Chapter 573: Who’s Tricking Who?

　　It dawned on Zuo Mingxi what Jiang Yucheng was talking about when he followed his gaze. “Oh, you’re talking about that! I lost it some time ago, but I haven’t found it. A new token will be delivered to me in a couple of days.”

　　Jiang Yucheng nodded in understanding. “I see.”

　　Zuo Mingxi tried to sound him out as he looked at him. “I know that imperial physicians are supposed to carry their jade tokens with them when they enter the palace, but… There can’t be any delay with His Majesty’s condition, so I ultimately decided to come here after much consideration.”

　　“Don’t worry, Physician Zuo. I have no intention of reproaching you. I just happened to notice it, so I was a little curious. But you’re right—His Majesty’s health takes priority. Besides, your new token is almost ready. There’s no need to pursue this matter at all,” said Jiang Yucheng with a smile.

　　Zuo Mingxi heaved a sigh of relief.

　　“However, it’s a token of your identity after all. Please be more careful in the future.”

　　“Of course, of course.”

　　After chatting for a little longer, Zuo Mingxi finally left.

　　Jiang Yucheng, on the other hand, turned to look behind before leaving as well.

　　…

　　Chong Xu Cabinet.

　　Chu Liuyue was still sitting in the same spot with her left palm on the ground and a lot of Messed Yuan Gravel gathered around her. Her lips were a little pale, but she was thankfully still in a rather good condition.

　　One-third of the Messed Yuan Gravel in the medicinal garden had basically been gathered here, and the particles were gradually coalescing into larger grains. Despite that, they could still move around freely like liquid.

　　When the force in Chu Liuyue’s limbs was almost depleted, she started channeling the force from the water droplet.

　　The feeling of exhaustion instantly disappeared the moment a rich force surged out. Feeling energized, she started speeding up the process once more.

　　Like Qiang Wanzhou—who was nervously watching her from the side with tightly pursed lips—Weichi Song was equally worried when he saw this scene from outside.

　　Slowly, more and more Messed Yuan Gravel gathered around Chu Liuyue’s palm.

　　…

　　At nightfall, Chu Liuyue finally gathered all the Messed Yuan Gravel in the entire medicinal garden. After adjusting her breathing, she looked up at Weichi Song. “Master, I’m afraid you’ll have to remove the barrier.” Otherwise, it’ll affect my ability to lure the rest of the Messed Yuan Gravel here.

　　Despite his worries, Weichi Song nodded in understanding. “Alright.”

　　The next moment, the barrier disappeared with a wave of his hand.

　　Now, other than Qiang Wanzhou and Weichi Song, Chu Liuyue no longer had any form of protection.

　　Closing her eyes, Chu Liuyue gathered her focus as force gushed out from the water droplet endlessly.

　　Although nothing could be seen clearly since they were in the thick of the night, a faint rustling sound could be heard from all directions. The closer it got to Chu Liuyue, the clearer the sound became. Needless to say, the sound came from the Messed Yuan Gravel that had previously spread to the entire Qing Yuan Mountain.

　　Weichi Song was horrified to hear this sound. J-just how much Messed Yuan Gravel is there? Was Qing Yuan Mountain completely covered with this thing since a long time ago? If it weren’t for Chu Liuyue, we could only allow it to continue to spread throughout the mountain. Before long, the entire mountain would be ruined!

　　The thought of this left lingering fear in him. If this really was Jiang Yucheng’s doing… What’s the reason for him doing so?!

　　…

　　The night passed quickly as Weichi Song and Qiang Wanzhou guarded and kept their eyes on Chu Liuyue for the entire night. Also, the rustling sound only finally stopped when the sun appeared in the morning.

　　Despite being mentally prepared to a certain extent, Weichi Song couldn’t help but be shocked when he truly saw this scene.

　　As if wrapped up in a transparent film, the Messed Yuan Gravel practically formed a small stream that quietly floated in the air around Chu Liuyue. The aura it contained was so strong that it struck fear in people.

　　Chu Liuyue’s face had lost all its color, and her eyes were bloodshot. Fortunately though, the aura around her seemed relatively calm.

　　Heaving a sigh of relief, she looked at the Messed Yuan Gravel floating around her. All of a sudden, a tiny crystal slowly formed on its surface.

　　Her heart thumped in excitement. It’s starting to crystallize! All of the Messed Yuan Gravel on Qing Yuan Mountain has gathered together!

　　Qiang Wanzhou—who had also noticed this scene—immediately warned her, “Any time now!”

　　Chu Liuyue lifted her left hand, shooting out a strong force that instantly surrounded the Messed Yuan Gravel.

　　The Messed Yuan Gravel then began crystallizing at an even faster rate. In just the blink of an eye, it became a large piece of red crystal.

　　But just when Chu Liuyue was about to destroy it, the red crystal suddenly started shrinking. She frowned and quickly glanced at Qiang Wanzhou, asking, “What’s… going on here?”

　　There was a grave expression on Qiang Wanzhou’s face. “This shouldn’t happen… It’s your force that’s compressing it!”

　　“What?” Chu Liuyue was confused. But I didn’t do anything! According to Qiang Wanzhou, I just need to quickly destroy the Messed Yuan Gravel when it’s fully crystallized. I was just about to do as told, but it—

　　Before she could react, Qiang Wanzhou had already rushed over and threw his fist out, intending to take the matter into his own hands.

　　“Wait!” cried Chu Liuyue all of a sudden.

　　“What’s wrong?” Qiang Wanzhou froze. This thing is highly dangerous. If we don’t quickly destroy it…

　　“Just a second!” Chu Liuyue—who had seemingly detected something—shook her head as an indicator for the other to step back first.

　　Standing outside, Weichi Song had also realized that something was amiss. He asked worriedly, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

　　Frowning, Qiang Wanzhou shook his head, only to receive a ‘be patient’ look from Chu Liuyue.

　　Silence reigned as the trio quietly stared at the shrinking red crystal.

　　It only finally stopped shrinking when it shrunk to the size of a palm. Due to its dark color and smooth and bright surface, it looked like a ruby as it quietly floated in front of Chu Liuyue.

　　Chu Liuyue hesitantly stretched her hand out and took the red crystal in her hand. Although it felt cold to the touch, she could vaguely sense the surging energy in it. The next moment, the red crystal entered her body through the cut on her left palm.

　　“Liuyue!” Fear and shock gripped Weichi Song’s and Qiang Wanzhou’s hearts when they saw this scene.

　　However, Chu Liuyue was just surprised that the crystal had seemingly dissolved in her blood. It flowed through my Yuan meridian and all the way to… My dantian?

　　There wasn’t a single ripple in the water droplet as it quietly floated in her dantian, but the red crystal was completely swallowed in the next second. Warm energy then flowed out from it and extended to her four limbs, nourishing them.

　　Chu Liuyue was dumbfounded. After a while, she questioned the water droplet in disbelief upon realizing something. “D-did you… deliberately swallow the Messed Yuan Gravel’s powers?”