Chapter Twenty-Six: Speculation

The new territory brought fresh hope to Longba. Under the leadership of Cuiba, the people of Longba spent an entire day relocating to their new land. After Lei Yan’s explanation, Cuiba finally understood why the men of Leopard had managed to reach the pinnacle of acquired strength—everything was thanks to the Yuan Lotus. Yet, upon hearing that the Yuan Lotus had already been destroyed, Cuiba showed no concern whatsoever; Lei Yan had already multiplied Longba’s strength several times over, so the presence or absence of the Yuan Lotus no longer mattered.

Upon entering this new domain, Cuiba issued several orders, one of which delighted Lei Yan immensely. He allocated the northeastern corner of the territory to Lei Yan, declaring it henceforth a forbidden zone of Longba. No one—not even the leader—was allowed to enter without Lei Yan’s express permission.

Several days passed. The second elder, Leng, left Longba and headed for Jiling in Jiangzhou, while Lei Yan remained in the northeast corner, overseeing the cultivation of more than fifty people.

But within this flower-filled northeastern corner, over fifty dreams were shattered in just a few days.

A miserable scream rang out from the northeast, echoing across the entire territory. The harrowing sound made even the patrolling bandits’ hair stand on end, and secretly, they thanked their luck that their cultivation had been enhanced by taking spiritual medicine instead.

“I doubt this one will survive either,” muttered a bandit carrying a broadsword as he patrolled, curling his lip at the sound. His companion glanced around nervously and hissed, “Are you tired of living? Be careful or the young master will cripple you!”

The swordsman sneered, “I’m not that brat’s subordinate. I doubt he can do anything to me! I hear over a dozen have already died under his so-called training. We’ve gained nothing but trouble with him in Longba—who knows what Cuiba’s thinking, letting him run wild like this. Mark my words, Longba will be finished in his hands. We’d be better off finding another way out, we—”

He didn’t finish. His companion edged away from him as if avoiding the plague, muttering, “If you want to die, don’t drag me with you. Have you even wondered why Leader Leng has been gone these days?”

“What do you mean?” The swordsman frowned, but then a realization dawned on him and his face changed. “You mean Leader Leng went to Jiangzhou?”

“You’re not as dumb as you look!” the other bandit cursed. Their families were in Jiling, Jiangzhou, used to comfortable lives, hardly able to bear fleeing with them. And the thought of Lei Yan, who could kill even experts in the late innate stage, sent a chill down their spines.

In the northeast corner, thirty-five bandits stood in three lines before Lei Yan, their eyes fixed on their struggling comrade on the ground. Though resentment and discontent filled their hearts as they looked at their fallen companions lying in pools of blood, none dared show it on their faces. Not even a flicker of emotion could be seen in their eyes. In these few days, they’d lost count of how many bones had been broken and how much blood had been spilled. What remained most vivid in their minds was that beneath these flourishing flowers, a dozen of their fellows lay buried.

“Yin You!”

“At your command!” The reply came in a sharp, ethereal voice that sent chills down the spine. A gaunt young man with jutting cheekbones, almost skeletal in appearance, stepped out from the ranks. He was the first to stand to the right the day they chose to take spiritual medicine.

Lei Yan glanced at him, then pointed to the struggling bandit on the ground. “Throw your subordinate into the cauldron!”

“Yes!” Yin You stepped forward, grasping the bandit without the slightest hint of mercy. The man screamed in agony under Yin You’s grip.

But the boiling medicinal broth in the cauldron seemed not to bring pain, but instead made the bandit moan with pleasure. Within moments, he fell asleep inside the cauldron. Though the bandits all feared Lei Yan’s ruthlessness, they could not deny the miraculous nature of his medical skills. No matter how severe the injuries, half a day in the cauldron would leave them fully healed. In fact, the cauldron had become their only source of comfort.

“I hope today’s events have deepened your understanding of obedience. If anyone dares defy the captain’s orders again, I won’t hesitate to continue honing my combat skills with you,” Lei Yan said coldly. As he finished speaking, his gaze sharpened. “Is that clear?”

“Understood!” the thirty-odd bandits replied in unison, as if with one voice.

“Dismissed!” Lei Yan waved.

The bandits did not scatter chaotically, but split into three squads and, under Yin You’s leadership, returned to their cave. Apart from eating and sleeping, they spent their time cultivating; Lei Yan allowed them only an hour of free time each day. Once the last bandit had entered the cave, Lei Yan walked to the cauldron, checked the bandit’s pulse, and finally relaxed. He had kept his hand light—this one would not die. In a few more hours, he would be lively and energetic again.

Having finished, Lei Yan strode north, toward a wooden cabin. It was the only such cabin in all of Longba, and served as his laboratory for concocting medicines. In just a few days, half of the medicine he had brought was already used up; he needed to create a suitable environment for the damaged Yuan Lotus.

Inside the simply built wooden hut, apart from a square table, there was only a cauldron half as tall as a man. Resting inside was the withered Yuan Lotus, its leaves already beginning to shrivel. Lei Yan circled around the cauldron and approached the table, taking out several porcelain bottles from his enchanted pouch. Shaking his head as he looked at the bottles, he sighed—he had already used up most of his five-colored dust nectar preparing medicine for the thirty-odd bandits; less than ten bottles remained.

He opened a bottle, poured the five-colored dust nectar into the cauldron, then carried the cauldron outside. If even this failed to revive the Yuan Lotus, he would have no recourse left.

Back in the cabin, Lei Yan resumed his study of the third realm of the Herbal Sutra. The last time inspiration had struck, Lu Kai had interrupted him, and he’d had no time to ponder it since. Now, at last, he could reflect.

“The five elements generate and restrain each other. To enhance an element’s attribute, one must begin with generation and restraint,” Lei Yan mused. Suddenly, he realized a problem: the five elements’ interactions were all well and good, but to change the attribute of internal force, one first had to infuse it with such attributes. Yet, pure internal force had no attribute at all.

“I’ve heard that true essence carries the five-element attribute… Could it be that only upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage can one cultivate the third realm of the Herbal Sutra?” Lei Yan smiled wryly.

(P.S.: My apologies, everyone! Today—no, actually, it’s already yesterday—I was delayed by some matters, so the second chapter for yesterday is only being updated now. This chapter counts as yesterday’s!)