The two of them agreed on a time limit of six hours. After that, they motivated themselves and went to search.
What they relied on was eyesight or psychic power. They also relied on luck. Although Gu Zuo felt that his own luck definitely wasn’t as good as that of his big brother, psychic power was a bit more useful than eyesight. He believed that it was considered fair.
Besides, regardless of whether he won or lost, Gu Zuo thought…that both were very good outcomes.
Hence, whenever Gongyi Tianheng encountered an Earth Worm, he would reach out a hand and restrain it for Gu Zuo to kill. As for Gu Zuo himself, he also paid attention, and swiftly split apart his psychic power to fish out every one of those tree hollows.
Without realizing it, six hours had passed.
Tianheng plucked the final stone ovum, and lowered his hands.
At the same time, Gu Zuo put away his psychic power.
Tianheng held out his hand with a smile, and made a sweeping motion over the wide tree branch. In a split second, a pile of large and small ashen-white things appeared on the wide tree branch. They were precisely the stone ova that he obtained — From the moment the wager started, he placed the stone ova he collected himself inside the spatial bangle. This way, it was easy to differentiate.
Upon seeing this, Gu Zuo likewise stirred his consciousness, and put the stone ova he found on the other side of the tree branch. His pile was equally comprised of large and small ones.
At first glance, both of them found quite a lot of stone ova. The piles seemed indistinguishable.
Gu Zuo was a little nervous.
Tianheng simply said: “Why don’t we count?”
Gu Zuo had a serious look on his face: “Okay!”
The both of them started taking an inventory of their number of stone ova.
After a few breaths of time —
Tianheng said: “Twenty-three.”
Gu Zuo also said: “Twenty-three.”
Unexpectedly, there really weren’t any differences!
What were they going to do now? Could it be that there wouldn’t be a winner or a loser?
Gu Zuo was slightly out of sorts.
If it was a draw, then did that mean his hopes for bed-warming and the date went up in smoke? Maybe this was heavenly punishment for his crooked feelings. It would be a little too obvious if he suggested an overtime round just because it was a tie. After all, this was only an entertaining game between the two of them…
His heart struggled. And then, it struggled some more.
Afterwards, Gu Zuo steeled himself, and spoke with Tianheng: “Big brother, I made a hypothesis earlier.”
He talked about his speculation pertaining to dead ova and how to differentiate them. Then, he suggested: “This time around, we found lots of stone ova. What if I just cut open a few to give it a try? If what I said can be verified, not only can we determine the outcome of the competition based on the number of dead ova, it’ll also help with matters in the future. Big bother, how do you feel about it?”
Tianheng smiled and said: “Wonderful.”
Gu Zuo promptly rubbed his fists and wiped his palms. The quantity was one thing, but he didn’t believe that the quality would be the same, too!
I-if a winner and loser couldn’t be determined after all that, he would just… Gu Zuo’s face crumbled a little. He would have no other choice but to give up on what was at stake.
Though, it was simply too great of a psychological blow.
Tianheng let go of Gu Zuo. Then, the pair came to the front of those two piles of stone ova.
Gu Zuo took one of them.
Meanwhile, Tianheng paid attention to guarding against their surroundings — After all, they weren’t in a completely worry-free environment. Moreover, if what they encountered was a dead ovum, it was possible that something hostile could burst out. Vigilance was essential.
Gu Zuo took out a knife, and lightly tapped on the stone ovum.
He also released his psychic power to cover it. Through the outer shell, he observed the interior of the stone ovum.
It was strange. Gu Zuo unexpectedly felt that he could faintly see the shadow of the wondrous medicine inside. Although it wasn’t that clear, he was more or less able to tell the silhouette.
This silhouette appeared to be&#k2026;something that had leaves.
Taking another look at the stone ovum’s degree of luster, it was considered mid or high level. In other words, it most likely wasn’t a dead ovum?
Gu Zuo’s knife tapped a certain spot that gave an empty sound. At that place, Gu Zuo “saw” the corresponding interior of that empty spot, and confirmed that this area had a gap in that wondrous medicine’s shadow. His confidence in his own conjecture grew somewhat.
Soon after, he followed along the silhouette of that place, and carved down.
Once a small crack in the stone ovum’s outer shell was cut open, an extremely concentrated fragrance assaulted the senses. It wasn’t known how many times stronger it became compared to when the shell was intact.
At once, a ray of splendor rushed out at great speeds, but it was swiftly intercepted by Gu Zuo’s increased psychic power!
Very quickly, Gu Zuo saw that this really was a plant. It possessed seven leafy blades, and its entire body was like a piece of green jade. The entire plant had leaves, but it lacked any flowers. While it was no larger than the size of a palm, its form ebbed and flowed with the wind. It was exceedingly beautiful.
