Chapter 49 Why would a partner feel uncomfortable?

[Ding! The current villain's redemption value has been detected to be 40%. Congratulations, host!]

"...Damn it!" Mingjian was pouring himself some water when the system's notification suddenly went off in his head, startling him so much that he spilled tea all over the table.

【Host! Host! Major breakthrough! The redemption value just fluctuated by 14%! Absence makes the heart grow fonder! Hahaha, Xiao Bumian must be missing you!】The system excitedly shouted.

While frantically wiping the table, Mingjian retorted irritably, "How exactly did your redemption points increase? According to you, he thinks I can increase by 14%, but you also said before that he likes me. If he likes me, why doesn't he just increase it to 100%?"

system:"……"

That makes a lot of sense.

Mingjian sighed heavily, resignedly wiped the table dry, poured himself another bowl of water, and then sat down at the table, staring at the white bone chain on his wrist that he couldn't remove, looking worried.

I don't know what this thing is, but the only thing I'm sure of is that it was given to me by Xiao Bumian, so it can't be too bad. It might even save my life in a critical moment.

He now knew where he was; he was in Xiao Bumian's Never-Sleeping Pavilion. Xiao Bumian must have moved all the decorations from the north courtyard of the Princess's residence over, which was why he had mistaken it for a dream that night.

To be honest, when Mingjian saw those Blood Spirit Grasses that night, his heart shamefully wavered for a moment.

But he quickly suppressed this wavering. He even went to the library of Jianming Immortal Mountain and found a few books of sages, such as "The Secret of Purifying the Heart" and "The Admonition of Maintaining Tranquility," in an attempt to solidify his noble sentiment of "not being corrupted by wealth and power, nor subdued by force."

As a result, he tossed and turned on his disciple's hard bed for most of the night, tossing and turning like a pancake until the early hours of the morning, when he suddenly sat up and regretted it.

He decisively packed a few of his disciple's robes and sneaked into the Never-Night Pavilion that very night, brazenly taking over its territory.

To hell with the Confucian classics! To hell with the idea that wealth and status cannot corrupt!

Anyway, when Xiao Bumian comes back, won't things be the same as before? He'll still kiss her as usual, and they'll still cuddle and sleep together as usual. What can he change by hiding in his little shabby courtyard? He can't! On the contrary, he'll be mistreating himself, not even being able to sleep in a comfortable bed.

With this in mind, Mingjian immediately convinced himself and settled down in the Nevernight Pavilion with a clear conscience.

Meanwhile, in the outer disciples' courtyard of Jianming Immortal Mountain, everyone assumed that Mingjian had rented some secluded cultivation cave to go into seclusion and break through his cultivation realm. No one could have imagined that their diligent and hardworking junior brother was currently occupying the old lair of Hanwei Immortal Venerable and living a life of "extravagance and debauchery".

"Junior Brother's cultivation has improved so quickly since he returned from Yunlai Immortal Mansion. He's really changed a lot."

"Who can argue with that? At this rate, it probably won't be long before we're ready to establish our foundation."

"Alas, it's a pity... Junior Brother's talent for cultivation is ultimately a fatal flaw. His five spiritual roots are too mixed. Even if he manages to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, condensing the Golden Core will be as difficult as ascending to heaven..."

On the fifth day after Xiao Bumian left, Mingjian, as usual, went to the back mountain to cut bamboo, just like in the previous days.

Just as he swung his axe, the chatter of several outer disciples drifted over on the wind. He paused almost imperceptibly for a moment, then swiftly swung his axe again.

His face remained expressionless, and his heart was even more undisturbed. He was already used to hearing these words, and what they said was indeed true.

The disciples were talking enthusiastically when they turned around and saw Mingjian not far away. A few awkward expressions appeared on their faces. They exchanged glances and hurriedly passed by him, only managing to awkwardly call out, "Junior Brother."

Mingjian stopped what he was doing, looked up, a smile blooming on his face, and replied in a clear voice, "Hello, fellow senior brothers!"

Seeing that he seemed completely unconcerned, the disciples felt even more embarrassed and quickly slipped away as if their feet were greased.

Once they were out of sight, Mingjian picked up his machete again and continued to focus intently on chopping bamboo.

The system, however, was furious in his mind: [Host! Don't listen to their nonsense. Don't worry, your cultivation will definitely increase, leaving them all behind! Then let's see who dares to gossip! Don't be sad, we won't stoop to their level.]

Seeing Ming's blank expression, he swiftly chopped down a bamboo stalk with his knife: "Sad? Why should I be sad?"

system:【……? ? ? 】

[Host, aren't you... sad?] Its prepared words of comfort suddenly stalled.

Mingjian genuinely didn't think anything of it. He had heard these words since he was a child and was already immune to them. Moreover, his master had touched his bones a long time ago and said that he was destined for great things, but the time was not yet right. Forcing it would be useless; when the time came, the opportunity would naturally come.

