An Unexpected Outcome and a Conversation with Xiangning

Zhao Ruoxue's tone was calm, but the meaning behind it was self-evident.

This time, even Fang Tianyu didn't refute it.

Gu Xiangning a vague sense of unease. Had she known this would happen, perhaps she should have stopped her Senior Brother Fang from coming to Bamboo Creek Island.

After observing the situation, Ye Menglong coughed and said, "Alchemist Zhou, Fellow Daoist Zhao is rather blunt, please don't take offense."

Zhou Ning shook his head. "It's alright, this is how I refine pills, this batch will surely succeed."

Having already mastered the [Divine Cauldron Inner Landscape Scripture] through its deductions, he could now produce four or five pills from one elixir, which was entirely feasible, but he could not do so in a way that was too shocking.

He said no more and urged the Cloud Pattern Cauldron to take in the Rock Elm Fruit Pill Cauldron, Demon Beast marrow, and other ingredients.

Half an hour later, a faint, cool fragrance of herbs and wood filled the stove, mixed with a very faint, sweet, fishy smell.

Zhou Ning made a Method Formula: "Condense!"

Instantly, the medicinal liquids blended together perfectly, without any conflict whatsoever.

In no time, he tapped the Pill Furnace, and a pale blue round pill flew out of the furnace and landed on the porcelain plate.

"Brother Fang, please take a look!"

Fang Tianyu's expression brightened, and he picked up the pill. He felt that the fragrance was pure and warm. He took a deep breath and his Dantian felt slightly warm.

It is exactly the same as the genuine elixir recorded in the Pill Formula.

He was overjoyed and put his arm around Zhou Ning's shoulder. "Good, good, good, I'm glad I trusted you!"

Gu Xiangning was equally delighted; thankfully, it had worked out.

Zhou Ning glanced at Zhao Ruoxue, and the bitch fell silent.

The following day.

Zhou Ning opened another furnace and produced two more pills.

Fang Tianyu was finally relieved, but Zhou Ning glanced at Zhao Ruoxue. He hadn't forgotten how this woman's sarcastic remarks had been interfering with his alchemy.

An ordinary Alchemist might have lost his mind.

I swear I will not rest until I avenge this humiliation.

So he offered, "Fellow Daoist Fang, I have a method that guarantees three or four successful batches each time. However, the first batch might fail. Would you be willing to give it a try?"

What are the odds?

"Seventy percent," Zhou Ning said. "The medicinal effects of that Demon Beast's bone marrow are too weak. If it is refined by the Thunder Plasma Liquid, the success rate of pill formation will be greatly increased."

Fang Tianyu did some mental calculations. He could certainly ask Zhou Ning to continue refining the product using the existing method.

However, the higher the level of his alchemy, the greater his gains from his journey through the secret realm.

He had already risked his life venturing into the secret realm; what harm would it do to gamble again now?

"Done!"

As a result, Zhou Ning succeeded in making three pills in one batch.

Fang Tianyu was overjoyed. If this continued, there would be three more batches left, with three pills per batch. Adding that to the pills from before, wouldn't that make a total of fifteen pills?

Zhou Ning shook his head and said, "It's hard to say."

His hands didn't stop moving; he immediately started refining the second batch.

He kept a close eye on Zhao Ruoxue.

Noticing that the other party had been distracted for a moment, he guided the Thunder Plasma Liquid and poured it onto the marrow of the Demon Beast, which was cooked to an unprecedented temperature.

With a loud "boom!" the Pill Furnace suddenly burst forth, spraying flames and medicinal ash. Perhaps due to the wrong direction, the ash hit Zhao Ruoxue all over.

Fang Tianyu waved his sleeve, and the smoke dissipated.

He was already in a bad mood, but seeing this, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The once cold and aloof Zhao Ruoxue now had her sideburns standing on end, and her face was covered in a layer of black ash, making her look like a lump of coal.

Ye Menglong coughed and turned his face away.

On the contrary, Gu Xiangning cast a water spell to cleanse her.

Zhao Ruoxue wiped her face, her jade-like hands now covered in black grime, and glared fiercely at Zhou Ning.

Zhou Ning touched his precious Pill Furnace and sighed, "Forgive me, Fellow Daoist Zhao, my Pill Furnace sometimes doesn't pay attention to things, I hope you won't mind!"

Zhao Ruoxue snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Without stopping for a moment, Zhou Ning refined the pills for the ninth time, and this time, miraculously, four pills were produced.

Senior Brother Fang calculated that he had already made ten pills this time. He took a deep breath and suppressed his excitement.

If the last batch yields four more...

Then he saw that Zhou Ning looked extremely tired, as if he had been injured in the training, and was almost falling into a deep sleep.

Fang Tianyu's suspicions vanished instantly. He had wondered if Zhou Ning had done it on purpose, just to settle a personal score, when the furnace exploded earlier.

If you really harm his interests like this, don't blame him for giving you a hard time!

Fortunately, this batch yielded four pills. He didn't care about the process, only the result.

Zhou Ning said weakly, "Fellow Daoist Fang, I need to rest for a few days. I'm truly exhausted."

That's true. It's quite remarkable for Alchemist to be able to refine two batches a day. After all, alchemy requires complete concentration. One must control the fire and constantly use Divine Sense, leaving no room for distraction.

