The farther Quinn Shepherd walked, the more daily-use spirit tools he saw. Near Yong River Academy, students were testing flying cars—vehicles that could carry passengers through the air. Their pill furnaces were small, unlike the ones on airships that consumed vast amounts of medicinal stones, so these cars were clearly meant for short-range flights.
He also saw some students making Ice-Dragon Chests and peddling them to wealthy families nearby. The Ice-Dragon Chest was square and upright, shaped like a cauldron with a lid, and each corner was coiled with a bronze dragon. When medicinal stones were loaded, the dragons would exhale icy breath.
In the summer, placing one at home would cool the air, and the Ice-Dragon Chest could also store food, keeping it fresh for longer. Note: The Ice-Dragon Chest is an ancient Chinese refrigerator used by nobles during the Warring States period.
By the riverside, there were mines where countless mechanical puppets were digging for ore, overseen and recorded by the academy students.
He also saw many students designing floating cities, constructing small prototypes out on the wilderness, planning to make them soar in the sky.
"Everpeace’s formation arts have already reached this level?"
He stepped forward to inspect the formations. Some of the students were from Heavenly Saint Academy and recognized him as the Grand Libationer, so they hurriedly brought out their formation diagrams for him to review.
Quinn Shepherd couldn’t help but be amazed. The floating city formation diagrams used structures similar to those of Little Jade Capital in the heavens and Sacred Descent Mountain of the Cult of the Heavenly Saint, borrowing the power of heaven and earth. These formation structures already surpassed his own mastery.
"If I wasn’t the one who developed this, then who did?"
Quinn was stunned. "Could Grandpa Blind have gone to Sacred Descent Mountain and Little Jade Capital and fiddled with their formations?"
Everpeace’s magical arts were advancing at a breathtaking pace. From the time he left Everpeace to seek out Crystal Blaze, then met the Woodcutter Sage and the Fishing Elder, and dealt with the Umbral World before returning, only four months had passed, yet Everpeace’s arts had progressed so far. It was truly impressive!
But maybe it was a bit too impressive!
"It’s not just the Mute Smith and Grandpa Blind behind this. I bet the Woodcutter Sage is pushing things forward too! He’s the most versatile, and from what the Fishing Elder said, the reforms during the Chiming Era were led by the Woodcutter Sage."
Quinn pondered. The Woodcutter Sage and the elders of Disabled Village were driving the advancement of Everpeace’s Dao arts, which would quickly strengthen Everpeace, improving every aspect of daily life for its people. It would also free up time for cultivators to train and research even deeper techniques and magical arts.
However, the most crucial thing was still medicinal stones.
All these daily-use spirit tools had greatly increased the demand for medicinal stones. Mining could yield spirit stones, but cultivating medicinal herbs was much trickier.
When he reached the front of Yong River Academy, Quinn was momentarily stunned. Spread out ahead was ten thousand mu of prime farmland, all planted with medicinal herbs. Countless students from Yong River Academy and Heavenly Saint Academy were working the fields, casting creation arts.
These students were using Creation Earth Origin Art, though it had changed somewhat from before—it now mixed in many creation techniques from the Chiming Era.
Quinn had Bruno the Dragon-Qilin stop and stood at the edge of the medicinal fields, watching. The academy students used Creation Earth Origin Art to help the herbs grow and nurture their medicinal properties, making plants that once took years or decades to mature ready for harvest in just a few hours.
"These herbs are thriving. In a little while, they’ll be ready to harvest... Quinn!"
Quinn heard Apothecary’s voice and looked over in a hurry. He saw Apothecary inspecting the medicinal fields, with Deaf nearby and High Councilor Susan Su accompanying them. Susan Su was a top official of Everpeace, long since crossed the Divine Bridge and become a goddess, her power formidable.
When Quinn met her in the capital, she was still an old woman, but now she had reversed her aging and appeared as a beautiful woman in her thirties, every movement radiating grace.
Deaf had grown ears at last, while Apothecary still wore his bronze mask, just as always.
Quinn saw many Heavenly Saint Academy students here. They must have come to teach Yong River Academy students the arts of creation.
Quinn walked up with a smile. "Grandpa Apothecary, how’s your creation art going? Why are you still wearing that mask?"
Apothecary touched the mask on his face and shook his head. "I’m already old. Better not show my true face. Otherwise... sigh."
He let out a sigh.
Deaf sneered, "So what if you’re good-looking? How vulgar."
Apothecary laughed, "It is something to be proud of."
