6: Shocking! The trash I casually gave him, his apprentice begged for it?

The mountain wind whistled, swirling up a few withered yellow leaves.

The group from the Nalan Family ran faster than rabbits, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Only a mess remained on the ground, along with a faint lingering scent of blood in the air, proving that a one-sided "bullying" had indeed occurred here just moments ago.

Li Daoxuan stood on the steps, looking at the empty mountain path and shaking his head helplessly.

"Such poor mental fortitude."

He casually tossed the unfinished apple core behind him, landing it precisely in the trash bin in the corner of the hall.

"If people like that were to achieve Immortal Ascension, it would be a tragedy for the cultivation world. Running away at the first sign of a setback—how will they face the Nine Heavens Lightning Tribulation in the future?"

After complaining, Li Daoxuan turned around, his gaze falling upon his own Disciple.

At this sight, his eyebrows couldn't help but twitch.

Xiao Chen was kneeling on the ground.

His posture was extremely devout; kneeling on both knees with his back straight, he held his hands high above his head. In his palms, he cradled that pitch-black, unremarkable "fruit knife."

His entire body was trembling.

Not out of fear, but out of excitement. His handsome face was flushed red, and his eyes were as fanatical as if he were looking at a peerless beauty, his breathing becoming rapid.

Li Daoxuan's heart skipped a beat.

Oh no.

Could this kid have been driven silly by that Killing Intent just now?

The moment that knife was unsheathed earlier was indeed a bit eerie; even he, a Great Emperor, had felt a sliver of chill. Although this thing was made from scraps, it was, after all, tainted with the Karma of an Emperor Weapon. For a rookie at the Qi Refinement Stage, it was indeed too dangerous.

If he accidentally cut his hand or if his mind was eroded by the Killing Intent, wouldn't this "Experience Pack" he just recruited be ruined?

This won't do.

I have to take the knife back.

It's safer to leave such dangerous items to gather dust in the System space.

"My Disciple."

Li Daoxuan walked slowly to Xiao Chen with his hands behind his back, his tone gentle.

"Alright, stop kneeling. Everyone's long gone. This knife... you should return it to Revered Master."

As he spoke, he reached out to take the small knife.

Unexpectedly.

Xiao Chen, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, suddenly recoiled and clutched the knife tightly to his chest.

"I won't!"

Li Daoxuan's hand froze in mid-air, stunned.

"What?"

Xiao Chen looked up, his eyes red and brimming with tears, yet showing an unprecedented stubbornness.

"Revered Master! You cannot take it back!"

"This is the supreme treasure you bestowed upon your Disciple! It is the witness to your Disciple washing away his shame! I felt it just now—this knife contains the supreme True Intent of the Sword Dao! It has recognized me!"

"As long as I live, the knife lives! If the knife is destroyed, I shall perish with it!"

Li Daoxuan: "..."

His mouth twitched as he looked at Xiao Chen's "do or die" expression, feeling a headache coming on.

Wait a minute.

With such a strong imagination, it's a waste of talent that you aren't writing novels.

That's just a crappy knife for cutting fruit!

Aside from being a bit sharp, a bit hard, and having some built-in Killing Intent, it really doesn't have any "supreme True Intent of the Sword Dao"!

"Disciple, listen to Revered Master's advice."

Li Daoxuan patiently tried to reason with him.

"This thing is too sharp. Your cultivation is currently too low to handle it. What if you accidentally stab yourself while sleeping at night? Be good, give it to Revered Master. I'll trade you for a wooden sword; that's safer."

"Your Disciple is not afraid!"

Xiao Chen hugged it even tighter and even backed away a few steps, looking at Li Daoxuan warily.

"Revered Master, you don't need to test your Disciple anymore!"

"I know that divine weapons choose their Revered Masters, and only those with great perseverance can wield them. You are testing my heart for the Dao!"

"Please rest assured, Revered Master! Even when I sleep, I will keep one eye open to watch it! I will never let it harm me in the slightest!"

Li Daoxuan looked at his Disciple's eyes, which were filled with "I understand, I understand everything," and was completely speechless.

This conversation is going nowhere.

Is this what they call a generation gap?

He sighed and waved his hand. "Fine, fine, hold onto it if you want. Just don't cut yourself in half."

Since this kid treats trash like treasure, let him be. Anyway, the System already determined the gift was successful, so the item is his.

However.

Looking at Xiao Chen's miserable state—tattered clothes, covered in mud from the fight, plus that meager cultivation of only the third level of Qi Refining.

Li Daoxuan felt that as a Revered Master, he should be a bit more responsible.

After all, this kid is now the face of the Hidden God Sect. If he's too weak when he's out, it's Li Daoxuan's face that will be lost.

"Since I've given you the knife, I might as well give you a few more things."

Li Daoxuan fumbled around his person for a bit.

He was actually rummaging through the System space.

The System had just returned many good things: Emperor Sutras, Divine Artifacts, Divine Medicines. But those items were too high-level; if Xiao Chen consumed them, he would likely explode and die instantly.

He had to find something mild and basic.

"Found it."

Li Daoxuan's eyes lit up as he pulled a dusty small porcelain bottle from a corner of the space.

This was the "Marrow Cleansing Pill" from the System's Newbie Gift Pack when he first transmigrated.

At that time, he was already a Great Emperor, so this thing was no different from a candy to him and had been casually tossed into a corner. Calculating the time, it had been there for quite a few days... it shouldn't be expired, right?

"Here."

Li Daoxuan tossed it casually. The porcelain bottle traced an arc and landed precisely in Xiao Chen's arms.

"These are some... uh, candies I refined in my early years."

"Although they've been sitting for a while and might be a bit damp, the medicinal effects should still be there. Take them; they'll be good for your body."

