Chapter 25 Refining the Soul-Nourishing Pill
The hunting party leader's residence.
Sun Liu has been busy with affairs recently because her godfather is going through a critical period, and she always works in the main hall.
She was somewhat surprised after hearing the report from Zhang Yi, the captain of the goalkeeping team.
"Give it to me personally? Who is this person?"
Zhang Yi said, "He's a handsome young man of seventeen or eighteen, who looks like a servant from some wealthy family. His strength is only at the first level of the Heavenly Guidance Realm." His conclusion was, "He probably doesn't have any malicious intent."
Sun Liu still trusted Zhang Yi's judgment. After thinking for a while, she instructed, "Take him to the reception hall. I'll wait for him there."
Zhang Yi accepted the order and left.
Sun Liu lifted her foot and strode to follow Zhang Yi.
·
The reception hall.
As Bichen entered, he saw a woman wearing leather armor standing with her hands behind her back.
Although her strength was not as powerful as that of many young masters and ladies of the Wu family, she possessed a dignified and imposing presence that made her quite eye-catching.
So he quickly stepped forward and respectfully asked, "Are you perhaps the young leader of the Creek Tiger Hunting Group, Senior Sun Liu?"
The woman in leather armor nodded slightly: "I heard you came to deliver a letter. Who delivered it for?"
Bi Cen respectfully replied, "Young Master said that Senior would know at a glance."
Sun Liuyuan thought that a young master from some family needed to ask someone for a favor, so he sent a servant to deliver a secret letter. Unexpectedly, when he received the letter, there was no talisman sealing it, and it could be opened directly.
Then, Sun Liu took out the letter, and after just one glance, her pupils suddenly contracted!
The beginning is the word "aunt".
Sun Liu quickly unfolded the letter and began to read it rapidly.
Seeing the experienced young commander's expression change drastically, Bi Cen's heart skipped a beat—could something major have happened? But recalling the scene when the young master gave him the letter earlier, he didn't notice anything strange and naturally couldn't guess. But presumably, his two masters were confident, and he only needed to follow orders.
Sun Liuzai carefully read the letter, and fearing that he might have misread it, he read it silently several times over. He felt a pang of sadness and a sense of nervousness.
The letter was actually quite short, only saying, "If Aunt is willing, you may arrange a time to meet in Fengyun City." The reply could be delivered by Bichen.
Sun Liu took a deep breath. From the way her nephew addressed her as "Aunt," she could tell that he meant well. However, her godfather had just recovered and was still recuperating, so it wasn't necessary to mention it to him for the time being. Otherwise, if something were to happen, her godfather would inevitably be greatly disappointed... It would be better to wait until she had met her nephew before making a decision.
Without much thought, Sun Liu immediately grabbed paper and pen, quickly wrote a reply, and handed it to Bi Cen.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Bichen quickly accepted the letter and said, "You flatter me. I'll take my leave now and take the letter back with me."
Sun Liu wanted him to stay at the hunting party for a night's rest and a meal.
Bichen politely declined and insisted on leaving.
Sun Liu then said no more.
After Bichen left, the captain of a hunting team came over to ask if there was a mission and tried to take it, but Sun Liu chased them away.
"It's not decided yet. I'll let you know if there's any further development!"
The captains of many hunting teams left in a huff.
·
Ever since returning from the mountains, Zhong Cai has focused her mind on refining Soul Nourishing Pills.
There were a full thousand Soul-Nourishing Grass plants. It seemed like he didn't have as many medicinal materials as he prepared when refining other pills, but given Zhong Cai's alchemy skills, this number should be sufficient.
However, when Zhong Cai actually tried to refine it, it turned out to be the most difficult first-grade elixir he had ever encountered.
At this moment, the medicinal herbs in the alchemy furnace were sizzling and emitting a terrible, fishy stench.
Zhong Cai instantly activated a top-grade purification talisman and threw it into the alchemy furnace, instantly sweeping away all the odors.
Only then did he dare to breathe.
"This smells awful! This is so unbearable..."
Zhong Cai was quite frustrated.
He's been trying for four days now. He used to be able to finish those kinds of pills in about five days, and he was using ordinary fire. Now he's using wood fire, which should be more efficient, but he hasn't been able to learn it sooner.
