The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]
Chapter 286: A Month of Experience

“Aaaaggghhhh!” the deviator cried out.

Wei Ping and Long Yi had to do their utmost to keep the man from breaking free of the bindings, tying him to the seat.

Seeing how much pain the man was in, Li Lang quickly injected some painkillers into him. He synthesized it just in case, and it proved to be worthwhile. There were plenty of herbs native to this world with analgesic properties, so it didn’t even cost that much time.

At the same time as his injection, he quickly took some samples from the man and stuffed a Recovery Pill into his mouth. He couldn’t let go of the opportunity to monitor how his drug was affecting the man.

Thankfully, the screaming soon ceased as the man calmed down. He was only breathing heavily now as he rapidly blinked.

After ten minutes, the deviator finally appeared to have settled down enough to regain control of his body. The remaining question was whether he had control of his mind.

The man’s eyes darted around the room, holding his gaze at each person for a few seconds. Seeing how he wasn’t immediately trying to lash out at them, Li Lang called out to him.

“There’s no need to worry. We’re not here to harm you.” The man turned his head left and right, trying to get a good look at the speaker behind him. Noticing his struggle, Li Lang slowly walked into his view. “Can you understand me?”

The deviator let out some garbled sound, but one thing was clear to Li Lang: the man was trying to communicate!

It didn’t take long before the man got tired of blurting out strange noises and he began drooling. Li Lang waved his hand and retrieved some food and water. Using his Primordial Star Fire to quickly heat the food, an aromatic smell of some roasted chicken spread across the room.

He pointed at the food, then pointed at the deviator, gesturing for him to eat.

It instantly restored the man’s vigor as he lurched forward without reservation. Thankfully, Wei Ping and Long Yi were adaptable enough to let his hands go lest he slam his face into the table.

“What? Is he really better now?” Long Yi commented as they watched the man wolf down the food.

“Hm, we’ll have to monitor his condition for some time first. I’m not exactly sure how long he was left in his previous condition, but the damage was quite severe. It’s not surprising his mind is damaged and requires time to heal.”

“Well, that’s not something I expected to hear from you. I thought you knew what you were doing?”

“The mind is a complicated subject that I unfortunately haven’t mastered. Physically speaking, he should be healthy. Recovery Pills does wonders for that.” Li Lang then turned to Xiao Dong by the door. “I’ll leave this man under your care while we’re gone, though you can mostly leave him in the Crucible. The artifact spirits will watch over him. Just make sure to feed him and try to communicate with him every once in a while.”

His student breathed out deeply through his nose before nodding.

“Thank you. I know I can rely on you.”

With the matter seemingly settled, Li Lang gestured for Wei Ping and Long Yi to follow, and the trio walked out of the room. They headed up to the third floor of the main hall, where they had quickly dived into a discussion about their upcoming plans.

“I think we can start heading out tomorrow. What do you guys think?” Li Lang asked.

“That’s fine,” Long Yi replied. “Did you decide how we’ll be split up?”

Li Lang spread open a large map on the table and began perusing it.

“I say we kill two birds with one stone, scouting out the areas for any signs of the Abductress while we go. The Luminescent Domain is probably the least likely place where she could have a hideout, so we can leave it to our students later when they start participating later. That’s why I’d prefer if we each selected a province belonging to the orthodox sects.”

“Act-Actually, do you think I can start from this territory, here?” Wei Ping pointed toward a southern part of the Luminescent Domain, next to a small town.

“Why?”

“I planned to g-go learn the next part of the Lingering Impact Technique with my ol-old mentor there, so it would kill thre-three birds in one stone.”

“Then, sure. I don’t see why not.” He then turned to the tallest man in the group. “How about you? Do you have a preference?”

“Hmm, anything that’s not Yellow Qilin province is fine. I’d rather go someplace new.”

“Sure, you can take the closest province, Azure Mist, then. I’ll head back to Vermillion Dragon, where we did our first recruitment drive. That way, I’ll just be north of Wei Ping, in case we need to assist each other.”

“Sounds like we have a plan,” Long Yi cheered.