Deaf pretended not to hear.
The two elders loved to bicker; Quinn was used to it and didn’t pay it any mind. Deaf glanced at Quinn and asked, puzzled, "Why didn’t you go to Heavenly Saint Academy? Why come to Yong River Academy instead?"
Quinn’s eyes flickered as he smiled, "Just passing through. I wanted to visit the Dragon-Keeper Lord and pay respects to Grand Libationer Su."
Susan Su covered her mouth and laughed. "Grand Libationer Quinn, you’re joking. You rarely come to my Yong River Academy, but I often go to Heavenly Saint Academy to look for you. I want to ask you about some teaching problems, but I can never find you."
Quinn chuckled awkwardly and stared at a flower, saying nothing.
Apothecary and Deaf saw his expression and immediately understood. Apothecary smiled, "High Councilor Su, I’m a bit tired. I’ll head back to rest. Just wait another hour, then let the students harvest the herbs. Remember to save some seeds."
Susan Su agreed.
Apothecary and Deaf turned to head toward Heavenly Saint Academy, and Quinn quickly caught up. Deaf said, "Judging by your face, you’re not here for anything good. Spill it—what’s going on?"
"I suspect Lowell Yunch is about to use the Book of Life and Death here—to wipe out all life in Fairview Prefecture," Quinn said.
"What?"
Apothecary and Deaf exclaimed in unison. Quinn quickly said, "Grandpas, keep it down. Don’t alert the enemy."
Apothecary shivered and quickened his pace. "Let’s hurry and pack up our things, leave here, and get back to Bazhou... No, to Oldridge Village! Bazhou isn’t safe either!"
Quinn quickly grabbed his hand. Apothecary tried to pull away but couldn’t—he was only at the Life and Death Realm and progressed slowly, so his body was no match for Quinn.
"Grandpa Apothecary, you can stay right here if you want."
Quinn grinned. "As long as Lowell Yunch doesn’t come kill people himself, if it’s just the Book of Life and Death, I can handle it."
"How are you going to handle it?"
"When you die, I’ll just bring you back to life."
Quinn smiled. "Don’t worry. As long as your bodies aren’t ruined, calling your souls back isn’t that hard for me."
Apothecary hesitated and looked at Deaf. Deaf said, "What’s the point of calling our souls back? Can you beat Lowell Yunch and his crew?"
"No chance."
Quinn shook his head. "Before High-Emperor Heaven was destroyed, Lowell Yunch and his two fellow disciples once met the First Human Emperor. The four of them went to the Spirit Energy Bridge, but the First Human Emperor never attacked them, which shows he was wary of them. And they didn’t dare strike at him either, meaning his strength was above theirs. My guess is the three disciples’ cultivation is between the Execution Platform realm and the Jade Pool realm."
Apothecary asked, "Stronger than Furylo?"
Quinn nodded. "Much stronger. Furylo is probably at the Jade Pool realm, but he’s nowhere near as powerful as they are. After all, they’re disciples of the Netherworld Black Emperor and train in Emperor’s-Throne techniques."
Apothecary steadied himself. "We’re no match for them. Why not just leave and go back to the Great Ruins? We can’t save everyone, but we can save ourselves."
Quinn broke into a smile. "But Grandpa Apothecary, you taught me from childhood that ‘the healer’s heart is like a parent’s’ and ‘life is above heaven.’ Didn’t we learn medicine to save as many people as we could? Are you going to betray your own heart now?"
Apothecary laughed in exasperation. "Now you’re lecturing me! Well, here’s a new lesson: ‘learning medicine can’t save all of Everpeace!’ Are you going to listen to me or not? Deaf, you’re stronger than me—seal him in a painting and let’s go to Heavenly Saint Academy and bring Granny and the others with us!"
Deaf tapped his ear and said, "I can’t hear you. I’m deaf, remember?"
Apothecary was furious and about to blow up, but Deaf quickly said, "If Quinn came all the way here, he must have a harebrained idea. Why not hear him out first before we decide?"
Apothecary held back his anger. "If you can’t come up with any chance of success, we’re leaving right away! I’ll even poison you unconscious if I have to and drag you back to Oldridge Village!"
Quinn grinned. "We might not be a match for Lowell Yunch, but we have other allies. If I’m right, the Woodcutter Sage, the First Human Emperor, Furylo, Chi Creek, and the Fishing Elder are all in Fairview right now, just waiting for Lowell Yunch and his crew to show themselves."
He said calmly, "If I can figure out their target is Fairview, so can they."