Fairy Danhuo's Invitation

Watching Zhao Zhen's back, filled with anticipation and joy, disappear at the end of the mountain path, Zhou Xuan felt a weight lift from his heart.

This bond of goodwill had been successfully forged, and he had unexpectedly gained a crucial clue regarding the demonic-tainted demon core; it could be said his harvest was bountiful.

He organized his thoughts, calmed the excitement stirred up by this windfall, and turned to head down the mountain, returning to the Chore Servant Courtyard.

To him, no matter how dense the spiritual energy or how beautiful the scenery of Red Sword Peak was, it couldn't compare to that mountain of trash at the Miscellaneous Affairs Department that allowed him to make a living.

However, just as he stepped off the stone stairs of the Red Sword Peak gate and hadn't gone far, a familiar figure appeared before him without warning, blocking his path.

The person was wearing the fire-red robes of an inner sect disciple, her hair tied in a simple ponytail. Her face was lovely, but at this moment, her willow-leaf brows were arched in anger and her almond eyes were wide, glaring at him indignantly.

Who else could it be but Fairy Danhuo, Zhang Ling?

Zhou Xuan felt a chill in his heart.

He had originally assumed this alchemy fanatic was a disciple of Pill Peak who lived in a cave dwelling there; he hadn't expected to run into her here.

Could it be that she was also a disciple of Red Sword Peak, but just liked running to Pill Peak on weekdays?

This thought flashed through his mind, but he dared not be negligent. He quickly stopped and bowed respectfully to her.

"Senior Sister Zhang Ling." Zhou Xuan greeted her subconsciously.

However, Zhang Ling ignored his greeting entirely. Instead, as if she had finally found the person she was looking for, she marched aggressively right up to him.

Before Zhou Xuan could react, a fair but powerful hand shot out and grabbed him by the collar.

"Come with me!" Zhang Ling's tone was unquestionable, carrying an inexplicable air of irritation.

Zhou Xuan was startled by this sudden turn of events. His body was pulled by an irresistible force, and he stumbled along after her.

His mind was filled with confusion and panic; what was going on?

Big sister, what are you doing? I'm just a chore servant disciple, I don't sell myself!

An absurd thought flashed through his mind, but looking at Zhang Ling's furious expression, it didn't seem like she was joking.

He dared not struggle and could only be dragged along passively, moving quickly through the sect's mountain paths.

Along the way, they drew the side-glances of many inner sect disciples. Seeing an aggressive inner sect senior sister dragging a chore servant disciple by the collar, they all wore strange and gossipy expressions.

Zhou Xuan felt his face burning, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into.

Soon, he was dragged by Zhang Ling all the way to Pill Peak. Looking at the mountain, which was filled with the scent of medicine and the aura of alchemy fire all year round, Zhou Xuan finally understood; his guess had been correct, they had arrived.

Zhang Ling led him with practiced ease to a cave dwelling halfway up the mountain.

Before they even got close, Zhou Xuan smelled a thick, burnt odor, and the stone wall at the entrance of the cave still bore traces of being scorched black.

Once they arrived, Zhang Ling let go of his collar. She pointed at the cave gate and said huffily, "Go in! Hurry up!"

Only then did Zhou Xuan realize that this young lady's alchemy room had exploded again.

He was speechless.

Generally, the sect had a fixed schedule for clearing waste from alchemy rooms, sending someone to handle it only once every seven days.

It seemed that this Explosion Immortal clearly couldn't wait any longer.

However, for Zhou Xuan, the fact that she couldn't wait was a massive stroke of luck for him.

He steadied himself and walked into the cave.

Compared to last time, he was much more cautious this time.

He didn't start working immediately, but instead walked around the alchemy room, carefully observing the surrounding environment.

The entire alchemy room was a mess; shards of the shattered pill furnace were scattered everywhere, and the walls and floor were covered in black medicinal dregs and unknown viscous liquids.

The burnt smell in the air was even more intense than last time.

Zhou Xuan secretly activated the system, his gaze sweeping over the areas that looked the most dangerous.

[Ding! Unstable waste pill residue detected. Energy structure is chaotic; risk of secondary explosion!]

[Ding! Highly active medicinal liquid mixture detected. Properties are in conflict; proximity may trigger a violent reaction!]

There really was danger!

Zhou Xuan felt a chill and dared not be careless. He decided to start by dealing with the waste with the highest danger coefficient.

He walked over to a pile of furnace shards that were still emitting wisps of blue smoke, carefully reaching out to touch the charred, solidified pill residue on the fragments.

