Lu Yun answered that it took nine months, and the old man had an 'as expected' expression.
The old man then continued, "I've roughly explained the common knowledge of the Cultivation World to you. If you have any other questions, you can ask them now. I'll be going on a long trip in a few days."
Lu Yun asked curiously, "What Realm is above the Qi Refinement Stage?"
The old man glanced at Lu Yun and said, "It's Foundation Establishment, but your Aptitude is extremely poor; you won't reach Foundation Establishment in your lifetime. Only upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage can one truly be considered to have entered the inner sanctum of Cultivators."
Lu Yun then asked, "What is Master's Cultivation now?"
The old man glanced at him and said, "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."
The old man saw that Lu Yun didn't seem to have any more questions, so he spoke.
"Go Cultivate. There are many houses over there; you can live in whichever one you like. You can also browse any of the books here freely."
Lu Yun, a little unconvinced, stubbornly said, "Thank you for your guidance, Master. I refuse to believe I can't reach the Foundation Establishment Stage in my lifetime. I will definitely work even harder to Cultivate."
He then cupped his fists in a bow and headed out of the main hall. The old man watched Lu Yun's retreating figure and muttered, "I've never seen anyone with Five Spiritual Roots Cultivate to the Foundation Establishment Stage in my life."
Lu Yun found a small, south-facing courtyard in the residential area, carried his belongings inside, and discovered that the living conditions here were far superior to those in the newcomer area.
Inside, there were three rooms: a bedroom, a kitchen, and a storage room.
The bedroom had a bed, a table, a stool, and a bronze mirror; all daily necessities were available, which was truly good.
He looked at the elite Disciple uniform; the fabric was much finer than the Gray-Robed Disciples' uniform. It fit perfectly, and looking in the mirror, he felt much more handsome.
As the Eternal Life Art broke through to Level 2 Qi Refining, a faint sheen seemed to flow on his skin, and Lu Yun's facial features became increasingly attractive.
His facial features were very comfortably proportioned, giving him a feeling of five parts ruggedness, three parts handsomeness, and two parts refined beauty.
Moreover, Cultivating here was more convenient; he didn't have to worry about being disturbed. As he had nothing else to do, he took out the bottle of Medicinal Pills the old man had given him and began to study it.
"This thing can assist in Cultivation. Let's try it."
Then Lu Yun sat cross-legged, took out a pill, and put it in his mouth. It melted instantly, and a pure energy coursed through his limbs and bones, making his Meridians feel distended and painful.
He immediately circulated the Eternal Life Art Cultivation Technique, guiding that energy into his Dantian. It wasn't until the afternoon that the Medicinal Pill's energy was completely absorbed.
Opening his eyes and sensing it, Lu Yun was immediately overjoyed, "These Medicinal Pills are truly good things! Just this small pill can equal nearly a month of arduous Cultivation. It's truly incredible."
After Cultivating for a day, he was hungry. Lu Yun then got up and went directly to the mess hall, wanting to see what there was to eat.
Upon arriving at the mess hall, he saw that although the scale was much smaller, the food was very exquisite.
There were three Gray-Robed Disciples eating in the mess hall, and they were all surprised to see Lu Yun enter.
They wondered in their hearts if anyone still came to this godforsaken place; they had been here for several years.
They had only seen Eastern Custodian come to eat a few bites twice, and no one else. Today, not only did someone come, but it was also an elite Disciple.
The few of them were a bit uneasy, stood up, and respectfully saluted, saying, "Greetings, Senior Brother."
In the Green Dragon Gang, there was a rule that lower-ranking Disciples had to call higher-ranking Disciples "Senior Brother," and servants were no exception.
Lu Yun smiled and asked, "Is there anything to eat?"
One of the young men with a big head and large ears quickly said, "Yes, yes, yes."
Lu Yun was delighted to hear this and said, "Give me a serving."
He then directly sat down with them.
However, seeing their uneasy expressions, Lu Yun curiously asked, "You seem very surprised to see me. Is there something on my face?"
A thin man quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, it's because we haven't seen a stranger in this place for several years." Another person also quickly nodded.
The thin man continued, "The three of us mainly serve the Eastern Custodian, but since coming here, the Eastern Custodian has only come twice, and then never again."
At this moment, the fat man brought the food. Lu Yun looked at it and thought to himself, "These dishes are really substantial. There's braised pork, roast chicken, and snake soup; my appetite instantly surged."
Eating, he said, "You all eat too." Seeing that he was an elite Disciple, none of them dared to pick up their chopsticks.
Lu Yun ate and said, "My identity is the Disciple of the Eastern Custodian you mentioned.
I might come here to eat often in the future, so don't be too nervous. Eat as you normally would.
