52: Chapter 52 Mountain King

After consuming the green lotus flowers, by the next day, Owl, the Dragon Li, and Lu Qing had all regained their youth.

Owl's appearance hadn't changed much, but her cloudy, aged eyes had become bright and full of wisdom.

The Dragon Li was different; his sparse fur had shed, replaced by a brand new coat. He was no longer weak with age or lethargic.

"Meow-ow!" (This lord has come back to life!)

"Meow-ow~" (Old bird, come and fight!)

The Dragon Li's eyes were sharp, his fighting spirit high as he looked down on everything. Having just regained his vitality, he immediately wanted to battle Owl. It was clear that Cat Eagle's foul language had been learned from him.

"Roar~" (Today we settle who our son belongs to!! Take this, Storm Nebula Rip!!!)

The Dragon Li didn't hesitate; he acted as soon as he spoke. True qi surged out, transforming into a fierce tiger like a Dharma Body. His two massive claws looked extremely sharp.

"Bring it on!"

Owl didn't want to fight, but the Dragon Li's comment about settling the ownership of their son meant she couldn't back down!

The son was hers!!

Both were speed-type fighters. Within a few breaths, they leaped out of the sinkhole and battled outside, stirring up clouds and sending sand and stones flying.

Lu Hu watched for a while; both of them were at an exceptionally powerful level even among Grandmasters.

A bottom-tier fighter like Lu Qing would only be hung up and beaten if he encountered them!

"Great King!"

A fair-skinned young man jumped up to the sinkhole. He was clean-cut, with skin even more tender and white than a woman's, looking very young and green at first glance.

Yet, he was currently wearing a coarse cloth robe. Hidden beneath his white hair was jet-black, lustrous hair, and he had a beard pasted to his chin. He was dressed as an old man but had the face of a young idol, looking somewhat out of place.

This was Lu Qing. Consuming the green lotus had restored his youth a bit too much. Combined with his mastery of the Medical Dao and his expertise in health preservation, he frequently nurtured his own body.

After regaining his youth, the effects of his daily health regimen were on full display. His complexion was rosy, and his skin was as smooth as jade—he was so healthy there wasn't a single ailment to be found.

However, Lu Qing was quite repulsed by this appearance. He was a world-renowned Medical Daoist Grandmaster and had always maintained a sage-like image. If he were to look like this at home and be seen by his old friends, he would be too ashamed to face anyone.

Fortunately, this was a deep mountain forest, and those around him were animals, which gave Lu Qing a sliver of psychological comfort.

"Roar~" (Come here and let me see!)

Lu Hu extended a paw. He was quite curious about how this youth restoration worked. Looking at the Dragon Li's state, it felt like even his mindset had become younger.

Lu Hu placed his paw on Lu Qing's shoulder to check the changes.

The green lotus flower possessed the ability to turn decay into magic. Lu Qing's body was full of vitality, and his aptitude was even stronger than before. He was very young; this power nourished not only the flesh but also the soul.

Yet Lu Qing's personality remained the same as before. If the Dragon Li had become younger in spirit, perhaps it was because he always had a young heart.

The only drawback of the green lotus flower was that it could only be used to restore vitality and improve aptitude; it couldn't directly increase cultivation power!

Lu Hu withdrew his tiger paw and asked, "How long does it take for the green lotus to mature?"

"I don't know." Lu Qing shook his head. In the inheritance left by the Medical Immortal, there were very few records regarding the maturation of green lotus seeds, and it differed every time.

Sometimes it took ten years to bear seeds after the flower wilted, and sometimes it was just half a year.

Furthermore, the green lotus was very difficult to tend to. If not cared for properly, it would stop growing. Even if one continued to pour Essence of All Things on it, it wouldn't grow, making it no different from being dead.

Lu Hu sighed. This green lotus was truly high-maintenance. If he dared to cut off its meals, it would dare to die on him. So delicate, but he had no choice but to serve it with Essence of All Things every day!

Lu Hu continued to watch the battle between Owl and the Dragon Li. Between the two, the Dragon Li had a slight advantage, but after fighting until dark, Owl gained the upper hand.

The two sides were evenly matched, making it difficult to determine a winner!

Lu Hu grew tired of watching and returned to the sinkhole to cultivate, plant herbs, and meditate on the Four Methods of Thunder and Lightning.

After several days of diligent cultivation, Lu Hu was surprised to find that the 'Rain Summoning' divine ability within the Four Methods of Thunder and Lightning was no ordinary water. It could summon dew illuminated by the morning light, the thin primordial qi of heaven and earth... all sorts of energies along with the rain.

He could summon a spiritual rain to nourish the mountains and rivers, or a poisonous rain to kill all living things!

'Even more beneficial for planting spirit herbs.'

Lu Hu commented inwardly. From then on, every morning and evening, Lu Hu would perform 'Rain Summoning' infused with spiritual energy specifically to help the spirit herbs grow.

Lu Hu's cultivation was just right; the area covered by the 'Rain Summoning' divine ability happened to cover all the spirit herbs.

