Urban Martial Saint

The situation inside Medicine King Mountain is completely different from outside. It’s not only reflected in the rare medicinal herbs here but the most crucial point is that there’s actually a path up the mountain. Although it’s just a mountain path, it’s well-maintained; despite being on the mountain, it’s not very rugged, making it extraordinarily convenient for walking.

Looking at the mountain paths, Ye Qing was once again shocked. Medicine King Mountain has been closed off for decades, not to mention inside, even outside, the original paths have long been overtaken by various wild plants, making the paths completely invisible. But inside this deep mountain, the situation should be even more severe. Yet, who could have imagined that paths still exist here, and not a single weed grows on them, almost as if someone regularly tends to them.

How is this possible? Medicine King Mountain has been closed for so many years; it’s impossible for anyone to have entered. Even if someone were managing it, just imagine how many people it would take to keep such a vast mountain tidy with so many mountain paths.

Full of doubts, Ye Qing grew even more curious about Medicine King Mountain. He slowly walked along the mountain path, clearly seeing the paths bordered by tiered, segmented plots that resembled terraced fields. Within these fields, all kinds of rare herbs grew. Some of these herbs are undeniably priceless outside, but here on the mountain, they appear as common as weeds.

Looking at these herbs, Ye Qing couldn’t help but be amazed. Although Medicine King Mountain isn’t very tall, it spans a large area. The entire mountain is planted with rare herbs, which is not a simple undertaking. Not to mention growing these herbs, simply opening up such a vast mountain, planting herbs, and daily tending and watering them is not an ordinary project; you’d need hundreds of people to manage it.

Moreover, the key thing is, these herbs have different growth habits and require different environments. Even if Medicine King Mountain provides a great environment suitable for most herbs, what about the others? It’s not like growing wheat or corn, where you just scatter the seeds and remember to water and fertilize them.

Many herbs are precious because they have particularly unusual living habits. A simple example would be the Tianshan Snow Lotus, which only grows in Tianshan because it’s frost-resistant and can only thrive in such environments; it cannot grow elsewhere. Other herbs have various different requirements for geographical environment, temperature, and humidity. How Divine Doctor An Shiping managed to cultivate all these rare herbs on Medicine King Mountain is truly amazing.

Filled with confusion and awe, Ye Qing saw many rare herbs as he walked along. Most of them, he couldn’t even name. Just the ones Ye Qing recognized, combined together, far exceed the value of his current assets. The entire Medicine King Mountain’s value is truly immeasurable, really worthy of the saying ”priceless as a city”. Indeed, the value of this whole mountain might surpass that of an entire city!

Ye Qing finally understood why the Twelve Green Halls and Ning Qianshu held Medicine King Mountain in such high regard. Not to mention Divine Doctor An Shiping’s unparalleled legacy; merely the value of the herbs on Medicine King Mountain is incalculable.

As he walked along, deeply moved by the rare herbs, Ye Qing’s pace was not quick, almost like he was strolling as a tourist. Moreover, strangely enough, he hadn’t encountered anyone along the way. By rights, Shen Tianjun, a masked elder, and Bai Li Xi, would have long entered this mountain, yet he hadn’t seen them at all.

After walking for about twenty minutes, Ye Qing suddenly felt a chill. Though it was still winter, the mountain didn’t feel cold; it seemed as if spring arrived early. Ye Qing initially thought it was due to the dense mountain mist that retained the temperature, so he didn’t think much of it.

Now, this rush of cold made Ye Qing shiver inadvertently. Given Ye Qing’s current strength, this cold must be intense.

”What’s going on?” Ye Qing wondered, extending his hand to feel around, discovering that the cold emanated from the left.

Ye Qing turned to look, seeing a field planted with the relatively rare Trifoliate Lotus, nothing special. Yet the chill was vigorous, piquing Ye Qing’s curiosity further.

Taking two steps to the left, Ye Qing felt sure that the chill came from there. Standing at the field’s edge, he pondered before jumping into the herb field, heading toward the source of the cold to find out what was going on.

The field full of Trifoliate Lotus was indeed rare, so Ye Qing moved carefully, not daring to brush against them at all. These herbs are lifesaving, and they’re also Divine Doctor An Shiping’s life’s work, naturally, they shouldn’t be trampled.

