The Golden Core Main Medicine has been found!

A seven-hundred-year-old Jade Spirit Flower was already sufficient to meet the requirements for refining the Golden Core Formation Pill. The other was significantly lacking, at most three hundred years old. The main medicines for the Golden Core Formation Pill were of three types: the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, a Jade Spirit Flower aged over five hundred years, and the Thousand-Year Ginseng Fruit. The other auxiliary medicines were also Spiritual Medicines several hundred years old. Compared to the three main ones, these were easier to collect.

Jia Ren swept his gaze over the Jade Spirit Flower and looked further afield.

A Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicine?!

A thousand-year-old spirit ginseng with purple fruit caught Jia Ren's attention. Thousand-Year Ginseng Fruit!

The second main ingredient for the Golden Core Formation Pill was found.

What about the third one, the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus?

The number of Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicines was not large, totaling only thirteen. Besides those, there were other types of Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicines, but the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus had not been found. There were two thousand-year-old spirit ginseng plants; one, with purple fruit, exuded a powerful Spiritual Energy. The other thousand-year-old spirit ginseng was slightly inferior, its fruit tinged green, just shy of perfect ripeness.

Having searched the entire area, the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus was nowhere to be found.

It must be said, this is quite a regret.

The Thousand-Year Snow Lotus had high demands for its environment, growing in lands of ice and snow. The Five Spirits Medicine Garden lacked a suitable Spirit Land for the growth of the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, making its presence impossible.

Finding two of the three main medicines for the Golden Core Formation Pill already far exceeded expectations. As long as the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus was found, he could start refining the Golden Core Formation Pill.

Apart from the Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicines, there was no shortage of five-hundred-year-old Spiritual Medicines in the Five Spirits Medicine Garden. If he could take them all, Jia Ren would become immensely wealthy and wouldn't lack Spiritual Medicines for a long time to come. The Five Elements Sect was not primarily an Alchemy-focused Sect, yet it cultivated so many Spiritual Medicines.

It makes one wonder what the Medicinal Garden of the Yuding Sect must have looked like before it was destroyed. It is truly regrettable that I had no chance to explore it…

Jia Ren feigned composure, pondering when to make his move. All Spiritual Medicines over three hundred years old had restrictions set upon them. The Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicines even had Second Order Formations, increasing the difficulty of breaking through. He would need to invest more time and effort to acquire them. If he made a move, he would surely attract trouble and might not be able to take many Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicines with him. Should Jia Ren's whereabouts be revealed, he would be pursued by the Five Elements Sect, leaving him with little time to break the Formations.

Since he had reached the Five Spirits Medicine Garden, he had to find a way to maximize the benefits and not be too hasty. Thoughts quickly turned in his mind as he considered solutions.

Bewildering Five-Colored Smoke!

Jia Ren thought of a solution: Bewildering Five-Colored Smoke. To harvest the Spiritual Medicines, there was no need to kill. As long as all the Cultivators in the Five Spirits Medicine Garden were incapacitated and unable to send for help, he could calmly collect the Spiritual Medicines. He could take all the Spiritual Medicines away without anyone being the wiser. Others carrying away so many Spiritual Medicines would not have enough space in their Storage Bags. Jia Ren, however, was well prepared. He carried dozens of River Mountain Bags that could store the contents of several Five Spirits Medicine Gardens.

"I'll check the Spiritual Medicines!"

"The Spiritual Medicines are fine."

Facing the gazes of dozens of eyes, Jia Ren surveyed the area. He silently released a few barely visible Spirit Insects before leaving, satisfied. The information from the map of the Five Spirits Medicine Garden was committed to memory. As Jia Ren inspected the Spiritual Medicines along the way, he secretly noted the locations of the ones he wanted for future convenience. Wherever he went, several tiny, transparent insects quietly fell and mingled with the Spiritual Medicine Fields.

A few more insects in the Spirit Field seems reasonable.

They would become his informants, monitoring every move within the Five Spirits Medicine Garden and gathering intel. According to the distribution of Cultivators, they would spread the poisonous smoke.

Jia Ren left the Medicinal Fields and headed towards the residential area of the Spirit Medicine Garden. This place had been specifically built by the Five Elements Sect for the Cultivators guarding the garden, and the space was not large. Foundation Establishment Elders had their own residences. However, the life of Qi Refinement Realm disciples was not as easy; to save space, seven or eight people were squeezed together. Qi Refinement Realm disciples of the Five Elements Sect all had their duties, either guarding or watching over the Spiritual Medicines, without the freedom to move around.

