Chapter 23

More than a month passed quickly, and before he knew it, it was once again time to transplant the young medicinal plants.

This time, the date for transplanting the medicinal plants did not change as it had last time. It followed the usual custom and was set for the end of the month.

Three days after transplanting the medicinal plants, Manager Zhao left the herb garden he had stayed in for over half a year, heading to his post with a carriage from Liangcheng.

Before leaving, Manager Zhao ordered a full course meal from the Tongfu Inn, which served as a farewell dinner for leaving the herb garden.

During the meal, Manager Zhao once again gave detailed instructions to Ding Qi about the herb garden and informed him of other necessary matters before he felt at ease to leave.

"Manager Zhao said that there wouldn't be a new outer sect member to take over the herb garden in the short term, which seems to be true." A few days later, after returning from a meal at the Tongfu Inn, Ding Qi thought to himself.

Manager Zhao had already been gone from the herb garden for several days.

The herb garden was originally remote, and even with others around, it still felt spacious. Now, with only Ding Qi living there, it felt even more secluded.

Especially at night, the entire herb garden seemed to be completely detached from the secular world.

However, Ding Qi did not dislike this; he even quite enjoyed it.

Manager Zhao had been gone for several days, and the Qingyun Sect had yet to send news of a new outer sect member. Although Ding Qi was somewhat concerned, he was not surprised.

When leaving, Manager Zhao had already told Ding Qi that this situation might occur.

"The struggle for the position of sect leader within the Qingyun Sect has reached its most critical point. During this period, they probably don't have the time to care about the minor matter of dispatching an outer sect member," Ding Qi couldn't help but shake his head as he thought.

He learned from Manager Zhao that the internal struggle within the Qingyun Sect had entered a critical phase.

Now, everyone in the Qingyun Sect was focused on the upcoming battle to determine the new sect leader, and other matters were put aside, to be dealt with only after the new leader was chosen.

This included the matter of assigning a new outer sect member to the herb garden where Ding Qi was.

Although only Ding Qi remained in the herb garden, it did not affect his life. He continued to follow his plan, going up the mountain to gather herbs and practice the先天功 (Xiantian Gong).

After achieving the first level of Xiantian Gong and discovering its miraculous effects on his body, Ding Qi made every effort to practice it whenever he could.

Today, he ate as quickly as possible at the inn and then hurried back to the herb garden to continue his routine practice.

After initially experiencing the unique effects of Xiantian Gong, over the past few days, Ding Qi discovered that the cultivation method enhanced not only his vision but also his other senses.

This discovery made him very happy.

With the increase of Xiantian Gong's true qi in his body, especially after achieving the first level, he found it easier to search for the Fengwei grass.

Through his recent mountain excursions, Ding Qi estimated his current rate of gathering herbs.

On average, he was now able to collect three Fengwei grass plants per day.

As the number of Fengwei grass plants in his possession increased again, a few days before Manager Zhao left, Ding Qi went to Liangcheng once more, sold them, and bought a main ingredient for refining pills from a pharmacy in Liangcheng.

Thinking about this, Ding Qi returned to his house in the herb garden and soon entered into the practice of Xiantian Gong.

In the following days, Ding Qi continued to practice and go up the mountain to gather herbs.

One day, when Ding Qi returned from the mountain, his face was filled with an excitement that was quite different from usual.

This kind of smile usually only appeared when he gathered much more Fengwei grass than usual. However, in the past two months, even on the days when he gathered the most, he had never been this happy.

Upon returning to Qixia Town, he did not go to the inn to eat as usual but returned directly to the herb garden.

In the house, Ding Qi excitedly took off the basket he had been carrying on his back, opened the basket lid, and took out a pale purple tuber about the size of half a palm.

Looking at the lumpy tuber in his hand, Ding Qi's smile grew even wider.

Today, he found three Fengwei grass plants in the forest, which was not particularly many, just an average amount. The reason for his current excitement was the unremarkable tuber in his hand.

This tuber was something Ding Qi discovered by chance while searching for Fengwei grass in the mountains today. Although the tuber looked unremarkable, the serious attitude with which Ding Qi treated it revealed that it was not an ordinary thing.

In fact, the pale purple tuber in Ding Qi's hand was called Zizhi, a rather precious medicinal herb.

Compared to the old ginseng he had bought from a pharmacy in Liangcheng a while ago, this Zizhi was even more valuable.

In addition to Fengwei grass, Qixia Mountain also produced precious herbs like ginseng. These perennial herbs grew deep in the forest, and the herbs in the outer areas had long been picked clean, making them very difficult to find. Only herbs like Fengwei grass, which wither and flourish annually, were not completely picked.

Ding Qi's discovery of a Zizhi by chance this time was indeed very lucky.

Looking at the Zizhi in his hand, Ding Qi felt happy, and his mind began to work: "This Zizhi has been growing for over ten years, making it quite precious. I need to carefully consider how to use it."

Due to his responsibility for the herb garden, Ding Qi had a good grasp of herbal knowledge. Determining the age of herbs was something he could do without difficulty, as it was recorded in the herbal notes he had read.

Based on his judgment, the Zizhi in his hand was about ten years old.

"I remember that none of the pill formulas recorded on the brocade seemed to require Zizhi," Ding Qi thought.

The pill formulas recorded on the brocade were quite complex, and although Ding Qi had read them many times, he had not memorized all the ingredients required. Now, he was unsure whether he needed Zizhi for his pill-making.

Thinking about this, Ding Qi took out the brocade from his pocket.

Unfolding the brocade, he carefully examined the section with the pill formulas.

"Indeed, none of the pill formulas require Zizhi," Ding Qi thought as he put the brocade away.

After understanding this, he had a plan for the Zizhi in his hand.

He intended to sell the Zizhi to buy the ingredients needed to refine pills that would aid his cultivation.

"I already have two of the main ingredients needed for refining pills. If I sell this Zizhi, I should be able to gather all the ingredients needed for refining the pills," Ding Qi thought, his face showing great anticipation and excitement.

The next day, Ding Qi took the Fengwei grass he had gathered over the past few days and the ten-year-old Zizhi and headed to Liangcheng again.

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