Moreover, what was even more incredible was that some spiritual medicines that could only grow in specific environments could also be cultivated here.
This was the reason this family relocated here, though it required great determination. No one could guarantee they would definitely succeed—this was like starting over from scratch.
If this was the only reason, Lingyue County might not have developed to this extent—it would at least be much weaker than now.
There was another very important reason why alchemists gathered here: some herbs had to be fresh—some within seven days, some within three days, some within one day, and some could only be used on the spot.
Using transplantation methods, they could be taken away, but the problem was this required risk and cost. Some alchemists didn't have this capability. Moreover, transplantation might affect some medicinal properties. The best method was still to refine pills directly here.
This family not only provided medicinal materials, but as long as you paid money and had credibility, you could enter the herb gardens and personally gather materials on the spot to get the freshest ones. Additionally, this family also provided alchemy equipment. This place had the most complete alchemy facilities and most complete materials on the entire continent.
At the same time, this family would also cooperate with alchemists, providing materials for free, but requiring equivalent pills in exchange. Then they would resell the pills. With their business networks, selling these was additional income.
It was because of this that Xiaoyao had once considered coming here. Besides being able to get materials for free, there were also some materials that had to be obtained here.
What Xiaoyao never expected was that he would actually come to this place, and under very special circumstances. Yes, very special—directly "kidnapped" here...
Xiaoyao never imagined the Fourth Prince would choose such a feng shui treasure land. He had originally thought being in the Great Tang Empire would be good enough, as long as he didn't have to take detours. The result was beyond his expectations—unexpectedly good.
This was one of the Fourth Prince's secret hideouts here, with a feeling of "great hermits hiding in the marketplace." The Fourth Prince was quite clever—he didn't choose those uninhabited places. In uninhabited places, if something happened, there would be no one to protect you.
When choosing the Great Tang Empire, what he wanted was that no one would dare act here, at least not openly. With such a purpose, how could he possibly choose remote places? But at the same time, he couldn't choose the Great Tang Empire's capital, because that would be too easily discovered.
Lingyue County was the best place. Lingyue County was originally a place where martial artists were forbidden from fighting, because there was a group of alchemists here, and alchemists didn't like seeing martial artists destroy their territory.
As a martial artist, you could offend anyone but not alchemists, especially the alchemists here. To improve their strength, the supply of pills was vitally important.
At the same time, the alchemists here would also provide some pills to certain martial artists, provided these martial artists could provide security here. There were quite a few such martial artists, including many experts.
Among them were also some martial artists who had been here from the beginning. Now that they had become supreme experts, they still hadn't left, because what they pursued was the peak of martial dao. Cultivating anywhere was the same, and the resources here were so good, it was naturally excellent.
At the same time, there was also gratitude. Some martial artists had grown up directly here. They were poor martial artists without pill supplies who came here to try their luck. If lucky, they could be taken in by alchemists or by that family here, and then they could have supplied pills.
Although it was mutually beneficial, many people would remember the kindness of recognition!
The Fourth Prince chose here also for this convenience. He felt that if he failed in the future, he would definitely need to concentrate on cultivation. This place was most suitable for him and less likely to be exposed. The only thing cultivation needed was pills, and buying pills here wouldn't attract any attention at all.
Moreover, the Fourth Prince's place wasn't in Lingyue County's center, but in the county's suburbs. This wasn't because he feared exposure, but because even he, as the Fourth Prince of the Heavenly Wind Kingdom, couldn't acquire property in Lingyue County's center. Even if it were the Fourth Prince of the Great Tang Empire, it wouldn't be easy, let alone from the Heavenly Wind Kingdom. Moreover, conducting things secretly made it even more impossible.
When Xiaoyao entered Lingyue County, he knew what this place was, but the Fourth Prince's subordinates didn't know this. If Xiaoyao told them about this, they wouldn't believe it—they would only think Xiaoyao was probing them.
Because they felt this was impossible. They had brought Xiaoyao here by carriage, with his eyes blindfolded the entire time. Throughout the journey, they never let Xiaoyao leave the carriage. Even during meals, they didn't remove his blindfold, and there was always someone specifically watching inside.
They traveled on small roads throughout, never encountering anyone, hearing no clues about any location. Under such circumstances, how could Xiaoyao possibly know he had come to Lingyue County? They had handled things very carefully with no errors.
