Chapter 105

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Chapter 105: Medicine City

Inside an unknown cave

Lin Jiang lay on the ground, his body twitching in pain. His clothes were soaked with sweat and his teeth were grinding together, but he held back and didn’t scream.

After some time, the pain eased and Lin Jiang took a deep breath. He struggled to reach into his pocket and grabbed a pill, which he then put in his mouth.

"In the cultivation world, countless Alchemists have failed to develop an anesthetic. They are all considered garbage."

Feeling slightly better, Lin Jiang began ranting. In the cultivation world, Alchemists could create pills that could bring the dead back to life or turn bones white, but they still hadn’t invented an anesthetic. It was truly a big failure.

Three days later, Lin Jiang was fully healed and he took out a pill called True Spirit Pill. He swallowed it and started practicing cultivation. After ten hours, the pill was completely absorbed by his body.

"My talent has improved twice as much as before, thanks to the Plastic Bone Pill. It really lives up to its reputation."

With joy in his eyes, Lin Jiang opened his eyes. It was worth the high price he paid to buy the Plastic Bone Pill. It was worth the excruciating pain he endured to reshape his bones. After using the Plastic Bone Pill, Lin Jiang’s talent had doubled compared to before.

From Lin Jiang and Cao Ying’s conversation, he learned that being a genius in the cultivation world depended on three indicators, rather than the two he previously understood.

The first indicator is Spiritual Root. According to the mainstream theory in the cultivation world, it is better to have fewer Spiritual Roots. Having fewer Spiritual Roots means that less spiritual energy is needed for cultivation, which leads to faster progress. The second indicator is Comprehension. Some martial arts or secret techniques can be easily understood by people with high comprehension, while those with low comprehension may struggle even after reading them many times. The difference between them is quite significant.

The third indicator is Bone Quality, which refers to the physical fitness. For example, if two people take the same medicine, one person’s body may absorb 70% of its efficacy while another person can only absorb 30%. Naturally, the one with better absorption has higher talent. Such cases are not rare among ordinary people as well. Even with the same food, some people become strong after eating it, while others remain weak. This is the difference in bone quality.

"I don’t understand how the Plastic Bone Pill works, but the regular people, especially the poor ones, don’t know anything about it. The poor people are really isolated."

Lin Jiang sighed again, thinking about how hard life is for the poor people. They face difficulties in every aspect of life and can never succeed unless they try their best. Otherwise, they can only hope for the next generation to have better opportunities.

"Do we need to use the remaining Plastic Bone Pills?"

Lin Jiang considered whether he should endure the hardships again for a second or third time. Cao Ying had mentioned that the Plastic Bone Pill might not always have a positive effect and could even be harmful. So, those with good talents would definitely not take it. It was intended for those who were not as talented.

······

Yuntuo River originates deep in the Wilderness of Yun State in the west, and it stretches from east to west for an unknown distance. However, it is known to be several hundred thousand miles long within the territory of the human race.

Over this long distance, numerous tributaries join the Yuntuo River. The Cang River is the largest tributary, and at the confluence of the Cang River and Yuntuo River, there is a city called Cang City, known as a cultivation city.

Cang City was established by the Five Elements Sect, one of the three powerful sects in Yun State. The Five Elements Sect owns all the rights and shares of Cang City.

Cang City is also known as Medicine City because it is the largest hub for medicinal herbs in all of Yun State. This is all thanks to the Five Elements Sect, which has the best Spiritual Farmers, the best spiritual veins, and spiritual lands in Yun State. They earn a lot of money by selling spiritual medicines.

"The medicine in Medicine City is truly remarkable. The variety of medicinal ingredients is unmatched, even compared to Yunzhong City, the largest city in Yun State. However, the water is a bit deep. If someone who doesn’t understand enters, their bones will be swallowed."

Lin Jiang stayed in Medicine City for several days and gained some understanding of the city. He learned just how deep the water of the medicine in Medicine City was.

First of all, there is hardly any fake medicine in Medicine City because the Five Elements Sect doesn’t allow it. If anyone is found selling fake medicine, they are immediately executed, and their family may also suffer.

However, no fake medicine doesn’t mean there are no problems. The first problem is that some of the medicine in Medicine City is of inferior quality. Nearly all of the medicine is grown by Spiritual Farmers. In theory, the medicine grown in gardens is the same as those found in the wild, with no difference.

However, some people resort to cheating. They use special methods to accelerate the growth of the medicine. In just one year, they can make the medicine appear to be two or even three years older. But even though the age of the medicine increases, its effectiveness doesn’t. It is really difficult to distinguish unless someone is a skilled Alchemist.

Another problem is the substitution of similar plants. The conditions for the survival of some medicinal herbs are extremely specific. Creating a Spiritual Herb Garden that can simulate their natural environment is very expensive. So, some people use variants or sub-species as substitutes. The medicinal properties may seem similar, but even the slightest difference can be deadly.

These are just the basic tricks that Lin Jiang has come to understand. There are even more sophisticated tricks that cannot be easily thwarted. Only with guidance from professionals can one dare to enter this line of work; otherwise, it would be a huge mistake.

"Of course, those who cannot rise to the top are always in the minority. If you can figure out the tricks here, there is definitely money to be made, especially if you get into wholesale. It’s sheer profit!"

