All that's missing now is a Gathering Essence Pill!

So he told Mi Li about his discovery. Mi Li wasn't surprised that he and Daji had a special way of communicating, but she was surprised by this way of upgrading skills: "Huh, aren't skills supposed to improve with cultivation and combat experience? How can they be improved so easily with external objects? If this can be promoted, what's the point of other cultivators cultivating?"

Zuan smiled wryly and said, "I suppose this method can't be widely adopted."

After all, I've only drawn one Valkyrie, Daji, so this method definitely won't work on others.

He hurriedly instructed Daji to start refining pills again. He thought that since he had succeeded once before, it would be easier now that he had experience. However, he failed to refine pills in five batches in a row.

What's even more frustrating is that when the fifth batch failed, the furnace emitted a plume of black smoke and exploded into pieces with a bang.

Zuan and Mi Li instinctively used their powers to shield themselves, but Daji wasn't so lucky. Her fair face was now covered in black ash, making her look like a big tabby cat.

Zuan instinctively reached out to wipe it off for her, but Daji turned her face away, then raised her sleeve and wiped her face clean herself before continuing to sit there quietly.

Mi Li: "..."

Zuan: "..."

Mi Li couldn't help but laugh out loud: "You little lecher, you wanted to take advantage of me, but unfortunately, I'm not interested."

Zuan looked annoyed: "I really just wiped it off."

In fact, he had tried it before. Daji could obey his summons and fight for him, but he would never allow himself to have any physical contact with her.

The incident happened so suddenly that I forgot about it.

Mi Li looked at Daji with a strange expression: "Your maid is really a bit odd. She's so disobedient. Do you want me to help you subdue her and teach her a lesson?"

Last time, she wanted to possess the other person's body with her soul—even with her pride, she had to admit that with Daji's looks and figure, she was qualified to let her in. But who knew that she was squeezed out by a mysterious force, which made her very unhappy. So she wanted to have her way with Daji whenever she had the chance.

Upon hearing her words, Daji subconsciously shrank back. Whether it was her imagination or not, there seemed to be a hint of wariness in her previously listless eyes.

Zuan shook his head: "No, I'm not that perverted. Besides, she's helped me several times recently. We're comrades-in-arms, not master and servant."

Since these Valkyries are designed not to be touched, there must be a reason for that. Forcing them to do certain things could lead to some unpredictable events.

Besides, he's not the kind of person who uses force. Wouldn't it be more interesting to gradually build up affection over time?

Daji, who was standing to the side, turned her head and glanced at him, but her expression did not change at all.

Mi Li curled her lip: "Tch, this woman is just a pretty face, all your feelings are for nothing."

Zuan shook his head, not wanting to continue arguing about this topic: "By the way, why is my success rate in refining the Gathering Yuan Pill so low? If this continues, the losses will be too great."

You have to understand that he had already used up most of the medicinal herbs he had prepared during the night's experiment, including some precious ones. At this rate, he wouldn't be able to make more than a few pills.

Getting down to business, Mi Li also put away her playful smile, stared at the broken medicine furnace on the ground for a while, and said, "I just looked at your medicine refining steps, and there weren't any major mistakes. I think the problem lies in this medicine furnace. Yours is just an ordinary medicine furnace used by pharmacists, but alchemy requires a special alchemy furnace. Finding a good alchemy furnace should solve your problem."

Zuan asked, "Where am I supposed to find an alchemy furnace?"

Mi Li rolled her eyes: "I've been asleep for a while now, so who am I supposed to ask? But based on what you mentioned before, I suppose there should be one at the Royal Academy in the capital."

Zu An had a sudden thought. He thought of Jiang Luofu and the Xie sisters. He wondered if he could get a pill-refining furnace through their connections.

However, the image of the high priest's incredibly weathered eyes flashed through his mind again, and his mood suddenly became heavy. He still didn't understand why the other party had deliberately gone easy on him back then.

After discussing it with Mi Li for a while, they still couldn't figure out the other party's purpose.

“There’s no use thinking about these things now. The difference in rank is too great. You should think about what you should be concerned about,” Mi Li pulled him back to reality. “Take a look at the information you got from that vixen by selling yourself.”

"What do you mean by 'selling oneself'? We call it 'mutual benefit'." Zu An looked annoyed. After hearing what she said, he felt that he had been taken advantage of by Liu Ning.

He took out the booklet that Liu Ning had given him before he left. It contained the testimonies of the palace maids, eunuchs, and guards who had "discovered" his affair with the Crown Princess that day, as well as the results of the investigation.

After reading through the entire document, the two discovered that the original discoverers had all mysteriously disappeared.

Most of the others rushed over after hearing the commotion, and their testimonies even suggest that Shi Jun also received the news midway and arrived.

"Could I have made a mistake?" Zu An frowned. If Shi Jun wasn't the mastermind, then who was it?

"Look at this record," Mi Li said, pointing to a passage in the booklet.

"What?" Zu An leaned closer and suddenly smelled a faint, delicate fragrance of a woman.

Damn it, she's clearly a spirit, so why does she smell so good?

Zu An subconsciously turned his head to look, and saw that Mi Li's profile was as smooth and delicate as if it had been drawn with a single stroke. Because she was looking down at the book, her beautiful hair was slightly loose and hanging down, which, combined with her perfect profile, made her a truly beautiful picture.

"If you look again, I'll gouge your eyes out." Mi Li didn't turn around; her cold voice rang out.

Zu An was startled and quickly looked away, turning his gaze to the booklet.

“This…” He had just looked at this place before but hadn’t paid much attention. But after Mi Li pointed it out, he looked again and noticed something unusual.

The information on those missing people had one thing in common: they either worked near Xuanwu Gate or had been to Xuanwu Gate not long ago.

A thought flashed through Zu An's mind. He had been unable to find Xin Rui's body in the palace, but the records of entering and leaving the palace showed that she had not left. He had previously thought that Xin Rui had been dismembered and taken out through another gate, and he was caught up in a vast and complex investigation.

But looking back now, it seems I've overlooked one person.

What if Sima Ouwu of Xuanwu Gate and Xinrui are in cahoots?

He was in charge of guarding Xuanwu Gate, so he naturally had the opportunity to tamper with the records of people entering and leaving the palace, and that's how he led everyone astray from the direction of the investigation.

Thinking of this, he could no longer wait, so he put on the embroidered messenger's mask and rushed out.

"Ouch!" As soon as she stepped out the door, she bumped into a soft body, and the other person let out a crisp cry of surprise.

"How dare you!" A shocked and angry shout came from the side, followed by the sound of various weapons being drawn.

----

I've combined the two chapters today, so the update is a bit late. Sorry.

Also, can you guess who framed Zu'an and the Crown Princess?