Chapter 496 - 495: A Mountain of Medicinal Herbs

Chapter 496: Chapter 495: A Mountain of Medicinal Herbs

"Hey, have you heard? The Crown Prince of the Lann Family got beaten up right on the street."

"You mean that spoiled brat?"

"Ha! Serves him damn right."

In less than half a day, news of Qin Ya beating Lann Qi had spread through most of Qingkong Giant City, becoming the focus of widespread discussion. Even the other Three Great Noble Families paid this matter close attention, yet the Lann Family made no move.

This took many by surprise, sparking all sorts of speculation.

"Ha, I heard Patriarch Lann personally visited the City Lord’s Mansion, but he returned empty-handed. As for what he and the Lord City Lord discussed, nobody knows."

"Strange, isn’t it? With the Lann Family’s temperament, how can they just swallow this insult?"

"Heh, there must be some secret we don’t know about."

But while the city was in an uproar over Qin Ya, he had entered seclusion within the City Lord’s Mansion to comprehend the Space Mysteries, remaining there for three straight months.

During his three months of seclusion, Qin Ya’s understanding and application of the Space Mysteries reached a new level. By consuming a vast quantity of elixirs and Holy Liquid, his Cultivation also broke through to the Half-Step King realm. The strength of his Divine Thought was also steadily increasing.

Today, Qin Ya sensed a bottleneck and stopped his Cultivation. His Divine Thought swept over the few remaining elixirs in his Storage Ring, his brow furrowing slightly. He realized it had been a long time since he had refined any elixirs, and his hands started to itch with the urge.

"Miss Bi."

WHOOSH. The instant Qin Ya spoke, Bi Xiaoyu appeared before him. "Young Master Qin, how can I help you?"

Qin Ya paused, taken aback for a moment, before saying, "Are there any places in Qingkong Giant City that sell medicinal herbs? I need to buy some. Could you take me?"

"A Medicine Shop?" Bi Xiaoyu’s brow furrowed slightly, wondering what Qin Ya needed herbs for. Then she said, "I remember there’s an herb repository right here in the City Lord’s Mansion. It seems to have been unused for a long time, though. I hear it contains many high-grade medicinal herbs..."

Qin Ya’s eyes lit up when he heard this. "Take me there," he said.

"I’ll go inform the City Lord first."

"Alright."

............

"Oh, Young Friend Qin wishes to visit the herb repository?"

"Yes. Don’t worry, City Lord Mo, I’m willing to purchase them with Primordial Stones."

Mo Bokong smiled. "That’s not what I meant. The herbs aren’t the issue. I’m just curious what Young Friend Qin needs them for."

"Heh, I want to brush up on my Alchemy Skill."

"Oh? So Young Friend Qin is also an Alchemist?"

"I am."

Mo Bokong was quite surprised. He assumed that for Qin Ya to possess such combat power at his young age, aside from his immense Talent, he must have been completely immersed in Martial Arts. He never expected him to have also dabbled in alchemy. ’Geniuses are truly hard to fathom.’

"Then allow me to take you there, Young Friend Qin. I can take a look at your alchemy skills while we’re at it. Heh, just try not to give us a heart attack like you did with your Martial Arts."

Mo Bokong was only making a casual remark and didn’t really think much of it. In his mind, no matter how good Qin Ya’s skill in the Alchemy Dao was, it could only be so-so at best.

Qin Ya, however, gave a peculiar smile. "Let’s hope so."

They arrived at the herb repository in the City Lord’s Mansion. The moment the door opened, a rich wave of Medicinal Power washed over them, causing Qin Ya’s brow to furrow slightly.

Once inside, his frown deepened, his brows knitting together tightly. To be sure, the quality of the herbs was impressive. Most were high-grade, and there was even a fair number of rare Eighth-Grade and Ninth-Grade treasures. But because they had been stored for too long, much of their medicinal efficacy had dissipated.

The scene before him put Qin Ya in a foul mood.

’To an Alchemist, this is an absolutely colossal waste!’

"City Lord Mo, what is the meaning of this?" Qin Ya asked, his tone turning grim. "Why are all these herbs piled up here instead of being refined into elixirs? Don’t you realize what a tremendous waste this is?"

Mo Bokong seemed not to notice the change in Qin Ya’s tone. He sighed and said, "Of course I know, but my hands are tied. Beihuang has a unique environment with a countless supply of herbs and exotic plants, but our proficiency in the Alchemy Dao is low. Across the entire Divine Country, there are only two or three Pill Kings..."

"Here in Qingkong Giant City, there aren’t many Alchemists. We only have two or three Eighth-Grade Alchemists worth mentioning, and they are all under the control of the great Martial Arts Families. To be frank, the Four Great Martial Arts Families and the City Lord’s Mansion have a long and bitter history. Why would they ever agree to refine elixirs for us?"

"Furthermore, the Noble Families control most of the commerce in the city. When it’s time to pay taxes, they often use vast quantities of herbs in place of Primordial Stones. We can’t just wipe them all out, can we? This entire pile of herbs you see before you has been accumulating since the time of the previous City Lord. It’s been here for a hundred years."

"Ever since I took this position, I’ve tried to train our own Alchemists, but with very little success." Mo Bokong’s head began to ache as he spoke. Elixirs were a vital resource for a Martial Artist’s Cultivation, and in this regard, the City Lord’s Mansion was lagging far behind the Four Great Martial Arts Families.

"I see."

Qin Ya gazed at the pile of herbs, a pained expression on his face. Bi Xiaoyu, seeing this from the side, was taken aback. ’Pained? She had never seen such an expression on Qin Ya’s face before. She couldn’t believe he was feeling pained over a pile of herbs.’

’Could it be that Young Master Qin has a particular fondness for herbs?’

After a moment, Qin Ya said, "City Lord Mo, I’d like to propose a deal."

"Please, Young Friend Qin, go on."

Qin Ya took a deep breath. "I’ll help you refine all of these herbs into elixirs. In exchange, I get to keep half of the finished products. What do you say, City Lord Mo?"

"What?"

Mo Bokong and Bi Xiaoyu stared in astonishment.

’What in the world is he talking about? Kid, do you even know what you’re saying?’

"Er, Young Friend Qin, you must be joking."

In Mo Bokong’s eyes, even if Qin Ya had some skill in the Alchemy Dao, it was impossible that he could refine a hundred years’ worth of accumulated herbs into elixirs. That was a feat even a Pill King might not be able to accomplish.

"I’m serious!"

Qin Ya stared intently at Mo Bokong, his eyes filled with an unprecedented seriousness. ’To a Pill Venerable, watching this pile of herbs sit here, stinking and rotting, is an unbearably painful thing. I must prevent this!’

"This..." Mo Bokong hesitated under Qin Ya’s intense gaze. But on second thought, ’These herbs are just sitting here rotting anyway. Might as well let him try. Perhaps this miraculous young man can actually surprise me.’ He finally said, "Since you’ve put it that way, Young Friend Qin, then I’ll leave it to you."

"Thank you, City Lord Mo." With that, Qin Ya turned and began inspecting the herbs. He started by picking out the ones that had lost the least amount of their medicinal power, setting them aside, then began grouping them by category...

Watching Qin Ya get to work, Mo Bokong and Bi Xiaoyu exchanged a look of surprise before turning and leaving him to it.