If I want to act freely in the Five Spirits Medicine Garden, it's best to disguise myself as a Five Elements Sect Elder. Disguising myself as an Elder isn't a bad plan, but one always fears a meeting between the fake and the real deal.

Is no one here?

There was no sign of Elder Wu's presence in the residence; his whereabouts were unknown.

Where does he live?

Jia Ren was unclear on where Elder Wu resided, and it would be best to find a way to locate him without asking directly.

"Get someone to clean my residence!" Jia Ren grabbed a nearby Five Elements Sect Cultivator and coldly ordered.

The Cultivator stammered, "Elder Wu, this…" Since when did Elder Wu take an interest in male Cultivators? Feeling both shocked and fearful, the Cultivator had no choice but to lead the way. Jia Ren took the opportunity to follow, searching for the residence. In doing so, there was no need to ask about the residence and risk exposure.

"Elder, there's a Formation at your residence," the Cultivator said.

Jia Ren sensed that three residences had Formations. Are there three Foundation Establishment Elders guarding this place? The Formation at Elder Wu's residence was crude, merely a temporary dwelling with weak defenses.

"Step back," Jia Ren said. Taking advantage of the moment the other looked back, Jia Ren's Ban-breaking Finger flickered, temporarily disabling the Formation. "Clean this up for me."

He had to play the part fully. Jia Ren glanced at the teapot, tidied it slightly, and sat down calmly to drink tea, watching the other clean with trepidation. After the cleaning was mostly done, he casually threw two Spirit Stones to the Cultivator, warning, "Mind your tongue."

"Thank you for the Elder's generosity." The Cultivator left with a face full of joy, Spirit Stones in hand.

The Formation was not destroyed, only temporarily disabled. Jia Ren, now with a private space, flipped his hand and retrieved the Bewildering Five-Colored Smoke he had crafted himself.

Strictly speaking, it can't be called Bewildering Five-Colored Smoke anymore.

After reaching Grandmaster Level proficiency, Jia Ren had improved upon it. Based on the poisonous insects and herbs from the Poisonous Miasma Lake, he had created many varieties of Bewildering Five-Colored Smoke. The most effective was a colorless and odorless poison smoke, difficult to detect.

Three hundred sticks of the colorless Bewildering Smoke were lit. A vacant River Mountain Bag was used to collect all the burning poison smoke as it poured in. Jia Ren activated his Spirit Shield to isolate himself from the poison gas. Only when the River Mountain Bag had absorbed all the poison smoke did he reveal a satisfied smile. He had roughly estimated the size of the Five Spirits Medicine Garden; the smoke from three hundred sticks of the colorless Bewildering Smoke was enough to fill it. Without any precautions, even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator would be poisoned and fall.

Equipped with a poison-proof Magic Artifact mask, Jia Ren finally left his residence. The River Mountain Bag was opened, and the stored colorless poison smoke quietly dispersed.

"Elder Wu, what brings you here again?" a Cultivator asked as Jia Ren passed.

Jia Ren purposely walked towards crowded areas, as if afraid others might not notice him.

"Inspecting the Five Spirits Medicine Garden is of great importance! How can I be negligent?!" he declared.

The Bewildering Smoke occupied the Spirit Medicine Garden at an astonishing rate, spreading to even more areas. Jia Ren, acting as the source of the poison gas, laid waste to every person and beast in his path. The Cultivator who had spoken to him rolled his eyes back and collapsed, poisoned. The poison smoke spread incredibly fast. By the time Jia Ren had made a round of the Five Spirits Medicine Garden, besides himself, not another Cultivator could be found standing.

Three Foundation Establishment Cultivators had fallen victim to the poison, and Elder Wu himself was among them. The man, who had rather particular tastes, had found a secluded spot in the Spirit Medicine Garden and was in the midst of a tryst with a patrolling female Cultivator. He didn't even have the chance to see Jia Ren before he was poisoned and fell to the ground.

