850 The First Time

"I have an issue with that." Just as everyone thought that it had been decided, another voice sounded out. It was Yu Sheng. He stared at Ye Futian indignantly. Previously, the person that Saint Jiang had selected to test medicine was him.

"What are you looking at? So what if you refuse to accept it?" Ye Futian glared and him and chided him, "Are you the boss or am I? Do you feel that you are more capable than me?"

Yu Sheng did not retort but continued to look at him obstinately.

Ye Futian glared at him, then turned to Saint Jiang and said, "Senior, there is no need to bother with him. How confident are you that my Master's remodeled body will be able to withstand the Divine Catastrophe?"

"Since I have already promised you, I will do my best to restore his body to its peak state and surpass its previous condition. He will be able to feel it for himself, and I think that there will be no problems. Of course, if his body is already too weak, that is beyond my control," Saint Jiang said coolly.

"Okay." Ye Futian nodded. Saint Jiang was 12th on the Saint Ranking, so his words were naturally trustworthy.

"From today, you will stay in the Herb Garden. Prepare to test medicine at any time," Saint Jiang said. Ye Futian nodded lightly.

"I will prepare medicine to temper his body at the same time. You can wait at the College. Once there is news, I will inform you." Saint Jiang continued, "Little Butterfly, find Ye Futian a place to stay, the rest can leave."

"I want to stay." Yu Sheng looked at Saint Jiang and said, "I hope senior will allow it."

"Okay," Saint Jiang said coolly, then turned around and left.

"Let us go." Goddess Die looked towards Ye Futian and the rest.

"Alright, thank you for your trouble." Ye Futian smiled as he nodded and replied. Saint Jiang had accepted his request, so he could finally heave a sigh of relief. He had suffered a few setbacks on his way from the Barren State to the Nine State College, but he had finally obtained Saint Jiang's promise.

"Why do all of you have such sullen faces. The Barren State will soon have its second Saint, you should all be happy," Ye Futian looked at the people behind him and said.

The Sword Demon, Xu Shang, and the rest all shook their heads with a wry smile. The Barren State having its second Saint was definitely something to celebrate and paying any price would have been worth it, except for Ye Futian. They did not know how dangerous Saint Jiang's medicine testing would be, so there was a shadow looming over their hearts. They could not bring themselves to be happy.

"Miss Butterfly, how dangerous is the medicine testing?" Sage Douzhan asked Goddess Die.

Goddess Die shook her head with a bitter smile and replied, "I don't know either, it depends on what medicine Master is testing."

"Thank you for introducing us this time, Miss Butterfly. However, there are too many peoples' hopes on my disciple's shoulder. I hope that Miss Butterfly will be able to help look out for him. If anything happens to him, please lend him a hand." Sage Douzhan pleaded, "I beg of you."

"Senior, there is no need to do so. If anything happens, I will naturally help Palace Lord," Goddess Die replied.

"I thank you in advance then," Sage Douzhan replied.

"Master, do you know what your biggest strength is?" Ye Futian asked.

Sage Douzhan looked at Ye Futian and shook his head, replying, "I don't know."

"You have a good eye for picking disciples," Ye Futian smiled and replied. Sage Douzhan glared at him, this fellow still dared to be this flippant.

"So, be at ease. I am not as weak as you think." Ye Futian shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. Sage Douzhan could only sigh and follow the rest out of the Herb Garden.

Only Little Butterfly, Ye Futian, and Yu Sheng remained.

"Why do you go to this extent. Medical testing is indeed very dangerous. Master has tried it in the past numerous times and they have all failed." Goddess Die shook her head as she spoke. She did not understand why her Master did it sometimes.

"There is no problem, I am tough enough." Ye Futian smiled and replied, "Saint Jiang is known as the Poison Lord and the Medicine Saint, why does he need someone of my cultivation level to test medicine?"

He did not understand.

"Master has always wanted to prove something." Goddess Die replied, "However, I have no idea what it is exactly."

"In the future, I will have to trouble Goddess quite a lot. Do you regret helping out?" Ye Futian smiled and asked.

"If I had known that Palace Lord Ye would test medicine, I would not have introduced you to Master," Goddess Die shook her head lightly and replied. 

