"You..."
At his words, the Princess hastily pushed the cup back onto the table and looked at Lin Changheng with embarrassment and indignation.
This time, her embarrassment was genuine, without the slightest pretense.
Born into imperial splendor and cherished like gold and jade, she had never had a man dare approach her while growing up. Now that she had entered the immortal path and half severed her ties to the mortal world, she still had little contact with men.
Lin Changheng was the sole exception, but even he had always observed proper courtesy and boundaries.
Yet now she had inadvertently shared a cup of tea with the male cultivator before her. Wasn't that the same as indirectly...
No, no!
Always perceptive and composed, Tantai Feiyue found herself slightly flustered when confronted with a boundary between men and women she had never encountered before.
Then indignation lent her courage. She abruptly rose, planted both hands on the stone table, and leaned toward Lin Changheng, forcing a fierce expression onto her face. Her fingertips nearly dug into the stone. "You... if you dare tell anyone we shared a cup today-"
She suddenly realized their noses were barely three inches apart. Lin Changheng's gentle smile was clear in the sunlight, and the feeble remainder of her threat caught in her throat.
"I promise you. I won't tell anyone what happened today."
Lin Changheng put away his smile and nodded earnestly.
Only then did the Princess relax. She nodded proudly, clearly quite satisfied with his response, though the tips of her ears still felt warm. After sitting a little longer, she took her leave.
Lin Changheng merely smiled and thought nothing more of it.
Lin Changheng inspected the pills, Spirit Stones, and other assets in his possession. His wealth was considerable.
His Storage Bag, which had shriveled after his last purchase of a mid-grade Magic Artifact and a low-grade Magic Artifact, had bulged once more from selling Standard Pills.
He had over four hundred Spirit Stones.
His stock of Premium Pills had grown from just over three hundred to more than six hundred and seventy!
That was after deducting the ones Lin Changheng had used for cultivation and traded to Tantai Feiyue.
Even so, the sheer quantity was remarkable.
He had also been obliged to acquire thirty or forty [Spirit-Locking Talismans] through various channels and affix them to the wooden boxes, ensuring the pills lost none of their potency.
"Now that I have the Earth Escape art, I can try venturing out and selling some of these Premium Pills."
"Stockpiling too many isn't necessarily a good thing..."
This was the first time Lin Changheng had considered going out.
Besides,
One thing worth mentioning was that, after breaking through to mid-Qi Refining, Lin Changheng could refine medicinal power more than twice as quickly, while the effectiveness of premium [Crimson Flame Pills] had declined accordingly.
After all, mid-Qi Refining called for first-tier mid-grade pills. Standard low-grade pills had virtually no effect; only Premium Pills remained reasonably effective, but even their effects had been halved.
Thus, Lin Changheng had increased his monthly consumption of Premium Pills to five, barely maintaining his previous cultivation speed.
The gap between grades was there, after all.
Fortunately, Premium Pills contained very few impurities or pill toxins. Lin Changheng had also discovered that the "Clarity" realm of the [Poison Transformation Art] could suppress pill toxins, while "True Ascension" could refine even the impurities along with them.
Only then had he felt at ease taking them.
But continuing like this was no lasting solution. The proper path was to produce premium mid-grade pills as soon as possible.
Yet the mid-grade pill dao was truly complex.
It involved a whole series of steps: kindling the fire, heating the furnace, adding the ingredients, purification, liquefaction, Ingredient Blending, Subdued Refining, pill condensation, and pill retrieval.
The Pill Formula Hand Seals involved were even more elaborate. Each of the three core steps required over a hundred and twenty seals.
In other words, refining first-tier mid-grade pills required roughly eight hundred seals in total!
Nearly three times as many as low-grade pills!
Moreover, the crucial seals were more complex and obscure, sometimes leaving even Lin Changheng scratching his head.
Thus, his attempts to refine mid-grade pills remained stuck at the final hurdle.
He had previously sought Master Mo's advice and received some insights and pointers, but it was difficult to ask again about these last few steps.
