Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Silk Binding Force, Calm Cultivation Skill

Ever since Sect Leader Liu Xuan left the Sect with the Elders and disciples, a steady stream of good news had been flowing back to the Cyan Yuan Sect. The recent deaths of an Elder and a Direct Disciple were gradually overshadowed.

The entire incident, from the moment the news arrived to when no one spoke of it anymore, lasted a mere half-month.

The Cyan Yuan Sect had already exacted its revenge several times over, so the original transgression was slowly forgotten.

This reinforced Yang Chan’s understanding that only by becoming Immortal could one leave a lasting trace of their existence.

He didn’t want to be the one forgotten; he wanted to be the one who did the forgetting.

Time flew by, and a month passed in a flash. Yang Chan’s duties switched from sorting fresh herbs back to assisting Xu Gaocen with preparing medicines.

After Li Junhao was taken away, he never returned. Although Yang Chan hadn’t deliberately sought out information, he still heard news about Li Junhao and Zhao Ziqing.

Zhao Ziqing was a mole planted in the Cyan Yuan Sect by Lingyu Palace, secretly passing on information. He was now a public enemy within the Sect.

His goal had been to become an Intermediate Pharmacist’s assistant. He would then use the position’s access to tamper with the medicine packets.

Once he tampered with the packets, his accomplices responsible for decocting and delivering the medicine would also make their move.

They already had people in place among the Basic Level Pharmacists, but not among the Intermediate Pharmacists. He had originally targeted the open position with Xu Gaocen, but Yang Chan had snatched it right out from under him, leaving no opportunity.

When Zhao Ziqing learned that Li Junhao was targeting Yang Chan, they immediately hit it off. They joined forces, scheming to get Yang Chan kicked out of the Medicine Hall.

Li Junhao wanted the spot in the Pharmacist training program, while Zhao Ziqing wanted the Pharmacist’s Assistant position that Yang Chan would vacate. Their cooperation was, in theory, a win-win.

And now, both halves of that “win-win” partnership were locked up in the Law Enforcement Hall.

A great deal of useful information was extracted from them, which in turn exposed a spy network within the Cyan Yuan Sect. Every disciple in the Sect was investigated, and many were arrested.

The ambush of the Cyan Yuan Sect Elder and his party had already suggested a leak. Now that this spy network had been rooted out, the source of the problem was clear.

Among the disciples accompanying that Elder was one of their spies, who had leaked all the information about their movements.

The Three Major Sects had made extensive preparations before moving against the Cyan Yuan Sect, the Overlord Level power of Qing State. Even so, they still failed to gain the upper hand once the conflict began.

Although Li Junhao wasn’t a spy himself, he had collaborated with one from a rival Sect. His punishment would not be light.

Swapping medicines, framing another Pharmacist’s Assistant—once discovered, such acts made it impossible for him to remain in the Cyan Yuan Sect.

Cooperating with a rival Sect on top of that only compounded his crimes.

Although a final verdict hadn’t been reached, Yang Chan knew Li Junhao’s life was effectively over.

’This is a pretty good outcome.’

’He chose his own path. People who make mistakes must pay the price for their actions.’

When Yang Chan arrived at the Medicine Preparation Institute, Xu Gaocen was late as usual. As he put it, he had worked too hard recently and was going to take it easy for a while.

Before, the hard work had been preparing all sorts of medicine packets to be sent out. Now, they had to wait for certain herbs to dry before they could be prepared.

Lately, Pharmacist Xu Gaocen was spending more time checking on the wounded who had been sent back. His eyes would even light up whenever he saw them.

Yang Chan saw Xu Gaocen using his own concoctions to experiment on these wounded men. While not life-threatening, an ineffective medicine could mean a few extra days of being bedridden.

Naturally, Yang Chan pretended not to notice.

’What could he do? He was just a Pharmacist’s Assistant, after all.’

While helping, Yang Chan would also observe the medicines Xu Gaocen prepared and commit them to memory, which provided him with a good deal of knowledge.

If he were to spend his Potential Points on his Pharmacist skill, he could probably even understand the parts that were currently beyond him.

The thought had no sooner appeared than Yang Chan quashed it.

The Cyan Yuan Sect had enough Pharmacists for the time being. He would use his remaining Potential Points to improve his Cultivation Techniques.

Within a month, Yang Chan’s Martial Arts Cultivation had naturally advanced to the Second Layer Yellow Brass of External Refining Copper Skin. This was despite him spending a large amount of Potential Points and energy on his Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill.

Through his Cultivation of the Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill, Yang Chan’s body had also developed Silk Binding Force—a type of Power he had heard of but never managed to cultivate before.

Silk Binding Force was different from Wild Ox Force.

Silk Binding Force, also known as Spiral Silk Binding Force, mimicked the rotation of a screw. In motion, it wound and unwound with every advance and retreat, creating a stance suited for both offense and defense.

However, the Power Yang Chan had cultivated had an additional layer compared to what he’d seen in demonstrations. A separate reserve of Silk Binding Force was being nurtured within his Lower Dantian, and this Power didn’t interfere with his Wild Ox Force.

Normally, before a type of Power achieved Great Success in one’s Martial Arts Cultivation, adding a second type would cause them to interfere with each other. The fact that everything was proceeding smoothly was a welcome and unexpected development.

The progress of his Calm Cultivation Skill wasn’t as rapid as the development of his Silk Binding Force. However, Yang Chan was now practicing Qi Collection, Grasping Qi, the Dantian Internal Rotation Qi Cultivation Skill, the Cross-legged Health Cultivation Skill, and the Sitting Health Cultivation Skill. Every day, he could feel a clear stream of qi circulating within him, leaving him in an increasingly better state.

Simultaneously, Yang Chan was also practicing the Tai Chi Primordial Posture as a supplementary skill, which made his stance more stable and added strength to his limbs.

The only slight disappointment was that his Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill had not yet reached Tier Three. But it was close—very close.

Yang Chan had a premonition that once his Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill reached Tier Three, “living to a hundred” would no longer be a blessing for him, but a curse.

After Li Junhao was taken away, Xu Gaocen recruited a new Pharmacist’s Assistant. The recruitment process this time involved rigorous trials, far more extensive than the assessment Yang Chan had undergone.

This was to prevent the new assistant from harboring any malicious intent.

The new Pharmacist’s Assistant was assigned to Shu Yu for training. However, this person was a far cry from Yang Chan. He was clumsy and disorganized from the start, and after being given more tasks, he made mistakes that angered Xu Gaocen, nearly costing him his position as a Pharmacist’s Assistant.

Fortunately, because the recruitment process was now so complex, he was given another chance. At the same time, his workload was lightened to prevent further errors.

It was far better for a Pharmacist’s Assistant to be slow than to make mistakes. As for everything else, practice would make perfect.

At first, Shu Yu was worried the newcomer might be like Yang Chan, deliberately holding back his skills. It wasn’t until she realized he was genuinely average that she went over all the key points and precautions with him. Even then, his progress remained slow.

His pace was much slower than others Shu Yu had trained in the past, to say nothing of comparing him to Yang Chan.

During this period, Xu Gaocen also lectured on various topics related to pharmacology and Medicinal Properties. Although Yang Chan had already mastered most of it, he didn’t mind listening to the Intermediate Pharmacist’s explanations.

After Li Junhao was taken away, there was one other small change for Yang Chan: he was assigned more tasks. Who could blame them? His progress was the fastest, after all.

Xu Gaocen praised Yang Chan once again. Of course, what Yang Chan appreciated most was the increase in his monthly stipend.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep