Wang Xiao was cold, but he was a man of his word.
The Refining Pill he promised to Gu Ze was completed in only two days.
When it was delivered to Gu Ze’s hands, the residual heat of the pill furnace still lingered on the Refining Pill, which was flowing with golden patterns.
Gu Ze activated his Jinmou, and the golden light erupting from this Refining Pill soared into the sky; it was of genuine Golden Core quality.
“Shimei, have it while it’s hot.” Gu Ze held up the wooden box containing the Refining Pill and urged Li Xunmiao to take it.
“But, I have already obtained so many Jiyuan. You should eat this Refining Pill, Master.” Li Xunmiao said, raising her arm.
“I still have the Qi Tempering of the Dragon from the Yinlong Pendant, so my physique is already very strong.”
“It’s useless if I eat it…” Gu Ze shook his head slightly.
If he ate it, how would he obtain the rewards from the System? For things like Jiyuan, giving them to Li Xunmiao was the only way to achieve a win-win situation.
Without him realizing when it started, whenever Gu Ze encountered a Jiyuan, the first person he thought of was not himself, but Li Xunmiao.
His original plan was to make Li Xunmiao stronger and stronger.
Even as the Destined Heroine, she would face many life-and-death tribulations in the future. The stronger Li Xunmiao became, the fewer injuries she would suffer during those tribulations.
“Then… can Master feed me?” Li Xunmiao said, her mouth opening slightly as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, waiting for Gu Ze to feed her.
Gu Ze was not the least bit shy and directly stuffed the Dragon Blood Divine Pill into Li Xunmiao’s mouth.
This level of acting spoiled had already become a daily occurrence for Gu Ze.
His fingertips touched the girl’s lips, feeling like they were brushing against the surface of jelly.
Li Xunmiao’s face turned slightly red as she gave a shy smile, then sat cross-legged to the side and began refining the medicinal power.
【Ding~ Li Xunmiao obtained a Jiyuan: Dragon Blood Divine Pill】
【Host obtained reward: Spirit Furnace】
Spirit Furnace: Opens a Spirit Furnace at the location of the dantian within the body. A pill furnace can be embedded into the body to automatically refine pills anytime and anywhere.
The Spirit Furnace can store refining materials and finished Refining Pills, to be used as one pleases.
Gu Ze was overjoyed. He was just worrying about the inconvenience of placing a pill furnace, and then the System gave him a portable one; it was simply like adding wings to a tiger!
While Li Xunmiao was cross-legged and refining the medicinal power, Gu Ze sat quietly opposite her to test the effects of the Spirit Furnace.
He took out the Purple Gold Pill Furnace, and with a thought, the furnace disappeared from his hand.
Gu Ze could feel a sense of warmth in his dantian. With another thought, he filled it with materials from his Storage Bag and began refining.
***
After a long while, the sky had turned dark.
A faint dragon-shaped phantom appeared on Li Xunmiao’s body, and Dragon Qi surrounded her. It was obvious she wouldn’t be able to refine the divine pill’s power in a short time.
Gu Ze had already refined several batches of Qi Supplement Pills, all of which were stored in the Spirit Furnace.
With a wave of his hand, a pearl-like Refining Pill appeared in his palm; a top-grade Qi Supplement Pill was complete.
This Spirit Furnace could not only refine but also store.
In other words, when Gu Ze was in battle, he could directly consume the Refining Pills from the Spirit Furnace to nourish himself at any time and place.
This was a very practical ability, and he wouldn’t have to worry about others being envious and trying to snatch it.
Emerging from the joy of obtaining a new ability, Gu Ze looked up and saw Li Xunmiao’s brow furrowed tightly, with white steam rising from her body.
He wasn’t in a hurry either. He stayed by her side to protect her while relying on the Spirit Furnace to refine pills.
Suddenly, Gu Ze thought of something a bit terrifying: if the Spirit Furnace failed to refine and the furnace exploded, what would happen?!
Just as this strange thought arose, he noticed the surrounding space grow a bit darker.
When he opened his eyes again, he had once again appeared in Qingquan’s Tribulation Ground.
He didn’t move recklessly this time. Since he already knew the white-haired girl was Qingquan, Gu Ze felt it was better not to constantly appear in front of her.
If you don’t court death, you won’t die; he only wanted to be an invisible presence under Qingquan.
However, just because he didn’t look for Qingquan didn’t mean Qingquan wouldn’t look for him.
There were far fewer flames in this space than the last time he came; they had all been extinguished by Qingquan.