[Ding! Absorbed residual spiritual energy from Tier 2 waste pill Dew Rain Pill. Gold Touch Value +50!]

[Ding! Absorbed residual spiritual energy from Tier 2 waste pill Dew Rain Pill. Gold Touch Value +50!]

Zhou Xuan's eyes lit up instantly.

Dew Rain Pill? It was actually a Tier 2 pill!

He was somewhat surprised. As far as he knew, the Dew Rain Pill was a water-attribute pill with mild medicinal properties.

It was mainly used to nourish the meridians and was considered one of the easiest and most stable Tier 2 pills to refine.

He truly couldn't understand how this senior sister had managed to blow up such a mild pill.

However, surprise was surprise, but his hands did not stop moving.

Fifty points!

A single scrap of waste pill could be converted into fifty Gold Touch Value; this conversion rate was truly incredibly high!

He suppressed the excitement in his heart and began to hunt for treasure in the chaotic alchemy room.

Soon, he found seven relatively intact scraps of waste pills in various corners.

These seven waste pills alone contributed three hundred and fifty Gold Touch Value directly to him!

The enthusiasm of Zhou Xuan was completely ignited.

He no longer limited himself to waste pills, but cast his gaze toward the other trash in the alchemy room.

Those incinerated medicinal herbs, charred talisman papers, shattered jade bottles, and even the floor stained with medicinal liquid all became convertible resources in front of his system.

[Ding! Absorbed residual spiritual energy from charred spirit herbs, Gold Touch Value +3!]

[Ding! Absorbed residual spiritual energy from a broken jade bottle, Gold Touch Value +2!]

[Ding! Absorbed residual spiritual energy from alchemy furnace fragments, Gold Touch Value +5!]

Like a diligent scavenger, he cleaned the entire alchemy room thoroughly from top to bottom.

When he finished absorbing the last handful of medicinal ash, he was pleasantly surprised to find that his total income for the day had reached a full five hundred Gold Touch Value!

[Gold Touch Value Balance: 617 points!]

Looking at the respectable number on the system panel again, Zhou Xuan felt as if he had suddenly struck it rich once more.

This feeling was even more exciting to him than receiving Spirit Stones directly.

He gathered all the trash into a corner, leaving the entire alchemy room looking brand new.

After finishing all this, he clapped the dust off his hands, preparing to bid farewell to Fairy Danhuo, who was still sulking at the door.

However, just as he reached the doorway, he was stopped by Zhang Ling.

"Wait."

Zhang Ling's expression was no longer as ugly as before; she looked Zhou Xuan up and down, seemingly surprised by his high efficiency in cleaning.

"Does Senior Sister have any other instructions?" Zhou Xuan asked respectfully.

Zhang Ling hesitated for a moment, as if organizing her words, before speaking after a while: "Would you be willing to come and help under me?"

Zhou Xuan was stunned upon hearing this.

He heard Zhang Ling continue: "I see that you work quite nimbly. From now on, you don't need to go to the Miscellaneous Affairs Department; you can be responsible for cleaning my alchemy room exclusively."

"Although accidents happen here occasionally, there isn't much work, and you can arrange most of your time yourself."

She seemed to feel this condition wasn't enough and added: "As long as you agree, I can give you three Qi Condensing Pills every month as payment!"

Qi Condensing Pills!

Zhou Xuan's eyes lit up sharply.

Those were medicinal pills used by cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm to assist in their cultivation. Their medicinal power was far superior to Qi Gathering Pills; a single one sold for ten Low-grade Spirit Stones in the market, and they were often in short supply.

Three pills a month was equivalent to thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones, which was an unimaginably generous treatment for a miscellaneous disciple.

Becoming her exclusive servant would not only mean light work but also such generous pay; it sounded like a golden opportunity to rise in the world.

Moreover, he had previously intended to come work under Zhang Ling, but now it seemed...

Leave the Miscellaneous Affairs Department?

But that place was his true treasure trove, his most stable and massive source of Gold Touch Value.

To give up a stable resource for three Qi Condensing Pills a month would be no different from throwing away a watermelon to pick up a sesame seed.

Without that Miscellaneous Affairs Department filled with treasures everywhere, relying solely on Zhang Ling's occasional furnace explosions, how many years would it take to gather ten thousand Gold Touch Value to upgrade his Spirit Root?

Looking at the furrowed brows on Zhou Xuan's face, Zhang Ling was somewhat puzzled; in her view, no miscellaneous disciple could possibly refuse the conditions she had offered.