Peak of Physics

Hundred Herbs Peak, Pill Room.

Yuhu was still dissecting the snake on the stone platform.

The teacup on the rush mat gave off red mist.

Xiao Bai sat cross-legged, lowered his head, and glanced at the red liquid with peach petals floating in it...

Was this thing really tea?

Helplessly, Xiao Bai raised the cup.

He tipped back his head and drained it in one gulp!

Heartburn!

Xiao Bai was in such agony he twisted himself into a pretzel on the spot, feeling as if his heart were about to be corroded.

Luckily, the mechanical voice arrived.

Ding—Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Medicinal Spiritual Power from the Female Lead. Cultivation has advanced to the Sixth Level Fetal Breath!

Xiao Bai hurt, yet he was happy.

After enduring the first wave of searing heartburn and the influx of spiritual power, Xiao Bai suddenly realized that aside from being rich in spiritual power, this tea contained some rather improper ingredients.

Those ingredients gave Xiao Bai a strange courage. He slowly rose from the rush mat and walked to the stone platform.

With one hand slipping into his cloak, he pinned the elder, who was still seriously dissecting the red snake, directly onto the stone platform.

Mm...

The blood-dripping short blade fell to the floor.

Smack!

Ding—Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Dual Cultivation Spiritual Power from the Female Lead. Cultivation has advanced to the Seventh Level Fetal Breath!

Evening.

A flickering bonfire burned at the mouth of the pill furnace.

Xiao Bai sat cross-legged on the rush mat, taking pills and meditating in an attempt to recover his strength.

The red glow of the spell seals on the furnace wall swirled through the air, shining upon a cascade of white hair and casting the reflection of fox ears and nine tails upon the cave walls.

Elder Yuhu nestled in Xiao Bai's arms, draped in a semi-transparent Bamboo Membrane Gauze Robe of cyan and white embroidered with peaches, her full and graceful figure clearly outlined...

It reminded Xiao Bai of a quatrain—

New-brewed wine, green ants afloat; a small red clay stove.

As evening falls and snow seems near, will you share a cup with me?

This was precisely the comfort Xiao Bai needed.

More rare still, because things had been urgent, the elder had forgotten to seal his sight and hearing.

Thinking back on everything that had just happened, Xiao Bai felt this life had been worth it. Even if he died, he would have no regrets.

Pah!

Xiao Bai did not want to die yet. He honestly said:

"Elder, I think I saw snow-white fox tails just now. Was that my hallucination?"

Every time he saw fox tails, Xiao Bai had to say it aloud, proving that his memories had indeed been erased.

The elder in his arms had rosy, lustrous skin and shimmering eyes, her voice like melting snow.

"A little trick to add some spice. You'll forget them tomorrow."

Xiao Bai feigned regret.

"I would rather remember them."

Yuhu asked:

"Why?"

Xiao Bai said:

"I've liked foxes since I was little. I heard they understand human nature and know how to repay kindness."

Yuhu smiled sweetly.

Though she had initially used this man, she had now, by a twist of fate, repaid his kindness as well.

This was karmic entanglement.

Yuhu was pleased inwardly, but her words wandered elsewhere.

"Who would have thought that your Balanced Five Elements Physique fears not even deadly poison, yet is affected by Charm Potion?"

Uh, as expected of an elder...

Xiao Bai hurriedly brushed it off with a cheesy line.

"What affected this disciple was not Charm Potion, but the elder's fleeting, stunning glance and sweet smile."

Yuhu smiled and shook her head. She did not believe a word of a man's nonsense.

Yet, for some reason, she was pleased inwardly...

"Right now, the eye of the storm on the True Origin Continent lies in the Monster Beast Mountain Range; the eye of the storm in the Monster Beast Mountain Range lies in the Snow Flame Sect; and the eye of the storm in the Snow Flame Sect lies on Hundred Herbs Peak."

Xiao Bai nodded. As the protagonist, was it not only natural for him to transmigrate straight into the eye of the storm?

