Within the Xuanji Sect, Anping went to chop firewood of his own accord. Though he was a descendant of the Primordial Qilin Clan, his constitution was ordinary. Unlike Sushang, he did not possess a heaven-defying primordial white tiger immortal physique.
Of the ancient clans born in the primordial beginning, only a scant few had survived the long passage of time with their legacies intact. The others had been forced to let their lineages end for various reasons.
After facing several crises that threatened its survival, the Primordial Qilin Clan had been forced to interbreed with other clans. This mixed their blood, leaving their qilin bloodline increasingly faint.
The Primordial White Tiger, however, was one of the four strongest sacred beasts and possessed a unique method of inheritance. Thus, even in decline, it could ensure its bloodline remained absolutely pure.
Sushang accompanied Changying around Xuanji Mountain. The little girl went to the storeroom and found a white paper kite, and the two went to the back mountain to fly it.
Once they tired of playing, Sushang went to the medicinal garden to pick a few thousand-year spirit tangerines to share with Changying. The latter waved her off, merely unfastening the immortal gourd at her waist and drinking freely.
The fragrance of wine drifted through the air, now strong, now faint. Sushang twitched her nose. Just smelling it made her a little tipsy.
"What wine is that?"
"Immortal Brew."
"It smells so good..."
"Want to try?"
Changying wiped a drop of wine from the corner of her mouth with a jade-smooth finger. Her face was enchantingly flushed, her alluring eyes silky, and her body supple and boneless as she lay gently down.
She reclined on her side on the grass, propping her head on her fair wrist. With a hint of mischief on her face, she offered the White Jade Immortal Gourd to the little girl.
Sushang's bright, dewy eyes fixed on the immortal gourd. An utterly enticing fragrance wafted from its mouth, desperately beckoning her.
She reached out with eager fingers, took the immortal gourd, and sipped a little.
"Ooh~ It burns!"
Before the wine even reached her throat, Sushang secretly stuck out her tongue, then shook her head.
Her first taste of wine was a terrible experience!
That single sip instantly reddened her little face and left her head swimming. Soon, she was swaying drunkenly every which way, seeing double when she looked at people.
Changying covered her mouth and laughed. The little girl really could not hold her liquor-one sip, and she was drunk.
This Immortal Brew was her master's treasure.
Her master was usually loath to let anyone drink it. So stingy!
Drunk, Sushang simply collapsed onto the ground, sprawling unrestrainedly with her limbs spread and her little round belly exposed.
"I'm never drinking again...
"I'm so dizzy, everything's swaying, and my face is so hot...
"Am I lying on a cloud? Master, look at me! I'm flying~
"Stupid Master, I like you..."
Sushang lay on her stomach, waving her arms as though soaring. Then she folded her arms, buried her round little face in them, and mumbled indistinctly.
Changying's lovely eyes widened, then blinked gently, slowly, incredulously.
Like?
Did the little girl really like Xie Feng?
What did it feel like... to like someone?
Hmm, I don't understand.
Changying gave a slight shrug of her slender shoulders and spread her hands. She took a sip of Immortal Brew, her gaze casually flicking toward the sky...
Pfft!
She nearly spat out her entire mouthful of wine.
Th-that was!
Her starry eyes wide, Changying stared toward Xuanji Mountain's pill chamber!
A pillar of light shot from the pill chamber straight into the clouds, shaking the entire mountain range. Suddenly, black clouds billowed across the sky, as though boundless power were churning within them!
Crack!
A world-shaking sound rang through heaven and earth. Five-colored light burst from the rolling clouds, piercing through them and shooting toward the ground.
At that moment, Xie Feng was refining a pill!
This was the pill lightning that appeared after a pill was completed!
Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan... five-colored pill lightning?!
In the world of pills, ordinary pills summoned only yellow or white pill lightning. But for tenth-grade pills and above, it came in multiple colors.
Tenth grade, three colors!
Divine grade, five colors!
Immortal grade, seven colors!
