Chapter 30

Shen Qingli looked at him and said without a hint of guilt, "Naturally."

"Little junior brother, what are you thinking?" Baili Chongtong exclaimed, "She's coaxing you, and you believe it? Besides, you saw with your own eyes how my life-bound sword was destroyed—aren't you afraid she might tamper with the inheritance?"

Gu Cihe's expression shifted slightly, and Pei Jianshu had already pulled him away, looking indifferently at Shen Qingli, "You are indeed too scheming; know that the more you calculate, the more you lose."

Since you've entered Xuan Mountain, you must have seen the Primordial God Sovereign's inheritance manifest in the world. If you don't quibble over momentary gains and losses, with your recuperative power and the sect's compensation, the Primordial God Sovereign's inheritance might well end up yours.

Shen Qingli chuckled, "Am I being calculating? I haven't provoked anyone; Su Chacha went into demonic deviation on her own, ruining her foundation, so I must offer my phoenix bone—if I don't, that would be calculating?"

"After being forced to have my phoenix bone ripped out as punishment, I'm not even allowed to hate—if I hate, that's calculating? If they punish me by sending me into the Heavenly Thunder Pool, I can't resist—if I resist, that's calculating?"

"That must be calculated." Liu Meng grabbed Shen Qingli's shoulder, her large, round eyes calmly sweeping over the four from the Bijade Sect, and said decisively, "It sounds like you're not being calculating, yet I don't see you having obtained the Primordial God Sovereign's inheritance."

"Indeed." Zhan Yuefeng sized up Pei Jianshu from head to toe, "Fellow Daoist Pei, you're likely the next holy son of the Bijade Sect, so profoundly attuned to the divine. Too bad you can't even enter the Primordial God Sovereign's protective formation that we can get into."

"Who's saying my sister didn't obtain the Primordial God Sovereign's inheritance?" Shen Jin's figure squeezed out of the crowd and came to stand beside Shen Qingli. Just stepping aside a bit, these flies are truly omnipresent.

"What do you mean?"

Pei Jianshu recalled that familiar silhouette!

"Sister, I've caught the fish already—why are you still standing here chatting?"

Shen Jin, having changed the subject, pulled Shen Qingli toward the outside of the crowd; it seemed not easy, yet no one could stop him.

Even Baili Chongtong, who instinctively wanted to draw his sword to block, was shoved aside by Shen Jin.

As for Su Chacha, who was kneeling, Shen Jin accidentally kicked her.

She, who had just risen to her feet in pain, fell again with a "plop."

"Junior sister." Baili Chongtong hurriedly helped her up.

Pei Jianshu also grabbed Su Chacha, "Be careful."

"Thank you, second senior brother, thank you, first senior brother."

Su Chacha looked gratefully at the two, but saw Pei Jianshu tightly pressing his thin lips, his gaze fixed dead on Shen Qingli's back.

Looking at it this way, Pei Jianshu increasingly felt that the silhouette from back then truly resembled Shen Qingli.

Could it really be that she obtained the Primordial God Sovereign's inheritance?

This speculation was no longer suppressed by Pei Jianshu.

Only when the competition began the next day did Pei Jianshu finally let go, completely abandoning that ridiculous notion.

Because Shen Qingli's opponent in today's match was a disciple of the Medicine God Valley, who proposed to the Xuan Envoy a pill‑refining contest against Shen Qingli's beast‑taming ability.

Similar situations had occurred in previous years, after all, comparing only combat strength is truly unfair to pill refiners; the Xuan Envoy was about to agree, however——

"No need for all this trouble; let's just compete in pill refining together." Shen Qingli produced the Nine Heavens Mysterious Cauldron she had just obtained yesterday, "According to the rules of pill refiners, whoever refines a pill of higher grade and better appearance wins, right?"

"That's right." Medicine God Valley disciple Jian Qiuqiu nodded, yet reminded, "Fellow Daoist Shen, I don't mean to take advantage of you. Given your beast‑tamer skill shown yesterday, you only need to demonstrate your beast‑tamer rank."

Although beast‑tamers lack the noble status of pill refiners, the competition criteria are the same.

"I am a third‑grade, entry‑level pill refiner; you only need to successfully subdue a third‑grade, intermediate‑level spirit beast to win."

Jian Qiuqiu thought Shen Qingli might not understand, so she gave a detailed explanation, also proving to everyone that her victory would not be unearned.

