Chapter Sixty-Two: Essence Liquid and Earth Mother Stone

“It’s actually a Heart-Calming Herb.”
A faint light appeared in Lin Yi’s eyes. Four hundred meters to his southeast, a tiny verdant blade of grass the size of a thumb stood quietly.
If one relied only on the naked eye, it would have been easy to overlook.
The greatest effect of the Heart-Calming Herb was to soothe the mind and nourish the spirit. Whether for martial artists or cultivators, every breakthrough required a long period of waiting.
During such waits, people could easily become agitated for various reasons.
At times like this, the Heart-Calming Herb would prove invaluable.
Back when cultivation was the norm, the Heart-Calming Herb was an essential spiritual medicine for every practitioner.
If refined into a Heart-Calming Pill, it could even dispel inner demons, clear the mind, and greatly enhance the effects of cultivation.
Since he had encountered such a rare herb, Lin Yi naturally wouldn’t let it slip by.
Just as his hand was about to touch the Heart-Calming Herb, a streak of red inner energy shot toward his arm.
Lin Yi’s gaze turned cold; he raised his hand and with a casual wave, dispersed the incoming force.
Turning around, he saw three people striding toward him—two men and one woman.
There was an elder in his sixties, and a pair of young man and woman whose attire, bespoke and costly, immediately marked them as scions of a prominent family.
“Who are you people?” Lin Yi asked calmly.
But the trio ignored him.
The young woman looked at the elder and asked, “Teacher, is this really a Heart-Calming Herb?”
The old man chuckled lightly, “Of course it is. I am a pill refiner, after all—my eyes won’t deceive me.”
“That’s wonderful! As long as you can make the Heart-Calming Pill, my grandfather will finally awaken,” the young woman said with delight.
Lin Yi spoke again, “Who are you?”
Only then did the three seem to recall someone else was present.
“Young man, that spiritual herb belongs to us. You have no objection, do you?”
The elder’s tone was forceful; his strength was the highest among the three, already at the ninth level of innate cultivation.
He was the one who had attacked moments earlier.
Though his words feigned consultation, he had already claimed the Heart-Calming Herb as his own.
Lin Yi replied, “And if I refuse?”
The old man laughed disdainfully, “Refuse? That’s not up to you.”
To him, Lin Yi was just an ordinary person, yet he dared to speak so boldly.
Did he naively think that the young girl beside him could help him?
Lin Yi fell silent for a moment. To the trio, this was a sign of fear.
Suddenly, Lin Yi looked at the elder and asked, “Was it you who tried to strike me just now?”
The old man laughed indifferently, “Indeed, it was I.”
“In that case,” Lin Yi said, “I’ll be taking one of your arms. I trust that’s not too much?”
The elder sneered, “Quite the tone you have, boy.”
An ordinary man threatening to take his arm—what a farce.
Lin Yi said nothing more. He took a step forward and appeared by the elder’s side, fist raised, delivering a seemingly gentle punch.
The old man’s eyes flashed with scorn. Such a slow punch—what harm could it do, even if he stood there and took it?
Yet as that thought crossed his mind, he suddenly found the world around him frozen, his entire body immobilized except for his two arms.
In a flash, he understood—Lin Yi was letting him choose which arm to lose.
“Damn brat!” the old man cursed inwardly.
He did not know what trick Lin Yi had used, but as a pill refiner, losing an arm would halve his abilities.
With a roar, he struck back, inner energy wrapping his fist like a flaming gauntlet.
Lin Yi’s face remained impassive, completely ignoring the attack.
Bang.

