Nie Kong’s spiritual sense enveloped the entire medicinal garden, and in an instant, what appeared in his mind was no longer individual herbs, but clusters of vital energy of varying strengths. The spiritual sense swept across the garden at an astonishing speed; in less than a minute, the entirety of the medicinal garden had been meticulously scanned.

“Nothing?”

Nie Kong frowned slightly. The vital energy of the nearly ten thousand herbs across three hundred and sixty varieties showed no anomaly whatsoever. After a moment of contemplation, Nie Kong’s vast spiritual sense once again covered the garden, this time also encompassing Mu Chonglou, who stood beside him.

Immediately afterward, Nie Kong subtly extracted Mu Chonglou’s aura from around him, condensed it into a mass, then netted that mass of Mu Chonglou’s aura with his spiritual sense, and swept across the garden once more.

Nie Kong tested every single herb with Mu Chonglou’s aura.

Compared to the previous scan, this method demanded significantly more energy and time. Not long after, the red candle in Mu Chonglou’s hand had burned down by nearly half. Seeing Nie Kong’s focused demeanor, a slight smile naturally surfaced on Mu Chonglou’s deeply lined face.

Though this was their first meeting, Mu Chonglou had taken quite a liking to Nie Kong, genuinely regarding him as a junior in the same vein as Mu Hongling and Mu Xiaoling. If the favor were within his capacity, Mu Chonglou would never refuse, but what Nie Kong intended to do seemed utterly preposterous.

Those Seventh-Grade Spirit Alchemists were one thing, but how had the other eight Medicine Kings achieved their current standing if not through immense capability and profound experience?

No matter how outstanding Nie Kong’s innate talent might be, the hope of surpassing those veterans in the path of alchemy was exceedingly slim. Rather than letting Nie Kong suffer a setback in front of those old fogeys, it was better to temper his youthful arrogance right here, making him realize the difficulty and retreat. If Nie Kong still harbored the same ambition after a few years of tempering, Mu Chonglou would certainly not stand in his way.

“Hmm?”

After another while, Nie Kong felt a stirring in his heart. In the northeastern corner of the garden, a rather peculiar herb was planted; there were ten stalks in total. Each stalk bore a single, thick, black leaf about the size of a palm, yet it resembled the cacti of his previous life, its surface densely covered with small, protruding spines.

When Nie Kong guided Mu Chonglou’s aura toward one of the herbs, the vitality within it radiated a sense of untamed defiance. In contrast, the preceding herbs, upon contact with Nie Kong’s own aura, had shown varying degrees of closeness. This distinction was striking.

To be certain, Nie Kong tested the remaining nine herbs; they were all equally untamable.

“It’s this one!”

Nie Kong’s eyes snapped open, his brow suddenly relaxing, a smile appearing on his face. “Great-Grand Ancestor, please follow me.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Nie Kong strode toward the northeast corner of the garden.

“You found it?”

Seeing the direction Nie Kong was heading, Mu Chonglou paused in surprise and quickly followed his steps.

In less than a minute, the two stopped, one ahead of the other, beside a small patch of earth. Watching Nie Kong gaze upon the ten black-leaved plants, Mu Chonglou could only chuckle, “Little fellow, I didn’t expect you to actually find them. These ten stalks of ‘Ink Heart Thorns’—I dug them out of a crevice fifty years ago. I’ve watered them for half a century, and I couldn’t make them feel close to me. For you to accomplish that will be very difficult.”

“Difficult to some, easy to others,” Nie Kong replied with a cryptic smile. He raised his right palm, and fine threads of the Natural Origin Power seeped out, covering the small patch of earth in mere seconds.

Under Nie Kong’s subtle guidance, the Origin Power quietly permeated the interior of the ten ‘Ink Heart Thorns.’

“Nourishing them with spiritual energy?”

