Hidden Jade Within the Qi Refining Hall

“Master, what do you think of that disciple from the Eighth Qi Refining Hall we just saw?”

Wen Xiruo, her long braid swinging wildly in her right hand, skipped ahead, a clear bounce in her step. It was evident she was in high spirits today, as getting to “slack off” officially with Wu Xiong was a rare opportunity indeed.

Wu Xiong nodded slightly, offering praise. “Their aura is full and even; it’s clear their mindset is very stable. However, with that old fellow Zhu Manzhi absent today, I can’t discern the spiritual root attribute of that particular disciple. We’ll have to wait and see.”

“So, as we’ve walked through the Ninth Hall, Master, have you noticed anyone suspicious?”

Upon hearing this, Wu Xiong’s expression immediately darkened. “There are so many disciples in the Skill Transmission Pavilion, yet even the Ninth Qi Refining Hall, where we had the most hope of finding the person who wrote that pill formula, yielded no clues. I think there’s no need to even bother with these last two halls.”

“Ordinary disciples wouldn’t even have the chance to come into contact with pill refining without first establishing their foundation. How could they possibly write such an exquisite method for alchemy?”

Wen Xiruo pondered this, realizing the truth in his words, and then suggested, “Then… shall we call it a day?”

Wu Xiong stood still in the plaza for a long moment before finally speaking. “Since we’re already here, we might as well look around. It’s not often that Zhu Manzhi is away from the Skill Transmission Pavilion. Without him, we’ll avoid a lot of trouble.”

Second Qi Refining Hall.

“Wugou, when I woke up this morning, I felt completely refreshed, and even my five senses seemed much clearer.”

Hua Youdie had somehow traded something with an older disciple to acquire the meditation cushion right next to Wugou.

Wugou tossed and turned, a flicker of impatience stirring within him. The previous night, the side effects of that ‘Marching Pill’ had kept him awake.

He had suffered from insomnia.

Furthermore, he had gone to the cafeteria at noon with no appetite, which had led Xing Wuji, the head chef, to mistakenly believe there was something wrong with his cooking.

Annoyance gnawed at him.

Right now, Wugou only wanted to catch up on sleep, but Hua Youdie was droning on like a monk performing morning prayers in a temple.

“Your spiritual roots aren’t weak to begin with. It’s natural to feel this way after breaking through to the second stage of Qi Refining and having your meridians cleared. Is there really any need to make such a fuss?” Wugou said, his eyes still closed. “Look how calm Lu Jinhan is.”

Hua Youdie craned his neck, glancing at Lu Jinhan, then turned back, huffing indignantly. “That kid is just overly competitive; he’s incredibly boring.”

“Aren’t you the same?” Wugou replied flatly.

“Uh…”

Hua Youdie’s throat tightened. Yesterday, he had swung from immense joy to profound sorrow, then from profound sorrow back to immense joy after consuming the pill Wugou had refined. He knew full well that if not for Wugou’s eccentric genius, he would likely be packing his bags and leaving today.

And wasn’t the root of all this his own impulsiveness? Yet, Hua Youdie was also a young man in the prime of his youth; who didn’t harbor a dream of heroism?

Hearing about the astonishing feat Wugou and Lu Jinhan had accomplished in Qi Refining Hall One, his blood had naturally stirred.

Though Hua Youdie now thought back and felt he had been quite foolish at the time, if not for that, how would he have ever encountered someone like Wugou in this world?

“I’m going to sleep now. Don’t wake me up for anything,” Wugou instructed, then covered his ears with his arms.

“Wugou? Wugou~ Is he really asleep?”

This kid slept every day, yet his cultivation never lagged behind. How did he manage it?

Hua Youdie shook his head. With Wugou asleep, he felt bored. Just as he was about to enter meditation, a graceful figure walked through the hall entrance.

‘This woman, why does she look so familiar?’

Hua Youdie’s eyesight was quite good, but he and Wugou had only caught a fleeting glimpse of Wen Xiruo in the Alchemy Pavilion yesterday. For a moment, he genuinely couldn’t recognize her.

