Chapter 5: Chapter Five: Pill Refining Hall Disciples

Wei Yuning raised his hand and patted Man Niu's shoulder, saying, "Brother Niu, don't worry, you'll definitely achieve Foundation Establishment!"

"How do you know?" Man Niu widened his eyes and asked, looking foolishly cute.

"Because you're a bull!" Wei Yuning said with a sly grin.

"I'll beat you to death!" Man Niu didn't get Wei Yuning's joke, but Wei Yuning's smile made him furious; after a few seconds of silence he immediately threw a reverse punch. Wei Yuning, who had practiced parkour for years, was extremely agile and dodged the attack with a flash, then kicked Man Niu's thigh.

"Hahaha! You stupid big dumb ox!" A bell‑like laugh rang nearby, and the mockery in the laugh was obvious to anyone.

Wei Yuning followed the sound and saw a pretty young girl turning her face to watch Man Niu and him.

From her looks, the girl was no older than sixteen, the age of a middle‑school graduate, wearing a primarily teal dress with white trim; the skirt only reached the knees, and she wore pants underneath, looking clean and tidy, a bit avant‑garde and somewhat fashionable by Earth standards, with a red silk ribbon at her waist like a blaze of fire.

Unlike Qing Ling's cold expression, this delicate girl's eyes were curved as if constantly smiling. Although cultivators' appearances cannot be fixed, they can use pills or techniques to somewhat preserve their looks, but no cultivator would lock their body at a teenage age; they generally choose an adult appearance.

"Brother Man Niu, aren't you going to call me senior uncle?" the girl said seriously as Man Niu looked at her.

"I…" Man Niu, upon seeing the girl, flushed bright red, and the words "senior uncle" just wouldn't come out.

"Who are you? You talk slick, why are you with Brother Man Niu? Are you bullying him?"

Wei Yuning had thought a guy came to mock Man Niu, but unexpectedly it was someone defending him; judging by the attitude, the two seemed to know each other.

"Little girl, you can eat anything, but you mustn't speak recklessly, or I'll report you… Brother Niu is my brother, we're just sparring!" Wei Yuning said boisterously.

"What a little errand disciple, you call a Qing‑named disciple 'senior uncle'—do you know? You're daring to violate sect rules!" the girl's tone changed, but because she was so sweet‑looking, even her anger sounded like a coquettish whine.

"I…" Wei Yuning suddenly felt a bit scared; although he wasn't sure whether the girl was truly angry, he didn't dare gamble—if he truly broke sect rules, there would be no one to complain to.

"Xiao Fei, Senior Uncle Qing Fei, you mustn't blame Yuning; he's a new errand disciple today, knows nothing!" Man Niu, being kind, immediately defended Wei Yuning.

"Hmph, Brother Man Niu, I don't think he's a good person; don't be fooled by him!" The girl, for some reason, just couldn't stand Wei Yuning.

No wonder the girl had a poor impression of Wei Yuning; although his looks were no different from the locals, the slightly off‑kilter aura between his brows made him stand out in the crowd.

The three took their food and sat at the same table to eat.

The girl is a formal disciple of the Pill Refining Hall, already at Foundation Establishment; Wei Yuning and Man Niu really should call her senior uncle. She is a fellow villager of Man Niu, has known him since childhood, and the two families get along well. Both entered the Cloud Hidden Sect at the same time; within less than a year she successfully achieved Foundation Establishment, becoming a core member of the Pill Refining Hall, and the gap between her and the herb garden's Man Niu lies not only in talent but, more importantly, in future development.

All are outer disciples, but Pill Refining Hall disciples are elite, just below inner sect members; graduates of the Hall hold high positions in the sect, and because they are close to the resources, they receive extra pill assistance, so their cultivation speed is faster than ordinary peers.

Man Niu and Xiao Fei caught up, and Wei Yuning chimed in from time to time, gradually becoming familiar. Xiao Fei's impression of Wei Yuning improved a bit.

"Yuning, since you're roommates with Brother Man Niu and both in the herb garden, you must help each other. Next month I'll start refining Foundation Establishment Pills with the master; if… if I master it, I'll make one each for you two, but you'll have to provide the materials!" Xiao Fei looked around carefully, then whispered to the two.

However, Xiao Fei's mind was on the two of them, her eyes fixed on Man Niu. Clearly, Xiao Fei was mainly speaking to Man Niu, with Wei Yuning only an afterthought.

"Xiao Fei, I told you, I don't need it; relying on Foundation Establishment Pills for Foundation Establishment isn't good for later cultivation. I'll advance by my own strength. Trust me, I'm about to establish my foundation." Man Niu said ungratefully.

"You… you're such a big dumb ox, you can't walk the Golden Core Path; what's the point of that little difference? How many Golden Core Ancestors does the sect have? Do you still want to become a first‑generation founding elder, an earth Immortal? With your talent, you'd be better off establishing your foundation early, perceiving Heaven's Dao; maybe a greater opportunity will arise!" Xiao Fei said bitterly.

Man Niu lowered his head, chastised by Xiao Fei, but his stubborn attitude remained clear.

"Senior Uncle Qing Fei, Foundation Establishment Pill, right? I want it!" Wei Yuning said with a grin.

Xiao Fei let out a "hmph", stayed silent for a moment, then glanced at Man Niu again before saying to Wei Yuning, "Fine, I'm usually in the Pill Refining Hall; you can find me when you have time. I don't have a material list now! However, you're just a novice, so you may not know everything—Foundation Establishment Pills only raise the chance of success, they don't guarantee it, and the ingredients aren't cheap, so be prepared!"

"Don't worry, Senior Uncle Qing Fei, the materials are guaranteed!" Wei Yuning patted his chest and said. Shame only happens once; calling a young girl senior uncle once, you can call her ten thousand times.

How could he not see the girl's hidden motive? She simply didn't want to do it.

"Alright, that'll do!"

"By the way, Senior Uncle Qing Fei, I heard Brother Niu say there's no spiritual food today; you've already established your foundation, why are you still eating ordinary food?" Wei Yuning started making small talk to bond with the girl.

"Too lazy to tell you, junior disciple, be obedient and don't pry into elders' matters, hmph!" Accustomed to Wei Yuning's blunt mouth, Xiao Fei seemed to adapt to his way of speaking, becoming mischievous.

"Yuning, you don't know how we lived before. Our village lies at the foot of Nine Clouds Peak, in the Cloud Mist Mountains' Cloud Mist Forest. Many wild beasts roamed, constantly threatening the village. The harvest was poor, and we barely had full meals as children. Later the Cloud Hidden Sect's Spirit Beast Hall built a capture point in our village; after that, life improved. That's when Xiao Fei and I were selected by the sect and joined the Cloud Hidden Sect. So we're both very afraid of hunger. Any free food we'll eat, and the sect's food is already good enough!" Man Niu ignored Xiao Fei's gaze and explained the whole story.

Wei Yuning hadn't expected such a story. He looked at the food before him: a large chunk of unknown beast meat, fatty and lean, a few green fruits, and a piece of plant root, a decent match, nutritionally complete. However, the meat and root were boiled plain, with only salt and no other seasoning.

Actually the taste wasn't bad; after all the ingredients were pure, naturally‑grown, pollution‑free green food, but a little cooking would make it much tastier.

Wei Yuning's sense of superiority surged again. Though individuals here couldn't match Earthlings in combat, when it came to cuisine, these people were far behind.

After the meal, he said farewell to Xiao Fei; under Wei Yuning's continual attentiveness, the girl still kept her guard, but the guard was no longer that of a stranger—it had become a woman's caution toward a man.