57: The disciples ascended the mountain, each displaying their unique talents!

Chu Xuanjin left the clamor of the Gongsun Residence behind.

He returned to the market streets of Linan County, his steps leisurely, blending in with the surrounding mundane sights.

He walked into a pharmacy bearing the sign "Hundred Herbs Hall."

"Shopkeeper, how much for the cheapest Hemostatic Grass you have?"

The white-bearded shopkeeper, who had been dozing, lifted his eyelids. Seeing his extraordinary attire but asking for such worthless items, he felt somewhat strange.

"Ten copper coins a bundle."

"However much you have, I'll take it all."

The shopkeeper was stunned.

Chu Xuanjin then walked over to the used book stall next door.

"Boss, how much for all the books here related to medicine and herbs, bundled together?"

The stall owner was an Impoverished Scholar. Rubbing his hands, he cautiously named a price.

"Two taels of silver."

"Here's three taels. Keep the change."

Chu Xuanjin's figure shuttled through every corner of Linan County.

He bought all the discarded Herbal Hoes from the blacksmith shop in the west of the city.

He also bought the cracked Pill Furnace from the general store in the south of the city, which was rumored to have been used by an Imperial Physician of the previous Dynasty.

In the eyes of others, everything he bought was worthless junk.

But he himself enjoyed it greatly.

These were all "triggers" used to activate the System's Critical Return.

The welcome gift for the new Disciple couldn't be too shabby... One month later, on Myriad Dao Divine Mountain.

Transmission Elder Shi Potian led a young girl, dressed in a goose-yellow long dress and filled with curiosity and unease, into the Sect Master Hall.

Gongsun Yan's small hands tightly clutched the corner of her dress.

She felt as if she were having a bizarre and fantastical dream.

What she stepped on were glowing jade stones.

What she breathed was mist that made her feel comfortable all over.

What she saw above her head was a night sky where the Milky Way flowed.

Everything here surpassed all her understanding from the past sixteen years.

She even felt that the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace described in storybooks was nothing more than this.

"Disciple Gongsun Yan pays respects to Revered Master."

She saw the throne high above the sea of clouds, and the green-robed figure who had changed her destiny, and immediately bowed in salute.

"Rise."

Chu Xuanjin's voice came from the throne.

He looked at this timid new Disciple below, a smile appearing on his Face.

He waved his hand.

An ancient classic written entirely in emerald jade, exuding vibrant life, and an exquisite Pill Furnace made entirely of purple gold and engraved with Bagua patterns, slowly floated towards Gongsun Yan.

"This is the Shennong Hundred Herbs Classic, the Heaven Rank general outline of the Dao of Alchemy. This is the Purple Gold Bagua Furnace, Earth Rank, High Grade."

Gongsun Yan's mind went blank.

Heaven Rank? Earth Rank?

Although she didn't understand, she could feel a terrifying pressure emanating from the two items that made her Divine Soul tremble.

This... this was the welcome gift Revered Master spoke of?

"These are your Foundation and tools for your path of cultivation."

Chu Xuanjin's voice rang out again.

He waved his hand again.

A pile of miscellaneous items appeared out of thin air beside Gongsun Yan's feet.

There were dried herbs, yellowed ancient texts, rusted Herbal Hoes, and that broken Pill Furnace with cracks.

"And these are your starting point."

Gongsun Yan looked at the two contrasting piles of items, feeling a bit bewildered.

"Revered Master, this..."

"No matter how good the Cultivation Technique is, you must start by recognizing the first herb. No matter how divine the Pill Furnace is, you must start by lighting the first Ordinary Fire."

Chu Xuanjin's voice drifted over.

"A magnificent building starts from the ground up."

He then took out an Azure Jade Token, similar in style to the ones used by Su Linger and the others, but engraved with patterns of a hundred herbs.

"This is your disciple token, keep it safe."

Gongsun Yan took the token and, following Revered Master's instructions, dripped blood onto it to recognize her Revered Master.

Chu Xuanjin pointed to a cloud-shrouded peak outside the hall.

"There, you will find ten thousand acres of Medicinal Fields and a hundred Alchemy Rooms."

"I have also placed that pile of items inside for you."

"When you can use that broken Pill Furnace to refine the first perfectly formed bigu pill, then come see me again."

Gongsun Yan looked at Revered Master, seeming to understand yet not fully, but still nodded heavily.

She bowed deeply to Chu Xuanjin once more.

Then, holding the sacred classic and carrying the precious Pill Furnace, she walked towards the peak that belonged to her... Zhao Kingdom, Tianjing City.

Imperial Palace, Hall of Political Deliberation.

Su Linger sat upright on the position of Imperial Advisor, which was made of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Jade, quietly listening to the arguments of the officials below.