The instant the elder’s fist collided with Lin Yi’s, his body was sent flying backward seven or eight meters.
He crashed to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Lin Yi’s punch had not only crippled his arm, but also injured his internal organs—he would need at least half a year of recuperation to recover.
The young man and woman were both startled, and quickly rushed over.
“Teacher, are you all right?” the young woman asked with concern.
“Quick, the bone-mending pill!” the old man said through gritted teeth. Even if his arm was healed, there would be lasting damage.
The young woman hurriedly produced a jade bottle from her pocket, pouring out a pitch-black pill. “Here, teacher.”
The old man swallowed the pill in one gulp and sat cross-legged at once, focusing on healing.
Lin Yi shot him a glance and shook his head lightly.
Such bone-mending pills were of poor quality, barely worthy of being called pills at all.
If he were to refine one himself, he could repair such injuries in no time, and without lasting effects.
Retracting his gaze, Lin Yi plucked the Heart-Calming Herb by his side.
At that moment, the young woman stormed over in anger. “Why did you have to hit him so hard?”
Her teacher was the family’s only pill refiner. Any mishap would be blamed on her and her brother.
After all, it was they who had invited the teacher to search for the Heart-Calming Herb.
Even if their intentions were good, the significance of a pill refiner to a family far outweighed that of a martial master.
A pill refiner could endlessly supply the clan with experts, while a grandmaster served more as a deterrent.
Lin Yi replied calmly, “I only crippled his arm—I showed mercy. Otherwise, he’d be dead.”
The young woman was furious. “Do you even know who I am?”
Lin Yi shook his head. “Who you are has nothing to do with me.”
The young woman’s frustration flared. She shrieked, “I am from the Feng family of Shan Province!”
“Oh,” Lin Yi responded nonchalantly.
He had no interest in these family factions, whether they ranked first or last—they meant nothing to him.
Angel, however, was familiar with the Fengs. She whispered in Lin Yi’s ear, “Mr. Lin, the Fengs are the top family in Shan Province, with vast assets and influence in both the legitimate and the underworld. I heard they have a pill refiner named Deng Chang.”
Though her voice was low, no one present was an ordinary person.
The young woman announced proudly, “I am Feng Yuling, a direct descendant of the Feng family. This is my brother, Feng Ziyi.”
“The person you just injured is our family’s pill refiner. Now, no one can save you.”
A trace of disdain flashed in Angel’s eyes.
A pill refiner?
No one can save him?
Mr. Lin was not only a pill refiner, but also a master craftsman, and a young grandmaster to boot.
Any one of those identities would have powerful factions vying to recruit him.
Let alone the fact that Mr. Lin, on his own, was a force to be reckoned with.
Lin Yi said, “Angel, let’s go.”
The two of them ignored Feng Yuling completely, making her face flush red with anger.
The first family of Shan Province, ignored by two unknowns—she was livid.
But Lin Yi was too formidable; even Deng Chang at the ninth innate level was no match. Even if she and Feng Ziyi joined forces, they would stand no chance.
“Damn brat!”
Feng Yuling glared hatefully at Lin Yi’s back, then hurried over to Deng Chang.
By now, Deng Chang had opened his eyes. “Where’s the Heart-Calming Herb?”
“That man took it,” Feng Yuling replied bitterly.
A cold glint flashed in Deng Chang’s eyes. “Without the Heart-Calming Herb, the old master’s illness cannot be cured.”
Feng Yuling grew anxious. “What should we do?”
“There’s nothing for it. We’ll have to keep searching and see if we can find another Heart-Calming Herb,” Deng Chang said with a shake of his head.

...

Lan City, Cui family residence.
Cui Cheng glanced at the time, then knocked on a door.
A feeble voice called from within, “Come in.”
Cui Cheng pushed the door open cautiously. Inside, the room was a mess.
On a large bed sat a man in his fifties, hair wild and unkempt like a beggar.
Several beautiful women lay beside him.
“What is it?” the old man asked.
“Master Long, Lin Yi is all talk—he didn’t even dare accept the challenge,” Cui Cheng said smugly.
Master Long nodded indifferently.
After basking in his own satisfaction for a moment, Cui Cheng continued, “Master Long, I couldn’t find anything about Wu Kun, but my informant in the provincial capital said the Ten Great Families once surrounded a man called Master Wu. I don’t know if it’s the same person.”
Master Long’s gaze turned cold. “Whether it is or not, I’ve decided to take a trip myself. My disciple cannot have died in vain.”
“But the Ten Great Families are powerful. I hear the Wang family has deep connections,” Cui Cheng said worriedly.
He was mainly afraid of being implicated himself.
“No matter. They’re nothing but a flock of chickens and dogs.”
As Master Long spoke, a powerful aura radiated from him.
Cui Cheng’s legs went weak with fear. Even among half-step grandmasters, he had never felt such pressure.
“A grand—grandmaster...!”
Cui Cheng was thoroughly shocked. He had never expected that the beggar he’d once picked up would turn out to be not only a feng shui master, but a grandmaster-level powerhouse.
No wonder Master Long was so confident, nor that he looked down on the Ten Great Families of Jiang Province.

...

Lin Yi and Angel searched for over two more hours before finally discovering Spirit Marrow Liquid in a stalactite cave.
“Give me the jade bottle,” Lin Yi said. With a sweep of his spiritual sense, he judged that there was enough Spirit Marrow Liquid left to fill about half a bottle.
It sounded like little, but in truth it was quite a lot.
What’s more, deep within the Spirit Marrow Liquid, a piece of Maternal Earth Stone was hidden.
The Maternal Earth Stone was a rare treasure that could automatically gather spiritual energy from heaven and earth and transform it into various spiritual liquids.
It was precisely because of this stone that the stalactite produced Spirit Marrow Liquid.
Lin Yi suddenly felt that Shan Province was a land of great fortune, brimming with rare treasures.
Angel took a jade bottle from her backpack and handed it to Lin Yi.
Lin Yi accepted it, leapt up, and smashed a small opening in the stalactite with a single punch.
He collected all the Spirit Marrow Liquid, then retrieved the Maternal Earth Stone.
It was barely palm-sized, a dull yellow all over, and resembled the surrounding stalactite so closely that it would be hard to recognize without careful inspection.
Lin Yi stored both the Spirit Marrow Liquid and the Maternal Earth Stone away with his energy technique. Just as he was about to leave, his phone rang.
The call was from an unfamiliar number.
“Hello, Lin Yi. This is Feng Yuling,” came a cold voice.
“Oh,” Lin Yi replied coolly.
The Feng family was the top clan in Shan Province; investigating one or two people would be no trouble for them.
“Sell me the Heart-Calming Herb for one hundred million,” Feng Yuling said, certain that Lin Yi would be tempted.
Even many lone innate experts would be unable to resist such an offer.
“Not interested,” Lin Yi replied, shaking his head.
“You—then what do you want?” Feng Yuling forced herself to suppress her anger.
This Heart-Calming Herb was of immense importance to her, and her future position within the Feng family depended on it.