Sacred grade, nine colors!
What now hovered above Xuanji Mountain was precisely five-colored pill lightning.
Divine grade!
The power contained within five-colored pill lightning could be called destructive on a catastrophic scale. Once it descended, not just the entire mountain range, but the whole Nameless Domain would suffer a tremendous upheaval!
Changying slowly rose, looking toward the clouds. With a slight turn of her wrist, a green bamboo slip appeared in her grasp, wisps of formidable power coiling around it.
That poise...
That bearing...
Even an immortal descending into the mortal world could be no more impressive!
The five-colored pill lightning came surging down like a violent storm, its momentum seemingly enough to destroy heaven and earth. A terrifying pressure shrouded all of Xuanji Mountain!
Just as Changying prepared to act...
Suddenly!
Ten thousand streams of Immortal Qi rose from the pill chamber and surged into the clouds. The Immortal Qi transformed into jade-green flames, blazing fiercely across the sky!
That day...
The sky caught fire.
Countless powerhouses were startled by the magnificent sight!
They performed divinations to trace its source.
Yet a million miles of sky were ablaze, encompassing far too vast an expanse of land, too many sects, and too many powerhouses below for them to investigate!
The pill lightning was annihilated within the Northern Nether Illusory Flame. It forever remembered Xuanji Mountain's location, never daring to trespass again!
"This power is already no weaker than mine."
Changying murmured softly, "As expected of the Chaos Sacred Body ranked first on the Heavenly Ranking. What astonishing strength."
She, too, was a heaven's chosen.
She, too, possessed her own pride.
But her temperament was ordinarily tranquil, and she disdained competing with others over who was stronger.
Thus, even upon seeing such power, even thinking that her own strength might be surpassed, she felt no imbalance in her heart. Instead, she admired Xie Feng all the more.
True powerhouses had always cherished one another!
The pill chamber.
Before the enormous, pitch-black Immortal-Slaying Furnace, the Northern Nether Illusory Flame blazed fiercely, and a pale golden pill hovered in the air.
The Great Radiance Spirit-Enhancing Pill!
A divine pill!
Whether its fragrance, shape, or markings, every aspect of this pill was flawless beyond reproach.
Through this practical experience, Xie Feng's soul power had also grown even more profound, directly breaking past the peak of the tenth grade and entering the ranks of divine-grade pill refiners!
After completing the pill, he left the pill chamber and handed the divine pill to Sushang. The little girl was still tipsy; the Immortal Brew was far too potent.
Xie Feng frowned. Changying, who had kept sneaking glances at him, saw that things were taking a bad turn. Afraid of being blamed, she hunched over, tucked in her two paws, and guiltily slipped away.
Xie Feng tapped Sushang between the brows, sending a cool breath into her and dispelling her intoxication.
"Little girl, I'm going into seclusion." Xie Feng pinched her furry little tiger ears. "Perhaps for ten days, perhaps half a month. You must practice diligently."
"Yes, Master!"
Sushang nodded obediently.
"Which section of the Xuanji Heart Method have you reached?"
"Heaven grade."
"By the time I emerge, you must reach divine grade. Can you do it?"
"Yes!"
Sushang puffed out her little chest and answered confidently.
"You also need to cultivate the Void Heaven Spirit Eyes to the sixth level and learn the entire Radiant Sun Sword Art. Your pill refinement realm needs improving, too, along with your fire control and medicinal herb identification. And you should know something of the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting as well, shouldn't you?"
Xie Feng had high hopes for her.
Sushang was dumbfounded. "Well... um... Master, isn't that a little much...?"
"Is it much? Not at all."
"..."
Knowing full well that resisting any further would be useless, Sushang could only agree through tears.
Afterward, Xie Feng also instructed the little girl not to let Anping spend all his time buried in work. He could enter the cultivation technique tower to study as appropriate.
Also, if that fairy from Guixu wished to stay on the mountain a few more days or return home, she was free to stay or leave. Sushang committed each instruction to memory.