Besides, while those disciples were direct, they weren't wrong. Cultivating with five spiritual roots is indeed much more difficult and less efficient.

However, Mingjian just shrugged. If he's not good at it, why not just find a way to improve it?

Right now, he already possesses the rarest Blood Spirit Grass. Although the effect of the Marrow Cleansing Pill would be even more perfect if he could gather the other auxiliary ingredients, the Blood Spirit Grass alone is enough for him to cleanse his spiritual root and remove impurities. It's just that the process will be more painful, and the medicinal effects will be more potent.

The plan was set, and Mingjian was ready to act immediately.

He immediately went down the mountain and ran to the largest Lingbao Pavilion at the foot of the immortal mountain. Without blinking, he threw out one hundred high-grade spirit stones and bought a primary alchemy furnace of quite good quality.

After storing the heavy alchemy furnace in his Qiankun bag, Mingjian clapped his hands and strolled back to the Nevernight Pavilion with a satisfied expression.

Fortunately, because of Xiao Bumian, no disciples dared to approach the area of ​​Nevernight Mountain on ordinary days, which provided Mingjian with an undisturbed environment for alchemy.

Mingjian's style of alchemy was very bold and unrestrained.

He flipped through the alchemy manual, which he had dug out from who-knows-where, its pages yellowed with age. Looking at the recipes and diagrams, he casually tossed herbs into the furnace, his movements as if he were not refining a elixir that could change one's aptitude, but rather cooking a pot of mixed stew.

This terrified the system, which emitted a sharp, explosive sound within Mingjian's consciousness: [Ahhh! Host! Stop! Stop now! This isn't how you refine pills! The heat! The dosage! The order! These are all crucial! What if you accidentally refine a poisonous pill?! You'll die if you eat it! Perhaps we should think of other methods? Like trying our luck at an auction? Or finding a reliable alchemist?]

At first, Mingjian would try to reassure it by saying, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. It's just refining some pills, it's not that serious."

Later, in an attempt to dissuade him, the system began to frantically list various tragedies that had occurred in the cultivation world due to careless alchemy.

Some were burned to a crisp by the backlash of the pill fire, some lost control of the fire and their furnaces and caves exploded, half of their dwellings were blown away, and some were even worse off, working hard for decades, only to have the medicinal properties of the pills suddenly change, turning them from geniuses into useless people.

Seeing that he was getting annoyed by what he heard, Ming simply ignored it completely and focused on processing his medicinal herbs.

system:"……"

Finally, the system saw that one batch after another had exploded, and black smoke billowed out again and again. It was so heartbreaking that it almost short-circuited, so it finally gave up and completely abandoned the project.

Oh well, as long as Ming is happy.

It had even prepared for the worst-case scenario: mission failure and the host dying from taking the wrong medication.

However, on a quiet night, when Mingjian lifted the lid of the alchemy furnace again, there was no black smoke as expected, nor any burnt smell. Instead, there were two pills lying quietly, emitting a strange medicinal fragrance, with several hidden pill patterns on them.

The system was instantly dumbfounded.

How is this possible?!

This isn't just a successful alchemy, it's a Marrow Cleansing Pill with pill patterns? Did the original book mention that Mingjian was a hidden alchemy genius?!

Did it miss some important chapters, or is there a problem with the database?

Akira himself showed no surprise; instead, he seemed to think it was only natural.

His face showed no surprise or joy; instead, he frowned slightly, seemingly dissatisfied, and muttered under his breath, "Why did it take so long to succeed this time?"

The system instinctively asked, "Have you practiced this before, host?"

It inexplicably recalled the poison pills that Mingjian had fed to Song Yao and Xie Linzhao at the Princess's residence. At the time, it had assumed that Mingjian had bought them from the black market with spirit stones. Could it be that the host had refined them all himself?

Something's not right! The system quickly searched through the original story and was absolutely certain that Mingjian in the original work never unlocked the alchemy skill! Not even once!

Mingjian, however, had a matter-of-fact expression that said, "What's the big deal?" He carefully took out the two Marrow Cleansing Pills with pill patterns and put them into a jade bottle, while casually replying, "Of course I've refined them. It would cost a lot of spirit stones to have someone help you refine pills."

Clearly, this thing didn't exist before.

The system fell silent.

Could it be that the original author felt it was unnecessary and therefore didn't write it?

Mingjian didn't notice why the system had suddenly fallen silent.

After putting away the Marrow Cleansing Pill, he got up and headed towards a spiritual pool he had already found deep in the Everlasting Mountain.

The process of removing impurities and cleansing the marrow and bones will expel a lot of impurities from the body. I've heard that it's very painful. This cold pool filled with spiritual energy can not only alleviate the pain to some extent, but also make it convenient for him to cleanse the impurities on his body at any time.

