162: Chapter 162: I guess I'm overthinking it.

He sat cross-legged before the green lotus mother-child grass, placed his palms three inches above the thickest root, and closed his eyes.

The Qi of Creation was slowly drawn from his Dantian, flowing along his Meridians to his palms, transforming into an invisible film that seeped into the soil.

Unlike the dragon beard vine, the green lotus mother-child grass was still alive, and it was doing quite well.

After the Qi of Creation entered its root system, it cleared the blocked spiritual energy nodes one by one.

In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the fluorescent light at the base of the first plant brightened by a fraction.

Su Cheng did not rush; he controlled the output of the Qi of Creation, neither too much nor too little, just enough for the Spirit Medicine to absorb comfortably without being overwhelmed.

Two hours later, he finished his practice and stood up.

The leaves of the three green lotus mother-child grasses were much more unfurled than when he arrived, and the tips of the outermost two leaves, which had originally been slightly yellow, had turned green.

The brightness of the fluorescence at the roots had visibly increased.

Day one, done.

Su Cheng brushed the dirt off his pants and walked out of the Spirit Medicine garden.

Day two, day three, day four—Su Cheng arrived and left on time every day.

He controlled the infusion of the Qi of Creation with great precision; it could not be too fast, as that would be abnormal, nor too slow, as that would not achieve the desired effect.

On the fifth day, a Wanhua Peak Disciple responsible for patrolling the Spirit Medicine garden passed by. He glanced casually at the growth status of the green lotus mother-child grass and found himself unable to move his feet.

"This... five days?"

The Disciple circled the three Spirit Medicines twice, then took out a spiritual energy detection talisman, stuck it onto the root, and checked the data. The expression on his face changed repeatedly.

"The root spiritual energy circulation efficiency has increased by thirty percent?!"

Su Cheng, who was squatting by the edge of the Spirit Medicine garden drinking water, lifted his head upon hearing this: "Is it growing alright?"

The way the Disciple looked at him changed.

"Alright? Senior Brother, if this is 'alright', then everyone who has previously tended to these Spirit Medicines might as well go bang their heads against a block of tofu."

"What was the standard before?"

"A normal wood-attribute Foundation Establishment Cultivator tending to them for a month would reach the standard if the root spiritual energy circulation improved by fifteen to twenty percent. You improved it by thirty percent in five days—do you have any idea what that means?"

Su Cheng grunted an "En," didn't continue the conversation, and lowered his head to keep drinking water.

The news spread faster than Su Cheng had expected.

On the sixth day, three more Disciples came to watch.

On the seventh day, even an administrator in charge of the Spirit Medicine garden on Wanhua Peak came down to take a look in person.

The administrator squatted in the Spirit Medicine garden for nearly half an hour, examining the three green lotus mother-child grasses inside and out. Finally, he stood up and asked Su Cheng in a very subtle tone: "Your wood-attribute Qi... why is it so gentle?"

Su Cheng brought out the explanation he had used at Qingmu Peak: "The Cultivation Technique this Disciple practices is somewhat unique; it has a relatively strong affinity for spiritual plants."

The Elder did not press further, nodded, and left.

Before leaving, he added: "This skill of yours is rare within the Sect."

By the evening of the seventh day, when Su Cheng left Wanhua Peak, the root spiritual energy circulation efficiency of the three green lotus mother-child grasses had increased by forty percent. The leaves were lush and green, and even flower buds had emerged.

According to the normal growth cycle, it would take at least another three months of care to reach this state.

Seven days for three months' worth of work.

Su Cheng was satisfied with this result; now, all that remained was to wait for True Man Lü Yuan's reaction.

Another seven days passed, and True Man Lü Yuan did not come.

Su Cheng went to Wanhua Peak every day to tend to the Spirit Medicines as usual. The growth of the green lotus mother-child grass was outrageously good, and it was already approaching the optimal state for harvesting.

The Disciples of Wanhua Peak were all discussing this privately; some even ran over specifically to see the three Spirit Medicines, marveling at them.

But True Man Lü Yuan never appeared.

Su Cheng had inquired; this Immortal Master had recently locked himself in the Pill chamber at the peak of the mountain, focusing all his energy on the preliminary preparations for the huayuan pill.

Adjusting the proportions of auxiliary medicines, calibrating the temperature of the Pill Furnace, and deducing the timing of the heat.

The refinement of a third-rank pill was not comparable to a second-rank one; every step had to be simulated countless times in advance, allowing for no sloppiness.

Busy as he was, the reports from the Disciples were certainly reaching him.

But for a third-rank pill refiner, a matter like "good Spirit Medicine maintenance results" was at most a "Hmm, not bad" level, not worth putting down his work to come in person.

