Before Su Qinian took the initiative to inform her.
Li Qingran had no idea that the Sword Pavilion actually had a place like an herb garden, she had always assumed that everyone just cultivated a patch of land outside their cave dwellings, growing their own herbs without affecting each other.
When she arrived at the herb garden, she realized that the Sword Pavilion not only had a very decent herb garden, but it was also quite large. Compared to the dilapidated ancestral hall and scripture repository, the herb garden looked newly built, with everything appearing fresh and bright.
Standing at the entrance of the herb garden.
Su Qinian didn’t enter immediately; instead, he hesitated for a moment, cleared his throat, and called out into the herb garden: “Elder Liu, cough cough, are you there?”
There was a brief silence in the herb garden.
Then came a roar of rage.
“Get out—!!!”
The gate of the herb garden slammed open.
A gust of wind blew through the space, causing it to tremble.
The wind swept across the ground, breaking countless herbs.
Su Qinian simply cast a casual wind shield, clearly having become accustomed to it.
When the wind stopped, he casually dismissed the wind shield and said to Li Qingran: “Qingran, the one who just shouted loudly is Elder Liu from our herb garden – Liu Yuanqing. Don’t look at him as if he’s fierce, but he’s actually a pretty good person… Li Qingran?”
Having received no response from Li Qingran for half a day, Su Qinian turned around and saw that Li Qingran had been blown to the edge of a cliff by the strong wind, just barely climbing back up with her hair all tangled like a bird’s nest.
“Ah…” Su Qinian gave a sheepish smile: “Sorry, I didn’t cast the shield wide enough to cover you.”
An old man with silver hair and youthful looks was already standing at the entrance of the herb garden. He had a kind face and a gentle demeanor, but his eyes were unusually sharp, especially when looking at Su Qinian, as if they were about to spit fire.
“Master Su, I respect you as the Master, but if you dare to steal spiritual herbs from the herb garden again, I will definitely fight you for three hundred rounds until one of us dies!”
Li Qingran looked at Su Qinian in surprise.
Ignoring Li Qingran’s gaze, Su Qinian chuckled and said: “Elder Liu, today I’m not here for the spiritual herbs, today…”
“Steal.” Elder Liu narrowed his eyes.
“I am the Sect Leader, taking some spiritual herbs…”
“Steal!” Elder Liu emphasized again.
“Alright, today I’m not here to steal spiritual herbs.” The Sect Leader Su directly admitted, saying without any embarrassment: “This disciple wants to refine the Hundred Herb Detoxifying Pill, but there are many spiritual herbs on the formula that I don’t recognize, so I’d like you to identify them.”
“And then steal the spiritual herbs from me, right?” Elder Liu remained unmoved, glancing sideways at Su Qinian, sneering: “I warn you, the spiritual herbs in this herb garden are the lifeline of all disciples of our Sword Pavilion, and an important foundation of our sect. No matter what excuse you come up with, if you dare to steal, I will dare to fight!”
With a whoosh, he drew his sword, his true qi rolling around, his robes fluttering.
“Elder Liu, this disciple urgently needs to understand the formula of the Hundred Herb Detoxifying Pill to detoxify for my master.” Li Qingran stepped forward two steps, knelt down sincerely, and bowed her head: “Please, Elder Liu, help this disciple take a look at the formula!”
If the Sect Leader and this Elder Liu continue to bicker, they’re bound to end up fighting.
She had figured it out.
The Sect Leader has visited this herb garden many times to steal spiritual herbs.
And the herb garden and the sect are separate departments. This elder has a status equivalent to the Sect Leader and has absolute management authority over the herb garden.
Elder Liu scrutinized Li Qingran from head to toe, seeing that she was a handsome and sincere youth, and the anger on his face instantly diminished significantly.
“You seem quite filial. Who exactly is your master?”
“Report to the elder, this disciple’s master is the Grand Elder of the Sword Pavilion.”
