Firmament Sword

At that moment, Yuwen Ji motioned for Xu Luo to open the book.

Xu Luo complied, opening the pharmacopoeia. Outwardly, it looked no different from the ones held by the other disciples, but his eyes immediately lit up.

As it turned out, the pharmacopoeia was filled with all sorts of annotations!

The pages were crammed with notes in various handwriting, clearly the work of more than one person. Xu Luo casually flipped through the book and discovered that the entire, thick pharmacopoeia had virtually no empty space left.

Hongtao, who was standing to the side, also saw the annotations. He was stunned for a moment before crying out, "This... Could this be the oldest pharmacopoeia in the entire Medicine Garden?"

At these words, even the other Elders on the stage froze, their gazes all turning to Grand Elder Yuwen Ji.

Yuwen Ji nodded lightly. "That's right," he said. "It is."

GASP!

Many who heard this couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.

The news spread like wildfire among the disciples in the square. Soon, nearly everyone had heard. The disciples' gazes, now fixed on the pharmacopoeia, were like those of wolves starved for half a month that had just spotted fresh meat. Their eyes were bloodshot with desire!

"Gods... Is that really *the* pharmacopoeia?"

"The one from the legends... the pharmacopoeia left behind by the Medicine King, one of Celestial Brilliance's founders?"

"Impossible, right? If the Soul Scripture is the Holy Scripture of Celestial Brilliance, then the pharmacopoeia left behind by the Medicine King is the Holy Scripture of our Medicine Garden. How could it be given away so easily?"

"The Grand Elder's favor for the First Senior Brother is truly boundless. It's unimaginable that he would give him the pharmacopoeia!"

"Hey... Didn't the First Senior Brother say he wasn't skilled in this art? In that case, wouldn't it be..."

"What the hell do you know? The First Senior Brother was being humble! Do you even know what humility is?"

The crowd below was abuzz with discussion, and many areas erupted into noisy arguments.

This tome's origins were simply too profound. In the eyes of the people of the Medicine Garden, its value was actually greater than that of Celestial Brilliance's Holy Scripture of the Soul!

As Xu Luo flipped through the pharmacopoeia, he noticed one particular style of handwriting. The strokes were as forceful as iron and elegant as silver hooks, brimming with power. Each character carried an indescribable aura of the Dao. It was obvious at a glance that the writer's cultivation realm had reached an inconceivable level!

Xu Luo's heart trembled. 'To others, this pharmacopoeia is a sacred text of medicine, a Divine Book,' he thought. 'But to me, this handwriting... this is what's most valuable!'

'This person definitely didn't attain the Dao through calligraphy. Although the writing is superb, it still falls far short of the calligraphy of someone like Liu Bai, who truly did. This person had already attained the Dao, and so the words they write... naturally emanate a profound and mysterious aura of the Dao!'

As this thought crossed his mind, Xu Luo looked up at the beaming Yuwen Ji, his heart filled with immense gratitude.

He knew with certainty that this was the very reason Yuwen Ji had passed the pharmacopoeia on to him.

Xu Luo bowed to Yuwen Ji again and said gratefully, "Thank you, Master!"

Yuwen Ji waved his hand. "I bestow this pharmacopoeia upon you today. I hope you will help the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden flourish and, one day, bring it great honor!"

Then, Yuwen Ji gestured for Xu Luo to remove the red cloth from the final tray.

By this point, Hongtao, who was supposed to be presiding over the ceremony, was already in a daze, looking completely bewildered.

Xu Luo walked over and lifted the red cloth from the final tray. On it lay a single, pitch-black ring that looked utterly ordinary. Xu Luo even scanned it with his Divine Sense but found nothing unusual about it.

Just then, he heard a THUD beside him. Xu Luo turned to see Hongtao collapse to the ground, having fainted dead away.

Meanwhile, the other eight Elders on the stage all had their eyes glued to the ring. Their eyes were wide as saucers as they shot to their feet and rushed over.

Xu Luo immediately snatched the ring and slipped it onto his finger. Watching the Elders charge toward him, he thought, 'For these old men to forget all their decorum and rush over like this... even if this were an ordinary iron band, it must have an extraordinary origin. I'll put it on first and figure it out later!'

Sure enough, just as Xu Luo slipped the ring onto his finger, the Elders swarmed around him.

Second Elder Thunderstorm's voice trembled as he said, "Quick... let me see!"

"Let me see!" Third Elder Gu Ning, a normally gentle and refined old man, completely forgot his composure and shoved his way forward.

"Stop fighting! I'll look first!" Fifth Elder Li Tian roared.

"Hey, you lot, have you no sense of chivalry? I want to see first!" Eighth Elder Lu Xue didn't have the nerve to push her way in, pouting from the edge of the crowd.

On any other occasion, the other Elders would have certainly backed away with apologetic smiles. But now, they all completely ignored Eighth Elder Lu Xue, forming a tight circle around Xu Luo.

Then they saw Xu Luo casually slip the ring onto his finger. At that, the pushing and shoving stopped. The Elders all stared at him, dumbstruck. The looks in their eyes... made goosebumps prickle all over Xu Luo's skin.

"You... you actually put it on..." Second Elder Thunderstorm gaped at Xu Luo, dumbfounded, as if he had just witnessed the most unbelievable thing in the world.

"Is there a problem?" Xu Luo asked, looking at the Second Elder with an innocent expression.

