Chapter 523: Are You a Pig?

Everyone was stunned, and Lu Zhan, standing to the side, was even more startled, almost fainting on the spot.

He didn't know the others, but he had just been speaking with this fellow. How... in the blink of an eye, he had run off to grope around in the medicine garden?

If you don't understand how to tend medicinal herbs, you can ask. Even if you don't ask, seeing that so many people haven't touched them, couldn't you think about why?

Touching the Earth Pulse Spirit Vine was one thing—it's huge, and even if you cut it a couple of times, it wouldn't die. But those spiritual medicines... you absolutely must not touch them!

Just as he was anxiously thinking how to help explain, he saw the young man turn around, clap his hands, and look over with a calm expression.

"Oh, I wanted to see if I could treat this Earth Pulse Spirit Vine!"

"Treat?" Lu Zhan felt like spitting blood.

You hold a revered status, even Four-Star Masters are wary of you, but... we just chatted for a while, and you know nothing about tending medicine. If this thing could be treated just by touching it casually, then these medicine-tending families wouldn't need to exist!

If you want to touch, just touch; if you're curious, say you're curious. Why say you're treating it?

Can't you see that so many people are powerless?

"What big talk!"

"Who are you? Spouting nonsense here? If it were that simple to treat, Elder Liu, Elder Lu, and the others would have given suggestions long ago. Why would a brat like you need to spout off?"

"Where did this guy come from? Medicine Master Chen, is he one of your people?"

"I don't know him..."

Sure enough, at his words, everyone started murmuring, snorting coldly one after another.

With so many medicine-tending experts unable to identify the disease, what could a fellow under twenty see?

Truly brazen!

Garden Master Xue was also startled. Frowning, she looked over doubtfully: "Have you noticed something?"

"I have noticed a little, but... there might be something that requires Garden Master Xue's cooperation."

The young man said.

"Cooperation? Speak. If I can do it, I will." Garden Master Xue nodded.

Though she shared the same thoughts as everyone else and didn't hold much hope for this person, she still wanted to give it a try.

"Alright then..."

The young man looked a bit embarrassed and gave an awkward smile: "Could you... throw a couple of punches for me to see?"

"Throw punches?"

Garden Master Xue was stunned.

The others also stood frozen.

They thought there would be some request, but instead he wanted Garden Master Xue to throw punches!

Aren't you here to look at the Earth Pulse Spirit Vine? What does throwing punches have to do with it?

It sounds like you're teasing a monkey... throw a couple of punches, and I'll toss you a peach...

"How dare you! Are you making fun of the Garden Master?"

"You're asking for death!"

Clatter!

Several young disciples from medicine-tending families surrounded him.

Garden Master Xue was a famous figure throughout the entire Ten Thousand Nations City, and the master of the First Medicine Garden. Asking her to throw a couple of punches, as if playing around... were you deliberately provoking her?

"Everyone, hold on. There must be some misunderstanding..."

Lu Zhan couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward.

This Brother Zhang was very likely a Four-Star Master. Not to mention these people, even his grandfather wouldn't dare offend him.

"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? What does treating the Earth Pulse Spirit Vine have to do with Garden Master Xue throwing punches?" a young man snorted.

"This..." Lu Zhan was also baffled. He couldn't help but look at the young man before him: "Master Zhang, what exactly is going on..."

"Oh, I've already identified the ailment of this Earth Pulse Spirit Vine. I want to confirm it. Garden Master Xue just needs to throw a couple of punches for me to see," the young man said.

This person was, of course, Zhang Xuan.

Having studied it for a long time with his Eye of Insight, he had reached the same conclusion as everyone else: this spirit vine was not sick.

With no other choice, he touched it, and through the Library of Heaven's Path, he indeed noticed something wrong.

Then he touched several other medicinal herbs and found the same situation.

A guess arose in his mind, leading to this request.

"Master Zhang?"

Hearing the title, everyone frowned.

"Yes, this Brother Zhang is a master. Since he's doing this, he must have his reasons," Lu Zhan hurriedly said.

"A master?" Everyone was startled and looked over.

Since he was a master, mindful of his status, he shouldn't be speaking recklessly or talking nonsense!

Moreover, it was common for masters to watch people perform martial techniques. They just didn't understand what that had to do with the Earth Pulse Spirit Vine being sick.

"Fine!" Knowing he was a master, Garden Master Xue, though curious about his purpose, nodded.

Her inner energy surged, true qi flowing freely, and she threw a punch.

Crack!

Under her fist, the air produced a violent sonic boom like muffled thunder. The surrounding people felt a gust of wind nearly knock them over.

Though it was just an ordinary punch, it mobilized the power of heaven and earth, compressing the air into an explosion. In this respect, countless peak Mortal Ascension Realm Fourth Layer experts could not match her.

No wonder Alliance Leader Zhao was so wary. This Garden Master Xue's strength was indeed terrifying!

"Is this enough?"

After finishing the punch, Garden Master Xue withdrew her fist and stood quietly, looking over.

"Mm," Zhang Xuan responded, as if confirming something. He couldn't help shaking his head and looked over again, his face filled with indescribable sympathy: "I now fully understand the crux and problem of your Earth Pulse Spirit Vine! But before that, I just want to ask you one thing..."