With the triple boost of Spirit Fertilizer, spirit soil, and spiritual rain, 'century-old' spirit herbs like spirit ginseng, divine lingzhi, and mountain essence soon matured one after another.

Every 'century-old' spirit herb could advance Lu Hu's cultivation by a large margin. After eating four or five in a row, he quickly brought the third stage to completion.

But to break through, he either had to accumulate a large amount—at least a hundred century-old spirit herbs to be refined at once—or use higher-level spirit herbs like green lotus seeds to break through to the fourth stage.

And Lu Hu really didn't have the wealth to cultivate a hundred 'century-old' spirit herbs.

Once his cultivation hit a bottleneck, Lu Hu stopped consuming new 'century-old' spirit herbs. Instead, he stored them, cleared the spirit soil, and planted new ones.

Since he couldn't cultivate for the time being, Lu Hu opened the system panel to check his current three tasks.

[Harvest deep sea pearls (0/10)]

[Harvest golden vines (0/10)]

[Harvest golden crystal rice (0/1000 tons)]

...

Starting from the eleventh task, the difficulty had suddenly spiked. Although the items required weren't exactly spirit-grade, they were very rare and extraordinary.

Especially the thirteenth task: 'golden crystal rice.' It required ten sets of a hundred tons, which added up to a thousand tons.

There was no record of these in the compendium of a hundred herbs, but the name 'golden crystal rice' suggested it was a type of grain.

Lu Hu wasn't sure what the yield of this rice was, but precious things were usually rare, so the yield per mu wouldn't be very high.

To get a thousand tons of golden crystal rice, how many mu of land would he have to clear?

At least a thousand mu, right!

After all, the task wasn't a one-off; he would have to complete it repeatedly in the future. A thousand mu of land was a necessity.

This was the largest farming task to date. The Wild Boar King often cleared wasteland in Tiger King Valley into fertile fields, but even now, he had only cleared a little over a hundred mu.

If he found the golden crystal rice, he would have to clear a thousand mu of fertile land. Lu Hu definitely wasn't going to do that work himself.

'I wonder if Piggy can handle it.'

The Wild Boar King exercised every day. Whether it was because Lu Qing taught him well or something else, the Wild Boar King's strength was progressing rapidly. Not only was he a 1,500-pound super giant muscular boar king, but he was now also a semi-spirit beast with internal power.

His work efficiency was top-notch, but clearing a thousand mu of fertile land single-handedly was still a lot of pressure.

'I am the King of the Mountain; I must do right by my subjects.'

Lu Hu thought to himself. He had proclaimed himself the King of the Mountain, and the creatures in his territory were all King Lu Hu's subjects.

As his subjects, their lives should naturally progress toward better things!

In the future, if there were tasks requiring large-scale planting, he would leave them to his subjects. They would have food and drink without worry, and he would complete his tasks—a win-win!

If any performed well, he could even reward them with precious seeds or even spirit herb seeds to plant.

This was a good thing!

'That's how it should be done.'

Lu Hu stood up and walked toward Tiger King Valley. The prerequisite for having his subjects farm with him was that the groups needed leaders with decent intelligence. Groups with spirit beasts were the most suitable.

Take the Wild Boar King's herd, for example. In his spare time these past few days, Lu Hu had seen the Wild Boar King supervising a few boars clearing wasteland.

Under the management of the semi-spirit beast Wild Boar King, the intelligence of the boars in the herd had also slightly improved. Some of them could already help the Wild Boar King with work to share the burden.

Work like clearing wasteland and tilling fields didn't require much intelligence. Like plow oxen, they only needed to be obedient and work under a manager's leadership.

Lu Hu planned to start the first line of communal development with the wild boar herd.

In Tiger King Valley, Lu Qing and Mo Yun were refining Essence of All Things, while the Wild Boar King was sleeping.

Lu Hu didn't go to the Wild Boar King. Although the guy had become smarter, he hadn't reached the point of literacy. Communication still relied on guessing, which was too troublesome.

The idea of developing the boar herd could be left to Lu Qing; he would help Lu Hu resolve these trifles.

"I understand, Great King."

Lu Qing nodded and made a note of the matter.

"Roar~" (Right, melt this down.)

Lu Hu suddenly produced a large black sword. This was a trophy he had captured back then. The material was passable, but it was useless to him, so he might as well forge a rake for Piggy as a reward.

This was his Great Marshal Pig, after all. How could a marshal not have a weapon?

He had originally thought about asking Black Bull to forge it later, but on second thought, it wasn't any particularly precious material, so he'd let Lu Qing do it.

"This is..."

Lu Qing's pupils couldn't help but shrink when he saw the sword Lu Hu brought out. He hurriedly took it and checked the characters on the hilt.

"It really is the ink gold heavy sword!"

"Roar?" (You recognize it?)

Lu Hu asked. Of the six Grandmasters who had blocked his path back then, he only knew the one from the Tai Kingdom.

He didn't know the identities of the other five. Lu Hu quite wanted to know which forces they belonged to so it would be easier to bully them if he encountered them in the future!

"This is the sword of the Sword Sect's Master, forged from meteoric iron!"