Su Cheng leaned against the stone steps outside the Spirit Medicine garden and sorted through the current situation.

The fish wasn't biting.

To be precise, the bait he had cast was too small.

While his skill in tending to Spirit Medicines was certainly outstanding, it wasn't substantial enough in front of a Golden Core Cultivator.

True Man Lü Yuan had seen countless experts; was a mere Early Foundation Establishment Stage Disciple growing Spirit Medicines a bit better worth him making a big fuss and coming down?

Su Cheng finished the last gulp of water in his waterskin and stood up.

Waiting would yield no results.

There was only half a month left until the official start of the huayuan pill refinement; if he dragged it out any longer, the opportunity would be completely lost.

Then he would try a different method.

After returning to his Immortal Cave at Qingmu Peak that night, Su Cheng sat on his meditation cushion and pondered for a long time.

The maintenance task provided him with a reasonable excuse to enter and exit Wanhua Peak every day, and it also allowed the Disciples on the mountain to establish basic trust in him.

These two things were the groundwork, and they could not be wasted.

Now he needed a bigger "bait."

What could make True Man Lü Yuan unable to sit still?

The answer was straightforward: his huayuan pill would not be able to be refined.

Su Cheng stared at the cave wall, lost in thought for a moment, and then made his decision.

The Qi of Creation could stimulate all things to grow, but it could conversely extract the vitality from within spiritual plants, causing them to wither silently.

This process did not rely on any known Spells or toxins, because the Qi of Creation itself was the Origin of vitality; what it bestowed, it could also take back.

Su Cheng had been coming and going for these past few days, and he had long since figured out the locations of those Spirit Medicines on Wanhua Peak used for refining the huayuan pill.

They were not in the Spirit Medicine garden he was tending, but in an independent medicine field further up, guarded by dedicated personnel.

But guarded or not, the reputation Su Cheng had built on Wanhua Peak over the past half month meant that the guarding Disciples did not have their guard up against him.

The fifteenth day.

Su Cheng finished tending to the green lotus mother-child grass as usual. After finishing his practice, he didn't leave directly, but instead walked a bit further up along the mountain path.

That independent medicine field was located on a platform halfway up the mountain, surrounded by a second-rank spirit-gathering and medicine-protecting array, with seven or eight different types of third-rank Spirit Medicines planted inside.

Four of the six main and auxiliary medicinal ingredients for the huayuan pill were cultivated here.

Two Late Qi Refining Stage Disciples were guarding outside the medicine field; seeing Su Cheng come over, they didn't stop him.

"Senior Brother Su? Finished tending?"

"Finished." Su Cheng scanned the medicine field. "I heard these Spirit Medicines are also used for the huayuan pill? I'm passing by, so I'll take a look and learn."

The two Disciples looked at each other. They had heard of Su Cheng's reputation over the past half month, and since he did indeed have a Pass token for Wanhua Peak, he wasn't considered an 'outsider.'

"Looking is fine, just don't touch anything."

Su Cheng nodded in agreement, walked to the edge of the medicine field, and squatted down.

Seven or eight types of Spirit Medicines were arranged neatly; the most eye-catching among them were two stalks of yuanling grass and three bihun flowers.

The yuanling grass was the core main ingredient of the huayuan pill, and the bihun flower was the foremost auxiliary medicine; both were indispensable.

Su Cheng's gaze lingered on the bihun flower for two extra breaths.

He reached out and probed the air, assuming the posture of "sensing the medicinal properties."

His palm was about half a foot away from the outermost leaf of the bihun flower.

Under the cover of this movement, a wisp of the Qi of Creation silently seeped out from his palm, passed through the soil layer, and burrowed into the fine roots of the bihun flower.

That wisp of the Qi of Creation was extremely faint, so faint that even Su Cheng's own Divine Sense had to be fully concentrated to track its position.

After it entered the root system of the bihun flower, it did nothing, simply attaching itself quietly to the core spiritual energy node, waiting for instructions.

Su Cheng withdrew his hand and stood up.

"The spirituality of this bihun flower..." He furrowed his brows and looked at it for a moment, his tone carrying some hesitation.

The two Disciples leaned in: "What's wrong?"

"I can't put my finger on it, but it feels a bit strange." Su Cheng shook his head. "I'm probably overthinking it; you watch them every day, so you should know better than I do."

One Disciple squatted down and carefully examined the leaves and roots of the bihun flower, then probed it with his spiritual energy.

"It's quite normal? No different from usual."

The other Disciple also took a look and likewise found nothing unusual.

"Senior Brother Su must have just finished tending to those mother-child grasses, and his spiritual energy consumption was high, so his sensing might be off."

Su Cheng did not argue; he smiled, said, "I suppose I was overthinking it," and turned to walk down the mountain.