The Extraordinary Mortal

"All right, you can stop now," Shen Xiyue said.

Li Jun withdrew his hand and stepped aside.

Shen Xiyue looked at Li Jun, who stood perfectly straight, and for the first time, she began to seriously observe this outer sect disciple.

Though his clothes were ragged and torn, his eyes were exceptionally bright.

That was not something commonly seen among the outer sect disciples these days.

"Li Jun, you've surprised me a little. I didn't expect that an ordinary bout of pill refining would let me dig up a treasure."

"Eldest Senior Sister praises me too highly. This disciple thanks Eldest Senior Sister for giving me this opportunity. What I've done now is only because I wished to do something for Eldest Senior Sister, to repay the kindness of being recognized." Li Jun cupped his fists.

Shen Xiyue nodded. Putting everything else aside, this attitude alone satisfied her greatly.

"There's no need for you to be nervous. Since I asked you to raise my Spirit Oxen, that in itself is my trust in you."

"No matter what, you've made a great contribution this time. You not only helped me preserve the Spirit Oxen, you even brought their condition to a higher level."

Shen Xiyue beckoned with her hand and directly took out a jade bottle.

"This is a bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills. It's very suitable for cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm, and it can speed up your cultivation."

With a gentle push, the pills floated directly in front of Li Jun.

"This is your reward. Although you have five spiritual roots, and Foundation Establishment may be hopeless for you, there is still hope for you to cultivate to the late stage of Qi Refining."

"Since you have talent in raising spirit fowl and beasts, from now on, I'll leave this cowshed to you. I hope you won't disappoint me."

Li Jun looked at the pills before him, and without the slightest hesitation, he directly grasped them in his hand.

"Many thanks, Eldest Senior Sister. This disciple will cultivate diligently and not fail Eldest Senior Sister's expectations."

Shen Xiyue nodded. "For the coming period of time, Oak Leaf most likely can't be used. Think of a way to find some substitute feed for the Spirit Oxen, but the supply of milk cannot decrease."

"In addition, after some time, we may refine the Purple Foundation Pill again. You must also prepare yourself. I'll still need you to enter the formation."

"This disciple obeys!"

After Shen Xiyue gave a few more instructions, she left the cowshed. She also had to go urge things along regarding the Purple Foundation Pill.

"This Shen Xiyue is really generous. Being able to refine pills is great!"

Li Jun looked at the Spirit Gathering Pills in his hand, in an excellent mood.

Spirit Gathering Pills were first-grade pills, mainly used by Qi Refining cultivators.

Although this bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills that Shen Xiyue had given him was only lower first-grade, its value was enough to equal four hundred low-grade Spirit Stones. Such a move could already be considered extremely lavish.

"With this bottle of pills, I'll be able to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining even faster!"

Li Jun carefully put the pills away. This crisis could be considered temporarily over.

With Oak Garden being investigated, Zhao Wenjie would inevitably be dealt with.

He just did not know whether the enforcement team would discover the matter of the mutated oak.

Even if Yao Yuzhi concealed it, she would not have time to deal with a little nobody like him for a while.

Therefore, during this period, he had to cultivate painstakingly! He had to strive to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining as soon as possible!

"I'll roast a rabbit today. Consider it a reward for myself."

Li Jun got up and headed straight for Wild Mountain.

That evening, he brought back two wild rabbits. After some handling, he set them straight to roast.

"Is Junior Brother Li here?"

Li Jun raised his head and looked outside the shed. It was actually Yin Caiwei.

"Senior Sister Yin, I'm here. Just come in."

Yin Caiwei entered and sniffed lightly.

"Heavens! It smells so good! Junior Brother Li, are you roasting meat?"

"That's right. Senior Sister, why not eat some with me?"

Li Jun looked up and smiled.

Yin Caiwei had originally wanted to refuse, but her stomach chose that very moment to rumble.

"Haha, come on, Senior Sister. No need to be polite."

Li Jun took out bowls and chopsticks and invited Yin Caiwei to sit.

"All right, then I won't stand on ceremony with you."

Yin Caiwei sat down. Looking at the golden, fragrant rabbit meat before her, her stomach grew even hungrier.

"Senior Sister is too courteous. You taught me so earnestly before, and I still haven't had time to thank you."

Li Jun cut off a piece of meat and directly handed it over.

"Ah, we're both working for Eldest Senior Sister. There's no need to be polite."