For one thing, he needed to keep his progress secret. For another, he feared putting Master Mo in a difficult position.
After all, he had only been an apprentice under him. Master Mo might not be willing to impart everything he knew.
Fortunately, the [Origin Treasure Seed] was nearly complete!
[Spirit Seizure: 94/100]
With his comprehension enhanced, every difficulty would surely yield like bamboo beneath a blade.
Half a year passed in a flash.
Two major events occurred in the outside world.
Outside Savage Wastes Valley, the Xu Family and the Chen Family were locked in a battle of spells and slaughter. The Xu Family had already gained a considerable advantage, but although defeat loomed plainly over the Chen Family, they showed no alarm.
Instead, they charged forward, tying down the Xu Family cultivators.
This was highly abnormal.
Just then, a band of cultivators suddenly came flying in from afar.
Their arrival was imposing.
They, too, wore robes embroidered with the Chen Family emblem.
Yet an elder of the Xu Family recognized their leader. He was none other than Qiu Changhe, a cultivator from the Qiu Family of Flying Cloud Valley. Thickly bearded and at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, he brought out his Magic Artifact, his gaze cold.
The Qiu Family! A newly risen Foundation Establishment Family!
Just as expected, they had answered the Chen Family's plea, disguising themselves as Chen Family cultivators to intervene!
"Hahaha! You will all die today, and the Xu Family will suffer a crushing blow!"
A Late Qi Refining elder of the Chen Family roared with wild laughter as though pumped full of chicken blood. This moment had finally arrived.
He intended to shake the Xu Family's morale, make them expose an opening, and then charge in for the kill.
But the Xu Family cultivators heard him and saw what was happening without showing much panic. Instead, their reaction startled that Late Qi Refining elder, and a sense of foreboding began to grow in his heart.
Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!...
The next instant, a dense flurry of fierce rushing sounds erupted behind the Xu Family's flank.
Then a group of cultivators bearing the Xu Family emblem burst out from behind the hill. Ignoring the battlefield, they headed straight for the Qiu Family's contingent from Flying Cloud Valley with a clear purpose.
"Liu Yunlang!"
Qiu Changhe raised a hand to halt his party and faced the newcomers from a distance, calling out a name with an ugly expression.
"Qiu Changhe? No, dressed in Chen Family clothes like that, you ought to change your name to Chen Changhe."
Liu Yunlang also ordered his party to halt. Despite his scholarly attire, his words were cuttingly sarcastic.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The Chen Family elder's expression darkened. "The Liu Family of Spirit Fox Mountain? The Liu Family with two Foundation Establishment cultivators! Damn it, when did the Xu Family quietly establish ties with them?"
He had no time to dwell on it, nor did anyone answer him, for a Late Qi Refining cultivator of the Xu Family had already advanced to engage him.
After an exchange of spells, the Chen Family elder's spiritual power was nearly exhausted, and he could hold out no longer. He immediately turned his head, hoping the Qiu Family would intervene, only to witness a scene that nearly made his eyes split with fury.
Qiu Changhe had actually turned and flown away without so much as looking back. He had contributed nothing at all and simply washed his hands of the matter.
The entire Qiu Family contingent followed, abandoning their promise and leaving the blood-soaked Chen Family cultivators staring in bewilderment.
"Hahaha!"
Liu Yunlang's laughter answered them. Then the Liu Family cultivators joined the battle, and the Chen Family's forces collapsed like a crumbling mountain.
Apart from a few fish that slipped through the net, they were almost entirely wiped out, leaving behind pairs of resentful eyes that would not close even in death.
Thus, the Xu Family occupied the valley and named it "Dustless Valley," finally drawing the curtain on a war that had lasted many years.
They also publicly announced that half the proceeds would go to the Foundation Establishment Liu Family.
This was the first major event.
The other major event was this:
After the Chen Family of Purple Maple Bay lost much of its fighting strength on the battlefield, its home territory suddenly came under attack by a band of rogue cultivators one night.
Their defensive formation was breached, and the entire lineage was exterminated.