Chapter 71: Only Responsible for Lying

Danyuan, inside the quiet room where the Third Elder usually meditates.

Xu Chen stood before the two Elders, his heart filled with trepidation and nervousness.

After Xuanhe Zhenren and the Third Elder each sat down on their meditation cushions, they exchanged a glance, and then Xuanhe Zhenren asked, "What is the situation with this spirit pill you refined? Can you explain it in detail?"

Xu Chen could only bite the bullet and say, "Disciple originally wanted to learn pill refining, so I asked for some spirit grass and spirit medicine from my senior brothers and sisters along with Thirteenth Senior Sister. After successfully refining several batches of Small Yuan Pills earlier, I had a sudden inspiration and tried to see if I could incorporate the Soul Power of a Soul Bead into them..."

The Third Elder's hand shook, and the three spirit pills nearly fell to the ground. He asked in astonishment, "You... are you saying this is truly just a Small Yuan Pill, but you incorporated the Soul Power of a Soul Bead?"

Xu Chen hurriedly nodded and said, "That is indeed the case. However, I did not expect that after the Soul Power was incorporated, the spirit fire would begin to spiral out of control. My cultivation is shallow, and my vital energy could not support it; I had to consume three Great Origin Pills in succession to barely suppress the pill furnace. If it weren't for the Third Elder's help, I fear the furnace would have already exploded."

The two old Daoists looked at each other with faces full of suspicion and surprise; it was clear they both found it inconceivable.

Soul Power is the most unfathomable thing. It is said that the Soul Returning Fruit is only able to be refined into a fourth-grade spirit pill that assists Spirit Realm Great Cultivators in cultivating their Primordial Spirit because it contains powerful Soul Power.

Yet Xu Chen had the whimsical idea to incorporate the Soul Power from a Soul Bead of mysterious origin into a Small Yuan Pill, which already had a fixed pill formula.

This was no longer just a simple whimsical idea; it was outright mind-boggling.

Even a Spirit Realm Great Cultivator would likely not think to experiment with pill refining in this way.

And what made it even more unbelievable was that he had actually succeeded.

The two old Daoists looked at each other again with strange expressions, clearly thinking the same thing: if Xu Chen was not lying, then this was certainly a piece of news capable of shaking the entire cultivation world, enough to change the future landscape of pill refining and cultivation.

These three pills were brimming with Spirit Qi and indeed emitted an aura that made one's soul tremble; regardless of quality or aura, they were sufficient to be ranked as first-grade spirit pills.

If one could cultivate using this kind of spirit pill rich in Soul Power during the Refining Essence into Qi stage, the soul would certainly be greatly enhanced, and in this way, the progress of cultivation would be greatly accelerated.

The goal of seeking the Dao through cultivation is to constantly temper the Three Souls and Seven Souls, strengthen the soul, and finally shed the mortal shell to refine a Yang Spirit and achieve the status of a True Immortal.

The Spirit Root is only an important condition, not a necessary one.

Even if a person has no Spirit Root, as long as they can cultivate their soul to an extremely powerful level, they can still become an immortal.

Because on the path of cultivation, apart from the Spirit Realm Great Cultivators who successfully pass their tribulations and advance, there is another type of special cultivator: the Yin Immortal. These are cultivators who dare not face their tribulations or have no hope of passing them; they dissolve their bodies and disperse their Qi, leaving only their Primordial Spirit, and then survive by borrowing the bodies of others or other objects. They can still be immortal and indestructible, and possess the ability to fly, escape, move mountains, and fill seas.

However, once a cultivator undergoes corpse-dissolution to become a Yin Immortal, they are rejected by heaven and earth and are extremely prone to encountering lightning tribulations that cause their souls to scatter completely.

Therefore, Yin Immortals are extremely rare in the world and generally hide very deeply, not revealing themselves easily.

Because the matter was special and mind-boggling, the two Elders were both curious and cautious, so they took turns questioning Xu Chen about the pill refining process.

Xu Chen naturally stuck to his story about the Soul Bead and described the pill refining process in detail.

When the Third Elder specifically asked how he incorporated the Soul Power from the Soul Bead into the pill, Xu Chen was a bit stumped, indicating that he just used his Divine Sense to guide the Soul Bead in, and as for the principles and reasons, he was naturally ignorant and knew nothing.