Fellow Daoist Fang was quite magnanimous. "Let's rest, there's still plenty of time!"

Nine days later.

Fang Tianyu and his friends were invited by Su Junsong to a small gathering on Luyou Island.

Only Gu Xiangning stayed behind, saying she wanted to see how Brother Zhou used to live.

Zhou Ning retrieved the small boat he used for fishing years ago, rowed with his famous oars, and carried her on a boat trip on Cuiwei Lake.

The sun wasn't too strong today, and a gentle breeze was blowing, making it quite comfortable.

Yesterday, Scholar Xu also came to participate in the "Seven-Year Agreement," but he had recently been fishing with Yuan Dahu and wanted to earn more money, so he only stayed for half a day before rushing off to go fishing.

Gu Xiangning tasted the Snow Mud Fruit, which Scholar Xu had picked from the lake. Zhou Ning had personally cooked them into a dish called "Osmanthus Rock Sugar Water Chestnuts".

Yes, Zhou Ning made these for Su Youyou before; women seem to love these sweet snacks.

Gu Xiangning took a small bite; the rock sugar, infused with the fragrance of osmanthus, was crisp, refreshing, and sweet—exceptionally delicious.

She then recalled the "Blueberry Yam Tower" from yesterday, which was said to be grown in the spiritual soil under the Yang Household's rule, and called something like Condensed Frost Marrow Root.

She only knew that it was soft, smooth, and delicious, and while tasting it, Zhao Ruoxue would occasionally look away.

"I really don't know where Brother Zhou learned this from. I should be the first to try it, right?"

Gu Xiangning in a good mood and said, "Scholar Xu has changed a lot. His beard is all unkempt; he doesn't even bother to groom himself."

Moreover, he looked weathered and worn, completely different from the young man in blue he once was.

Zhou Ning said, "Most of the retainers on the lake are like this."

He used to think that retainers were the same as honorary retainers, but later he realized that the Su Household only used this as a nice-sounding title; in reality, their treatment was not much better than that of servants.

He took a sip of the sweet rice wine and gazed at the vast lake.

"Brother Zhou, you haven't changed much."

Thirteen years have passed, and the person before me is still dressed in black, wearing black boots, only taller, with a more profound look in his eyes.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ning smiled and said, "Is that so?"

He looked Gu Xiangning up and down and found that she had grown from the little girl he remembered into a young woman with flowing black hair, though her eyes still held a light that was hard to understand.

Zhou Ning said, "You've grown into a beautiful young woman, much prettier now."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiangning felt a surge of shyness and didn't dare to look him in the eye for a moment.

She turned her head to look at the lake and asked, "So, who do you think is prettier, me or that girl from back then?"

Zhou Ning chuckled. Why was he comparing it to before?

Women really don't know what they're talking about.

He pondered for a moment, "When she grows up, she'll be as beautiful as you."

Gu Xiangning thought to herself, "Smooth-tongued."

However, his body language betrayed him; the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

The atmosphere was quiet for a moment.

Zhou Ning was about to get down to business. He wasn't just chatting idly; Gu Xiangning was a major asset to him in dealing with the Su Household.

He said, "I heard from Fellow Daoist Fang that you also intend to enter the Azure Ruins Secret Realm. This journey is extremely risky. Have you thought it through?"

Gu Xiangning said solemnly, "Of course, in the path of cultivation, without striving, one is doomed to certain death."

"Please don't die..."

Zhou Ning sighed, "At the very least... we'll talk about it after he's established his Immortal Foundation."

"Don't worry, what I'm about to do hasn't been accomplished yet, I won't die." Gu Xiangning was fixed.

Zhou Ning didn't ask for details. He said, "I heard that Myriad Peace Valley have also entered, so fighting is inevitable."

Just as Gu Xiangning had instructed him many years ago, he said:

"Remember this: never commit murder or robbery. It's easy to steal, but hard to stop. Once you become addicted, you'll fall into Evil Dao. Once evil thoughts arise, you'll see everyone as Storage Bag, and sooner or later, trouble will follow."

"Understood." Gu Xiangning remembered.

After a moment's hesitation, Zhou Ning finally took out a white jade bottle and handed it over.

"What is this?" Gu Xiangning at the milky white sugar pills in the bottle.

Zhou Ning didn't have much to give Gu Xiangning. The Fire Furuncle Fruit, though powerful and useful, was something he would never reveal his own abnormality to.

During this period, he helped refine the Essence Continuation Pill. Since they were all recovery-type pills, he gained some understanding of the Minor Essence Recovery Pill by analogy.

The day before yesterday, he took a drop of Earth Spirit Milk, refined it in three furnaces, and made ten pills.

He ate one, and sure enough, his Dantian was instantly filled with magical Law Power, without even taking a breath.

Zhou Ning considered carefully and said, "Inside are three pills to restore Law Power. I obtained them by chance years ago, and their effects are much better than the Essence Continuation Pill. You can use them."

Gu Xiangning slightly taken aback, her eyes filled with surprise.

"Brother Zhou, you had fortuitous opportunity?" He held back the words he was about to say.

She blinked, her eyelashes fluttering, and simply murmured "Mmm."