Chapter 9: Refining

  There will be another chapter tonight, please collect and recommend

  *****

  Rumors spread like they had grown wings and flew quickly. The scene just now - Ling Xiao being valued by Fu Ling, being heavily rewarded, soon quietly circulated among the outer sect disciples.

  Moreover, the more it was passed down, the more absurd it became. At first, it was just that Ling Xiao was valued by Fu Ling, but later on, there were even rumors that Ling Xiao had already been internally set as an inner door disciple, and as long as his cultivation improved a bit more, he could be exceptionally accepted. The rumor spread as if it were true, making people believe it without doubt.

  Further back, there were even rumors that Ling Xiao and Fu Ling had been betrothed since they were young, but due to their vastly different cultivation levels, it didn't work out...

  Of course, this statement is too absurd and nobody believes it.

  However, Ling Xiao was valued by Fu Ling, so it should be good. As soon as Ling Xiao stepped out of the door, he was welcomed by a group of outer disciples, who called him "Ling Shixiong" with warmth.

  Watching a group of fellow disciples who usually just nod at him, now one by one squeezed out smiling faces to greet him, Ling Xiao couldn't help but feel a bit dizzy. Fortunately, he was also quite good at adapting, carefully returning the greetings one by one, so as not to neglect anyone.

  After a good fight, he finally left his fellow disciples.

  Ling Xiao couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling that it was even more exhausting than refining pills or fighting. He smiled bitterly and complained, "It's just a single pellet of medicine, why such a big reaction..."

  He was really worried, if he had a choice, he would rather only refine a single low-grade Pei Yuan Dan to avoid all this trouble. After all, his "Dan Refining Technique" relied entirely on the strange flame in his body. This was also something he dared not reveal, lest it attract envy from others.

  Of course, if others were to find out that he was complaining about the quality of the elixir being too high, they would probably be so angry that they would spit blood. Who isn't risking their lives to refine even higher-quality elixirs? Where is there anyone who has successfully refined one and still complains...

  Fengyi beside him couldn't help but purse her lips and lower her head to stifle a smile, "Ling Xiao is indeed very impressive." She saw Ling Xiao perform well and was happy for him in her heart.

  Ling Xiao looked at her with a helpless shake of his head. Although he was close to Feng Yi, it wasn't easy for him to talk about the matter of the flames with her either. Fortunately, Feng Yi still treated him as usual; if she had also put on a flattering face towards him, he really wouldn't have known how to react.

  Two people were talking and leaving, but suddenly two people chased up from the side, and the woman patted Fengyi's shoulder and pulled her to one side, "Xiao Yi, come with me..."

  "Ah, Teacher Ru, good..."

  Fengyi barely had time to respond with a single word before she was dragged away without warning.

  That person wore a red dress, with a slender figure, and was indeed radiant. Ling Xiao recognized her as Ma Rou, who also entered the sect that year, but now had already reached the third layer of Qi Refining.

  Her cultivation was profound, and she had a stunning appearance. Her demeanor was bold and heroic, like that of a man. As such, her reputation among the outer sects was quite renowned, only slightly inferior to that of Qi Ming. However, she had a careless and overbearing personality, which often made her appear domineering and inconsiderate of others' feelings, resulting in poor relationships with those around her.

  But for some reason, she was particularly close to Fengyi and often took care of her. As for Ling Xiao, although he pretended not to know her in front of Fengyi, he didn't have a good expression either.

  At this time, Fengyi was pulled away from his side without saying a word.

  It was the person behind her who cast a apologetic glance at Ling Xiao.

  Ling Xiao smiled wryly. The person behind Ma Rou was her fraternal younger brother, named Ma Lan, who also had a cultivation of three layers of Qi Refining, only slightly later than Ma Rou by several months, but he was much more low-key and cautious than his older sister.

  "Xiao Yi, next month we're planning to go to Beifeng Spider Ridge to hunt and kill some monsters. Why don't you come with us?"

  "Ah, okay——just——"

  Feng Yi is a gentle and soft-hearted person who doesn't quite know how to refuse others. However, thinking of Ling Xiao, she hesitated.

  Ma Rou glanced over with her eyes, pouting, "What's it to him? Only practiced one layer of Qi, stupid to death! Anyway, he can refine Dan, not afraid."

  Feng Yi's face fell immediately, and she protested: "Ru Shijie, Ling Xiao is very formidable!"

  "Alright, alright..." Ma Rou had to change her tone, one thing after another. She was usually very casual, but she happened to be very obedient to Feng Yi, "Going deep into the mountains to hunt and kill demonic beasts is still very dangerous. His cultivation is still low, it's not good to bring him along."

  Fengyi also knew that the skin, bones, and claws of the demon beast were often used as materials for refining elixirs and equipment, and were highly valuable. Therefore, hunting and killing demon beasts could earn a lot of contribution points for the sect. However, demon beasts were ferocious and extremely dangerous, and without having reached the third layer of Qi refinement, one would never dare to attempt this.

  She herself had just broken through to the second layer of Qi training, and originally she wouldn't have been able to do it either. It was only because of Ma Rou and Ma Lan's care that she could barely manage.

  "Then I'll go ask Ling Xiao if he's going..."

