All Depends on Insight!

"Mm..."

Li Ping'an took a deep breath, pretending to ponder, then earnestly advised her.

"Senior Sister, as the saying goes, chewing too much leaves it unchewed; haste makes waste; a hot tofu cannot be eaten in a hurry. You finally succeeded with one batch today. You should promptly sum up your experience instead of blindly continuing to practice."

"Throughout the ages, have you ever seen many people succeed through repeated practice alone?"

The young girl blinked at Li Ping'an like a student listening to a lesson.

Li Ping'an continued in a heartfelt tone.

"Throughout the ages, anyone who succeeded in alchemy relied on one word: insight! Yes, you need insight. Calm yourself and gain insight into the techniques you just used. You must seize that instant of success. Only then can you keep improving, rather than practicing over and over again. To be honest, sometimes you're just doing useless work."

After hearing Li Ping'an's words, Qingyue's eyes practically sparkled with stars.

Why did this old man's words seem rather reasonable? Could it be that she had truly failed before because she practiced too much?

For a moment, Qingyue could not help but begin doubting herself. Did she really have a talent for alchemy, but simply use the wrong method?

"Fine, I'll listen to you."

After a moment, Qingyue nodded seriously.

"I'll go back now and reflect on the techniques I used just now. I'll come find you again tomorrow. How about it?"

Li Ping'an raised a brow.

"Senior Sister, there's really no rush with this. Why don't you spend a few more days gaining insight?"

"Come on! One day is enough."

Qingyue cut him off.

"It's settled, then. I'll come again tomorrow, and you'll still tend the fire for me. You're my lucky star!"

As she spoke, Qingyue suddenly pulled out another talisman from her person and handed it to Li Ping'an.

"Here, take this talisman. Consider it your reward."

"What is this?"

Li Ping'an looked at the talisman, raised a brow, and accepted it—only to be utterly shocked.

Th-this was actually a mid-grade Golden Light Talisman!

That was an incredibly generous gift.

A mid-grade Golden Light Talisman could fetch at least a hundred spirit stones on the market, and demand would still exceed supply.

This was because the Golden Light Talisman was immensely valuable. After being used, it could withstand the full-force strike of a cultivator one major realm above the user. It was equivalent to carrying an extra life.

Qingyue was truly a wealthy spendthrift. She had casually rewarded him with such a valuable talisman, far beyond Li Ping'an's imagination.

"Thank you for the reward, Senior Sister!"

Li Ping'an accepted the talisman and bowed respectfully to Qingyue.

Qingyue giggled and patted Li Ping'an on the shoulder.

"Little brother, there's no need to be so polite with me. I'm your big brother, so naturally I have to look after you. I'll come again tomorrow. It's settled!"

With that, Qingyue skipped away in high spirits.

Watching Qingyue's departing back, Li Ping'an shook his head.

Why did he feel as though he were coaxing a child? Yet this child possessed tremendous power, enough to influence whether he lived or died. How absurd.

Shaking his head, Li Ping'an stopped thinking about it. He entered his room instead, sat cross-legged, and began refining the spiritual energy he had absorbed today.

Today, he would break through to the eighth layer of Body Severing in one stroke!

"Trash, trash, what utter trash!"

"I told you to keep watch, yet you couldn't even keep watch properly. You came slinking back to me like this."

In the courtyard, Manager Wang kicked Zhao San several meters away.

Zhao San rolled across the ground a few times, then scrambled up in a pathetic state and hurriedly begged for mercy.

"Please spare me, Manager! I never expected Qingyue to suddenly appear. She's the true disciple of the Law Enforcement Elder. How would I dare offend her? Please spare me this once, Manager Wang."

"Hmph!"

Manager Wang gave Zhao San a severe beating, but his anger had subsided, and he had calmed down by now.

From the information Zhao San had brought back, he learned two things.

First, this old man Li Ping'an had been hiding his true abilities. The poisonous fumes and miasma he had carefully prepared had not harmed him in the slightest. This old fellow had concealed himself for so long—no wonder his repeated attempts to poison him to death had all failed.

The second matter was even more important. Li Ping'an was actually connected to someone like Qingyue, a figure currently in the limelight within the sect. From the looks of it, Qingyue was also very protective of Li Ping'an.

That made things extremely troublesome.

With Qingyue protecting him, Manager Wang could no longer make a move so openly.

Damn it, what should he do?

Manager Wang clasped his hands behind his back and paced back and forth through the courtyard, pondering a solution.

How could he quietly kill Li Ping'an without leaving any traces for others to see? This was truly a thorny problem.

Senior Brother Zhang Lu had issued a death order: Li Ping'an had to die. He could not botch this matter. It concerned his future career. If he could curry favor with Senior Brother Zhang Lu, his future would soar like a dragon and rise like a phoenix.

"Li Ping'an, don't let my career end because of you!"

Manager Wang muttered to himself.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

He muttered.

"Since poisonous fumes can't burn you to death... Fine, fine, fine. Li Ping'an, poison can't kill you, is that it? But I, Manager Wang, have plenty of other ways to kill you!"

"Is Zhao San dead yet?"

Zhao San, who was currently rolling around on the ground, heard Manager Wang's words and immediately sprang to his feet.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I can still endure it."

"Hmph."

Manager Wang snorted coldly.

"Now I'll give you a chance to atone for your mistakes. Go investigate the information on every disciple in the Assembly Hall. Investigate everything thoroughly."

Although he did not know what Manager Wang wanted to do, Zhao San immediately answered respectfully.

"Yes, I'll handle it right away!"

With that, he scrambled and ran out.

After Zhao San left, Manager Wang flexed his fingers, his gaze becoming incomparably deep.

Li Ping'an, your life is tough, is it? Poison can't kill you, is it?

But to kill you, why would I need to do it myself?

Heh heh.

I refuse to believe there isn't anyone in the Assembly Hall I can manipulate.

When the time comes, I'll catch you completely off guard!

Heh heh.

As he spoke, another smile appeared on Manager Wang's face.

Meanwhile, Li Ping'an had completed a thoroughly satisfying cultivation session in the Assembly Hall.

He slowly sat up from the bed and stood.

His body was full of vitality after cultivation. Not only had cultivation not left him exhausted, it instead made him feel more and more energized.

He could clearly feel that the power emitted by the Heaven-Severing Hammer within his body had become even more majestic, and its ability to absorb waste energy had also become faster.

It seems that the more poisonous miasma I absorb, the more powerful the Heaven-Severing Hammer becomes.

This was good news. It meant that the more he absorbed, the more his strength would rise with the tide.

However, although he had already reached the peak of the seventh layer of Body Severing, he still did not have a suitable cultivation technique.

Not having a cultivation technique was an extremely vexing matter.

Without a cultivation technique, Li Ping'an could not reach Qi Refinement or wield the spiritual energy within his body.