Whether it was the pill furnace or the brand-new Ice Dust Mirror, both perfectly matched Gu Ze’s expectations.
He thanked Gong Lixing and happily accepted his reward.
The old man quietly lifted his eyes and glanced at Li Xunmiao, who stood silently to the side. From the bookshelf behind him, he retrieved a golden scripture.
“Though I cannot guarantee you will be peerless under heaven, this technique will allow you to exert twice your current strength.”
“Upon seeing the sect master bestow upon her a secret divine ability, Li Xunmiao’s expression grew solemn. Without a hint of negligence, she stepped forward two paces.”
She received the manual with both hands. On the cover, five golden characters were written.
Zangjian Technique Complete Explanation
The Zangjian Technique—conceal your sword intent, reveal no sharpness, remain silent until a single, astonishing strike.
Normally, the sword is hidden in the intangible, but when needed, its edge appears with an unmatched brilliance, erupting with power many times greater than one’s own.
This kind of divine ability was not considered particularly rare; even Biluo Peak had records of it.
Because it was not rare, few people made the effort to master it.
After all, no matter how long you hide your blade, when the fight comes, you only get one strike. If that strike doesn’t win or is deflected by the opponent, you’ll have to rely on other moves for the rest of the battle.
Li Xunmiao was able to keep the Zangtian Sword concealed most of the time because she had, through talent, created her own version of the Zangjian Technique.
However, the move she devised brought no real increase in power.
Or perhaps it did, but the improvement was negligible.
Now, this Zangjian Technique Complete Explanation would clearly combine the wisdom of countless predecessors across the ages to make up for what Li Xunmiao lacked in this divine art.
“Li Xunmiao, with your comprehension, it’s better to let you create a new divine ability of your own rather than simply teach you existing ones.”
I believe that after you read this book, you’ll fully understand the principles of the Zangjian Technique. Should inspiration strike, creating a sword-concealing divine art perfectly attuned to the Zangtian Sword will be no problem at all.” Gong Lixing placed great hope in Li Xunmiao.
Ever since the two had arrived here, he could keenly sense that Li Xunmiao always kept the Zangtian Sword hidden at hand, ready to be drawn in an instant whenever needed for battle.
She was strong.
How much terrifying power could a self-taught genius unleash in that instant when the hidden sword’s edge emerged?
[Ding~ Detected Li Xunmiao has obtained a fortuitous encounter: Zangjian Technique Complete Explanation]
[Host has received reward: Li Xunmiao’s Full Power Strike.]
Before Gu Ze could sneak a glance at the Complete Explanation in Li Xunmiao’s hands, the system’s voice sounded in his ear.
Previously, the system had rewarded him with a one-time Lianqi Da Yuanman Full Power Strike.
This time, it became Li Xunmiao’s Full Power Strike. Did this mean that his junior sister’s explosive power in an instant had already surpassed Lianqi Da Yuanman?!
Furthermore, this reward did not restrict Li Xunmiao’s cultivation stage. In other words, as her cultivation improved, the power of this full-force strike would also grow.
Perhaps, once she mastered the Zangjian Technique, this Full Power Strike would be the very moment her sword-concealing divine art exploded forth.
Gu Ze felt that by then, chopping down an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator would be no problem.
But on second thought, did the system giving him this kind of reward hint that although his cultivation was still ahead by a bit, his actual strength was already falling far behind Li Xunmiao?
Gu Ze sighed to himself and decided not to dwell on it.
The stronger his junior sister, the easier it would be to seize even greater opportunities. He ought to be happy for her.
Li Xunmiao wasn’t in her rebellious phase—there was no reason for her to draw her sword against him, or force Gu Ze to agree to any conditions through strength.
His junior sister was the most obedient.
She should… obey, right?
Gu Ze’s eyelid twitched faintly. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was waving at him from afar.
Returning to Biluo Peak, Gu Ze relied on the Peakmaster Token to swagger into the Biluo Treasury for a look around.
Though he was the Acting Peak Master, he still wasn’t the true Peak Master. Some important items could only be accessed by the Peak Master personally.
The rest were just some not-very-rare odds and ends. To be honest, Biluo Peak was poorer than he’d imagined; even scanning the place with his Jinmou, he saw almost nothing that caught the eye.
Gu Ze hadn’t come for treasures anyway. What he really wanted were the vast stores of medicinal herbs piled up here.
After all, to refine pills, you needed raw materials.
Rather than buying them, it was quicker and easier to take directly from the warehouse.
He was refining pills so Li Xunmiao could improve her cultivation—surely Qingquan would understand.
This hardly counted as embezzlement.
Gu Ze practically packed up all the medicinal herbs in storage. Anyway, since there were almost no alchemists in Biluo Peak, the herbs would just go to waste and lose potency if left here. Better to put them to good use.
