Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Testing the Pill on Himself
“See?” Song Wan Ning said, openly amused. “You meant well, but she doesn’t appreciate it.”

Lan Le flushed, anger darkening his eyes.

He truly hadn’t noticed before. So young, and yet so arrogant.

He flung his sleeve. “Your order was wrong to begin with. What does it have to do with any inheritance?”

“No wonder your pills have poison if you refine them like this!”

The crowd erupted again.

“So it really was Senior Sister Ye’s refining process?”

“No way. Didn’t she inherit the Medicine King Sect legacy?”

“It’s spread throughout the Cultivation World—Ye Chu Xue of the Heaven-Questioning Sect got the Medicine King Sect inheritance and is about to become the next generation alchemy grandmaster. That can’t be fake, right?”

“Maybe it’s a new method Martial Uncle Lan hasn’t seen.”

“It must be. It’s a top pill formula. Of course it differs from ordinary methods…”

Most of the disciples still leaned toward Ye Chu Xue.

To them, the name Medicine King Sect itself was authority. Even Lan Le’s words couldn’t shake it.

Lan Le’s vision went dark with rage.

Every word sounded the same as Ye Chu Xue’s: that he lacked knowledge.

He clenched his jaw and looked straight at Song Wan Ning. “Junior Sister Song. You tell them. Is her step wrong or not?”

These people were infuriating him to death.

Everyone turned to Song Wan Ning.

Song Wan Ning lounged against the stone chair, legs crossed, gaze flicking lazily over Ye Chu Xue’s stubborn face. “Of course she’s the one with the problem. This lord said it long ago.”

“She refined the pill with the wrong steps, produced severe pill toxin, and then framed Li Ruo…”

“Impossible!” Ye Chu Xue cut her off, fists clenched. “You’re slandering me to clear Li Ruo!”

“My pills absolutely can’t have a problem!”

Gu Qing Yuan’s brows knitted. Seeing his beloved disciple cornered, he couldn’t help speaking. “I believe Chu Xue.”

He met the crowd’s eyes, steady and firm. “Let her finish refining first. We’ll know whether there’s poison once we test it.”

“Yes!” Ye Chu Xue’s eyes lit up. “We’ll know once we test it!”

“Tsk.” Song Wan Ning clicked her tongue, unimpressed. “I don’t think that’s appropriate.”

She tilted her head, voice almost conversational. “Even birds are living creatures. How innocent they are. Why should they be test subjects? Martial Niece Ye keeps saying all lives are equal—yet she can bear to do that?”

A pause. Then she smiled.

“I say… let Martial Niece Ye test the pill on herself. That would be fairer.”

A strange light glinted in her eyes.

Step by step. Link by link.

They were like moths in a spider’s web. The harder they struggled, the tighter it wrapped.

“No.” Gu Qing Yuan rejected it instantly. “I’ll eat the pill she refines.”

He trusted Ye Chu Xue completely. Even if Mount Tai collapsed, his faith wouldn’t waver.

But more than that, he couldn’t bear to let Ye Chu Xue take the risk.

For a beat, Song Wan Ning’s smile stiffened.

Then her brows lifted, and excitement returned—bright, almost delighted.

“Fine,” she said softly. “That’s even better…”

Ye Chu Xue hesitated, but she told herself there was no way she could be wrong. She looked at Gu Qing Yuan, voice earnest. “Master, don’t worry. This disciple will definitely succeed.”

“All right.” Gu Qing Yuan’s gaze softened. “I trust you.”

He moved to stand nearby, watching over her, silent and unwavering.

Liu Lan Yi nearly blacked out.

Gu Qing Yuan dared to display affection so openly—shameless.

If her friend were here, they might clean house on the spot.

What disgrace.

Ye Chu Xue steadied herself and continued. Lan Le, stung, stopped trying to intervene and sat off to the side, hands folded, cold and indifferent.

So you don’t believe him?

Fine.

Just wait and see how you end this later.

Everyone waited for Ye Chu Xue to finish. Only Li Ruo edged closer to Song Wan Ning and gently tugged her sleeve.

“Master… can you treat her?”

Song Wan Ning followed her gaze to Wu Dan, still unconscious on the ground. It seemed everyone else had forgotten her.

Only Li Ruo still worried.

“She’ll be fine,” Song Wan Ning said, her tone flat. “Let her lie there for a while. It’ll teach her a lesson.”

After this, Wu Dan probably wouldn’t dare take pills from others so casually again.

“Oh.” Li Ruo visibly relaxed, admiration rising in her eyes.

If Martial Uncle Lan couldn’t do it, her Master could.

Master was the best.

Song Wan Ning felt that burning gaze and paused.

In the Cultivation World, being too kind was never a good thing.

This little disciple still needed teaching.

Bang!

The lid of the pill furnace shot into the air. Flames roared upward, and rich medicinal fragrance rushed through the clearing.

“The pill is finished? So fast?”

Disciples surged forward on tiptoe, scrambling to get a look.

Ye Chu Xue caught the lid, peered into the furnace, and let out a long breath.

Four fifth-grade Spirit-Gathering Pills, mid-grade quality.

Her success rate had improved again.

Pride bloomed across her face as she gathered all four into her palm with a gesture.

The Sect Master’s eyes brightened. Satisfaction tugged at his mouth.

Give Ye Chu Xue a little more time, and she would definitely surpass Song Wan Ning.

Then let’s see what Song Wan Ning had to be smug about.

The disciples sucked in a breath, shock and admiration mixing.

Only Lan Le shut his eyes as though he couldn’t bear to watch.

“The pill is done,” Song Wan Ning said, sitting a little straighter. Her eyes burned with bright, hungry excitement. “Gu Qing Yuan—do you dare try it?”

Called out like that, Gu Qing Yuan felt something faintly wrong.

But he couldn’t back down now.

Clutching his chest, he walked to Ye Chu Xue and took a pill from her palm.

Ye Chu Xue’s throat tightened. For reasons she couldn’t name, nerves prickled through her.

Bai Yang and An Ze leaned in, staring hard.

As long as the pill was proven fine, the culprit would be Li Ruo.

Everything depended on this moment.

Under countless expectant gazes, Gu Qing Yuan lifted the pill and swallowed it in one bite.

It slid down his throat and dissolved into countless strands of essence, flowing through his meridians.

His weak complexion slowly regained color. The heaviness in his aura eased, his presence steadily recovering.

“See? I told you Senior Sister Ye’s pill wouldn’t have a problem!”

“Senior Sister Ye is amazing—pure skill to slap them in the face!”

“With Senior Sister Ye’s alchemy talent, if we say she’s number one in the Cultivation World, does anyone object?”

“No objections!”

The disciples erupted first, voices rising into excited chaos.

The Ye Chu Xue they supported was the world’s number one in the dao of alchemy.