Zhong Cai sighed, suppressing the slight irritation in her heart.
He was too impatient, always thinking that the pills would be ready as soon as possible so that his friend could take them sooner.
and……
Zhong Cai actually had a feeling that if his friend wanted to get back on the path of cultivation, he would probably have to completely restore his soul first.
Although Wan Qingqu said that day that the Soul Essence and Spiritual Heart could be used to re-summon the compatible companion treasure, in the past, cultivators' souls were always intact when they opened the secret treasure. What if his buddy was injured and something went wrong?
The soul is a very mysterious thing. When Zhong Cai summoned the altar, his three souls and seven spirits worked together. This made him speculate that the soul marrow and spiritual heart might be entering the core of the soul, combining with the core, and giving birth to a new secret gate, so that he could call for a suitable treasure as a companion and open the secret again.
Therefore, not only the Soul Essence and Spiritual Heart, but even if Zhong Cai draws other treasures that restore aptitude from the altar, the method should be roughly the same, and none of them should be used rashly.
The Soul Nourishing Pill is naturally of paramount importance.
Once the spirit is "restored to health," attempting to restore one's aptitude will be much easier.
·
After several unsuccessful attempts, Zhong Cai exhausted her spiritual energy and stood up, intending to take a walk in the courtyard to clear her mind before continuing.
Because of the special properties of the Soul Nourishing Pill, Zhong Cai was afraid it would affect Wu Shaogan's health, so she hadn't asked him to stay with her before, but instead told him to stay in the courtyard.
Wu Shaogan didn't want to affect Zhong Cai's mindset, so he naturally did as he was told.
Zhong Cai pushed open the door and, unsurprisingly, was greeted by Wu Shaogan, who was making talismans.
On the first day he was kicked out of the cultivation room, Wu Shaogan set up a large table in the courtyard, directly facing the entrance of the cultivation room.
Whenever he was busy, he would face the door directly, so that whenever Zhong Cai came out, she could just meet him face to face.
At this moment, Wu Shaogan noticed Zhong Cai's movements as usual, put his pen aside, looked up and smiled: "Ah Cai, you're only coming out now? I thought you weren't hungry."
Zhong Cai rolled her eyes at him, ignoring his teasing, and walked over to pick up a piece of paper that was spread out to the side.
"You didn't make any talismans? What are you writing and drawing about?"
Upon seeing this, Zhong Cai exclaimed "Whoa!"
"What the hell!" He was disgusted by how ugly it was.
On the smooth paper, Wu Shaogan used a fine brush to draw the images of several men, so lifelike that they seemed about to leap off the paper. But it was precisely because they were so realistic that the expression of the foreground character was so nauseating, and the impact was so strong.
Wu Shao chuckled dryly and asked, "Didn't you recognize me?"
Zhong Cai pouted: "I recognized them, but why did you draw them?"
—Aren't these men the members of the Golden Leopard Hunting Group who jumped out and tried to steal the white-headed deer when the two of them were playing in the mountains?
The one who found Zhong Cai ugly was none other than Zang Baoman, who was utterly repulsive no matter how you looked at him.
It was as if I could instantly recall his ugly face back then.
Zhong Cai made a casual remark, then realized what she had said.
"Are you trying to cause trouble?"
Wu Shaogan said, "Let Qingkong identify the people and get rid of them all."
Zhong Cai was taken aback: "Now? Isn't that a bit behind schedule?"
Wu Shao chuckled dryly: "The West Tiger Hunting Group was there at the time, and the Golden Leopards were chasing after them, so they inevitably took the blame when the fight broke out." He glanced at Zhong Cai, his smile deepening. "Grandpa should have taken his medicine by now and will be fine soon. Qing Kong has dealt with Zang Baoman and the others, so even if the Golden Leopards still target the West Tigers, it won't be a problem."
Zhong Cai suddenly realized, looked at Wu Shaogan, and said, "Moreover, when Qing Kong makes a move, Jin Bao's people will most likely try to stop him. In that case, it's only natural for Qing Kong to retaliate. At that time, Jin Bao will only be weakened, and Grandpa's people might even be able to swallow Jin Bao up to avenge the time when they intercepted and killed him, right?"
