Senior Sister Is Very Satisfied

Damn it!

What time is it, and you're still asking whether or not to proceed?

I'm about to be blown to smithereens, and you want to follow protocol?

Zhou Xuan roared frantically in his mind. The instinct for survival left him no time to think, and he used every ounce of his strength to scream in his consciousness.

"Enlighten, now, immediately!"

[Ding! Command received, consuming 10 Gold Touch Value.]

[Currently enlightening the inferior Red Flame Pill...]

The moment the thought landed, Zhou Xuan's remaining 150 Gold Touch Value instantly dropped to 140.

And that waste pill at his feet, which had expanded to its limit and seemed ready to destroy the world the next second, suddenly froze!

The piercing buzzing sound came to an abrupt halt.

The crimson cracks on the surface of the pill, which were on the verge of bursting, were smoothed over as if by an invisible hand, quickly receding and healing.

The fire-attribute spiritual energy that had been violently leaking out, enough to distort the air, was sucked back into the pill like a receding tide.

It took no more than a single breath.

The bomb that had seemed ready to detonate at any moment now lay quietly on the ground, its body becoming as warm and smooth as jade, its dark red luster contained, with not a trace of its former violent aura left.

The crisis was averted.

Zhou Xuan's body went limp, and only then did he realize his back was completely soaked in cold sweat.

He gasped for air, his heart still drumming wildly in his chest.

In that instant just now, he truly thought he was going to die here.

It took him a long while to recover, his gaze locked firmly onto the enlightened pill on the ground.

He cautiously crouched down and picked it up with a silk cloth.

It was no longer scalding hot to the touch, but instead carried a hint of coolness.

[Ding! Enlightenment successful!]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining a one-time magical artifact—Blazing Fire Bead (Pseudo).]

[Item Description: Enlightened from an unstable, inferior Red Flame Pill, it contains sealed, violent fire-attribute spiritual energy. Simply inject a trace of spiritual energy as a fuse to detonate it; its power is equivalent to the full-force strike of a Body Tempering Ninth Stage cultivator.]

[Note: Before throwing it, please ensure you are at a safe distance.]

Looking at the description on the system panel, Zhou Xuan's eyes widened, and his breathing became rapid once again.

This thing.

Isn't this just a grenade in the world of cultivation?

A full-force strike from a Body Tempering Ninth Stage cultivator!

He was only at the Body Tempering Third Stage!

If used correctly, this thing was a lethal weapon for killing enemies above his rank!

Zhou Xuan's gaze swept across the pill room, which had been blown into a mess, and his heart surged with even greater waves of shock.

This pill room was meant for inner sect disciples, and the walls and floors were inscribed with basic defensive arrays, yet even so, it had been blown into this state.

One could only imagine how terrifying the power of this Blazing Fire Bead was!

Profit!

Huge profit!

Those ten Gold Touch Value were well spent!

With this thing, he finally had a trump card for self-preservation!

Zhou Xuan's heart was instantly filled with wild joy. He carefully tucked the Blazing Fire Bead away close to his body; this was his life-saving talisman.

Suppressing his excitement, he began to search through the ruins of the pill room again.

Anything produced by the Explosion Fairy must be a "masterpiece"!

He moved the scattered pieces of the pill furnace aside one by one and carefully rummaged through the ashes in the corners.

Soon, he found five more waste Red Flame Pills of similar quality.

Zhou Xuan excitedly tried them one by one.

"System, can this one be enlightened?"

[Ding! The energy structure of this item is relatively stable and lacks enlightenment value.]

"What about this one?"

[Ding! The energy core of this item is damaged and lacks enlightenment value.]

He tried four in a row, only to receive the system's cold, negative response every time.

Zhou Xuan picked up the last pill, refusing to give up.

[Ding! This item possesses no value for transmutation.]

"Sigh."

Zhou Xuan let out a sigh, his face filled with regret.

It seemed that opportunities like this, capable of turning trash into treasure or pills into weapons, were rare and hard to come by.

However, he quickly adjusted his mindset.

Even if they couldn't all be turned into grenades, these were still solid Gold Touch Value!

He looked at the five remaining waste pills in his hand, his heart heating up once again.

Should he remind Senior Sister Zhang Ling and tell her that her talent for artifact refining might actually be far greater than her talent for alchemy?

This thought only lasted for a second in his mind before he strangled it himself.

Forget it, forget it; he didn't want to die just yet.

If this Explosion Fairy found out that he was using the fruits of her hard work as bombs, she would likely blow him up on the spot.

It was better to let her continue to shine and burn on the path of alchemy.

"System, take the remaining waste pills and these medicinal dregs—absorb everything you can!"

[Ding! Command received, beginning absorption.]

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

A series of system notifications rang out in Zhou Xuan's mind like the most beautiful celestial music.

He felt like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar, so happy he was about to faint.

Once there was nothing left in the pill room that contained spiritual energy, Zhou Xuan opened his system panel with great satisfaction.

[Gold Touch Value: 335]

Three hundred and thirty-five points!

A massive harvest!

Coming to Pill Peak this time was absolutely the right choice!

