Chapter 267 - 265: The Sect’s Elixirs Are Fragrant, but Not Those Given by Others

Chapter 267: Chapter 265: The Sect’s Elixirs Are Fragrant, but Not Those Given by Others

In the main hall of the Alchemy Hall.

Several Alchemy Masters were present, including Su Qing.

A few miscellaneous task disciples, who were also learning alchemy, were there as well.

"Therefore, within the Alchemy Hall, we must all get along peacefully."

"Fellow Daoist Zhao and Lord Li died because they were cursed."

"Immortal Cultivators must value harmony to go far on their path."

...

Su Qing felt resigned. He hadn’t expected to be summoned by Tao Mingze just to be force-fed a bunch of platitudes.

He droned on about things like being kind to others, and when it came to exorcising demons, the need to eliminate them root and stem.

In any case, it all boiled down to two key ideas: ’be cautious’ and ’be steady.’

Only by lying low could you secure a future; only by being steady could you go the distance.

It was just like a manager giving a speech. He’d talk for at least half an hour, always using examples to make his point.

While the others listened with rapt attention, Su Qing was utterly bored.

His entire morning was taken up by that guy, Tao Mingze.

Still, Tao Mingze was certainly more capable than that old broad.

Su Qing could tell as much just from the fact that Tao Mingze was willing to spend his own time explaining principles to a group of Qi Cultivation Realm cultivators.

And his character was aligned with the Righteous Dao.

Once the morning had passed, Su Qing finally began to synthesize Spirit Fruits.

By now, Su Qing’s aptitude had already doubled.

’Reaching Technique Perfection will probably be even faster now.’

By tomorrow, Su Qing’s Five Immortals Demon God Skill would reach Minor Achievement.

’Is Great Success that far off?’

’Is Perfection that far off?’

This was the power of resources.

They shortened a process that would have taken him one or two years down to just a few months.

「The next day.」

Zhao Rou arrived at his door bright and early.

"Senior Brother Ye."

"Same as usual. Head to my Alchemy Room and let me see your refining process."

"Yes, Senior Brother," Zhao Rou nodded.

The two of them didn’t speak much, and Su Qing had no desire to, either. Once he taught Zhao Rou the refining methods for the three elixirs, Su Qing didn’t want to teach her anymore.

Su Qing had many other Pill Formulas, but he had no intention of teaching them to her.

This was because Zhao Xianmin had genuinely tried to harm him.

Su Qing watched Zhao Rou refine the elixirs, offering pointers from the side.

He then gave her another fifty sets of ingredients to practice with.

Now, Zhao Rou could be considered an Alchemy Master.

She was now also eligible to choose her own residence within the Alchemy Hall.

...

「Nightfall.」

Qi Cultivation Limit [Five Immortals Demon God Skill: Minor Achievement (0/2000)]

"I’ve finally broken through."

’Is Perfection really that far away?’ Su Qing felt the Magical Power throughout his body tremble for a moment before returning to calm.

This level of strength was significantly greater than what he’d had at the Perfection stage of the First Level Five Qi God Demon Skill.

His Immortal Transformation Talent was also manifesting itself here.

However, Su Qing still needed to cultivate the God Demon Shaping Immortal Body, a Body Tempering Technique.

’I plan to master both of these techniques to the Perfection stage within a month.’

’Then, I’ll be able to cultivate the Immortal Transformation Realm Method and forge my Dao Foundation.’

...

「Three days later.」

That night, inside Su Qing’s Pocket World.

Body Tempering Limit [God Demon Shaping Immortal Body: Minor Achievement (0/2000)]

"I’ve finally broken through again."

’Now, consuming an elixir that increases my aptitude fiftyfold should be no problem. Even one that increases it a hundredfold should be manageable, requiring only a day to refine.’

The improvement in his physique meant his Cultivation speed would only get faster.

During the day, after his usual session of refining Detoxification Pills, he once again sat to the side and began synthesizing items.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps outside.

Su Qing assumed it was Zhao Rou.

But it turned out to be someone else.

It was a sturdy man with an honest face.

"Senior Brother Ye," the man said, bowing hastily upon seeing Su Qing.

"Yes? Speak freely." Seeing the man’s hesitation, Su Qing was certain he had come to ask for a favor.

"I’d like to offer you five hundred Spirit Stones to lead us on a Sect mission, Senior Brother."

"A Sect mission?" Su Qing was taken aback.

