It's Going to Explode!

Zhou Ye finished speaking and let out a heavy sigh. His twenty-year-old face, which looked uncannily like that of a fifty-year-old man, was etched with resignation and numbness.

He looked at Zhou Xuan as if looking at his own self from half a year ago, his eyes filled with the final shred of pity a survivor might offer to the doomed.

"Brother, I've said all I can. Take care of yourself."

The other chore disciples nearby also cast their gazes from afar. There was no mockery or schadenfreude in those looks.

There was only a profound, sympathetic sorrow for a fellow creature.

It was as if, in their eyes, Zhou Xuan was already a dead man shrouded in black miasma.

"Sigh, another poor bastard."

"Fairy Danhuo, tsk tsk, this kid probably won't last three days."

"To take on a job like this right after arriving, he must have offended someone."

The whispers drifted on the wind, every word sounding like a funeral dirge played in advance for Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan shook his head helplessly, forcing a look of bitterness and despair onto his face at just the right moment.

Are these guys for real?

He was screaming internally.

To you, this is a death warrant, but to me, this is fucking fantastic news!

The most volatile!

The most toxic!

The most prone to exploding!

Doesn't that mean the residual spiritual energy inside is the most violent and abundant?

Wouldn't the Gold Touch Value I can convert be absolutely off the charts?

Zhou Xuan was ecstatic inside, yet he maintained a dejected and soul-crushed appearance on the surface.

He cupped his hands toward Zhou Ye, thanked him in a hoarse voice, and dragged his heavy feet toward the exit of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department.

With every step, he felt those sympathetic gazes pricking his back like thorns.

But what he was thinking was: What are you looking at!

You bunch of beggars sitting on a mountain of gold!

I'm going on a treasure hunt!

Once I make it big, you won't even be fit to carry my shoes!

The inner sect of the Spirit Sword Pavilion was filled with towering peaks and swirling immortal mist.

Pill Peak, as the sect's vital alchemy hub, was even richer in spiritual energy, with a refreshing medicinal fragrance drifting through the air.

Compared to the stench of rot, char, and blood that permeated the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, it was like heaven compared to hell.

Zhou Xuan took a deep breath, feeling every one of his thirty-six thousand pores expand in relief.

What a great place!

He arrived at the management office at the foot of Pill Peak and bowed respectfully to an inner sect disciple who was meditating.

"Senior brother, I am Zhou Xuan from the Chore Servant Courtyard. I have been ordered to come to the pill room of Senior Sister Zhang Ling, Fairy Danhuo, to dispose of waste pills."

The managing disciple slowly opened his eyes. Upon hearing the words "Chore Servant Courtyard," a flicker of subtle contempt flashed in his eyes.

But when he heard "Fairy Danhuo" and "dispose of waste pills," that contempt instantly transformed into undisguised shock and sympathy.

He looked Zhou Xuan up and down, his gaze identical to that of the chore disciples at the Miscellaneous Affairs Department.

Another one here to die?

"Token."

He spat out the word coldly.

Zhou Xuan hurriedly handed over his chore servant token.

The managing disciple took it, glanced at it casually, tossed it back, and pointed toward a small path up the mountain, his tone laced with impatience.

"Follow this path up. Halfway up the mountain, D-13 Pill Room is her place."

Having said that, he closed his eyes and resumed his meditation, as if looking at Zhou Xuan for even a second longer would dirty his own eyes.

Zhou Xuan didn't mind. He picked up his token, offered a word of thanks, and walked quickly toward the mountain.

His mind was currently filled with the Gold Touch Value he was about to acquire; he had no time to bicker with a small-timer like this.

Soon, following the numbering, he found D-13 Pill Room.

At the entrance of the pill room, a young girl in a fiery red dress stood with her hands on her hips, looking sulky, her pretty face full of annoyance.

She was stunningly beautiful, with skin like snow and delicate features, though her brow carried an indelible air of arrogance and feistiness.

This must be the legendary Explosion Immortal, Zhang Ling.

Fortunately, the door to the pill room was still intact; it seemed the power of this explosion wasn't too great.

Zhang Ling also noticed Zhou Xuan walking over, and upon seeing the faded gray servant robes he wore, she immediately frowned with impatience.

"You're the one here to clean up?"

"Dawdling around, why are you only just getting here!"

She didn't give Zhou Xuan a chance to reply at all, pointing at the tightly shut pill room door behind her and speaking in an imperious tone.

"Hurry up and go inside to clean it up; I've made a complete mess of the place!"

"Move it, I need to start the next batch once you're done!"

As she urged him on, she began to mutter to herself.

"Honestly, the heat control was clearly perfect this time, so why did it explode again?"

"I'll try a different recipe next time; I refuse to believe that I, Zhang Ling, can't refine a perfect Red Flame Pill!"

Listening to her confident declaration, Zhou Xuan felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet.

You call this alchemy? You're developing weapons of mass destruction!