"What if I can only subdue a third‑grade, entry‑level spirit beast? That would make comparison awkward." Shen Qingli had already laid out the medicinal ingredients, "Fellow Daoist Jian, please proceed."

Jian Qiuqiu wore a doubtful expression, and the audience below erupted even more!

"Shen Qingli isn't just a beast‑tamer; she's become a pill refiner too?"

"This is what foreigners say: when God closes a door, He opens a window."

"It's not just one window—it's two! And even wider than the door! Looking at it this way, having one's cultivation ruined doesn't seem like such a big deal."

Although the vast majority still didn't believe Shen Qingli could truly refine pills—after all, this was a contest on the Xuan Platform of the sect's grand tournament—if she couldn't really do it, she wouldn't dare act so boldly.

"Showing off to win favor." Zhao Yue sneered, "Being a pill refiner isn't like being a beast‑tamer; without a solid foundation, you can't master it overnight."

The heated discussion immediately cooled considerably, for this was the truth! Moreover, Shen Qingli's beast‑taming ability had not been fully displayed either; though her spirit beast is not low‑grade, it very likely advanced only after she obtained the Phoenix inheritance.

"It seems her beast‑tamer skill isn't high, but she's afraid of losing face, so she'd rather choose to compete in pill refining."

"She wouldn't just admit defeat right from the start, would she?"

"That would be dignified."

Everyone immediately felt this must be Shen Qingli's trick to avoid losing too badly.

Baili Chongtong had already sneered, "Playing with so many tricks—simply,"

but the rest of his words got stuck in his throat.

The scene fell utterly silent.

Because Shen Qingli had already summoned a cluster of flames, burning beneath the Nine Heavens Mysterious Cauldron; a stalk of medicinal herb was immediately tossed into the cauldron and began to refine.

"Hmph! Pretending so hard, yet it looks remarkably genuine." Baili Chongtong forced a mocking sneer.

He still refused to believe it—Shen Qingli truly is a pill refiner!

If she were, why hadn't she shown it before?

But as her hands flew over the medicine cauldron, the Medicine God Valley side erupted in an uproar.

"Isn't this the Divine Palm Secret of our Medicine God Valley's forefather?"

The one saying this was precisely the Valley Master of the Medicine God Valley, Yao Wuming.

As everyone knows, the Divine Palm Secret has long been lost; each time the Medicine God Valley comes to participate in the sect's grand tournament, their sole aim is to enter Xuan Mountain to seek the Medicine God's inheritance, so as to revive the transmission of the Divine Palm Secret.

"Has Shen Qingli obtained the Medicine God's inheritance?" Everyone was baffled, thinking it unlikely, yet if not, how could she possibly wield the Divine Palm Secret?

"Valley Master Yao, does the Medicine God's inheritance not pick its recipients? Shen Qingli has never refined pills, nor has she ever shown any talent for pill refining." Peak Master Xu of the Bijade Sect spoke up.

After a day of scrutiny, he still withdrew completely intact.

However, the Elder of the Peak of Elixirs who had come with him disappeared.

As for his question, Yao Wuming paid it no heed; he was staring intensely at Shen Qingli's palm technique, muttering under his breath.

"It can't be wrong! It can't be wrong! This is exactly the forefather's Divine Palm Secret—our Medicine God Valley may have lost the oral transmission, but the diagrams are still here, and this is it!" Yao Wuming could no longer stay seated.

If it weren't for the fact that, during the competition, the Mysterious Platform would automatically activate the isolation formation, which would not dissipate until the outcome was decided, Yao Wuming would have already rushed to Shen Qingli's side.

Yao Wuming's firm conviction actually amounted to already announcing the result.

When a wisp of elixir fragrance drifted out…

"Shen Qingli has formed an elixir, a third-grade elementary elixir. In appearance, it slightly surpasses Jian Qingqiu."

The result announced by the Mysterious Envoy slapped Zhao Yue and Peak Master Xu in the face, and also plunged the entire Jadeite Sect into silence.

Even Bai Renshan fell silent; he realized his decision might have been wrong.

Although Shen Qingli's cultivation had not recovered, she actually is a third-grade alchemist!

She also obtained the Medicine God's inheritance of a third-grade alchemist!

"Little Daoist Friend Shen, my Ten Thousand Swords Sect wishes to honor you as the tenth-generation head senior sister."

"Shen Qingli, there is a seat for you as an elder of the Great Zhou royal family."

"Daoist Friend Shen, my Medicine God Valley wishes to honor you as the founder."