Gu Ze’s pure white soul fire was too conspicuous, so much so that the moment he appeared, Qingquan had already locked onto him.
The white-haired girl stepped through the air, opening her hands to cup and firmly trap the soul fire within her palms.
Gu Ze moved his body, only to find he couldn’t escape at all.
“What is the meaning of this, Daoist Friend? You aren’t crying today, so you’ve started teasing me?” Gu Ze asked with a trace of helplessness.
“Oh? You want to see me cry? Or are you mocking me?” Qingquan brought the soul fire to her eyes and scrutinized it carefully: “Although I can’t sense your aura, I feel that you must be that little thief!”
Her intuition was very accurate, and Gu Ze didn’t intend to play games with Qingquan. Since he had been seen through, he might as well admit it.
“Ahem, please call me Daoist Friend. ‘Little thief’ doesn’t sound very good,” Gu Ze corrected.
Qingquan’s eyes shimmered slightly, filled with joy: “It really is you! Daoist Friend, you truly possess great Divine Ability to actually enter my Tribulation Space! Surely you’ve come to accompany me through my tribulation.”
Gu Ze was startled by this and shook his head repeatedly, the soul fire swaying its flame very expressively.
“I am but a mere Qi Refinement, how could I have the ability to help you with your tribulation? But… based on what you’re saying, is the tribulation not going smoothly?” Gu Ze asked tentatively.
Qingquan obviously hadn’t intended to hide it from the start. She had caught Gu Ze not just because being trapped here was boring and lonely, but also because Gu Ze might be her saving grace.
With a sigh, Qingquan explained slowly: “My Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation is the Million Nameless Fires. I must either extinguish them all or be burned by them until I turn to ash.”
“Although I have the Unlimited Water Physique and the Lingqi in my body almost never runs out, in reality, the total amount is only dozens of times that of a Xiu Shi of the same rank.”
“Now, if I want to cross the tribulation, I can only compete with the Million Nameless Fires to see who can last longer.”
Hearing her troubles, Gu Ze only felt it was ridiculous.
No wonder Qingquan was called the Strongest Golden Core. With dozens of times the Lingqi of a cultivator at the same rank, how could anyone even fight?
Qingquan could throw out Divine Abilities like they cost nothing and smash her opponents to death; taking on multiple enemies was also no problem.
Even so powerful—powerful enough to be recognized by all cultivators as the Strongest Golden Core—she was still having difficulty reaching the Yuan Ying stage?
Perhaps the Jiyuan of this world were not as plentiful as Gu Ze had imagined.
“I heard that the Lingqi of the Yunhai Immortal Pavilion was all gathered for you. Combined with your Special Constitution, is it still not enough to deal with the Heavenly Tribulation?”
“Crossing a tribulation is a matter where there can be no deficiency, or else one will turn into a gust of wind or a bolt of thunder to replenish the losses of Heaven and Earth.”
“Nor can there be an excess, or else the overflowing Lingqi creations will burst one’s body, leading to death.”
“One must barely withstand the Heavenly Tribulation, and the tribulation must fall upon me to temper my body; otherwise, passing this tribulation would be meaningless.”
“Before I entered this place to cross the tribulation, I calculated that the Lingqi should be exactly right. But now, the number of Million Nameless Fires is ten percent more than what I calculated. Yet, I don’t have enough Lingqi replenishment.”
If this continued, only failure awaited Qingquan.
Gu Ze did not want to see Qingquan dissipate like a gust of wind.
This extra ten percent of the Million Nameless Fires was definitely not a miscalculation by Qingquan.
After reaching the peak of the Golden Core stage, she had prepared for three hundred years, and she had the support of other Nascent Soul experts from the Yunhai Immortal Pavilion behind her; this matter should have been foolproof.
An image of someone who might be the culprit surfaced in Gu Ze’s mind.
Wang Xiao.
However, if he really was affecting Qingquan’s attempt to reach the Yuan Ying stage, the Zhangmen shouldn’t just sit by and watch.
Gong Lixing didn’t ignore matters involving a few hundred Lianqi Disciples. Qingquan’s tribulation involved a brand-new Nascent Soul level combatant for the Yunhai Immortal Pavilion!
And it was the Strongest Golden Core breaking through to Nascent Soul.
Was Gong Lixing being a bit too muddled by letting Wang Xiao secretly sabotage her now?
Qingquan didn’t speak, quietly staring at the flickering white soul fire, waiting for his response.
