Regardless of whether the crowd offered willing assent or reluctant agreement, the matter of the Qingxin Hall finally concluded amidst an atmosphere of universal satisfaction.

Leaving You Li and Hua Zhan in Mu Wanjing’s care, Nie Kong took the opportunity to spend a good half of the day touring the Spirit Repository with Tai Hong, Tai Ji, and the little loli Ling Yan Luo. Only as dusk began to fall did the group return, sated with their outing, and Nie Kong retreated to his lodging near the Medicine Tower.

The night deepened, yet the attic remained brightly illuminated.

“Finally, Spirit Perception Ninth Grade!”

Feeling the surging power of the natural origin within his body, Nie Kong opened his eyes, a satisfied smile gracing the corners of his lips. With the medicinal integration at a full ten-tenths, there was no need to fear the harassment of inner demons during administration; the entire process of advancement was smooth sailing, occurring as a matter of course.

Nie Kong had refined the "Hollow Void Golden Elixir" yesterday precisely to shock those Spirit Apothecaries at the critical moment, eliminating any lingering resistance to his plans. Judging by the situation in the Qingxin Hall, the effect had been quite satisfactory.

Having acquired a vast collection of medicinal formulas from the various sects and noble families, the mission of the "Hollow Void Golden Elixir" was complete. Thus, upon returning to his quarters that evening, Nie Kong consumed it. The medicinal power of this spirit medicine was overwhelmingly potent; it took Nie Kong nearly two full hours to fully absorb it.

His cultivation instantly jumped from Spirit Perception Seventh Grade to Ninth Grade, placing him tantalizingly close to the Heavenly Spirit realm.

“Brother.”

Tai Yan approached Nie Kong, beaming. “I’ve re-copied all of their formulas.” As she spoke, she handed over the dozen or so scrolls in her hand, her bright, dark eyes twinkling as she looked at Nie Kong, clearly expecting praise.

Nie Kong took them and flipped through them rapidly, his smile widening. Tai Yan had copied these formulas with immense care, every stroke neat and tidy. What’s more, Tai Yan had even categorized the spirit medicines by grade and added the name of the originating sect or noble family beside them.

“Tai Yan, excellent work,” Nie Kong praised.

“Really?”

Tai Yan instantly burst into a joyous smile, delighted. “Brother, then you must reward me.” Tai Yan was clearly prepared; almost the instant the words left her mouth, the fiery red robe she wore retracted into her body, revealing her flawlessly mature physique without concealment.

“A reward?”

Nie Kong was momentarily stunned by the sight.

Before he could fully recover his senses, Tai Yan was already straddling his lap, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Her delicate, curvaceous body was inches from his view, and the faint, intoxicating fragrance wafting from her filled his senses, making his blood surge.

“Brother, no going back on your word.”

Tai Yan shifted her hips, her full, rounded buttocks rotating like millstones. Her high, plump peaks bounced before Nie Kong’s eyes, radiating an astonishing allure from her tender form, stirring a deep unrest in his lower belly, causing his entire being to boil.

After a period of intense passion, the attic finally returned to quietude.

Tai Yan kept her eyes partially closed, her delicate head resting against his chest, a look of deep contentment on her face. Though the battle was over, the exquisite sensation seemed to ripple continuously from within, leaving her body soft and motionless, as if she feared disturbing the lingering feeling.

At this moment, Nie Kong was deeply engrossed in deducing the properties of the formulas provided by the various sects and families.

One could never be too cautious; if those people had deliberately offered flawed formulas, and he foolishly gifted away Grade Seven spirit medicines, he would become the ultimate sucker. Every single one of these spirit medicine recipes, from the lowest single-ingredient formula up to the Grade Eight formulas, required Nie Kong to meticulously deduce.

Looking at them closely now, even Nie Kong couldn't help but marvel at the profound depth of these sects' heritage.

Take Grade One spirit medicines, for instance: the Heavenly Dao Sect possessed the "Water Candle Pill" to boost a Spirit Gathering Master from Grade Three to Five; the Immortal Hunting Sect had the "Young Flower Ice Leaf Dew" to advance from Grade Five to Six; the Shatu Royal Family had the "Beimu Pill" to elevate from Grade Eight to Nine… If one added the widely circulated "Spring Return Dew" across the Heavenly Spirit Continent, it seemed nearly every tier of cultivation could be advanced via a spirit medicine.

Once these formulas were published, the cultivation time for Spirit Gathering Masters could easily be halved. The situation was much the same for Grade Two and Grade Three medicines.

Nie Kong could clearly foresee that once his compendium was issued and distributed, every single Spirit Master on the Heavenly Spirit Continent would be chanting his name.

The thought of the immense benefits inherent in this made Nie Kong’s heart pound.

Others believed Nie Kong possessed noble integrity, daring to defy conventional wisdom by compiling this compendium; however, that was not entirely the case. While Nie Kong certainly intended to use the compendium to enhance the overall strength of the Heavenly Spirit Continent, beyond that, it also offered him massive personal gain.

If he could not benefit from this endeavor, why would Nie Kong exhaust himself challenging and inviting Spirit Apothecaries everywhere?

In the next moment, Nie Kong suppressed the excitement in his chest and allowed his mind to sink back into the deduction of the formulas.

Amidst the rustling sound of turning pages, time slipped quietly away.

Tai Yan finally surfaced from the lingering warmth of their intimacy, rubbing her smooth thigh against Nie Kong’s leg. She then tilted up her rosy face and asked with curiosity, “Brother, what name are you planning to give this compendium?”

“What name?”

Nie Kong blinked in surprise. All this time, his thoughts had been focused on how to defeat those skilled Grade Seven Spirit Apothecaries and Grade Eight Medicine Kings, and how to extract their secret medicinal formulas. He truly hadn't considered Tai Yan's question.

Tai Yan suggested, “How about just calling it the Compendium of Medicine?”

“No, that’s too plain,” Nie Kong rejected instantly without a second thought.

“Nie Kong’s Compendium of Medicine?” Tai Yan offered next.

“Also no good.” Nie Kong shook his head again. Once this compendium was released, there would be no need to append his name to the front to build recognition.

“Then how about… the Heavenly Spirit Compendium?”

“Doesn’t quite fit either.”

“The Compendium of Medicine Under Heaven?”

“Still not right.”

“Then what should it be called?” Tai Yan glared at Nie Kong, her cheeks puffed out slightly.

“……”

Nie Kong let out a soft laugh. This girl was circling around the same few words, unable to step outside the frame of ‘Compendium of Medicine.’ But what should it actually be called? Nie Kong’s mind raced, names flashing through and then being dismissed.

“Tai Yan, I’ve thought of it.” A strange smile suddenly appeared on Nie Kong’s face.

“Brother, hurry and tell me,” Tai Yan immediately brightened up again.

Seeing Tai Yan’s beautiful eyes fixed brightly upon him, a mischievous impulse struck Nie Kong. His right hand trailed down her spine, then deliberately began tracing patterns on her plump, snowy buttocks: “Tai Yan, Brother will test you. Let’s see if you can make out the characters.”

“...No—Brother, that tickles too much… I recognize the second character, it’s ‘Grass’… Brother, press harder, it won’t tickle… Gang… Mu… Ben Cao Gang Mu?”

“That’s right, it shall be called Ben Cao Gang Mu!”

“……”

…… ……RO