Gu Zuo sighed: “Big brother, this is Seven-Bladed Grass.”
Tianheng looked at Gu Zuo: “Ah Zuo also recognizes this?”
Gu Zuo nodded his head: “Big brother hasn’t read my item book since then. In Details of Ten Thousand Medicines, it recorded the names and pictures of many types of wondrous medicines. The previous Snowy-Jade Cicada is one type, and this Seven-Bladed Grass is another. It’s just a pity that it doesn’t talk about the specific medicinal effects. It also doesn’t mention much information related to stone ova.”
Tianheng smiled: “Indeed, it’s a pity.”
Gu Zuo silently nodded: “If the system issued another mission, and gave me a canonical text about wondrous medicines…”
[Side Mission: Collect forty-nine types of wondrous medicine.]
[Mission Item: <<Canon of Wondrous Medicines>>]
[Completion Method: Unrestricted.]
[Completion Time: Within seven days.]
[Failure Penalty: Deduction of one thousand strands of medicinal qi.]
The words that Gu Zuo hadn’t finished speaking came to a sudden halt.
Tianheng startled: “Ah Zuo, what’s wrong?”
Gu Zuo rolled his stiff neck with a couple cracks: “Big brother, a mission came…”
Tianheng was surprised: “Oh?”
Gu Zuo wore a helpless expression. Previously, he had asked the system for a mission, and the system actually gave him one. This time, when he mentioned that he wanted something, the system issued a relevant mission. He told Tianheng all about this matter.
What confused him the most was that he said he wanted “a canonical text about wondrous medicines”, and the item book that appeared in his storage space was called the Canon of Wondrous Medicines!
When it came down to it, was this a coincidence, or…
But at any rate, a failure meant a deduction of medicinal qi. Was it because he said that the system was very considerate last time?
— If it was a real person, Gu Zuo would’ve thought that this was a quarrel.
Tianheng looked pensive.
Though, he quickly responded: “We’ll investigate this matter in the future. Right now, can Ah Zuo take out that ancient text to browse through first?”
Gu Zuo felt that this was reasonable, and complied with his request.
The next moment, an item book appeared in Gu Zuo’s hand. He flipped it open, and pulled Tianheng closer. They studied it together — Of course, he didn’t forget to set his psychic power to keep an eye on their surroundings.
The two of them thumbed through the item book one page at a time.
Indeed, what this canonical text recorded was all related to wondrous medicine. The contents were exceedingly detailed…
A good while later, the book was finally finished.
Gu Zuo heaved a lengthy sigh: “As it turns out, it’s like this.”
Besides the things that Tianheng, Shen Yuanbai, and the others mentioned, written down in the canonical text were many important points that they hadn’t noticed.
Most of all were the distinctive features of stone ova. The explanations were especially clear.
From partial jade crystallization to complete jade crystallization, the longer that time passed, the more precious the object inside became. In addition, the formation of jade would be even more proper and whole. At the same time, if the stone ovum had tiny pores, the fragrance it exuded would be rich and full-bodied. The more a stone ovum crystallized, the weaker the fragrance it released. Once a stone ovum completely transformed into jade, no matter how sharp the senses of the individual, there would be no way to detect the fragrance.
Consequently, if a jade-quality stone ovum had wondrous medicine inside, not only would it have matured for a sufficient amount of time, its medicinal properties would’ve been sealed well. Even after cutting it open, some jade-quality liquid would flow out. This liquid was condensed from the medicinal power of the wondrous medicine. Although it wasn’t comparable to the wondrous medicine itself, this liquid contained the quintessence of the medicinal properties, which was extremely valuable.
— As such, if one encountered a jade-quality stone ovum, they needed to be incredibly careful during the incision process. The best course of action was to place it inside a jade-quality vessel. This was to prevent the jade liquid from being contaminated or wasted when cutting the ovum open.
Meanwhile, dead ova had two types of origins.
The first type was one that had failed to be nurtured. After a stone ovum formed its stone shell, those tiny pores would absorb the impurities of the outside world, which negatively affected the interior. This caused the wondrous medicine to perish and waste away before it could take shape. Alternatively, this sort of wondrous medicine could only survive for a certain period of time. And during this time frame, if it didn’t smoothly become a jade-quality stone ovum and seal up all of the medicinal properties, it would begin to rot due to excessive ripening.