Thoughts ran through Lin Jiang’s mind. If everything in Medicine City were low-quality goods, it would never have gained its reputation today. In the end, all these tricks are carried out by just a handful of people.

Unfortunately, Lin Jiang didn’t have much talent for doing business, and he didn’t have a sharp mind like a clever person. And his goals were not focused on this.

Lin Jiang came to Medicine City primarily to learn martial arts. The Five Elements Sect in the Yun State was the only sect that trained personal disciples based on their Five Spiritual Roots, as they had martial arts that were perfectly suited for those roots.

《Five Spirit Manual》

The Decision of Unity

《Hunyuan Treasure Book》

These three martial arts were the Five Elemental Martial Arts that Lin Jiang had already inquired about. However, these three martial arts were all highly secret and core martial arts of the Five Elements Sect, not meant to be shared with outsiders.

Martial arts like these are never recorded in written form within the sect. Things like jade scrolls or similar items should not even be expected. The teachings are only passed down orally, and sometimes through special methods of transmission.

Even if a disciple is captured by an enemy and subjected to soul searching techniques, it would be useless. At that time, they would only obtain fragments of the martial arts that they could see but not practice. It’s like having martial arts techniques without the corresponding inner techniques. What use is it without the right mindset?

After half a month in Medicine City, Lin Jiang rented a set of residence buildings. The front shop and backyard combined had an area of over three hundred square meters. The annual rental price was six thousand spirit stones, and the location was quite good, better than the housing prices in Yunzhong City.

The shop in front, owned by Lin Jiang, was so lazy that he didn’t bother with the renovation. He just did a quick cleaning and set up shelves to display his spiritual talismans for sale.

This time, during the Yunzhong City Centennial Celebration, Lin Jiang collected more than fifty types of second-tier spiritual talismans. He had enough to study for a long time. So far, he had already collected all the commonly used second-tier talismans. He didn’t even bother with the occasional obscure or special ones.

With the opening of his new store and no familiar faces to support him, Lin Jiang naturally didn’t have much business. But he wasn’t in a hurry. He hired a man and a woman, both at the Qi Refining stage, to be his assistants. The woman was in charge of sales, while the man took care of bookkeeping and errands. They were both paid ten spirit stones per month, with accommodation provided but food not included. They lived in the storage room behind the shop.

This treatment was much better than other shops because Lin Jiang hired people based on the wage rate in Yunzhong City. The wage rate in Medicine City was lower, but Lin Jiang didn’t mind.

Lin Jiang’s focus was still on cultivation and drawing talismans. Occasionally, he would go out for a walk, but he mostly kept to himself.

As time went by, Lin Jiang’s spiritual talismans slowly gained popularity and business in the shop improved significantly. He would not be left with empty hands.

The neighbors in the surrounding streets gradually became familiar with Lin Jiang, and he began to blend into the life of Medicine City.

·······

"Brother Lin Hua, you finally came!"

Three years later, in a house in the south of Medicine City, Lin Jiang walked in and a big man warmly greeted him.

"Brother Zhong, am I late? Has the banquet started?"

"No, we’ve been waiting for you."

The big man had a big smile on his face. Today was a special day for his Zhong family, as his son was getting married.

"Haha, that’s good, that’s good."

"Brother Lin Hua, please take a seat."

The big man led Lin Jiang to a large round table. There were already several independent cultivators of the Building Foundation Period sitting here, all familiar faces. Lin Jiang exchanged a few simple greetings.

In Medicine City, Lin Jiang’s alias is Lin Hua, and this big man is one of his suppliers, specifically providing him with talismans. They have known each other for over two years and have become quite familiar.

The big man’s name is Zhong Xuanming. His family has been established in Medicine City for three generations. With three generations supporting him, Zhong Xuanming’s son, Zhong Lin Yu, was accepted as a disciple by the Five Elements Sect. This is what they call a clean background. Even the cultivation world has political examinations, huh?

Lin Yu spent many years practicing diligently. With the financial support from his family, he broke through the Building Foundation Period at the age of thirty-six. A bright future awaited him. Less than six months later, he caught the attention of a steward from the Five Elements Sect and was married to his daughter. Today was a day of great joy for Lin Yu.

After three generations of hard work by the Zhong family, the time had finally come for them to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Therefore, Zhong Xuanming went all out to celebrate his son’s wedding. They invited their neighbors, business partners, and friends. They even prepared more than thirty banquet tables. Today, Lin Jiang was here to attend the feast.

"The bride is coming!"

After a while, a child screamed in surprise. Lin Yu and his new wife appeared, followed by many disciples from the Five Elements Sect. The wedding was about to begin.

For the newlyweds, a wedding might be the most important moment in their lives. But for the guests, their focus was mostly on the food and treating it as a social event.

Lin Jiang, of course, didn’t want to miss out. He kept eating with his chopsticks while chatting and joking with several disciples from the outer sect of the Five Elements Sect. Forming a good relationship might come in handy in the future.

Adult socializing can be quite mundane. It starts early when there’s no benefit. If it’s not motivated by self-interest, then it’s considered ineffective socializing.

"Oh, too bad. There weren’t any scenes of people fighting over the bride or canceling the marriage."

Two hours later, the feast ended. Unfortunately, there were no dramatic scenes of people fighting over the bride or canceling the marriage. Lin Jiang felt that something was missing from the fun.