"..."
In Rivernorth City, Qi Feng, who had just gotten up, stood stock-still after hearing what Chen Fan had said on the Communication Talisman, peering out the inn window for a long time, expressionless and wordless.
He had turned in late the previous night, thinking over and over about how he would overcome the crisis if he were Chen Fan.
Just after waking up, he received a request for help from Chen Fan.
He had initially thought the other party wanted the King of Medicine Valley to intervene. Yet unexpectedly, it was to inquire about herbs. At first, he had even thought the other party had discovered a wild herb on Nameless Mountain.
This was perfectly normal.
In such a vast mountain, it was hardly surprising that there would be a few wild herbs.
Not until more and more herbs had been mentioned did he come to his senses.
When Chen Fan said he was in the Alchemy Sect's herb garden, Qi Feng got stupefied, not knowing what to say. His worldview, taking shape over the years, collapsed at that moment.
The Alchemy Sect's herb garden?
How did Chen Fan get there?
Could it be that the Alchemy Sect had invited Chen Fan to visit? How was that possible?
Then, there was only one possibility left.
Just at that moment —
Elder Xu pushed the door open and said softly, "Young Master, the Valley has sent an urgent message. Your line was busy; they couldn't reach you."
"First, Fan Sect has officially changed its name to Fan Realm."
"Second, a stick of incense's time ago, Fan Realm carried out a carpet-bombardment on the Alchemy Sect with a horse carriage that could fly. The Alchemy Sect... was massacred. If nothing unexpected happened, there should be no survivors."
"Memory Stones recording the battle are being urgently delivered."
"The Valley Lord has ordered us to make more efforts to befriend the Fan Realm and establish a cooperative relationship."
"..."
After a long silence, Qi Feng finally said hoarsely, "I know. My communication Talisman is still connected."
"Realm Lord Chen, the Alchemy Sect has a considerable quantity of herbs. Transplanting them is quite a hassle."
"The King of Medicine Valley is not far from the Alchemy Sect. If needed, the King of Medicine Valley can send people to help you with that. No charge."
Chen Fan's laughter soon came from the Communication Talisman.
"That would be excellent indeed."
"Thanks a lot to the King of Medicine Valley for the assistance."
After hanging up.
Qi Feng then turned to look at Elder Xu, "Contact the Valley to arrange for the First Elder to lead disciples to help... clean up the battlefield."
At that moment, he felt somewhat dazed.
The King of Medicine Valley and the Alchemy Sect had been adversaries for so long. It felt a bit unreal when he suddenly learned that the Alchemy Sect was gone ...
So fast?
Killing the Alchemy Sect Young Master one day and advancing on the Alchemy Sect the next; are you going to go on a vacation tomorrow?
...
Throughout Riversouth and Rivernorth.
All notable forces fell silent on the spot upon receiving news of this. They had never expected such brutality and savageness from the force that had risen during the rainy season.
The Alchemy Sect was gone.
It took Fan Realm a stick of incense's time(30 minutes) to lay waste to the city.
"So many high-level Alchemists are gone just like that. What a waste."
Somewhere in a Riversouth force, an old man sat dazedly by the window. He had just received an order from the Alchemy Sect to target the Fan Realm, and before long, the Alchemy Sect was wiped out. The messages arriving within hours of each other had caused him overwhelming bewilderment.
"Well..."
A trusted subordinate of his ventured, "Should we still target the Fan Realm?"
"..."
Deadpan, the aged man looked toward his trusted subordinate, "If you're sick in the head, go get treated."
"Your subordinate understands."
...
"Very good."
Standing in the ruins of the Alchemy Sect, Chen Fan surveyed the vast expanse of herbs in the herb garden, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes. The quantity was substantial, enough to sell for a huge sum.
But the bombardment was too thorough.
Many herbs had been blasted to smithereens--quite a pity.
"Pockmark Wang, you take Dayu and transplant all the Eerie-plants and Natural Treasures into the carriage. As for those herbs, we won't transplant them until the King of Medicine arrives."
"Zhou Mo, you take Qiu Junior and hurry to those high-value buildings, like the Library, and take all the valuable things. Qi Chong, you go to the neighbouring large city and recruit some casual workers. Have them scavenge the low-value buildings."
"You only have two shichen (1 shichen equals 2 hours)."
"Time is tight. Everyone, work hard."
"We must leave Riversouth before nightfall, lest the rainy season arrive tonight and we get stranded here."
"Yes!"
After giving all these orders, Chen Fan once again piloted the Imperial Dragon-horse Carriage to land near a breach in the city wall. He didn't stay in the city ruins, as the Jadeite Thumb Ring that could detect killing intent had been given to Zhou Mo.
If there was a surviving high-level cultivator, who popped out from the ruins to attack him, he might die.
It was safer to stay in the Carriage.
After all, if Zhou Mo and the others died, he could take them back for emergency treatment, or at worst, avenge them.
But if he died, the Fan Realm would be disbanded on the spot, and everyone would die.
If he stayed in the ruins, Zhou Mo would have to worry about his safety. Staying in a safe place would free Zhou Mo and the others from worries as they ransacked.
...
"..."
Crippled Monkey carried a large chest on his shoulder, rushed into the nearby collapsed Library, and kept stuffing bamboo scrolls into the chest. He didn't even look at the names, just took all in sight.
"The Complete Guide to Herbs."
"Formula of Cultivation Pill."
"Formula of Feigned Death Pill."
"Heart-Drilling Spear Technique."
"Self-Obscuring Footwork."
"Evergreen Art."
"..."
All kinds of pill formulas, martial arts, ancient text fragments, Sect records, etc., were all packed away!
"Bang!"
Crippled Monkey kicked over a wooden shelf that had already been looted, rushed to another nearby shelf that had toppled, and, like a bandit, stuffed all the scattered bamboo scrolls into the chest.
"Huh?"
He suddenly realized something, crouched down, and felt the wooden shelf. It seemed like good stuff. Later, he'd have some casual workers pack it up; maybe something good was hidden inside.
"Found it!"
Right at that moment —
From the side, the Wang Patriarch lifted a painting hanging from the wall, revealing a token-shaped indentation in the wall. A glint flashed in his cloudy eyes, "Brother Crippled Monkey, there's a hidden chamber here. I knew there was bound to be a hidden chamber in the Library. The real good stuff is inside."
"..."
Crippled Monkey gave this old fellow a strange glance. To put it bluntly, this guy was old enough to be his grandfather. How could he call him "Brother Crippled Monkey" so unabashedly?
But he didn't say much.
He retrieved the Sect Leader Token from his pocket and pressed it into the indentation.
The wall soon opened to reveal a stone passage leading underground. It wasn't long. He walked in front, with Wang Patriarch behind him. The passage led to a basement, filled with chests.
At a glance, there were more than a dozen chests.
Crippled Monkey pried open a locked chest. The light from countless Eerie Stones instantly brightened the basement.
"Whew..."
Seeing this, Crippled Monkey took a deep breath, then turned and shouted up the passage, "Someone, we've hit a big haul here!"
It had to be said that finding hidden chambers was Wang Patriarch's forte. After all, this guy had been the Patriarch of a Clan; he must have built his own hidden chambers.