For a full half-hour, Xu Chen dealt with the two Elders, but he was also left with a forehead full of sweat and was so nervous he could barely hold his bladder.

In the end, Xuanhe Zhenren saw his little disciple's helpless, nervous state, felt it was unbearable to keep asking, and waved his hand to dismiss him.

After leaving the Danyuan, Xu Chen let out a long, secret sigh of relief, patted his chest, and hurriedly flew his sword back to his small wooden house.

In the vast world, only the small wooden house where he had lived alone for three years was the place where he felt most at ease.

Although he respected his unreliable Master, this kind of secret could not be told, and even if it were, it could never be proven, let alone explained away.

Since he had already told the lie about killing the Demon Wolf in Black Wind Ridge, he now had a mature excuse to continue lying using the Soul Bead.

As for whether the Third Elder could successfully replicate the pill refining process, that was none of his business.

He was only responsible for lying, not for covering his tracks.

Besides, opportunities and fortuitous encounters are common in cultivation; everyone has their own secrets. Even his Master, Xuanhe Zhenren, could not force him to reveal this secret; otherwise, the Immortal World would not be the Immortal World—it would be hell or the underworld.

"Senior Brother, how do you view this matter?"

In the quiet room of the Danyuan, the Third Elder looked at Xuanhe Zhenren with a strange expression.

Xuanhe Zhenren smiled slightly and said, "This matter naturally has its peculiarities, but in seeking the Dao through cultivation, everyone relies on their own opportunities; how can one know everything? I think there is no need to delve deeper into this. However, Junior Brother, you can still experiment more with the matter of Soul Beads entering pills. If it truly succeeds, it will be a work of immeasurable merit."

The Third Elder could only smile bitterly and nod, "Very well. Since Senior Brother says so, I will not ask further. However, what do you think about the previous suggestion of having Chen'er come to the Danyuan?"

Xuanhe Zhenren pondered, "I originally thought his aptitude was limited and his future achievements would not be high, and that he would surely have no success in pill refining. But I didn't expect him to easily refine Small Yuan Pills, and today he gave us such a big surprise. Junior Brother, you can arrange this matter yourself; as long as he is willing, it is fine."

The Third Elder's old face immediately beamed with a bright smile, "Then it is settled; from now on, Chen'er belongs to my Danyuan."

Xuanhe Zhenren smiled and nodded, saying, "This is his opportunity. Perhaps in the future, he will blaze a new trail in pill refining. Junior Brother, teach him with care; I also want to see what kind of miraculous pills he can refine in the future."

Having said that, Xuanhe Zhenren picked up a mutated, jade-green Small Yuan Pill, observed it intently for a long time, and said, "I have practiced for a hundred years, yet this is the first time I have seen such a miraculous spirit pill. I do not know what the effects are like. You and I shall each consume one to experience it; it will also serve to verify and exchange our thoughts."

The Third Elder was overjoyed, "That would be best. Senior Brother, you were severely injured by Qingyunzi last time; your Dao foundation was damaged and your soul was also harmed. If this pill can truly help strengthen the soul, perhaps we both still have a chance to break through to the Danyuan Realm."

Xuanhe Zhenren laughed heartily, "Then we shall see if the pills my disciple refined are truly that miraculous."

The two looked at each other and smiled, then each consumed one of the Small Yuan Pills Xu Chen had just refined, closed their eyes, and began to meditate to refine them.

Xu Chen naturally did not know that the two old fellows had already consumed two of the white-Qi Small Yuan Pills he had spent so much effort and even three Great Origin Pills to refine.

When he returned to the small wooden house, the group of senior brothers and sisters had not yet left; they were still standing on tiptoe, craning their necks, waiting for him to return and clear up their confusion.

Facing the agitated group of senior brothers and sisters, Xu Chen was naturally too lazy to explain, so he used the two Elders as a shield, saying only that the Elders did not allow him to speak. After a bout of commotion, the group of senior brothers and sisters could only leave, filled with unwillingness and doubt.

In the end, only Zhao Xuan and Seventh Senior Sister Qu Mei remained.

