You still alive?

As Zhu Chen left the restaurant feeling satisfied with his meal, he made his way to find medicinal herbs to help recover his health.

The streets were bustling with activity, merchants selling various items from the so-called mystical artifacts to skill books, most of which cost more than ten qi stones. 

Amidst the stalls, a crowd gathered near a gambling den selling rocks believed to contain ancient artifacts.

These rocks were fossils procured from a battlefield that had ended millions of years ago, with the items surviving by turning into fossils.

While no one was foolish enough to wager their fortune on a mere rock, a rumor had recently spread throughout the sect.

It was said that an outer disciple had chanced upon a mystical weapon and exchanged it with the sect for promotion to an inner disciple, along with a substantial sum of qi stones.

'Inner disciple, huh? ' he thought to himself.

The reason why all outer disciples desired the position of an inner was that the sect offered them a hundred qi stones monthly, access to a higher floor of the skill tower to select two skills to practice, and the best advantage was that an inner disciple could have their country yard, where qi in the surrounding is abundant.

They would also get servants to take care of their daily necessities and were countless more advantages.

The only way they could get promoted to an inner was by doing special tasks that threatened the safety of the sect, exchanging something of value, or by coming top ten in the tournament that happens every five years.

The next one would be happening in a year, so he wanted to quickly get stronger.

After having scanned all of the available rocks, he left in disappointment.

Most of the artifacts located inside were sewing needles, toothbrushes, or nothing at all. 

If anyone cut them open, they would still be in for a loss. 

Following the directions to the herb store according to his memory, he was soon led to a store called herb pharmacy.

Although this was the best store for buying herbs, it was the cheapest and his predecessor was a usual customer here.

The owner of the store was a nice old lady who ran the store herself.

Although at first glance, many would she was just a frail old lady, in truth she is a Body Tempering third Stage.

At first, after finding out her real identity, he was shocked and learned from her, that she too was once a disciple of the peerless sword sect.

She had been cultivating hard for decades but only managed to reach the third stage. After, all her potential had dried up, she decided to set up this store in hopes of saving enough money to buy a lifespan extension pill. 

However, due to the rarity of the herbs needed to refine the pill, only if you had a mass amount of fortune, you could ever hope to buy it.

Upon entering the shop, he was met with the earthy, herbal scent that immediately made him feel rejuvenated. 

The old granny who was meditating on the front counter, opened her eyes and instantly recognized him.

" Hey granny, you still alive?" he jokes around with her just like how he used to before.

The old granny chuckled at his playful remark and replied, "Alive and kicking young one. I suppose the usual today?"

He smiled wholeheartedly " Yea! Thanks, Granny." 

The old lady began to carefully select herbs from the neatly arranged boxes, her hands moving with practiced ease. After a minute or two, she had gathered all the necessary ingredients and packed them up for Zhu Chen.

As she handed him the parcel, he noticed a white cloth wrapped around her waist, peeking out from beneath her robes. Concerned, he asked, "Granny, what happened? Are you hurt?"

The old granny's smile faltered for a moment before she brushed off his concern, saying, "Oh, it's nothing, just a minor injury from tending to some herbs. It will heal in no time. Don't you worry about me, young man."

He wasn't convinced but decided not to push further.

Instead, he thanked the old granny for the herbs and paid for his purchase. As he turned to leave the store, he couldn't shake off the worry he felt for the old granny who had always been kind and helpful to him.

However, he pushed aside his concerns, telling himself that the old lady ran a simple herb store and had nothing of great value stored inside. Surely, nothing bad could happen to her.

As he reached the location of the hut, he decided to take a quick bath so he could remove all the bacteria infected with the wounds. 

The water was extremely cold, but his body was used to it.

If he could remember right, taking baths in cold water provided several health benefits along with your body becoming more durable, so he made sure to soak his body fully.

After his bath, he began to prepare the herbs, smashing them into a paste before applying them to his bruises.

" Auckk" he groaned, the burning sensation made him grimace, but he knew it was a sign that the herbs were good, helping in the regeneration of his cells and speeding up his recovery process.

While the herbs were doing their magic, in the meantime he sat cross-legged, putting his full focus on cultivating.

After a few hours, he became extremely bored and started to wonder how these people dealt with it, and soon after a quick break, he went back into cultivating.