Inside his room, Ye Chen took out the biggest book he had seen in his life, which was the Myriad Book of Alchemy, Medicine, and Herbs.
"Let's see what it can teach me," he said and flipped the heavy, ancient cover, which creaked under his touch.
On the first page there was an arrogant description about the book, which said: This book contains every knowledge of herbs, medicine, and alchemy.
"Interesting," he muttered with a smile, flipping to the next page.
The book was divided into three sections: Alchemy, Medicine, and Herbs, in which the medicine and herb sections were something even a mortal could access.
However, for alchemy, it was a bit different. If you don't have a certain cultivation, you won't be able to see what was written here.
This was done to prevent any cultivator trying something beyond and killing themselves or others because of it.
Ye Chen was in no hurry to look at the medicine and herb part; hence, he started to read the section of Alchemy.
There was a slight description on the first page explaining about the alchemist profession and pills.
Just like herbs, both alchemists and pills were divided into nine tiers.
A tier one alchemist was the lowest, and a tier nine alchemist was the highest. There were also small divisions in each tier that were low, medium, and high.
The pills also followed the small divisions.
If one wanted to become an alchemist, then they should have an alchemy technique, which was crucial in making pills.
However, to learn it, one needed to sacrifice their time, which would result in low cultivation.
Because of this, alchemists were rare and had high status wherever they went.
They were also good at medicine and poison, which gained them more fame.
Anyone was able to become an alchemist as long as they had alchemy technique, a cauldron, and a supply of spirit herbs.
"There is an alchemy technique written here, but it's no use to me," Ye Chen said, shaking his head and started to flip through the next pages.
There were all kinds of pill formulas and experiences written here. Each pill formula was valuable and enough to cause a stir in the cultivation world.
Ye Chen guessed this, but he didn't care and continued to read some pill formulas that he might need.
Once he finished reading a few ten of them, he moved to the medicine and herb section.
In the medicine section, there were all kinds of techniques to treat people; even the needle techniques were written here.
As for the spirit herbs, they were divided into grades, and Ye Chen took quite a bit of time to read them.
He even skipped the meal and kept reading for an unknown time when suddenly a knock came from the door.
It was Li Mei who stood outside with a flushed and anxious look as she mustered her courage.
"Senior brother, it's time for dinner," she called out in a meek voice.
Hearing her, Ye Chen blinked with surprise. He then stored the big book in the spatial ring and opened the door.
"Junior Sister, it seems you're finally acknowledging me," he teased, reaching out to ruffle her hair gently.
Li Mei couldn't help but pout at this; however, this time there was not much resentment. After cultivating for a whole day, she understood how great his help was.
If not for him, she might not be able to sleep today as one had to consolidate their stage within a certain time.
Ignoring his remark, she asked, "Dinner has arrived. Will you join me?"
"Of course, as long as Junior Sister wants me to eat, I will eat," he replied smoothly and clasped her delicate hand.
"Let's go; I am a bit hungry now," he said as he brought her to the dining room.
Zhen Yunqi wasn't going to eat today, so she was not here. As for the servants, they already left after delivering.
So only the two of them were here having dinner.
"Xiao Mei, you came from the town, right? Does that mean your parents and family live there?" Ye Chen inquired with a curious look.
However, Li Mei shook her head.
"My parents died in the beast tide when I was a kid; after that, I was raised in the orphanage and came to the Azure Cloud Sect to become a servant," she replied honestly.
Hearing her, Ye Chen was stunned a little, he didn't expect a girl like her to come here to become a servant.
'Isn't that pretty much giving up on her life?' He thought and shifted the topic to other things.
However, she didn't have any knowledge; hence, only he was talking and explaining about different herbs as well as their uses.
Li Mei was startled at why he knew such things, but she thought it was some common knowledge everyone needed to know, hence she listened carefully.
When the dinner ended, both of them went back to their rooms.
Li Mei had already consolidated her cultivation, so she did worry too much and went to sleep.
As for Ye Chen, he stayed up half the night reading the big book he even forgot about cultivating.
This routine continued for the next two days until, on the third day, Zhen Yunqi called him outside.
"I have made the forbidden area and also the farming area; see if they are good or you need any changes," she replied with an exhausted look.
For these past three days, she has been busy making this. Moreover, she worked alone, as it was important and needed to be kept secret.
Ye Chen couldn't help but sigh at this; she was a beauty yet working so hard.
'Sigh, I am not strong enough; if not, I won't mind patting her head for encouragement,' he thought to himself as he arrived inside the forbidden area with her. As usual, he also dragged Li Mei along, but now she wasn't opposed and even followed him obediently.
In these two days she had learned many new things from him; he even answered her some cultivation questions. So, she became quite friendly.
Zhen Yunqi didn't know this, so she was stunned at her change. Nevertheless, it was something good, so she ignored it and pointed at the lake.
"Everything here is covered by a transparent formation that mirrors the image of the lake and surrounding area. No matter what you do inside, the illusion remains intact. If someone approaches, a mist array will activate, guiding them away or putting them to sleep," she explained and continued.
"This five-mile-wide area is for herb cultivation. You can plant whatever you need here," she added, pointing at the vast field.