Xun'er paused for a moment, then gave a soft laugh and steered away from the subject.
"It's only something I heard secondhand."
She called it hearsay, but inwardly she was astonished.
Most people, hearing mention of lands beyond the Jia Ma Empire, would have shown at least a trace of curiosity or shock. Yet Master Xiao's expression had not changed in the slightest!
Either he truly knew nothing of the wider world,
or... he already knew all about it and simply gave nothing away.
Xun'er's instincts told her it was the latter.
They chatted a little longer. Then Xiao Chen took a smooth jade bottle from his robe and offered it to her.
"What's this?"
Xun'er accepted it curiously.
"A Calmheart Pill," Xiao Chen said with a smile.
"I've noticed that your energy is occasionally unsteady. You must be pushing yourself too hard in your cultivation. This pill will nourish your bloodline and calm your mind. Take it when you get home, then one every three days. It will do you good."
Xun'er held the jade bottle, rubbing it lightly with her fingertips. The look she gave Xiao Chen grew complicated.
She had lived among the Xiao Clan in secret since childhood and met countless people, but few had ever made her feel she could not see through them.
Master Xiao was only a collateral elder at Dou Zhe Peak. Yet something in the way he carried himself kept telling her there was far more to him than met the eye.
"Master Xiao, did you refine this Calmheart Pill especially for me?" she asked softly.
"It was no trouble."
Xiao Chen waved a hand with a smile. "You looked unwell. I couldn't help worrying."
Xun'er lowered her eyes.
Since childhood, she had borne the responsibilities of the Gu Clan Saintess and grown used to weighing everyone's motives. Yet not a word of this elder's concern seemed self-serving. He sounded like a grandfather caring for his granddaughter.
"Master Xiao..."
Xun'er spoke with sudden earnestness.
"There's something I'm not sure I should say."
"Go ahead."
"You said earlier that you knew nothing about any great powers."
Xun'er raised her eyes and looked straight at him.
"But I can't shake the feeling you know far more than you've said. Master Xiao, who exactly... are you?"
Xiao Chen's heart gave a jolt, but his warm smile never faltered.
He slowly set down his teacup. After a moment's silence, he said softly, "Xun'er, knowing too much isn't always a blessing. All I can tell you is this: protect yourself. Nothing matters more."
"As for who I am..."
He smiled, rose, and stood by the window with his hands behind his back.
"Just an old man who wants to live out his days in peace here in Wutan City."
Xun'er stared at his back.
After a long moment, she smiled. Carefully putting away the Calmheart Pill, she stood. "You're a man of unfathomable depth, Master Xiao. I'm impressed. Sorry to have troubled you today. I'll be going."
"Take care. I won't see you out."
Only after her pale-green figure had disappeared did Xiao Chen let his smile fade.
"That Xun'er is sharp. She spotted something off already!"
"But... did she think one little question would make me show my hand?"
He shook his head.
"If Xiao Yan weren't in the Author Realm, Xun'er alone would surely surpass him someday."
Just then, the system's notification rang through his mind—
Ding! Gu Clan Saintess affinity increased! Investment target: Xiao Xun'er Reward received: Ancient Clan Cultivation Manual Fragment—Corner ×1! Reward description: This fragment contains a portion of the Gu Clan's foundational cultivation manual. Though incomplete, it far surpasses ordinary Xuan Tier manuals!
Xiao Chen's pupils narrowed. Then a satisfied smile curved his lips.
"Not bad. One Calmheart Pill for a fragment of a Gu Clan cultivation manual..."
"System, you really are the best!"
Xiao Chen began reading at once.
The cultivation method in the fragment was incomplete, but its words carried an ancient, sweeping power far beyond any ordinary manual.
This was a legacy of one of the Dou Qi Continent's mightiest powers!
If I could collect the complete Gu Clan manual...
The next day.
The Xiao Clan Medicine Hall buzzed with activity.
Elder Xiao Chen had announced that he would refine a batch of pills in public at the Drug Hall, giving everyone a chance to see it for themselves.
The news had brought together dozens of apprentices and stewards from across the Drug Hall.
Even several clan elders who rarely showed their faces had come. They gathered around the pill furnace to see just how capable this newly appointed elder was.
"Elder Xiao Chen, please!"
The Drug Hall elder personally led Xiao Chen forward and laid out the medicinal ingredients on the table.
He watched Xiao Chen intently, his gaze both expectant and appraising. Pill refining demanded precise heat and technique. The slightest mistake could ruin the entire batch.
He wanted to see whether this elder could produce a decent batch of pills before them all.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly. Without another word, he swept his sleeve, and a pale-green flame of Dou Qi rose from his palm.
"Ordinary fire?!"
"He... he's going to refine pills with ordinary fire?!"
The onlookers erupted in disbelief.
Fire was crucial to pill refining. Any ordinary alchemist needed a good flame to draw out the medicinal ingredients' full potency.
Yet Elder Xiao Chen intended to use the most commonplace fire of all.
He might as well have been dancing on a knife's edge!
"Isn't the elder... being a little overconfident?" a steward muttered.
"Quiet. Keep watching!"
An older apprentice glared at him.
"Can't you see how calm he is? He clearly knows what he's doing!"
The steward pursed his lips, plainly unconvinced.
In all the Drug Hall's decades of history, no one had ever dared refine pills with ordinary fire!
Xiao Chen ignored them, his attention fixed on the furnace.
With a turn of his hands, he fed the ingredients into it one by one. Controlling the flame, purifying the ingredients, forming the pill...
Every step flowed into the next without a hitch.
The ordinary flame leaped and churned above his palm, yet his control never wavered. Its heat was neither too strong nor too weak.
The air in the Drug Hall grew hot, and a rich medicinal fragrance slowly spread through the room.
"What a strong fragrance!"
"Th-the heat hasn't fluctuated at all?!"
The onlookers' breathing grew heavier.
At first, some had whispered among themselves. As time passed, though, the Drug Hall gradually fell silent.
Everyone was captivated by Xiao Chen's exquisite refining technique.
To their astonishment, the pill in the furnace was visibly taking shape!
"H-how is that possible?! He can get a pill of that quality with ordinary fire?!"
"What incredible technique! Even someone who's spent decades refining pills might not be able to control a flame like that!"