Ling Xiao had crossed over to the Dou Qi Continent, so there was no way he would pass up the most sought-after profession on the continent—the alchemist.
That's right, he was an alchemist too.
He had obtained the Flame Mantra from Yao Lao, along with a child flame of Bone Spirit Cold Flame.
He had also gathered Green Lotus Core Flame, Fallen Heart Flame, and Sea Heart Flame, along with Three Thousand Star Flame, and fused them into himself.
The snow-white flame before him was a brand-new Heavenly Flame born from that fusion.
He named it Snow Spirit Ice Flame.
Less than half a quarter of an hour later,
the precious natural treasures that had filled half the room had been reduced to a fist-sized ball of emerald-green liquid.
It gave off a rich vitality, along with intense fluctuations of Soul Power.
But Ling Xiao's work was far from over.
His gaze flickered, and the snow-white flame in his palm instantly turned emerald green,
no longer scorching hot or freezing cold.
Instead, it was like a spring of life, radiating vitality so pure it seemed to have reached its utmost limit.
With a wave of his hand,
the palm-sized Jade Bead Grass seedling hovering in midair flew into the green flame.
Next, he added the essence he had extracted from the many precious natural treasures.
The Jade Bead Grass instantly seemed to have swallowed a powerful tonic. It grew at a visible, frantic pace,
an inch, two inches... a foot, two feet!
In the blink of an eye, it had grown to a height of one or two meters,
its lush green leaves unfurling,
with a vivid emerald bead hanging in the middle, giving off a powerful aura of life.
Even the wooden furniture in the room took on a green tinge, and tender shoots quietly sprouted from the dry wood grain.
Qian Renxue's jaw nearly hit the floor.
This sight
was simply too incredible.
Her curiosity about this mysterious teacher reached its peak in that moment.
While Qian Renxue stood there in a daze,
the Jade Bead Grass had already gone through a full cycle of flourishing and withering.
At last, beneath the Heavenly Flame, it turned into a pool of emerald spiritual liquid.
The Volcanic Gold Crystal, too,
was smelted by Ling Xiao into a pool of golden spiritual liquid, seeming to burn with flames.
He gently moved his fingers, and the two pools of liquid mingled and swirled in midair.
In the end, they became a single mass of liquid, green shot through with gold and clear as glass.
Then he turned his gaze toward the bathtub in the room.
Empty!
Only then did he remember that he had forgotten to tell Qian Renxue to fill it with water.
There was no time now, so he would have to do it himself.
With a wave of his hand, the moisture in the air liquefied in his palm, forming a large mass of pure water.
Splash—
The bathtub filled in an instant!
Then he casually tossed in the refined golden medicinal liquid—
The water in the bathtub immediately turned emerald green, flecked with golden light and veiled in wisps of mist,
dreamlike and fantastical, like the dew of the immortals!
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up, take off your clothes and soak in the spiritual liquid!"
"Huh? N-now? Here?"
Qian Renxue's gaze drifted from the bathtub to Ling Xiao, then back again. Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the hem of her clothes.
"Yes. Don't worry, I guarantee your Martial Soul will successfully evolve!"
Thinking she was worried about his skills, Ling Xiao assured her confidently,
"Besides, I'll stay outside and protect you!"
With that, he walked over to the sofa and sat down, closing his eyes slightly.
His soul was extremely weak right now.
Refining medicine with the Heavenly Flame had taken a great deal out of him, so this was the perfect opportunity to rest and recover.
Qian Renxue looked at his unruffled air and bit her lip,
then finally made her way toward the bathroom.
The pale green spiritual liquid in the bathtub gave off a rich aura of life.
Just smelling it made her feel lighter, and even her mind grew clearer.
Her Soul Power Level seemed on the verge of a breakthrough, while the Angel Martial Soul inside her was practically itching with anticipation.
It was as if it had caught the scent of something it desperately craved.
Qian Renxue turned and closed the bathroom's glass door.
This was her private room, and it naturally had a bathroom for washing up, though it was only partly enclosed.
The glass door could block the steam,
but it only came up to her chest, leaving her head and shoulders in full view.
She reached behind her, her fingertips touching the zipper pull on her white dress. She bit her lower lip, her little face burning red, but her hand still refused to move.
Few people in all of Spirit Hall had ever seen her true face.
And now she was supposed to undress and bathe while alone in a room with a man...
"Teacher is so powerful. He definitely... definitely wouldn't do something like spying on me, right?"
"And I'm his disciple..."
"Heaven, earth, ruler, kin, and teacher. A teacher is like a father..."
"Besides, he looks young, but maybe he's actually quite old..."
Though she came up with countless reasons to persuade herself, she still couldn't accept it.
Being naked while a man sat outside...
Even if that man was her teacher...
The chance to evolve her Martial Soul was one in a thousand...
Still, she couldn't shake her embarrassment.
She was nervous and uneasy.
Every second felt like an eternity.
"Um... Teacher, could you... step outside for a moment?"
"Step outside?"
Ling Xiao froze, then grew a little irritated.
"Come on, isn't there glass between us?"
"What are you thinking?"
"Do I look like that kind of scoundrel to you?!"
Her words had gotten under his skin.
A Martial Soul was connected to its owner's soul, and its evolution would inevitably bring intense pain. He had stayed outside in case something went wrong.
And now his good intentions were being taken for a donkey's liver and lungs!
"No, Teacher... I didn't mean to make you leave..."
Qian Renxue's anxious, embarrassed voice came from behind the glass door. Her words grew quieter and quieter.
"Could you... go back into my mind for a little while?"
"I'm not used to having someone there..."
Ling Xiao's expression instantly turned strange.
If this were not another world, he would have wondered if she were trying to pull a honey trap on him.
"Relax. I'm a gentleman. I would never do anything so beastly..."
Ling Xiao had no way to deal with her. He assumed the young girl was just shy.
"Ah, fine. We'll do it your way!"
"You really are impossible!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned into a streak of light and entered Qian Renxue's mind.
Qian Renxue lowered her head, her face burning red from the tips of her ears down to her neck.
She knew perfectly well she was just fooling herself.
Given Ling Xiao's cultivation, it made no difference whether he was outside or inside her mind. He could still do whatever he wanted, couldn't he?
But to her,
the difference between him actually sitting there and not being there
felt like a world apart!
"I'm sure that old gentleman wouldn't peek..."
She muttered to herself, as if chanting a spell to bolster her courage.
Then—
With a rustle, her sash came undone.
A flash of white.
Splash—
She leaped into the bathtub and buried her burning face deep in the cool spiritual liquid,
hoping to ease her embarrassment and shyness.
But the next second,
the moment the cool spiritual liquid seeped into her meridians, it turned into countless sharp needles—
searing pain burst through every part of her body.
She no longer had the slightest thought for anything else.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Ten minutes.
The pain didn't ease. It only grew more intense.
It was as if countless ants were gnawing between her bones, and countless little knives were slicing through her meridians, inch by inch.
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