Marrow Cleansing Pill

Failed again!

For a long while, Lin Xuan remained silent. Though neither joy nor anger showed on his face, his fists were clenched tight, his nails digging deeply into his flesh, his lips bitten until they bled.

But that state did not last long. A few minutes later, Lin Xuan drew a deep breath, sat back down without a word, and continued striving...

Early morning. The rising sun marked the beginning of a new day.

Flying Cloud Hall was grand and imposing, its area rivaling a stadium on Earth. It was Floating Cloud Valley's most important building. On the first day of every month, Spirit Movement Stage disciples gathered here to receive the supplies they needed for cultivation.

Although he had cultivated for most of the night and slept less than three hours, Lin Xuan still arrived at Flying Cloud Hall on time. More than a hundred figures already stood scattered throughout the spacious hall, all Spirit Movement Stage disciples. Yet every one of them had deeper cultivation than Lin Xuan. His arrival immediately stirred up discussion, and cutting, icy remarks drifted through the air into his ears.

"See that? That kid is a Mortal without a Spirit Root, yet he still dreams of cultivating immortality."

"Hmph, he does not look like much either. Keeping someone like that in the sect is simply a waste of pills."

"Isn't that so? I heard he works very hard, but how can an ordinary person without a Spirit Root compare to us? After three years, he is still only at the first layer of the Spirit Movement Stage."

"He does not know the height of heaven or the depth of earth. Does he think he can break the iron law of the Cultivation World that has remained unchanged for ten thousand years? A Mortal cultivating will be destined for no achievements."

Faced with their mockery and rolling eyes, Lin Xuan's expression did not change. He treated them as barking mad dogs and silently made his way to the back of the line.

An ancient bell rang out. The disciples hastily stopped talking and lined up properly. An old man entered the hall with several young attendants, each carrying a round tray covered in red cloth. Even so, waves of a refreshing fragrance wafted out.

"Uncle Ma!" The disciples bowed in salute.

"Mhm." The old man held his head high arrogantly. His cultivation was not particularly high, merely at the early Foundation Establishment stage, but he oversaw the sect's pharmacy. He could be said to hold a lofty position and great authority.

Cultivation required not only talent and personal effort, but also pills. They were even extremely important. With sufficient pills during cultivation, one's progress would be much faster. They could be called a shortcut. However, the ingredients for refining pills were all precious exotic flowers and rare herbs, so the sect could provide its disciples with only a small amount of pills.

By the rules, Spirit Movement Stage disciples could receive two Marrow Cleansing Pills every month.

As the name suggested, Marrow Cleansing Pills could cleanse the meridians and wash the marrow, dispel the turbid qi within the body, and stimulate a small amount of spiritual power. Of course, depending on each person's aptitude, the amount of spiritual power produced varied greatly. This pill was effective only for Spirit Movement Stage disciples.

After opening the incense hall and paying respects to the founding patriarch, the disciples stepped forward in line to receive pills from the old man. Every face showed expressions of cherishing and delight.

Soon, it was Lin Xuan's turn. Elder Ma glanced at him, a trace of contempt appearing on his face. He took a jade bottle from the tray, poured two pills from it, and tossed them before Lin Xuan.

"Thank you, Uncle—" Before Lin Xuan could finish speaking, the corner of his eye twitched. Looking at the two pills in his hand, these were... Waste Pills?

The path of cultivating immortality encompassed all things: cultivation techniques, artifact forging, pill refining, talisman drawing, and much more. Every field contained vast knowledge.

Take pill refining, for example. Beyond the various precious materials, exotic flowers, and rare herbs, Samadhi True Fire was also needed for refinement. At the same time, the heat, the dosage of supplementary ingredients, the timing for opening the furnace, and the material of the treasure cauldron all affected the success rate of pill refinement.

Even experienced pill-refining masters often made mistakes, turning an entire cauldron of heavenly treasures into useless Waste Pills.

Waste Pills were pills containing too many impurities. Not only did consuming them provide no benefit to cultivation, they could even harm the body. They were usually discarded despite the pain.

Though a small sect like Floating Cloud Valley only distributed low-grade pills to its disciples, low-grade pills were still useful spiritual medicines. But these Waste Pills...

The other party was clearly trying to make things difficult for him. A shadow flashed through Lin Xuan's heart, but his expression remained perfectly calm. This Ma held a lofty position and great authority; offending him would be most unwise.

"Uncle, you have taken the wrong ones. How can these two Waste Pills be consumed?"

"What is wrong with that?" The contempt in Elder Ma's eyes was unmistakable. He was only a low-level disciple no one paid attention to. Raising his chin, he said arrogantly, "What, you are dissatisfied?"

"Given your aptitude, consuming spiritual pills would be a waste anyway. These Waste Pills might actually suit you just fine. How about this? Your uncle is not without compassion, so I will give you a few more bottles."

As he spoke, he took two jade bottles from the tray and tossed them into Lin Xuan's hands.

"Other disciples receive only two Marrow Cleansing Pills each, but I am giving you two bottles. How is that? Your uncle treats you well enough, does he not?"

"Thank you, Uncle!"

To Elder Ma's surprise, the displeasure on Lin Xuan's face vanished completely. He accepted the pills, respectfully bowed, and withdrew.

"How could this be?" Elder Ma was instead left staring in astonishment, so stunned that he could not utter a word.

Waste Pills were, simply put, trash. Taking them was harmful rather than beneficial to cultivation. Never mind two bottles—even if he received more, they would not be worth a single coin. Why would Lin Xuan...

It was a wholly unexpected reaction. Elder Ma had originally thought that, treated so unfairly, Lin Xuan would kick up a huge fuss. Then he could make an issue of it, charge Lin Xuan with disrespecting his elders, and expel him from the sect.

It was not that Elder Ma bore Lin Xuan any grudge. Rather, he was naturally snobbish and looked down on Mortals without Spirit Roots. He felt that allowing Lin Xuan to remain in the sect was simply a disgrace, which was why he had racked his brains to drive him out.

The plan could not be called flawless, but it was still meticulous. According to sect rules, low-level disciples could receive Marrow Cleansing Pills, yet he had deliberately made things difficult by substituting Waste Pills. Faced with such unfair treatment, not to mention a teenage boy like Lin Xuan, even an old fox seasoned by the world might not have been able to endure it. As long as Lin Xuan lost his temper, Elder Ma could make an issue of it.

Yet man proposed, Heaven disposed. Lin Xuan had no Spirit Root and was merely an ordinary person, but he was not stupid. In fact, he was very intelligent. His temperament was also tenacious; he could endure what others could not. He always thought thrice before speaking or acting and never acted rashly. Elder Ma giving him Waste Pills had indeed enraged him, but he hid that emotion well.

In Elder Ma's contemptuous gaze, Lin Xuan had also seen a trace of mockery. There was a scheme. He immediately reached that conclusion. Though he did not know the exact scheme, nor why Elder Ma was targeting someone against whom he held no grudge, those matters could be investigated later. The urgent priority was not to fall into the trap.

Thus, not only did Lin Xuan refrain from losing his temper, he accepted the Waste Pills with an unchanged expression, successfully avoiding a round of persecution. Elder Ma's plan had failed. Unable to frame Lin Xuan, he instead became so furious that he could not speak.