Elder Ye

"I was just looking around. Have you found any promising seedlings here lately?"

Elder Ye chuckled and stopped teasing him.

His bright eyes looked at him with a deep curiosity.

"Oh, Elder Ye, you're rubbing salt into my wounds. You know this place is remote—what promising seedlings could possibly fall into my hands? Even if there are a few, they can't rank among the prodigies of the major powers."

After speaking, he looked at Elder Ye with resentful eyes.

Elder Ye broke out in goosebumps under that look. Anyone would find it unbearable to be stared at so resentfully by a plump middle-aged man.

"Not even one?"

"Not even one."

"Fine, I'll stroll around myself. Go on with your work."

Without waiting for him to react, he rose, clasped his hands behind his back, and left.

Senior Sister Huang Mei had business elsewhere today, so Jiang Lu did not need to go to Courtyard One to tend the spirit plants. Instead, she went to a medicinal garden that no one was currently cultivating and began practicing her techniques.

By now, she could skillfully use all kinds of basic techniques, such as the Rainmaking Technique, Harvesting Technique, Earth-Turning Technique, Cleansing Technique...

She had also memorized several offensive and defensive techniques, such as the Fireball Technique, Wind Blade Technique, and Burrowing Technique. Among cultivators at the same Qi Refinement stage, there might truly be very few who could rival her in techniques.

She had long since mastered that sword manual as well. It was a relatively basic sword art in the Immortal Cultivation Realm, the sort that two out of ten people knew. Its moves were simple and could be used for both attack and defense.

But because it was such a widely known sword art, it also had many flaws. She still needed to find a new sword art as soon as possible.

After several months in the Immortal Cultivation Realm, she was no longer the ignorant novice she had once been and had gained an understanding of many things.

She had also grown taller, reaching one meter sixty. Reaching one meter seventy still seemed quite hopeful.

Yet her cultivation was still being fiercely suppressed at Qi Refinement, Fourth Level. If she cultivated too quickly, she would inevitably attract everyone's notice, though she could not suppress it for much longer.

She sighed, torn over whether to leave Medicine King Pavilion. That way, no one would notice anything unusual about her cultivation.

But after observing things during this time, she had realized that she still needed the backing of a power. Otherwise, she would be at a severe disadvantage and face even greater danger when traveling outside.

Those Rogue Cultivators did not refuse to join a power because they wanted to. Their strength simply was not enough to get in.

That was why she had hesitated time and again.

Jiang Lu swung her sword as she pondered. When she saw the two Spirit Beasts in the distance, her worries deepened.

She had no idea what was wrong with the two of them. After returning that day, they had hugged the Spirit Pearls and gnawed on them, then fallen asleep.

Spirit Pearls... To be honest, she coveted them too. But she had a feeling that her constitution could not rely too heavily on external objects. That was also why she rarely took Realm-Breaking Pills or Body-Solidifying Pills to assist her cultivation.

The two Spirit Beasts, Chi Li and Cangchen, lay curled together not far away. They had long since divided and absorbed all the spiritual energy within the Spirit Pearls, and now needed to refine that energy into part of their own power.

That was why they had fallen asleep. This was how Spirit Beasts cultivated: while sleeping, they transformed all their energy into power. When they woke, their strength would rise.

When Elder Ye arrived, he saw the harmonious scene of one person and two beasts.

A twelve-year-old at Qi Refinement, Fourth Level had fairly good strength. Though she could not compare to those prodigies, she could still be considered quite impressive in a place like this.

But seeing her use the Wood Spirit Technique, then the Fireball Technique, then the Whirlwind Blade, something felt wrong no matter how he looked at it.

Were disciples with Mixed Spiritual Roots really blessed with such high spiritual root purity nowadays?

Why did he find it so strange? He was not sure. He needed to watch a little longer.

Then, with a tap of his toe, he reclined sideways atop a tree. Holding a spirit fruit in one hand, he ate as he watched her performance.

Jiang Lu practiced every technique once, then went through her sword art again before sitting down to meditate and cultivate.

Elder Ye watched her go from daylight into night without stopping for even a moment and could not help sighing over the steadiness of this disciple's heart.

Just when he thought that was the end of it, Jiang Lu took out her pill furnace.

Elder Ye's eyes widened. He froze where he stood, and the spirit fruit in his hand nearly fell to the ground.

Low-level cultivators in the Immortal Cultivation Realm did not cultivate without pause like that. Even when in seclusion, they still had to sleep.

He lowered his head and curled his fingers, becoming even less certain. If he had not calculated wrong, this child had already spent nine shichen practicing techniques and meditating.

What was she planning to do?

Make pills?

Did she still have the energy to refine pills?!

Interesting!

Truly interesting!

A gleam of interest appeared at the corner of his lips as he watched Jiang Lu with great curiosity.

It had been a long time since he had encountered such an interesting cultivator. Cultivators nowadays had limited energy; mastering one or two paths was already quite good, yet she seemed to have dabbled in everything.

Then Jiang Lu waved her hand, and a table appeared beside the pill furnace. She continued taking spirit plants from her storage pouch and arranging them on the table.

To avoid carelessly being discovered while using her space, Jiang Lu usually kept spirit plants and some commonly used daily necessities in her storage pouch.

This had turned out to be a fortunate accident, preventing her secret from being seen through.

She handled the spirit plants as she always did, then sent spiritual fire into the pill furnace.

Elder Ye's heart jolted. She was actually attempting to refine a second-grade pill. Several of the spirit plants on the table were second-grade spirit plants, which could not be used in first-grade pills.

Qi Refinement, Fourth Level, refining second-grade pills!?

Elder Ye's carefree expression vanished. His face turned solemn as he pressed his lips together and watched Jiang Lu's movements.

Her methods were steady, and she had memorized the sequence by heart.

Her foundation was extremely solid.

She placed the spirit plants into the pill furnace in an orderly manner, constantly controlling the temperature of the spiritual fire.

Bang—

It was refined.

Jiang Lu extinguished the spiritual fire and opened the pill furnace. Ten round, plump pills appeared on the jade plate.

They were all High-Grade Pills!

Elder Ye could no longer remain calm. A twelve-year-old at Qi Refinement, Fourth Level seemed perfectly normal to him.

Knowing how to refine pills did not seem extraordinary either. Being in Medicine King Pavilion, refining pills was merely basic practice.

But!

A Qi Refinement, Fourth Level cultivator refining second-grade pills—and ten top-quality High-Grade Pills at that—was anything but normal!

This was a genius, wasn't it?!

No!

But... Mixed Spiritual Roots?

He lowered his head in thought. Then he saw Jiang Lu put away the pills and pill furnace before leaving with the two Spirit Beasts.

In the faint glow of dawn, he watched Jiang Lu's back gradually disappear.

He immediately followed and saw Jiang Lu enter Alchemy Courtyard One.

His figure flashed, and he vanished from where he stood.

"Water Old Man, come out. I need to ask you something."

He walked into the courtyard of the West River City branch master and called inside.

Before long, the door slammed open, revealing a pair of eyes filled with resentment.

Was he ever going to stop?!

"Elder Ye, is something the matter?"

Elder Ye nodded, then asked how many pill-refining cultivators there were in Alchemy Courtyard One and how strong they were.