Chapter 128: Chapter 117 You’re welcome
Despite facing a formidable Golden Core cultivator, Liu Suiyun, emboldened by the support of his master's wife, spoke without hesitation, "Hand it over!"
The yellow-faced Golden Core cultivator on the other side seemed unaccustomed to this treatment. "What?"
After all, Liu Suiyun was merely a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, yet he dared to address him so arrogantly. "If you satisfy me, I'll allow you to browse the catalog of the 'Xingde Handbook.' As for borrowing the entire book, I'll make it easier for you."
Senior Brother Liu, noticing the tension between the two sides, stepped in to mediate, "Junior Brother Liu, why don't you explain how to enhance the efficacy of the Sanyang Grass? If you please our Uncle Master Du, not only will the catalog be yours, but you may even borrow the 'Xingde Handbook' itself. Of course, we can only reduce the cost to a certain extent."
Liu Suiyun asked, "Did you bring all three volumes of the 'Xingde Handbook'?"
"All of them," Senior Brother Liu responded. "Now, Junior Brother, how exactly do you propose to improve the potency of the Sanyang Grass?"
Senior Brother Liu placed all his hopes on Liu Suiyun. The mistake he made the previous day was perhaps the greatest stain on his life, marking an end to his progress on Sanyang Peak unless Liu Suiyun could work a miracle. At this moment, Liu Suiyun was his only hope.
Liu Suiyun replied at once, "Senior Brother Liu, you are aware that the Sanyang Grass cultivated by the Linghua Sect's little sparrow is about fifteen percent stronger than our Baicao Peak's grass. Do you know how they achieved this?"
This question piqued everyone's interest, as Sanyang Grass was a vital spiritual herb for every cultivator on Sanyang Peak. Although there were alternatives, they were mere stopgaps. Even Uncle Master Du was curious. "What is their method?"
He glanced at the group before giving orders, "Nephew Zheng, Nephew Ding, go stand guard outside to prevent any eavesdropping."
After sending away the unreliable disciples, Uncle Master Du continued, "Do you truly have a method, Nephew Liu?"
Although he was a Golden Core cultivator, he still relied heavily on the Sanyang Grass. Reaching the true Sanyang state was a rare and elusive achievement, and only those who had reached the Nascent Soul stage could cultivate without the Sanyang Grass. Baicao Peak could only provide a hundred-year supply of the herb, and its potency wasn't strong. Buying wild Sanyang Grass at exorbitant prices wasn't sustainable either.
Liu Suiyun spoke again, "The Yang energy is insufficient."
"I know it's lacking in Yang energy!" Senior Brother Liu interjected. "But apart from transplanting half of the Sanyang Grass and planting a Fire Elemental Golden Core beneath its roots, what other practical methods are there?"
"There is one."
Liu Suiyun's calm but affirmative response caught everyone's attention as he continued slowly, "As long as you supply the Sanyang Grass with enough Yang energy, its potency will significantly increase, and it will live decades longer, just like the little sparrow's grass."
Everyone understood he was referring to Shen Que'er from the Linghua Sect. Despite Liu Suiyun's dismissive tone, his confidence inspired hope in those around him. "So, what is the method?"
Liu Suiyun finally revealed, "Fertilize it—with wood ash."
"What nonsense!" Uncle Master Du scoffed immediately. "You think we're planting vegetables here? Wood ash? Even if you filled the entire herb garden with ash, it wouldn't add any Yang energy!"
Liu Suiyun, however, smiled calmly, "What if the ash comes from the Sanyang Grass itself?"
"Sanyang Grass?" Uncle Master Du hesitated, "That... might actually work..."
Senior Brother Liu, quick to catch on, added, "It might work, but isn't that just too wasteful?"
Calling it wasteful would be an understatement. Even a single year of Sanyang Grass was a true spiritual herb worth a fortune. The Shenxiao Sect was already in short supply, and using younger Sanyang Grass to create wood ash to boost Yang energy was indeed reckless.
Uncle Master Du, however, zeroed in on the key issue. "Younger plants?"
Liu Suiyun, without missing a beat, replied, "The older, the better. I believe the little sparrow is doing exactly that."
"Senior Brother Liu, go try it!" Uncle Master Du instructed immediately. "See the results."