He was roasting her wildly in his mind, but he dared not show the slightest hint of it on his face, only nodding and bowing repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, Senior Sister, I'll go right away!"

Zhang Ling waved her hand impatiently, as if shooing away a fly.

"Go on, go on, make sure you clean it thoroughly!"

Zhou Xuan pushed open the door to the pill room, and a heatwave mixed with the smell of scorched material and dense fire spiritual energy instantly rushed toward his face.

He was forced to take a step back, overwhelmed by the fumes.

Good grief!

Once he adapted to the lighting and the smell inside and saw the scene within the pill room, even though he had been mentally prepared, he still couldn't help but gasp.

The entire pill room was pitch black.

The walls, the floor, and the ceiling were all scorched like the bottom of a pot.

In the center, the pill furnace, crafted from high-quality black iron, was now shattered into pieces scattered everywhere.

Scattered on the surrounding floor were some blackened medicinal dregs and a few dark red pills that seemed to still be burning.

With this level of destruction, I'd believe you if you said you'd refined a batch of hand grenades in here!

Zhou Xuan's face instantly turned darker than the bottom of a pot.

Of course, that was just from the billowing smoke inside.

He carefully stepped into the pill room, his gaze locked firmly onto those few dark red pills on the floor.

Those pills were only the size of a thumb, dark red all over, with unstable flickers of firelight dancing on their surfaces.

A violent yet pure fire-attribute spiritual energy radiated from them.

Even from several steps away, Zhou Xuan could feel the terrifying power contained within!

I'm rich!

I'm really rich this time!

He suppressed the wild joy in his heart, took the silk cloth from his bosom, and approached the shattered furnace step by step.

He crouched down, used the silk cloth as a pad, and carefully picked up one of the dark red pills.

It was scorching hot to the touch!

The moment his fingertips touched the pill, the system's notification sound exploded in his mind!

[Ding! Detected absorbable intermediate energy material--Inferior Red Flame Pill (highly unstable)!]

[Absorb? Can be converted into 30 Gold Touch Value!]

Thirty points!

Zhou Xuan's pupils constricted sharply, his heart pounding wildly!

One!

Just a single failed, inferior pill could be converted into thirty Gold Touch Value!

That was the equivalent of ten Low-grade Spirit Stones!

There were four or five more on the floor!

Zhou Xuan's breathing instantly became heavy, his eyes glowing as he stared fixedly at the pills on the ground, his mouth almost watering.

Explosion Immortal?

The hell is this an Explosion Immortal!

This is clearly a Wealth-Delivering Maiden!

She is Wealth-Spreading Guanyin!

She is my own personal fairy!

"Absorb, absorb it immediately!"

Zhou Xuan roared frantically in his heart.

[Ding! Absorbed Inferior Red Flame Pill, Gold Touch Value +30!]

A warm current surged into his mind. Looking at the Gold Touch Value that had instantly increased on the system panel, Zhou Xuan trembled all over with excitement.

He wished he could kneel down right now, hug Zhang Ling's thigh, and cry out with tears streaming down his face: Fairy! From now on, I'll take all your waste pills!

Please, keep blowing them up every single day, never stop!

However, before he could recover from his ecstasy.

A sudden change occurred!

Beside his feet, another untouched waste Red Flame Pill suddenly flared with intense firelight on its surface!

Hum!

The pill vibrated violently, emitting a harsh buzzing sound.

Dazzling cracks appeared on the dark red surface of the pill, and violent fire-attribute spiritual energy poured out like a wild horse losing control!

The surrounding air twisted and heated up at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Oh no!

The medicinal properties inside were completely out of control; it was about to explode!

Zhou Xuan's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and it felt as if the blood in his entire body had frozen solid.

He could feel that the power this waste pill was about to unleash was several times greater than the one he had just absorbed!

At this distance!

There was no way he could dodge in time!

Rush up and touch it to absorb it?

Are you kidding me!

Before his hand even touched it, he would already be blown into charcoal!

It's over!

A wave of immense despair and unwillingness instantly overwhelmed his heart.

Damn it! I just saw a glimmer of hope!

But at this critical moment.

Just as the waste pill was about to burst completely.

The azure system screen in front of Zhou Xuan suddenly flickered wildly!

Lines of blood-red warning text appeared as if scrolling across the screen!

[Warning! Highly unstable intermediate energy material detected!]

[Warning! Energy structure about to collapse! A violent explosion will occur in three seconds!]

[Warning! Estimated explosion power is sufficient to threaten the host's life!]

Zhou Xuan's heart sank to the bottom.

Like I didn't know that!

Do you think I'm blind!

However, right beneath those blood-red warnings, a brand-new prompt glowing with the golden light of hope suddenly popped up!

[Optimization plan detected!]

[Do you wish to consume 10 Gold Touch Value to perform Enlightenment, stabilize its energy structure, resolve the crisis, and upgrade the pill quality?]