Together with You

Qinglan City was the largest city in the eastern part of the Cangyun Empire. Among the empire's one hundred and eight major city fortresses, it could rank among the top ten.

Its markets glittered with pearls and jewels, its households overflowed with silks and brocades; Qiang flutes played beneath clear skies, and water-chestnut songs drifted across the night. Qinglan's prosperity drew the longing of countless people.

As a port city, it connected the empire's commercial and maritime routes with other powers. Goods and merchandise from every corner of the land passed through here in transit, bringing Qinglan City an exceptionally vibrant economy.

Compared with the arid inland regions, the climate here was also extraordinarily pleasant. Thus, over countless years, leading Aristocratic Clans took root here, major merchant guilds flourished here, and even powerful cultivators sought out nearby blessed lands and hidden grottos, establishing sects and taking in disciples far and wide.

With all these things gathered together, there came to be the magnificent and majestic Qinglan City of today.

Yet like every great city, where there was dazzling luxury and drunken dreams, there was bound to be hardship as well.

The northern district of Qinglan City was a vast slum. Most of those living there had been born commoners, while some had once belonged to noble Aristocratic Clans. But after their Lineages endured the washing tides of time, they gradually declined and crumbled, eventually moving here.

In the Immortal Realm, strength reigned supreme. If one's cultivation was low, one could only work in humble occupations. With neither power nor money, the next generation of these commoners could not receive a proper education either. For example, Cangyun Academy charged fifty Cangyun Coins in tuition every term—a heavenly sum for most families in the north of the city.

As time passed, the vicious cycle continued. The people here began giving up on educating their children, and each generation became worse than the last. What had originally been a simple gathering place for commoners when the city was first built had become a slum in every sense of the word.

Yet inside one small house at that moment, cheerful laughter rang out, wholly out of place in this district. A richly dressed youth had rolled up his sleeves and was drinking heartily with a bare-chested burly man seated across from him. A plainly dressed woman sitting beside them wore a smile as she kept placing food into the youth's bowl. Though the house was somewhat shabby, it was brimming with the warmth of happiness.

"Hahaha! Li Mu, you brat, how long has it been since you came to see Uncle Nie? Have your wings grown hard now? Think you can drink me under the table? No more talk today—we have to settle who's stronger!"

The bare-chested man threw back his head and drained the strong liquor in his cup, then laughed loudly at Li Mu.

"Uncle Nie, I had a little accident some time ago. Once I recovered, I was busy cultivating, so I didn't come drink with you. But it's fine. Today, I'll drink to my heart's content with you."

Li Mu was in high spirits as well. He filled the bare-chested man's cup again, and the two raised their cups before tilting back their heads and draining them in one gulp.

"Drink, drink, drink. All you know is drinking. I knew nothing good would happen when you two got together."

The door was pushed open from outside, and Nie Xiaoyu entered. She carried two steaming plates of seasonal stir-fried dishes in her hands, while her mouth muttered a stream of complaints at the two men before her.

"Haha, our Xiaoyu is angry. But Li Mu, it's not that Uncle Nie wants to lecture you. It's fine if you don't come see me, but you should come see our Xiaoyu more often. You don't know it, but these past days, this little girl has been chanting your name every day. My ears have nearly been worn out by her nagging."

After downing another cup of wine, the bare-chested man let out a satisfied breath and called loudly to Li Mu.

"Dad! What nonsense are you talking about? I'm going to cook. I'm not talking to either of you anymore!"

Nie Xiaoyu felt her face burning hot. She hurriedly avoided Li Mu's gaze, twisted around, and fled the room, accompanied by peals of her father's laughter behind her.

Late at night, the clamor inside the little house gradually quieted. In the end, despite his greatly improved cultivation, Li Mu still lost to the forthright bare-chested man when it came to drinking. He collapsed in the room and fell into a deep sleep. The delicate girl tiptoed to his side, and seeing Li Mu sprawled inelegantly on the floor, she could not help but laugh. Under the moonlight, her smile was breathtakingly beautiful.

Gently covering Li Mu with a blanket, Nie Xiaoyu stood at the doorway and gazed blankly for a while at the youth sleeping soundly before her. Then she finally closed the door.

Once I entered the gate of longing, I knew the bitterness of longing. Long longing brought endless remembrance; brief longing knew no end. Had I known it would so entangle the heart, I would have been better off never knowing you at all.

Morning sunlight streamed through the window onto Li Mu's face. He opened his bleary eyes and stretched lazily. Since crossing into this world, this had been the most comfortable sleep he had ever had.

"Brother Mu, you're awake! I just finished making breakfast. Come eat quickly."

Xiaoyu pushed open the door. Seeing that Li Mu had already awakened, the girl quickly called him over for breakfast.

"This rice porridge is delicious! Xiaoyu, another bowl! And these fried dough sticks are good too. Xiaoyu, how are you so skilled at cooking? Whoever marries you in the future will truly be blessed."

Li Mu had half a golden fried dough stick in his mouth as he held his bowl out toward the girl, shouting that he could still drink several large bowls.

After breakfast, Xiaoyu's parents both hurried off to work at Twin Phoenix Tower, leaving only Li Mu and Xiaoyu at home.

"Brother Mu, let's begin refining pills. I'll see where you can improve."

With that, the girl led Li Mu into the backyard, where an entirely black pill furnace sat upright.

"This pill furnace was a reward from Hundred Herbs Hall after Brother Mu bought so many pills last time. Its quality is very good. I was able to break through to Mortal Grade Three recently thanks to it."

Though pill refinement had begun among common folk, after developing to this day, it had become a craft that burned through money. Alchemists needed to continually refine pills in order to comprehend the process and techniques involved, all of which required vast sums of money. Not only did they need enormous quantities of herbs, but even a high-quality pill furnace came with an exorbitant price tag.