Down below, the Medicine Garden Disciples, still reeling from the previous shocks, exchanged bewildered glances. They had no idea what was happening and began whispering among themselves, but almost no one knew what their new First Senior Brother had received to make the powerful Elders lose their composure so utterly.

Zhu Gang, who was closest to the stage, frowned. "I only caught a glimpse," he said, his voice uncertain. "It looked like... the Medicine King Ring?"

"What? The Medicine King Ring?"

"Haha, Second Senior Brother, stop pulling our legs!"

"That's absolutely impossible!"

"Only the true successor to the Medicine King can wear the Medicine King Ring! The Grand Elder is from the Medicine King's lineage, but even he isn't the successor. Legend says that before the Medicine King vanished, he declared that no one but his chosen successor could ever wear it!"

"I... I think... I just saw the First Senior Brother... put... the ring on!" Zhu Gang stammered, the corner of his mouth twitching violently as he forced the words out.

"Oh my god... The Medicine King's successor has appeared!" It's unknown who in the crowd shouted it first, but the words instantly sent an uproar through the square of hundreds of thousands. Then, just as quickly, a dead silence fell.

Xu Luo looked at the Second Elder, who seemed to have turned to stone. His expression was one of complete bewilderment as he asked again, "Second Elder... is there a problem?"

At this moment, an astonishing scene occurred!

With a thud, the Second Elder fell to his knees before him. Tears streamed down his normally stern, aged face as he choked out, "Disciple Thunderstorm... pays respects to the Medicine King!"

"Disciple Gu Ning... pays respects to the Medicine King!" The Third Elder knelt in turn.

"Disciple Yin Zhi..." The Fourth Elder.

"Disciple Li Tian..." The Fifth Elder.

"Disciple Cui Shu!" The Sixth Elder.

"Disciple Zou Yuan!" The Seventh Elder.

"Disciple Lu Xue... pays respects to the Medicine King!" The Eighth Elder.

In that moment, all eight Elders were kneeling in a circle before Xu Luo.

Across the square, the Medicine Garden Disciples and the other high-ranking members all fell to their knees. Their voices thundered like a tsunami: "We pay our respects to the Medicine King!"

Xu Luo stood there, completely stunned, the corner of his mouth twitching uncontrollably. He had no idea what was going on. How could putting on this ordinary ring be such a monumental event? It had made these Elders lose all composure and perform an act that was entirely beyond his comprehension.

"This... What is all this?" For the first time, Xu Luo felt completely and utterly lost.

At that moment, Yuwen Ji, who had remained seated and motionless, wiped a bead of cold sweat from his forehead. He stood, walked over, and though he did not kneel, he gave Xu Luo a deep bow. "Disciple Yuwen Ji, the 108th-generation successor of the Medicine King, greets the current Medicine King!"

"Master... what... what is this?" Xu Luo asked, his face a mask of confusion as he looked at Yuwen Ji.

Yuwen Ji chuckled. "We'll discuss it later. For now, aren't you going to have the Elders rise? Or do you enjoy having them kneel before you?"

Xu Luo snapped back to his senses and helped the eight Elders to their feet one by one. He then gestured for the crowd below to rise as well.

Only then did Xu Luo notice that the rims of Yuwen Ji's eyes were also slightly red. He had absolutely no idea what had just happened, let alone how he had suddenly become the Medicine King.

'If the one standing here were that alchemy fanatic Huangfu Chongzhi, it might have made some sense,' Xu Luo thought. 'But me... I'm genuinely not skilled in Alchemy and Medicine Making. How did I suddenly become the Medicine King?'

Second Elder Thunderstorm looked at Yuwen Ji. "Big Brother," he asked, "did you know all along?"

Seventh Elder Zou Yuan sighed. "Didn't Big Brother use the Heart Inference Skill? He must have foreseen something."

Eighth Elder Lu Xue shot Yuwen Ji a reproachful glance, as if annoyed that he hadn't told her about this.

But Yuwen Ji just gave a wry smile. "We will discuss this later. First, have the disciples disperse. With the birth of a new Medicine King, it's very likely the Sect Leader himself will inquire. Everyone should be mentally prepared."

"Indeed. Ever since the Medicine King Ancestor departed and left behind his decree, a new Medicine King has never been born. Now that a New Medicine King has appeared, the Sect Leader will certainly take a personal interest," Third Elder Gu Ning added.

Afterward, the various high-ranking Stewards led the disciples of their respective mountains away.

Meanwhile, Yuwen Ji and the others brought Xu Luo to the reception hall on the First Mountain. Once they were all seated in a circle, Yuwen Ji looked at Xu Luo with a smile. "You must be full of questions, right?"

Xu Luo nodded honestly, a wry smile on his face. "I don't understand... what just happened."

"It's perfectly normal that you don't understand." Seventh Elder Zou Yuan laughed heartily, the look he gave Xu Luo no longer holding any awkwardness.

Yuwen Ji sighed. "When I used the Heart Inference Skill, I didn't see all of this. After all... the Medicine King Ancestor's power was god-like, far beyond my ability to fathom. But I did see a glimmer of hope resting on him. So, I took a gamble and brought out the Medicine King Ring for him to try. I never expected... it would actually work!"

"This is the will of the heavens! It is our destiny for the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden to reclaim its former glory!" Second Elder Thunderstorm exclaimed, his eyes still red with emotion.

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