occasionally, strange, terrifying cries rang out, as if the ghosts were maliciously conversing amongst themselves.

The campfire illuminated the great hall, the flames crackling audibly.

When they got some unexpected answers out of Su Yi, Yuan Luoxi couldn’t help but recall something Xiao Tianque had said to her father during his time as their guest.

“That lofty expert looks young, but he has miraculous skill, like an?immortal of legend. He’s beyond the comprehension of someone like me!”

At the time, her father, Yuan Wutong, had been curious about this mysterious expert’s identity too.

But Xiao Tianque guarded the secret closely. He merely smiled, shook his head, and said no more on the subject.

It was due to this very secretiveness that the “mysterious expert” who'd saved Xiao Tianque left such a deep impression on Yuan Luoxi.

During their expedition to Guangling City, she actually planned to test her luck and see if she could find the expert Xiao Tianque respected so deeply.

Who would have guessed that although she did in fact find him, she’d only realize his identity after so many misunderstandings?

For a while, Yuan Luoxi felt anguished and bitter.?For the first time in her life, she understood what people meant when they said “true experts don’t show off.”

She suddenly rose, her hands crossed in front of her, then bowed low at the waist. “Mystic Master, I… I was wrong to blame you earlier. I….. I’m willing to apologize, and no matter what compensation you require, I’ll do everything in my power to obtain it for you. I just hope… I just hope you won’t take offense at my earlier rudeness.”

Her tone was sincere, but she sounded a bit ill at ease.

Cheng Wuyong and the others were stunned.?They’d never seen their young miss apologize so solemnly to anyone. It was as if she were an entirely different person!

When she sensed their surprise, Yuan Luoxi couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable, as well as a bit embarrassed. Do they really see me as someone who doesn't know how to apologize?

Su Yi looked up at her and said, “Earlier, you said you’d root out the evildoers of the Deathbringer’s Gate to protect the populace. Your heart was in the right place; I’ll let your poor manners slide on account of your good intentions. Sit down; no need to be so polite.”

“Thank you, Mystic Master.” Yuan Luoxi was stunned. She wouldn’t have guessed that the words she said back then would convince Su Yi not to pursue this matter.

But when she thought of it, a thread of admiration rose within her heart.?Is this the magnanimity of a true expert?

“Young Miss, if your father knew how you’d changed today, he would surely be gratified,” said Cheng Wuyong emotionally.

It wasn’t enough to speak of the ways of the world. People had to overcome wind and rain before they could truly change.

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The other guards nodded their agreement.

Yuan Luoxi couldn’t help but smile. She finally stopped sulking and said crisply, “Uncle Yong, let’s begin our journey back as soon as we find the Six Yin Grass.”

Su Yi suddenly interjected, “I already found the Six Yin Grass.”

Yuan Luoxi was stunned. Then, she said tentatively, “Mystic Master… Might I ask if you’d be willing to part with it? Would you possibly be willing to sell it to me?”

Cheng Wuyong and the guards’ hearts clenched for fear that Su Yi would misunderstand her intentions.

But against all expectations, Su Yi nodded. “I currently have no use for Six Yin Grass. If you’re willing to offer thirty stalks of tier-one spirit medicine in exchange, this Six Yin Grass is yours.”

Yuan Luoxi instantly lit up with delight. Without a second thought, she said, “I can give you fifty stalks!”

Cheng Wuyong instantly broke out in cold sweats. “Miss, don’t be rude. How could someone as lofty as the Mystic Master care about a few extra herbs?”

Yuan Luoxi instantly reacted. She said apologetically, “Mystic Master, just now, I was overly excited, so I…”

Su Yi waved. “I understand.”

He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.?This Cheng Wuyong guy has really let his imagination run wild. How does he know I don’t care about a few extra stalks of medicine?

He shook his head, then removed the Six Yin Grass from his pendant and handed it over.

“Inner Furnace Grandmasters can use this spiritual medicine to refine their kidneys, but no matter what, your father must remember to take it slowly. He’d be best off using medicines with blazing yang energy as a supplement. Otherwise, this ‘medicine’ will become a poison and hurt his foundations in the Martial Dao.”

Inner Furnace cultivators refined the Five Major Organs: the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, which in turn corresponded to the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

The Inner Furnace Realm was thus split into five stages. Fully tempering one organ was called reaching “the first level of the Inner Furnace Realm.”

The commonfolk referred to such experts as “first-level Grandmasters.”

It’s worth mentioning that the five major organs didn’t need to be refined in any specific order. Everyone could proceed in accordance with their own cultivation method.

And Six Yin Grass, a tier-three spiritual medicine, could only achieve its full miraculous effect when used to refine the kidneys.

Yuan Luoxi reached out and accepted the grass with both hands. “Thank you, Mystic Master!”

She was grateful, but Cheng Wuyong and the guards were inwardly stunned.?As Su Yi gave her the herb, he casually instructed her on how best to use it. That was tantamount to guiding a Martial Dao Grandmaster’s cultivation!

The implications were huge; just thinking about it shook them to the core.

And when Cheng Wuyong keenly picked up on the way Su Yi took the Six Yin Grass from the inky jade pendant at his waist, his eyelids twitched.

A storage treasure!

Those were treasures so rare that even many Martial Dao Grandmasters weren’t fated to obtain them!

There’s no way Su Yi is just some live-in son-in-law of the Wen Family! His background can’t be so simple.?Waves surged through Cheng Wuyong’s heart. The more he learned about Su Yi, the less he could repress his awe.

“Uncle Yong, do you have enough treasure on you?”