Yin Caiwei took a bite of rabbit meat, and her eyes instantly lit up. She praised Li Jun's cooking again and again.

"Junior Brother, your skills are absolutely incredible! I've never had roast meat this good!"

Li Jun smiled. This was a special-edition barbecue seasoning; in the cultivation world, there was no other like it.

"Right, Junior Brother. Actually, I came to see you today because I wanted to ask about the Oak Leaf."

Artifact Peak's furnace explosion today had startled far too many people.

Yin Caiwei had later learned as well that it turned out something had gone wrong with the oaks in Oak Garden.

Immediately after, problems appeared on all four peaks wherever oak was needed.

There was even news spreading that the recent Oak Leaf might all have issues.

So naturally, she thought of the cowshed, and that was why she had hurried over to ask about the situation there.

No matter what, the cowshed had previously been in her hands. If the earlier Oak Leaf had problems too, both she and Li Jun would be in a world of trouble.

"Don't worry, Senior Sister. I got lucky this time. I happened to take the oxen out for some air today, so they didn't eat any of the new Oak Leaf. The Spirit Oxen are all fine too."

"Really? That's wonderful!"

Yin Caiwei clenched her little fist and let out a long breath.

"Senior Sister, your hand..."

Li Jun looked at her. As her sleeve slipped down, streaks of bruised and bloody welts crisscrossing her arm were exposed, glaringly painful to the eye.

"Ah, this? I failed the assessment and got beaten by those inner sect disciples."

Yin Caiwei drew her hand back a little and said it as if it were nothing.

"What assessment? They even hit people?" Li Jun blurted in surprise.

"It was assisting inner sect disciples with alchemy. I'd just gone over and couldn't quite keep up with their rhythm, so this happened."

Yin Caiwei gave a bitter smile, but she did not seem to think much of it.

Li Jun's gaze flickered. One word's difference—outer sect and inner sect—and the treatment was truly as far apart as heaven and earth.

"Come on, Junior Brother. Who told us to be outer sect disciples? Those inner sect disciples are all people with hope of reaching Foundation Establishment. Though we're also called disciples, in the end, we're nothing more than their subordinates."

Li Jun fell silent, nodded, then cut off another piece of meat and handed it over.

"Thank you, Junior Brother."

Yin Caiwei ate the roast meat. After so many years on Medicine Peak, for the first time, she felt a warmth in her heart.

"Speaking of which, Junior Brother, I heard you're Eldest Senior Sister's medicinal primer. Do you know the consequences of being a medicinal primer? I heard someone has already..."

"Died, right?"

Yin Caiwei froze, then nodded.

"It's fine, Senior Sister. Being a medicinal primer has side effects. I know all that."

"If you know, then why still do it? I heard that Purple Foundation Pill can't be refined anytime soon. If you're put through this a few more times, you..."

Yin Caiwei did not continue, but Li Jun already understood what she meant.

"Senior Sister, I'm the same as you. I don't have much choice. Besides, being a medicinal primer isn't all bad. At least I can still cultivate, and I can receive Eldest Senior Sister's protection."

"Wrong! Completely wrong!"

Yin Caiwei stopped what she was doing and looked at Li Jun with a serious expression.

"Although I didn't have a choice either, I came to Azure Cloud Sect to learn alchemy, to live better. You going to be a medicinal primer—how is that any different from throwing your life away?"

"As for cultivation... we're all ordinary people. This path was never prepared for us to begin with. Even if you have talent, without resources, it still won't work."

"To put it plainly, this world is unfair. Listen to your senior sister. If you get the chance, hurry up and leave this place. A few more times, and you really will die here."

Li Jun was also stunned for a moment. Looking at Yin Caiwei, he had not expected her to say so much to him.

"Don't overthink it. I have a younger sister about your age. She was also dead set on cultivating, and in the end she ruined her body. Later, she even made a fuss about wanting to take her own life."

Yin Caiwei sighed.

Only then did Li Jun realize that the scene had stirred old feelings in her.

He thought for a moment, then comforted her softly, "Thank you, Senior Sister, for telling me all this."

"But just as Senior Sister said, this world is indeed unfair. Yet everyone's heart for seeking the Dao is fair."

"The Great Dao is heartless and treats all things as straw dogs. But precisely because of that, before it, this heart for seeking the Dao that all living beings possess has no distinction of noble or lowly. That is why I'm so enthralled by it—even if I die, I want to die on the road of pursuing the Great Dao. I think Senior Sister's younger sister must have held the same thought too."