"But his strength..." Ember Yang looked worried. After all, even the formations Evan Yang used couldn't restrain him.
"Don't worry. Once I'm there, I'll find a way to deal with it. Besides, this trip is just to scout things out first, so you'll stay in my treasure-world for now," Evan Yang said.
Being told to stay in the treasure-world, Ember Yang grew restless. She said, "I want to go with you."
"He probably knows a lot about Fire Phoenixes. If you show up near him, he might notice you before we even get close, which would make it pointless," Evan Yang replied.
Ember Yang knew Evan Yang was right, so she could only sigh and say, "Alright, but if you get any news, tell me right away."
"Don't worry," Evan Yang reassured her.
Hearing this, Ember Yang finally entered Evan Yang's treasure-world. Evan Yang then composed himself, changed his appearance, and set his sights on Medicine King Heaven.
But before heading to Medicine King Heaven, Evan Yang wandered around the city and bought some alchemy materials as backup.
Once everything was ready, Evan Yang found the Medicine King Heaven sub-branch in advance. There, using a different identity, he sought out the same person he'd met before.
The person looked at the unfamiliar visitor and asked, "What do you need?"
Evan Yang took out the Pass Token and said, "I want to go to Medicine King Heaven."
When the clerk checked the token and confirmed it was genuine, he couldn't believe it. "You actually have this?"
"Can you take me there?" Evan Yang asked.
"Of course," the clerk replied, then led Evan Yang to the back of the shop. There was a teleportation corridor. The clerk said, "Go in here, and you'll arrive at the mountain foot. Just climb the mountain and you'll reach it."
"Alright, got it. Thanks," Evan Yang said.
"No need," the clerk replied. As Evan Yang left, the clerk muttered, "Who is this person? I've never seen him before."
Evan Yang had no idea what the clerk was thinking. Instead, he found himself at the mountain foot, looking up at the towering mountain. He discovered he couldn't fly over it and could only climb from the bottom. At the base stood a stone stele: "Hiking Steps."
"Hiking? Looks like I really have to walk up from here," Evan Yang muttered to himself. He composed himself and started climbing the steps. As soon as he stepped onto them, his power erupted uncontrollably, and he found himself no stronger than a mortal, forced to walk slowly.
Evan Yang muttered, "Strange, what's going on here?"
After several tries with the same result, Evan Yang still couldn't use his power and could only walk. It really matched the words on the stele: Hiking Steps.
"Interesting. Medicine King Heaven really isn't ordinary," Evan Yang muttered, then continued on his way.
At that moment, the Mad Alchemist was in his room in Medicine King Heaven, recalling what had just happened. He muttered, "Is that guy bold enough? What if he doesn't come?"
In the Mad Alchemist's eyes, he was hoping Evan Yang would arrive, so he could capture him and ask about the whereabouts of the Fire Phoenix.
Little did he know, Evan Yang had already changed his identity. It took him over half an hour to climb the steps, and he finally reached a platform. Ahead was a great gate, with the characters "Medicine King Heaven" above it.
"This is it," Evan Yang muttered, then curiously glanced back. There was no path behind him.
Seeing this, Evan Yang realized the steps and platform were part of a strange formation.
Just as Evan Yang was curious, someone walked out from within the gate. The person wore loose robes and hurried over to Evan Yang.
Evan Yang watched as the person approached. The newcomer asked curiously, "Who are you?"
"I have this," Evan Yang said, showing the Pass Token. The person looked at it and said, "So that's it. You can come and go freely."
Evan Yang didn't know what the token really meant, but at least it let him freely enter and exit the sect for now.
"Alright, thanks," Evan Yang replied, then walked through the gate. Inside was a completely different scene, thick with the scent of herbs. It was the result of pill refining and medicinal cultivation. Outside, none of this aroma could be detected; only after entering did he smell it. Clearly, Medicine King Heaven was protected by a grand barrier that contained these scents.
After surveying Medicine King Heaven, Evan Yang composed himself and began walking through the sect. A fragrant aroma caught his attention. It was a medicinal herb, and its strong scent meant it had potent properties. The Heavenly Cold Seed in his body was eager to absorb it, but Evan Yang quickly suppressed it, muttering, "That was close. Better not slip up now, or I'll definitely be discovered."