Of course, this careful handling wasn't to guard against Xiaoyao, but mainly to prevent others from seeing. If others saw, they would suspect something fishy.
Although this was the suburbs, it wasn't a remote place. It was even somewhat lively, with quite a few people coming and going. There was even a quite bustling small commercial street not far away. Though separated by dozens of meters, the Fourth Prince's courtyard was very quiet with few people passing by.
Even so, he still chose the dead of night when there were fewest people to enter, encountering no one. Everything was conducted quietly and secretly—so for others, and so for Xiaoyao.
But why would Xiaoyao know this was Lingyue County?
Very simple—he smelled it. His eyes couldn't see, but his nose could still smell. His nose was different from others'—it could detect very subtle scents.
After entering Lingyue County, there were medicinal scents everywhere. Some were even from advanced medicinal materials. Although some materials weren't unique to Lingyue County, only Lingyue County had this quantity. Xiaoyao quickly determined he was in Lingyue County, which he had once wanted to visit.
At that time, he wanted to thank the Fourth Prince—very grateful he had brought him here.
These past days, Xiaoyao had been constantly refining pills in this courtyard, working desperately hard. Besides eating and sleeping, he was basically always refining pills.
Regarding this situation, the Fourth Prince's subordinates were somewhat confused, because initially they were still thinking of ways to force Xiaoyao to work hard at pill refining. Now they had to persuade Xiaoyao to rest well and not tire himself out.
This feeling was really too strange. Why was this happening?
These subordinates felt the situation was too bizarre, but they really couldn't think of a reason. They could only continue like this for now. Every day they couldn't let Xiaoyao get too tired, or if he got sick from exhaustion, they couldn't explain to the Fourth Prince.
But continuing like this, they had to apply to the Fourth Prince for funding, or they couldn't keep up with Xiaoyao's pill refining speed.
When the Fourth Prince received the message, he examined the pills he received and didn't hesitate to increase investment. He even used all the resources he could access, because he felt it was worth it.
What exactly was Xiaoyao doing? Why was he working so wholeheartedly for the Fourth Prince? Did his usual serious work ethic apply even to this target?
Yes, he was very serious. Every time he refined pills, he put in maximum effort to do his best, And he refined pills continuously all day, determined to produce the most pills possible.
This certainly wasn't for the Fourth Prince—it was for himself.
For him to safely leave? Just joking—if he wanted to leave, he could go anytime, anywhere. From the beginning, he had deliberately stayed, so he definitely wasn't doing this for that reason.
The reason Xiaoyao stayed was the same as why he worked so hard. His goal was to make the Fourth Prince spend the most money, preferably until he was bankrupt, and then he would disappear.
Initially, when the Fourth Prince wanted him to refine pills, Xiaoyao had a flash of inspiration and thought of an excellent method to handle his predicament—his need for money, no, it should be said his need for medicinal materials.
At that time, Xiaoyao's biggest headache was money. Money's purpose was to buy advanced medicinal materials, and the purpose of buying advanced materials was for pill refining. Now the Fourth Prince had solved these problems for him—why wouldn't he be happy?
What? These pills were all refined for the Fourth Prince?
Wrong! Wrong!! Wrong!!!
These were for the Fourth Prince, but only a small portion, and the majority was in his pocket—he certainly wouldn't give them to the Fourth Prince. Naturally, he swallowed them himself. More accurately, they were swallowed by Chi Chi.
Chi Chi had been following Xiaoyao all along. Even if Xiaoyao went far away, it could sense where Xiaoyao was. Previously, it would often go out to freeload food and drinks. Even when separated from Xiaoyao by an entire city, it could still accurately find him.
Therefore, Xiaoyao wouldn't worry about Chi Chi getting lost, and he knew it was impossible to shake off this little glutton.
Chi Chi was Xiaoyao's secret weapon. Although he could move freely in most places, having Chi Chi outside for support was never wrong. Moreover, some things required Chi Chi to do them—if Chi Chi stayed, it would definitely attract attention.
Now who could know Chi Chi was here? The Fourth Prince's subordinates couldn't even imagine it. How would they pay attention to a seemingly ordinary little monster beast? Even if discovered nearby, they wouldn't find it strange.
However, how could they imagine that it was exactly this little monster beast that allowed Xiaoyao to conduct deceiving operations right under their noses.