48: New pills

After pondering for a moment, she pulled out a golden hairpin from her hair, blew on it lightly, then flicked it with her jade-like hand. The hairpin transformed mid-air into a palm-sized, deep-blue Peng Bird.

Then, a lazy, enchanting, and beautiful female voice sounded within the hall.

"Go, follow Hong Yu. Just make sure he doesn't die. Do not reveal yourself at any other time."

"Chirp!"

Accompanied by a clear bird cry, the blue Peng Bird flapped its wings and flew away. Its speed was so fast that even a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator would struggle to track its figure.

Afterwards, Xu Jing silently picked up the black Jade Slip placed beside her, her beautiful eyes fixed on it with a deep, unreadable gaze, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, on Wild Goose Descending's side, after she withdrew from the hall, Chen Yu, who had been waiting outside for a long time, approached with a concerned expression and calmly asked, "Did the master give you a hard time?"

Wild Goose Descending shook her head with a bitter smile. "You know the master's temper. I messed up her plans this time. While the death penalty might be avoided, punishment is inevitable."

Hearing this, Chen Yu finally relaxed and regained her usual composure. "Since you know, why did you mess up?"

Wild Goose Descending pursed her lips and explained unwillingly, "Who could have imagined Hong Yu would actually succeed in mastering it? You know as well as I do that the Blood Shadow Movement Technique is one of the top-tier movement techniques. While it's theoretically cultivable at the Qi Refining Stage, sister, in all these years, have you ever seen a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator master it?

Even among Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators, only one person has succeeded in the last hundred years.

So, I just thought he was a dead man walking. Plus, it was a rare chance to get out, so I indulged in some fun for a few days. Who knew..."

Upon hearing Wild Goose Descending's explanation, Chen Yu sighed inwardly and chided, "You, why can't you think a bit more? If he could master the Blood Slaughter Sword Technique, why couldn't he master the Blood Shadow Movement Technique?

Moreover, both you and I know the master possesses an exceptionally lofty Heart-Nature. She always plans meticulously and acts only after careful consideration. We just need to follow her instructions. Why speculate on our own?"

Growing more exasperated, Chen Yu pointed a finger at Wild Goose Descending's forehead and spoke earnestly, "Think about it. The master's primary Cultivation Technique is the Mystic Maiden Charming Yin Art. Once her chastity is broken, her cultivation speed plummets, and she suffers backlash, weakening her strength. With the master's proud nature, would she let the culprit of all this live, let alone arrange trials for him?

Although the master was severely injured at the time, with her methods, she would never have been without a contingency plan. Not to mention anything else, just that Treasure Robe she wears—Cultivators below the Core Formation Stage can't do anything to it. Yet, Hong Yu managed it. Ponder that carefully."

Wild Goose Descending, who usually disliked using her brain, understood after hearing her sister's words. Her little Face instantly turned pale, and she said with a touch of fear, "So, I really almost ruined the master's grand plan."

Chen Yu rolled her eyes in annoyance and said sternly, "Good that you realize it. From now on, just diligently carry out any order the master gives. Don't ask unnecessary questions or overthink.

Do you know, while you were away, Li Guangen has been searching everywhere, trying to probe the master's stance. Pang Hu was even beaten up badly by Zhang Meng."

Wild Goose Descending thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "Is it because Hong Yu killed Li Fei and the other two?"

"What else? They say, 'Even when beating a dog, one must consider its master.' If there wasn't a justifiable reason, Zhang Meng wouldn't dare lay a finger on Pang Hu even with ten times the courage." Chen Yu gave a cold laugh. "If it weren't for that bitch surnamed Tong stirring up trouble, the master would have likely dealt with those three families long ago. Do you think Pang Hu has that much Face with the master?"

Wild Goose Descending fell silent, unable to answer. After a long while, she mumbled, "I understand. I'll pay more attention to Hong Yu from now on."

Chen Yu nodded with satisfaction, then warned, "No need to go out of your way to look after him. With his talent, his rise is inevitable. Just don't act on your own and disrupt the master's plans."

Wild Goose Descending nodded and left with a heavy heart to accept her punishment.

Pill Mountain, Preaching Tower.

The next morning, Hong Yu woke up and eagerly headed to the place where he had previously learned Alchemy.

According to his plan, he wanted to see if he could learn the methods to refine a few other types of Medicinal Pills.

After wasting most of the day, Hong Yu finally had to Face a disappointing reality.

He could only learn Alchemy techniques through the System by watching others refine pills.

Reading books related to Alchemy elicited no reaction from the System at all.

Forcing himself to fight off sleepiness, Hong Yu flipped through the Alchemy books, forming some internal conjectures.

The Alchemy books discussed the medicinal properties of various herbs, how to identify the properties of unknown herbs, how to fuse herbs with different properties, and how to balance the roles of primary, secondary, and auxiliary ingredients, and so on.

Even after obtaining a Pill Formula, there were multiple methods to refine the corresponding Medicinal Pill. Therefore, the System simply couldn't record and automate the process.

It's like learning C programming—does that mean you can code League of Legends right away?

In contrast, Cultivation Techniques are different. They are like being given a ready-made client; you just log in.

So, Hong Yu didn't dwell on it further. Spending the entire day, he successfully learned the refining methods for the blood tempering pill and the qi nurturing pill.

This was excellent news for him.

He could currently use both the blood tempering pill and the qi nurturing pill for his cultivation.

As the sun began to set, Hong Yu once again went to the herb shop. Familiar with the routine, he purchased a batch of herbs for refining the blood tempering pill and qi nurturing pill, then headed straight for the Alchemy Room to begin a new round of pill refining.

This time, he first chose to refine the qi nurturing pill. Soon, under the familiar prompt from the System, a batch of ten qi nurturing pills successfully emerged from the cauldron.

The System showed no sign of stopping and continued to control Hong Yu's body for a second round of refining. As expected, it failed about halfway through.

Taking back control of his body, Hong Yu carefully examined the newly refined pills. He cautiously picked one up and tossed it into his mouth.

Instantly, the pill's refreshing aroma filled his mouth and nose. Upon entering, it immediately transformed into a warm current flowing throughout his body.

Feeling the speed at which his spiritual power recovered, even without a testing instrument, Hong Yu knew the quality of this pill couldn't be low.

And so, in a continuous cycle of success and failure, after staying up all night, Hong Yu had twenty vials of Medicinal Pills neatly arranged before him.

Half were qi nurturing pills, half were blood tempering pills.

Originally, Hong Yu planned to go to the Pill Cauldron Tower again. After selling the pills in hand, he would formulate his next plan based on the selling price. But then he suddenly realized that a significant portion of the time he had rented the Alchemy Room for was still left.

Knowing that early checkout wouldn't refund the already paid Spirit Stones, and adhering to the principle of not wasting resources—plus having ample pills now—Hong Yu decided to use the System to start cultivating again.

Without the System's help, stuck at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining, his progress through self-cultivation was far too slow.