Taking Action

Two months later, in the Azure Mystic Mountain Range.

A blue-beaked bird spread its wings and soared into the vast sea of clouds, passing over the mountain gate that was faintly visible.

This is where Zhou Ning's dream began, and also where it shattered.

The mountains stretch for thousands of miles, with their peaks overlapping and verdant. Spiritual birds fly over the spiritual fields and medicinal gardens, and the magnificent palaces and pavilions, finally landing on a pavilion halfway up the mountain.

A banquet was being held in the pavilion, with divine food and wine laid out on the tables. A dozen or so young men and women were chatting and laughing, creating a scene reminiscent of a celestial realm.

A blue-beaked bird chirped softly, and a woman with cascading black hair appeared, a bright white jade pendant at her waist.

The elegantly dressed man beside her smiled and said, "Xiangning, your letter has arrived."

Gu Xiangning put down her jade chopsticks, moved to the bluebird. The bird had a broad and full lower jaw. It opened its beak and spat out a black bundle, which was then steadily placed in her hand before flapping its wings and flying away.

Another man in brocade robes suddenly asked, "Is this a letter from outside the sect? Is it from Zhou Ning?"

Gu Xiangning glanced at him; his smile was fake, and he seemed quite scheming.

He is Young Master Luo.

"It doesn't matter who it is," Gu Xiangning replied, putting the bundle into her Storage Bag.

Then he raised his wine glass and looked at the man in the middle who was surrounded by the crowd and was at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

"Senior Brother Fang, I'm sorry to have disturbed your enjoyment. I'll punish myself with a drink."

Fang Tianyu smiled calmly, "It's alright. If Junior Sister has any capable friends, she can introduce them. After all, the more powerful figures the Azure Ruins Secret Realm will have three years from now, the better."

The party is over.

Gu Xiangning returned to her residence and activated the array provided by the sect before untying her bundle.

A letter and a jade bottle.

"Are you giving away pills again?"

In his last letter, Zhou Ning included two bottles of Spirit Essence Pill. Taking those pills daily can increase cultivation speed by about 50%, which is quite remarkable.

However, Gu Xiangning was a True Person Yaoxian and usually took the more effective Azure Essence Pill, so she didn't need the Spirit Essence Pill. She asked someone to sell it outside and got three hundred catties of spirit rice.

Her slender, pale fingers uncorked the bottle, revealing a pill with three different colors on its surface.

Gu Xiangning was stunned, almost thinking she had misread it, "Three Flowers Pill?"

She took out the pill, examined it carefully for a few moments, and found that it was exactly the same as the Three Flowers Pill she had taken before.

Moreover, there were three pills in total, which were definitely of considerable value to her!

Each year, with the sect's missions and the subsidies from her master, she could only earn a total of one and a half Three Flowers Pill.

Gu Xiangning frowned, picked up the letter beside her, and began to read it carefully.

After a long while, her eyes flickered, she put down the paper, and murmured to herself:

"Brother Zhou's talent for alchemy is so high, and his progress is so fast, he's probably no less than a core disciple of the Pill Cauldron Hall, right?"

She recalled the mortal world ten years ago, where a man, wielding a long sword and dressed in black, slowly approached. His features were sharp, his eyes cold, yet his voice was remarkably clear, telling her, "It's alright, the thief escaped."

From that moment on, that figure remained in her mind.

Even later, a single mountain gate led to two different fates.

Gu Xiangning pursed her lips, then suddenly smiled, "That's wonderful..."

She remembered Zhou Ning's words about contacting powerful Aristocratic Clan to bolster their influence, so she picked up a communication talisman and said:

"Junior Sister Zhao, would you like to get together sometime?"

Then came Senior Brother Ye, Junior Brother Duan, Senior Sister Lei... She called out to seven or eight people in a row, all of whom were disciples of Qingxuan from the Aristocratic Clan.

After finishing all this, Gu Xiangning recalled what she had found out during her last investigation and couldn't help but feel angry:

"That Su Yanghao is as stupid as a pig!"

Azure Mystic Sect, Martial Arts Arena.

The ground was paved with light-colored bluestone, wide and flat, with spirit flags standing along the sides, seemingly bearing traces of an array.

In the arena, a curvaceous young woman in a tight-fitting outfit, her entire body bathed in golden light, fought without using Law Artifact, relying solely on her physical strength in close combat. With every move she made, she unleashed a sharp, metallic force.

Opposite him was a man at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer Perfection, wielding a cyan Swordsmanship, his whole body encased in a golden light shield, struggling to defend himself from left and right, fighting and retreating at the same time.

The girl flashed to the man's side, shattered the light barrier with a palm strike, and hit the man's wrist, causing the flying sword to fly out of his hand.

She defeated her senior brother, who had a higher cultivation level, using pure body-refining techniques.

Inside the Guanwu Pavilion on the eastern side of the mountain, several cultivators leaned on the railing, looking down at the view.

An elderly man in the Foundation Establishment Late Stage exclaimed in surprise, "This Jiang Xiaohua is truly remarkable! She has actually paved the way for body refinement!"

The white-clad man sitting beside him, his clothes fluttering, was exceptionally handsome. He took a sip of tea and said:

"Senior Brother Qiu, this is the only way forward for our sect."

