<strong>Chapter 212: Nature Talent Appears!</strong>


    The young woman, whose name was Chen Ling, seemed nervous when she heard what Bai Yui said. With an anxious, earnest expression, she examined the jade slip. Perhaps hertent talent was average. After looking at it for the space of about ten breaths, she reached out her hand, which began to glow with a purple light...


    Bai Yui’s eyes began to glow.


    “Not bad, Junior Sister Chen! Okay, take out a medicinal nt seed.”


    Chen Ling quickly opened her bag of holding and took out a seed. She ced it on her open palm, then, her face very serious, began to catalyze it. The violet Qi in her hand grew denser, until it seemed it couldn’t grow any stronger. The seed began to wriggle, and then three leaves sprouted out of it.


    Many of the surrounding onlookers noticed this, and then looked at Chen Ling. Her face grew red, and she was clearly excited. She looked at Bai Yui expectantly.


    “To produce three leaves on your first try shows that you have pretty goodtent talent. Junior Sister Chen Ling, ording to my calctions, you have a ten percent chance of bing a master alchemist in the future.” He sighed emotionally, looking a bit jealous. It seemed that someone who could produce three leaves was umon among the hundred thousand apprentice alchemists. Bai Yui quickly recorded the results of her catalyzing.


    After that...


    The voice of the man lecturing about alchemy techniques drifted over. He sounded calm and solemn. “You will join District Two Valley Thirteen.” His face was austere as he looked at her.


    In a low voice, Bai Yui offered an exnation: “The hundred thousand apprentice alchemists of the Eastern Pill Division are separated into Districts One to Four. Generally speaking, only those with outstandingtent talent can enter District Two. Junior Sister Chen, go on over there to Master Uncle Zhou. Good fortune is with you today!” Looking excited and nervous, Chen Ling immediately ran over.


    “Junior Brother Fang, it’s your turn now,” said Bai Yui with a sigh. He looked at Meng Hao.


    Meng Hao stood there thoughtfully for a moment. The technique described in the jade slip was simple, but obviously, the implementation of it was fantastic. Essentially, it could catalyze the medicinal age of medicinal nts, and as such, could be viewed as a force of nature.


    “It seems only simple medicinal nts can be catalyzed using this technique,” thought Meng Hao. “Basically, you use spiritual energy to nourish the medicinal nt. Even still, this technique is extraordinary. I wonder how the Violet Fate Sect prevents it from being stolen....” He silently retrieved a medicinal nt seed from his bag of holding and ced it on his palm. He looked at it for a moment, then used the technique described in the jade slip to begin catalyzing it.


    He had two Core Seas, the first one of which contained five Perfect Dao Pirs. Before arriving at the Violet Fate Sect, he had used the Sublime Spirit Scripture to once again form the second one.


    At the moment, the only Cultivation base visible to outsiders was the aura of his second Core Sea. Its power caused the purple glow to appear on his hand. It was immediately apparent that the glow was thicker and brighter than that created by Chen Ling.


    Immediately, the seed in Meng Hao’s hand began to wriggle. Then it sprouted one leaf, two leaves, three leaves... in the blink of an eye it had already sprouted seven leaves!


    The purple glow in Meng Hao’s hand grew blinding, filling the air. Instantly, all the surrounding apprentice alchemists looked over, shocked. All eyes were on Meng Hao.


    The blinding rays of light were unthinkable, unbelievable. The man lecturing about alchemy techniques looked over wide-eyed, staring openly at Meng Hao. Next to him, Chen Ling stared in shock.


    As for Bai Yui, his jaw dropped, and he rubbed his eyes vigorously before staring inplete shock.


    Everything was quiet as all onlookers stared at the violet glow and the medicinal seed nt in Meng Hao’s hand. Then, Meng Hao continued to use the technique. He fell into a strange state, as if he himself had turned into nature, and this seed had be a part of him.


    It was a marvelous feeling, and as Meng Hao immersed himself in it, the seed suddenly sprouted an eighth leaf, then a ninth.... A cracking sound pealed out as the seed continued to grow. The emerald green leaf sprouts grewrger, wrapping up and around Meng Hao’s right arm.


    The white-haired, wrinkled old man who had been dozing behind Bai Yui opened his eyes. They glowed with an ancient light as he looked at Meng Hao. At the same time, they filled with excitement.


    Meng Hao hadn’t just caused new leaves to sprout, he had grown an entire nt. Meng Hao’s mind reeled as the cracking sounds from moments ago pulled him out of the bizarre state he had just been in. His eyes flickered, and he frowned. He hadn’t intended to show off such talent, and actually, he had beenpletely immersed in the strange state just now, which had somehow led his actions.


    He hesitated for a moment, his face pale. His Cultivation base was dried up, and following the reduction in his spiritual power, the medicinal nt also began to slowly wither up. Soon it died, and then fell off of Meng Hao’s arm.


    Panting, Meng Hao stepped back a few paces, eyes shining with confusion.


    Everything was deathly silent. It seemed like Bai Yui couldn’t understand what was going on. He had been in the Violet Fate Sect for years, and had never seen someone perform such an astonishing feat the first time they practiced catalyzing. He looked at Meng Hao as if he weren’t even human.