***

The next day, the trio departed together toward the nearby city. It was called Beast Port, a city that thrived on trade. It was where a significant portion of the Qi beasts from the orthodox territories came in. Of course, that also meant it was where the unique resources of the Luminescent Domain were exported. There was no doubt that it was one of the thriving commercial hubs where numerous merchants belonging to Polarity City plied their trade.

The three of them only stopped there briefly, so they could purchase an additional Skyrunner for Long Yi. They were splitting up, so they needed their own transportation. Li Lang naturally had one, as did Wei Ping, who finally completed growing his own Skyrunner. While there was an extra spare, which was the basic model that they used to reach Polarity City, it wasn’t suitable for a dignified Foundation Establishment expert to use.

“Hmm, maybe I should’ve learned to grow my own Skyrunner, too. They don’t have anything ash gray in stock, like yours,” Long Yi commented as he marveled at Wei Ping’s new ride.

“Mi-Mine is only mortal-grade. Yours is wa-way faster. Boss sure sp-splurged on you.”

“Now, now,” Li Lang placated. “I’m sure we can find some way to modify its appearance later. I mean, if we can upgrade our Skyrunners to Earth-grade, I don’t see why we can’t do some cosmetic changes.”

“I think I’ve se-seen some techniques for that when I went to the Woodsmith Guild. You sh-should go check one out when you have t-time.”

Li Lang nodded. “I will.”

Now that he had learned the basics of the five crafts, Li Lang had considered getting certified in each one and letting it be known he was a True Craftsman. It would add to his political capital, but it didn’t seem urgent. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about how the guilds would handle him. Perhaps there was some secret archive with techniques pertaining to the five crafts waiting for him to unlock. He wasn’t sure, which was why he was still on the fence, but now that he was setting his roots and growing an organization, it seemed beneficial.

All the other big organizations had at least hundreds of members and dozens of elders. They had both depth and breadth when it came to combat and craft techniques. He believed it would give potential recruits more confidence in joining him if they knew they were capable of guiding them, no matter what path they chose.

“So this is it,” Long Yi muttered, breaking Li Lang from his musing.

“See y-you guys in a month,” Wei Ping replied with a nod.

The three gave each other a look before boarding their own vehicle and flying off into the distance without looking back. It would’ve looked quite dramatic if that was just it; however, they each had an additional tag-along.

Jun Ziyan, Da Xing, and Da Feng had dutifully followed along to protect them. Since the trio was splitting up, they naturally would too.

“Well, I guess you’re with me,” Li Lang commented to the girl standing on the roof of his vehicle as he steered toward the northeast.

“Yes—how wonderful,” Jun Ziyan said with a sigh. “I can’t say I approve of splitting up, but I unfortunately can’t dictate what you do, either.”

“It’ll just be a month. Relax. Think of it as a vacation.”

“If only. Too bad the person I have to protect likes to work me to the bone.”

“Those were desperate times. You saw what I promised to the entirety of Violet Isle, right? I couldn’t afford to underutilize any resources.”

“Right, right. I’m sure this desperate time you’re talking about is going to last quite a while longer.”

Li Lang shrugged and glanced away to hide his grin from the woman. He was definitely planning to have her steer the Skyrunner for the majority of the journey, so he could retreat into Ruby’s artifact space, but she didn’t need to know that yet.

As for explaining whether this trip was necessary, he would get to it eventually over the course of their journey.

Wei Ping, Long Yi, and he all knew they had gained a lot during their adventures on Sword Saint Isle together, but were also lacking in many areas. It couldn’t be helped, as they were still inexperienced. The only true way to make up for this shortcoming was time. However, travelling and setting sights on new things helped accelerate this progress. It was the difference between someone spending their decades in their little bubble and someone who traveled the world and met various people. The one who had more encounters would naturally have more life experiences.

With that as their bonus objective in their hearts, the trio didn’t hesitate to split off.

There was a reason they set an entire month as the timeline. If they only cared for recruiting students, it could just take two weeks or so, depending on how far they went, maybe three to investigate the area. The additional week was to temper themselves and broaden their horizons.

Now then. Vermillion Dragon, here I come again. Hmm, should I visit the Yan Clan again? They wouldn’t just randomly capture me this time, now that they know who I am, right?