Originally, Elara had not intended to prepare the latter two types of potions, which were not directly related to enhancing magical power. But after careful consideration, she felt that, in any case, she was somewhat of a wanderer now, and who knew if she might encounter some natural disaster or man-made calamity one day? Or be drawn into the disputes and battles of certain factions? It was better to prepare some special antidotes and healing potions in advance. If she were poisoned or injured and died due to lack of good medicine, wouldn't that be too unjust!
After thinking this over, Elara still prepared a small amount of the latter two potions, intending to keep them with her in case of unforeseen circumstances. After all, everyone only has one life, and Elara didn't want to die young.
Although doing so would affect the quantity of the other two magical power-enhancing potions, thereby slowing down the progress of her secret art cultivation, it was an unavoidable matter. After all, there couldn't be so many perfect things in the world; one always had to make choices at certain times.
On the very day all the potions were prepared, Elara began to take one "Dragon's Blood Essence" and one dose of "Golden Marrow Fluid" respectively, according to the method of consumption prescribed in the recipes. These two medicines truly lived up to their legendary secret status. Driven by the astonishingly powerful efficacy of the drugs, she broke through her bottleneck that very night without the slightest effort, successfully mastering the fourth layer of her secret art.
Upon reaching the fourth layer, Elara immediately experienced a completely different sensation than before. Her five senses were "boomed" to an incredible realm. Everything in her vision suddenly became so bright, so clear; some minute objects she couldn't see clearly before suddenly appeared as if magnified, every detail distinct, even the delicate spider webs in the corners of the room were clearly visible. Her hearing also suddenly became incredibly acute; countless sounds she had heard before or had never heard before all flooded into her ears, such as the "rustling" sound of an earthworm burrowing through the soil dozens of yards away, the "buzzing" sound of some unknown flying insect flitting past her hut, and so on. These sounds seemed to be directly in her ears, so real, so clear. Besides these, some strange odors she could suddenly identify also let Elara know her sense of smell was vastly different from before.
Elara was both surprised and overjoyed. This was the first time since she began cultivating this secret art that she felt her time had not been wasted. Such a unique sensation indicated that this secret art was not useless but had its own distinct advantages.
Although the previous few layers of cultivation had also improved her five senses to a certain extent, none had changed them as significantly or as drastically as advancing to the fourth layer. This was fundamentally a qualitative leap, as if she had completely transformed into a different person.
In addition to this, she also felt her body was much lighter than before, and her spiritual power had made considerable progress. Now, Elara probably wouldn't have much trouble going without sleep for three to five consecutive days.
Elara carefully savored this completely new state within her body. She stood motionless, yet could clearly perceive major and minor events occurring within dozens of yards. This feeling, as if she could control everything, greatly fascinated and captivated Elara.
Only now did she understand that cultivating this secret art to the fourth layer was when one truly achieved some minor accomplishment.
She couldn't help but imagine: the fourth layer already offered such an unforgettable experience! What wonderful sensations would cultivating to the fifth and sixth layers bring!
Not long after Elara had just grasped the profound mysteries of the secret art she cultivated, her nominal master—Physician Morus—returned to the valley. Not only did he return himself, but he also brought back a mysterious figure.
When Physician Morus first entered Quietstream Valley, Elara heard his already familiar cough from afar. She was meditating and cultivating in her stone chamber at the time, striving to make further progress as soon as possible. Upon detecting Physician Morus's sounds, she quickly guided her energy to calm down, left the stone chamber, and walked towards the valley entrance, preparing to pay respects to this master she hadn't seen for nearly a year. As a result, not far from the valley entrance, she met Physician Morus face to face.
Upon seeing Physician Morus, Elara was greatly astonished. It was still the same person, but what met her eyes was a face that was ashen and lifeless. Previously, although his complexion was also sallow and sickly, it wasn't to the extreme point of being so utterly devoid of vitality, looking as if his life was about to end.
What surprised Elara even more was that behind him followed a mysterious figure wearing a black hood, their entire body completely covered by a large green cloak, not revealing even a sliver of skin. This person was exceptionally tall and burly, at least two heads taller than Elara, with a physique like that of an ancient giant. But because of the hood, Elara couldn't see the person's face clearly from the outside, only vaguely feeling that this person's features must be ferocious and terrifying, exceptionally ugly.
Elara suppressed the questions in her heart, quickly stepped forward to bow to Physician Morus, and then stood respectfully to one side, awaiting Physician Morus's inquiries.
She knew very well in her heart that he didn't care at all whether she, his disciple, was polite and respectful towards him. But for her, as a disciple, the necessary master-disciple etiquette still had to be fully observed, not casually discarded, lest she give him the impression of being rebellious, which would only put her in an even more disadvantageous position.
Based on Elara's understanding of Physician Morus, and considering his usual level of concern for her cultivation of the secret art, after such a long period of separation, he would probably ask about her cultivation status as soon as he saw her, to determine her progress.
Indeed, when Physician Morus saw Elara proactively come out from the valley to greet him, he paused slightly, coughed twice, and then asked weakly, "How is your cultivation of the secret art coming along? Have you made any slight progress?" His face immediately showed anxiety and anticipation.
Elara had already prepared her response in her mind beforehand and gave the pre-conceived answer.
"It's still the same as before, not much change." Elara did not intend to tell him the truth about her cultivation, because she couldn't explain her current god-like progress, how she could suddenly, miraculously leap from the initial stage of the third layer to the fourth layer without any external force.
"Extend your hand." Physician Morus's expression darkened, and his tone suddenly became harsh.
Elara carefully noted this expression of Physician Morus, and her heart gave a sudden thump of unease.
However, she was not afraid of him personally checking her pulse to examine the energy status within her body. Because after entering the fourth layer, Elara had unexpectedly discovered that she could manipulate the strength of that peculiar energy within her body at will. She could completely control the energy to the intensity of the third layer, enough to deceive him, without fear of Physician Morus's personal investigation.