He gave a thumbs up: "Old Wu, that's cunning enough."
Wu Shaogan nodded reservedly.
Zhong Cai agreed with this.
Regardless of the rift between him and his grandfather, the gold his grandfather gave him was genuine. If they hadn't happened to meet this time, by the time he tried to approach his grandfather, his grandfather would likely have already been killed by the Golden Leopard Hunting Gang!
At that time, how could the West Tiger Hunting Group be a match for Golden Leopard? His aunt, Sun Liu, hadn't even had time to grow up, and might have lost her life as well.
Now, thinking about it a little more broadly, a murderous intent arose in Zhong Cai's heart.
As for Jin Bao and his gang.
Zhong Cai reflected, "I should have thought of eliminating the root of the problem earlier."
Wu Shaogan smiled and said, "It's alright if I didn't expect it. I've got my eye on you."
Zhong Cai then became happy: "Then you must remind me more often."
·
Having been influenced by his previous life for over a decade, Zhong Cai, despite having lived for roughly the same age and changed many of his views in this life, is still quite different from those born and raised in the countryside. For example, while he may be used to many things, he may not necessarily be able to think about them proactively.
When Zhong Cai followed Wu Shaogan out of the city for training in the past, she saw many rogue cultivators fighting each other for resources. Even some members of large and small aristocratic families, who seemed to be brothers and sisters in their families, would always raise their knives against their own kind once they went into the deep, unfathomable mountains.
The reasons are varied, such as encountering the same treasure, having a prior conflict, wanting to gain more resources within the family, or many other reasons.
The reason why so many members of aristocratic families die is that external dangers account for 80%, but internal crises also account for 20%.
This shows how thin the bond was.
At first, Zhong Cai was quite naive. After all, he hadn't been out much, and his stepmother had her own children while his biological father was unreliable. He didn't receive much guidance from his family, and during his trials, he inevitably found many things disagreeable and even felt pity.
Wu Shaogan quickly discovered Zhong Cai's weakness and took him around to see the world.
Especially when someone foolishly ran into him, Wu Shaogan would personally guide Zhong Cai and finish him off with a single blow.
It was through this experience of seeing blood that Zhong Cai gradually adapted to the rules of this world.
·
However, no matter how much she adapts, Zhong Cai could never become a bloodthirsty maniac and would not easily entertain the thought of killing.
When Zang Baoman made his threatening remarks, Zhong Cai's attention was entirely on her aunt, Sun Liu, and she didn't pay much attention to him. Afterwards, when she came to her senses, she didn't even think about finding a way to get rid of him to prevent future trouble.
People like Zang Baoman are actually quite common, and they won't feel any gratitude for being spared. Loosening the reins on such people has resulted in many cultivators being harmed.
If you're going to be wary of someone who doesn't even show up in front of you, how can you act like nothing happened when someone has already given you a kill order? They'll just be treated like an easy target.
Wu Shaogan did the best by doing it so quietly, and it also helped the outside world, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
·
Zhong Cai reflected on this experience for a while and remembered it.
Wu Shaogan knew that Zhong Cai was kinder than most people, but he didn't mind. Just as he had said, he was still thinking of Zhong Cai.
Besides, Zhong Cai is very intelligent and will improve with more experience, so there is no need to worry too much about the future.
Wu Shao chuckled dryly, "Then let's call Qing Kong out."
Zhong Cai pulled Wu Shaogan back into the room, and then, with a thought, released the humanoid puppet.
The Azure Sky Puppet, dressed in a black robe and mask, stared intently at the portraits that Wu Shaogan had spread out.
As the puppet's master, Zhong Cai directly ordered, "Move out tonight and eliminate these people. If anyone harbors murderous intent towards you in an attempt to save them, eliminate them all as well."
Wu Shaogan informed him of the location of the Golden Leopard Hunting Group.
Zhong Cai hesitated for a moment, but still said, "If an ordinary person who has not yet cultivated attacks you, you can be spared."
The Azure Sky Puppet naturally obeyed completely.
After giving his instructions, the Azure Sky Puppet temporarily hid in a corner.
It will take action on its own when night falls tonight.
—The Golden Leopard Hunting Group and the West Tiger Hunting Group are in the same town. With the speed of a level four puppet, it would be enough for Qingkong to travel back and forth in one night.
