Chapter 1: Lü Yang

  The Great Xuan Dynasty is the orthodox calendar of Zhongzhou and the ancestor of all nations.

  Within the dynasty, there are seven great families. Apart from the ruling imperial family of Zhao, which is based in the Sacred Capital and rules over the vassals, the other six families have been enfeoffed to various regions, where they hold sway and wield enormous power.

  Nanling Lü family, is one of the seven major families, for nearly a thousand years, they have dominated the southern sky, with an army of millions, shaking the southeastern countries, enjoying the highest respect and boundless power.

  Lü Yang grew up in the Lü household since childhood, but he was not a noble young master of a wealthy family, rather a humble house slave.

  House slaves, given the surname of their master's family, generation after generation as a slave to others, belonging to the humblest and lowest class of people.

  Lyu Yang was the person in charge of the medicinal garden behind the Lyu manor, and his daily task was to take care of the medicinal garden. Unlike other servants, he did not have to attend to the master's needs at all times.

  However, serving the spiritual medicine is not easier than serving people. He often has to get up in the middle of the night to work hard, either cultivating soil, transplanting, watering, or removing insects, taking meticulous care. Otherwise, some precious and rare flowers will wither and die if they miss their proper care time, or be wasted if not picked in time.

  No matter what kind of accident happens, the deacon in charge will be severely punished, so no one dares to neglect their duty.

  In the middle of the night, Lü Yang got out of bed, put on his clothes, brought his official waist card, bamboo tube, iron scissors, and patrol record book, pushed open the door and went out.

  The cold wind was blowing fiercely, like a knife, sharp and biting.

  Lü Yang shrank his head, put his hands to his mouth and blew on them several times before taking a step forward, walking into the vast night.

  Soon after, he arrived at the halfway up the mountain and was stopped by two iron-armored golden-knife garden guards.

  "Two guards, please." Lü Yang knew the rules and presented his own waist card, as well as the patrol record for checking in and storing.

  "So late, how can there still be people coming?" A middle-aged man dressed as an accountant emerged from the sentry box not far away after hearing the noise.

  This middle-aged man surnamed Fang is one of the four managers of Hou Shan Medicine Garden, and everyone calls him Manager Fang.

  "Director Fang is in charge, and Lu Yang of the Jia Chen No. 1 Pharmaceutical Garden is going up the mountain. This is a record of the garden inspection, please review it." The guard handed over the waist card and passed the garden inspection record to Director Fang who had just walked out.

  "Last September 15th, at three o'clock in the middle of the night, the Red Blood Flower bloomed. Yes, it was the one planted in Jia Chen Garden, which has already borne fruit this June." Fang Guan Shi yawned and took out another notebook from his bosom, comparing and checking under the moonlight. "In Jia Chen Garden, which you are responsible for, there are a total of twelve 'Red Blood Fruits' that have bloomed. After picking them, be sure not to let them come into contact with the earth's energy. Bring them down the mountain immediately and hand them over to me to store and record. These spiritual fruits are all going to be used by Old Ancestor for refining elixirs, so we absolutely cannot afford any mistakes."

  Although he looked sleepy, he spoke clearly about the situation in the garden, without any ambiguity.

  "Director Fang, you can rest assured, I'm not a newcomer who just arrived." Lü Yang said with a smile to Director Fang.

  "Ah, this is also the reason why you were entrusted with important tasks above, even the rare overseas treasure, Red Blood Flower, was given to you for cultivation. Alright, go up the mountain now." Fang Guan Shi waved his sleeve, "Inform the front sentry and the mountain patrol team to let him pass."

  "Yes." The two guards replied loudly.

  "Cough, cough...".

  With the guardian's promise, the dark mountain path, the treetops and rocks behind, the sound of various strange noises such as machinery and steel cables came from all directions.

  The Medicine Mountain's defense is seemingly lax, but in reality it is extremely strict. Everywhere here is set up with all sorts of deadly traps and secret assassination weapons, such as the "godly mechanism arrow", "flying locust crossbow", "strangling tiger rope", "linked ring", etc., etc. If someone dares to sneak in and steal the Lü family's treasures, they will be shot into a honeycomb or chopped into meat paste by these deadly weapons.

  For hundreds of years, few flying thieves who ventured in here have been able to come out alive.

  Lyu Yang walked up along the mountain road and after about a moment, he finally arrived at his own Qichen Garden.

