Chapter 623 - 608: Medicine City

Chapter 623: Chapter 608: Medicine City

Chapter 718: Medicine City.

Profound Old Ghost shook his head with a bitter smile. "I don’t know. The Nine Venerable Thunder Tribulation only exists in legends. It’s a calamity that only gods should have to face, yet it has unexpectedly descended upon you. I don’t know what it means, but the possibility of you surviving it is minuscule. At least, not with your current strength."

"I can’t?"

"There’s no need to be so discouraged. I said you can’t succeed with your *current* strength. But so far, you’ve only fused with two Ultimate Attribute Spirits. Once the number of Attribute Spirits in your body reaches four, I think you’ll have at least a fifty percent chance of surviving this calamity. A fifty percent chance is already quite high. Besides, your Master is no pushover. Although he can’t help you directly, his indirect aid can still raise your odds by another twenty percent. That gives you a total of seventy percent. Are you still worried?"

"That’s right, I can still fuse with Ultimate Attribute Spirits." Hearing about the Ultimate Attribute Spirits, Mu Chen slapped his forehead. But then his thoughts turned, and he became dejected again. "But for over a year, I’ve searched through every book in the Holy Tomb Mountain’s Book Tower and found no information about Ultimate Attribute Spirits. The Extreme Martial Continent is so vast, where should I even begin to look?"

Profound Old Ghost chuckled slyly. "Far on the horizon, yet right before your eyes, you silly boy. Have you forgotten? There’s a Deceitful Forbidden Land quite close to the Central State."

Mu Chen was stunned. The map of the Deceitful Forbidden Lands he had seen back at the Xuanling Imperial Academy immediately surfaced in his mind. There was indeed one located exceptionally close to the Central State: the Flame Mysterious Realm, the White Flame Cave, which burned with an eternal White Flame. If he used Xiaobai’s Space Power and traveled at full speed, he could get there in a month and a half at most.

"Wait, Xiaobai!!"

The corner of his mouth twitched, and Mu Chen looked utterly defeated by his own stupidity. After traveling for so long, he had completely forgotten about Xiaobai. Xiaobai’s Spatial Transmission was incredibly powerful; he hadn’t dared to use it on Holy Tomb Mountain for fear the Elders would discover Xiaobai’s true identity. But now they had left Holy Tomb Mountain, and there was hardly anyone on the road. They had relied entirely on his and Chu Aoqing’s flight, which was not only mentally and physically exhausting but also a waste of time. ’How could I only be thinking of this now?’

Profound Old Ghost snorted. "In your dreams. You’ve been constantly improving over the past year, and Xiaobai has been progressing as well. It’s currently in a state of evolution. Once it wakes up, it will likely break through to the Venerable Realm and become a Venerable Beast. You, kid, should just obediently travel on your own."

"Ah, why’s it gotta be like that?" Mu Chen was disappointed, but the thought of the White Flame Cave made him excited again. "The White Flame Cave... there’s a high probability of a Fire Attribute Spirit there, right?"

Profound Old Ghost nodded. "That should be correct. And since you’ve already fused with Ultimate Ice, you’ll have a unique advantage when fusing with the Ultimate Fire Attribute Spirit. You might not even feel much pain."

Mu Chen grunted in agreement and secretly decided to head to the White Flame Cave to search for the Ultimate Fire Attribute Spirit right after delivering the letter.

"Mu Chen, you’ve been spacing out this whole time. What are you thinking about?"

Just then, Chu Aoqing suddenly patted Mu Chen’s shoulder. After all, Mu Chen had been silent ever since they left Ghost City, which made her worry that he hadn’t fully recovered.

Mu Chen, who was in his Sea of Souls, felt the external signal and instantly returned to the Outer Realm. He turned his head and saw the worry in Chu Aoqing’s crimson eyes.

Rubbing his nose, Mu Chen said apologetically, "Uh, I was just a little lost in thought. Sorry."

Chu Aoqing finally let out a sigh of relief. "I see. I was worried your body hadn’t recovered yet. But speaking of which, there’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask you."

At her words, Mu Chen’s heart skipped a beat. ’It’s coming.’

"That day, when you faced the Saint Realm elder from the Border City Zhou Family, you used a Secret Technique, right?"

’As I thought.’ Mu Chen gave a bitter laugh. He had thought Chu Aoqing wouldn’t ask this question, but it turned out she’d been holding it in all this time. However, he absolutely could not tell her about his Master’s existence, so he had no choice but to continue lying.

"It is indeed a Secret Technique, one with equally immense restrictions and side effects."

Mu Chen’s voice was a little low, and Chu Aoqing’s expression grew serious as well. "I’ve already seen the side effects. You were in a near-death state for half a month. Without a Guardian or someone to protect you, using that move is almost certain death. But what are the restrictions?"

"It can only be used once every three years."

Chu Aoqing was stunned and exclaimed, "Once every three years? That restriction... is truly terrifying."

Even as the young miss of the Hidden Sword Manor, one of the Nine Hidden Families, she had never heard of a Secret Technique with such a powerful restriction. But on second thought, considering the technique’s power, she quickly came to terms with it. It was true she had never seen a Secret Technique that could only be used once every three years, but then again, she had also never seen one that could instantly raise a person’s Martial Arts Realm from the Emperor Realm to the Saint Realm!