When Wu Xiong also entered through the doorway, Hua Youdie’s heart jolted. ‘Isn’t that the old man I saw on the Alchemy Pavilion stairs yesterday?’

Only then did Hua Youdie recall that both the old man at the entrance and the beautiful woman were from the Alchemy Pavilion.

‘Oh no,’ he thought to himself. ‘Could I have left behind some trace when I stole the pills from the Alchemy Pavilion yesterday?’

Hua Youdie quickly lowered his head, then turned to glance at Wugou. Wugou was sleeping soundly, curled into a ball, his entire face conveniently hidden.

Disciples often stayed overnight in the Qi Refining Hall; everyone knew that. As long as Hua Youdie himself wasn’t discovered, the two from the Alchemy Pavilion naturally wouldn’t seek out Wugou.

Having made up his mind, Hua Youdie left his meditation cushion and stealthily slipped into the most crowded part of the hall, finding an empty spot to settle down.

“Hehe, I actually miss this place.”

Wen Xiruo offered a sweet, charming smile, drawing sidelong glances from many of the resting disciples in the hall.

For a moment, the hall filled with rustling and murmuring, becoming somewhat noisy.

“Look, Master, that meditation cushion there is where I used to sit. When I first joined, I endured quite a bit of bullying, you know!”

Wen Xiruo led Wu Xiong further inside the hall.

Wu Xiong, seeing his precious disciple like this, offered a knowing smile. “Haha, it’s no wonder that fellow Zhu Manzhi acts that way. I remember enduring quite a bit of hardship when I was your age too. Looking back now, having someone push you to become even better is actually a good thing.”

“Hmph! What’s so good about it? Everyone looks out for themselves; it’s quite meaningless.”

Wen Xiruo turned to make a face at Wu Xiong, then scurried towards her old meditation cushion.

Wu Xiong was inexplicably rebuffed, unsure of what he had said wrong. With a wry expression, he could only follow closely behind her.

“Oh, there’s actually a boy here! Just now, I didn’t see anyone sitting near the entrance, so I thought the spot was empty.”

Wen Xiruo, her hands clasped behind her back, bent down to curiously observe the boy on the meditation cushion.

Wugou remained undisturbed. Firstly, he was indeed incredibly exhausted. Secondly, neither Zhu Manzhi nor Zhu Youji was nearby, so Wugou’s “stress response to Old Man Zhu,” honed over a month, failed to activate.

Wen Xiruo possessed an excellent figure, and her bending posture made her curves particularly prominent.

Several faint gulps quietly arose and then faded away. Wen Xiruo’s arrival had caused quite a stir, waking many disciples from their meditation. Initially, these male disciples had worn expressions of annoyance, but upon opening their eyes to such a pleasing sight, their anger quickly subsided, though their breathing became notably more rapid.

“To be able to stay in the Second Qi Refining Hall at such a young age, he must be incredibly diligent, so much so that he’s fallen asleep right here.”

“Pfft!”

Several muffled laughs simultaneously erupted from around Wen Xiruo.

Wen Xiruo frowned, then stood up and snapped, “What’s wrong with all of you? Why are you laughing at me? Are you itching for a beating?”

Seeing the beauty’s anger, a disciple quickly waved his hands. “This Senior Sister might not know, but this boy is named Wugou. His talent is indeed exceptional, but your comment about him being diligent is what we find a little hard to accept.”

Wen Xiruo’s attire was far plainer compared to Wu Xiong’s, yet it was still considerably more elaborate than the standard uniforms of Skill Transmission Pavilion disciples. It was easy to tell she belonged to another pavilion, but as long as she wasn’t an entry-level disciple of the Skill Transmission Pavilion, addressing her as “Senior Sister” would never be wrong.

Wen Xiruo, upon hearing this, grew quite curious. “How so?”

“Senior Sister, this boy has been like this since the First Qi Refining Hall. Every day at noon, he comes to the Qi Refining Hall, arrives, sleeps, wakes up, and then leaves, without fail. He’s simply a lazy bum.”