Her face, once shimmering like lake light, returned to its coolness as Yuhu continued:

"If you stay with me, your life may be in danger at any moment. Once the Partner Recognition Ceremony begins, there will be no turning back. It is not too late for you to regret this now."

For such a low-difficulty death question, Xiao Bai had it in the bag. His voice gentle, he spoke at length:

"Before coming to Hundred Herbs Peak, this disciple was merely a lowly Laborer Disciple. The brightest moment of my life was no more than earning a little money in Chaoge City."

"After entering the sect and arriving at Hundred Herbs Peak, only then did I learn how vast the elder's bosom was and how exquisite her medicinal arts were. Only then was this disciple able to advance by leaps and bounds, rising step by step."

"This disciple has never regretted becoming the elder's partner. Even if I die, I shall have no regrets!"

"Vast bosom?"

Yuhu's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She always felt there was something beneath Xiao Bai's words.

"Are you mocking me?"

Xiao Bai secretly laughed. It seemed the elder knew she was a narrow-minded vinegar jar after all!

"The elder worries too much. The vastness this disciple speaks of is a term from physics."

As he said this, both hands had already climbed the peak of physics.

Early the next morning.

Xiao Bai woke from the pool again. The elder was nowhere to be seen; only pills remained.

After advancing to the Seventh Level Fetal Breath, Xiao Bai could clearly feel that his body had grown much sturdier.

He even had abs now...

One had to know that he had never trained his abs before. He had even had a bit of a belly before entering the sect.

After all, he made his living with the Modifier and had no need for abs. Even this handsome face of his was wasted.

He had no idea where these abs had come from.

Thinking back on yesterday's battle, it had still been rather dangerous.

A max-level Butcher's Sword Technique alone was not enough for him to kill a Qi Refining cultivator without injury.

If he could also master max-level movement and fist techniques, perhaps he would not be so wretched before Qi Refining cultivators.

He could only place his hopes for movement and fist techniques on binding Senior Sister Mu Yun, learning a move or two, then maxing them out.

Of course, the most important matter at hand was Qi Refining.

Qi Refining could only rely on the elder.

Xiao Bai did no small amount of physical labor on Hundred Herbs Peak.

Every day, he not only had to replenish himself with large quantities of pills, but also supplement protein and vitamins by growing vegetables, picking fruit, hunting, and fishing. Only then could he make up for the nutrients lost through physical exertion.

He worked at sunrise and rested at sunset.

Before he knew it, his cultivation had surged to the Ninth Level Fetal Breath.

Only one step remained before Qi Refining.

But that one step could also be an uncrossable chasm.

This day.

Xiao Bai was fishing by the lake.

Although he had long ago added the fish in the lake to his list of ingredients to replenish high-quality protein, regrettably, he had yet to eat a single bite.

If I reached Qi Refining, would I still have to suffer this humiliation?

Xiao Bai thought.

If he truly reached Qi Refining, he would definitely cultivate a Metal Element Spell, use a fishhook as a sword, thrust it straight into the fish's mouth, and force-feed the bait. Would that not be wonderful?

At the hour of the Snake in the morning.

Three Discipline Disciples wearing the Azure Sky Robes of the Discipline Hall arrived at Hundred Herbs Peak on sword riding.

The tall, lean Discipline Disciple in the lead had a long dark face, yellow hawk-like eyes, a sword at his waist, and an unsmiling expression. He was the Chief Discipline Officer of the Discipline Hall—

Zhang Yufeng.

He was a swift and decisive Early Golden Core cultivator with considerable renown in the Snow Flame Sect.

Xiao Bai knew him and had even spoken to him, but Zhang Yufeng did not know Xiao Bai.

The moment Zhang Yufeng landed, he looked around, gave Xiao Bai a slight cupped-fist salute, and said:

"I am Zhang Yufeng of the Discipline Hall. Where is Elder Yuhu now?"

Xiao Bai guessed that the Discipline Hall had come because of Zhao Hanwu's matter last time.

The Discipline Hall was a sect's law enforcement organ.

In the Tian Yuan Era, the laws enforced by a sect's Discipline Hall were not merely sect rules and precepts, but the Heavenly Origin Dao Laws.