Zhou Xuan was trembling with excitement; the thing he wanted to do most right now was to immediately upgrade his trash Spirit Root!

Suppressing his excitement, he issued a command to the system in his mind.

"System! Show me the plans for upgrading my Spirit Root!"

A cerulean light screen appeared once again.

[Host's current Spirit Root: Five Elements Impure Spirit Root]

[Grade Rating: -5 (Trash among trash)]

[Next Stage: Five Elements Waste Spirit Root]

[Grade Rating: -4 (Still trash, but at least capable of sensing spiritual energy)]

[Gold Touch Value required for upgrade: 100 points.]

[Does the host wish to upgrade to the next stage?]

"Yes."

[Host's current Spirit Root: Five Elements Waste Spirit Root]

[Grade Rating: -4]

[Next Stage: Wasted Four Elements Spirit Root]

[Grade Rating: -3 (Still trash)]

[Gold Touch Value required for upgrade: 1000 points.]

"How much?"

The wild joy on Zhou Xuan's face froze instantly.

He stared fixedly at the number "1000," rubbing his eyes, thinking he had misread it.

It was correct; it was one thousand!

To upgrade from -4 to -3 actually required one thousand points!

Wasn't it just one hundred points before?

Could it be that every time this thing upgrades, the price adds a zero to the end?

If so, wouldn't the next time require ten thousand points?

And the time after that, one hundred thousand points?

One million points?

Zhou Xuan's face collapsed instantly, and he felt utterly dejected.

Just a moment ago, he had felt like a nouveau riche, but in the blink of an eye, he was a pauper once again.

This Heavenly Path was just too damn expensive!

However, dejection was one thing, but Zhou Xuan quickly pulled himself together.

A thousand is a thousand!

As long as he had Zhang Ling, this little goddess of wealth, a thousand Gold Touch Value was just a matter of making a few more trips!

Thinking of this, he immediately started working.

Although he was just a small fry at the third stage of Body Tempering, he still knew a few basic cleaning spells.

These were the fundamental skills for a chore disciple to make a living.

Gusts of wind swept up the dust on the ground, and orbs of clear water washed away the stains on the walls.

In just a moment, the pill room, which had looked like it had been bombed, was cleaned up until it was brand new and spotless.

After finishing all this, Zhou Xuan pushed the door open and walked out.

Outside the pill room, Zhang Ling was kicking pebbles at her feet in boredom. Seeing Zhou Xuan come out, her willow-leaf eyebrows immediately shot up.

"How did you come out so fast? Did you clean it properly?"

She scrutinized Zhou Xuan suspiciously, her face full of disbelief.

"In the past, who among those people didn't dawdle inside for half a day? And why didn't I hear another explosion in there this time?"

Zhou Xuan's eye twitched uncontrollably as he listened.

Does this girl really hope I get blown to death in there?

He complained frantically in his heart, but on the surface, he maintained a respectful and obedient appearance, bowing in salute.

"Reporting to Senior Sister, everything has been cleaned up properly."

"Is that so?"

Zhang Ling was half-doubting, and with a flash, she rushed into the pill room.

When she saw that it was bright and clean, without even a speck of dust to be found, she couldn't help but be stunned.

She checked every corner carefully, confirming there were no omissions, and only then did she nod with satisfaction.

She walked out of the pill room and looked at Zhou Xuan again. In those beautiful eyes, there was finally less impatience and a bit more approval.

"Not bad, you work quite efficiently."

"What is your name?"

"Reporting to Senior Sister, this lowly one is named Zhou Xuan."

"Zhou Xuan."

Zhang Ling nodded as if she had noted the name, then said in an unquestionable tone, "From now on, all the waste pills from my alchemy will be handed to you to handle!"

She fished a small porcelain bottle out of her storage bag and tossed it to Zhou Xuan.

"This is your reward, three Qi Gathering Pills. From now on, as long as you do a good job every month, there will be rewards!"

Zhou Xuan caught the porcelain bottle, feeling speechless inside.

If I didn't have the system cheat, let alone coming to collect rewards every month, I'd probably be carried out of your pill room horizontally today.

However, for him right now, this was simply a massive stroke of luck!

A stable, efficient, and—damn it—legal source of Gold Touch Value!

The expression on his face instantly turned into one of tearful gratitude, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Thank you, Senior Sister!"

"This lowly one will definitely do his best to share your burdens in the future!"

"Alright, alright."

Zhang Ling waved her hand impatiently.

"Go on, don't delay me from researching the next batch of pills!"

"Yes, this lowly one takes his leave!"

As if granted amnesty, Zhou Xuan quickly bowed and scraped as he retreated.

He walked down the mountain road with high spirits, his mood so good he felt like he could fly.

With Zhang Ling as his long-term meal ticket, let alone one thousand Gold Touch Value, even ten thousand was within reach!

However, just as he was about to step out of the Pill Peak area.

Zhou Xuan's footsteps came to a sudden halt.

He frowned slightly, a feeling of being watched prickling his back like thorns.

He glanced backward out of the corner of his eye, remaining calm.

He saw that behind a large tree on the mountain path in the distance, a gaze was locked firmly onto him.

That gaze was filled with undisguised malice and ill intent!

What is going on?