The second type was mostly due to a mistake in the nurturing direction. Positive energies weren’t always found throughout a leyline. If someone died in that place, yin qi, bloodlust, and other forms of resentment would accumulate. Thus, anything contained within a stone ovum produced there would naturally be tainted by these negative energies. Later on, it was possible that anything born would be an anomalous version of the wondrous medicine. It was also possible for it to be some fiendish object, or simply a puff of unformed, inauspicious air. If it was discovered when it was still an initial stone ovum that hadn’t undergone any jade crystallization, then it was fine to destroy it directly. However, if many years had passed and it had turned into jade, then the thing inside would strengthen on its own. Once someone cut the ovum open, it would promptly jump out to stir up trouble!
At the same time, the canonical text also stated that dead ova weren’t completely useless. Those that failed to be nurtured or were rotten didn’t necessarily lack remnant medicinal properties. As for those that were nurtured in a mistaken direction, if one used their own blood to raise it, then it would automatically undergo another period of nurturing after absorbing the blood. Following this, the wondrous medicine would break out of the shell on its own. At that time, any hostility would be very small, and the thing inside the stone ovum would listen to the orders of the blood donor.
When he read up to here, Gu Zuo’s eyes widened.
This was saying that “dead ova” was actually a manner of expression. It wasn’t necessarily true that these things couldn’t be used?
Further below, the canonical text talked about the issue of the luster of a stone ovum.
What Gu Zuo previously thought was half right and half wrong.
Most of the time, the higher the degree of luster, the closer a stone ovum was to jade crystallization. As such, apart from dead ova, the more precious it would be. However, low luster could be due to insufficient jade crystallization or could be caused by the attribute of the wondrous medicine inside. One couldn’t lump different matters together.
In addition to this, the item book explained that a stone ovum’s category and product grade weren’t indistinguishable. While it was harder for martial artists, as far as pharmacists were concerned, it mainly depended on the sensitivity of their psychic power and their spiritual path realm — These two aspects were usually the same, with only a few exceptions. For example, Gu Zuo and his extraordinary potential.
Normally, Nurturing Psyche Realm pharmacists were able to see an indistinct shadow inside a stone ovum. When pharmacists reached the Spirit Psyche Realm, so long as they concentrated their thoughts, they could see even more clearly. It was to the point that, if their realm was profound enough, it was entirely possible to see through the stone ovum completely.
A Spirit Psyche Realm pharmacist could sense whether the object inside a stone ovum was good or bad, normal or fiendish. When they used their psychic powers to envelop the stone ovum, if they felt comfortable, the wondrous medicine was good. If they felt repelled, the thing was most likely wicked. And so on and so forth.
After Gu Zuo finished reading, he was a little dizzy.
Right now, he was classified as a pharmacist who could “see” the shadows inside a stone ovum. However, ones that were half-clear or utterly indistinct required him to strive his hardest to tell them apart. Putting it this way, was the quality of his psychic power almost as good as that of the Spirit Psyche Realm?
For a moment, he couldn’t help feeling somewhat at a loss. In the end, what kind of inner cultivation method did he practice? Also, what were the characteristics of the medicinal beads the system gave him? After they returned, he needed to investigate the matters related to medicinal beads.
At this time, Gu Zuo thought that he was a little slow on the uptake.
He had been cultivating for so long, but he still hadn’t taken notice of the precise positioning of his own medicinal beads. Back then, he only felt it was good that the system allowed him the chance to cultivate. His energy had been mainly focused on medicine refinement.
It appeared that he needed to pay more attention to himself at present. Otherwise, while it didn’t seem like there were any problems now, these vague areas could become hindrances to his development as his realm advanced.
Just as he was thinking about this, Tianheng pinched Gu Zuo’s cheek. His big brother’s tone carried a smiling expression: “What’s this? Does Ah Zuo think that he’s going to lose, so he’s going to renege on his debt?”
Gu Zuo snapped out of it, and obediently allowed himself to be pinched. He tilted his head up, and said: “I’m not thinking of backing out. I was just feeling that I had made some assumptions just now. But since the canonical text explained the method, I’ll just differentiate the items first.”
Tianheng laughed as he relaxed his fingers: “Please, Ah Zuo.”
Gu Zuo lightly coughed, and proceeded to identify the following stone ova one after another.
First, he observed whether the surfaces had any tiny pores. Then, he divided the stone ova into a few batches according to the degree of jade crystallization — Of course, his and his big brother’s stone ova weren’t placed together. Instead, their shares were divided separately.
After that, from those with low to high crystallization, he sensed for medicinal fragrances, rotten odors, or nothing at all. The former was applicable to stone ova, but the latter two were indicative of dead ova. It was just that this method of distinction could only be applied to those that hadn’t completed the jade transformation process. It was pointless for ones that were entirely crystallized.