The Snow Flame Sect's Discipline Hall was required to submit regular reports to the Dao Supervision Palace of Hanwu Kingdom—or, to be precise, to the Sect Overseer.

During the Tian Yuan Era, the Discipline Hall had long since become one hand by which the Dao Alliance controlled sects. Its law enforcement was extremely strict, and it rarely showed mercy outside the law.

As the victim in this incident, Xiao Bai felt slighted.

This fellow had not even given him a proper look...

I, Xiao Bai, was seduced by the elder through my own hacking ability. Who the hell are you?

"I am Laborer Disciple Xiao Bai. The elder is bathing. If you have anything to say, you can tell me."

Laborer Disciple Xiao Bai...

Only then did Zhang Yufeng realize his discourtesy. He symbolically cupped his fists and bowed.

"Martial Uncle Xiao."

The two Discipline Disciples beside him followed with bows.

"Martial Uncle Xiao."

Generally speaking, a sect could be divided into five generations from top to bottom.

The legendary secluded ancestors.

The Sect Leader and elders.

Instructors and Discipline Disciples.

All Inner Sect disciples, including Core Disciples.

Laborers.

As the elder's Dao partner, Xiao Bai was naturally of the same generation as the elder.

As a Discipline Disciple, Zhang Yufeng calling him Martial Uncle Xiao was perfectly proper.

Xiao Bai accepted the courtesy once he had gained it and did not continue putting on airs as an elder. In a friendly and amiable manner, he asked:

"What brings Zhang, Enforcer of Discipline, to Hundred Herbs Peak?"

Zhang Yufeng took out a Law Enforcement Document and said:

"The Discipline Hall has obtained the autopsy results from the Onmyoji. Laborer Disciple Li Feiyu was indeed framed and poisoned to death. The mastermind, Zhao Hanwu, and the two Laborer Disciples also died at the hands of Junior Sister Mu Yun. If there are no objections, please leave your handprint on this document, Martial Uncle."

Zhao Hanwu died at Junior Sister Mu Yun's hands?

Fine, that was a reasonable inference.

Xiao Bai could not be bothered to show off either. After all, during the Partner Recognition Ceremony, it would be hard for him not to show off in public.

The problem was that there was clearly a mastermind behind this matter. Was the Discipline Hall closing the case so easily?

They were muddling through it so carelessly. Could it be... that this matter truly had something to do with that Sect Overseer?

"Isn't closing this case a little too hasty?"

Xiao Bai questioned.

Zhang Yufeng's sharp expression softened slightly.

"Martial Uncle and the elder will soon hold the Partner Recognition Ceremony. This Sect Tour Ceremony is no small matter. It is said that even the Sect Overseer and Princess Fei Yue will attend. These are exceptional times, so this case can only go through the motions. If Martial Uncle still has doubts, it can be investigated further after the Sect Tour Ceremony."

The Sect Overseer and Princess Fei Yue would attend as well?

One had to know that Princess Fei Yue was his goddess!

Back in Chaoge City, Xiao Bai had deliberately let the princess's carriage hit him in the streets several times. In the end, the princess simply stuffed him with a little gold and casually sent him away.

He had become a scammer throwing himself beneath carriages.

If he remembered correctly, that had been his first pot of gold after transmigrating...

Only after gaining startup capital had he begun producing glass and soap.

Now, Xiao Bai sighed without the slightest restraint:

"That assumes I live until the Sect Tour Ceremony."

Seeing Xiao Bai's displeasure, Zhang Yufeng's face darkened.

"It is necessary to remind Martial Uncle that this decision is not solely the Discipline Hall's intent. It is also the Sect Leader's intent. If Martial Uncle has objections, we can only take you to the Dao Supervision Palace to determine whether you have truly been possessed."

Bastard!

I, Xiao Bai, am a body-transmigrator unsullied by the mud! Unlike those gaudy soul-transmigrators, I will not use someone else's body to marry and have children!

Of course, his predecessor's wife was an exception...

"Forget it."

Xiao Bai shook his head and obediently pressed his handprint onto the Law Enforcement Document.