·
The two returned to the courtyard.
Wu Shaogan casually dealt with the portraits, then took a stack of talismans from the table and handed them to Zhong Cai.
Zhong Cai looked at it but didn't recognize it. It seemed to be level one as well?
"What kind of talisman is this?"
Wu Shaogan replied, "A spirit communication talisman."
Zhong Cai suddenly realized: "After using it, you'll be able to understand the meaning of rare beasts?"
Wu Shaogan nodded and said, "I have a contract with Qingyu. Although I can't fully understand what it says, I won't misunderstand its meaning, but you will still have some obstacles. Now, when you play with it, just activate this talisman and there won't be any problems."
Zhong Cai held the spirit talisman and examined it, absolutely delighted with it.
"These talismans allow me to fully understand Qingyu's words? Are there any limitations?"
Wu Shaogan said, "The higher the grade, the more delicate and accurate it is."
Zhong Cai chuckled and replied, "All of these you gave me are top-quality, the very best. It's hard not to understand them."
At this point, Zhong Cai pulled out a small green dumpling from Wu Shaogan's left sleeve.
Little Green Roc slept soundly, showing no reaction whatsoever, only occasionally chirping once or twice.
With a beaming smile, Zhong Cai covered the little green roc's head with a high-grade spirit-summoning talisman, activating it so that it could listen with its back ear.
The next moment, a tender voice, like that of a two- or three-year-old child, rang out.
"eat……"
"...I'm hungry."
Zhong Cai couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Wu Shaogan couldn't help but reach out and pinch the pointed beak of the bird—its love of food was just like A Cai's.
·
Zhong Cai was very interested in the spirit communication talisman. After having dinner with Wu Shaogan, she used fresh meat to wake up the little green roe bird.
Little Green Roc was very greedy and growing, so he pounced on the pile of meat and ate with great joy.
The effects of a superior spirit talisman last for three hours, so when it ate and chirped, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan heard its bird-like chatter clearly.
There's not much meat today.
What should I eat tomorrow?
[The white-headed deer is delicious.]
[I want to hunt myself.]
[Let's go to the mountains!]
The little green roc heard its cry as before, but the spirit talisman, through the rhythm of its cry, fully revealed its meaning.
Zhong Cai smiled, resting her chin on her hand, looking very relaxed.
Wu Shaogan sat beside her and, seeing Zhong Cai so happy, felt relieved.
Wu Shaogan had witnessed all of Zhong Cai's hard work in obtaining the Soul Nourishing Pill. After much thought, he came up with the idea of drawing this talisman so that Zhong Cai could relax while playing with Xiao Qingpeng.
Fortunately, the objective was fully achieved.
Zhong Cai hadn't realized that his buddy was so thoughtful, constantly bothering the little green roc by poking its belly, rubbing its head, and pinching its little paws.
Little Qingpeng obeyed, but would chirp whenever Zhong Cai teased him.
[You've poked something in the flesh!]
[My belly isn't bulging...]
[Something's pressing on my head!]
[You're delaying my meal...]
[My little dad is really making a fuss.]
[Dad, please do something about this!]
Upon hearing this, Zhong Cai raised an eyebrow and looked at Wu Shaogan.
"Does it usually call us 'Dad' like this?"
Wu Shaogan chuckled: "I only knew it was very close to us, but I didn't know it was this detailed."
Zhong Cai snorted, "It actually lets you boss me around?"
Wu Shaogan immediately reassured him, "It's just because we're good friends that they asked me to persuade you."
Zhong Cai simply pressed her finger into the little green roc's head, burying it completely in the flesh, before saying, "I reluctantly believe it."
Little Qingpeng didn't struggle and ate even faster in that position.
[well. ]
[Looks younger than me.]
Zhong Cai: "..."
Wu Shaogan couldn't help but chuckle.
After that, Zhong Cai didn't dare to bother the little green roc any further. Only after it finished eating did she grab it in her hand again, staring into its bird-like eyes and saying, "What were you yelling about just now? Who's your father? Neither Lao Wu nor I could have given birth to a bird son like you?"
Little Green Peng's bird eyes widened instantly.
[Daddy! Can you understand?]
