Gao Shi's tone choked off, and he froze in front of the sword-casting furnace. The fiery red furnace light shone on that flippant, childish face as if it had been smeared with magma by mistake.
"This..."
Sensing that his words had been a bit too heavy, Xiao Ran pointed him toward a bright path.
"Senior Brother can go take a look in Ten Thousand Beasts Valley. Perhaps you will find new harvests there."
For hundreds of years, True Person Moxia had forcefully pinned Gao Shi to Sword-Tempering Mountain, keeping his ears shut to matters outside the window and his heart solely on being a sword-grinder.
At most, he would go to the Main Peak for meetings or sneak off to Little Qiong Peak in private. As for Ten Thousand Beasts Valley, he had only been there once when he first entered the sect, and he only knew True Person Guiyan.
Could it be that Ten Thousand Beasts Valley had recently recruited quite a few female disciples? Judging by Xiao Ran's implication, there seemed to be a target suitable for him.
"I ask that Junior Brother please give me an entrance."
Full of confidence, Xiao Ran patted his chest and said, "Report my name and go look for Junior Sister Zhehui."
Oh wow... I can totally get behind that name! In an instant, the firelight on Gao Shi's face turned into the light of spring.
Wait!
"Could it be that Junior Brother and Junior Sister Zhehui..."
Xiao Ran hurriedly interrupted him.
"Don't let your imagination run wild. I'm not interested in ordinary women."
This single sentence struck straight to Gao Shi's heart's core—ordinary women were precisely what he wanted. Only when facing ordinary women did he have a sliver of a chance at success!
"If Junior Brother says so, feel free to look for me whenever you encounter trouble within the sect. Although I don't go out much, if you come to find me, I couldn't... My status within the sect is not low. Not to mention having everyone respond to a single call, but the elders all have to give me a modicum of face."
Do you know you almost let slip what you shouldn't have?
If I don't come looking for you, would you ever have the chance to go outside? You don't even dare take off your iron ring!
Having obtained the fungus stone and grown more familiar with Gao Shi, Xiao Ran kept his tone as natural as possible and suddenly probed with a tentative question, "I don't have absolute certainty for this coming Sword Inheritance Assembly, but I can try using a special cultivation method to borrow the power of the Mountain-Guarding Grand Array. Therefore, I want to study the grand array beforehand. I wonder who in the sect excels at formations? I'd like to go pay them a visit and ask for pointers."
The reason he asked this was because Little Mist was extremely skilled at formations.
"Formations, you say?"
Gao Shi turned sideways and paced back and forth. The furnace light shone on his tall back, dragging out a long shadow.
"Although my master is responsible for the main repair work and has quite a bit of study in formations, the one truly more proficient in the grand array's power is Senior Brother Bo Yunzi."
"Bo Yunzi?"
Bo Yun, Little Mist... What a neat couplet! Xiao Ran's imagination ran wild.
Gao Shi turned back around and said,
"That's right. Ever since he lost to the Sword-Wielding Elder five hundred years ago, he has wholeheartedly immersed himself in studying the power of formations. If they were to match again inside the Mountain-Guarding Grand Array today, I wager he might not necessarily lose to the Sword-Wielding Elder."
"Really? I don't believe it."
Xiao Ran smiled, incarnating as Lu Yu.
In his heart, Master was invincible, and the Tidal Force Sword Art was a Heaven Tier sword art. How could she possibly lose to your defeated opponent from five hundred years ago?
To lose with the sword, not bitterly train your sword art, and instead turn to learning formations—this was a manifestation of a shattered Dao heart, and there was absolutely no possibility of him ever defeating Master again.
Unless he was Little Mist!
Gao Shi's tone suddenly turned gloomy. "However, you must be careful when looking for Senior Brother Bo Yunzi."
Xiao Ran's heart tightened.
"Hmm?"
Gao Shi let out a desolate sigh.
"Senior Brother is fond of male beauty. You need to take precautions."
Xiao Ran:
"..."
On the way back from Sword-Tempering Mountain, feeling utterly bored, Xiao Ran browsed the group chat again and discovered two unread group messages.
No Money Get Lost: This direct disciple truly deserves to die, but there are no free slaughters in this world. If Senior Mad Hunt is suffering from being unable to find an employer, this little brother can provide you with an employer-locating service, charging only a twenty percent commission fee. It allows you to receive high-value assassination orders without ever stepping out your door.
Mad Hunt: Scram.
Returning to Hundred Herbs Peak, True Person Yinyue was already refining medicine in the pill chamber.
Xiao Ran cleared a narrow patch of land in the woods for Chunwa and Qiuchan, where they planted some strawberries, grapes, and watermelon.
Afterwards, seeing that True Person Yinyue's medicine was not yet finished, he prepared to head back to Sword-Wielding Mountain first.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard a haunting, seeking voice echo out from the underground pill chamber.
"You, enter the pill chamber."
Hearing this, Xiao Ran felt his scalp tingle and his hair stand on end. For a moment, he froze in the woods, hesitating over whether he should go in.