"Reporting to Your Majesty! The Grand Canal in the Western Territory has begun to take shape, but the mountains and rocks along the way are hard, and the equipment of our Dynasty's Ministry of Works cannot excavate them, halting the project. We implore Your Majesty to send more personnel!"

"Reporting to Your Majesty! Millions of refugees have poured into the Western Territory. Although we have a reclamation policy, food reserves are running low! Your servant implores Your Majesty to open the National Treasury and provide disaster relief!"

On the dragon throne, Zhao Wuji listened until his head spun.

Subconsciously, he cast a pleading look toward the cold Imperial Advisor beside him.

Su Linger put down the Memorial in her hand, her cool gaze sweeping over those below.

"If the mountains and rocks are hard, break them with the power of Cultivators. Are the Formation Masters supported by your Ministry of Works just decorations?"

"If food is insufficient, purchase it from neighboring countries. Although our Great Zhao has suffered a Demonic Calamity, our National Prestige remains. Borrowing three million piculs of grain, I presume the Great Yan Dynasty would not dare to refuse."

Her words were few, but every word was a pearl, pointing directly to the core of the problem.

The entire court, civil and military officials, fell silent.

They looked at this young girl Imperial Advisor, who seemed to have a complete grasp of the world's situation, their eyes filled with awe.

In just a few months.

This Ice Fairy Imperial Advisor implemented new policies with thunderous methods.

Digging canals, reclaiming wasteland, settling the people, training the troops.

She forcibly pulled a Dynasty on the verge of collapse back from the edge of the cliff.

Nowadays, among the common people of the Zhao Kingdom, some have even begun to erect Longevity Tablets for this young girl Imperial Advisor who saves the suffering and aids the distressed... Eastern Barrens, on an unknown mountain path.

A Green-robed Swordsman, with a Wine Gourd hanging from his waist, was walking slowly.

When he saw Mountain Bandits blocking the road ahead, he drew his sword.

With a flash of sword light, the knives in the bandits' hands all shattered.

He sheathed his sword, took half the money from the bandits, distributed it to the robbed caravan, and kept the other half for himself to buy wine.

He traveled to another city and heard that the city's Richest Man was greedy and oppressed the innocent.

So, he snuck into the rich merchant's house at night.

He did not kill anyone, but simply used his sword to leave a line of words at the rich merchant's bedside.

"Tomorrow, distribute all your wealth, or I will take your dog life."

The next day, the rich merchant went mad, distributing all his gold and silver to the people in the city.

The fame of the Green-robed Swordsman began to spread throughout the Jianghu of the Eastern Barrens.

Some said he was addicted to wine, neither purely good nor purely evil.

Others said his swordsmanship was divine, possessing heroic spirit and righteous courage.

No one knew his name, only that he came from the legendary Myriad Dao Divine Sect... Eastern Barrens, Southern Territory.

A newly emerging massive city named "Myriad Dao City" has replaced the former Qingyun Branch, becoming the commercial and cultivation center of the entire Southern Territory.

The Myriad Dao Merchant Guild in the city was bustling with activity and earned massive amounts of gold daily.

Inside the Manager's Private Room on the third floor, Wang Duojin was sitting with his legs crossed, calculating accounts on his abacus while speaking bombastically to the trembling Sect Master of a small Sect in front of him.

"Sect Master Li, it's not me, Wang, talking about you. You want to negotiate terms with my Myriad Dao Merchant Guild with that little bit of wealth?"

"I'm telling you, the Myriad Dao Merchant Guild controls seventy percent of the Medicinal Pill and Magic Treasure business across the entire Eastern Barrens!"

"Cooperating with me is giving you Face, understand?"

Sect Master Li nodded like pounding garlic.

"Understood, understood! Shopkeeper Wang is right!"

... Eastern Barrens, Northern Territory.

Above a ruin scorched into barren earth by Demonic Fire.

Zhao Wuyou held the dragon emperor halberd, his golden eyes coldly watching the streak of bloody light desperately fleeing across the horizon.

His aura was much more solid than before; he had clearly stepped into the Mid-stage Soul Transformation.

"Lie Shan, you cannot escape."

His voice sounded like judgment from the Nine Hells.

That streak of bloody light was Blazing Fire Sect's last remaining descendant, Sect Master Lie Shan.

He was currently disheveled and covered in injuries, showing not a shred of the demeanor of a Void Refining Mighty Expert.

He glanced back at the relentless golden streak of light pursuing him, his eyes filled with endless fear and regret.

He couldn't understand.

He truly couldn't understand.

How could he, a dignified Void Refining Initial Stage Cultivator... how could he be hunted down by a mere Soul Transformation Stage brat until he had nowhere to run or hide!

"Madman! You absolute madman!"

He roared frantically in his heart as he fled.

"All I did was kill a few Outer Sect Disciples from your Sect! Is that reason enough to hunt me for months and exterminate my entire clan!"