Zhong Cai laughed: "So you called us that secretly because you knew we couldn't understand?"
The little eagle chirped twice.
[No stealing! No stealing!]
Zhong Cai argued with it: "You're just taking advantage of the fact that neither of us can understand you."
Little Green Peng wanted to jump up, but it was all rubbed and couldn't jump, so it could only peck at Zhong Cai's fingers and chirp quickly.
[We didn't get the advantage! We didn't get the advantage!]
[You who hatch me are my father.]
[Big Daddy, Little Daddy!]
Zhong Cai laughed so hard she almost fell over, finding the little gadget incredibly interesting.
Wu Shaogan looked at the man and the bird, and a smile appeared in his eyes.
Zhong Cai took advantage of the little green roc's small size. Even though it was born with intelligence, its mind wasn't as active as its own. So she would grab the little green roc and play back and forth with it, making it chirp loudly every time, as if it wanted to jump up.
However, Xiao Qingpeng was still affectionate with Zhong Cai. Even though he was far stronger than Zhong Cai, as long as Zhong Cai didn't let go, he would obediently let her hold his hand even when he was teased and anxious, not wanting to hurt Zhong Cai at all.
Only after Zhong Cai had finished playing did she become more serious and start talking to Xiao Qingpeng.
"Didn't you just say you wanted to go hunting by yourself?"
Seeing that Zhong Cai had stopped making a fuss, Xiao Qingpeng stopped getting angry and nodded his little head.
Zhong Cai's smile hadn't faded as she pondered for a moment before saying, "You're already at the second tier, sixth level, the strongest in our family, so it's not appropriate to stop you. But if we let you wander into the woods at will, I'm afraid you might encounter danger..."
The little green roc chirps.
[No danger! I'm watching!]
Zhong Cai nodded in satisfaction: "Then go ahead. You have to come back every day, and if you come across any usable resources, bring them back as well."
Xiao Qingpeng tilted his head.
Zhong took out a small mustard seed bag and hung it around Xiao Qingpeng's neck.
Little Green Peng looked down and saw that all the downy feathers on its body had been stretched out.
It likes this!
Zhong Cai patted it and instructed, "Safety is the most important thing. Don't fight with the wild animals outside. You fly fast, so don't stay in populated areas or go into the inner part of the mountains."
Xiao Qingpeng agreed.
Zhong Cai pondered for a while, and after reminding it several times to be careful, she patted its head and let it go.
“Your uncle can now draw top-grade spirit talismans. If there’s anything you want, just say it, and we’ll understand.”
The little eagle flapped its wings and flew around the two of them several times, chirping happily.
This time it was a meaningless chirping, very melodious, almost like it was singing, visibly cheerful and very pleasant to hear.
Wu Shaogan smiled, finding it very interesting.
A-Cai was saying before that she "couldn't have a son," but now she's admitted it herself.
However, it's true that the little eagle was hatched by the two of them together, so it wouldn't be wrong to say that they were their son.
·
That night, Zhong Cai did nothing and slept soundly all night.
The next morning, the Blue Sky Puppet was still standing in the shadows in the corner.
Zhong Cai opened her eyes and looked at Wu Shaogan beside her.
Wu Shaogan understood and said, "It has already gone there and returned near dawn."
Zhong Cai examined the Azure Sky Puppet and didn't smell any blood, so it seemed the trip went quite smoothly.
Too lazy to get up, he simply asked, "How's the situation?"
The Azure Sky Puppet answered emotionlessly: "The people in the portrait have been eliminated. There were six people from the Golden Leopard Hunting Group who tried to stop us, including one at the Palace Opening Realm and five at the Heavenly Guidance Realm. They have all been executed."
Zhong Cai was stunned for a moment: "Only six? Where are the others?" But he immediately realized what was going on, and his lips twitched slightly, "The others saw that they couldn't beat you, so they quickly ran away, right?"
The Azure Sky Puppet, not lying, honestly replied, "Yes."
Zhong Cai chuckled.
That's perfectly normal. Seeing the behavior of the two hunting groups that time, I knew that Jinbao's group lacked cohesion. On the other hand, his grandfather's West Tiger Hunting Group was full of disciplined members who did things methodically.