  Ma Chutian's face turned red with anger and she muttered: "Ling Xiao, Ling Xiao, I really don't know what's good about him, you're always thinking of him!"

  Ling Xiao naturally wouldn't object, when Feng Yi first broke through, Ma Rou's siblings took her to hunt and kill demonic beasts together, being careful made the danger smaller. It was only later that Feng Yi always wanted to be with Ling Xiao, so she gave up.

  However, now that Ling Xiao has that strange flame and his own abacus, it's safer for him to act alone. Ma Rong's siblings inviting Fengyi again was just what he wanted, so he said: "Hmm, okay, next I plan to close my doors and try to break through the second layer of Qi training, you can go with them too. Ma Rong Shifu, please take care of Fengyi for me."

  Feng Yi exclaimed in surprise as soon as he connected: "Ling Xiao, are you about to break through?"

  Ling Xiao nodded slightly.

  "Fengyi smiled and said: 'Then focus on your cultivation, when you break through to the second layer of Qi Refining, we'll be together again!'"

  Ling Xiao smiled and agreed, while Ma Rou's face had already turned dark. She didn't want to drag Ling Xiao along, even if he broke through to the second layer of Qi Refining, what was the point?

  ……

  But after that day, things returned to their usual calmness.

  Every day, I go to the deep mountains to gather medicine during the daytime and continue to accumulate contribution points for my sect. At night, I am alone in the house, relying on the elixir bestowed by Fowling to cultivate diligently; it's quite a comfortable life.

  Oh, of course, he also changed the place where he picked herbs from the usual North Peak to Yun Valley east of Qiyun Peak.

  Yungu is also an outer disciple of the Qiyun Sect, one of the places where he often collects medicine. Compared to Beifeng, it's a bit darker and more humid, and the spiritual herbs that grow here are more inclined towards yin attributes, such as Xuan Yin Hua and Han Shui Lian.

  There was nothing particularly good or bad about the place, but he and Fengyi were used to picking herbs on Beifeng, so when they came here, Fengyi curiously asked a question.

  Ling Xiao responded with a few perfunctory words and didn't say much more.

  Later, I also heard that many outer sect brothers who were collecting medicine on the North Peak had poor harvests last month and this month. Some even found spiritual herbs that had lost all their spiritual energy - only dry branches, stems, and leaves remained, with no spiritual energy left, and they were no different from ordinary flowers and grasses in the mortal world.

  This matter even shocked the sect's elder. It is said that two elders of the sect went to investigate and came back saying that there was a place in the mountain where the spiritual energy seemed to have been sucked away, making it much thinner than before. As for the reason, however, they couldn't find out. However, since the spiritual vein in the mountain still exists, the spiritual energy will naturally be replenished slowly, and there's no need to worry that it will damage the foundation.

  And so this matter was soon settled.

  Only Fengyi was even more admiring of Ling Xiao's "foresight" when she heard the news after returning from a hunt to kill demonic beasts, and couldn't help but exclaim "Ling Xiao is so amazing!" several times.

  But "awesome" Ling Xiao couldn't help but pause for a moment. Then he remembered the strange flame in his body, and thought of that peculiar Nine-Petal Grass which was only half as long as usual... His heart felt a chill, and he didn't know if there was any connection...

  Really don't know what this strange flame is.

  At this moment he was frightened and became even more cautious, secretly making up his mind that he could never use the flame in front of anyone again.

  At night, when he was alone in the house, he became more and more curious about the flame. Every evening, he would force the flame out of his body and try to study it in every way, although he couldn't find any other use for the flame, but he did become more skilled at driving it out. It could be considered an unexpected gain.

  The study of flames was temporarily like this, without much progress. But his cultivation, in this period, had made rapid progress.

  In the past, he would at most get 100 contribution points per month and exchange them for two low-grade Cultivation Pills. He would then take one pill every half a month to aid in his cultivation. This time, Fowling gave him five Cultivation Pills in one breath, including one high-grade pill. Moreover, the materials Ling Xiao contributed were also counted as 100 contribution points, and adding the other spiritual medicines he handed over, he got a total of 114 contribution points. He then used another 100 contribution points to exchange for two more low-grade Cultivation Pills, and suddenly had an ample supply of pills.

  Ling Xiao calculated and decided to take a low-grade Prenatal Dan every three days, and finally swallow the high-grade Prenatal Dan. This way, he would make gradual progress, relying on the power of the elixir to break through to the second layer of Qi Refining in one go.

  Of course, this is just his plan, and it's hard to say whether he can succeed in the end. If he can get a top-grade Cultivation Pill, that would be great. But for high-grade Cultivation Pills, their medicinal properties are not pure enough, so they won't be of much help when breaking through bottlenecks.

  But in any case, his cultivation has been making rapid progress in these days. The gains of the past ten or so days have already surpassed those of two or three months before.

  As for Fengyi, this month has been spent with Ma Rou's younger brother, wandering around Zhulian near Beifeng. He only returns once every three to five days, and each time he comes back, there are over twenty or even thirty contribution points added to his account. This makes Ling Xiao extremely envious, and also accelerates his own cultivation pace.

  And with Qi Ming's feud, although he knew that in the sect, the other party did not dare to be too arrogant, but Ling Xiao had some hidden worries in his heart, and his cultivation naturally became more tense.

  It's been half a month in the blink of an eye.