The ground is cold; I'll keep your Storage Bag safe for you, Jia Ren thought, eyeing Elder Wu. The Storage Bags of Qi Refinement Realm Cultivators weren't worth Jia Ren's time; he'd rather gather more aged Spiritual Medicine. But he happily accepted the Storage Bags of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

I have to at least recoup the cost of crafting the colorless poison smoke.

"Haha, no one will stop me from gathering herbs now!" Looking at his handiwork, Jia Ren's face revealed a satisfied smile.

Accompanied by his Insect External Incarnation, he was the first to reach the core area of the Five Spirits Medicine Garden and began picking Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicine. He prioritized the most valuable Spiritual Medicine; if an accident were to occur, what he took would be the most valuable aged Spiritual Medicine.

Break the restrictions! Break the Formation!

A Second Order Formation had been laid around the Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicine. The Ban-breaking Finger of the Insect External Incarnation wasn't skilled enough. Any issue with Breaking the Formation could attract the attention of the Five Elements Sect Cultivators. Jia Ren sent it to handle breaking the restrictions on the five-hundred-year-old Spiritual Medicine, while he focused on the thousand-year-old ones.

What a hassle!

The area was filled with numerous Formations and restrictions, making them difficult to break. Breaking the first Formation and restriction was the most troublesome. It required observing the Formation's core and disrupting the key location to interrupt both the Formation and the restriction. The first one took half an Hour, but the Thousand-Year Ginseng Fruit was the first to be obtained. The subsequent Formations were largely similar; once he grasped the pattern, breaking them wasn't difficult.

With each Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicine in hand, Jia Ren was overjoyed. Holding each of the precious Spiritual Medicines, he felt as if he were dreaming. Only three Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicine plants remained, while the Insect External Incarnation had gathered quite a few of the five-hundred-year-old ones.

Just then, his Communication Bead vibrated.

Who could it be?

Jia Ren hesitated briefly but eventually halted his work on Breaking the Formation to pick up the Communication Bead. He heard Yang Shengwu's voice from within.

"Fellow Daoist Xu Yi, I didn't manage to obtain the Foundation Establishment Late Stage Alchemy Recipe at the exchange meeting, but I did get a few Three-Hundred-Year Spiritual Medicines for you."

Jia Ren didn't believe that among more than a hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators, none could produce a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Alchemy Recipe. The price just wasn't enticing enough for them. He wasn't too concerned about Spiritual Medicine at the moment; he stood before the Five Spirits Medicine Garden, free to gather as he pleased.

"Besides that, there's another piece of news," Yang Shengwu continued. "Over a hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators have banded together to attack the Five Elements Sect..."

Attack the Five Elements Sect?

The Five Elements Sect's Sect Protection Array was formidable. Without the leadership of a Golden Core Cultivator, how could these people dare to take such a risk? Most of them only wanted to reap benefits without facing danger. They were willing to let others face the brunt, unwilling to take risks themselves.

"...They're targeting the Five Spirits Medicine Garden in the back mountain."

"The Five Spirits Medicine Garden has many high-aged Spiritual Medicines planted. If we can conquer it this time, the trip will not have been in vain."

"To prevent insiders from tipping off the Sect and sending signals, a large force is already on its way."

"Fellow Daoist Xu Yi, aren't you lacking Spiritual Medicine? You can't miss this opportunity."

"If you come late, you won't even get a chance to sip the soup!"

What the...? Attack the Five Spirits Medicine Garden?

The location of the Five Spirits Medicine Garden was no secret; many were aware of it. The attackers were a ragtag bunch. Not many were willing to attack the Five Elements Sect outright. The Five Spirits Medicine Garden, however, was different. With various rare Spiritual Medicines ripe for the picking, they wouldn't pass up the chance.

If this had been any other time, it would have been a good turn of events for Jia Ren. He could have taken advantage of the many Foundation Establishment Cultivators distracting the Five Elements Sect to secretly harvest Spiritual Medicine.

But now... This is going to spoil my plans! I need to hurry and gather the Spiritual Medicines! The most valuable Thousand-Year Spiritual Medicine and those over five hundred years old must not be overlooked! Speed is of the essence, the faster the better!

Jia Ren sped up, breaking through the remaining restrictions. At this very moment, three Foundation Establishment Cultivators entered the Five Spirits Medicine Garden. They bore the Five Elements Sect Master's Command Token and had been ordered to harvest Spiritual Medicine.

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