Although it would take decades for spiritual herbs to grow, they were incredibly sensitive to their environment and reacted quickly to changes. Uncle Master Du had Senior Brother Liu test it right away. "If this works, I'll let you read the catalog."
Senior Brother Liu and Shan Yunping rushed to the herb garden, while Liu Suiyun remained silent, calmly sitting down and picking up a few jade slips to continue his studies on spiritual herbs. He had just pierced through the threshold of entry into this discipline, and though many mysteries remained, each page he read brought new insights.
At that moment, Liu Suiyun had truly stepped into the realm of spiritual herb cultivation.
While Liu Suiyun was engrossed in his studies, Uncle Master Du grew increasingly anxious. His expression remained sour until the silence was abruptly broken. Senior Brother Liu returned, sweating profusely. "It works! It really works! We uprooted two five-year-old Sanyang plants, burned them into ash using Sanyang force, and applied it to a fifteen-year-old plant. The change was noticeable, though the full effects remain to be seen."
Uncle Master Du was both pleased and disappointed. "Not bad. The sect can get by for now, but this method, though theoretically sound, is too wasteful. It won't be of much use to us on Sanyang Peak."
His disappointment lay in the fact that while the method worked, it offered little benefit to him personally. While younger Sanyang Grass could be used to enhance potency, the difference in age couldn't be too great, and the already limited supply of Sanyang Grass on Baicao Peak made this method unsustainable. Just then, Liu Suiyun put down the jade slip and casually said, "Hand it over."
"This is the copied catalog. Take it," Uncle Master Du said reluctantly. "Boy, take it."
Liu Suiyun didn't bother taking the catalog thrown his way. Smiling, he said, "I was referring to the three volumes of the 'Xingde Handbook.' Hand them over."
"What did you say?" Uncle Master Du's face turned fierce. "What did you say?"
"I said, give me the three volumes of the 'Xingde Handbook.' Or do you not wish to further enhance the potency of the Sanyang Grass?"
"You have another method?" Uncle Master Du, after the crushing disappointment, suddenly grasped at this surprising bit of hope, nearly losing his balance. "What did you say? Do you really have a way to replace the Sanyang Grass?"
He slapped Senior Brother Liu's shoulder, a realization dawning on him. "If the Linghua Sect's girl was burning Sanyang Grass for potency, why would Sanyang Grass from Linghua still be circulating on the market? There must be a substitute!"
"Hand it over," Liu Suiyun said coldly. "I'm sure Uncle Master Du would appreciate older, more potent Sanyang Grass."
"Well..." Uncle Master Du hesitated, "Fine, I'll make an exception. You may read the three volumes of the 'Xingde Handbook.'"
The demand for Sanyang Grass on Sanyang Peak was insatiable. Unless one reached the Nascent Soul stage, no one could live without it. The quality of the herb often determined a cultivator's fate.
"Good!" Liu Suiyun said without a trace of courtesy. "Who has a blank jade slip? My spiritual power is lacking, so I'll need Uncle Master Du's help with copying."
Uncle Master Du's face turned crimson with anger. This mere Qi Refining cultivator dared to show him such disrespect, borrowing a priceless original and even asking him to personally copy it. "Do you even understand the value of the 'Xingde Handbook'? It's a national treasure, and allowing you to borrow it is a rare privilege."
Liu Suiyun simply continued, "I'll leave it to you, Uncle Master, to make a copy."
Glaring at him, Uncle Master Du had no choice but to comply. "Who has a spare blank jade slip? Hand it to me."
Though the three volumes were incomplete, they were stored on a single jade slip. Uncle Master Du took a blank slip from one of Sanyang Peak's disciples and began the copying process. Both jade slips were enveloped in a white glow, as one page after another was transferred.
"It's done," Uncle Master Du said, wiping the sweat from his brow. Though it wasn't much, the task was no small burden, even for a Golden Core cultivator. "You can verify the content if you're worried."
Liu Suiyun grabbed the jade slip without hesitation. "Why should I check it? I trust you."
"Why are you taking the original?" Uncle Master Du nearly jumped up. Liu Suiyun, while Uncle Master Du was wiping his brow, had snatched the original 'Xingde Handbook.' "That's the original! Did you make a mistake?"
"No mistake," Liu Suiyun replied firmly. "I'll borrow it for three to five months and return it to you."
Uncle Master Du, now forgetting all about the sweat on his brow, called out, "Wait! Let me check that!"