This disciple was overjoyed to have such a beautiful girl as Wen Xiruo initiate conversation with him. He enthusiastically recounted Wugou’s numerous misdeeds.

“Then, how did he break through to the second stage of Qi Refining?”

Wen Xiruo tilted her head, finding it rather odd.

“This…”

Indeed, this kid was outrageously lazy, so how had he managed to reach the Second Qi Refining Hall?

High talent?

This kid was rumored to have innate full spiritual roots, but wasn’t Lu Jinhan the same?

The disciple glanced at Lu Jinhan in the distance.

Both possessed full spiritual roots, yet didn’t Lu Jinhan also diligently cultivate every day, just like them?

“This… Senior Sister, I wouldn’t know about that.”

“Xiruo, why bother with this child? So indolent! What does it matter how great his talent is? I’ve lived for so many years; have I seen few geniuses? Those who neglect their cultivation like this will regret it one day! Let us go!”

Wu Xiong let out a soft huff. He had the strongest aversion to those who were arrogant about their talents.

Among the fellow disciples who had entered the sect at the same time as Wu Xiong, there had been no shortage of exceptionally talented individuals. But where were they now? How many had truly achieved greatness?

The path of cultivation required both strictness and relaxation, but it certainly didn’t mean relaxing to the point of becoming a lazy pig.

Wen Xiruo stuck out her tongue at Wu Xiong’s retreating back, then turned to glance at the still-sleeping Wugou, still finding him amusing. However, seeing that her master had already reached the hall entrance, she quickly hastened to catch up.

After the previous incident, Wu Xiong’s expression was rather displeased, as if he had recalled some past events.

Wen Xiruo dared not speak much at this moment. As the two had already reached the entrance of the First Qi Refining Hall, she tentatively suggested, “Master, there’s still the First Qi Refining Hall. Shall we take a look? Perhaps we might find another disciple as talented as I am?”

By this point, neither of them held much hope of finding the person who had written the pill formula.

However, Wen Xiruo hoped to improve her master’s mood before they returned to the Alchemy Pavilion, hence her deliberate self-praise.

This master and disciple pair were always like this: if one became angry, the other would always find a way to cheer them up.

Wu Xiong glanced at the First Qi Refining Hall. It was remarkably quiet inside, a stark contrast to the atmosphere of the other halls.

After all, these were newly inducted disciples, full of youthful vigor, which gave it a rather pleasant feel.

Without hesitation, Wu Xiong walked directly towards the First Qi Refining Hall.

“Big guy, don’t lose heart! Look how strong you are; you’ll definitely succeed in breaking through!”

“Nian Yun’er, stop trying to comfort me. I don’t have innate full spiritual roots of the fire element like you do.”

Innate full spiritual roots of the fire element!

With such spiritual roots, why hadn’t that scoundrel Zhu Manzhi informed him at all?

Wu Xiong was startled the moment he entered. He quickly looked forward, where a girl, delicate as jade porcelain, was gazing worriedly at a… well, a burly man.

To call him merely burly would be an understatement. With a physique twice the height of an average adult and muscles like chiseled stone, he truly seemed blessed by the heavens. With proper guidance, he would undoubtedly achieve great things in the future.

After a moment of silent appreciation, Wu Xiong’s attention shifted. He only delighted in alchemy and had no interest in cultivators with combat talents like this burly man. Instead, his gaze fixed upon the delicate young girl standing beside the giant.

‘What incredible luck today, to discover such unpolished jade.’

Overwhelmed with pleasant surprise, Wu Xiong slowly and lightly stepped closer to Nian Yun’er.

Wen Xiruo also noticed Wu Xiong’s infatuated expression. Fortunately, she understood her master, Wu Xiong, very well. If anyone else had seen his cautious demeanor, they would likely have mistaken him for a child trafficker.

“Hey, old man, what are you sneaking over for?”

Zhang Biwei’s face was filled with caution. He extended an arm as thick as a tree trunk, shielding Nian Yun’er behind him.