In the end, he finally found all of the stone ova that were fully crystallized. After focusing his psychic power, he covered the stone ova to conduct an examination of the things inside — This kind of method used up a rather large amount of psychic power, so he only targeted the ones that were completely jade. As such, he separated the ones that he sensed were good to one side, and the ones he sensed were bad to the other side.
After he finished separating everything, Gu Zuo sighed in relief: “Big brother, it’s done.”
The corner of Tianheng’s mouth curled up, and he walked over: “Then, what’s the outcome between this elder brother and Ah Zuo?”
Gu Zuo cleared his throat. He was a little proud of himself: “Both sides have a total of twenty-three stone ova. There are five dead ova in my pile, and seven dead ova in big brother’s pile.”
Tianheng made a sound of affirmation. He raised an eyebrow, and asked: “In that case, what are the product grades of the stone ova that are in good condition?”
Gu Zuo was at a loss.
The higher the jade transformation, the better. He had roughly divided things into four grades…
Tianheng looked at him with a smile.
Gu Zuo dragged it out as he replied: “Among big brother’s stone ova, there are three low jade-quality stone ova, two mid jade-quality stone ova, and five high jade-quality stone ova. The remaining six are all jade ova.”
Tianheng faintly nodded his head: “Then, how about Ah Zuo?”
Gu Zuo was silent before he spoke: “Five low jade-quality stone ova, three mid jade-quality stone ova, five high jade-quality stone ova, and five jade ova.”
Tianheng restrained his laughter: “So for this wager, who won and who lost?”
Gu Zuo wasn’t too delighted as he opened his mouth: “Based on the quantity of good stone ova, I won. Based on the quality of good stone ova… I lost.”
Tianheng’s expression was respectful: “Then, is this considered a tie?”
Gu Zuo really didn’t wish it was a draw: “I…”
Ultimately, Tianheng couldn’t help breaking out in laughter. He reached out a hand to ruffle Gu Zuo’s hair into a mess: “Since it’s like this, then we’ll calculate it separately. Ah Zuo won and lost, but I also won and lost. Therefore —”
Gu Zuo’s eyes shined. He lifted his head to look at his big brother.
Tianheng gave a slight smile: “After we go back, this elder brother will find some time to accompany Ah Zuo to go shopping. When we return, Ah Zuo will keep my bed warm at night. For that whole day, you and I will properly rest and relax. How is that?”
A smile immediately spread across Gu Zuo’s whole face: “Great! Then, do you agree to this?”
Tianheng nodded his head: “I agree.”
Gu Zuo’s mood was incomparably happy.
This time’s wager was practically a double steal!
After that, he spoke with contentment: “Let’s continue to find stone ova! This harvest really has been very good!”
Tianheng saw Gu Zuo’s happiness, and his gaze was gentle and soft: “Okay.”
Hence, the two conscientiously proceeded to find stone ova.
This stone tree was truly enormous. Obviously, the group of people split into four pairs and searched in four directions, but none of them bumped into each other while looking around.
Time passed quickly. With almost two days, Gu Zuo and Tianheng managed to find lots of stone ova, all of which were collected into the storage space. However, for the sake of saving his psychic power, Gu Zuo didn’t differentiate these stone ova one at a time. Regardless of whether there were good stone ova or dead ova, everything was put in the same place.
Later on, they traversed an expansive branch that stretched for over a thousand meters, and dropped to the ground on the other side.
At this time, even Tianheng, whose luck far surpassed that of the ordinary person, and Gu Zuo, whose psychic power was meticulous and exquisite, failed to find a single stone ovum after nearly two hours.
Although it couldn’t be said that this stone tree didn’t have any more stone ova, it showed that things might improve if they switched to a different environment and changed their states of mind.
After jumping down from the other side of the tree, Gu Zuo leaned on Tianheng’s back, and happened to see that Shen Clan younger generation in the middle of comforting a pharmacist — It wasn’t Shen Yuanbai, but rather his clan member.
Once that Shen Clan member saw the two of them, his face revealed a bitter smile.
Gu Zuo wasn’t familiar with him.
But since everyone arrived together, one couldn’t help but be concerned during an encounter, right? As a result, Gu Zuo adjusted his expression, and walked over using a type of reserved yet not indifferent attitude. He opened his mouth and inquired: “What’s this?”
The Shen Clan younger generation shook his head, and sighed: “It went rather smoothly at the start. We killed several Earth Worms and found some stone ova. However, around a certain cluster of branches, that Earth Worm appeared too quickly. Just before Brother He killed it, and though I did my best to grab it, I still allowed that Earth Worm to…”
T/N: Thanks for the corrections, Charysa.
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