In truth, Elder Yunnie's words made a great deal of sense.
Earth-grade Spiritual Medicine — forget about Shen Qinghong, even if someone like Elder Yunnie himself used it, he still wouldn't be able to absorb all of its medicinal potency.
After all, Earth-grade Spiritual Medicine was meant for powerhouses at the Imperial Realm.
Even Saints who used Earth-grade Spiritual Medicine were already employing it beyond their tier. The effects would certainly be excellent, but with something so precious, if you could only absorb one-tenth of its power when it contained ten full measures, what else could you call that but waste?
Shen Qinghong was currently only at the first level of the Origin Realm. If he used Earth-grade Spiritual Medicine, he would absorb at most ten percent of its potency — enough to raise his cultivation by a single level at best. How significant could that truly be?
Earth-grade Spiritual Medicine could be used, but not squandered like this.
After all, Earth-grade Spiritual Medicine was finite. Using it in such a manner was no different from destroying it.
Yet in Elder Liancheng's view, Palace Master Danchi and Elder Yunnie were deliberately limiting Shen Qinghong and holding him back.
Meanwhile, he himself had only been allocated two stalks, and he naturally wasn't willing to give one to Shen Qinghong.
So Elder Liancheng's real target was those Earth-grade Spiritual Medicines that had been turned over to the sect. All his fussing and complaining was really aimed at those surrendered medicines.
It wasn't just the Earth-grade Spiritual Medicines — his sights were also set on the Heaven-grade ones.
Jiang Chen had left three Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicines to the sect. Originally, Danchi and Elder Yunnie had divided the two Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicines that Dangian Palace had obtained, because one was Palace Master and the other had made great contributions in entering the ancient herb garden and served as master of the Herbal Hall — by both right and reason, those two should split them between themselves.
But the three Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicines Jiang Chen had given — since Jiang Chen had contributed them to Dangian Palace, why couldn't those be divided up?
"Patriarch Qi, Elder Hu — you are both among the most respected seniors of our sect. I, Liancheng, feel it's unfair on both your behalves. Surely with your esteemed status, you each deserve at least one Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicine?" Elder Liancheng put on a tone of fawning deference.
His words were clearly calculated to flatter them while serving his own interests.
Patriarch Qi and Elder Hu both held positions of extraordinary prestige within Dangian Palace. After those two elders, the next in seniority would be none other than Elder Liancheng himself.
It just so happened that there were exactly three Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicines turned over to the sect. If the two seniors took two, the remaining one would naturally fall to him, Elder Liancheng.
He had been injured by Cao Jin last time and considered himself to have suffered for the sect's sake. He felt his merits entitled him to at least one Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicine.
If Elder Yunnie could get one, then he, Elder Liancheng, should get one too. Otherwise, he simply couldn't accept it.
Patriarch Qi and Elder Hu exchanged a glance. To say they weren't tempted would be a lie.
"Danchi, since these have been turned over to the sect, they should ultimately be used by us old fellows first. Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicines are exceedingly rare — in my view, perhaps—" Patriarch Qi, as the junior martial brother of the previous Palace Master, held a position so venerable that even Danchi had to call him Martial Uncle. His words carried great weight.
"Martial Uncle, the matter of turning them over was agreed upon by everyone. The reason I haven't divided them yet is twofold: first, Jiang Chen's whereabouts remain unknown, and rashly dividing up his spoils feels unjust toward him; second, it's simply difficult to divide fairly. If those three Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicines were distributed in advance, the younger generation would lose all hope of obtaining one. That would hardly be fair to them."
Patriarch Qi knew, of course, that Danchi was a man without selfishness. So he bore no ill will toward Danchi personally.
"Danchi, you are the Palace Master now. You are the head of this household, and everything is ultimately your decision. I'm old — receiving one would certainly be of great use to me. But if it's meant to be kept for the younger geniuses, I'm perfectly content with that." Patriarch Qi was not inclined to undermine Palace Master Danchi.
It was Elder Hu who spoke up: "Brother Qi, that's not quite the way to look at it. The situation across the Myriad Phenomena Region is complex these days. I believe we old fellows should continue strengthening ourselves. Compared to the younger disciples, at critical junctures, it is the power of us seniors that more readily influences the sect's fortune."
"Elder Hu makes a valid point. After what happened last time, I too feel that young disciples still aren't quite capable of standing on their own when it matters most," Elder Liancheng chimed in.
He made a deliberate reference to the events of last time, subtly reminding everyone that he had been injured in service to the sect and had earned his due.
Elder Yunnie suddenly smiled: "Since everyone has decided to distribute the Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicines, I happen to have a solution that satisfies everyone."
"What solution?" Elder Hu's eyes lit up.
"There are three Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicines in total. Patriarch Qi is the most venerable of all, the sect's foremost elder — he should naturally receive one, and I think no one would dispute that. Of the remaining two, we can allocate one based on rank and prestige to one of our senior grand elders. As for the last one, it should serve as a reward — a prize for the most outstanding genius at the upcoming Myriad Phenomena Grand Assembly. That way, both the old generation and the young generation are taken care of. A truly elegant solution."
When Elder Yunnie finished laying out this proposal, Elder Hu burst into laughter: "An excellent idea. I'm in favor."
Palace Master Danchi smiled to himself. Elder Yunnie's stratagem was precisely targeted — it would block Elder Liancheng dead in his tracks.
Elder Liancheng had been clamoring for a Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicine, but under this distribution scheme, it would fall to him to receive nothing.
Of the two medicines set aside for the senior elders, Patriarch Qi would unquestionably take one. The remaining one would go to the one with greater seniority — and that was Elder Hu, not Elder Liancheng.
In other words, after all his red-faced shouting and arguing, Elder Liancheng still wouldn't get a single Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicine.
If you've got the nerve, go fight Elder Hu for it yourself.
Patriarch Qi also cast a meaningful glance at Elder Yunnie, privately impressed by the man's quick wit. This scheme appeared perfectly fair on the surface, but in reality it had sown discord between Elder Hu and Elder Liancheng.
Those two had originally been working together to claim the Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicines. But once this proposal was put forward, it effectively placed one Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicine directly between them to compete over.