'Hmm? Is that Blood Lotus Essence?!'
Xiao Yan's sharp eyes caught sight of a light-yellow colored block-shaped object in the far corner of a transparent counter.
He had only come to the medicinal shop in Qingshan Town to see if there were any suitable herbs for his practice. He hadn't expected to stumble upon Blood Lotus Essence, one of the main ingredients for the Blood Lotus Essence Pill.
Blood Lotus Essence was an extremely rare, high-grade medicinal ingredient that typically grew alongside the lower-grade Yellow Lotus Essence. The two were almost identical in appearance. Had it not been for the fact that the Blood Lotus Essence was one of the main ingredients required for the Blood Lotus Essence Pill to refine Heavenly Flames, and the pill's recipe detailed the method of differentiation, he would have found it difficult to distinguish between the two.
After a moment, he licked his lips and approached the counter nonchalantly. With his hands behind his back, he pretended to look around and said in a deep voice, "Shopkeeper."
The shopkeeper quickly approached when he saw Xiao Yan's arrogant demeanor, rubbed his hands together, and asked with a smile, "Young master, how may I help you today?"
Xiao Yan gave the shopkeeper a dismissive look and said haughtily, like a young master from a wealthy clan, "My clan needs to wholesale a batch of medicinal herbs. I want to see if you have any good ones here."
The shopkeeper was secretly delighted to hear this. Seeing the other party's wealthy appearance, he began to plan how to fleece him.
"He he he, young master truly has a good eye. This is the best medicinal shop in Qingshan Town. Feel free to look around, I'll give you a discount on whatever you need."
Xiao Yan nodded calmly and said, "Show me these," as he casually pointed to several herbs on the counter, naturally including the Blood Lotus Essence.
He then pretended to smell and examine the herbs, putting on a novice act that drew chuckles from many bystanders.
"Shopkeeper, your herbs aren't that great. Only this Yellow Lotus Essence is passable."
"Young master is discerning indeed. Our Yellow Lotus Essence from Qingshan Town is famously good. Since the young master likes it, even though it's normally 200 gold coins per pound, I'll let it go for 180 just for you. How much would you like?"
Xiao Yan laughed coldly in his heart upon hearing the shopkeeper's words. This shopkeeper really thought he was a pig for slaughter. The market price for Yellow Lotus Essence was only between 80 and 100 gold coins per pound, and the other party had nearly doubled it.
"All right, I'll take whatever amount you have; pack it all up for me."
Xiao Yan took about a dozen pounds of Yellow Lotus Essence and swaggered out of the medicinal shop. Both parties scoffed at each other in their hearts, thinking the other a fool.
"Too bad it was only this one piece." Xiao Yan found a secluded place to examine the Yellow Lotus Essence he had purchased. Unfortunately, there was only one piece of the precious Blood Lotus Essence. The rest was just ordinary Yellow Lotus Essence.
"Wow, is that Little Fairy Doctor? Why is she here?!"
As Xiao Yan was preparing to head towards the Magic Beast Mountain Range, he suddenly heard a commotion in the town.
"She's so beautiful, geez, such a slim waist. If only I could touch it..."
"Idiot, do you wish to die? More than half the mercenaries in Qingshan Town have been treated by the Little Fairy Doctor. Be careful, or someone might hear you and cut off your tongue!"
Two men a short distance away from Xiao Yan were whispering to each other. When one of them uttered some dirty words, his companion quickly stopped him with a quiet lecture.
Xiao Yan turned his head slightly in surprise, using his strong Spiritual Strength to sense the center of the commotion. He could just make out the figure of a lady in a pale blue dress.
It was only after the crowd had dispersed that he could clearly see the face of the lady everyone had gathered around.
The young lady wore a pale blue dress adorned with intricate patterns and delicate purple accents. Her smiling face exuded a gentle and graceful aura evident in her every move, while her fresh and ethereal temperament greatly enhanced her charm.
She was the most gentle and soft-tempered woman Xiao Yan had ever seen, each glance and curve of her lips suffused with unparalleled gentleness.
Relying on his strong Spiritual Strength, Xiao Yan listened to the discussions around him. The lady known as Little Fairy Doctor was the most famous physician in Qingshan Town.
Alchemists were scarce, and most of the people who treated diseases in towns were physicians. Although they could not refine miraculous pills, they were still able to prepare simple medicinal powders to treat injuries and illnesses.
"Thousand Medicine House is heading into the Magic Beast Mountain Range to gather herbs and is recruiting a guard squad. The Little Fairy Doctor will also accompany us! There are only fifty spots available, and applicants must be at least a 2-star Dou Practitioner. Hurry up,
Xiao Yan looked at the burly man making the announcement and finally understood the cause of the commotion. During his time in Wu Tan City, he had often seen herb gathering teams come to the Xiao Clan to hire personnel for protection.
"With the Little Fairy Doctor? I'll do it for free!"
One muscular man after another rushed toward the registrar like a pack of wolves, some of them signing up without even asking about payment.
'Following the team into the Magic Beast Mountain Range could work too. It's better to be cautious, after all, this isn't Wu Tan City,' Xiao Yan thought. He put on his Soul Robe and hood, draped the Heavy Xuan Ruler over his back to suppress his cultivation, and slightly covered his face as he walked toward the registration area.
"There's one last spot left!" The registrar cheerily waved a parchment scroll at the bustling crowd.
"I'll take it!" Xiao Yan's slightly youthful voice rang out in front of the registrar. Hearing this fifteen or sixteen-year-old's voice, everyone curiously looked toward Xiao Yan. The Soul Robe only partially obscured his eyes, leaving his overall appearance visible. Seeing his fair skin and youthful looks, the registrar paused before saying, "Young lad, this isn't a game. You need to be at least a 2-star Dou Practitioner."
"Little brother, go home and ask your mommy for milk."
"Scram, scram, don't waste my time; I'm a 2-star Dou Practitioner, I'm joining."
Two muscular men, one on either side, surrounded Xiao Yan. Each of them was a head taller than him, making him look particularly diminutive.
"Alas, only the fool judges by looks."
Xiao Yan's hands shot out like dragons emerging from the sea, each grabbing a man's shoulder and pinning them to the ground with a powerful downward push.
No matter how much the men struggled, they couldn't move the hands pinning them down.
"Awesome, little brother, what incredible strength!"
Not just the bystanders, but even the registrar was stunned. To hold down a 2-star Dou Practitioner with each hand-what incredible physical strength! Even the Little Fairy Doctor glanced over, curious about when such a young prodigy had appeared in Qingshan Town.
It was exceedingly rare for someone as young as sixteen or seventeen to have already reached the Dou Practitioner realm in Qingshan Town.
"Not bad, such a young age and already a Dou Practitioner with such a strong physique. The last spot is yours, little brother."
Seeing the last spot snatched by this unknown youngster, the mercenaries who had gathered around could only sullenly depart. They did not forget to cast some strange gazes at Xiao Yan
"This guy seems to be about the same age as the Little Fairy Doctor. Could it be that he's taken a fancy to her and has come to play the role of her protector?"
"Possibly. Little Fairy Doctor's beauty is well-known even in the neighboring towns. Perhaps he's a young master from a neighboring town's clan who's here to pursue her." Xiao Yan could only touch his nose when he heard these comments. He didn't bother to
explain. After all, he was planning to leave as soon as he entered the Magic Beast Mountain Range to search for the Ten Thousand Beast Flame based on the spiritual map. He likely wouldn't have any involvement with this Little Fairy Doctor anyway...