Suppressing the Heavenly Cold Seed and keeping his appearance unchanged, Evan Yang followed the scent. He soon found a group of people gathered around a large tray filled with various herbs. The aroma was coming from the herbs in the center.
Curious, Evan Yang wanted to find out what was going on.
"Hey, Xiao Li, you brought out so many things—do you really want to trade them for that pill?" someone asked the person opposite him.
Xiao Li's expression was unusually firm. "Yes, just these, for the pill."
The other person inspected the herbs and muttered, "I don't even recognize some of these. I've never seen them before. I think I can only give you two pills at most."
Xiao Li was shocked. "Wasn't it supposed to be five pills?"
"It was, but since I don't know what these herbs are, I've changed my mind. Either trade or don't," the other person said.
Xiao Li looked unhappy, but he seemed to really need the pills. He said, "Fine, I'll trade."
"Alright, here you go," the other person said, taking out a small box and handing Xiao Li two pills.
Xiao Li took them and asked, "If I find more herbs like these, will you trade again?"
"Of course, but that depends on your luck and what herbs you can find. Just be careful—don't risk your life for it, it's not worth it," the other person said with a smile.
"That's none of your concern. Just be ready to trade pills with me," Xiao Li said, then left with the pills.
The person who traded the pills smiled and put away the herbs, then went off with the others to have fun. Evan Yang didn't follow the herbs, but instead followed Xiao Li.
Evan Yang had a feeling this person might bring him some surprises.
Walking along, Xiao Li held the two pills and muttered, "Junior Sister, bear with it. These two pills can help for now. Once I get more, you'll be able to recover."
Just then, he bumped into someone. Looking closely, he saw it was a stranger and asked, "Who are you? Why are you blocking my way?"
"Don't worry, little brother. I'm here to help you," Evan Yang said with a smile.
"Help me? What can you help me with?" Xiao Li asked curiously.
"So, what are those two pills for? Are you treating someone? If it's for healing, maybe I can help. I have the ability to restore health with a touch," Evan Yang said with a smile.
Xiao Li was half-skeptical. "You really have that skill?"
"If you don't believe me, just watch. If it doesn't work, you can still use the pills," Evan Yang said with a smile.
Xiao Li looked at Evan Yang, then at the pills, and finally agreed. "Alright. But I'm broke and have nothing to give you."
"You think I'm helping you for your things? You're overthinking it. Just take me to see the patient," Evan Yang said with a smile.
Xiao Li was curious about this newcomer, especially since he didn't want anything in return. He led Evan Yang to a room, where Evan saw a woman lying on the bed, her face covered in black, pus-filled sores. She looked very ugly.
The woman was startled to see a stranger. "Ah! Who are you?"
"Junior Sister, don't worry. He's here to help you," Xiao Li said.
"Senior Brother, is that true?" The woman pulled back the covers and looked at Evan Yang suspiciously.
"You're poisoned?" Evan Yang asked.
"That's right. It's because of this damned poison that I'm like this," the woman said sadly. After all, beauty is so important to women.
"Let me take a look," Evan Yang said, asking her to extend her hand. She slowly did so, hoping he could help but fearing he'd say it was hopeless. She'd been in Medicine King Heaven for a long time and had tried all the antidote pills, but none worked. The only thing left was the pill Xiao Li had traded for.
Xiao Li stood by silently. If this didn't work, he'd just keep looking for herbs to trade for more pills.
Standing there, Evan Yang examined her and discovered that besides the toxins, there was another strange force in her body. It was this force that prevented her from expelling the poison, and because of it, none of the pills worked.
"Don't you have a master or seniors?" Evan Yang wondered. Medicine King Heaven was so big, surely these two had a master or friends.
But Xiao Li lowered his head and fell silent. "My junior sister and I joined a year apart. We came here to learn alchemy, but all the experts are busy cultivating. Those who know a bit about alchemy act superior, so we've tried making pills ourselves or following others' recipes. But something went wrong, and my junior sister ended up poisoned like this."
Hearing this, Evan Yang felt there was more to the story. How could a poison generate an additional force in the body? For now, he kept his thoughts to himself and began detoxifying the woman.
Evan Yang was silent, while the woman trembled, watching him. Xiao Li kept his eyes on her, hoping for a miracle—otherwise, he'd have to take another risk.