Tumult

"It wasn't improper. It was just that after going out for a while, I was better able to face my own heart and dared to say some things openly!" Gu He caught up with Yun Yun and continued.

"Gu He, if you keep acting like this, I'm going back." Yun Yun shot Gu He a charming glare.

Gu He understood that too much was as bad as too little, so he changed the subject. "Yan Ran hasn't reached the Dou Zhe level yet. You've reminded me—I have a second-grade pill formula. The Nourishing Spirit Liquid it produces can increase the cultivation speed of Fighting Energy below the Dou Zhe level."

As he spoke, he took a bottle of Nourishing Spirit Liquid from his Ring and handed it to Yun Yun.

"Is this true?" Yun Yun held the spirit liquid, her face slightly flushed with excitement. Until now, there had never been any pills that assisted cultivation below the Dou Zhe level. The reason was that the bodies and meridians of those below the Dou Zhe level were simply too fragile; they could not withstand even the gentlest medicinal power. Yet with this bottle of spirit liquid, its effects did not even need to be exceptional. As long as it was a quarter more efficient than normal cultivation, it could save a reasonably talented child two or three years. Those years could push them toward an even higher level.

"Yes, it's true. Three months ago, Xiao Yi Xian was still at the seventh stage of Fighting Energy. After using the Nourishing Spirit Liquid, she reached the ninth stage in two and a half months. Then I gave her a Qi Gathering Powder, and she only advanced to Dou Zhe recently."

After hearing Gu He describe its effects, Yun Yun's beautiful eyes widened further. To rise two stages of Fighting Energy in merely three months, and after Fighting Energy had already entered its higher stages... Even a fairly talented person would need two years to cultivate normally from the seventh stage to the ninth. The Nourishing Spirit Liquid's assistance to Dou Qi cultivation was simply terrifying.

Yun Yun clenched the spirit liquid tightly and took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart.

Seeing Yun Yun's already ample chest become even more pronounced with her breathing, Gu He quietly swallowed and calmly shifted his gaze away. After Yun Yun had settled down, he continued, "I'll give the pill formula to the sect. This time, you're not allowed to refuse." He took out the copied formula from his Ring and handed it to Yun Yun.

Yun Yun hesitated for a moment before accepting the formula. She bowed and saluted him. "Gu He, on behalf of the younger members of the sect, I thank you."

Gu He helped Yun Yun up. "You're being too formal. Yun'er, why be so polite with me?"

"Gu He, you jest. I am saluting you as the Sect Leader of the Misty Cloud Sect. This formula is too important to the Misty Cloud Sect. I cannot accept it as a friend." Yun Yun rose with his support, her expression turning serious.

Gu He knew that this meant the Misty Cloud Sect now owed him a favor, and it also erased the negative impact of his leaving the sect.

Gu He and Yun Yun continued walking and talking. Once they parted tomorrow, they had no idea when they would meet again. Above the Dou Wang level, each breakthrough extended one's lifespan somewhat, and one became less sensitive to the passage of time.

Early the next morning, Xiao Yi Xian awoke from cultivation. Sensing that her Dou Qi vortex had grown much stronger, she clenched her little fist and swung it fiercely, expressing the joy in her heart. She climbed out of the wooden tub, got dressed, and prepared to share her happiness with her master.

By the time she reached the door, Gu He had already sensed Xiao Yi Xian's approaching aura and awakened from cultivation. Though he had spent most of the night walking with Yun Yun, the remaining time had been enough for him to restore his energy through cultivation. Thus, when Gu He opened the door, he looked full of vigor.

"Congratulations, Xiao Yi Xian. You're already a two-star Dou Zhe." Before Xiao Yi Xian could speak, Gu He grinned and congratulated her first.

"Master, can't you let me say it myself?" Xiao Yi Xian pouted in displeasure.

"Yes, yes. Next time, Xiao Yi Xian can speak first." Gu He rubbed Xiao Yi Xian's head and said fondly.

"Hmph, that's more like it." She proudly raised her head slightly.

In the morning, sunlight streamed faintly through the eaves and fell upon Xiao Yi Xian's slightly upturned, lovely face, creating a picture of pure beauty. Gu He felt as though his heart had been cleansed a little.

"Mm, we're leaving today as well. Let's not keep them waiting too long." Gu He removed his hand from Xiao Yi Xian's head, unwilling to ruin her flawless beauty.

"Mm, all right, Master. After we leave here, are we going back to the Imperial Capital?"

"We are. Do you like the Imperial Capital that much?"

"I wouldn't say I like it, but I remember that Master promised to spend a day sightseeing around the Imperial Capital with me!"

"Oh, that. I'll definitely keep my promise. But when we return, I first need to refine a Sixth-grade pill for Elder Fa to observe and study, so our trip will have to be postponed for a few days."

"Mm, I was only reminding you. Don't forget."

"Of course. I won't forget anything I promised my disciple."

The two gradually walked away, heading toward the Misty Cloud Sect's reception hall.

The reception hall had already erupted into chaos because Yun Yun had announced Gu He's departure from the Misty Cloud Sect.

"Sect Leader, the Pill King has gone too far! Our Misty Cloud Sect painstakingly nurtured him for over ten years. Without the vast quantities of medicinal ingredients supplied by our Misty Cloud Sect, how could he possibly have broken through to become a Sixth-grade Alchemist? Now that he thinks his wings have grown, he wants to leave our Misty Cloud Sect. We absolutely cannot allow this precedent! We must keep the Pill King!" Yun Ling no longer had any of yesterday's obsequiousness or humility. He stood up with an angry expression and demanded that Gu He be kept.

His words received the support of most of the elders. Losing a Sixth-grade Alchemist would deal a devastating blow to the Misty Cloud Sect. Even if they had to imprison Gu He, they absolutely could not allow him to fall into the hands of another force in the Jia Ma Empire.

Yun Ling stroked his beard and smiled smugly. So many elders supported keeping Gu He; even the Sect Leader could not ignore them. Even if she did not agree, she would at most stand by and do nothing. She would not openly take Gu He's side. And Gu He was merely a Dou Wang. Catching him off guard and taking him down would be easy. Then they could threaten him into refining pills for him.

"Bastard!" The rebuke came with terrifying pressure that bore down upon every elder. It was as though a violent gale had risen from flat ground within the hall. The dreadful might was simply not something a Dou Wang should have been able to release, and within it lingered a trace of a Dou Emperor's pressure.

Yun Yun did not know why, but when she heard the elders' proposed treatment of Gu He, she felt as though rage had ignited her heart. She could not help but rebuke them, and by chance, she even touched upon a trace of the Dou Emperor realm.

Yun Yun's phoenix eyes brimmed with authority as azure Dou Qi spilled from her body. Even a single wisp that left her side formed into a terrifying storm. "Over the years, how many precious pills has Gu He brought to our Misty Cloud Sect? Through his name, we recruited several Fourth-grade Alchemists and one Fifth-grade Alchemist. He owes us nothing by leaving."

The pressure of having touched the Dou Emperor realm turned the elders below pale. Even Yun Ling, a Dou Wang, looked no better. He had not expected Yun Yun to be so close to becoming a Dou Emperor. Such a person could stand against an entire nation, and Yun Yun was not yet thirty. Compared to himself, an overwhelming sense of defeat surged through his heart.

Seeing that the elders below had quieted down, Yun Yun withdrew her Dou Qi, and her voice softened slightly.