Upon hearing this, Senior Brother Qiu sighed. Their Azure Mystic Sect had been without Nascent Soul for a long time. If it weren't for the mountain-protecting formation and Nascent Soul puppets, they would have been wiped out by Myriad Peace Valley long ago.

It's not that they can't cultivate geniuses with the potential to reach the Nascent Soul Formation stage, but rather that this world doesn't allow their Azure Mystic Sect to produce another Nascent Soul Cultivator.

The hostile Nascent Soul sect, Myriad Peace Valley, the covetous Hu Country outside, and the distant restrictions of Northern Court prevented them from obtaining any Nascent Soul Formation resources, making their lives even more difficult than those of Rogue Cultivator.

The reason we are willing to open the Azure Ruins Secret Realm and explore it together with Myriad Peace Valley is because Myriad Peace Valley has contributed half of the Nascent Soul Formation resources.

Jiang Xiaohua chose the path of body cultivation because a Golden Core Perfection cultivator in the sect who was skilled in archaeology discovered, after consulting ancient texts, that there had once been a Combat Dao Physique cultivator in the sect who had followed the path of body cultivation.

Nascent Soul Early Stage can defeat a cultivator in the middle stage; this is extremely terrifying.

Thus, Jiang Xiaohua caught the eye of that Golden Core Perfection cultivator, and was considered a test subject.

When the topic of sects came up, the atmosphere in the pavilion became rather somber.

A strikingly beautiful woman stood nearby, carrying a teapot, and poured spiritual tea for the group.

Her gaze towards Su Yanghao was extremely gentle, filled with admiration.

A square-faced cultivator, upon witnessing this scene, was immediately displeased!

Junior Sister Mu is the granddaughter of Core Formation Cultivator. She is beautiful, High-Grade Spirit Root, and is skilled in talisman making. Who wouldn't like such a fairy-like woman?

The square-faced cultivator's heart stirred, and he said, "Junior Brother Su, I remember Senior Brother Sun sent two cultivators to your command before, asking you to teach them alchemy and, incidentally, help them get together."

Su Yanghao replied with a gentle expression, "Of course I know, my alchemy senior brother can rest assured."

The square-faced cultivator smiled knowingly and muttered to himself:

"But I heard that the two disciples were arguing so fiercely that they even went to the Law Enforcement Hall?"

Su Yanghao exclaimed in surprise, "How come I didn't know?"

Senior Brother Sun, standing nearby, asked with a worried expression, "Junior Brother Su, what exactly are your plans?"

Su Yanghao immediately launched into a spiel. "Since you want me to match them up, I'll have them guard the same Pill Furnace, working together. The man will refine the pills, while the woman will handle the medicinal herbs. Once the man has learned alchemy, he can then teach the woman how to refine pills. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

The square-faced monk nearly burst out laughing, "Do you even know what those two are arguing about?"

Unbeknownst to Su Yanghao, he had been in charge of other matters recently.

The square-faced monk recalled the scene of the two arguing in the Law Enforcement Hall.

Woman: "I should have let me refine the pills first! You don't know how, yet you're taking up space!"

The man retorted, "You processed the medicinal herbs so poorly, how could I possibly refine them successfully?"

The woman slapped him. "You can't refine the elixir well, so why blame me for the medicinal materials?"

After learning the whole story, Su Yanghao was immediately ashamed and apologized repeatedly.

Seeing this, Senior Brother Qiu secretly shook his head. "This Su Yanghao is really brainless. He sent away that disciple named Zhou Ning ten years ago, what a mess he made!"

The square-faced cultivator mocked Su Yanghao mercilessly, feeling proud in front of Junior Sister Mu, and straightened his back involuntarily!

Unexpectedly, Junior Sister Mu defended him, saying, "Senior Brother Su's intentions were good. If they successfully refine the pill, wouldn't they be a divine couple?"

"Blame it on your lack of talent for alchemy! You've consumed so many resources and practiced for a year, and you still haven't even scratched the surface!"

"I've heard that the retainers in Senior Brother Su's household can all teach themselves alchemy!"

The square-faced cultivator's eyes widened in fury, his heart filled with unbearable pain!

Su Yanghao looked at this scene with an apologetic expression, but deep in his eyes was a cold indifference.

"A bunch of idiots."

It was precisely because he appeared foolish, simple-minded, and lacking in skill that he posed no threat and was able to refine pills in peace.

Otherwise, why would he be entitled to any of the sect's resources?

Many things he did were intentional, such as the casual demotion of Zhou Ning.

"However, this person is quite talented; he's actually self-taught..."

"It's alright, the plans at home are almost complete... Core Formation, no one can cause any trouble."

That day, Zhou Ning ruined two batches of materials, losing nearly thirty Spirit Stone, but finally succeeded in refining a Greater Ginseng-Nurturing Pill.

He was in a good mood and went to the lakeside to enjoy the view.

As usual, he activated his Divine Sense and directed it towards the residence on the east side of the island.

"Hmm? Jiang Xi went out? There are strangers with Spirit Stone waiting in front of the mansion. Are they trying to get a position as a retainer?"

"The island's guards and a man surnamed Wang, who Qi Refining Ninth Layer, are drinking."

"A great opportunity!"

Zhou Ning returned to the courtyard, applied a Method Formula to his body, and activated the [Flowing Light Concealing Shadow Technique], instantly disappearing from the spot.