Lu Qing shook his head in amazement. He had seen that Sword Master—only seventy years old, he had entered the Grandmaster realm at a young age, challenged the world's sects with the ink gold heavy sword, defeated Grandmasters from all paths, and made a name for himself across the world!

Now his weapon was in the Great King's hands...

Hmph, indeed young and arrogant, to dare provoke the Great King.

"Roar~" (Do you recognize these?)

Lu Hu brought out a wooden staff, a spear, a bag of silver needles, and a soft sword. These belonged to the six people. Previously, there had been a pair of hammers, but they had long since been melted down.

"This one should be from the Poison Domain."

Lu Qing pointed at the wooden staff, then looked at the spear and shook his head, then looked at the silver needles and soft sword.

"Hidden weapons... possibly from the Blood Kill Pavilion. Soft swords are used by many Grandmasters; I can't tell."

"Does the Great King know their martial arts moves? Perhaps I could guess from those."

Lu Hu lowered his head in thought, then shook it. Those six people were too weak—every single one of them was busy running away, so what martial arts moves could there be? Forget it, knowing a few was enough.

Lu Hu silently memorized the names Sword Sect, Poison Domain, and Blood Kill Pavilion, then left Tiger King Valley.

Lu Qing continued with the task of refining Essence of All Things. During the busy process, seeing the ink gold heavy sword left by the Great King, his thoughts couldn't help but drift to the Kun Kingdom.

"I wonder how the Kun Kingdom is doing now."

Lu Qing murmured. Since that plague broke out thirty years ago, the Kun Kingdom's national strength had been far from what it used to be. The treasury was empty, there was almost no grain, and before they could restore the people's livelihood, foreign enemies were eyeing them greedily, invading the territory time and again. Everyone in the Kun Kingdom was exhausted from dealing with it. Even he had been traveling through various kingdoms, using his medical skills to build connections and help the Kun Kingdom, never stopping for a single day, all to see the Kun Kingdom regain its former glory.

In thirty years, the Kun Kingdom had recovered a bit of primordial qi. When he left a year ago, it was truly because he didn't have much time left to live, so he came to the Tianduan Mountains for one last gamble.

Now that he had regained his youth and seen the ink gold heavy sword, Lu Qing worried about the Kun Kingdom. He wanted to know the current state of the kingdom he had spent his later years laboring to save without even a peaceful retirement.

After all, the Sword Sect was from the Qian Kingdom, and the small countries invading the Kun Kingdom were all instigated by the Qian Kingdom.

The Qian Kingdom was powerful and harbored wolfish ambitions; the Kun Kingdom had had a very difficult time over these years.

Lu Qing looked at the refined Essence of All Things. It wasn't just one day's worth for the green lotus; even ten days' worth would be enough.

"I'll wait a few more days, then ask the Great King for leave."

Lu Qing made his decision, intending to return to the Kun Kingdom once he had refined enough Essence of All Things. A Grandmaster from the Qian Kingdom had died; he had to bring this good news back.

"My beard..."

Lu Qing touched his smooth chin, feeling quite helpless. These past few days, he had been sunbathing shirtless and using Crimson Molten Beast meat to temper his body, intentionally trying to change his image.

It was working; after persisting, his skin tone had turned more yellow and was no longer so tender and white. Under the tempering of the Crimson Molten Beast meat, muscles had grown, and his frame looked very strong.

The only thing that disappointed Lu Qing was that his beard still hadn't grown back. Without a beard, returning like this might make his old friends die of envy, but his image as a Medical Daoist Grandmaster would be gone.

"Sigh!"

If it's gone, it's gone. He couldn't delay national affairs just because of a beard.

Lu Qing continued refining the Essence of All Things.

...

Lu Hu arrived at the mysterious cave dwelling. The Dragon Li wasn't there; Owl was sitting on a stone seat drinking tea and looking at a piece of beast hide.

In the corner, various books were placed—some were bamboo slips, some were beast hides, and some were paper, all covered in writing.

These were all Owl's collection. Over the past few days, Lu Hu had chatted with Owl a few times. When Owl was young and didn't have spirit herbs to guard, she liked to travel the world and learn about local customs and cultures.

Because of this, Owl had collected many books, seen various landscapes, and knew the strange news and secrets of various countries.

Owl was equivalent to a walking encyclopedia. Although this book was a version from over a hundred years ago, it didn't affect her vast store of knowledge.

Although Lu Qing had also traveled through various kingdoms and was well-informed, he was only a Master at the time, and his vision couldn't compare to Owl's.

The difference was like the Crimson Molten Beast and the Crimson Molten Fish of the Cold Sea.

Some Masters didn't even know what a Crimson Molten Beast was, and even if they did, they had never seen one with their own eyes. To a Master, the center of the Cold Sea was full of mystery.

But a Grandmaster could directly enter the center of the Cold Sea and see not only Crimson Molten Beasts but also Dragon Kuns and Rongxiaos.

This was the gap in vision between a Master and a Grandmaster.

The herbs Lu Hu currently needed for his tasks weren't recorded in the compendium of a hundred herbs, and he didn't know where to look. Lu Hu felt that a walking encyclopedia like Owl might know something.