Chapter 7: The Refining Pavilion in the Painting

The cultivation life at Beilu Academy, day after day

He nearly turned the pile of books upside down, sifting through thousands of volumes. However, to his disappointment, he could no longer find any other valuable items among the old books, such as bone fragments, bamboo slips, or jade, that could make the ancient scrolls radiate warmth

Ye Chen suppressed the joy in his heart

Ye Chen stared at the ancient painting, then glanced at the white bone fragment in his hand, feeling somewhat strange

After practicing for more than three hours straight, his arms were sore to the point of death, and he had no desire to move at all... In the afternoon, he still had to organize old books, so he got up to eat! Ye Chen left the martial arts training ground and returned to his small room, lying on the bed.

This also means that he will be out of medicine in ten days to half a month

He cleans the library in the afternoon, every five to six days. In the evening, he takes a dose of six-grade herbal medicine both internally and externally to refine his physique, heal internal injuries to the meridians, and clear the blood stasis caused by excessive cultivation.

The task of organizing the old book repository can still be carried out for twenty more days, during which I can earn twenty taels of silver. This will allow me to purchase a considerable amount of third-grade medicinal herbs for cultivation. Although the efficacy of third-grade herbs is significantly lower, it is still better than having none at all, and if used sparingly, they should last for a month. In about two months' time, I hope to reach the fifth level of the Body Refinement stage

However, he was harboring a surge of anger, "Just wait and see! In more than five months, it will be the strength assessment and graduation evaluation of Beilu Academy. All this talk is pointless; everything will be proven by strength! When the academy assessment and the book examination take place in five months, let's see who will be crying and who will be laughing!"

He is somewhat worried, as the "Immortal's Abode" ancient painting scroll no longer possesses the field power, making it impossible to elevate the quality of the herbs. Moreover, he is at a loss as to how to restore the field power of the medicinal garden depicted in the painting.

In the deep mountains of Beilu Mountain, there are indeed quite a few wild herbs of grade four and above. However, the deep mountains are home to packs of gray wolves, black bears, and fierce beasts such as tigers and leopards, which are incredibly ferocious and possess strength comparable to that of a mid to late stage martial artist in body refinement. It is uncertain whether he dares to go; one can only fear that he may go with his life but return without it

Ye Chen was taken aback, inhaling sharply.

He carefully placed the bone fragment on top of the ancient scroll, hoping to see what would happen.

With this thought in mind, Ye Chen continued to search through the pile of books

Ye Chen practices the second move of the "Tiger Leap Sword Technique"—the Tiger Leap Slash—at the training ground every morning

However, Beilu Academy primarily focuses on martial arts training, and the students here are not interested in the study of written language; they do not expend effort on researching the scripts of various countries

Even if he placed those ordinary bone fragments and bamboo slips on the ancient scroll, the ancient painting would show no reaction and would not absorb them.

He re-tied the ancient painting around his waist and picked up the white bone fragment again, trying to discern its value.

What is this bone fragment, so cold!

What is going on? Strange!

Ye Chen held it in his hand, feeling a chill. It was engraved with a dozen strange ancient symbols, which did not resemble the script of the Martial Kingdom; rather, they seemed akin to the Sanskrit oracle bones used in rituals of some ancient kingdoms recorded in certain texts. He found it difficult to comprehend.

Meanwhile, the ancient scroll began to emit a faint glow, which gradually intensified, restoring the colors of the painting.

Ye Chen spoke in a low voice, his footsteps moving swiftly, and in an instant, a blade-like shadow tore through the air.

He rested for a short while, gradually regaining some strength, and then turned over to get up and go to the cafeteria for lunch

Ye Chen was overjoyed and speculated

This ancient scroll of the "Immortal's Abode" is indeed a treasure passed down by immortals! The small house, an acre of medicinal herb garden, the refining pavilion, the alchemy pavilion, and the beast pen on the Immortal's Island are likely to be of great use!

Ye Chen hurriedly finished his meal and arrived at the basement of the old book library in the study pavilion. He used a brass key to unlock the main door of the old book library and cleared away the remaining two-thirds of the old books.

Ye Chen is not entirely certain, but this speculation is likely correct. He has currently only found the medicinal garden and the refining pavilion to be useful, while the effects of the others remain unclear.

He is just a poor boy, how could he afford mid-grade body refining herbs? ... ... Ha, I almost forgot, the herb shop in the academy doesn't sell herbs above grade three; they have long been acquired by the noble families! We are all disciples of noble families and can directly receive support from our families to obtain herbs of grade four and above. How could a poor boy like him possibly get such high-grade herbs!