Ye Futian blinked and said, smiling, "You do not need to take it to heart. Everyone has something that they will give their everything for. This is the decision that I made, even if anything happens to me, it is of no relation to you."

"Even so..." Goddess Die shook her head lightly and retorted. If anything happened to Ye Futian while he was testing medicine, she would feel guilty about it.

"Also, don't address me as Palace Lord Ye unless you regard me as an outsider. I have already treated Goddess Die as a friend, just call me by name," Ye Futian interrupted Goddess Die and said.

Goddess Die fell silent for a moment, then nodded her head and said, "Then you should also call me 'Little Butterfly'."

"Okay," Ye Futian smiled and replied. Before they knew it, they had already reached a place to stay. Goddess Die said to him, "You two can stay here for now, I'll inform you if there's anything new."

"Okay." Ye Futian nodded.

"I'm leaving then." Goddess Die smiled as she bid them goodbye. Ye Futian watched as she left and Yu Sheng looked at him and asked, "Enjoying yourself?"

"..." Ye Futian glared at him and said, "Are you blind?" As he said that, he stepped away and left.

"You wouldn't dare to anyway." Yu Sheng mumbled to himself. Ye Futian stumbled and had an urge to beat Yu Sheng up. However, when he thought that it would only hurt his own hand, he stopped himself.

... 

News spread across the Nine State College from the Herb Garden that Goddess Die had introduced Ye Futian to Saint Jiang and Saint Jiang had agreed to his request to help Sage Douzhan temper his body.

Many people felt happy for Ye Futian. His request had finally been fulfilled after visiting every day for a month.

Sage Douzhan would be able to step into the Saint Plane.

However, the rumors also claimed that in order for Saint Jiang to help out, Ye Futian had paid a certain price. However, the details of the price had not spread out, so nobody knew what it was.

In the Pavilion where the people from the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty were, when Zhou Huang received the news, his expression was grim. That day, when he went to deliver a gift, he had been sent back by Xu Chehan and was rather displeased. However, after he heard that Ye Futian had also been rejected by Xu Chehan, he understood that Xu Chehan did not want to be involved in the matter. However, he did not expect that Ye Futian would go through Goddess Die to meet Saint Jiang.

"I heard that Sage Douzhan and the rest had grim expressions after leaving the Herb Garden. Instead of looking relaxed, they looked troubled. It could have something to do with the price that the Barren State had to pay. The Barren State must have paid a heavy price to help Douzhan enter the Saint Plane." The informant reported, "After all, Saint Jiang doesn't know them well, so he would not help them for no reason."

"No price is worth more than a Saint's existence." Zhou Huang did not exaggerate when he said that. Saint instruments and other treasures were merely additions to one's strength. A Saint Plane cultivator's strength was the real deal.

"Then why did Douzhan and the others have such grim expressions? Moreover, Ye Futian and Yu Sheng did not leave the Herb Garden," the informant continued.

"Go and inquire about the matter, make sure you get to the bottom of it," Zhou Huang ordered and the person bowed and left.

"Inform the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty to make preparations," Zhou Huang continued. If Sage Douzhan becoming a Saint is unavoidable, they need to have countermeasures in place.

The best countermeasure would be to eliminate him. A dead Saint would be no good to anyone.

Soon, the person returned yet again with excitement in his eyes. He walked quickly before Zhou Huang and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, I bear good news."

"What news?" Zhou Huang asked, surprised.

"Ye Futian has agreed to help Saint Jiang test medicine in exchange for Saint Jiang helping Douzhan." The person reported, "In the past, Saint Jiang had found others to test medicine for him. Everyone who did so was unable to withstand it and ended up dying."

Crackle. Zhou Huang clenched his fists and they made a crisp crackling sound. His brows smoothened and a smile appeared on his face as he said, "I can't believe this Ye Futian is courting his own demise."

"Many other people think so too." The informant laughed.

Once Ye Futian died, the Barren State that had been united because of him would collapse. From then on, the Holy Zhi Palace would be unable to resist their attacks and there would be no doubt about the result of the sacred war.

He had thought that no matter what price Ye Futian had paid, it would not bode well for him. However, he had not expected that it would actually excite him this much instead.

What a pity that he could not see an elite prodigy rise up.

