525: Chapter 525 The Prince Likes

Before long, a thick miasma appeared in the valley.

However, for the two of them, this level of poisonous miasma could be completely ignored.

However, ordinary people and wild beasts were basically unable to enter this place.

After traveling about three li, a narrow canyon appeared ahead.

"This is the place, Prince."

Gu Zhiyao turned back with a smile and leaped down first.

Lin Xiao followed closely behind. After jumping down and passing through a narrow area, the view below suddenly opened up?

He then realized that the cross-section of the entire valley was like a large wine bottle, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom.

Moreover, the depth was likely two or three thousand meters. Even for a martial artist, if their qinggong was mediocre, they wouldn't be able to descend at all.

On both sides of the valley, the uneven protruding areas had become natural medicine fields.

All kinds of rare flowers and exotic herbs were a feast for the eyes.

"This Medicine King Valley is extremely deep, and there are hundreds of spring eyes below, making the valley like spring all year round."

"The Patriarch took a fancy to the unique environment of this place and established Medicine King Valley here."

Gu Zhiyao introduced the place to Lin Xiao as she slowed her descent.

When the two reached the very bottom of the valley, the grass was lush and the scenery was like a hidden paradise.

Aged bamboo and wooden houses were scattered throughout the valley.

"Most of the disciples of Medicine King Valley are away year-round. These houses can remain empty for decades or even centuries."

"To be honest, although I am the chief successor of this generation, there are many fellow disciples I have never met; I only know their names."

Lin Xiao nodded. He had already sensed that among the hundreds of houses in the valley, there were only seven or eight living people.

While passing a courtyard, a middle-aged man with messy hair like a chicken's nest and wearing filthy beggar's clothes was feeding a bunch of livestock and poultry with herbs.

"Old Zha, feeding the pigs again?"

Gu Zhiyao greeted him casually.

The man named Old Zha nodded to her. Seeing Lin Xiao, he didn't ask much and continued tending to his fodder.

[Zha Er, 51 years old, veterinarian, butcher, Aptitude: mystic grade]

Lin Xiao couldn't help but chuckle. Good heavens, this man managed both life and death; the livestock saw him when they were born and when they were reincarnated!

"Medicine King Valley even has veterinarians?"

"You can tell?"

Gu Zhiyao said proudly, "The medical inheritances of the Tianwu Continent all originate from my Medicine King Valley. Veterinary medicine naturally counts as well."

They later saw two more disciples on the way. One woman was staring at the sun, motionless.

"What is she doing?" Lin Xiao asked.

"Oh, her name is A-Zhen. She specializes in eye diseases. She should be testing the damage of sunlight on the eyes," Gu Zhiyao said.

"Is she not worried about going blind?"

"It's fine, she's already blind."

"..."

There was another man lying prone at the entrance of a courtyard, spitting blood. It seemed he had fainted on his way home.

Lin Xiao checked and found he had only one breath left.

Just as he was about to go and treat him, he was stopped by Gu Zhiyao.

"Prince, don't touch him. He is my Junior Brother Gao Gao, and he researches poisonous herbs."

Gu Zhiyao said, "He likely fell into a coma after being poisoned. If you save him, the medicinal effect won't be accurate. Let's wait for him to wake up on his own."

"What if he doesn't wake up?" Lin Xiao was puzzled.

"Then we bury him," Gu Zhiyao said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"..."

Lin Xiao couldn't help but sigh. Zhao Cailing probably couldn't become a formal disciple of Medicine King Valley because she was too normal, right?

"It's not easy for the disciples of your Medicine King Valley to survive, is it?"

Gu Zhiyao smiled. "It's not that dangerous. Generally, at least half of those who enter can survive for more than ten years."

Lin Xiao took a sharp breath. Good heavens, this wasn't Medicine King Valley; it was the Hall of the King of Hell!

When they arrived at the entrance of a decent-looking ancient stone building, an old man who was sweeping the floor came forward to meet them.

The old man nodded to Gu Zhiyao with a smile, but he could only make 'yi-ya' sounds, unable to speak.

Gu Zhiyao smiled and patted the old man's shoulder, introducing him: "Prince, this is Uncle Ya. He's an elder of the valley. My master brought him back when he was young."

"Uncle Ya is responsible for purchasing supplies from outside and maintaining the houses and roads in the valley."

"You've probably noticed that our disciples are generally only obsessed with medicine and are not very good at management. It's all thanks to Uncle Ya."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao also smiled and nodded to Uncle Ya.

Uncle Ya made gestures, his eyes darting between the two of them.

Gu Zhiyao's face turned slightly red as she nodded in silent admission of something.

Uncle Ya looked delighted, and his gaze toward Lin Xiao became even more cordial.

"Uncle Ya, I need to take the Prince to the Inner Hall. You don't need to sweep here for now."

Uncle Ya nodded repeatedly and left with his broom.

Upon entering the Medicine King Hall, Gu Zhiyao opened a mechanism and entered a secret underground chamber.

The temperature below was noticeably higher, the reason being that there were actually flowing hot springs on both sides.

Something that looked like a stone coffin, with metal lining the bottom and sides, was placed on a high platform in the middle of the secret chamber.

"Prince, the Heavenly Soldier is placed here. You can summon it now," Gu Zhiyao said.

Lin Xiao didn't waste words and directly took the Heavenly Soldier out of his storage space and placed it into the stone coffin.

Although it wasn't the first time Gu Zhiyao had seen this, she still found it inconceivable.

"An Earth Immortal actually has such a transportation technique. How exactly is it done?"

"When you reach the Earth Immortal Realm, you will naturally understand."

Lin Xiao casually told a lie.

Gu Zhiyao gave him a charming roll of her eyes. "If I want to step into the Earth Immortal Realm, I'll have to trouble the Prince to work hard."

"That's easy to say. It will probably take quite some time to awaken this Heavenly Soldier. This Prince can stay in the valley and accompany you in diligent cultivation."

Lin Xiao had already seen through it; this entire secret chamber was actually a giant "chemical battery."

It used two metals with different activities as electrodes and the natural hot spring as the electrolyte solution, generating a continuous current through redox reactions.

He had originally thought it was some kind of solar charging, but thinking about it carefully, this kind of ancient and primitive battery was indeed more durable and wouldn't break.

Walking out of the secret chamber, a look of relief appeared on Gu Zhiyao's face.

"The Heavenly Soldier is finally back."

"What, were you worried this Prince wouldn't be willing to return it to you?"

Gu Zhiyao hugged the man's neck and laughed coquettishly, "The Prince possesses tens of thousands of miles of territory; how could he be stingy about this little ancestral property of my Medicine King Valley? I'm just a bit tired after the long journey."

"Prince... there is a hot spring in this valley that is quiet and pleasant. Shall I take you there for a bath to relieve your fatigue?"

Lin Xiao looked at the woman's watery eyes rippling with spring waves and knew this temptress could no longer restrain herself. He grinned and said, "How about applying needles while bathing? Perhaps the fatigue-relieving effect will be even better?"

Gu Zhiyao's delicate body trembled. Ever since she taught Lin Xiao that set of needle techniques, the two of them had become addicted to using it when they were together.

Every time the man performed it, she had no resistance and would eventually faint. Sometimes it happened more than once; she would be completely disheveled and ashamed to face herself afterward.

Fortunately, Lin Xiao seemed to really like her madness and didn't think a woman like her was improper.

"As the Prince likes..."