Chapter 93

Chapter 93: Binding the Treasure

That teasing voice cut off Yun Xi and Mu Ning Zhu and also caught Sheng Yu Hong’s attention.

Yun Xi looked toward the source. The one speaking was a striking beauty among the four from Hundred Flowers Pavilion. Her phoenix eyes tilted upward as she stared straight at Yun Xi, and she even blinked at her. The flirting was obvious.

Sheng Yu Hong’s face darkened. This was blatant poaching. His brows furrowed as he was about to speak, but Yun Xi stood up first.

She cupped her fists and bowed to the other party, smiling with dimples. “Thank you, beautiful big sister, for your kindness. But this junior has already joined the Hao Ran Sect, and I have no intention of betraying my sect. Please forgive me.”

The beauty narrowed her phoenix eyes, then smiled. “You’re pretty interesting. Let’s be friends, then. I’m Yu Qing Cheng of Hundred Flowers Pavilion. This is my message talisman.”

After speaking, Yu Qing Cheng flicked the message talisman over.

Yun Xi immediately raised her hand and caught it, then put it into her storage pouch. She offered her own message talisman in return and introduced herself. “This junior is Wei Yun Xi, an Outer Sect disciple of the Hao Ran Sect.”

Yu Qing Cheng accepted the talisman, her phoenix eyes bright. “No wonder you’re the second-largest sect in the west. A genius Foundation Establishment seedling like you is only an Outer Sect disciple.”

“This junior reached Foundation Establishment by luck in the Bao Hua Mountain range, with help from the sect’s Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters,” Yun Xi said. “I haven’t changed my sect jade token yet, so I’m still an Outer Sect disciple. Once I return to the sect, I’ll be automatically promoted to an inner sect disciple.”

Yun Xi knew how to speak. In two short sentences, she explained the reason clearly. Sheng Yu Hong and the others felt comfortable hearing it.

Yu Qing Cheng still felt some regret. Just now, she had used a trace of seductive power on this little girl, but the little girl showed no reaction at all. Her charm techniques worked on both men and women, yet she hit a wall with this child, so she felt the urge to poach her.

Yu Qing Cheng did not know that Wei Yun Xi’s divine sense far exceeded her cultivation. Even though Wei Yun Xi had taken the mental suppressant, she had only pressed her divine sense down to the Nascent Soul Stage. With Yu Qing Cheng’s mid Foundation Establishment strength, she naturally could not charm Yun Xi.

Yun Xi did not dislike beauties, but she also knew the Cultivation World was full of danger, and it was always wise to be cautious. After saying a few simple lines, she sat back down and continued drinking her spiritual tea.

Sheng Yu Hong was very satisfied with Yun Xi’s response. When they traveled outside, they represented not only themselves but also the sect. They had to be firm when needed and polite when needed. There was no reason to make enemies everywhere.

“Fellow Daoist Sheng, are you also here under sect orders to investigate the anomaly in the Bao Hua Mountain range?” a male cultivator among the four, whose cultivation was on par with Sheng Yu Hong, asked first.

Sheng Yu Hong replied calmly, “I accepted a sect mission to search the Bao Hua Mountain range for missing fellow disciples, and I happened to encounter the anomaly in Bao Hua Mountain.”

“Hundred Flowers Pavilion Daoists arrived quite quickly. What have you found out?”

The handsome male cultivator smiled slightly. “We were ordered to deliver Hundred Flowers Brew to Bao Hua City. We didn’t expect to run into this sort of opportunity, so we stayed two extra days. We only know it’s a newly emerged secret realm. I believe the major sects will send people soon.”

That was about the same as what Sheng Yu Hong had heard. The higher-level cultivators who went to investigate had not returned to Bao Hua City, so the details were still unclear.

The two sides exchanged a few neutral words, then left the tea house separately.

Sheng Yu Hong could only lead everyone back to the sect outpost. After giving a few reminders, he dismissed them and prepared to send another message to the sect.

Yun Xi returned to her room. First, she pulled Dian Dian out of her arms and checked him. The little one was still cultivating, his small belly rising and falling in a steady rhythm. She could not help but rub him gently, then put him back into her arms.

Next, she took out the treasures she bought today for two thousand eight hundred mid-grade spirit stones.

She first refined the Violet-Gold Coiling Dragon Cauldron with a drop of blood. The violet-gold alchemy furnace looked extremely noble. The two lifelike violet dragons coiled around the cauldron, head to tail, as if they could fly out of the furnace at any second.

Yun Xi embedded a mid-grade spirit stone into the slot at the bottom of the furnace. Soon, a purple flame burned beneath it. This was the flame that came with the furnace.

“I’ll test it first.”

Yun Xi pulled out spirit rice and auxiliary spiritual plants for refining fasting pills from her storage pouch. She formed hand seals and gathered water, thoroughly washing the enlarged furnace inside and out. This was the first step of alchemy: there could be no leftover dregs from the previous batch, or it would affect the medicine in the next batch.

The second step was preheating the furnace, letting it heat evenly. After it reached the temperature she needed, she raised her hand and tossed the spirit rice and spiritual plants into the furnace one by one. Then she formed hand seals again and began the first stage of refinement.

This tested an alchemist’s divine sense and control over the fire. Fortunately, Yun Xi’s divine sense was strong enough that not a single change in the furnace’s contents escaped her eyes.

As the furnace refined the spiritual plants, the two violet dragons on the furnace body seemed to come alive, swimming around the cauldron and speeding up the refinement. It also looked extremely flashy. At the same time, Yun Xi’s spiritual energy poured into the furnace without stopping.

Once the spiritual plants were refined into medicinal liquid, Yun Xi began forming seals to remove impurities. This also tested divine sense. After she removed every last impurity, she moved to the final step: congealing the pills. Yun Xi’s hands flew through the seals, and she withdrew the pill fire.

A moment later, pill fragrance seeped out of the furnace. Only then did Yun Xi stop, wave her sleeve to open the lid, and pick up the congealed pills to examine them carefully.

This batch of fasting pills produced a full ten pills. Two were top-grade, and the rest were high-grade. She was very satisfied.

“This alchemy furnace is pretty good. It’s smooth to use, and it’ll be enough for me until the Golden Core Stage.”

After testing it, Yun Xi stored the Violet-Gold Coiling Dragon Cauldron in her storage ring.

Then Yun Xi grabbed Seven-Star Doom Staff in her hands. To be honest, she also held a trace of hope. What if she really could light all seven stars? So without hesitation, she dripped her essence blood onto the black staff. After the blood was absorbed, she gripped Seven-Star Doom Staff with one hand and felt the connection between herself and the staff.

The black staff slowly extended until it reached one and a half meters, matching Yun Xi’s current height well.

On the staff body was a carved relief shaped like the Big Dipper Seven Stars. That was probably where the name Seven-Star Doom Staff came from. Yun Xi tried swinging it with one hand, and the weight was still within what she could handle.

The moment that thought appeared, she felt the staff’s weight increase. She immediately grabbed it with both hands, barely keeping herself from being dragged down.

“Wow! That’s heavy. Interesting.”

Yun Xi felt that this one thousand mid-grade spirit stones was well spent. Whether she could light the seven stars or not, she planned to keep this treasure.

She gripped the staff with both hands, spun a staff flourish, and brought it down in a vertical chop. The staff slammed heavily into the ground.

With a dull boom, a crack appeared where the staff struck, slowly spreading toward the doorway.

“I’m dead. I caused trouble!”

The next instant, Yun Xi sensed a tremor coming up from the ground. Her little face scrunched in fright. “No way. That one swing can trigger an earthquake?”