After crossing the field, the chill intensified noticeably. Upon leaving the field, the gusts of cold forced Ye Qing to use Inner Strength to resist the chill. Honestly, the cold air made Ye Qing wonder if he had entered a frigid winter landscape. The cold seemed even more biting than the winters he experienced in the North.

What is happening? Why is everywhere else so warm, yet it’s so cold here?

With questions in mind, Ye Qing forged ahead. In this area were numerous fields planted with exceedingly rare herbs. Moreover, these herbs shared a commonality: they were cold-loving plants, thriving in colder environments. Obviously, this chilling air provided a conducive growing environment for these herbs.

After walking roughly two miles, snow traces began to appear underfoot. Looking ahead, the next seven or eight miles were completely snow-covered. Particularly striking was a snow-covered cliff, surrounded wholly by ice and snow. On the cliff grew cluster after cluster of Snow Lotus!

Ye Qing paused, rubbed his eyes forcefully, and looked closely. Indeed, they were Snow Lotus!

Ye Qing was utterly stunned; there’s Snow Lotus growing atop Medicine King Mountain? What is happening here? Isn’t this plant supposed to grow only in icy places?

Granted, the cliff’s area genuinely fits the description of an icy landscape. The air seemed turned into ice blocks, even someone of Ye Qing’s strength felt waves of chill here. With such an environment, growing Snow Lotus was unsurprising. But why is it so cold here?

Remembering the cold-loving plants he saw earlier, Ye Qing’s first thought was: Divine Doctor An Shiping purposefully created this frigid area to cultivate these cold-loving herbs.

But on second thought, isn’t that nonsense? Creating such a cold area here in an open space is impossible. The general environment and surrounding temperatures change with seasons. Although the mountain’s mist might make the internal temperature distinct from outside, this specific area’s temperature differs from other parts of the mountain, which is curious; how can that be?

Unless using modern methods to create a cold storage in a closed Space, achieving this icy setting wouldn’t be possible. But here, it’s completely open. How is the temperature maintained in this area? Could Divine Doctor An Shiping truly be divine, able to control temperature?

Ye Qing couldn’t figure out the reason behind it, driven by curiosity, he continued to walk forward. As he anticipated, the further he walked, the colder it got. At the cliff’s base, Ye Qing had to activate his entire Inner Strength to maintain his body temperature.

Arriving at the cliff base, Ye Qing finally saw the Snow Lotus on the mountain clearly.

During college, Ye Qing saw pictures of the Tianshan Snow Lotus. Later, in Acupoint Seeking Technique, he found many introductions concerning the Snow Lotus. Up close, Ye Qing was astonished. For this Snow Lotus wasn’t ordinary, but with four leaves, five petals, red stamens, and golden roots—this is the most precious among Snow Lotus, the Nine-Leaf Golden Dragon Blood Lotus!

The Acupoint Seeking Technique records that the Nine-Leaf Golden Dragon Blood Lotus is a rare anomaly, seen perhaps once in a hundred years. Its medicinal properties are truly remarkable; each leaf equates to a century-old ginseng. Moreover, the lotus petals are comparable to a two-hundred-year-old ginseng. If the entire Nine-Leaf Golden Dragon Blood Lotus could be used as medicine, its effects would rival that of the thousand-year-old mountain ginseng.

What exactly is a thousand-year-old mountain ginseng, Ye Qing really couldn’t comprehend. But he heard there was once a three hundred-year-old mountain ginseng sold for tens of millions. In fact, mountain ginseng over several decades is already incredibly rare, let alone a hundred-year-old ginseng. As for the thousand-year-old mountain ginseng, it’s the stuff of legends, never seen by anyone. Furthermore, a thousand-year-old mountain ginseng’s price isn’t comparable with three or four three-hundred-year-old ginsengs together. Because ginseng becomes more precious the longer it grows. The longer the time, the price multiples, not simply adding up the years. Indeed, one can boldly say a thousand-year-old mountain ginseng’s price easily surpasses ten or even twenty three hundred-year-old ginsengs combined.