  This is a small garden with an area of more than one mu, surrounded by warm and misty winds, with purple and red flowers blooming everywhere, many rare and exotic flowers and grasses that ordinary people can't even name, emitting fragrance that assaults the nostrils, elegant and moving, showing extremely long years and rich medicinal properties.

  Among these strange flowers and grasses, the most eye-catching ones are undoubtedly the twelve fire-red rare flowers in the middle. The thick and fat leaves of each of them wrap a flame-like pearl that seems to be bursting with light.

  This is the Chi Xue Guo, said to have condensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, with infinite wonderful uses. If refined into a spiritual elixir, martial practitioners who eat one can regulate their body, consolidate their foundation, and cultivate their origin. A few pieces down, they can create a master, with a stable realm that cannot be shaken, and a post-heavenly three-layered bone-refining realm is not far off.

  There is also a kind of top-grade elixir refined from the Red Blood Fruit, called "Red Blood Great Elixir". It is made by refining the Red Blood Fruit, Golden Star Vine, Purple Horn, and Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus, among other precious medicinal materials. Not only are the ingredients expensive, but the refinement method is also extremely complex. Taking one can increase one's cultivation by ten years, and even a post-heavenly six-realm boundary master can be created.

  Noble families and large clans often have a deep foundation, because they possess many martial arts masters who have been nurtured with precious medicines and elixirs. If their wealth and power are substantial, even ordinary loyal servants can be cultivated into formidable warriors, but it's not easy to raise them up.

  Lyu Yang looked at these fiery, gem-like treasures and couldn't help but feel an urge to secretly eat them. However, thinking of the consequences, he could only dispel this bold idea because he knew that each Red Blood Fruit was more precious than his own life. Moreover, the Red Blood Fruits needed to be combined with several spiritual medicines and refined into a medicinal pill in order to regulate the body, solidify the foundation, and nourish the origin. Consuming them without any refinement would undoubtedly be equivalent to poisoning oneself to death.

  "No wonder the master's mansion must strictly enforce the imperial court's laws, prohibiting us slaves from privately practicing martial arts and reading books. Since we are only responsible for taking care of the medicine garden, it is enough to understand gardening. Practicing martial arts and reading books will make one's ambitions grow bigger, and people will easily become restless. This Medicine Mountain cultivates many precious and valuable spiritual medicines; if one becomes restless, it would be truly too dangerous."

  Lyu Yang looked at these fruits, his heart was not without a hint of bitterness.

  He had long been tired of these precarious days, with a sense of unwillingness to be a slave in his heart. Every time he took care of these precious things, he felt a kind of heartache for doing things for others, as if being exploited by someone.

  But as a slave of the Lü family, from an early age he had seen and heard everything, accepted people and things, received education, all for the service of the Lü family, doing things for the Lü family, contributing everything to the Lü family.

  He is still unable to change his current life.

  "As a slave, I am not in control of my own body."

  Lü Yang suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his heart, found a warm place to sit down, and waited for the opportunity to pick the crimson blood fruit.

  Soon after, a strange and intense fragrance suddenly wafted through the air.

  The fiery red leaves of the Blood Flower began to curl inward at a visible speed, shrinking and gradually coagulating together, tightly wrapping around the "Flaming Pearl" outside.

  A few strands of moonlight shone down along the stone crevices, casting a faint, hazy glow on the red stone, setting off twelve gem-like exotic fruits, like stars in the distant sky, mysterious, profound, and dazzling.

  As the fragrance floating in the air became more intense, the fireball wrapped in red leaves also underwent a slow change, and actually emitted a "crackling" sound like flames burning, finally curling up and wrapping itself together with the flower leaves in a wrinkled coat.

  "It's finally over."

  Lü Yang hastily stood up and carefully used iron scissors to cut off the fruit stem, putting the twelve Chi Xue Guo into a bamboo tube.

  After doing all that, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh, as if the many burdens that had been weighing on his mind were all released, and he seemed to feel several degrees lighter.

  "Chi Xue Guo, not to be underestimated, each one is a top-notch material for refining and cultivating elixirs, can create a powerful martial arts master for the family, it's a huge fortune. These enormous fortunes that don't belong to me are being kept in my hands, not only are they not blessings, but also a huge burden. Fortunately, this year's most difficult task is finally done."

  "Well, it's time to head down the mountain now. It's windy here, so it's better to go back home and get under the covers."