In fact, the "once every three years" part wasn’t a complete fabrication by Mu Chen. This was the second time the Profound Old Ghost had possessed him for help, and the first time had been four, nearly five years ago. So, if the Profound Old Ghost’s possession were considered a Secret Technique, then the interval between uses was indeed more than three years.

"But there is one good thing: it doesn’t have the side effect of lowering my Martial Arts Realm." Mu Chen added this detail, figuring that if he was going to hide the truth, he might as well make it a perfect, seamless lie.

"Alright." Chu Aoqing shook her head helplessly. "I really have no idea how many secrets you’re keeping."

"Haha, you’re just overthinking things," Mu Chen said with a light laugh, then suddenly added, "By the way, Qing’er, there’s something I want to discuss with you."

Chu Aoqing said, "Go on."

"It’s like this. After I deliver the letter, I might not go to the Hidden Sword Manor right away to restore your grandfather’s limbs. There’s something I need to do first. That’s what I was spacing out about earlier."

Chu Aoqing smiled faintly. "So it was about that. Restoring Grandpa’s limbs isn’t urgent, so go ahead and take care of your own business first. You’ll have to come to the manor to meet up with me eventually anyway. If you arrive later, it just means I get to stay with my family a few extra days."

"Thank you."

"What’s there to thank me for? It’s not like we’re strangers."

"Er..."

...

A month passed slowly with the two of them exchanging a few words here and there. Because they traveled discreetly, heading straight for hotels or Guest Manors whenever they entered a city, they didn’t run into any trouble.

"Mu Chen, that’s Medicine City up ahead. This is as far as I’ll take you." Dozens of miles from Medicine City, Chu Aoqing suddenly stopped and pointed to the large city in the distance as she spoke to Mu Chen.

"What, you’re going back to the manor now?" Mu Chen asked in surprise. Although Chu Aoqing had said she would only escort him to Medicine City, now that the moment of her departure had truly arrived, Mu Chen couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

"Mhm, I have to. The Ding Palace is in the southwest, but the manor is in the northwest, and they aren’t close. This is our family’s unique Clan Token. Take it. After you’ve handled your business, just infuse it with your Primordial Power, and someone will naturally come to guide you."

As she spoke, Chu Aoqing took out a small, crimson sword from her Storage Ring. The sword looked very strange. It had no cutting edge, no tip, and there was even a notch on one side of the blade, looking like a chip on a sword, with no particular pattern.

But when the small sword landed in Mu Chen’s hand, he felt an incomparably deep and heavy sensation. This feeling was surprisingly similar to the Profound Jade Fan he carried on his back.

"So this is the Clan Token of the Hidden Sword Manor?" Mu Chen murmured to himself, staring at the small crimson sword in his hand.

"Mhm. Don’t mind its unsightly appearance; it’s our family’s foundational treasure. As for what it is, you should be able to guess with your knowledge. Its existence isn’t exactly a secret," Chu Aoqing said with a smile.

"Is it really that kind of existence?" Mu Chen asked with a bitter smile. He solemnly placed it into his Storage Ring and said to Chu Aoqing, "I’ll be going then. The sooner I finish this task, the sooner I can handle my own business, and the sooner I can help restore your grandfather’s limbs."

Nodding lightly, Chu Aoqing smiled and turned away, hiding the deep reluctance in her eyes with her back. With a swipe of her fingertip, a Spatial Rift appeared out of thin air. She stepped into it, and when she turned her head one last time, only anticipation remained in her eyes.

"I’m leaving."

Mu Chen smiled and nodded, waiting until the Spatial Rift had completely vanished before taking a deep breath. He sorted out his emotions and turned, speeding toward the massive city.

...

Medicine City was a Level 1 City located at the foot of Zhongling Mountain in the southwest of the Central State. It was as large as an Imperial Capital, truly magnificent. Because the Ding Palace was located on Zhongling Mountain, this Level 1 City was managed directly by the Ding Palace. And because of the Ding Palace’s presence, the most complete collection of Spiritual Elixirs and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in the entire Central Continent—or even the entire continent—was gathered here.

And that was how Medicine City got its name. Therefore, those who entered from the Outer Realm were either nobles seeking pills or Cauldron Masters seeking Medicinal Herbs or Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. However, although it was called Medicine City, it didn’t only have pills. Many great families also had a presence here, so the flow of goods was naturally dazzling and diverse. But today, it seemed, was an important day for Medicine City.

For although it was still early morning, the entire city was already filled with a festive atmosphere, somewhat similar to the joy of a wedding.

Outside Medicine City, Mu Chen looked up at the towering Jade Wall that soared into the clouds, its top nearly invisible, and at the incredibly luxurious Golden Jade Gate, feeling a wave of emotion. A city associated with pills was indeed so wealthy it was beyond envy. The Ding Palace was the most affluent Hidden Clan on the continent, bar none. If one had to find a rival for its wealth, it would probably be the Hidden Sword Manor.

Mu Chen simply couldn’t comprehend the world of the nouveau riche. A city with walls of jade and gates of gold... he couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of realm the architecture and environment inside had reached.