Back at Xinglin Caotang, Long Xiao lay on his bed, pondering the "Dragon Scripture," knowing he had to improve his strength quickly. The begging monk was too powerful; he wouldn't be able to last under a sustained assault.
Currently, Long Xiao could only access the introductory sections of the "Dragon Scripture," less than a third of the entire text. Despite the abundance of cultivation techniques, his dantian lacked sufficient Qi, limiting the number of methods he could practice.
The only rapid way to increase his strength was to use "Dragon Swallows the Four Seas" to absorb Qi. Only with enough Qi in his dantian could he cultivate these techniques and become stronger.
"Dragon Swallows the Four Seas" could absorb life Qi from plants and animals. However, Long Xiao couldn't, and wouldn't, destroy numerous living things to absorb Qi.
After much thought, with no better solution, Long Xiao refined the pure Yang Qi that had recently entered his body and fell asleep.
For the next two days, Long Xiao had nothing else to do but help Mi Tianfu tidy the pharmacy. He also gathered some rarely used herbs, absorbing all the life Qi contained within them.
After finishing with the pharmacy, Long Xiao remembered that Xiao Ming had mentioned Biqiao Sect had a vast medicinal storehouse, holding all the herbs collected since its inception.
Moreover, Biqiao Sect had medicinal fields in the nearby mountains, cultivating a large number of herbs, some of which took decades to mature before being harvested.
The pharmacopoeia in the "Dragon Scripture" differed from modern pharmacopoeias.
A significant portion of the herbs recorded in the "Dragon Scripture's" pharmacopoeia were now extinct, and many herbs in modern pharmacopoeias were not listed in the "Dragon Scripture's."
To rapidly increase his strength, Long Xiao began to set his sights on Biqiao Sect.
He found Xiao Ming and inquired about Biqiao Sect's situation, then asked Xiao Ming to take him there to get some herbs.
Xiao Ming vigorously shook his head. "No way. I don't want to go back there. I don't want to lose my life there."
"You're at least mid-Earth realm now, what are you afraid of?" Long Xiao said.
Xiao Ming shook his head again. "Brother Long, you don't know how terrifying Biqiao Sect is. I barely escaped with my life, I can't go back."
Since Xiao Ming adamantly refused to lead the way, and Long Xiao couldn't find it on his own, he had to give up.
Seeing Long Xiao's dejected expression, Xiao Ming said, "Brother Long, there's actually another way to get a lot of good medicine."
"What way?" Long Xiao asked.
Xiao Ming told Long Xiao that Biqiao Sect wasn't entirely reclusive.
Biqiao Sect often sent disciples down the mountain for practical training, opening medical clinics and practices throughout China. Some even joined hospitals in various regions.
Each of these training disciples would bring a batch of precious medicinal materials when they left the mountain.
While diagnostic methods are important in traditional Chinese medicine, medicine itself is even more crucial. Without good medicine, one cannot cure illnesses even if they know what to use.
"Can you help me find someone from Biqiao Sect?" Long Xiao asked.
Xiao Ming pointed to Mi Tianfu. "Brother Mi's father is one of the four elders of Biqiao Sect. He almost became the next Bian Que. He knows more about Biqiao Sect than I do."
When Long Xiao and Xiao Ming found Mi Tianfu, he was settling accounts with the construction team. The renovation was complete, and all the construction waste had been removed.
Long Xiao and Xiao Ming stood aside, waiting for Mi Tianfu to finish the payment. After the construction crew left, Long Xiao spoke. "Brother, how much do you know about Biqiao Sect? Can you tell me about it?"
Mi Tianfu knew about Biqiao Sect from his father. He told Long Xiao that "Bian Que" was a title for the sect leader of Biqiao Sect, and no one in history was actually named Bian Que.
Biqiao Sect was founded in ancient times. The first Bian Que was Qibo, who discussed traditional Chinese medicine with the Yellow Emperor. Mi Tianfu didn't know where Qibo's medical skills originated from.
After its founding, each subsequent sect leader was called Bian Que. The legendary physician Bian Que in history was also a sect leader at the time.
Biqiao Sect primarily focused on inheriting and researching medical skills, with aiding the world and saving people as a secondary objective. Many ancient divine physicians were related to Biqiao Sect, either as disciples or family members of disciples.
Mi Tianfu told Long Xiao that traditional Chinese medicine originated in antiquity, and by the time of the Yellow Emperor, much of its heritage had been lost.
Mi Tianfu didn't know much about Biqiao Sect. After he finished speaking, Long Xiao asked, "Brother Mi, how can I find disciples who are training down the mountain from Biqiao Sect?"
"That's not difficult. Look for divine physicians. A significant portion of them are from Biqiao Sect."
Xiao Ming glanced at Li Yizhen's clinic and whispered, "Brother Mi, is Divine Physician Li from Biqiao Sect?"
Mi Tianfu shook his head. "The three divine physicians of Donghai are probably not. Disciples of Biqiao Sect usually don't have families. Disciples like my father, with families outside, are rare. Generally, after marrying, disciples of Biqiao Sect return to the sect and settle in the mountains."
After asking Mi Tianfu about the situation, the two began to discuss how to find disciples of Biqiao Sect.
Long Xiao didn't want to bring Xiao Ming along, who, displeased, said, "Brother Long, I'm skilled in murder, arson, robbery, and anything else. If you bring me, we'll definitely get twice the results with half the effort."
In the end, Xiao Ming was persuaded by Long Xiao. For convenience during their operation, Long Xiao and Xiao Ming spent the afternoon in the backyard, making four human skin masks for Xiao Ming as well.
It took Long Xiao two hours to completely teach Xiao Ming how to use the human skin masks and how to avoid being recognized after altering his appearance.
Xiao Ming was overjoyed to receive the human skin masks. With these four masks, he could better evade the pursuit of Biqiao Sect in the future.
As they prepared to depart, Long Xiao called Ruan Jiping, asking her to look after Lin Xuan for him.
With Luo Tianshui and Ye Mei at Xinglin Caotang, as long as the Luo family and the begging monk didn't appear, their safety should be fine.
As for Long Jiutian and the Japanese, if there was any movement from them, with today's advanced transportation, they could return within a day.
After making all the arrangements, Long Xiao and Xiao Ming stayed at the Lin family's residence for one night. He told Lin Xuan he was going to Hong Kong to read feng shui and that he could return quickly if there was an urgent matter.
As Long Xiao was about to leave Donghai again, Lin Xuan said unhappily, "Long Xiao, don't you still owe me an explanation?"
"What explanation?" Long Xiao asked, puzzled.
"Who is Long Jiutian, and why are they targeting you?" Lin Xuan asked.
Long Xiao chuckled. "Wife, don't you understand? They're targeting me because my wife is too beautiful and too attractive."
Long Xiao shifted all blame to Pei Yuquan, insisting that Long Jiutian and his group were causing trouble for him because Pei Yuquan had taken a liking to Lin Xuan.
Although Lin Xuan felt something was amiss, Long Xiao's explanation made a lot of sense. Such things had happened before. Jin Shaohuai had also sought trouble with Long Xiao because he was infatuated with her.
"Alright, I believe you. Be careful when you're out. Try not to agree to read feng shui for others anymore. We're not lacking money now."
Long Xiao smiled. "Wife, I want to earn as much money as possible to make you the happiest woman in the world."