Chapter 76

Chapter 76: On-Call Muscle at Your Service

Cough, cough, cough. From the mouth of a cave, a figure dashed out, face and jacket filmed in black soot so that only her nose, mouth, and those watery eyes were barely visible.

She broke into a silly grin as she waved a hand to cast a cleaning technique: Heh heh… just as expected, the furnace exploded. Good thing I ran fast. A shimmer swept away the grime until she was spotless.

Rong Shu pinched her cheeks and felt the skin springy and smooth; she relaxed at once and muttered with heartfelt relief: Good, good… no disfigurement.

After casting two more cleaning techniques into the cave, Rong Shu finally dared to step back inside. When she bolted earlier, she had swept everything she could into her Storage Pouch, so she had suffered little loss—aside from a scrapped Pill Furnace and one set of ingredients for refining a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Crouching by the slag, Rong Shu sifted through it and murmured as she identified the scorched remnants: Jade Marrow Fruit, Hundred Fragrance Flower, Dew Condensed Celestial Fragrance…

She fished out a tiny, pitch?black bud and bent close to study it. After a long look she froze, then her eyes flew wide as she barked a single word: Damn.

This is Qinglin Grass that looks similar to Qingyang Grass, no wonder the furnace exploded. The two herbs have completely opposite medicinal natures, yet they like to grow together in the same places like a cloying couple, so it is no surprise they got mixed up.

With a sigh, Rong Shu glanced from the slag to the ruined furnace and felt a stab of pain. That had been her only complete set of ingredients for a Foundation Establishment Pill. There was technically one more set, but it was missing the single herb Qingyang Grass—and the set that just blew up did not have Qingyang Grass either, it only had the look?alike Qinglin Grass mixed in.

She muttered as she tidied the mess: I thought that now I have refined fifty pill types proficiently, I could try my hand at a Foundation Establishment Pill…

The Foundation Establishment Pill was the last pill on Rong Shu’s current to?do list. Without ingredients, there was no way to proceed. Without realizing it, she had already spent a full month in closed?door pill refining, during which she successfully refined all fifty pill types required and even advanced both her fire and wood affinities to Qi Refining Fourth Layer. A modest harvest, all told.

She clapped the dust from her hands and touched the wristguard at her wrist; in the next instant her features shifted back to the plain, unremarkable visage of the demoness. She smirked as she adjusted her collar: It has been a month. The leeks should be nice and fat.

With that pleasant thought, Rong Shu stepped out of the cave.

She had not gone far when the sound of a quarrel drifted from ahead. One cold snort in particular sounded familiar: What do you think you are doing?

Rong Shu paused, tilting her head: Huh? That sounded like Cheng Bu Fan.

Thinking so, she flashed toward the source of the voices.

By the edge of a pool, Cheng Bu Fan swept an icy gaze over the seven people led by Gao Zheng and said with a level voice: The Seven Illusion Azure Lotus was clearly discovered by me first. Are you trying to seize it by force?

Gao Zheng’s seven fixed feverish eyes on the three stalks of Seven Illusion Azure Lotus growing on the water, their crystal clarity even more dazzling under the sun.

Gao Zheng lifted his hands in a placating gesture and spoke for the group: Cheng Bu Fan, we are all fellow disciples here, and we do not wish to sour relations.

Another chimed in from the side, trying for reason: Exactly. There are three stalks of Seven Illusion Azure Lotus in the pool. We do not want much, just two.

Gao Zheng sighed from within the group and laid out his case: The Seven Illusion Azure Lotus can let a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage advance an entire minor realm. You are already Qi Refining Ninth Layer and will advance before long. The lotus will not help you much. If you are willing to yield, we can exchange other treasures with you.

Cheng Bu Fan rolled his eyes and scoffed: I do not think so. Your grandfather found it first; why should I give it to you?

He curled his lip and added with relish: Even if I cannot use it, I would rather toss it like garbage to feed a dog than give it to you.

What a joke. Why should reaching Qi Refining Ninth Layer mean he did not need the Seven Illusion Azure Lotus? Could he not be a bit frail and in need of tonic? Why should he yield it to them? Because their faces were thick, because their cultivation was lower, because they were poor and had no resources?

The others’ patience snapped at those words. If not for worrying about Cheng Bu Fan’s identity, the seven of them would have already taken action.

One of them barked to Gao Zheng with cold impatience: Gao Zheng, save your breath. This is a secret realm, not Spirit Nurturing Peak. Even if we take the Seven Illusion Azure Lotus, that just means we got it by strength.

Another nodded sharply: That is right. In the world of cultivators, strength reigns and strength speaks.

Gao Zheng hesitated, his expression tightening: That… might not be wise. He is Peak Master Cheng’s son, after all.

A third shrugged and said with an easy smile: We are just sparring according to the rules. We will not take his life. The Peak Master will have no grounds to complain.

Voices chorused their agreement: Exactly.

Cheng Bu Fan clicked his tongue in disgust and threw the words back at Gao Zheng: Gao Zheng, do you not make yourself sick with all that pretended virtue?

Gao Zheng gave a soft sigh and put on a pained face: Cheng Bu Fan, is there some misunderstanding between us? I do not recall offending you.

Within the sect, many believed Cheng Bu Fan’s dislike of Gao Zheng was baseless, since Gao Zheng seemed unfailingly mild and courteous to everyone. But Cheng Bu Fan simply could not stomach Gao Zheng.

Years ago, Cheng Bu Fan had gone down the mountain with several fellow disciples on a mission, and Gao Zheng was in the team. In a small town, Gao Zheng, in front of the senior and junior brothers, gave all his silver to a beggar father and son.

At the time, the senior and junior brothers praised him for compassion and kindness. Later, however, after the others had left, Cheng Bu Fan happened to see Gao Zheng circle back in secret to that same pair of beggars and snatch back the very silver he had given. The look in Gao Zheng’s eyes then held no pity or compassion, only disgust and contempt. From that day, Cheng Bu Fan knew what Gao Zheng was: a man who said one thing to your face and did the opposite behind your back.

Cheng Bu Fan drew a Spirit Sword from his Storage Pouch and leveled the tip at the seven without a flicker of fear on his face as he snarled: Want the Seven Illusion Azure Lotus? Beat your grandpa first if you have the ability.

By the time Rong Shu crept within sight, the two sides were about to come to blows. Cheng Bu Fan was clearly at a disadvantage. Among the seven on the other side, the strongest was Qi Refining Tenth Layer and the weakest was Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

Rong Shu wanted to help, but she could not expose her true identity, and as the demoness she had even less reason to help Cheng Bu Fan.

Then her eyes lit with mischief as a thought struck: Got it.

Across the pool, Gao Zheng’s seven readied themselves to move first and pin down Cheng Bu Fan. At that moment, a rough female voice rang out, pitched low with a deliberately delicate lilt: Hello~

Everyone jumped at the sudden voice and turned in unison.

One of Gao Zheng’s group cursed under his breath, face changing: Damn… it is that demoness.

Smiling sweetly, Rong Shu regarded them all, though her gaze rested most fondly on Cheng Bu Fan as she purred her sales pitch: Dear customer, the latest On?Call Muscle promotion has just gone live. Not 9,999, not even 999. For just fifty percent of your gains, you can retain an enforcer both formidable and silver?tongued who will beat your mortal enemy until he howls.

She cocked her head and asked with bright innocence: So, does anyone want to place an order?