Although Mu Chonglou had sealed his own spiritual power, he was, after all, a Celestial Spirit realm expert, and he could faintly sense the energetic fluctuations above the ‘Ink Heart Thorns.’ After a brief moment of astonishment, he couldn't help but shake his head inwardly; such a method was useless for medicinal herbs.

However, the very next moment, Mu Chonglou was stunned rigid. The leaves of the ten ‘Ink Heart Thorns’ actually swayed slightly toward Nie Kong.

“What’s happening?”

Mu Chonglou knew this was no trick of his aging eyes, as the second wave of movement from the ‘Ink Heart Thorns’ began immediately, followed by a third, a fourth… The ten leaves shook faster and faster. Mu Chonglou, who had lived alongside these herbs for decades, could now distinctly feel their joy.

Moreover, woven into this joyous emotion, there was a faint thread of dependence. This little fellow had actually succeeded, and he had done so under conditions far surpassing what Mu Chonglou could offer.

Dependence and closeness—these two states were vastly different realms.

The other herbs in the garden were close to him, but none had reached the level of dependence. These ten ‘Ink Heart Thorns,’ however, wouldn’t even consent to being close to him, remaining defiant for fifty years. Yet, this young man, Nie Kong, had instantly inspired dependence in them.

How could the gap be so immense?

Unconsciously, the hoe resting on his shoulder slipped and fell to the ground. Mu Chonglou stared, unblinking, at the happily swaying ‘Ink Heart Thorns,’ a sudden, sour feeling, like that of a bitter orange, welling up in his chest—it was as if a son he had raised for fifty years had suddenly abandoned him to call someone else ‘Father.’

A moment later, Nie Kong retracted his right palm, ceasing the supply of Origin Power, and turned to Mu Chonglou with a smile. “Great-Grand Ancestor, what do you think?”

“Amazing!”

Mu Chonglou finally snapped back to attention, slapping his forehead in frustration. “Little fellow, how did you manage that? These ten ‘Ink Heart Thorns’ are notoriously stubborn; I worked at them for decades and couldn't make a dent. You managed to charm them just by using a bit of spiritual energy?”

Mu Chonglou keenly observed that even after Nie Kong stopped, the Ink Heart Thorns displayed an expression of reluctant longing. Truly, comparing men was infuriating.

“Great-Grand Ancestor, my spiritual energy is not ordinary spiritual energy.” As he spoke, Nie Kong took Mu Chonglou’s hand and guided a wisp of Natural Origin Power into it.

“This is…”

Mu Chonglou savored the sensation for a moment, his face turning ashen with shock. After a long while, he finally nodded. “I understand. Little fellow, your power contains a trace of Fire Spiritual Energy and elemental essence. Using power like this for alchemy, even for an Eighth-Grade Spirit Medicine, the success rate could easily exceed eighty percent. Let’s go, follow me to the study.”

“Great-Grand Ancestor, I have what you need right here.” Nie Kong pulled out a sheet of white paper and a self-made pencil from his robes.

“You little rascal, you even prepared this!” Mu Chonglou was startled, then burst into hearty laughter. He took the paper and writing stick, scribbling rapidly.

A few minutes later, Nie Kong took back the paper and pen passed to him by Mu Chonglou, carefully tucking them into his robes. He then saw Mu Chonglou looking at him with pursed lips and flashing eyes. Hastily, Nie Kong reached into his robe and produced a ‘Spirit Returning Jade Token,’ presenting it with a beaming smile. “Great-Grand Ancestor, inject your spiritual power into this, and it will guide you into the Spirit Mansion.”

Only then did Mu Chonglou display a satisfied smile, sighing profoundly. “Little fellow, the Tianling Continent currently has exactly ten Medicine Kings!”

Nie Kong smiled. “Great-Grand Ancestor, once you enter the Spirit Mansion, you will discover that the Tianling Continent does not have ten Medicine Kings, but eleven!”

“Oh? And who is the eleventh?” Mu Chonglou was momentarily stunned.

“Her name is Mu Wanqing, and she comes from the Yin Ruins.”

“…”

…… ……RO