The Medicine King Valley was a special power that had been passed down for thousands of years. Its Sect was filled with masters of pill refinement, and the vast majority of its outstanding Disciples were exceptionally skilled alchemists.
Its actual strength wasn't particularly impressive—only slightly above some second-tier Sects, far from matching the combat power of a first-tier Sect.
But its influence was something no other power could compare with.
Any martial artist, during the course of their cultivation and growth, would need to consume certain pills, and those pills all came from the hands of alchemists.
And for alchemists throughout the world, the Medicine King Valley was their holy land.
Any alchemist, upon mentioning the Medicine King Valley, would be filled with the utmost reverence and admiration. Many even made it their life's goal to be admitted to the Medicine King Valley to study the art of pill refinement and pay homage to the legacy of the Pill Sage.
The Pill Sage, the founding ancestor of the Medicine King Valley, had been dead for untold ages, yet the passage of time had not diminished his sacred status in the hearts of alchemists. Legend had it that the entire lineage of pill refinement was passed down by the Pill Sage himself, spreading outward from the Medicine King Valley as its center, which was how today's martial artists came to have pills to consume when injured or during Cultivation.
Before the Pill Sage taught the art of pill refinement, the world's martial artists knew only to seek out herbs and swallow them whole!
This was merely a legend, and all legends contained exaggerated elements that could not be entirely believed.
But one thing in this legend was true—the Pill Sage had indeed existed! And his portrait stood even now within the forbidden grounds of the Medicine King Valley, having endured for thousands of years without toppling and bearing no signs of weathering. This in itself was a miracle.
Although the name "Medicine King Valley" contained the word "valley," this power was not actually built within a valley.
Surrounding it were over a dozen mountain peaks, each rising a thousand zhang high, arranged in a circle that covered several hundred li of territory.
This expanse of several hundred li was entirely the domain of the Medicine King Valley's Sect.
On each of these mountain peaks, powerful alchemists took up residence. Some gathered many Disciples, spreading the Sect's influence far and wide. Others lived alone, devoting themselves to solitary cultivation and deepening their understanding of the art of pill refinement. On the mountainsides, there were often one or two acres of medicinal fields, planted with all manner of spiritual herbs and miraculous medicines that made one's mouth water.
The entire Medicine King Valley harbored an inexhaustible supply of pill-refining materials.
At the center of these encircling peaks lay a true valley. Unlike the tranquility of the surrounding dozen-plus mountains, this valley was bustling year-round. Every single day it teemed with activity, martial artists streaming back and forth like fish crossing a river, never ceasing.
The reason was simple—the small city built within this valley was where the Medicine King Valley interacted with outside martial artists.
When martial artists wished to have pills refined, they would bring sufficient materials and come here to seek out the Medicine King Valley's Disciples for the task. The Disciples of the Medicine King Valley charged no gold or silver for their pill refinement—only one-third of the finished pills as their fee.
It didn't matter what grade of pill you came to the Medicine King Valley to refine—whether mortal grade or heaven grade. If the refinement failed, there was naturally nothing to be said. But if the pills were successfully produced, three out of every ten pills would go to the alchemist as payment.
This method of collection was somewhat akin to highway robbery. Heaven-grade pills were each worth a fortune, and after painstakingly gathering the materials yourself, you not only had to bear the risk of total failure and ending up with nothing, but even if the refinement succeeded, thirty percent of the results would be taken away as payment.
Yet even so, this could not diminish the passion and determination of martial artists coming to the Medicine King Valley to have their pills refined.
Because here, the failure rate of alchemists was extremely low, and once the pills were produced, their quality was also higher than what outside alchemists could achieve.
So even with such harsh conditions, martial artists were still willing to come here to seek out someone to refine their pills. It was far better than letting those outside alchemists attempt it, where a moment's carelessness could destroy all your materials.
The Medicine King Valley's reputation was known throughout the world, attracting not only warriors from Da Han but also frequent visitors from surrounding nations who came to request the Medicine King Valley's Elders to refine pills for them.
The Elders generally would not act lightly; to request their services in refining pills, you would need at least heaven-grade or even mysterious-grade materials, and the fee they charged would be even steeper.
Medicine King Valley had ten great Elders, each presiding over one of the ten surrounding mountain peaks. Every last one of them possessed extraordinary skills, their alchemy mastery so profound it bordered on the divine — unfathomable to ordinary people.
Ordinary visitors, and even the Valley's own Disciples, rarely laid eyes on them. These Elders were all past sixty, spending their years in seclusion researching the art of pill refining. Only when exceptionally rare and valuable materials appeared would they emerge to craft pills.
Within the Valley's town, shops stood in dense rows. Not all of these establishments belonged to Medicine King Valley — in fact, nine out of ten were set up by various powers, great and small, from across the land.
After all, this was the center of all alchemists under heaven. These forces established their shops here to sell medicinal herbs, gather materials, and gather intelligence — serving a multitude of purposes beyond simple trade.
As for Medicine King Valley itself, it maintained a solitary stance, never making enemies of any faction under heaven, nor deliberately courting favor with any particular one. For thousands of years, it had preserved its transcendent status.
Within the Valley's town, fighting was strictly forbidden. So even though warriors came and went in an endless stream, no one in this city ever dared cross that line.
Should anyone engage in combat within the city, they would not need Medicine King Valley to intervene — everyone else present would kill both combatants on the spot.
However, once someone left the Valley, Medicine King Valley would concern itself with none of their grudges.
Thus, the region within a thousand li of the Valley was two entirely different worlds.
Inside the valley cradled by the mountain peaks, everything was lively and peaceful. But beyond the valley, stretching dozens of li in every direction, battles and slaughter could be found at every turn. These were people who had clashed within the Valley, dared not act on their fury there, and had agreed to meet outside to settle matters to the death.
On this day, a horse-drawn carriage came speeding from the distance, coming to a halt a full fifty li away from Medicine King Valley.
The driver set down his whip and called into the carriage: "Young master, we've arrived at Medicine King Valley!"