Garden Master Xue and the others all looked over sharply.

With so many of them studying for so long without knowing, this master had determined it just by watching the Garden Master throw a punch...

Was that real?

They all pricked up their ears, afraid to miss anything, and then heard the young man's slightly sighing voice: "You... are you a pig?"

Pfft!

Garden Master Xue staggered, nearly exploding.

"What did you say?"

Boom!

The aura around her ignited like hot oil, ready to burst forth at any moment.

She was a famous expert of Ten Thousand Nations City, the master of the West City Medicine Garden. Even if you were a master, directly insulting her was unacceptable!

"He called Garden Master Xue a pig?"

"Didn't they say masters are reliable and don't talk nonsense?"

"I don't know either..."

...

The others watching from the side also widened their eyes, nearly going mad.

Directly cursing Garden Master Xue as a pig—this guy was not just bold; he was lawless to the extreme.

Lu Zhan almost bit his tongue.

Earlier, touching things randomly and calling yourself a master could still be explained away. But now, openly insulting her—how could he explain that?

If he had known this guy was so reckless, he wouldn't have claimed to know him.

Now he had provoked Garden Master Xue's fury. Who knew if she would hold a grudge against the Lu family...

Song Chao, who had been following behind the crowd, planning to exchange the mid-grade spirit stone back, also stiffened.

He was a Four-Star Master with excellent eyesight. Although Garden Master Xue had only shown one move, he could tell her strength was immense and her combat power boundless. Not even he, nor many of the sect elders, could surpass her!

Calling such a strong person a pig...

This Master Zhang really had guts.

Everyone's expressions varied, but they all thought this guy must be crazy.

"Don't rush. Let me finish!"

Seeing Garden Master Xue glaring with fury, ready to strike at any moment, Zhang Xuan was not anxious. He waved his hand calmly and pointed to an open space not far from the Earth Pulse Spirit Vine: "If I'm not mistaken, you often cultivate here, right?"

"That's right!"

Garden Master Xue nodded, but her anger had not subsided. It seemed that if not for his status as a master, she would have slapped him to death long ago.

Within the medicine field, surrounded by countless spiritual herbs, cultivating here calmed the mind and made breakthroughs easier.

"You mean the Earth Pulse Spirit Vine's condition is related to my cultivation?"

Frowning, Garden Master Xue snorted.

"Related? It's greatly related!" Zhang Xuan shook his head: "I'll tell you the cause now. This Earth Pulse Spirit Vine is actually not sick, nor is it infested with pests, nor is it withering. Instead... it has lost its spirituality and soul!"

"Spirituality and soul?"

Everyone stood frozen.

"All things have spirit. Spiritual-grade medicinal herbs, like spiritual weapons, have their own spirituality. As the treasure of the medicine garden, how could the Earth Pulse Spirit Vine distribute what each herb needs without this characteristic?"

Zhang Xuan said.

Everyone nodded.

When life reaches the spiritual grade, not only weapons but also plants and herbs have spirits.

This is where the term 'spiritual medicine' comes from.

It is precisely because of this spirituality that they reject cultivators with incompatible true qi, even causing death; that they grow only when hearing songs and dances; that they can identify virgins...

"Without spirituality, the Earth Pulse Spirit Vine loses its most important essence, naturally becoming deathly still and on the verge of death."

"It's true that a spiritual herb losing its spirituality, like a person losing their soul, will die quickly. But... what does that have to do with Garden Master Xue's cultivation?"

Everyone was puzzled.

"If I'm not mistaken, Garden Master Xue has been stuck at the Mortal Ascension Realm Fourth Layer, Turbid Purity Stage, for at least seventy or eighty years, right?" Without answering the question, Zhang Xuan looked over.

"Eighty-seven years," Garden Master Xue nodded.

"Eighty-seven years trapped in place—it's impossible not to want to break through. But the Mortal Ascension Realm Fifth Layer, Spirit Mergence Stage, is the first major difficulty among the nine layers. It requires the soul to fully merge with nature, achieving unity of spirit, to break through. Garden Master Xue's failure is not due to poor talent, but... your soul has been damaged!"

Zhang Xuan said.

"You, you... how do you know?" Garden Master Xue was stunned, her whole body rigid.

Moments ago, she had been furious and ready to kill this guy. Hearing this, the true qi she had built up dissipated, and she was filled with shock.

Her soul had indeed been damaged. Otherwise, with her talent, she would have broken through long ago. Why would she be stuck for eighty-seven years?

But... this matter was her secret, never shared with anyone. How did this person see it?

"Never mind how I know. You realized that with a damaged soul, you couldn't break through, but unlike others, you didn't lose heart. Instead, you sought other means to mend the injury."

"Somehow, you heard that the spirituality in spiritual herbs could supplement it. So you set up this medicine garden, raising herbs not for sale, but to absorb their spirituality and replenish your own soul!"

"A good idea, but you went wrong from the start. If the spirituality of plants could supplement a person's... wouldn't everyone be able to reach the Spirit Mergence Stage?"

Zhang Xuan looked over calmly, his eyes filled with disappointment: "As a great master of medicine tending, having been with spiritual herbs for so long, you still haven't seen through this..."

"If that's not being a pig, what is?"