Bamboo Mound

Seeing Ning Chang's reaction, the two realized that they had been too deliberate.

However, the two of them didn't take it seriously and immediately explained:

"Haha, fellow Daoist, please don't be offended. We were just a little too excited and momentarily forgot our manners."

“Yes, haha, fellow Daoist, it’s not easy to talk while standing. Let’s sit down first.”

In the end, Ning Chang followed and sat down to the side.

These two were quite cunning; they deliberately led the group to a place some distance away from the four people, and then brought out three chairs and a round table.

After Ning Chang sat down, one of them spoke again:

“From the very beginning, we have smelled the unique fragrance of the 'Distant Grass,' which has become even purer with your arrival. We can naturally guess that you have had contact with the 'Distant Grass' in the wild and have eaten its fruit!”

"Distant Herb? What is that?" Ning Chang guessed it was the white spiritual plant he had encountered in the lake that day, but still pretended to be puzzled and asked.

"Fellow Daoist, there is no need to be wary in this regard. This is an opportunity for you. Our Medicine King Valley would never resort to such tactics as coercion or forceful seizure!"

"That fragrant herb has flowers as red as cinnabar, dazzling to the eye. It has a straight stem with leaves growing from its roots. The leaves are slender and white, like the herb of forgetting worries."

"Both the flowers and leaves are fragrant, and the aroma can be smelled for miles around, hence the name 'distant fragrant grass'."

"Its fruit is like the fruit of a Job's tears plant, growing in the flower. It tastes sweet and fragrant. Eating it will keep you from hunger and thirst for months, enhance your spirit and purify your body. Your body will smell like grass, and long-term consumption can even prolong your life by ten thousand years!"

"Haha, of course, life extension is the most useless function of Yaoxiangcao for us cultivators."

Ning Chang nodded secretly. This person's description was exactly the same as the spiritual plant in the lake that day. It must be the Yaoxiang Grass.

As for the phrase "like a forget-me-not," he vaguely remembered it after hearing it, though he couldn't recall where he had seen or heard it. Daylilies were also known as forget-me-nots.

However, seeing how detailed their description was, Ning Chang became increasingly suspicious.

"Since you can recognize the Yaoxiang Grass and describe it in such detail, it means that the Yaoxiang Grass exists in Medicine King Valley. If that's the case, why are you so excited about it?"

The two exchanged a glance, then suddenly burst into laughter. "We've been chatting for so long, and I haven't introduced you yet!"

"My name is Wang Yi."

"My name is Dan Tu."

While Wang Yi was giving his introduction, he took the booklet and writing materials from the table in the distance and placed them in front of him.

"Since you intend to join my Medicine King Valley, why don't you state your name now?"

"As for your question, it is a secret of Medicine King Valley. If you don't join us, we can't reveal it."

Dan Tu responded appropriately.

Ning Chang thought about it for a while. Now that he was going to enter Medicine King Valley, he had to give a name, whether he wanted to or not. After a little hesitation, he decided not to use an alias.

"Ning Chang".

"Alright, Fellow Daoist Ning... Chang..."

Wang Yi wrote Ning Chang's name on the first page of the booklet, and then added the words "Yao Xiang Cao" to the bottom right corner of that page.

Dan Tu spoke again after he finished writing.

"It's no wonder we're so excited; the sect does indeed have some concerns about Haruka."

As they spoke, Wang Yi released his spiritual power to surround the three of them, preventing the other four members of the other two sects from eavesdropping.

"It is true that there is a fragrant herb in the sect, but it is only a small clump. It has been growing there since the founding of the sect. I don't know if it is natural or if the sect leader moved it from elsewhere."

"To this day, after countless forced ripening and harvesting, the quality of the fruit is far inferior to what it used to be! It's not even as good as 30% of the original quality!"

"Only that unique fragrance continues to linger, but it is not as pure and rich as the fragrance emanating from Fellow Daoist Ning Chang."

"Didn't you try planting it?" Ning Chang asked doubtfully. "Since it's just a small clump, why not try to propagate it and expand the scale?"

"This... actually, from the very beginning, when Medicine King Valley discovered that the medicinal effects of the Herb of the Distant Grass would decrease, they began to study its reproduction and restoration."

"For over a thousand years, the sect has been working hard in this area, since the effects of the Yaoxiang Grass are hard to be replaced by other spiritual plants."

The two of them introduced themselves, one after the other.

"However, in unsuitable environments, the 'distant herb' simply cannot sprout!"

"Even if the environment around that patch of fragrant herbs is simulated, the newly grown fragrant herbs will only be ordinary, good for nothing except for their fragrance!"

"And to this day, after trying it in the entire Wangzhou Kingdom and countless regions outside of it, we have still not been able to find a suitable place to cultivate the Yaoxiang herb."

"The attitude of the monastery has also changed over time, from being unhurried at the beginning to now making it the main goal."

"Um, according to you, is the herb Yaoxiang grass really that important?" Ning Chang asked, puzzled. In their previous descriptions, Yaoxiang grass was simply something that made you feel full and gave you a pleasant fragrance.

"Very important!" the two said in unison, their voices serious.

The two exchanged a glance, and finally Wang Yi spoke up to explain.

"It's normal that Fellow Daoist Ning Chang doesn't understand. For the outside world, the only benefit of the Yaoxiang Grass is that it can be directly consumed."

"This also relies on the secrecy of our Medicine King Valley."

"In Medicine King Valley, the herb 'Distant Herb' is a very important ingredient for alchemy."

"Its importance lies in its unique neutralizing effect, which can easily fuse two conflicting medicinal materials together, and it doesn't even require any refining!"

"Currently, it is mainly used for breakthrough pills in the Transformation Realm, consolidation pills in the Foundation Establishment Realm, consolidation pills in the Fetal Heart Realm, and several other pills with special effects."

"Now you understand, don't you?"

Ning Chang nodded as if he understood, but he couldn't guess what the Breakthrough Pill was for.

However, with the addition of the Transformation Realm and the Fetal Heart Realm, it's probably used by people in those two realms.

"However, as the quality of the fragrant herbs declines, the amount required to refine those pills each time is gradually increasing, and the annual output of pills is gradually decreasing."

"Although the sect has always maintained a stockpile, given the growth cycle of the Haruka herb, if this continues, the supply will eventually become insufficient."

"And once the fragrant herbs within the sect have completely become ordinary, not only will these pill formulas need to be reconfigured, but it will also consume a lot of time and materials."

Furthermore, due to the interruption of the supply of elixirs during this period, breaking through to the Transformation Realm will become extremely difficult, and the Transformation Realm of the Fetal Heart will be more likely to slip away.

"Breaking through difficulties? Can one's realm still slip?" Ning Chang asked, surprised that the herb Yaoxiang had this effect.

"Well, it's just that... Fellow Daoist Ning Chang is still at the Spirit Platform stage and doesn't belong to any sect, so it's normal that he doesn't know."

"After reaching the Fetal Heart Realm, one must nurture the primordial spirit embryo. During this period, there is a chance that the fetal heart will become unstable with each breakthrough, thus directly dropping to the first level of the fetal heart!"