However, as soon as the *illustration* book was taken down, the ancient painting scroll immediately became cold.

After a short while, the Refining Pavilion in the ancient painting ceased to emit smoke, and subsequently, a small pile of bone powder fell out

Ye Chen pinched a small handful of bone powder, and upon closer inspection, it was indeed the remnants of the bone fragment from earlier, now completely dull and devoid of its former luster.

Such an intensity of training is extremely rare among the young scholars in the upper academy, attracting the attention of many students from prestigious families, and even leading to widespread ridicule and criticism.

Ye Chen was contemplating on the road, realizing that he still had two sets of sixth-grade herbal formulas in hand. Although the intensity of his cultivation was quite high, the efficacy of the sixth-grade herbs was excellent. Using them once every five or six days should be sufficient for body tempering, and he estimated they would last for about ten days to half a month

Several hours later

Before he arrived, he was still worried about the lack of medium-grade herbs in ten or fifteen days, wondering how to restore the vitality of the medicinal garden in the immortal residence. Now, having absorbed the white light from that bone fragment, it has already begun to recover some vitality, and the herbs produced are likely sufficient for his use for one or two months

Ye Chen could not help but feel secretly annoyed

This ancient scroll of the immortal's abode can not only plant herbs in the medicinal garden, but can also absorb other things as well

At this time, the ancient painting has become richly colored, clearly much more visually appealing than its original dull appearance

Look at him; this guy is training so hard that he is making rapid progress in a short time. However, without high-quality herbs to refine his body, within a year and a half, this kid's meridians will be ruined! He will remain stuck at the fourth and fifth levels of the Body Refinement Stage, becoming slower with each practice, and will never be able to enter the later stage of Body Refinement in his lifetime

However, the ancient scroll at the waist begins to radiate heat again

This fragment of bone contains only a little over ten characters, and it is too incomplete to even form a single article, rendering it entirely useless. It clearly belongs to a severely damaged book and must certainly be discarded

The ancient scroll glimmered faintly, and with a "whoosh!" the bone fragment immediately vanished from above the ancient painting, drawn into it.

Tiger leaps and strikes

Ye Chen would not argue against these rumors and cold jests, responding with silence

Ye Chen realized that he had been overly alarmed

Ye Chen spoke to himself

The image on the ancient scroll has reacted

Since he obtained the ancient scroll more than ten days ago, he has never encountered such a sudden heat from the ancient painting. ... Only today, when he inadvertently picked up this bone fragment! ... Yes, this bone fragment is the problem!

Could it be that only that white bone fragment is the treasure

Yunzhou is vast and boundless, and the number of nations is countless. There are certainly differences in the scripts between these nations, making it very difficult to discern them, especially ancient runes. Only those well-versed in the study of the writings of various nations, such as the literati of the Wu Kingdom, are likely to be able to read the scripts of all nations.

In the evening, Ye Chen finished organizing hundreds of volumes of ancient texts, locked the door, and left the old book repository, still harboring doubts and regrets in his heart

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Although an oil lamp was lit on the stone wall of the old book storage, the indoor lighting remained rather dim. If it were during the day outdoors, the faint white glow of this piece of white bone would likely be completely indistinguishable.

I wonder if there are still such good things among these old books

Now, using a medicinal herb garden to cultivate herbs should yield more herbs

He practiced for three to four hours at a time, nearly breaking his own bones.

In the painting, the small attic on the floating island, which bears the plaque "Refining Pavilion," begins to emit a faint wisp of smoke

Ye Chen was astonished; he quickly set down the bone and unfastened the ancient scroll tied around his waist

Ye Chen was flipping through a pile of old books when he noticed a piece of white bone, about three inches long, on the ground, emitting a faint white glow

He appeared tense, carefully watching the movements within the ancient scroll.

What connection could this white bone fragment have with ancient scrolls?

Suddenly, Ye Chen felt the ancient scroll tightly bound around his waist heating up rapidly, becoming scorching hot

This bone fragment originally emitted a faint white light, which was completely absorbed by the Refining Pavilion. Now, the color of the ancient painting is warm and rich, much stronger than when I first obtained it. Does this mean that the ancient painting has regained some of its 'Tian Li', allowing me to continue planting herbs in the medicinal garden

Ye Chen widened his eyes and fell into deep thought

He untied the ancient scroll tied around his waist and placed it on the ground