Zhong Cai asked no more questions and raised her hand to put the Azure Sky Puppet into the altar.
Wu Shaogan straightened up and pulled Zhong Cai's hand as he reached out.
Zhong Cai then stood up.
Little Qingpeng crawled out of the quilt and chirped at the two of them.
The effects of yesterday's talisman had worn off, so Zhong Cai took one from beside the bed and activated it.
The little eagle's cry then became melodious and clear.
Good morning, Uncle!
Good morning, Daddy!
I'm going out!
Zhong Cai chuckled and said, "So eager?"
[Go quickly and come back quickly!]
Zhong Cai squeezed it and then handed it to Wu Shaogan.
Wu Shaogan also rubbed it.
Then the two walked to the window and threw the little green roc out.
The little eagle flapped its wings repeatedly, circled twice as if saying goodbye, and then flew away like lightning.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan exchanged a glance.
"I'm going to refine pills."
"I'll go make the talisman."
And so their new day began.
·
A day after Bichen left, several captains of the hunting teams from Xihu hurriedly returned and gathered in the council hall.
Sun Liu hadn't left the camp recently and didn't know why the hunting team leaders were in such a hurry, but he didn't delay and quickly arrived to wait for them to explain the reason.
A tall woman spoke first: "Young Commander, I went to patrol West Street today and only then did I learn that something happened on East Street."
Another burly man added in a booming voice, “Our team wanted to investigate Jin Bao’s movements, but we found their camp eerily quiet. Worried that Jin Bao might be up to something, we risked going to investigate, only to discover that everyone had fled, leaving behind only several corpses.” He said gravely, “One of them was Zang Jin Bao!”
—In other words, the leader of the Golden Leopard Hunting Group.
Another hunting captain, dressed in light armor, said, "Our men went to investigate and came to several conclusions."
Sun Liu turned her gaze over there.
The captain of the light armor team slowly said, "A powerful figure whose background is unknown entered the Golden Leopard's camp at night and killed Zang Baoman and several hunters nearby. Zang Jinbao sensed something was wrong and rushed over, but he and his son died at the hands of that person."
“A few of Zang Jinbao’s supporters helped, but the rest took advantage of the chaos to run away.”
"That expert was incredibly terrifying. Judging from the wounds on Zang Jinbao and the others, he could kill them with a single blow every time he attacked. They had absolutely no chance to resist..."
The tall woman took a deep breath and said, "We speculate that the powerful figure could have silently destroyed Jinbao's camp, but perhaps he deliberately released some aura so that Zang Jinbao could discover that his son was in trouble."
·
After listening to the reports from the hunting captains, one after another, Sun Liu's expression also became very serious.
Although her adoptive father's rescue allowed their West Tiger Hunting Group to rebuild and no longer worry about the infighting from Jin Bao's side, she only felt that they could continue to stalemate with Jin Bao and still needed to find another way to retaliate against Jin Bao and take revenge on them.
Sun Liu never expected that Jin Bao would be gone in just one night.
Both West Tiger and Golden Leopard were actually very small forces, and countless similar forces were destroyed every day. However, their standoff had lasted for more than ten years. The fact that this happened in Golden Leopard's territory still left her with mixed feelings.
A powerful being who could cause the Golden Leopard to collapse could naturally wipe out their Western Tiger with ease.
Why would such a powerful figure go against Jin Bao? Given the disparity in strength between them, how could Jin Bao possibly dare to offend such a powerful individual?
Many hunting captains couldn't understand it, so they hurriedly came over to discuss it.
Sun Liu didn't understand either, but as her thoughts flowed, she suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.
Jin Bao has indeed offended someone recently.
Could it be...?
The image of the young man in brocade robes that Sun Liu had seen in the mountains that day flashed into his mind.
Even though the man no longer possessed the aura of a powerful figure and seemed like just an ordinary young nobleman, he still exuded an extraordinary presence that commanded respect.
Think back carefully, what was that look in that person's eyes when Zang Baoman was shouting?
Sun Liu couldn't remember it very clearly, but for some reason, when she tried to recall it, she shuddered slightly.
Is it him?
If it's that young master, it's truly terrifying that he can mobilize such a huge amount of power.
Thinking of this, Sun Liu couldn't help but worry about her nephew again.