By the way, what are your names? We'll be interacting a lot in the future."
The thin man quickly introduced, "I'm Liu Da Pang, that fat man is Liu Xiao Shou, we're biological brothers, and this guy is Zhang Chong."
Lu Yun was dumbfounded, looking at the two and saying, "Your two names... I... Zhang Chong's name is quite normal."
The thin Liu Da Pang explained with a wronged expression, "There was nothing we could do. When we were little, I was very fat, and Liu Xiao Shou was very thin. Who knew we'd grow up like this?"
After eating, Lu Yun returned to continue Cultivating. The next morning, he went to the main hall to greet his Master, the old man.
After going there, he searched for a long time but couldn't find the old man. Finally, he saw a note left by the old man on the table.
It read: "I have gone wandering. It will be at least a year and a half, or as long as three, five, or ten years.
My collection of books contains many medical texts. You can read them in your free time.
From now on, if anyone from Medicine Valley comes for treatment, you handle it. Don't bother with minor cases, but you can try to treat high-ranking members of the gang. It's fine if you can't cure them."
Lu Yun finished reading and directly blurted out an expletive, "What the hell!" This old man was too ruthless. He had just taken him as a Disciple, hadn't taught him anything, and was already gone?
There was nothing to be done. In the following days, Lu Yun Cultivated every night, read medical books during the day, and when he got bored, he practiced the martial arts techniques the old man had collected, leading a leisurely life.
Since practicing the Eternal Life Art, even if he didn't sleep after Cultivating at night, he was still very energetic during the day. Lu Yun found that Cultivation was more effective than sleeping.
This kind of life continued for about half a year. Lu Yun used the Medicinal Pills given by the old man to raise his Cultivation to Level 3 Qi Refining.
Upon reaching Level 3 Qi Refining and having no more Medicinal Pills, Lu Yun felt that simply meditating and Cultivating every day had a negligible impact on his Cultivation progress.
His Cultivation progress was too slow. Lu Yun estimated that at this rate, it would take five to eight years to reach Level 4 Qi Refining. He had to find a way.
One day, Protector Zhang came to Medicine Valley and respectfully called out at the entrance, "Is the Eastern Custodian in?" He asked three times, but no one answered.
Lu Yun heard someone calling, went out to look, and found that the person was Protector Zhang.
Protector Zhang, seeing someone had come, quickly asked, "Is the Eastern Custodian in?"
Lu Yun replied, "The Eastern Custodian has gone wandering. He left about half a year ago."
Protector Zhang's face immediately turned incredibly grim upon hearing this, and he anxiously said, "This is bad! What can be done...?"
Vice Leader Wang was the leader of their faction. If Vice Leader Wang had an accident, their faction would be finished.
Lu Yun, seeing Protector Zhang's anxious look, immediately asked, "Did something happen?"
Protector Zhang, in a low mood, casually said, "Yesterday, we went to war with the Blood Sabre Sect. Many people in the gang died, and even more were injured. I didn't expect the Eastern Custodian to go wandering at this time.
Now, Vice Leader Wang is severely injured and urgently needs treatment. If it's delayed, his life might be in danger."
Hearing this, Lu Yun hesitated for a moment and said, "What kind of injury does Vice Leader Wang have? I am the Eastern Custodian's apprentice. As long as it's not too severe, I should be able to treat it."
Protector Zhang's eyes lit up upon hearing this and he said, "Can you really treat it?"
Lu Yun helplessly said, "You need to tell me Vice Leader Wang's current situation."
Protector Zhang quickly said, "When Vice Leader Wang was fighting against Vice Sect Leader Li of the Blood Sabre Sect, he was ambushed by Protector Liu of the Blood Sabre Sect with poisoned darts.
He suffered from poison and severe internal injuries. Can you treat him, young brother?"
Lu Yun pondered for a moment and said, "For the specific situation, let's discuss it after I see Vice Leader Wang. I'll go get my medicine box in a moment."
Based on Protector Zhang's description, Lu Yun went into the old man's main hall, took out various bottles and jars of healing and detoxifying medicine that the old man had refined, and then left.
Soon, Lu Yun and Protector Zhang went together to Vice Leader Wang's home.
On the way, Lu Yun chatted with Protector Zhang and said, "Protector Zhang might have forgotten, but I was the one you brought into the Green Dragon Gang two years ago."
Protector Zhang was stunned to hear this: "Really?"
Lu Yun smiled and nodded.
Protector Zhang exclaimed, "Indeed, heroes emerge from the young!"
Lu Yun smiled and said, "I still have to thank Protector Zhang for that."
Protector Zhang quickly shook his head and said, "You're too kind, too kind."
While they were talking, they arrived outside Vice Leader Wang's residence.