Referring to the simplest Qi Refinement Stage Qi Supplement Pill Recipe, Gu Ze tossed a large amount of herbs into the purple-gold pill furnace and tried his hand at refining.
White soul fire rolled through the furnace, melting all the herbs and leaving only pure Spirit Liquid behind—without a trace of impurity.
Gu Ze suddenly noticed that the ratio of a certain material seemed a bit high. With a thought, he had the soul fire refine part of that ingredient directly into spiritual energy, balancing out the proportions in the furnace to perfection.
The aroma of medicinal herbs filled the small room. After focusing for quite a while, Gu Ze finally produced a batch of pure white, top-grade Qi Supplement Pills.
On the market, Qi Supplement Pills were usually pale yellow or yellow-brown. Even the slightest impurity would affect their color.
But the ones Gu Ze made were as clear and lustrous as pearls.
Top-grade pills!
Gu Ze was moved by his own effort and hard work, grinning foolishly as he held the pills.
Even the Peak Master of Dan Yin Peak, Wang Xiao, couldn’t guarantee a perfect batch of top-grade Qi Supplement Pills every time.
First, the impurities needed to be carefully stripped away, which was extremely exhausting. Without a powerful spiritual sense, one couldn’t endure for long.
Second, the stronger the flame used in pill refining, the harder it was to control. Unless born with a unique physique possessing some kind of innate divine fire, almost no one could make a later-acquired flame obey them perfectly.
After all, fire by nature is unruly and won’t submit unless extinguished. A good alchemist must be skilled not just in pill refinement, but in fire-taming as well.
But Gu Ze’s flame obeyed him completely. He had none of those worries.
Third was the problem of ingredient ratios.
Different herbs, because of their varying growth conditions and storage times, held different levels of medicinal potency.
Even subtle differences could affect the quality of the pills.
Gu Ze could directly refine excess potency into spiritual energy during pill-making, never needing to worry about mismatched ratios.
Three difficulties that plagued countless alchemists their whole lives were easily solved by Gu Ze.
Could it be, he really possessed the Alchemy Sacred Body?
Gu Ze’s nose nearly tilted skyward in pride, and he hurried to refine several more furnaces of pills.
As expected, the results were perfect.
Without realizing it, Gu Ze had produced a mountain of Qi Supplement Pills.
Li Xunmiao followed the medicinal fragrance drifting into the cave residence and entered Gu Ze’s quarters—only to find him half-buried in a mountain of Qi Supplement Pills.
“Gu—Gu Senior Brother, are these pills part of Xianxia’s allocation for Biluo Peak?” It was Li Xunmiao’s first time seeing so many pills. She asked timidly.
She picked up one and took a gentle sniff. The aroma was enticing, completely different from any pill she’d encountered before.
This… somehow looked even more appetizing.
“Junior Sister, perfect timing. Never mind those on the ground, I just finished a batch of Spirit Gathering Pills—come try one.” As he spoke, he handed over a few still-warm blue pills.
Qi Supplement Pills were merely a trial. Their main function was to restore spiritual energy.
Gu Ze absorbing the raw materials with soul fire yielded the same effect.
He’d specifically tried his hand at other pills too, like the Spirit Gathering Pill which temporarily boosts cultivation speed.
Such pills were extremely popular among cultivators—the less talented one was, the more one relied on the short-term boost provided by Spirit Gathering Pills.
The ones Gu Ze made were like blue glass beads, a quality he’d never seen in all his years in the sect.
He and Li Xunmiao each swallowed one. Instantly, a blazing heat filled their limbs and bones, and the flow of spiritual energy within their bodies sped up severalfold.
“So these are Spirit Gathering Pills? They’re not quite like the ones I had before…” Li Xunmiao, though not well-acquainted with pills, was immune to all poisons due to her unique constitution, and Gu Ze had recklessly fed her quite a few in the Hidden Realm.
Li Xunmiao had grimaced with every bite, face twisted worse than eating raw bitter herbs.
She could eat anything, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed it.
Spirit Gathering Pills didn’t do much for talented cultivators; for Li Xunmiao, they offered little benefit, and the bitter aftertaste of pill residue almost left her traumatized.
But the ones Gu Ze made melted instantly on the tongue with a pleasant aftertaste, a refreshing coolness lingering between the teeth and lips.
The spiritual energy in her body surged rapidly—clearly a great aid to cultivation.
Li Xunmiao looked up at the purple-gold pill furnace floating in the center of the room, knowing these pills were Gu Ze’s handiwork.
As expected of Senior Brother Gu, even the pills he refined were unlike anyone else’s.
Gu Ze’s focused, cultivating form was reflected in Li Xunmiao’s half-lidded eyes, a ripple of complex emotions flickering within.
She picked up another Spirit Gathering Pill, gently pressed it to her lips, gave it a soft kiss, and then swallowed it.