Chapter 531
"How's it going?" Seeing their lack of response, Zhao Jingfan asked in the chat, "Found anything yet?"
Zheng Fa shared his and Xiao Yuying's thoughts in the thread.
Zhao Jingfan's reply was tinged with disappointment: "But I've already searched through all the sect's records and even asked many senior and junior brothers. Everything about the Qingling Dan is right here."
At this point, Yan Wushuang couldn't hold back any longer. He asked, "This Zhao brother... you seem to have quite a reputation in the sect? A high status?"
"Well, I have some connections..."
"Is your father... the sect leader?"
"Not at all."
"May I ask, what is your spirit root?"
"Spirit root? Like Zheng Fa, I have a dual spirit root."
Yan Wushuang seemed to overlook the fact that Zheng Fa also had five words and went straight to the point:
"Dual spirit root? So you... are quite bold?"
Zheng Fa understood Yan Wushuang's confusion—
In this world, a dual spirit root is not the same for everyone! Zheng Fa couldn't call himself a dual spirit root!
Both are just underachievers; you have no background and no talent...
How can you be so audacious?
"Bold? I work for the leader of the Baixian Alliance; I stand tall and proud!"
"......"
The Seventh Young Master Zhao Jingfan's reply left Yan Wushuang speechless.
Zheng Fa could understand:
Yan Wushuang and Xie Qingxue, in terms of identity, status, and talent, were leagues ahead of Zhao Jingfan.
In fact, Yan Wushuang had probably seen Zhao Jingfan before, but it seemed he had no impression of him, which showed just how vast the gap was; Zhao Jingfan likely didn't even register on his radar.
But...
While Yan Wushuang and his companion were playing a dangerous game in the Tianhe Sect, filled with trepidation and sleepless nights...
Zhao Jingfan, on the other hand...
"Wait a moment, I'll ask the sect leader!"
He seemed unwilling to back down, throwing down the words before he dashed off.
He left, but Yan Wushuang, upon seeing that message, remained silent for a long time, seemingly questioning his own life as a spy.
Even Xie Qingxue couldn't help but chime in:
"Zhao Daoyou... truly makes others envious."
From Zhao Jingfan's immediate decision to consult the sect leader, everyone could see that his life in the Qingmu Sect was quite comfortable.
Though Yan Wushuang felt a bit provoked, he was actually doing okay; he had just been feeling a bit stifled lately. But Xie Qingxue had it worse—she, a chatterbox, had been reduced to a high and aloof flower.
Zheng Fa thought that Xie Qingxue now looked at Zhao Jingfan like a middle-aged man, beaten down by life, gazing at a vibrant twenty-year-old youth—
Clearly, the other had neither money nor career, yet looking at him, one couldn't help but feel inexplicably envious.
The preciousness of youthful ambition lies in the fact that when you look at this person, you realize he truly hasn't been battered by the world.
Zhao Jingfan had no idea he was deeply envied by the esteemed senior sister of the Tianhe Sect.
He had faced some hardships himself and had even resolved earlier to manage the Zhao family well, taking on the responsibilities of the family head.
But life is unpredictable...
In the Baixian Alliance, his surname is Zheng!
Not only is the Baixian Alliance associated with the Zheng family, but Zheng Fa now stood on equal footing with the five major sects of Xuanwei!
Everyone knew that Zhao Jingfan and Zheng Fa had a good relationship.
Now, his status in the sect had visibly risen.
He didn't quite understand why, despite his determination to rely on his own efforts.
Yet, his pace of self-improvement was far outstripped by the rapid ascension of his family's influence...
Zhao Jingfan hurriedly found the sect leader, Song.
Song was busy handling sect affairs; the Qingmu Sect was in a bit of a dire situation. Thanks to the Great Freedom Demon Emperor, the sect was once again in a state of disarray...
This had kept Song extremely busy lately.
When Zhao Jingfan arrived, Song was scolding an unfortunate Golden Core disciple: "What’s going on? The herb garden still isn’t fixed?"
"Leader... fixing the garden is easy, but the spiritual herbs in the garden..." The disciple lowered his head, stammering, "We can't gather them all."
Zhao Jingfan immediately understood—
The Qingmu Sect was out of money!
With the emergence of the Great Freedom Demon Cult, they had taken a hit, but at that time, it wasn't too bad: because the Jiushan Sect had initially blocked them, the Qingmu Sect had time to sort out their resources and save some assets when they retreated.
But when the Great Freedom Demon Emperor returned, it was a different story.