After a long while, Gu Ze finally spoke slowly: “So… you think I can help you?”
“It’s definitely no coincidence that Daoist Friend appeared here, right? Can’t I look forward to you helping me break this deadlock?” Qingquan blinked her eyes.
Combined with her somewhat youthful face, she didn’t look like a high-and-mighty Immortal Lord, but rather like a girl next door.
In a daze, Gu Ze felt that this expectant look was a bit like Li Xunmiao.
As expected, what kind of disciple, what kind of master… wait, that doesn’t seem right.
“I can’t help much either. Do you think this can help you replenish Lingqi?” As Gu Ze spoke, he took out a pearl-like Qi Supplement Pill from the Spirit Furnace.
The Refining Pill landed in Qingquan’s palm. she scrutinized it for a moment, nodded, but then shook her head.
“This little bit of Lingqi is a drop in the bucket for me.”
In other words, it was useful, though not very much.
Gu Ze immediately felt confident and recalled: “Back then, you condensed Benyuan Zhi Shui drop by drop to fill your Consciousness Sea, and you didn’t give up. Now, it’s just repeating that process.”
After he finished speaking, thousands upon thousands of Qi Supplement Pills spit out from the soul fire, scattering throughout the surrounding space.
Qingquan was slightly surprised, but a layer of regret still clouded her eyes: “If there were enough Qi Supplement Pills, it would indeed be feasible. But Refining Pills contain impurities.”
“If I eat too many of these low-level pills, the impurities will accumulate in my body, and I’m afraid it will become a burden instead… Eh? What kind of method is this? These Refining Pills here… are they all top-grade?!”
She grabbed a few pills at random and checked them carefully, finding that the pills were pure and stainless.
All the Qi Supplement Pills around her were top-grade pills that were very rare in the outside world.
Although Qingquan didn’t understand Dan Dao, she knew that for something like a Qi Supplement Pill, being able to produce a few top-grade ones in a single furnace was considered a good level for an Alchemist.
For all of them to be top-grade, it would either take dozens of Alchemists working non-stop for several months, or… this “Daoist Friend” before her was a genius of the Dan Dao.
“Daoist Friend, could it be… you are a Xiu Shi from Dan Yin Peak?” Qingquan asked in disbelief.
“Dan Yin Peak?” Gu Ze chuckled at her words. “How can their level of refining pills compare to mine?”
Qingquan’s eyes brightened a bit. If this Daoist Friend had nothing to do with Dan Yin Peak, she could eat these pills with peace of mind.
She had almost no good feelings for the lowly people of Dan Yin Peak.
She swallowed dozens of pills in succession and was full of praise: “Indeed, these pills are top-grade in both quality and taste. Daoist Friend, after I successfully pass my tribulation, stop hiding your identity.”
“How about coming to Biluo Peak to find me? I will recommend you to become an Elder of my Biluo Peak… or I can even let you be the Peak Lord.”
As she spoke, she narrowed her eyes, keeping a close watch on the state of the soul fire.
Qingquan always felt that this Daoist Friend, who often appeared to lend a helping hand in her moments of crisis, was hidden right by her side.
When she reached the Nascent Soul stage, she would definitely find this person!
Gu Ze was about to give a perfunctory answer when his vision went dark. It seemed time was up again.
***
Opening his eyes again, Gu Ze only felt his right leg was numb.
Looking down, Li Xunmiao had completely refined the power of the Dragon Blood Divine Pill at some point and was taking a nap on his lap.
With every breath, Gu Ze could feel the powerful blood vitality rising from Li Xunmiao.
If a Xiu Shi who specialized in body tempering came, they would probably be defeated by Li Xunmiao even if they were at a higher level. Gu Ze thought to himself.
“Master… I want more.” She smacked her lips in her sleep.
Gu Ze smiled slightly, took out a Refining Pill that smoothed the Jingmai and activated the blood vitality, and gently pressed it against Li Xunmiao’s lips.
The girl seemed to smell the fragrance of the Refining Pill and very quickly took it into her mouth, and of course, she didn’t let go of Gu Ze’s finger.
Gu Ze only felt his fingertip trace a circle around Li Xunmiao’s lips and tongue, and his fingertip felt a tingling numbness like an electric shock.
“Master…” Li Xunmiao obviously couldn’t be completely unaware of what was happening outside; she woke up under Gu Ze’s touch.
She bit Gu Ze’s finger and slowly opened her sleepy eyes, complaining: “To tease me like this while I’m sleeping, Xunmiao is really going to bite you!”
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