"Seventh Senior Sister, why are you still here?"

After Xu Chen bowed to everyone and sent the large group away, he found Qu Mei squatting in front of the pill furnace, examining it closely, so he stepped forward to ask.

Qu Mei stood up with a strange expression and pointed at the pill furnace, "This furnace of yours is useless; it has already cracked!"

Xu Chen leaned in to take a closer look and his face immediately turned bitter.

Sure enough, a thin crack had appeared on the pill furnace, so he said with a depressed face, "This pill furnace is too poor; it broke after only a few days of use!"

Zhao Xuan, standing to the side, was torn between laughter and tears, "You only used it for a few days, but the commotion you made while refining pills was terrifying. This is just a crack; if I hadn't seen that the situation was wrong and hurriedly asked the Third Elder to help, I fear your life would have been in danger if the furnace had exploded."

Xu Chen knew this was true, so he thanked her a few times. Qu Mei glared and said, "Why do you only thank the Junior Sister and not me? If I hadn't observed carefully, the next time you refined pills, it would definitely have exploded."

Xu Chen curled his lip, "I consumed three Great Origin Pills today just to refine three Small Yuan Pills. Do you think I would be stupid enough to continue refining pills?"

"Heh heh heh heh..." Zhao Xuan laughed so hard she nearly collapsed to the ground.

Qu Mei also had her mouth open for a long time before closing it. Finally, she said irritably, "You are indeed a fool, but your Small Yuan Pills are unique; their quality is no worse than Great Origin Pills, and their effects might even be very special. How about this: I will get you a good pill furnace, and next time you help me refine a batch of these Small Yuan Pills, how about that?"

Xu Chen was overjoyed upon hearing this and hurriedly asked, "What kind of good pill furnace is Seventh Senior Sister planning to give me?"

Qu Mei smiled mysteriously, "At least a second-grade one; I guarantee you will be satisfied. But you must not trick me out of the promised pills."

Xu Chen was so excited he couldn't close his legs, nodding repeatedly as he said, "Rest assured, rest assured. As long as you bring the Pill Furnace, I won't even need you to provide the medicinal herbs; I guarantee you'll be satisfied. However, you still have to give me three Great Origin Pills, otherwise, I can't afford the consumption."

Qu Mei rolled her eyes immediately and said, "You really are a loser. Why aren't you hurrying up to cultivate instead of messing around with all sorts of nonsense every single day? Forget it, seeing as refining pills is indeed exhausting for you, I'll prepare the medicinal herbs and pills for you. I can even come to protect your dharma. Just make sure you refine the pills when the time comes. I'm heading back now, wait for my news!"

"Hey, take care, Seventh Senior Sister!"

Watching Qu Mei step onto her Flying Sword and vanish into the distance, Xu Chen plopped down onto the ground.

This batch of pills had taken most of the day to refine, almost draining his essence, energy, and spirit dry; he was now both exhausted and sleepy.

Xiao Huli jumped onto him and nudged his Storage Bag back and forth, so Xu Chen had no choice but to take out a Qingshui Pill he had refined and feed it to her, then he said gloomily, "Senior Sister, I might have to go to the Danyuan in a few days to learn alchemy from the Third Elder."

Zhao Xuan smiled and said, "This is a good thing. Junior Brother, you have great talent for alchemy, it's just that your cultivation is a bit too low. If you could reach the Zhenyuan Realm, you would certainly be able to easily refine many first-grade or even second-grade pills."

Xu Chen sighed and said, "Although alchemy is a good thing, it consumes too much time and energy. I'm afraid I won't have much time to look after the Medicine Garden in the future."

Zhao Xuan gathered her skirt and sat down beside him, stroking Xiao Huli as she said, "You have me. Rest assured, I will help you take good care of the Medicine Garden."

Xu Chen nodded, then sighed again, "Those strange things require a massive amount of Spirit Stones to grow. I wonder where one can get Spirit Stones?"

Zhao Xuan immediately shook her head and said with a bitter smile, "I wouldn't know about that. I don't have a single Spirit Stone on me right now."

And so, the two siblings, both too poor to even afford dirt, sat together in front of the cliff, lost in thought.

(End of this chapter)