Chapter 44

Pei Ling had never cared much about his current cultivation. Once he resolved the problem with his Divine Sense, raising his cultivation would be easy. That was why he had come all the way to the South Sea Extremity. Bringing Qiao Ranran along had seemed almost incidental.

But he knew that using the power of his Divine Soul to move through space was no easy task for him now, especially with Qiao Ranran in tow. Yet he had brought her anyway.

As for his excuse that the sooner she used the Blood Jade Nectar, the better its effects would be... perhaps it was best not to think too hard about that.

Qiao Ranran went to another medical hall on the far side of Vast Sea City. It was less renowned than the Vast Sea Medical Hall, but it stocked all the herbs she needed. Its preparation methods and the age of its herbs were much the same, and its prices were a little lower. The main difference, apart from the Vast Sea Medical Hall's backing by the city authorities, was that the latter employed several Medicine Cultivators and Pill Cultivators renowned across the continent.

The Lu Family Medical Hall seemed modest by comparison. Judging by its name, it was a family business passed down through the generations, so it ought to have some substance behind it.

Qiao Ranran paid in Spirit Stones and rented a Pill Room. Most medical halls had rooms like this for their own Pill Cultivators and rented them out to travelers like her as well.

Inside were a simple Pill Furnace, Spirit Fire, and a worn but clean meditation cushion. If she needed anything else, she could buy it from the hall at a fair price.

The manager had looked surprised when a Qi Refining Stage cultivator asked to rent a Pill Room. He studied her for a while, but he was courteous enough not to question her or make things difficult. It was a pleasant change.

Not every Pill Cultivator was a Medicine Cultivator, but every Medicine Cultivator was a qualified Pill Cultivator, able to refine basic Elixirs. Their paths only began to diverge as their cultivation advanced.

The Spirit Fire was a low-grade pill-refining flame. It needed Spirit Stones rather than Spiritual Power to burn, making it ideal for cultivators with little cultivation. The drawback was that its heat was difficult to control with Spiritual Power, so it could not be used to refine higher-grade Elixirs.

It was enough for Qiao Ranran. She did not have enough Spiritual Power to refine better Elixirs anyway; low-grade ones would do for practice.

She exhausted the Spiritual Power in her body, then absorbed and circulated it bit by bit while drawing out a trace of Blood Jade Nectar to refine. Whenever she grew hungry, she ate a couple of Grain-Bigone Pills.

Qiao Ranran had long been used to such monotonous days. Even in her previous life, she had spent most of her time studying Spell Arts and Elixirs and struggling to improve her cultivation, rarely venturing out for experience. Wen Ziheng and the others had brought most of the resources she needed straight to her. As they put it, her gifts lay in medical arts, Spell Arts, and Elixirs. Going out was too dangerous; they would handle the risks.

Back then, Qiao Ranran had wanted nothing more than an easy life, so she had never questioned them. Looking back now, Wen Ziheng had probably intended from the start to raise her ignorant of the world, unable to live independently if she left them. She would do nothing but bury herself in refining Elixirs and serve as their healer when needed.

Until the moment she died, she had believed she was living the life she wanted: surrounded by friends, doing what she loved, and giving them the best possible support for their dreams. Even as death came for her, she had wanted to share her latest discovery with Wen Ziheng and the others. She had even wondered who had disguised themselves as Wen Ziheng to attack her.

She did not know just how bad Wen Ziheng and the others were, but she had certainly been a fool.

Wen Ziheng had no idea how much his appearance had unsettled Qiao Ranran. He felt rather innocent about the whole thing. But he had more important matters to attend to, so his wish to make a few more friends would have to wait.

Before he could meet the Medicine Cultivator outside the Vast Sea Medical Hall, he received a message from Feng Changdong. His eyes lit up as soon as he read it. Still, he took the precaution of leaving a Communication Talisman at the hall, hoping the Medicine Cultivator would contact him upon returning.

After all, this was a high-level Medicine Cultivator. One more acquaintance, one more friend, meant one more path open to him.

Feng Changdong was the Feng Family's only son of his generation. Exceptionally gifted from childhood, he had always drawn attention. More remarkably, he was gentle yet resolute, pleasant to deal with, and capable in managing family affairs. From any angle, he seemed close to perfect.

But where there was admiration, there was envy. No matter how outstanding Feng Changdong was, he could not make everyone like him, especially when his very existence stood in someone else's way.

Feng Changdong had been afflicted with Blood Gu for some time. The Feng Family did not want to damage his talent, so rather than ask their ancestor to forcibly remove it, they had sought a gentler solution.

Wen Ziheng had come because he heard that the Vast Sea Medical Hall had a highly skilled Medicine Cultivator, and because Blood Gu originated in the South Sea.

They had recently learned that Sword Venerable Jinglin's only son, from the Heavenly Evolution Sword Sect, had also fallen victim to Blood Gu. His condition had been even worse than Feng Changdong's, yet after narrowly escaping death, he had been cured.

The outside world knew nothing of this, but the Feng Family had its own sources and learned of it at once. They did not know the details, but the news was enough to send them into raptures. Feng Changdong planned to visit the Heavenly Evolution Sword Sect himself. Worried that Wen Ziheng would return to find him gone, he sent him a message.

Wen Ziheng could hardly miss something so important. He immediately said he would go along and left Vast Sea City.

By the time Qiao Ranran emerged from the Pill Room, still debating whether to visit her rotten-fleshed friend at the Vast Sea Medical Hall, Wen Ziheng was long gone.

Author's note: Qiao Ranran: Maybe I should go take a look? Never mind his name; at least I ought to know what the person who owes me money looks like.

[Upcoming title in my author column]: "My Sword Cultivator Senior Brother Is Pretending to Be Poor Again" is waiting to be read!

Everyone said Sword Cultivators were strong. Their strength came from having no money.

According to the book, Chu Xiao, senior disciple of the Heavenly Pole Sword Sect, was born with an Innate Sword Bone. He was powerful, taciturn, caring toward his fellow disciples, pure as ice, and possessed of an immortal's bearing... and so on and so forth.

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Transmigration into a Book

Sweet Romance Novel

Transmigration and Rebirth Romance

Da Hei Loves Fish

Dual Rebirth

Xianxia Novel