From the enemy's point of view, Zhou Huang acknowledged Ye Futian's potential but hoped that Ye Futian would die as well. If he did not die, he would become a threat.

As expected of Saint Jiang, holder of both the titles of Poison Lord and Medicine Saint. He was no Samaritan.

However, at that moment, in the Herb Garden, Saint Jiang had found Xu Chehan and Goddess Die. Waving his hand, a golden glow appeared in front of the two of them, opening up like a drawing with many words on it.

"You two, go collect the herbs you see," Saint Jiang ordered the two of them.

Xu Chehan memorized the herbs in silence. He knew that the herbs included in those words were for Sage Douzhan. His Master, Saint Jiang would personally help Sage Douzhan temper his body.

Since his herbs were for Sage Douzhan, the words that appeared in front of Little Butterfly were for Ye Futian. However, Little Butterfly's expression paled as she asked, "Master, even Magis are unable to withstand some of the herbs in here. Isn't this a bit too much for Ye Futian's cultivation level?"

"Just collect the herbs based on what is written. You will create a medicated bath with it. I will give you the method, but you are not to show any mercy," Saint Jiang looked at Little Butterfly and instructed her.

A worried look appeared on Little Butterfly's face. After all, she was familiar with herbs, so she naturally knew how potent the bath would be after all these herbs were combined together. Moreover, some of the herbs written here were rare treasures. Any one of them could easily be a valuable asset.

Letting Ye Futian test medicine would also deplete a huge amount of resources.

"Little Butterfly, since Master has ordered it, just follow his instructions," Xu Chehan said. Little Butterfly nodded lightly, she knew she could not go against her Master.

"I'm going then," Little Butterfly said as she left.

… 

Two days later, Little Butterfly brought Ye Futian to the medicated pool, located within the Herb Garden. Yu Sheng had come along as well.

The herbs for the medicated bath were already in the pool. Ye Futian stepped before the medicated pool and saw that the liquid in the bubbling pool had a fiery sheen. Wisps of terrifying mist wafted above the medicated pool and bubbling sounds sounded from within. It seemed to contain a mysterious power.

"Brother is preparing the herbs for your Master's body-tempering. Master will refine the herbs personally," Little Butterfly said to Ye Futian.

Ye Futian nodded lightly and replied, "Naturally, I trust Saint Jiang."

"Okay." Little Butterfly nodded and said, "Take off your shirt then."

Uh… Ye Futian had cold sweat trickling down his face as he thought. This... 

He turned back and looked at Little Butterfly and was greeted with a calm explanation, "The medicated bath requires you to have physical contact with it. The first time might be a little painful, bear with it."

"Cough, cough!" Ye Futian's face went beet-red.

"What's wrong?" Little Butterfly stared at him and asked. "Is it the medicated pool?"

"No, nothing." Ye Futian shook his head awkwardly and took off his shirt. He blinked at Little Butterfly and asked, "Aren't you leaving?"

"I'm staying here in case you can't take it," Little Butterfly shook her head lightly and replied.

"Okay." Ye Futian turned around and took a deep breath, looked at the medicated pool and stepped into it. His entire body sank into the medicated pool.

Sizzle, sizzle...

In just a moment, Ye Futian could feel the skin on his body experiencing a horrible burning sensation which permeated into his bones.

Instantly, cries of agony resounded throughout the medicated pool. At that moment, Ye Futian finally understood why Little Butterfly had reminded him before he entered.

How was this a little painful?

This was awfully painful!

Strands of air entered his limbs, and the air current that was created by the liquid in the medicated pool seemed to be embalmed with destructive rule power, burning every part of his body.

If he had to describe it, he felt as though every organ, every drop of blood, every atom of his body was on fire, bearing the force alongside him.

It was painful beyond belief!

Little Butterfly stood at the side, watching him with a nervous expression, her fists slightly clenched. She naturally knew how terrifying the medicated bath was. After all, she had refined it personally. She was very clear how strong it was, if it was an ordinary Sage, his body would have been destroyed instantly.

However, after Ye Futian shouted once, he closed his eyes and a divine light flowed around his body, as though it was resisting the force. Evidently, he had resistance to it.

Yu Sheng also stood at the side watching. He did not say anything and continued staring at Ye Futian. If Ye Futian was unable to bear it, he would bring him out!