That day, dozens of Medicine Gathering Hall disciples involved in the private armed brawl were caught red-handed by members of the Enforcement Squad. Among them were quite a few inner hall disciples who, upon being apprehended, loudly protested their innocence, claiming they weren't fighting privately but were ambushed and ganged up on by outer hall disciples. The caught outer hall disciples vociferously countered that the inner hall disciples had initiated the provocation and challenge, otherwise, they wouldn't have engaged them in combat.

The Enforcement Squad Captain, Xie Yun, refused to listen to any explanations, punishing every captured inner and outer disciple with thirty lashes for participating in unauthorized fighting. A whipping in the Medicine Gathering Hall was considered a relatively light penalty, though the physical pain was unavoidable.

As for the inner and outer hall disciples who managed to evade capture, they remained utterly silent about their involvement, having luckily escaped. Those who were caught dared not speak out either; betraying fellow sect members was a major taboo in the martial world, considered far more serious than unauthorized brawling.

This incident of private fighting among the young disciples of the Medicine Gathering Hall gradually subsided due to the strong suppression by the Enforcement Squad, and no one dared to easily bring up the matter of the martial contest that day in the outskirts.

Enforcement Squad Captain Xie Yun actually paid little mind to this internal scuffle; it was a minor issue, easily dealt with by punishment. What truly preoccupied him was the shame of being defeated by a mysterious master using a side kick, an event that deeply humiliated him.

He strongly suspected this mysterious master was not an outsider but one of the hall's own young disciples. Without showing his hand, he began a discreet investigation, sending certain young disciples within the hall who had practiced leg techniques to the training grounds to practice them, hoping to find some clue. In his estimation, this mysterious master must possess extremely profound mastery of leg techniques to execute that fleeting strike.

Unfortunately, Xie Yun was looking in the wrong direction. Because the true culprit had never practiced any leg technique manuals whatsoever.

Upon returning to Ziqi County, Ye Qin changed into a fresh set of plain blue robes and sequestered himself in the small stone dwelling within the courtyard designated for the Medicine Gathering Hall apprentice disciples, not stepping out of the door to focus entirely on his cultivation.

His unexpected encounter with Senior Brother Xie Yun had resulted in a minor but significant setback. Although he had seized the initial advantage through his exceptionally fast attack speed and the brief levitation provided by the Wind Control Art, Xie Yun possessed powerful protective True Qi. Upon being struck, this Qi automatically generated a repelling force, causing his leg to sustain some concussive bruising, resulting in swelling.

Fortunately, the injury was not severe. Ye Qin applied some herbs for dispersing bruises, regulated his breathing and circulation with his techniques, and the swelling in his leg gradually subsided.

The cultivation of the Sitting in Oblivion Sutra had a clear refining effect on Ye Qin's physique, greatly boosting his stamina and recovery abilities. Yet, this also left Ye Qin feeling quite helpless. The Sitting in Oblivion Sutra was not an internal art focused on offense or defense, but purely for nurturing the foundational vital energy required for immortal cultivation. If he possessed powerful offensive internal arts or moves, he would certainly never resort to such a basic technique when facing a first-rate master.

He couldn't help but muse inwardly. If he had learned the immensely destructive spell from Old Ghost Nan Tianba—the Fireball Art—he wouldn't need to worry about lacking offensive means to use against martial world experts.

It was a pity that the Old Ghost was deeply suspicious, fearing Ye Qin might turn against him, and thus refused to teach him such a lethal spell.

Ye Qin sighed with regret, abandoning the thought of acquiring the Fireball Art from the Old Ghost. He settled down to diligently cultivate the third layer of the Sitting in Oblivion Sutra: Sitting in Oblivion Without Self. He trusted that if he continued to master the Wind Control Art until it was flawless, he could still easily handle first-rate martial world masters even without the Old Ghost's Fireball Art.

In the ensuing days, Ye Qin maintained an extremely low profile. He only ventured out briefly at dawn and dusk to collect his rations from the kitchen before immediately returning. Yang Yicheng and Feng Xiao often ran out to join the excitement around the county, giving Ye Qin the perfect opportunity to cultivate undisturbed within his stone room.

What vexed Ye Qin somewhat was that after entering the third layer of the Sitting in Oblivion Sutra, his cultivation speed had begun to slow down considerably.

Despite being able to consume five Dew-Reducing Grass stalks daily, the requirement for Earth Vital Qi in the third layer of the Qi Refining stage was fully three times greater than the first layer. Compounded by Nan Tianba taking half of his daily Earth Vital Qi, his current rate of progress was actually slower than before.

This situation persisted for two days before Ye Qin could no longer sit still.

He recalled Nan Tianba mentioning the Dew-Reducing Pill. Dew-Reducing Grass could be refined into a Dew-Reducing Pill, a high-grade spiritual elixir used to enhance cultivation within the first three layers of the initial Qi Refining stage.

Surely, the vital energy effect of the Dew-Reducing Pill would be superior to simply consuming the raw Dew-Reducing Grass?

Ye Qin pondered the matter, deciding to set aside his resentment towards Nan Tianba for a moment. He entered the Purple Mansion to inquire if Nan Tianba knew the formula for this spiritual elixir.

Upon asking, Nan Tianba proudly declared that he had refined it personally and naturally knew the Dew-Reducing Pill formula. From him, Ye Qin learned that there was a significant difference between eating the raw Dew-Reducing Grass and consuming it after refining it into a spiritual elixir.

Eating the raw grass did enhance vital energy cultivation, but the amount of vital energy that could truly be absorbed was far less than when taken in elixir form, which maximized the medicinal efficacy.

For an ordinary Qi Refiner in the first layer, consuming raw Dew-Reducing Grass might require over a hundred stalks to reach perfection in the first layer, whereas with Dew-Reducing Pills, only a few dozen would suffice.

Although Dew-Reducing Grass was only a first-grade spiritual herb, it was not easy to cultivate.

The Nan family’s herb gardens had successfully cultivated only a few dozen plants, reserved specifically for laying the foundation for disciples just entering the first layer of Qi Refining; the quantity was scarce.

The optimal time to consume Dew-Reducing Pills was during the first and second layers of Qi Refining. By the third layer, the consumption rate became so high that it was no longer cost-effective. After passing the initial three layers and entering the middle stage of Qi Refining, the demand became immense, and practically no one indulged in consuming such a low-grade elixir to boost vital energy, opting instead for higher-tier elixirs.

This realization caused Ye Qin considerable heartache, knowing how many Dew-Reducing Grass stalks he had consumed previously by eating them raw.

The efficacy of the Dew-Reducing Pill was vastly superior to the raw grass. It could save a large quantity of Dew-Reducing Grass, thereby significantly reducing the amount of spirit stones he needed to dedicate to cultivating it.

He had been worrying that the Dew-Reducing Grass cultivated by one Azure Jade Pendant would barely last him ten days before he needed to secure more spirit stones, or his cultivation would halt again.

If he refined all that Dew-Reducing Grass into Dew-Reducing Pills, it would greatly alleviate the pressure of constantly searching for spirit stones.

Following their old agreement, a formula exchange for White Radiance: one Dew-Reducing Pill formula in exchange for ten days of White Radiance.

Ye Qin obtained the Dew-Reducing Pill formula from Nan Tianba and meticulously inquired about the alchemy process before leaving the Purple Mansion, preparing to begin refining the elixirs.

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