Liu Yuanqing: “Ah?”
He entered the Sword Pavilion halfway through, so he wasn’t very familiar with its history. All he knew was that currently, the highest-ranking person in the Sword Pavilion was Sect Leader Su Qinian, and there was no such thing as an Ancestor or Grand Elder. If such a person existed, the Sword Pavilion wouldn’t be so poor.
So he could only give Su Qinian a questioning look for confirmation.
Su Qinian nodded: “That Grand Elder went on a journey long ago, and his identity has already been confirmed in the ancestral hall. So I’m really not here to steal spiritual herbs.”
“You won’t steal today, but you’ll steal tomorrow.” Liu Yuanqing snorted, slowly walking to Li Qingran, his face now wearing a smile, speaking gently: “Since your master needs it, then recite the formula to me.”
Li Qingran recited the formula again and anxiously watched Elder Liu’s expression.
To her slight relief, Elder Liu maintained a normal expression, unlike Su Qinian who looked utterly confused.
Indeed, she suddenly concluded that except for the Sect Leader, everyone else in the Sword Pavilion was reliable!
After pondering for a while, Liu Yuanqing pulled out a scroll and flipped through it, nodding and muttering at times, shaking his head at others.
After a while, he closed the scroll and raised his eyes: “I know all the spiritual herbs needed for the Hundred Herb Detoxifying Pill, and more than half can be provided from the herb garden. Those not available in the herb garden can be bought from Spirit Intuition Valley, so we can gather everything. However…”
Li Qingran hadn’t had time to rejoice upon hearing Elder Liu’s words.
A single “however” made her heart race again, pounding heavily.
“Old man Liu, stop teasing us!”
Beside him, Su Qinian was cleaning his teeth with a flying sword, his face full of impatience.
“What’s your hurry? Do you even think before you speak?” Liu Yuanqing rolled his eyes, frowning: “However, two medicinal ingredients are extremely hard to find: Longue Apricot and Blood Wave Citrus. These are sacred plants from the ancient times, probably nonexistent in the Cangyun Realm nowadays.”
“In that case, we can only search in the Secret Realm.” Su Qinian continued, calming Li Qingran whose face had turned pale: “In less than a month, the Central Continent Secret Realm will open. It’s filled with relics from the ancient times. Our entire sect will enter the Secret Realm to seek treasures, surely finding those two ingredients. You needn’t worry.”
“That’s correct,” Liu Yuanqing stroked his beard and nodded: “During the ancient times, there were numerous Danzong. Resources were abundant then, and anyone with a bit of foundation could establish their own sect. Among them, Medicine King Valley had the deepest foundation. If you can find the ruins of Medicine King Valley during this opening of the Central Continent Secret Realm, then within this Medicine King Valley renowned for containing all the sacred herbs in the world, these two ingredients must certainly exist!”
Upon hearing this, Li Qingran took a step back and deeply bowed: “Sect Leader, Elder Liu, although I am weak, I wish to enter the Central Continent Secret Realm.”
She knew that her senior brothers and sisters entering the Secret Realm were all seeking their own opportunities and couldn’t possibly spend too much energy searching for the ingredients.
Even if everyone was willing to spend time helping her, she didn’t want to delay everyone’s chances of gaining fortune because of her own matters.
Therefore, she must go to the Central Continent Secret Realm this time.
And she must find those two ingredients from the ancient times.
Su Qinian and Liu Yuanqing exchanged a glance.
He originally didn’t want Li Qingran to go.
After all, given the relationship between Li Qingran and the Grand Elder, her safety must be guaranteed.
But seeing the determination in Li Qingran’s eyes, he hesitantly nodded.
“Alright! As long as you reach the Small Success stage of the Foundation Establishment Period before the Secret Realm opens, then I will let you go.”
Li Qingran lifted her head, her bright eyes locking onto Su Qinian’s, speaking firmly:
“Disciple Qingran will not disappoint!”
