127: Chapter 127 First Trial in the Herb Garden

The Herb Garden is located at the back mountain of the Liuli Xuan Sect.

Unlike other areas of the Sect, this place appeared exceptionally quiet.

Amidst swirling clouds and mist, neatly arranged herb fields spread out along the mountain terrain, planted with various kinds of Spiritual Plants and immortal flowers. The air was filled with a refreshing fragrance, and the Spiritual Qi was actually denser than in the Outer Sect.

Following Chen Feng's directions, Ye Tian passed through a purple bamboo forest and arrived in front of a courtyard entwined with green vines.

The courtyard gate was slightly ajar, and above it hung a mottled wooden plaque with the three characters "Qin Cao Ju" written on it.

He adjusted his green robes, stepped forward, and gently knocked on the door knocker.

"Who is disturbing my peace?"

An impatient voice came from inside the courtyard.

"New Outer Sect Disciple Ye Tian, having heard of your reputation, has come to earnestly request Elder Xie to provide guidance on the Dao of Alchemy."

Ye Tian stood respectfully outside the door, his face full of sincerity.

There was a moment of silence in the courtyard, and then the door was pulled open a crack.

An old man with graying hair, disheveled appearance, and wearing a gray robe stained with medicine spots poked his head out. His eyes looked Ye Tian up and down; it was indeed Elder Xie.

"New Disciple? Fourth Level of Yuan Condensation?"

Elder Xie frowned, his tone becoming even more impatient, "Kid, the Dao of Alchemy is not a child's game. It requires deep cultivation and Divine Sense support, and even more so, the ability to endure loneliness and expend resources.

You, a little brat who just entered the Sect, with an unstable Foundation, what are you coming here to join in the fun for?

Go, go, go, don't delay this old man from tending to the Spiritual Plants!" As he spoke, he prepared to close the door.

Ye Tian had been mentally prepared. Calmly, he slightly released a trace of Divine Sense fluctuation and spoke, "Elder, please be discerning. This Disciple deeply knows the difficulty of the Dao of Alchemy.

However, this Disciple has a natural sensitivity to medicinal properties, and outside of Martial Dao, my heart yearns for it.

I dare not ask the Elder to teach me everything, I only ask for an Opportunity to do some work as a Utility Disciple in the Herb Garden, to learn by observation. If I have the Opportunity and receive even a little guidance, I would be eternally grateful."

His words were neither humble nor overbearing, expressing his sincerity while pointing out that he might have talent, and proposing a reason for "working as a Utility Disciple" that the other party could easily accept.

As expected, upon feeling that trace of Ye Tian's Divine Sense, Elder Xie's action of closing the door paused, and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He looked at Ye Tian carefully again, this time with a much more detailed gaze.

"The Divine Sense is not weak... it's even stronger than the average Ningyuan Middle Stage."

Elder Xie muttered, his expression softening slightly, but still cold, "You want to be a Utility Disciple? Being a Utility Disciple in the Herb Garden is not easy.

Identifying Spiritual Plants, managing the heat, disposing of waste—everything requires care and patience. Make one mistake, and you ruin years, or even decades, of hard work!

Are you sure you can do it?"

"This Disciple is willing to try his best." Ye Tian's tone was firm.

Elder Xie stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly stepped aside: "Come in."

Ye Tian was overjoyed, quickly thanked him, and stepped into the courtyard.

The courtyard was more spacious than imagined. On one side were a few simple houses, and on the other was a semi-open stone Pill Room, containing Medicine Cauldrons of various sizes, jade bottles, medicine pestles, and other items.

Elder Xie casually picked up a thin booklet from a wooden shelf in the corner and threw it to Ye Tian: "This is 'Introduction to Spiritual Plants', which records the form, medicinal properties, growth habits, and mutual restraint principles of three hundred common basic Spiritual Plants.

I will give you a few days. If you can memorize them and pass this old man's assessment, I will allow you to stay and do chores.

If you cannot, go back to where you came from."

After speaking, he ignored Ye Tian and walked to a red copper Medicine Cauldron on his own, frowning as he inspected some charred residue inside the cauldron, muttering and cursing: "The heat was off by a sliver again... This Bining Pill is truly difficult to refine..."

Ye Tian took the booklet; it felt rough in his hand, and he was choked by the dust on it.

He knew deeply that this was the first test and the Foundation for stepping into Alchemy.

He said nothing more, found a quiet corner, sat cross-legged, and immediately immersed himself in it.

The content of 'Introduction to Spiritual Plants' was complex. If it were an ordinary person, memorizing the details of three hundred Spiritual Plants in a few days would be almost impossible.

But Ye Tian's Divine Sense was powerful, he had a photographic memory, and his comprehension far exceeded others.

He was focused, flipping through page by page, engraving the image, characteristics, and precautions of every Spiritual Plant into his mind, and verifying them against the actual objects he had seen during his mission.