Although the two seemed to get along well that day, how could the nephew not feel wronged falling into the hands of the young master?
Sun Liu's thoughts kept changing, but she controlled her expression to avoid revealing her thoughts.
The hunting captains didn't find anything, but after explaining the situation to each other, their expressions became eager again.
"Young Commander, this is our chance!"
"The Golden Leopard's base is deserted. Let's hurry over there and grab a few pieces of meat while the others are still watching!"
"Their territory is better than ours. If we can find the land deeds, we should just take it!"
"Without Jin Bao causing trouble, the hunting party in Xiaolin Town will be all ours from now on, haha!"
"Let's hurry and go!"
Sun Liu then raised his arm and shouted, "Have each team muster their personnel and set off!"
The hunting captains shouted in unison, "Yes, sir!"
Soon, the entire West Tiger base was up and running.
Many hunters, whether in groups or scattered, all headed towards the Golden Leopard's encampment.
There were other forces that arrived earlier, but they were all small forces, at most barely comparable to the Western Tigers.
In this way, the two sides will also negotiate and divide the benefits.
Without a doubt, the West Tiger Hunting Group will reap the greatest rewards.
As both are hunting groups, Golden Leopard's assets will bring greater benefits to West Tiger...
·
Perhaps because he was completely relaxed, Zhong Cai seemed to have divine assistance when he refined the Soul Nourishing Pill again.
He had only just started refining the first batch, but his handling of the various medicinal herbs and the control of the heat were already quite smooth. He used to be imprecise when adding the Soul-Nourishing Grass juice, but now he suddenly had a feel for it and could easily estimate the correct amount.
Half an hour later, Zhong Cai successfully produced pills, actually reaching the level of a top-level alchemist, producing a full ten Soul Nourishing Pills!
Although the quality of these pills wasn't very good—eight of them were low-grade and only two were mid-grade—this was still fantastic compared to the hundreds of doses of medicine we had wasted in the past few days!
Zhong Cai couldn't help but smile.
The real fear is failing to produce the pill! Once he succeeds the first time, he will have absolute confidence when he comes to refine his pill-making skills.
Subsequent developments did not disappoint Zhong Cai's expectations.
The second batch of pills was successfully produced, yielding eleven pills, eight of which were of low grade and three of medium grade.
The third batch was also successful, producing pills...
The fourth attempt failed by accident.
The fifth batch was a success...
Half a day passed, and Zhong Cai opened the furnace ten times, succeeding seven times.
There were three instances where the required number of pills was twelve, and the other instances yielded at least ten.
When the last batch was successfully produced, in addition to the low-grade pills, there was finally one high-grade pill.
·
Zhong Cai rubbed his shoulders and realized that he had been too focused on refining pills. He only realized how tired he was when he stopped.
However, I am still excited.
Zhong Cai collected all the other pills, but took only the top-grade one out.
Wu Shaogan looked up, a slight smile playing on his lips, and asked, "What's got you so excited? Your eyebrows are practically flying off!"
At almost the same moment, Zhong Cai said, "Guess why I'm so happy?"
The two looked at each other and smiled, then walked towards each other.
Wu Shaogan opened his palm.
Zhong Cai clenched her fist and held it above her palm, then opened her fist.
In an instant, a pale gray Soul Nourishing Pill landed in Wu Shaogan's hand.
Wu Shaogan looked at the pill; it didn't show any signs of being top-grade, but its quality was visibly excellent.
So he said with certainty, "Top-grade."
Zhong Cai gave a thumbs up: "Yes!"
Wu Shaogan sniffed lightly and smiled slightly.
"It works very well for me. Just smelling it gives me a sense of comfort. If I take it, it will definitely have a restorative effect on my soul."
Zhong Cai beamed and snatched the pill back.
Wu Shaogan raised an eyebrow.
Zhong Cai said lightly, "I'm just showing you, I'm not letting you eat it. With me here, would I let you eat anything below the top grade?"
Wu Shao chuckled dryly, "A top-grade one is fine too; it doesn't have to be the absolute best."
Zhong Cai disagreed with this statement.
