Traveling Together

Chu Xiaotian nodded. Although he had never cultivated, he knew Xia Xue was right. A cultivation method did not suit everyone. If it was the wrong method, it would not only be useless but would actually slow down one's cultivation.

"Hey, beautiful, look, I've just come out of the mountains, and I don't have anywhere to stay if I want to see the outside world. I wonder if you could put me up for a while, let me stay at your place until I find somewhere to cultivate, and then I'll move out. What do you think?" Chu Xiaotian asked Xia Xue, his face full of earnest hope. As he spoke, he also used the long sword in Xia Xue's hand to skin two wolves, making a crude hide garment that he put on.

He hadn't wanted to go anywhere people lived, but Xia Xue's words had changed his mind. He knew that if he kept hiding in this dense forest, he might never hurt anyone, but there was no doubt he'd spend the rest of his life without a single other change, forever living as a human by day and a zombie by night. Worse still, if one day the Jade Pendant around his neck stopped working, he would be plunged into eternal darkness and become a true zombie. That wasn't an outcome he wanted to see. He had lived twice, and had come to a world with mysterious, powerful forces; if he still ended up with such a miserable fate, he'd feel he had let down Heaven for bringing him here, and his ancestors. So he decided to leave the forest and venture into the outside world. Perhaps there, he could find a way to completely control his zombie body. As for turning into a zombie at night, he figured that if he returned to the forest before losing consciousness, he wouldn't affect anyone else.

Of course, that wasn't his only reason. There was also Xia Xue. After all, he'd saved such a stunning young woman. If he could use that as an excuse to live with her, Chu Xiaotian felt that something he'd dearly wanted might happen between them. There was no denying it: sometimes men had their fantasies, especially when they met a beautiful woman.

At Chu Xiaotian's suggestion, Xia Xue's brows immediately knitted together slightly. She lived alone, and having a man like Chu Xiaotian move in seemed rather inappropriate. But if she turned him down, that also seemed wrong, considering he had just saved her. For a moment, she was caught between two difficult choices.

"If it's inconvenient, I won't bother you. I'll just find a cave or something to stay in for now. I've gotten used to it after all these years." Seeing Xia Xue's expression, Chu Xiaotian sighed inwardly. Before she could speak, he hurriedly said this instead. He hadn't expected much from his request to begin with, so he wasn't too disappointed by this outcome. After all, he knew that for a young woman, casually bringing a man home wasn't a good idea.

"Ah, it's not like that. I didn't say you couldn't stay with me. It's just that my place is very simple, and I was afraid you might not like it." Hearing Chu Xiaotian say this, Xia Xue, who had been about to refuse, suddenly felt awkward. She looked at him apologetically as she spoke.

"Really? You're really willing to let me stay?" Chu Xiaotian's eyes immediately lit up. He stared at Xia Xue, his face full of disbelief. Her answer had taken him completely by surprise, and he was even more delighted.

"Mm, come with me. But let's make this clear first: you can't come into my room unless I say so. Also, don't call me 'beautiful.' You can call me Xia Xue or Little Xue." Xia Xue nodded slightly, her pretty face tinged with a blush. She glanced at Chu Xiaotian and spoke softly. As soon as she finished, she hurried off ahead.

"Of course! What kind of fool would be so rude to a beautiful lady?" Chu Xiaotian stared at her, momentarily dumbstruck, then immediately gave her an emphatic assurance. As soon as he finished speaking, he hurried after Xia Xue without hesitation.

"By the way, Little Xue, what were you doing all alone in these deep mountains?" Catching up behind Xia Xue, Chu Xiaotian asked, curiosity in his voice. He couldn't understand why a young woman who wasn't particularly strong would come into such a dangerous forest.

"I told you before, I'm an Alchemist, so I came into the mountains to gather herbs for making pills." Xia Xue turned to glance at Chu Xiaotian and smiled.