By then, the sect had just invested heavily in repairing the mountain gate and organizing the herb garden, using a lot of resources and spirit stones.
Then the Great Freedom Demon Emperor showed up, and everything went down the drain.
Seeing those shocking bills had made Song's mood quite difficult to bear.
As he scolded the disciple mercilessly, he waved his hand, as if shooing him away: "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and get it done!"
Zhao Jingfan paused, hesitating—he was somewhat perceptive.
The leader was busy and in a bad mood; it didn’t seem like a good time to ask him anything.
But at that moment, Song had already sensed Zhao Jingfan's presence.
"Jingfan? You’re looking for me? Is there something you need?"
Before Zhao Jingfan could speak, Song smiled and asked.
The disciple hadn’t left yet, and he watched as the leader's expression shifted from winter to spring, his eyes wide, seemingly suffering a greater shock.
Zhao Jingfan didn’t speak right away; he performed a proper bow. His status as a mere underachiever was almost an open secret, or rather, he felt a bit like an imperial envoy...
Yet, the more he felt this way, the more respectful he became in front of others.
After bowing, he explained his purpose in detail.
"The Qingling Dan..." Song stroked his chin, frowning, "What do you want to know?"
"......"
……
"The leader has checked some of his treasured texts and found a piece of information!"
"What information?"
Zheng Fa and Xiao Yuying perked up.
Although the Qingmu Sect's foundation wasn't deep, Song was a Nascent Soul cultivator and definitely a pillar in the Xuanwei realm, well-versed and knowledgeable in alchemy.
One could say his insights and understanding of alchemy were likely superior to all the alchemists in their circle combined.
"The formula for the Qingling Dan has indeed been altered."
"The leader said he heard that the previous formula included a spiritual plant called Rongshenhua, which has since been replaced."
Zhao Jingfan's words made Zheng Fa furrow his brow.
Rongshenhua?
Isn't that the Wuxing Orchid?
"Does your leader know when this formula was changed?"
"He's not sure about that either..."
"Rongshenhua..." Xiao Yuying pondered for a moment, then waved her hand.
Suddenly, many jade tubes appeared in the hall.
"I remember seeing records of this spiritual plant before, but I didn’t pay much attention." As Xiao Yuying spoke, she searched through the jade tubes, and after a while, she said, "Found it!"
"Here’s one with Rongshenhua!"
"This one has it too!"
There were four or five jade tubes containing records of Rongshenhua, which Xiao Yuying quickly selected.
However, there wasn't much noteworthy information in them, and they didn’t seem to have much to do with the Wuxing Orchid.
She looked at the four or five jade tubes, furrowing her brow as if deep in thought. After a while, she spoke: "These few jade tubes contain original records, which should all date back to the beginning of this era."
"Hmm?"
Zheng Fa was somewhat puzzled.
"In other words, the Rongshenhua spiritual plant only appeared at the beginning of this era; it seems it didn’t exist in the previous era, and I haven’t heard of it since."
Xiao Yuying explained, her tone carrying a hint of significance.
Upon hearing this, Zheng Fa felt a surge of excitement and spoke up:
"Changed its name?"
"Rongshenhua is the Wuxing Orchid?"
Xiao Yuying nodded slowly: "That’s quite likely."
Zheng Fa waved his hand, and an empty light screen appeared in the hall.
The name Wuxing Orchid first appeared on the screen, with an arrow pointing to the Qingling Dan, and the Qingling Dan was followed by Rongshenhua.
Next to Rongshenhua was a blank space, seemingly expressing Zheng Fa's hesitation.
He was sorting through the clues.
The Wuxing Orchid had been deliberately erased from history.
Yet, some elixirs genuinely required the Wuxing Orchid, such as the Qingling Dan:
This elixir had a large market, and many cultivators needed it, but improving the formula wasn’t something that could be done overnight.
Especially since some alchemists might rely on these few elixirs for their livelihood.
Thus, to avoid the taboo of the Wuxing Orchid, someone might have renamed it Rongshenhua and recorded it in the texts?
However, as the Wuxing Orchid became increasingly rare and the formula for the Qingling Dan was modified, the name Rongshenhua gradually lost its significance and even posed some risks, eventually fading from use.
From a temporal and logical standpoint, this made sense.
But it lacked a complete chain of evidence, or rather, solid proof.
The solid proof was soon found.
Starting from Rongshenhua, they re-searched the previous materials and quickly made new discoveries.
Table of Contents
