Lin Qi's eyes darted as she leaned closer to Senior Sister Yuan Xi and asked, "Senior Sister, Tianbao Pavilion's owner specially set aside pills and rare spirit herbs for you. You're not an alchemist, are you?!"
Senior Sister Yuan Xi modestly replied, "I wouldn't call myself an alchemist. It's merely a hobby I cultivated alongside my training."
Before Lin Qi could even speak, Senior Sister Yuan Xi took the initiative to say, "I am currently a third-grade alchemist. Once the spirit herbs in your courtyard have grown, you need only provide the herbs, and I can refine any pills below third grade for you."
Lin Qi nodded happily. She had no concept of an alchemist's ranks; she simply felt that her Senior Sister was amazing.
"Mhm, mhm, mhm! Senior Sister, you're incredible! Once I learn talisman-making, I'll make talismans for you for free too. Then we won't lack pills or talismans!"
Hearing Lin Qi's innocent words, Yuan Xi inexplicably felt warmth in her heart.
Under her guidance, Lin Qi planted five types of first-grade spirit herbs in the front yard.
These spirit herbs were all basic ingredients for refining Qi Replenishing Pills. Their growing cycles were short and their yields high, making them perfect for beginners.
Lin Qi did not lack such medicinal herbs, but growing them would help her understand their characteristics, conserve resources, and practice the use of several minor spells.
In the time it took to plant the spirit herbs, Lin Qi had learned the Irrigation Technique, Cleaning Technique, and Entangling Spell under Senior Sister Yuan Xi's instruction.
Basic spells consumed little spiritual energy and did not discriminate between spiritual roots. Anyone who knew how to cultivate could use them.
After some practice, Lin Qi found them quite easy to handle.
Senior Sister Yuan Xi praised her from the side until she felt so buoyant that she nearly forgot who she was.
But when she turned and saw Luo Ci's listless face, she immediately sobered up.
Her "kind and amiable" master's way of disciplining people was not gentle in the slightest.
When Lin Qi saw Luo Ci, Luo Ci saw her as well.
"How are you here?!" Luo Ci stared at Lin Qi like a cat with its fur standing on end.
Seeing how agitated he was toward Lin Qi, Senior Sister Yuan Xi gently reminded him, "Third Junior Brother, you should address Xiao Qi as Second Senior Sister."
"This is the residence of Zonglei Peak's direct disciples. Your residence is close to Xiao Qi's, so there is nothing strange about it. You are fellow disciples, and you will be spending a long time together from now on. Third Junior Brother, you should let go of your past prejudices."
Lin Qi had thought the brat would continue bristling in a rage. Who would have expected him to stand there in frustration for only a few seconds before respectfully calling out, "Greetings, Eldest Senior Sister. Greetings, Second Senior Sister."
Lin Qi slowly waved a hand and said with a smiling squint, "Third Junior Brother, there's no need for such ceremony. From now on in the sect, Senior Sister will take good care of you."
Luo Ci was not someone who could suppress himself for more than three seconds. The moment he heard that, his face flushed bright red with anger.
"Even if you're Senior Sister, who protects whom in the future is still uncertain!"
Lin Qi loved teasing him. Watching him hold in his anger while not daring to act arrogant was immensely satisfying.
She deliberately nodded solemnly. "Oh~ So Junior Brother wants to protect me in the future? Then many thanks to Third Junior Brother."
Luo Ci was instantly stunned by Lin Qi's thick skin.
Senior Sister Yuan Xi helplessly stepped in to smooth things over. "You senior and junior disciples should have helped one another and treated each other with kindness to begin with. Do not forget what Master said when you became disciples. Competition in cultivation is fine, but when facing outsiders, you must be of one heart."
Luo Ci seemed to respect his "elders" greatly. Upon hearing Senior Sister Yuan Xi invoke their master's words, he became solemn and said with a serious little face, "Thank you for Eldest Senior Sister's instruction!"
"Enough. You have been exhausted for several days in a row as well. Go take a look at your own courtyard first. If you encounter any trouble, you may come ask me."