Aside from cultivators with specialized skills, the only ways for ordinary cultivators to earn Contribution Points were through Sect missions or by trading and reselling.

Su Qing shook his head and declined. "No, thanks. I don’t have time right now."

The man was a Qi Refining Fifth Level cultivator, which should have been strong enough to handle missions on his own.

’Besides, hadn’t the sect just acquired a batch of Attack Magical Artifacts from the Zhengxuan Sect?’

’I can’t be bothered to lead them!’

’Because I have absolutely no desire to leave the Sect.’

"In that case, I won’t disturb you any further, Senior Brother."

Sect Disciples with lower Realms often liked to spend some Spirit Stones to hire a high-Realm senior brother to lead them on missions.

This was mainly for safety.

This was true even now that they had Magical Artifacts from the Zhengxuan Sect.

All for the sake of safety.

The more people, the better.

Magical Artifacts were still just artifacts. Sometimes, they weren’t as reliable as having another person there to help.

Of course, once a cultivator reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, they would understand the true dangers of the Immortal Cultivation Realm.

At that point, they’d realize that people were even less reliable than Magical Artifacts.

...

That guy had just left when Zhao Rou showed up.

"Senior Brother Ye, I’ve successfully learned how to refine the Nourishing Yuan Pill."

"Please continue to teach me!" Zhao Rou had no one else to rely on now.

All she wanted was to learn a little more for her own sake.

"Fine," Su Qing said with a resigned sigh. "This is the last time. Once you learn how to make my Detoxification Pill, don’t come looking for me again. You’ll have learned enough by then."

’To be honest, he really didn’t want to teach her.’

’That damn Foundation Establishment Pill... making me teach someone for free.’

’And I can’t even reveal what that Foundation Establishment Pill really does.’

’Because the one who gave it is already dead.’

’Speaking up would only stir up the whole mess again.’

Su Qing just wanted Zhao Rou to stop bothering him.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Ye." Zhao Rou was speechless. She could clearly sense the coldness in his tone.

But when it came to teaching, he was just as diligent as he was at the start, correcting her mistakes.

He once again gave her fifty sets of ingredients to practice with on her own.

After he sent her away, Su Qing went back to his routine of synthesizing Spirit Fruits into aptitude-enhancing fruits.

As they say...

...a peaceful day...

...is a rare commodity.

「The next morning.」

Su Qing was called over by Tao Mingze again.

"Ye Shengliang, a mortal village within a kingdom under our Sect’s protection has vanished. We suspect a Demon Realm Rift has reappeared."

"Are you willing to go? In addition to you from the Alchemy Hall, there will be two cultivators from Artifact Refining Peak and one from Sword Extremity Peak."

"Since you are all Qi Cultivation High Tier cultivators, the Sect will feel more at ease sending you to investigate."

"If you find any traces of the Demon Realm, you only need to return and report back. Nothing more."

"In return, when you want to redeem a Foundation Establishment Pill, I will personally give you a ten percent discount on the Contribution Points cost. What do you say?"

Su Qing looked up, somewhat baffled. "I already have a Foundation Establishment Pill. I just want to focus on my Cultivation."

"Ai!" Tao Mingze raised a hand, stopping Su Qing.

"You need to think carefully. Is an elixir from the Sect more palatable, or is one given to you by someone else?"

Su Qing froze. He was truly stunned.

’This old man knows there’s a problem with the Foundation Establishment Pill that woman gave me.’

’Is he warning me?’

Coming to his senses, Su Qing asked cautiously, "Lord, are you saying..."

"Ahem!"

"Go back and think about it carefully!" Tao Mingze waved his hand, signaling Su Qing to leave.

Su Qing took his leave.

’That old man is trying to save me!’

’So there really are good people in the world after all.’

Su Qing didn’t quite know how to feel about it.

Tao Mingze was offering him a lifeline; it would be foolish not to take it.

Besides, with a warning that blatant, how could he refuse?

’I need to act like a true Sect member if I want a chance to enter the Moon God Palace’s Secret Realm.’

That afternoon, Su Qing went back and accepted the mission.

The things you get for free are always the most expensive.

Nowhere was that statement more true than here.

If Su Qing had been just another unremarkable cultivator, he probably would have fallen into the trap long ago.

Her true intentions had nothing to do with him teaching her sister Alchemy.

Instead, she wanted to "refine" Su Qing himself.

Truly terrifying.

It was all just a conspiracy, and very few people could successfully plot against him.

Because he’d see right through them.

....