Yuan Luoxi’s question woke Cheng Wuyong from his daze and scattered thoughts.

He took out his bag and rifled through it. He couldn’t help but hesitate, “I only have seventeen spiritual medicines. Twelve are tier one, while the other five are tier two.?Them aside, I have about seventy or eighty tier-one spirit stones and three tier-two spirit stones.”

When Su Yi heard that, he couldn’t help but lament.?A major clan like the Yuan Family really is different. Guangling City’s ‘Three Great Clans’ aren’t even remotely comparable.

A single guard’s spiritual treasures were comparable to years of the entire Wen Family’s accumulated wealth, and this was just what Cheng Wuyong happened to have on him!

Yuan Luoxi asked softly, “Mystic Master, how about we convert the thirty tier-one medicines you requested into five tier-two medicines and twelve tier-one medicines instead?”

Su Yi nodded.

In terms of actual value, tier-two spiritual medicines were far more expensive than tier-one medicines.

Yuan Luoxi inwardly sighed in relief, and her eyes lit up. She was obviously delighted to have obtained the Six Yin Grass.

Cheng Wuyong passed the spiritual medicines over. Su Yi then casually placed them into his black jade pendant.

When they saw this, Yuan Luoxi and the guards were stunned too. They’d finally noticed that Su Yi carried a storage treasure!

Su Yi was rather pleased with this trade, too.

He was still quite some distance from the Grandmaster Realm, so he truly had no practical use for a treasure like Six Yin Grass. That was why he traded it for tier-one and two spiritual medicines.

If I add up all the spiritual medicine I have on me, it should be enough to last me until the peak of the Refining Bone stage,?he thought to himself.

“Mystic Master, we plan to begin our return journey tomorrow at dawn. Might I ask when you plan to return?” asked Cheng Wuyong.

“I want to go see the rest of Mother Ghost Ridge,” said Su Yi. He’d already risen to his feet.

“Sir, are you planning to leave now?” exclaimed Guo Bing.

“That’s right. I’ll take advantage of the night and perhaps see things I might not encounter during the day.” Su Yi nodded.

“That’s not proper! At night, Mother Ghost Ridge is incomparably perilous. You….”

Before Guo Bing finished speaking, Su Yi smiled. “The ghosts ought to be afraid of me, not the other way around. Elder Guo, you should wait here with them. If I make it back by daybreak, we can all go back to the city together. Otherwise, you can head back without me.”

With that, he gripped his bamboo staff and walked out of the hall. His slender, calm figure quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Yuan Luoxi, Cheng Wuyong, and the guards looked at each other, but then, they weren’t the least bit worried about Su Yi’s safety.

The Mystic Master killed even a?Six-Severings?Yin?Corpse with a single swing of his sword. Which of Mother Ghost Ridge’s remaining undead could possibly be his opponent?

…..

The skies were dark as ink, and mists lingered around the mountains.

Su Yi left the run-down temple, then gently tapped the Soul-Nourishing Gourd at his waist. “Qing Wan.”

Whoosh~!

White smoke billowed from the mouth of the gourd, and a picture-perfect young beauty in a red dress drifted into view.

In the time since she began cultivating the “Ten Directions Asura Sutra”, Qing Wan had obviously undergone numerous minute transformations.

First and foremost, her beautiful soul body was much more solid, and her skin was no longer ghastly pale or transparent. On the contrary, it seemed lustrous and pure as jade.

Her beautiful phoenix eyes glinted with spirituality. Even just looking around, she inadvertently gave off a shocking charm.

Add that to her pretty face, still soft with a hint of baby-fat, and a unique, somewhat contradictory temperament, and there was a hint of allure amidst her pure-hearted innocence.

A blood-red dress, skin as fair as snow, pretty features, and distinctive charm. Even knowing she was a ghost, few men wouldn’t be interested.

Su Yi nodded to himself, pleased with what he saw.

Qing Wan’s talent and powers of comprehension were both extremely exceptional. She’d changed so much already. He couldn’t help but look forward to seeing just how far she’d go in the future.

Of course, to the likes of Su Xuanjun, who’d seen all the beauties the world had to offer in his past life, the current Qing Wan was still lacking a certain something. She was still far from arousing his interest.

After emerging from the gourd, Qing Wan’s big eyes swept the surrounding area, and she said timidly, “Mystic Master, this is Mother Ghost Ridge, isn’t it? It’s just as scary as people say.”

Her voice was soft and pleasing to the ear.

“‘As scary as people say’??You’re a ghost, not a person, you know.” Su Yi corrected her, then continued, “Use your perception to see where the yin energy is densest.”

He didn’t find the inauspicious yin spirit vein on the?Six-Severings?Yin?Corpse, so he decided to go looking for it himself.

Qing Wan was meek, and obedient too. She immediately closed her eyes and circulated her cultivation base.

Whoosh!

Her red dress billowed like a fire lighting up the night sky, revealing her slender, pearly white legs. Indistinct wisps of soul power rose up around her.

She looked like a peerlessly beautiful immortal ghost, an enchantress from a painting.

A mere moment later, Qing Wan’s eyes popped open, and she turned and peered into the distant darkness.

“Did you sense something?” asked Su Yi.

Qing Wan stuttered, “Mystic Master, with my cultivation, I can only vaguely sense that in the distant northwest, the inauspicious yin energy is far more concentrated than it is here. I just don’t know whether or not that’s the place you’re looking for or not.”

“The northwest? That should be where the ‘peach orchard’ Guo Bing described is.” Su Yi pondered momentarily, then ordered, “Lead the way.”