After thanking Senior Sister Yuan Xi, Luo Ci dragged his weary body into the courtyard opposite Lin Qi's.
Lin Qi rubbed her chin as she watched him enter his room, then suddenly asked, "Senior Sister, who assigned the courtyards we are living in this year?"
Senior Sister Yuan Xi smiled meaningfully. "Master arranged them personally. Otherwise, according to the rules, you should have lived with me in the rear hall of Qingyun Palace."
Lin Qi's expression immediately became difficult to describe.
Her master was absolutely a first-rate schemer!
No, I can't keep teasing Luo Ci in the future.
Not only is it a waste of time, it could easily ruin Master's impression of me.
Lin Qi believed that in True Monarch Qingyun's eyes, she was obedient and sensible.
After Senior Sister left, she tried out the Spirit Gathering Array Disk that True Monarch Qingyun had given her.
True Monarch Qingyun feared that Lin Qi would find it hard to go from luxury to frugality, so the Spirit Gathering Array Disk she gave Lin Qi was third-grade.
Lin Qi deftly formed a hand seal, and the palm-sized array disk automatically enlarged.
Lin Qi inserted thirty low-grade Spirit Stones into the holes in the array disk. Spiritual energy instantly gathered within it, and she sat cross-legged in its center.
The surrounding spiritual energy gradually thickened, and Lin Qi could clearly sense the array disk's frenzied speed as it swept in spiritual energy.
She calmed her mind and gathered her spirit, immersing herself completely in cultivation as her dantian devoured spiritual energy like a starving beast.
If spiritual energy were compared to misty water, then under normal circumstances, Lin Qi could condense only a bowl of water in one hour. With the Spirit Gathering Array Disk's support, she could condense a whole basin in one hour.
As she watched her dantian gradually fill, Lin Qi felt exceptionally delighted.
Cultivation truly made people happy.
Without realizing it, she broke through to Qi Refining Second Stage.
Feeling the barrier shatter, Lin Qi comfortably stretched her limbs and paused her cultivation.
She lifted her gaze toward the sky outside. The Golden Crow had already set, leaving only a faint crimson glow drifting along the horizon.
A rumble came from her stomach, and only then did she realize that she was hungry.
Lin Qi rubbed her belly and sighed. "When will I reach Foundation Establishment? Then I won't have to spend time eating."
She had been cultivating so comfortably, only for hunger to strike out of nowhere... it was truly unbearable.
Just then, someone suddenly knocked on her door.
At such a late hour, Lin Qi thought it was Senior Sister Yuan Xi coming to find her.
When she opened the door, she saw Luo Ci standing outside with a sickly green face, one hand still clutching his stomach.
At the exact moment Lin Qi opened the door, Luo Ci's stomach happened to let out a rumble.
She could not help laughing and knowingly asked, "Third Junior Brother, what brings you to see me so late at night?"
Luo Ci found it a little hard to swallow his pride, but his stomach truly could not endure any longer. With a red face, he asked, "Second Senior Sister, do you know where on Zonglei Peak there is food to eat?"
Lin Qi curiously asked, "Master has always considered everything thoroughly. Didn't you eat anything at Qingyun Palace?"
Luo Ci's face reddened even more. After hemming and hawing for a long while, he finally said, "How could I feast heartily in front of Master..."
So it was because he wanted to save face and did not dare eat much that he had starved himself into this state.
Lin Qi wanted to laugh, but did not feel it would be appropriate to laugh too arrogantly.
Forget it. She was the Senior Sister. No matter what, she ought to be more magnanimous and not fuss with a little brat.
"There is nowhere to eat on Zonglei Peak. If you want food, you can either go to Tianyi Peak's dining hall or to the Marketplace at the foot of the mountain."
With a pale green face, Luo Ci asked the same question Lin Qi had once wondered, "We have to go down the mountain for both?!"
Lin Qi nodded while suppressing a laugh, her eyes brimming with sympathy.
After all, he was only six years old. Luo Ci had suffered blow after blow, and now his face looked so awful that he was nearly crying.
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