His decision to undergo marrow cleansing at this time was also well-considered.

After the redemption value reached 40%, in addition to the usual reward of cultivation points, the system also gave a memory fragment.

The last time he used the fragment to access Xiao Bumian's memories, he could only hear some indistinct sounds and felt almost no pain or other sensations. If he could use it during the marrow cleansing, perhaps he could avoid the rumored excruciating pain.

Mingjian cautiously confirmed with the system again: "Is Xiao Bumian sleeping right now?"

After receiving a positive response from the system, he no longer hesitated and immediately swallowed a Marrow Cleansing Pill.

It was rare for Xiao Bumian to be able to sleep. Although he didn't know how Xiao Bumian had suddenly changed his personality, it was a great thing for Mingjian. At least it allowed him to use the memory fragments to escape a disaster. So Mingjian decided to temporarily stop cursing him in his heart today.

As the pill entered his stomach, a gentle medicinal power began to slowly spread. Mingjian dared not delay and immediately sat cross-legged by the spirit pool, simultaneously using the memory fragment in his divine sense.

A familiar feeling of dizziness quickly washed over him, overwhelming his consciousness like a tidal wave.

Mingjian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was a success.

The excruciating pain he had anticipated, enough to tear his meridians and crush his bones, did not occur. His senses were rapidly drifting away from reality, plunging into Xiao Bumian's dream.

—

The moonlight was cool and refreshing.

Xiao Bumian asked Ye Tanzhou for a few spiritual herbs. He smiled gently, his eyes crinkling, and said in a soft tone, "Thank you."

Looking at his polite and considerate manner, Ye Tanzhou felt extremely awkward. She couldn't help but roll her eyes and said irritably, "What would you do if I didn't give it to you?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Bumian's face showed a hint of genuine confusion, as if he didn't quite understand the question.

He tilted his head and replied in a calm, factual tone, "I can take it myself."

Ye Tanzhou: "...So when you say thank you to me, it makes me feel like you're provoking me."

“Alright.” Xiao Bumian sighed readily, as if regretting that the other party couldn’t understand his good intentions.

He carefully put away the medicinal herbs, opened his umbrella, and prepared to leave.

The cool moonlight outlined his pale figure, and the bright red demonic mark on his forehead appeared even more eerie and beautiful under the moonlight.

Ye Tanzhou watched his departing figure, hesitated for a long time, and finally called out to him, "Wait, Xiao Bumian, there's something..."

He paused, organizing his thoughts, "Ordinary demons usually experience the demonic tribulation around the age of five hundred. But your situation is special, perhaps because you are a half-demon, the demonic tribulation has been delayed. But recently, I've noticed some subtle changes in your body, and I'm a little worried. You've been feeling a little unwell these past few months..." His voice softened, carrying a hint of barely perceptible seriousness, "...maybe a little uncomfortable."

Xiao Bumian stopped in her tracks, turned around, her handsome brows furrowing slightly, her tone still gentle, "Why do you feel unwell?"

Ye Tanzhou's expression became somewhat awkward and unnatural. His eyes darted around, and he vaguely hinted, "Well... some demons, even if they have soul fire suppressing them before the demonic calamity arrives, will still instinctively want to find a partner to relieve their urges. Now that you don't have soul fire in your body, that impulse will probably only be stronger and more unbearable."

Xiao Bumian listened with a blank expression, her beautiful peach blossom eyes filled with incomprehension. She clearly did not understand the subtle implication in Ye Tanzhou's words about the physiological needs of adult demons.

Ye Tanzhou: "..."

Looking at the other person's innocent expression that seemed to say, "What weird stuff are you talking about?", he felt a lump in his throat, almost suffocating him.

After a long while, he waved his hand weakly and said in despair, "...Never mind, you'll find out when the time comes!"

Talking to this blockhead is like casting pearls before swine!

Xiao Bumian immediately lost interest in the nonsensical conversation, lazily replied with an "Oh," and turned to leave again.

Ye Tanzhou had just breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he had finally gotten rid of this plague god, when he saw Xiao Bumian, who had already taken a few steps, suddenly stop and turn back.

He stopped in front of Ye Tanzhou, leaned slightly forward, and asked in an almost polite tone, "Could you give me a room?"

Ye Tanzhou: "???" He wondered if he was hallucinating.

Before he could recover from the shock, he heard Xiao Bumian continue, "It's late, I want to sleep."

He remembered Mingjian saying that one needs to sleep at night. He had to be similar to Mingjian; if he was going to learn, he had to learn it properly.

Ye Tanzhou: "…………"

He froze on the spot, completely petrified.

When will Xiao Bumian start sleeping?

After a long silence, Ye Tanzhou asked in a tone of extreme disbelief, "Are you really Xiao Bumian?"