    All of the surrounding apprentice alchemists werepletely shocked. What they had just witnessed exceeded their imaginations. The middle-aged man panted as he looked at Meng Hao, his eyes shining with passion.


    “Umm....” said Meng Hao, hesitating for a moment. He was a little bit scared, unsure of what he should say. At this moment, the old man behind Bai Yui stood up and walked forward to stand next to Meng Hao. He reached a hand out to grab Meng Hao’s wrist. His spiritual power burst out, flowing through Meng Hao’s body, examining him.


    The power was incapable ofpletely examining Meng Hao. Despite having some suspicions, he could only see Meng Hao’s second Core Sea, which contained the power of the sixth level of Qi Condensation.


    He wasn’t able to see the true color of the Core Sea either, as it had beenpletely transformed by the frightening power of the meat jelly. As far the man could see, everything was normal.


    Eventually, he released his grip. He picked up the withered medicinal nt and looked at it carefully for a moment. Then he returned his gaze to Meng Hao. His eyes were now filled with the glow of praise.


    “First ratetent talent! You will join District One Valley One!” A wide smile covered the old man’s face as he sped Meng Hao’s shoulder. Then he flew up into the sky, taking the withered medicinal nt with him.


    As he flew off, the entire valley broke out into a hugemotion.


    “First ratetent talent!! No wonder his catalyzing is so astonishing!”


    “Withtent talent like that, he’s destined to be a master alchemist, which we haven’t seen for years....”


    “Wow, I’ve heard of people having first ratetent talent, but I’ve never heard of someone as inhuman as this! He catalyzed full nt growth!”


    As the air filled with conversations, Bai Yui approached Meng Hao, eye shining with excitement. “Junior Brother Fang,” he said, “make sure to watch out for yourself from now on. You have first ratetent talent!”


    “Could there have been a mistake?” asked Meng Hao, still hesitating.


    “There’s no way! Elder Wang tested you personally. How could he possibly make a mistake? It seems he took that medicinal nt to go show other Elders. Haha! Junior Brother Fang, you’re going to be famous! Comee, I’ll take you to District One Valley One. It’s like a celestial paradise. I look in every time I pass it, but I’ve never been able to go in.” He pulled Meng Hao along with him, leaving behind the hubbub and shining eyes. Even after they were gone, themotion continued to echo out.


    Time passed. Soon half a month had gone by. Meng Hao was now much more familiar with the East Pill Division of the Violet Fate Sect. Division One Valley One wasn’t veryrge, but was upied by few people, clearly much less than other valleys.


    The scenery was enchanting. The mountains were lush, and a small mountain stream flowed down from up above. Fish swam within its depths, which Meng Hao could see from his house, located just north of the stream. It was a small house with a courtyard outside.


    Within the courtyard was a small garden where he could grow medicinal nts. Currently, Meng Hao sat cross-legged in the courtyard, holding a scroll of bamboo slips. The scroll was filled with handwriting and pictures, all describing various medicinal nts.


    Meng Hao sat all morning and into noon reading the scroll. Finally, he looked up. He smelled the medicinal aroma that filled the air and listened to the gurgling of the stream. A light mist filled the area, causing the valley to truly seem celestial. Maybe that was somewhat of an exaggeration, but there was no denying that this was an ideal ce for Cultivation.


    This was basically the number one valley for apprentice alchemists in the entire Sect. Meng Hao had found out that including him, less than fifty people in the entire Sect had the requisitetent talent to live in here. Everyone had their own living quarters where they could study, grow nts and practice pill concocting.


    It was a quiet location, and Meng Hao felt very at home. He was especially happy to read books that weren’t jade slips but actual scrolls. It reminded him of his life as a schr back in Yunjie County.


    “One hundred thousand medicinal nts, all different and organized into different categories. Not only do I need to memorize them, I also need to remember their habits and characteristics, how to nt and harvest them, and how to store them. I need to remember which medicinal nts cannot be mixed together, where and how to grow them, and also the proper ratios when using them.


    “Furthermore, it’s not just the whole nt itself. The leaves, stems and sap of various nts are all different. Splicing nts together can lead to countless variations. They talk about one hundred thousand medicinal nts, but actually, when youbine everything together, it’s more like a million.” Meng Hao rubbed the bridge of his nose. For the past half month, he had been studying information about medicinal nts every day.


    As an apprentice alchemist of the Violet Fate Sect, he must remember all such information. Of course, there was simply so much information, it was essentially impossible to magically brand it all onto the mind. The only method was rote memorization.


    The more he memorized, the more prepared he would be. Forewarned is forearmed, so to speak; there was no trickery about it. Besides, Meng Hao didn’t find it annoying. He was a born schr, after all, and this type of environment suited him quite well.


    There was no killing, no danger and treachery, no dealing with the wind and rain of the outside world. Meng Hao attempted not to think about the past, and instead fully immersed himself in the role of Fang Mu. He was in the Violet Fate Sect now, and he intended to take advantage of the peace and quiet. As he examined all the information avable to apprentice alchemists, his mind began to swirl with many images. Now he knew that this sort of knowledge, was nature talent.