Besides her own talent and hard work, Nie Xiaoyu's job at Hundred Herbs Hall had also helped her immensely in reaching Mortal Grade Three. Otherwise, for the child of an ordinary commoner Household, a single pill furnace would have been enough to consume an entire year's expenses.

Li Mu did not waste words. He immediately lit the pill furnace and began refining Qi-Replenishing Pills.

The ingredients for this pill were very simple. Li Mu had prepared quite a few and stored them in the Warehouse System, so retrieving them now was extremely convenient. As for how he could take things from thin air, Li Mu naturally blamed it on his elusive master. Without blushing or missing a beat, he pointed to the ordinary refined-iron ring on his hand and claimed it was a Space Storage Artifact.

Xiaoyu had even curiously played with the ring, which had no energy fluctuations whatsoever, for quite some time, making Li Mu blush with embarrassment.

"Brother Mu, your entire process of refining Qi-Replenishing Pills was incredibly smooth. It was completely at the peak level of a First-Grade alchemist. I can't find anything that needs improving."

In the time it took for two incense sticks to burn, Li Mu successfully refined a batch of Qi-Replenishing Pills. Nie Xiaoyu was utterly amazed, because even with her current skill as a Third-Grade alchemist, she might not have been able to refine this batch any faster than Li Mu.

"The difference between the Second Grade and the First Grade is that you need to manipulate more medicinal ingredients at once, allowing them to merge within the pill furnace. That requires stronger control. I think that should be Brother Mu's breakthrough point."

The girl frowned in thought for a moment before speaking to Li Mu. Her brother needed breakthroughs in both cultivation and pill refinement now, and control seemed to be the key to both.

"That's right! Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi are abundant in my dantian now, and my vortex has already reached saturation. What I lack is stripping away the essence of Yuan Qi, and that truly requires extremely strong control. Breaking through to become a Second-Grade alchemist also requires improvement in this area. Xiaoyu, you really are my lucky star. You found the crux of the problem for me in one stroke."

Li Mu had been awakened by a single remark from Xiaoyu, an outsider to the matter. He leaped three feet into the air with joy, nearly wanting to scoop up the girl before him and kiss her.

"Brother, don't celebrate too soon. Your current pill-refining level is very high, and I can hardly find any flaws. But that is only for refining the most basic Qi-Replenishing Pills, which use just two ingredients. The hallmark Healing Pill of a Second-Grade alchemist requires the fusion of five herbs. There are no shortcuts here—only constant repetition: practice, failure, practice again, and fail again."

Xiaoyu promptly poured a basin of cold water over the excited Li Mu. The difficulty of breaking through every grade as an alchemist increased geometrically. Powerful Immortal-Grade alchemists could extract essence from thousands of medicinal ingredients at once and fuse them into pills, a sight that left people awestruck.

"Actually, I have another way to let you achieve twice the result with half the effort, Brother. I suggest you stop buying herbs for your pill-refining practice from Hundred Herbs Hall and gather them directly outside the city. From what I know, the outskirts of the Black Dragon Mountain Range north of Qinglan City contain a great many low-grade herbs. More importantly, it is also a gathering ground for low-grade demon beasts. That way, while collecting herbs, you can fight some demon beasts to hone your skills. Cultivating martial techniques and pill refinement together, each complementing the other—I'm sure it will bring good results."

The girl's suggestion made Li Mu's eyes light up. Since he sought dual breakthroughs in cultivation and pill refinement, wouldn't it be enough to find a way to train both at the same time? A problem he had racked his brains over had been solved by Xiaoyu in just a few strokes.

"Thank you so much, Xiaoyu. You found me such a good method. I'll set out as soon as possible. I'll go back and pack first, then leave this afternoon. I know Black Dragon Mountain—it isn't far from Qinglan City. On a fast horse, I can get there in two hours."

Once Li Mu had set a goal, he could not sit still any longer. He wished he could leave at once and begin cultivating. But he knew training outside the city was not like sparring within it; danger lurked everywhere, so he still had to return home and make preparations.

"I'm not done yet, Brother Mu. This time, I'm going with you."

"Fine, no problem... Wait, what did you say? You're going with me? No, no. The wilderness is full of hidden dangers. Xiaoyu, you're a girl—absolutely not."

The moment Li Mu heard that the girl wanted to leave the city with him for Black Dragon Mountain to gather herbs and train, he immediately shook his head like a rattle drum. Although the outskirts of the Black Dragon Mountain Range were only a gathering place for the lowest-grade demon beasts, who could guarantee that no exceptions would arise? He had many means of protecting himself, but bringing Xiaoyu along was simply too dangerous.

"Hmph, Brother Mu, don't underestimate me. I'm one of the top ten experts at Cangyun Academy now. And if you go to the Black Dragon Mountain Range alone, are you sure you can identify the right herbs?"

Seeing that Li Mu clearly did not intend to agree to take her along, the girl immediately planted her hands on her hips, widened her eyes, and pouted her little mouth, as though she would never rest until she achieved her goal.

"Uh... all right. But Xiaoyu, you have to promise me that if we encounter any powerful demon beasts, you'll protect yourself no matter what."

After struggling for a long while, Li Mu realized he truly needed someone who knew medicinal herbs to accompany him if he wanted to complete this training trip. Thus, he could only reluctantly agree to Xiaoyu's request.

"Haha, wonderful! Brother Mu, wait for me. I'll go pack some simple luggage first. I'll be ready soon."

Only then did the delighted girl skip into the house to pack her belongings, leaving Li Mu alone in the courtyard with an awkward smile.