An urban metropolis carrying the traces of years gone by.
Chu Yuan stepped out from the void, facing a bustling city teeming with people.
Once inside the city, streets could be seen everywhere.
The most abundant shops were those selling various medicinal herbs.
Not only were there people from the Southern Mysterious Domain, but many from other large domains as well, rushing to purchase medicinal herbs from the hands of the locals.
The Southern Mysterious Domain was famed for its abundance of medicinal herbs amongst the Five Mysterious Domains.
Nearly half of the medicinal herbs from the Five Mysterious Domains were produced here.
"Dear sir, this positioning compass only requires ten sovereign-grade Spirit Stones. If you manage to find a Five Spirits Fruit, the opportunity to make a fortune is right in front of you!"
"Ha ha, the cost of your positioning compass is only one sovereign-grade Spirit Stone. Don't let him deceive you, sir. Buy mine instead. It's several times more effective and only requires five sovereign-grade Spirit Stones from you."
"There is no such thing as business ethics with you."
...
No sooner had Chu Yuan entered the city than he found many people selling goods on either side of the streets.
The positioning compasses they mentioned were the same ones that the previous group of people had used. They were equipped with Void Crystal Stones which could sense fluctuations in the void.
However, the small space has been destroyed by Chu Yuan, rendering the compasses useless here. No one else could possibly stumble upon it again.
Chu Yuan was not interested.
As one who held the title of Void Twister, his probing abilities surpassed that of a mere compass, and he could easily make one himself if he wished to.
He strolled through the city as if sightseeing, observing the people and culture of the Southern Mysterious Domain without purchasing any medicinal herbs for himself.
After all, he had the Qiankun Trading Company to labor for him. The company's numerous trade routes overshadowed his own and they had collaborations with many medicine shops, much better than him laboring to collect them himself.
"As expected of the herb-producing Southern Mysterious Domain. I have seen many precious herbs here that are rarely seen in the Eastern Mysterious Domain. A lot of them are displayed casually like regular vegetables."
Exclaimed Chu Yuan.
At this time, Chu Yuan discovered a small stall that attracted his attention.
The stall owner was just a teenager in his teens who was at the Divine Realm stage. Laid out next to him were more than a dozen herbs that could be used to refine Divine Elixirs.
To Chu Yuan, these herbs seemed ordinary, but the abundant Spiritual Energy they contained made his eyes twinkle. They held several times more energy than similar herbs.
"I want all these herbs of yours. Here, take this Spirit Stone."
The boy was stubborn, with reddened eyes. Even after hearing Chu Yuan's offer of a hundred Spirit Stones, he did not sell his herbs, instead packed up his stall and prepared to leave.
"You said you're from the Medicine Cultivation Clan." Chu Yuan said.
"You're not from the Southern Mysterious Domain!"
The boy quickly turned around and looked at Chu Yuan.
"Indeed, I am not from the Southern Mysterious Domain." Chu Yuan said.
"There aren't many people in the Southern Mysterious Domain who don't know about my Medicine Cultivation Clan." The boy's eyes shone red. "We're not a lowly clan, but a noble Medicine Cultivation Clan. We were the rulers of the Southern Mysterious Domain!"
"The world changes, flowers bloom and wither, as the years go by. Who can obtain true eternity? And who remembers the forces from millions of years ago? Your Medicine Cultivation Clan may have declined now, but their past glory cannot be erased."
Chu Yuan found this boy intriguing and asked, "What's your name?"
"My name is Medicine Pine!"
The boy proudly claimed.
"Medicine Pine..." Chu Yuan nodded. "Your herbs are exceptional. Their Spiritual Energy is several times denser than similar herbs."
"Of course. My Medicine Cultivation Clan excels at raising divine plants. We have an ancient herbalist's book. How could the divine plants out there be of any comparison? The divine plants cultivated by my Medicine Cultivation Clan have several times the normal medicinal properties. If our elders cultivated them, it would be even more impressive."
Medicine Pine stood up tall and said, "And the divine plants cared for by our clan chief, can have up to ten times the medicinal properties!"
"That's incredible!"
Chu Yuan exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course. Also, we can shorten the maturing period of medicinal plants without damaging their effects; it can be even more terrifying."
Medicine Pine elaborated further, "Cultivating medicine isn't arbitrary planting but calling out the spirit within each plant and each tree with a genuine spirit. It's about understanding what these medicinal plants need. They don't understand how to cultivate medicine."
"Since there is a Medicine Cultivation Clan in the Southern Mysterious Domain, why didn't I feel the special effects in the herbs that Ning Wan gave me? Could there be something more to this?"
The boy's words made Chu Yuan more interested in the Medicine Cultivation Clan. According to the boy, the Medicine Cultivation Clan was once very brilliant. They were merely in decline now.
"Would you be able to take me to your Medicine Cultivation Clan?"
Chu Yuan was genuinely interested.
"You want to go to the Medicine Cultivation Clan?"
Medicine Pine looked up at Chu Yuan. Though his cultivation was weak, he could sense an indescribable terrifying energy from Chu Yuan, void of any hostility, so he nodded in agreement. "Alright, I'll take you to the Medicine Cultivation Clan. After all, our clan is not a secret in the Southern Mysterious Domain. Everybody can go there.
Many people come to trample over the fields of our Medicine Cultivation Clan."