It only took him two days to be able to recite the entire 'Introduction to Spiritual Plants' backward.

On the third day, he took the initiative to request an assessment from Elder Xie, who was sorting medicinal materials.

Elder Xie was a bit surprised and casually picked up several Spiritual Plants that looked similar but had vastly different medicinal properties to test Ye Tian.

Ye Tian answered fluently, not only accurately stating the names and properties but also pointing out subtle differences and commonly confused varieties.

The surprise in Elder Xie's eyes grew stronger. He asked over a dozen more obscure questions, even intentionally stating some characteristics incorrectly, all of which were corrected by Ye Tian one by one.

Finally, he put down the medicinal materials and looked deeply at Ye Tian: "Kid, your memory is good, and you are attentive.

Very well, you may stay. First, go and peel all the Kuling Roots on that shelf for me. Remember, only the outermost layer of old skin, you must not damage the inside at all, otherwise the medicinal power will be lost."

He pointed to a pile of medicinal materials that looked like withered branches and ordered; this was the work that tested patience and hand feel the most.

"Yes."

Ye Tian accepted the order, picked up the special small knife, and began to work.

His movements were not fast, but extremely stable, and his wrist strength control was dexterous. Every cut precisely peeled off the old skin, revealing the yellowish-white medicine core inside.

This meticulous control over strength was thanks to the Foundation he had laid from long-term cultivation of 'Starfall Finger'.

Elder Xie was seemingly carelessly organizing the medicine cabinet on the side, but in reality, he was observing Ye Tian with his peripheral vision the whole time.

Seeing his skilled technique, calm mind, and lack of any impatience, he nodded inwardly.

In the following days, Ye Tian remained in the Herb Garden.

His daily work was complex and trivial.

Identifying newly harvested medicinal materials, grinding medicine powder according to requirements, controlling the heat under a certain Medicine Cauldron.

Just adding specific types of charcoal fire, maintaining stability, cleaning up Medicine Cauldron residue... Elder Xie had a strange temper and harsh requirements, often scolding him, but Ye Tian remained respectful and diligent, doing every small thing to the extreme.

More importantly, while working, he kept his Divine Sense open at all times, carefully observing every movement of Elder Xie and listening to his occasional muttering to himself.

From the order of adding medicinal materials, the subtle changes in heat, to the grasp of the timing of medicinal liquid Fusion, he was crazily absorbing all knowledge related to Alchemy.

A month later, when Elder Xie was refining a batch of "Recovery Pills", because the timing of adding an auxiliary medicine, "Qinglan Leaf", was half a breath too early, it caused a conflict in medicinal properties. The entire batch of Medicinal Pill was ruined, and blue smoke rose inside the Medicine Cauldron.

Elder Xie was so angry he stomped his feet.

Ye Tian, who was responsible for adding charcoal on the side, watched the wisp of blue smoke and the changes in the medicinal liquid inside the cauldron. In his mind, the description from 'Introduction to Spiritual Plants' regarding the medicinal properties of Qinglan Leaf and the ratio of Recovery Pills flashed instantly, and he blurted out: "Elder, if the Qinglan Leaf were soaked in morning dew for half a moment to remove its dryness, and then added at the transition from strong fire to gentle fire, perhaps the conflict in medicinal properties could be avoided?"

Elder Xie, who was feeling heartbroken over the medicinal materials, heard this, turned his head sharply, stared at Ye Tian, his eyes full of disbelief!

This question involved the subtle coordination of neutralizing medicinal properties and heat conversion, which was definitely not something a Utility Disciple who had just been in contact with Alchemy for a month could propose!

This required extremely strong insight into medicinal properties and deductive ability!

"You... how do you know that?" Elder Xie's voice trembled slightly.

Ye Tian calmly replied: "This Disciple observes the Elder refining medicine daily, combined with the records in the book, I pondered it myself and made a reckless speculation. Please forgive me, Elder."

Elder Xie was silent, looking at Ye Tian.

After a long time, he let out a long sigh, and for the first time, a gentle expression appeared on his face: "You kid are smarter than I imagined."

He walked to a corner and brought out a small dark red cauldron about a foot high, looking very old and with some cracks on the surface, and placed it in front of Ye Tian.

"This is a lowest-grade Red Fire Cauldron. Although it is a bit damaged, it is still fine for refining basic Medicinal Pill.

From tomorrow on, you don't need to do chores as a Utility Disciple anymore.

This old man will teach you the 'Basic Alchemy Formula' and give you ten portions of medicinal materials for blood-stopping powder.

If you can successfully refine a batch of qualified blood-stopping powder within a month, I will officially accept you as a Named Disciple and teach you Alchemy!"

Ye Tian looked at the old small cauldron in front of him, and then at Elder Xie's expectant and serious gaze, and a warm current surged in his heart.

He knew that the real Opportunity had arrived.

He took a deep breath, bowed, and said firmly: "This Disciple will definitely not fail the Elder's expectations!"