Chapter 112: When the Medicine King Sect Flourished

"Friend Jiao, are you running another losing business?" Li Fan quipped.

Noticing a customer, Jiao Xiuyuan's angry expression instantly melted into a smile. However, hearing Li Fan's jest, his face immediately fell. He mumbled awkwardly, "What are you saying, fellow Daoist? I, Jiao, never engage in losing propositions." Then, he gnashed his teeth and muttered under his breath, "That brat dared to trick me! Does he really think Jiao Xiuyuan is easy to bully...?"

Li Fan had apparently heard him say this more than once, so he simply smiled without a word. Glancing at the small cauldron on the table, he then asked, "Friend Jiao, what's this small cauldron...?"

Jiao Xiuyuan's eyes lit up, and he immediately launched into an enthusiastic introduction for Li Fan: "This small cauldron is truly remarkable. I went through immense effort to unearth it from the ruins of a collapsed sect."

"Oh? What's its purpose?" Li Fan's interest was piqued. Most items that had survived the Great Calamity and endured until now were far from ordinary.

"Friend Daoist, have you heard of the renowned Medicine King Sect?" Jiao Xiuyuan asked mysteriously.

"No, I haven't," Li Fan replied, shaking his head.

Jiao Xiuyuan's smile immediately stiffened. Fortunately, his professional demeanor was strong, and he promptly began to elaborate for Li Fan. "The Medicine King Sect was one of the most distinguished sects from ancient times, renowned worldwide for its alchemy and medicinal herb cultivation."

"It is said that after the Immortal Venerable imparted his teachings, and before the Great Calamity, Liu Ruchen, the then-leader of the Medicine King Sect, had a subtle premonition that profound changes were imminent in the world. Consequently, Liu Ruchen, demonstrating extreme resolve, led the entire Medicine King Sect. Using the Medicine King Cauldron as their vessel, they rent the void and departed, transcending the realm."

This was the first time Li Fan had heard such an anecdote. "Transcend the realm and depart? Where did they go?"

Jiao Xiuyuan shrugged. "That was thousands of years ago; who could possibly know? They might have gone to a wandering minor world nearby, or perhaps even a completely new one. In any case, that's not the main point."

"The point is this cauldron!"

Li Fan nodded slightly, while his clone, Lin Fan, rapidly searched for the keyword: "world." Related information instantly surfaced. The information was valuable, surprisingly requiring over a thousand contribution points to access.

Long before, cultivators had already established a fundamental cosmology. The cultivation world they currently inhabited was not the sole existing realm. Not only did numerous attached minor worlds and miniature independent grotto-heavens exist around their world, but beyond the endless void, there were also other existences similar to their own world. Before the Great Calamity, that ancient and prosperous cultivation world had frequently interacted with other realms. Cultivators of that era referred to themselves as "Xuanhuang Realm Cultivators."

Li Fan paused for a moment. "Xuanhuang..." His thoughts churned as he continued to read.

However, for reasons unknown, these connections and communications abruptly ceased one day. There were once cultivators who attempted to traverse the void and visit those other worlds they had once communicated with, to investigate. But none ever returned. Later, the Great Calamity arrived, bringing about colossal changes to the world. The Xuanhuang Realm, in particular, seemed to become self-isolated. Breaking through the void to leave became infinitely more challenging. Hundreds of years after the slaughter ceased and order was re-established, new cultivators emerged who attempted to re-establish contact with other worlds. However, there have been no significant discoveries over the years. Nevertheless, related research appears to be ongoing and has not been abandoned.

"So that's it, the Xuanhuang Realm."

"Does that mean the Xuanhuang Cleansing Heart Incantation dates back to ancient times? But the Immortal-Mortal Miasma clearly hadn't emerged then, so the timeline doesn't quite align." Li Fan mused inwardly.

What exactly transpired during ancient times remained unclear; even within the Tianxuan Realm, there were no explicit written records. What was certain was that a considerable number of cultivators had survived from that era to the present day. For instance, the white-haired elder Li Fan had previously met. Yet, they all, without exception, maintained silence on the matter, leaving this period of history shrouded in mist and perplexing uncertainty. Modern cultivators could only glean insights into the events of ancient times through hearsay.

What Kou Hong had told Li Fan back then was the prevalent theory circulating in the cultivation world today. This theory stated that the Great Calamity, which prevented simultaneous cultivation of immortal arts, occurred before the Immortal-Mortal Miasma became widespread. However, Li Fan later discovered the tomb of Yin Xing, an outer disciple of the Taiyan Sect. According to the tomb murals, the Taiyan Sect clearly still existed during the prevalence of the Immortal-Mortal Miasma. Yin Xing himself had been tasked with relocating mortals. This directly contradicted Kou Hong's account. Li Fan, however, placed greater trust in "archaeological" evidence.

"According to Kou Hong, there seems to have been a period between the inability to cultivate immortal arts and the full onset of the slaughter."

"Perhaps this period was even longer than commonly believed."

"Indeed, the cultivators of that era must have immediately foreseen the consequences of being unable to cultivate immortal arts simultaneously. They would have then exhausted every means to save themselves."

"The collapse of order wasn't an overnight event. The ancient cultivation world existed for an unknown duration, and it might not have been as fragile as presumed."

"Furthermore, the temporal scale for cultivators vastly differs from that of mortals."

"In the ancient cultivation world, cultivators were still quite long-lived."

"A period of ten or twenty years might have been just a single cultivation seclusion for them."

"True fear, despair, and slaughter likely only fully erupted when cultivators found their cultivation stagnating and their lifespans drawing to an end."

"Initially, order could be barely maintained. But later, the Immortal-Mortal Miasma broke out..." Li Fan's eyes narrowed. Of course, this was merely his speculation, based on various known clues. The full truth might still harbor some hidden complexities. But generally, it should not deviate significantly from Li Fan's conjectures.

While Li Fan was lost in thought, Jiao Xiuyuan, noticing his extensive explanation received no reaction from the other party, picked up the small cauldron and waved it in front of Li Fan. "Friend Daoist, what do you say? Do you want this small Medicine King Cauldron, or not?"

Li Fan immediately snapped back to attention, his expression unchanged. "What exactly is this small cauldron for? Friend Jiao, please explain it again. My mind was elsewhere just now."

Jiao Xiuyuan sighed in resignation and reiterated, "This small Medicine King Cauldron was originally used by members of the Medicine King Sect to plant and cultivate various spiritual plants and herbs."

"It contains its own self-contained space and can continuously generate wood-attribute spiritual energy, thereby accelerating the growth of herbs."

Li Fan frowned upon hearing this. "Such a treasure... why did that person just now refuse it?"

Jiao Xiuyuan offered an awkward smile, then, without dissembling, explained truthfully, "Friend Daoist, haven't you heard? The Myriad Immortals Alliance's newly discovered wood-attribute spiritual energy grotto-heaven has begun selling its first batch of cultivated spiritual plants and herbs."

"The quantity is immense, so..." Jiao Xiuyuan tilted his head, a helpless expression on his face. "The price has collapsed."