"Senior Brother Lin Tianhao! It's actually Senior Brother Lin Tianhao!"
"That arrogant brat from the Purple Sun Sect is a dead man. Senior Brother Lin will definitely kill him."
"That's right. Senior Brother Lin must have gotten the news. Otherwise, why would he show up?"
"He has a blood feud with that kid from the Purple Sun Sect. The brat is doomed!"
Lin Tianhao's arrival sent the disciples of Medicine King Valley into a frenzy.
They believed that with Lin Tianhao taking the stage, Yang Xiao's death was a certainty.
Even Elder Yun nodded in satisfaction upon seeing Lin Tianhao, who was clad in white with a sword at his waist, looking dignified and impressive despite his frosty expression.
With him stepping forward, it would be more than enough to deal with this insolent disciple from the Purple Sun Sect.
However, thinking of what had happened earlier, he still felt it necessary to give this outstanding True Disciple a reminder. "Nephew Tianhao, this boy is full of tricks. He has already killed two True Disciples, Qiu Chengjun and Zhang Cheng. Though your strength is great, you must still be careful."
"Thank you, Elder Yun. This disciple understands."
Lin Tianhao cupped his fist to Elder Yun.
He leaped onto the high stage, his gaze burning as he stared at Yang Xiao.
"Fighting you is beneath me, but many of my junior brothers died because of you. Even my master's death is not unrelated to you. This battle is unavoidable. Are you willing to accept?"
"And what if I don't accept?"
Yang Xiao asked, raising an eyebrow.
"If you don't accept, I can't do anything to you here in Medicine King Valley. But once you leave... that's another story."
"Are you threatening me?"
"No. I'm telling you the truth."
Looking at this cool, cocky guy...
Yang Xiao was a little speechless.
He rolled his eyes and said, "I've said it before: as long as the wager is right, I'll accept any challenge from my peers in Medicine King Valley. Did you bring a stake?"
"I have stakes here equivalent to four Eighth-Level Upper Grade Spirit Medicines. As long as you can afford the match, I'll fight you."
Yang Xiao pointed to the pile of Spirit Medicines in his hand.
This pile was already enough for him to refine a Ninth Grade Middle Rank Fire Element Pill. If he doubled the amount, he could refine a Ninth Grade Upper-rank one.
To Yang Xiao, this was already a considerable sum.
As for losing?
Yang Xiao had never even considered it.
However, what Yang Xiao hadn't expected was that this Senior Brother Lin, this Lin Tianhao—who had made such a grand entrance and was clearly no ordinary person in Medicine King Valley—froze when he heard this.
'Did I run into some broke chump?'
Yang Xiao was stunned for a moment.
He actually did want to settle the score with Lin Tianhao.
After all, there was a real enmity between them.
They were bound to fight sooner or later.
If that was the case, why wait?
But to his surprise, the man really seemed to be stumped by his wager.
Just as Yang Xiao was wondering whether he should lower the stakes for him, a sweet, gentle voice called out from below the stage.
"You're at death's door and still thinking about wagers? Senior Brother Lin, you just came out of seclusion; you don't have many Spirit Medicines on you. I have an Eighth-Level Upper Grade Spirit Medicine here. Take it for now. I'll ask a few of our other brothers to chip in for the rest."
The speaker was a woman in a sea-green dress.
The woman looked to be in her twenties, and her aura was not weak, having reached the level of a Martial Arts Grandmaster.
She was the one who had arrived with Lin Tianhao earlier.
But as soon as she said this, Lin Tianhao's face flushed red. He waved his hand to stop her. "Junior Sister Zhou, there's no need. This is my business. Yang Xiao, it's true I don't have that many Spirit Medicines on me. However, I have a spot to enter the Earth Flame Cave for cultivation. If you're willing, I'll wager that."
"The Earth Flame Cave? What the hell is that?"
Yang Xiao put on a confused look.
Inwardly, however, he was laughing his head off.
His time in the Outer Mansion's Library Pavilion a while back hadn't been for nothing.
From those books, Yang Xiao had learned not only that Medicine King Valley was the only power confirmed to possess a Medicine King, but also many other details about the valley.
All this information came from the miscellaneous notes left behind by seniors who had entered Medicine King Valley over the generations.
Among them were records of the Earth Flame Cave.
The Earth Flame Cave was a Treasure Land in Medicine King Valley, an absolutely perfect blessed land for Fire Attribute Cultivators.
Moreover, it was filled with a vast number of cultivated Spirit Medicines.
As long as they were mature and you had the ability, you could pick any of them.
One senior from the Purple Sun Sect had earned a spot to enter the Earth Flame Cave after performing a great service. Although he didn't go very deep, he managed to bring out an Eighth-Grade Spirit Medicine.
He was the envy of everyone.
He boasted that it was the proudest achievement of his life, and it was recorded as such in the Library Pavilion.
That was how Yang Xiao learned of this wondrous place.
In fact, some seniors of the Purple Sun Sect had even drawn inspiration from this place to build Spirit Medicine Peak.
However, compared to the Purple Sun Sect's Spirit Medicine Peak, the Spirit Medicines inside the Earth Flame Cave were of a higher grade, and they came with no strings attached.
As long as you had a spot.
As long as you had the skill.
You could keep going deeper and deeper.
The deeper you went, the stronger the flames.
And the more powerful the Spirit Medicines that grew within.
Yang Xiao believed that if he got this spot, and if he were ruthless enough, he could probably walk away with every last Spirit Medicine in the Earth Flame Cave.
'If he did that, he could probably gather a huge pile of Spirit Medicines.' 'Compared to that, four Eighth-Level Upper Grade Spirit Medicines were practically nothing.'
However, Yang Xiao couldn't let them know that he knew about this place.
If they backed out, it would be a huge loss.
So, for now, he had to play ignorant.
"He really is a country bumpkin who knows nothing. The Earth Flame Cave is a blessed land of our Medicine King Valley! It has Eighth-Grade Spirit Medicines, and if you're lucky, you could even pick a Ninth-Grade Spirit Medicine! Senior Brother Lin is really getting the short end of the stick giving this to you."
The Medicine King Valley disciples, jealous of Yang Xiao, all started to chime in.
They deliberately touted the benefits of the Earth Flame Cave.
But they didn't mention the dangers.
Clearly, they were trying to set a trap for Yang Xiao.
"Ninth-Grade Spirit Medicine? For real? Why do I get the feeling you're all trying to trick me?"
Yang Xiao wore a look of disbelief.
"Why would we lie to you? The Earth Flame Cave absolutely has Ninth-Grade Spirit Medicines! We swear it!"
"Such a precious place, and you really want to bet it? This spot isn't just for you personally, is it? If you lose and Medicine King Valley doesn't honor it, wouldn't I be getting screwed over?"
Yang Xiao still looked skeptical.
Inwardly, however, he was already scheming how to get that spot firmly into his own pocket.
"You don't have to worry about that. Entry to the Earth Flame Cave requires the Earth Fire Medicine King Order. I can take it out right now. When the time comes, as long as you have this Token, you can enter even if you're not a disciple of Medicine King Valley."
As Lin Tianhao spoke, he took out a crimson Token.
The moment this Token appeared, all the disciples present grew excited.
Because this was truly the Earth Fire Medicine King Order.
The Token that granted entry to the Earth Flame Cave.
It was incomparably precious.
(PS: Bonus chapter for every hundred new bookmarks. Please add to your library!)