True Person Yinyue called out again, "It will be over soon."
Only then did Xiao Ran tread in from the bamboo house path, cautiously entering the pill chamber.
To prevent medicinal potency from leaking out, the path was designed to be extremely narrow, wide enough for at most one person to pass. The rock walls were blanketed in medicinal fold stones that absorbed medicinal power and blocked flowing air, making the secret passage dim and damp while exuding a mesmerizing fragrance.
He had originally thought that after passing the winding path, things would open up into a vast expanse. But once he walked down and took a look, he discovered that the pill chamber was not large either.
It was a small pill chamber resembling a round drum, designed with extreme delicacy. The four walls were engraved with complex and eerie floral shapes, faintly exuding a charm of the Great Dao.
In the center stood an earthfire altar, upon which rested a colossal profound iron pill furnace. Above the furnace tripod floated a reversing Eight Trigrams Array, emitting a lingering cyan light.
Because the pill chamber was damp and scorching, True Person Yinyue—despite wearing sheer, sweat-wicking fabric—was still covered in a fine layer of sweat, her skin flushed red from the heat.
She was a far cry from her usual elegant and gentle image, completely unconcerned with her own appearance.
Yet her pupils flashed with infinite starlight, staring fixedly at the pill furnace without even glancing at Xiao Ran.
"Your prescription is simply too perfect!"
She muttered in a daze, the starlight in her eyes seeming to drift off into the divine realm of pills.
Only then did Xiao Ran realize that an elegant disposition was merely an exterior, and those who truly cared about appearances could never touch the true essence of science.
"It's just a pity the ewe hide's grade is too low, making it difficult to reach the theoretical medicinal efficacy."
"This is also why I had you come down."
True Person Yinyue stood up, lightly wiping away her fine sweat as she air-dried her garments.
"I have an idea that might raise the grade of the finished pills, but it could also cause a furnace explosion. That's why I called you down—I wanted to ask for your opinion."
"Senior Uncle flatters me."
Xiao Ran could tell that Martial Aunt Yinyue already viewed him as a senior in the realm of alchemy rather than her disciple's disciple.
It seemed that conquering a woman could not rely on brute force, but rather on knowledge and technique.
"Increase the fire in the Zhen position by three parts, five spoons of Red Crown Crane Poison in the refined Dui..."
Xiao Ran listened with a tingling scalp. His max-level pharmacological knowledge was fine, but he fell far short when it came to spirit rune alchemy and the mastery of high-tier medicinal power.
He could only say with absolute certainty:
"No problem."
A quarter of an hour later.
Xiao Ran was hot and sticky with sweat, but Martial Aunt grew bolder with every batch she refined.
No furnace explosion occurred. Dark red pills the size of corn kernels settled and accumulated at the bottom of the furnace...
Pills formed!
True Person Yinyue's medicine refining was aggressive and risky, boasting an extremely high rate of furnace explosions. Since this time it miraculously hadn't exploded, in her view, it was undoubtedly Xiao Ran's merit.
Upon closer inspection, Xiao Ran saw that she had indeed taken the risk and successfully refined perfect-quality pills.
Looking back at Martial Aunt Yinyue, a layer of purple gauze clung to her crystal-clear, lightly reddened skin because of her fine sweat. Her exquisite, delicate face held starlight in her pupils as she gazed softly at him, unexpectedly revealing a trace of girlish charm.
Ah, this...
You're already over ten thousand years old, acting like a young girl really isn't appropriate.
Xiao Ran hurriedly produced the purple beast hunting jade slip and handed it over to Martial Aunt Yinyue.
Upon taking a look, True Person Yinyue perceived that the jade slip had endured sustained attacks from a Golden Core Realm spirit beast. If it were an ordinary jade slip from Ten Thousand Beasts Valley, Xiao Ran probably would have gotten injured.
"Are you certain you don't need this anymore?"
Xiao Ran stood upright with proper posture, his gaze directed straight ahead.
"It won't be too late to take it back when I need it."
"Very well."
True Person Yinyue immediately packed away all the pills, placed them into a silver jade bottle stamped with a crescent moon, and shoved it at Xiao Ran.
Xiao Ran put away the jade bottle and asked again, "Senior Uncle, what about the mutton?"
True Person Yinyue cast a reproachful, snowy glare at him.
"You child, you're far too partial to your master. Your senior uncle is a woman too, and black ewe mutton is greatly nourishing for a woman's body. Are you not going to leave even a little bit for your senior uncle?"
Only then did Xiao Ran remember how hard Martial Aunt had worked, and he hurriedly said, "Senior Uncle has worked hard. Most of the mutton will be given to you, but I'll separate out another ten pounds to take back and make mutton hot pot, so that Senior Uncle can sample my culinary skills."
True Person Yinyue was slightly startled. Although she was extremely cautious and restrictive when it came to food, she felt an inexplicable surge of interest in Xiao Ran's cooking.
"You know how to cook?"
"I know a little."
"Is there anything you don't know?"
"I don't know how to chase girls."
"Hmph."
Before you continue