Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top

"What are you afraid of? What were the Marshal’s orders when he sent you to the Secret Realm?" Yan Fuzhen asked.

"Didn’t you say we should mind our own business and that you didn’t care about my mission?" Leng Yue retorted.

"That was before. Now, things have changed. Unless the Marshal explicitly ordered you not to communicate with me or discuss your mission, you will immediately clarify your purpose for entering the Secret Realm and the Marshal’s instructions," Yan Fuzhen said seriously.

"My purpose for being here isn’t exactly top secret, but you’ve changed your attitude so quickly. I need to make sure you haven’t been replaced by an impostor," Leng Yue said, watching him warily.

Hearing this, Yan Fuzhen wasn’t angry; instead, he smiled. He asked him, "Your caution is admirable. So, how do you plan to verify my identity?"

"What’s the seventh edition of the Pioneer Corps contact codes?" Leng Yue asked.

"It was never issued. Before the seventh edition of the contact codes could be used, the file was discovered to have been stolen, so it was immediately discarded," Yan Fuzhen replied.

"Where is the birthmark on my body?" Leng Yue asked again.

"On your inner left thigh. It’s a plum blossom-shaped mark," Yan Fuzhen answered without blinking.

"Alright, you really are Housekeeper Yan. Why the sudden change of heart? And why the sighing?" Leng Yue asked curiously.

"First, answer my question. What were the Marshal’s orders for sending you here? Have you accomplished your task?" Yan Fuzhen pressed.

"No," Leng Yue said, his face falling.

"The Marshal gave me a Water Mirror and told me to follow Miss Ning so he could see her. But after entering the Secret Realm, I discovered that the Water Mirror doesn’t work," Leng Yue replied, frustrated.

The Water Mirror had worked in the Lingxiao Secret Realm before, but this time, for some unknown reason, it wasn’t reacting at all. It was as if something was blocking it, completely dead.

"Did the Marshal give you any other instructions?" Yan Fuzhen asked.

"No. The Marshal said he would notify me in time if anything came up and that I should protect Miss Ning well," Leng Yue answered.

Yan Fuzhen’s expression was grave. "The rules of the Lingxiao Secret Realm have changed so drastically this time. Poisonous miasma has appeared in many areas. This miasma can not only suppress a Superpower Body but can even trigger its mutation. I suspect those few who reside outside the Star System are responsible."

Besides them, no one can alter the rules of a Secret Realm. As for why they’ve done this, it’s still unknown, but it definitely isn’t anything good.

"It can suppress a Superpower Body, is that true? Our cultivation realms are already suppressed, and now this shows up... Doesn’t that make things very dangerous for everyone who entered the Secret Realm?" Leng Yue said with concern.

"Luckily, I arranged for quite a few people to come in this time. First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll send a few people over to the Miss. I’ll take the opportunity to reveal your identity to her then. You will do whatever the Miss tells you to do. Do not, under any circumstances, try to boss her around. Even if you have suggestions, watch your attitude. She is the Marshal’s Contractor, so you’d better be on your best behavior," Yan Fuzhen warned Leng Yue.

"I know, I know. But does she know you arranged for people to come in? Will she even accept the people you arranged?" Leng Yue asked, puzzled. After all, when they met before, Yan Fuzhen had planned to protect her secretly from the shadows, seemingly not wanting Ning Xuan to know that he had followed her here too.

"That’s not your concern. Just focus on being a good bodyguard on the side," Yan Fuzhen said, his expression grave. His heart felt even heavier. Ever since he began to suspect that those factions were involved, alarm bells had been ringing in his mind. ’What kind of benefit would be great enough to make them act?’

’Are they after the Vermilion Bird Bloodline? What exactly is their goal?’

Yan Fuzhen couldn’t figure it out. He could only heighten his vigilance and make more preparations. At the same time, he knew he had to tell Ning Xuan what she needed to know; she had to become vigilant herself.

In Ning Xuan’s cave residence, she stared vexedly at the dozen or so Flying Elephant Ant Wings in her hands. Based on her knowledge of Artifact Refining, she had tried many methods to refine or fuse these Ant Wings together. She had been trying for half a day, but nothing worked. The Ant Wings remained separate, fluttering about and scattering, completely undamaged.

Ning Xuan resignedly decided to put the Ant Wings back into her Space Button, but she was careless, and an Ant Wing grazed her fingertip. A trace of red blood seeped into its tip. That Ant Wing suddenly trembled and floated into the air. Ning Xuan felt a mysterious connection to it. With a wave of her finger, the Ant Wing shot in the direction she gestured. A look of delighted surprise crossed Ning Xuan’s face. She immediately pulled several hundred more Ant Wings out of her Space Button and placed them in a round container. She made a cut on her wrist, letting a lot of blood DRIP, DRIP, DRIP inside. When she tried to sense them again, she discovered that only the Ant Wings she had tempered with her own Fire Element Energy could absorb her blood, establish a connection with her, and be controlled by her.

Having made this discovery, Ning Xuan immediately took action. She tempered over a thousand Ant Wings. When arranged together, all thousand Ant Wings only covered an area the size of four or five palms. Ning Xuan controlled these Ant Wings, making them separate and combine, forming many different shapes and configurations. Once she grew familiar with them, she began to refine potions.

The Purple Marrow Star Pattern Grass wasn’t needed for now. She took out the Star Grass and other medicinal ingredients she had gathered today, selected the suitable ones, and began her Alchemy. Ning Xuan’s Alchemy was extremely fast and had a high success rate. Soon, a pile of all sorts of potions was stacked beside her.

Early the next morning, Yan Fuzhen did indeed come looking for her with his men. When Ning Xuan saw Yan Fuzhen, and then Leng Yue standing beside him, she merely raised an eyebrow, not seeming too surprised.

Yan Fuzhen and Ning Xuan spoke alone for a while. Leng Yue had been paying close attention to Ning Xuan’s attitude. When she came out, though she seemed thoughtful, her expression was calm, and he couldn’t guess what Yan Fuzhen had said to her.

The morning went rather smoothly. In the afternoon, they found the treasured location marked on the map: the Spirit Medicine Valley.

However, the environment of the Spirit Medicine Valley was vastly different from what was recorded in the map’s data. According to the map, this place was supposed to be filled with the songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers, with green mountains, clear waters, and Spiritual Springs everywhere.

Purple mist was supposed to rise amidst the rosy dawn, and Spirit Fruits and vermilion fruits were to hang down like jade pendants. This place should have been like a fairyland.

But what Ning Xuan and the others saw was an area shrouded in black fog. If not for the Green Jade Stele by the stream at the entrance to the Medicine Valley, which still bore the two words "Shennong Ruins" in ancient seal script, and the Spiritual Liquid seeping from a crack at the stele’s base that was nourishing the surrounding medicinal fields, they would have never believed that this was the Spirit Medicine Valley marked on the map.

Many people had also gathered outside the Spirit Medicine Valley. After all, this auspicious location was no stranger to most Alchemists, as many rare and hard-to-find Spiritual Medicines grew inside the Spirit Medicine Valley.