Xiao Chen scrambled to catch the porcelain bottle.

Candies?

Damp?

He doubtfully pulled out the stopper.

An indescribable fragrance instantly wafted from the bottle's mouth, filling the hall.

Just by taking one sniff, Xiao Chen felt all his pores open up. The previously stagnant spiritual energy in his body actually began to jump joyfully!

These were no candies!

These were clearly legendary Top-Grade Medicinal Pills!

Xiao Chen's hands began to tremble again. He poured out one pill and saw that it was round and full, and there were actually three cloud patterns swirling on it!

"Three-patterned... Peerless Grade Marrow Cleansing Pill?!"

Xiao Chen's voice was wavering.

In the Eastern Desolation, a single Low Grade Marrow Cleansing Pill could make countless Qi Refining Cultivators fight to the death. Yet such a Peerless Grade pill with cloud patterns only existed in ancient records!

And Revered Master actually called this... a damp candy?

And he just tossed it to me like that?

"Revered Master..."

Xiao Chen looked up, and tears finally couldn't help but stream down his face.

He remembered Revered Master's words from earlier—"True experts never care about how high or low their starting point is."

It turned out Revered Master had never looked down on him for being a useless person.

Revered Master not only stood up for him and bestowed him a divine weapon, but now he even brought out such a precious pill to help him rebuild his Foundation!

This kindness was higher than the heavens and deeper than the sea!

"What are you crying for?"

Li Daoxuan couldn't stand this the most and frowned in distaste.

"A grown man should bleed but not cry. Hurry up and eat it, then go to the back mountain to Cultivate. Don't be an eyesore here; Revered Master is going to take a nap."

Xiao Chen wiped his face haphazardly and nodded heavily.

"Yes! Your Disciple will go right now!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he tilted his head back and poured the entire bottle of pills—all five of them—into his mouth in one go.

If an Alchemist saw this, they would surely have their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

The medicinal power of a Marrow Cleansing Pill was domineering; a normal person would be in excruciating pain after eating just one. Yet this kid swallowed them all at once like they were candies?

But Xiao Chen didn't care.

Since Revered Master gave it to him, he would dare to swallow it even if it were poison!

"Gulp."

The pills entered his stomach.

There was no expected intense pain.

A gentle yet vast warm current instantly exploded within him, like a surging river, washing through his parched Meridians and his bone structure filled with Impurities.

"Ugh!"

Xiao Chen groaned, his face flushing red instantly.

He felt as if he were being burned by fire, yet also frozen by ice. Every cell was cheering, every cell was restructuring!

Black filth frantically discharged from his pores, emitting a foul stench.

Those were the toxins that had been stagnant in his body for years, and the main culprit behind his regressing cultivation!

*Crack!*

A crisp sound echoed within him.

It was the sound of a Bottleneck shattering!

Fourth level of Qi Refining!

Fifth level of Qi Refining!

Sixth level of Qi Refining!

...Xiao Chen's aura rose steadily. Within just a few breaths, he actually broke through the shackles of the Qi Refinement Stage. A powerful pressure belonging to the Foundation Establishment Stage suddenly erupted from him!

Foundation Establishment!

Success!

And it wasn't an ordinary Foundation Establishment; it was a perfect Foundation Establishment reshaped by Peerless Grade Marrow Cleansing Pills!

Xiao Chen snapped his eyes open, his gaze bright with divine light. He looked at his skin, which was as fair as jade, and felt the surging power within him, so excited he wanted to let out a long howl.

"Thank you, Revered Master, for the grace of remaking me!"

He kowtowed heavily again, leaving a pit in the floorboards.

Li Daoxuan fanned the air in front of his nose with his hand, looking disgusted.

"Alright, alright, hurry up and go wash. It stinks."

"Don't just eat anything in the future. Eating so many at once—aren't you afraid of bursting?"

Although he sounded disgusted, Li Daoxuan was overjoyed inside.

Because the moment Xiao Chen swallowed the pills, that familiar, wonderful mechanical voice arrived as expected.

[Ding!]

[Detected that the Host has gifted a bottle of "expired" Peerless Grade Marrow Cleansing Pills (five in total).]

[After Disciple Xiao Chen consumed them, his skeletal structure was reshaped, achieving a perfect Foundation Establishment. He is moved to tears of gratitude toward the Host!]

[Calculating critical hit multiplier...]

[Congratulations to the Host! Triggered a thousand-fold critical hit!]

[The reward for this return has been issued to the System space. Please check.]

Li Daoxuan's eyes lit up as he impatiently opened the System panel.

In a slot of the System space, a Golden Core emitting nine-colored divine light lay quietly.

Just one look made Li Daoxuan feel as though his Great Emperor Divine Soul had undergone a baptism.

[Nine Revolutions Golden Core (Immortal Grade): A supreme Divine Pill refined by Taishang Laojun. A Mortal who consumes it can achieve immediate Immortal Ascension; a Cultivator who consumes it can be brought back from the dead, have their Immortal Body reshaped, and live another life!]

Li Daoxuan gasped, and once again, his tea cup slipped from his hand.

"Nine Revolutions Golden Core?!"

"Is this damn thing even dropping stuff from myths and legends now?"

He swallowed hard and looked at the still-grinning Xiao Chen with an extremely strange expression.

"This kid... how is he just a Disciple?"

"He's clearly a cornucopia!"

Li Daoxuan suppressed the wild joy in his heart and called out to Xiao Chen, who was preparing to go bathe:

"Uh, my Disciple."

"Are there any watermelons left in the back mountain? Go cut two more. Revered Master's new knife... ahem, Revered Master's mouth is a bit dry."