217: The Miracle of the Elixir and the Crisis of the "Peddler"

The shift in the R&D direction for the "spirit purifying pill" caused the base's operational focus to subtly shift once again.

The roaring of the industrial zone continued, but more expectant gazes were now cast toward the area designated as the "Star Spirit Medicine Garden."

Mu Wanqing personally selected three types of basic yet highly adaptable Spiritual Plants: "Soul-Calming Flower," "Spirit-Nurturing Grass," and "Earth Vein Root."

These three medicinal materials themselves possessed the properties of calming the mind, nurturing spirit, and stabilizing the Foundation. They were auxiliary ingredients for many basic Medicinal Pills. If they could successfully incubate a "purification core," their value and versatility would be immeasurable.

Wen Youyi became the busiest "gardener."

Every day, he spent a great deal of time guarding the Spirit Medicine Garden, carefully guiding the pure and gentle Star Power, like spring rain, to slowly nourish those few specially tended seedbeds.

Those few meritorious "Flowing Silver" also became frequent visitors. They seemed particularly fond of this vibrant energy environment, often lazing about at the edges of the seedbeds. Their presence seemed to better harmonize the energy, allowing the Star Power to be absorbed by the Spiritual Plants more gently.

This process could not be rushed; it required the patience of water dripping through stone.

Several days passed, and the Spiritual Plants seemed to be growing better than those in the adjacent ordinary medicinal fields. Their leaves were even more lush and green, faintly shimmering with an imperceptible layer of starlight, but they were still far from naturally incubating a "purification core" inside.

Just when Wen Youyi was almost beginning to think this was a long-term project measured in "years," a turning point appeared in an unexpected way.

Early that morning, a Danxia Peak Disciple responsible for tending the Spirit Medicine Garden hurriedly found Wen Youyi and Mu Wanqing, their tone filled with shock and suspicion: "Senior Brother Wen, Senior Sister Mu, come quickly! Those 'Soul-Calming Flowers'... they seem a bit off!"

The two immediately rushed to the Spirit Medicine Garden. They saw that among the "Soul-Calming Flowers" heavily nourished by Star Power, at the top of one, where a flower bud should have been growing, a silver bead—the size of a pearl, perfectly round, and emitting soft starlight—had actually formed!

This bead was not a physical object; it was more like it had condensed from pure energy, with specks of starlight slowly circulating inside, emitting a strange vibration that made one's mind feel tranquil.

"This is..." Mu Wanqing's beautiful eyes widened. She stepped forward quickly, sensing it carefully, and a look of incredulous ecstasy gradually appeared on her face. "A natural core! It's a natural core! And... its energy structure is extremely stable, perfectly blending with the medicinal properties of the 'Soul-Calming Flower'! How... how could this be so fast?!"

Wen Youyi was also stunned; he hadn't expected the results to be this good and this fast. He looked at the meritorious "Flowing Silver" nearby, which was gently touching the "Soul-Calming Flower" with its tentacles, and a thought stirred in his heart: could these little guys have secretly accelerated the process?

He attempted to communicate with that "Flowing Silver" through the star core fragment, sending out a questioning thought.

The "Flowing Silver" sent back a vague, slightly smug thought: "Tasty... help... grow... fast..."

Wen Youyi suddenly realized! These "Flowing Silver" could not only modify metal, but they also seemed to have some kind of peculiar catalytic effect on living organisms! Under their dual influence and the Star Power, they had actually forcibly shortened this long incubation process to just a few days!

"Great!" Wen Youyi suppressed his excitement. "Senior Sister Mu, with this 'Soul-Calming Flower' that has a natural core, can we now start trying to refine the 'spirit purifying pill'?"

Mu Wanqing carefully used a jade knife to remove the dazzling, starlit "Soul-Calming Bead." Feeling the gentle and continuous purifying power contained within it, she nodded heavily. "That's right! Although it's only the most Elementary form, the principle has been verified! We can use it as the main ingredient to try refining the lowest version of the 'spirit purifying pill'!"

The dawn of hope suddenly became bright!

However, just as Mu Wanqing, accompanied by several Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, was confidently returning to the Alchemy Workshop with this precious "Soul-Calming Bead," preparing to conduct the first trial production of the "spirit purifying pill," Wang Wu, who was responsible for information reception, found Wen Youyi with a grave expression.

"Youyi, something happened." Wang Wu's voice was very low. "We just received... the highest emergency distress signal from the 'Peddler'!"

Wen Youyi's heart sank abruptly: "What happened? Tell me slowly!"

"The signal was very brief, and it was heavily encrypted and interfered with, so the content is incomplete," Wang Wu said quickly. "The general meaning is: the Luofeng Town stronghold has been completely exposed. He is surrounded in a secret location by Discipline Hall experts and forces suspected to be 'Scavengers.' The situation is critical; he is requesting... emergency evacuation or... destruction of evidence."

"Suspected 'Scavengers'?" Wen Youyi's expression changed. "Why would they personally get involved to deal with a peripheral intelligence agent?"

"I'm not sure, but the signal mentioned one word at the end... 'key'," Wang Wu added. "They seem to be looking for something, or rather, the 'Peddler' possesses some kind of 'key' that they must obtain or destroy."

A key? Wen Youyi's brows furrowed tightly. Did it refer to clues leading to the base? Or some core intelligence held by the "Peddler"? Regardless, the "Peddler" was their important link to the outside world, holding a vast amount of intelligence and channels, and must never fall into the hands of the enemy! Moreover, the other side was even involved with the "Scavengers"!

"Can you locate the position from where he sent the last signal?" Wen Youyi asked immediately.

"The general area, yes. It's in the 'Blackwood Forest,' about fifty miles northwest of Luofeng Town. The terrain there is complex, filled with swamps and poisonous miasma," Wang Wu replied.

Wen Youyi took a deep breath, his brain racing. Launch the "ark" again for a large-scale rescue? The risk was too high. The Luofeng Town area was definitely a dragon's den and a tiger's lair now; the Discipline Hall and the "Scavengers" were likely lying in wait.

Send a small team to infiltrate? Facing a situation where "Scavengers" might be involved, a small team's power would likely not be enough.

The "Peddler" had to be saved, but how?

His gaze involuntarily turned toward the direction of the Alchemy Workshop, where Mu Wanqing was conducting test production with the hope of the first batch of "spirit purifying pills." He then looked toward the warehouse, where brand-new equipment and ample Medicinal Pills were stored.

Finally, his gaze became firm.

"Notify Zhao Iron Pillar, Senior Brother Li, and also... Senior Sister Mu. Ask her to temporarily interrupt her Alchemy and come to the council hall," Wen Youyi said in a deep voice. "We need to formulate a plan, a fast, precise, hit-and-run 'lightning rescue' plan!"

"Also, get all those new little gadgets we've come up with ready!"

Crisis had descended once again, but this time, "Spark" was no longer the same as it used to be. They had sharp swords, Medicinal Pills, and even more endlessly emerging "black technology"!

It was time to let the enemy have a taste of their power!

(End of Chapter)