Body swap!

Yao Chen guided Xiao Baichuan's cultivation for several days and gradually noticed a problem.

Xiao Baichuan's meridians had cleared considerably, and his Dou Qi flowed more smoothly, but his cultivation speed was still pitifully slow.

"Kid, what resources do you normally use for cultivation?"

Xiao Baichuan thought for a moment.

"Just... the basic pills the Xiao Clan hands out every month. What else would I have?"

Yao Chen rolled his eyes.

"That's it?"

"Do you think cultivating is like drinking water? With nothing but hard training and no pills or heavenly treasures to help, you'd be lucky to break through to Dou Zhe in three years."

Xiao Baichuan scratched his head.

"Then what should I do?"

Then his eyes lit up.

"Wait, aren't you an Alchemist?"

"Couldn't you just take out some pills, and I could trade them for cultivation resources?"

At that, Yao Chen stroked his beard and pondered for a moment.

"That makes sense."

"Not only could you trade them for resources, but you could also study alchemy under me and inherit my mantle."

The mention of alchemy immediately perked Yao Chen up. With a wave of his illusory hand, dozens of bottles and jars appeared out of thin air.

"Take a good look. These were all works I took pride in back in the day."

Xiao Baichuan leaned closer and examined them bottle by bottle.

There were all kinds of pills for healing injuries and consolidating cultivation-everything one could want.

Finally, his gaze settled on an inconspicuous red porcelain bottle in the corner.

The porcelain bottle was small and bore no markings, but it gave off a faint, cloyingly sweet fragrance.

Xiao Baichuan picked it up and asked curiously.

"Old man, what kind of pill is this?"

Yao Chen glanced at it, his expression shifting briefly before he broke into a lecherous grin.

"You've got a good eye, kid. You picked this bottle out at first glance."

Seeing Yao Chen's lecherous grin, Xiao Baichuan's heart gave a jolt.

He examined the medicine bottle closely, brought it nearer for a sniff, then looked at Yao Chen in puzzlement.

"Don't tell me this is an aphrodisiac?"

Yao Chen raised his eyebrows at Xiao Baichuan, his expression saying, "You know your stuff."

Xiao Baichuan's eyes widened.

"Holy shit! It really is?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Who would've thought you old bastard liked making aphrodisiacs best!"

This was his first time seeing an aphrodisiac. He had only read about them in novels before and had never expected such things to really exist.

Watching this from the Sea of Consciousness, Ling Xi immediately cursed.

"Yao Chen! Xiao Baichuan! How could you two mess around with something like that!"

"You really are a pair of filthy, shameless perverts, master and disciple alike!"

Xiao Baichuan immediately retorted.

"What do you mean, filthy and shameless!"

"Which protagonist in those storybooks didn't win over his destined heroine with a bottle of aphrodisiac?"

Ling Xi snorted coldly.

"So you want to use something like that to prey on other people?"

Xiao Baichuan ignored her. Suddenly, inspiration flashed through his mind, and he came up with a brilliant plan to make a fortune.

He immediately turned to Yao Chen, his eyes shining.

"Old man, can you make male potency pills?"

Yao Chen gave Xiao Baichuan a strange look, then lowered his gaze a little, hesitating to speak.

"Don't tell me you..."

"Ah, you need to show some restraint, kid. Already unable to perform at such a young age..."

Hearing this, Xiao Baichuan immediately swore.

"You're the one who can't perform, you old bastard!"

"I'm just asking if you can make them. I've got a grand money-making plan!"

"I've checked. No one's heard of any Alchemist selling these in all of Wutan City. It's a definite gap in the market!"

"If we seize the initiative and start selling these pills, won't we rake in a fortune!"

Yao Chen cursed angrily.

"I'm the foremost Alchemist on the Dou Qi Continent, and you want me to sell male potency pills?"

Xiao Baichuan shook his head and offered a perfectly serious analysis.

"An Alchemist is a pharmacist, and impotence and premature ejaculation are illnesses."

"What's so strange about a pharmacist making medicine to treat patients?"

Yao Chen slapped Xiao Baichuan on the back of the head.

"I can't afford that humiliation!"

"If you want them, make them yourself!"

In the end, Yao Chen adamantly refused to make them.

"If word got out, how could I ever show my face again?"

Xiao Baichuan couldn't make them either. He couldn't even identify all the medicinal ingredients...

Such a grand plan could only be drowned in the womb.

Seeing Xiao Baichuan's miserable expression, Yao Chen softened and waved a hand. "Fine. I'll pay out of my own pocket tonight and make you some pills to sell first."

That night, Xiao Baichuan drifted off to sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw a familiar dense forest, with ancient trees towering into the sky and the Nine-Colored Stream burbling along.

The jade pendant's space.

But this time, the streamside was empty. He was alone.

Xiao Baichuan froze for a moment, then called out.

"Ling Xi?"

No one answered.

The stream flowed quietly, and only the sounds of running water and wind filled the woods.

Xiao Baichuan called a few more times, but there was still no response.

He frowned, thought for a moment, and sighed helplessly.

"Looks like I'm the only one who came in this time."

"Oh well. I've already verified how to get out anyway."

"I just hope I don't end up in Ling Xi's body... hehehe...!"

As the saying went, whatever you feared would come...

He raised his hand, pressed two fingers together like a sword, and stabbed straight at his own chest.

His consciousness went dark.

When Xiao Baichuan opened his eyes again, the first thing to reach his nostrils was a delicate fragrance.

It was faint and fresh, with a barely perceptible sweetness, like the delicate scent of a maiden in her boudoir.

He opened his eyes to an unfamiliar cave abode.

Stone walls, bamboo curtains, a stone bed covered with soft cushions, and, not far away, a steaming hot spring.

Xiao Baichuan paused, then lowered his head to see whether he had returned to his own body.

Then he discovered-

He couldn't see the tips of his toes!

Two towering mounds of white snow blocked his view.

Xiao Baichuan went completely rigid.

He slowly raised a hand. What met his eyes was a fair, slender hand with nails that gleamed a pale pink.

He looked down at his clothes again.

Red robes trimmed with gold, a long skirt with wide sleeves, and long, silvery-white hair falling over his chest.

Xiao Baichuan fell silent for three seconds.

Then he tried calling out.

"Ling Xi?"

This time, the sound stunned Xiao Baichuan himself. "Holy shit, how did my voice get so lovely it needs censoring!"

He called a few more times, but no one answered.

Xiao Baichuan drew a deep breath and reached a conclusion that thrilled him!

"So... I've swapped bodies with Ling Xi!"

"Kekeke!"

He hurriedly reached for the Twin Fish Jade Pendant on his chest... pfft, at his waist.

He found it, but the pendant was dull and lightless, like a lifeless stone.

Xiao Baichuan circulated his Dou Qi and poured it into the pendant, but there was no response whatsoever.

He tried a few more times, but the pendant remained utterly dull.

Xiao Baichuan calmed down and carefully thought back.

The last time he had entered the jade pendant's space was three days ago.

In other words-

The jade pendant needed three days to recharge.

Xiao Baichuan exhaled and surveyed the cave abode.

Luminous pearls on the stone walls gave off a soft glow, steam rose from the hot spring, and a neat row of jade slips stood in the corner.

Ling Xi had said she was in seclusion and had nothing pressing to do.

Xiao Baichuan plopped down on the stone bed, braced his hands on his knees, and sighed.

"Fine, three days of seclusion."

"I hope Ling Xi doesn't pull any weird stunts with my body over these three days."