"An Alchemist means someone who specializes in making pills, right? I have to say, those two pills you gave me were really powerful. After I took them, my injuries had almost completely healed. Um, are they hard to make? Are there many Alchemists on the Moon-Refining Continent? Why didn't you mention them before?" Chu Xiaotian was like a curious child now. As soon as Xia Xue finished speaking, his questions came tumbling out one after another.

"Yes, an Alchemist specializes in making pills. Those two Recovery Pills I gave you were made by me. They're the lowest grade, first-tier pills..." Xia Xue began answering Chu Xiaotian's questions without hesitation.

Then she told Chu Xiaotian about Alchemists on the continent. Most people on the Moon-Refining Continent were ordinary Qi cultivators, who strengthened themselves by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. But there were also some special people, like Xia Xue, who were Alchemists.

Ordinary Qi cultivators focused on cultivating their qi, but some exceptionally gifted people possessed abilities others could never match. For example, their spiritual power might be far stronger than everyone else's. Besides cultivating qi, they had another ability that others lacked: refining things. With their powerful spiritual energy, they could control the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to refine all sorts of objects, such as herbs and ores. And because their spiritual power was much stronger than other people's, they were also far more powerful than others at the same cultivation level.

At the beginning, the gap wasn't very noticeable, just as Xia Xue wasn't as strong as Chu Xiaotian now. But the further they cultivated, the more obvious that gap became. Especially once they reached the Spirit-Condensing Realm, those with powerful spiritual strength had at least twice the chance of breaking through as others.

When herbs were refined and their various essences fused together, they became pills. Ores, once refined, became weapons. Xia Xue was of the former sort. Her spiritual power was far stronger than most people's, so after receiving the pill-refining techniques passed down by her master, she became a true Alchemist.

Pills were divided into nine tiers. The pills Xia Xue could make now were only first-tier. She was no more than a lowest-grade Alchemist. Her master, according to Xia Xue, was a seventh-tier Alchemist. But after taking her in and teaching her some pill-refining techniques and cultivation methods, he had drifted away, leaving Xia Xue alone in the deep mountains to practice alchemy. He said it was a chance for Xia Xue to gain experience on her own, and that once she became a fifth-tier Alchemist, she could go find him in the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty.

From Xia Xue's words, Chu Xiaotian also learned that people like her, with powerful spiritual strength who became Alchemists or weapon refiners, were exceedingly rare across the entire Moon-Refining Continent, as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Chu Xiaotian didn't doubt this. He knew that in this world, Alchemists were like scientists in the world he'd come from—not just anyone could become one.

"Your master was far too careless. How could he leave you all alone in these deep mountains? What if those wild beasts hurt you? How about this: from now on, I'll stay by your side and protect you whenever you go herb-gathering. I guarantee none of the beasts in this forest will lay a single claw on you." After hearing Xia Xue explain a few things about Alchemists and weapon refiners, Chu Xiaotian couldn't help grumbling about her master. Judging from what had happened earlier, it was entirely possible that a stunning beauty like Xia Xue could have perished at the hands of a pack of beasts. Of course, Chu Xiaotian wasn't about to let such a good opportunity pass, so after complaining about her master, he volunteered to be her bodyguard.

"You shouldn't put it that way about my master. I think he probably wanted to train my ability to survive on my own. Besides, I only travel through the outskirts of the Forest Sea, so I shouldn't run into any particularly powerful demon beasts. Today's attack by that wolf pack was just an accident." Xia Xue wasn't angry at Chu Xiaotian's complaint. She only furrowed her brows slightly and spoke softly. It was clear she wasn't entirely pleased with her master's decision either.

Chu Xiaotian smiled and didn't dwell on the subject. Instead, he kept asking Xia Xue one question after another. After chatting as they walked, Chu Xiaotian learned quite a bit about this world. They talked as they went, and after half an hour, they finally arrived at Xia Xue's home.