“You know perfectly well that pills that aren’t top-grade contain impurities, and accumulating too many can affect your cultivation. If you keep taking these kinds, I’ll have to learn how to make the Cleansing Pill, and I’ll have to make it top-grade to clean up the impurities for you. It’s better to just take top-grade pills from the start, which will save you a lot of trouble.”
Wu Shaogan said helplessly, "Ordinary people can't accumulate impurities to the point that would seriously affect their cultivation even when they take pills."
Seeing Zhong Cai glaring at him angrily, he immediately gave in.
"Then I'll have to trouble you."
Zhong Cai then looked away.
After lunch, Zhong Cai continued refining elixirs.
The afternoon was still very efficient, and there was another breakthrough in the refining of the Soul Nourishing Pill.
Similarly, after ten attempts, eight batches were successful, each batch yielding a full load of pills, with the majority gradually becoming high-grade or medium-grade pills.
During dinner, Zhong Cai confidently told Wu Shaogan, "I have a feeling that I will be able to produce a top-grade pill within two or three days. When you take it while it's still hot, the effect will be the best!"
Wu Shaogan tried to suppress his laughter, but his eyes still crinkled with mirth.
Although the pills are made using wood and fire, they aren't hot when they come out of the furnace.
It's even more out of the question to "eat it while it's hot".
Ah Cai is so cute.
·
As darkness approached, Xiao Qingpeng finally returned.
It affectionately pounced on Zhong Cai's face and then rubbed against Wu Shaogan's neck.
The mustard seed pouch on Xiao Qingpeng's neck was still intact. After it had had its fill of cuddling, it stretched its head in front of Zhong Cai, signaling him to take it off.
Zhong Cai smiled and actually took it down to look through it.
Wu Shaogan teased him, "It seems that Xiao Qingyu also knows that you are in charge of our family, and any gains must be handed over to your little father."
While counting the contents of the mustard seed bag, Zhong Cai said irritably, "We're about the same age, so how come I'm the younger dad and you're the older dad?"
Wu Shao chuckled dryly, "I am a few days older than you, so naturally I should address you that way."
Zhong Cai glared at him, deliberately making a ferocious expression.
Of course, Xiao Qingpeng couldn't tell the difference in age between them in just a few days.
It first recognized Wu Shaogan as its master, and then was incubated by both of them. Naturally, the one who came first was the eldest father.
Then, the two of them began to prepare the prey together.
The mustard bag that Zhong Cai hung on Xiao Qingpeng had a capacity of several tens of cubic meters and could hold a lot of things.
Little Green Roc lived up to its bloodline and ferocity, hunting thirteen savage beasts in just one day!
What's even more terrifying is that they are all second-tier savage beasts.
Zhong Cai couldn't help but gasp: "This efficiency is much higher than the two of us combined."
Wu Shaogan was also a little surprised, but upon reflection, it made sense.
"Its rank is high, and it flies extremely fast. As long as it is confined to the outer mountains, few wild beasts can match it. It is not surprising that it can hunt and kill these."
Zhong Cai thought it made sense, but she still grabbed the little green eagle and rubbed it against her face.
"Wow, that's amazing! You've brought so many savage beasts; enough to feed you for a month!"
The little eagle folded its wings over its chest, looking quite proud, and chirped incessantly with its sharp beak.
Zhong Cai was happy, but seeing Xiao Qingpeng's appearance, she felt a little strange.
"Well... you look familiar."
"That's a bit too much."
Wu Shaogan forced himself to suppress a laugh, his face almost contorting in pain.
How could this not be familiar? It's exactly how A-Cai always acts when she's showing off her alchemy skills.
If it weren't for the person and the bird, there would be almost no difference!
The chirping of the little eagle was really pleasant to hear, but Zhong Cai stroked his chin and gave up on using the spirit-summoning talisman.
I still feel it's best not to know what it's saying.
This is for his own good.
Wu Shaogan couldn't help himself and turned his head away, a silent smile appearing on his face.
·
Two more days passed, and Zhong Cai's alchemy skills continued to improve.
The success rate of pill production has reached 90%, and every pill produced is a full-sized pill, with most of them being of superior quality and only a small number of medium quality.
He almost produced a top-quality product several times, but it would probably take more time and patience. He had a feeling that he would succeed in no more than ten batches.
That night, Xiao Qingpeng returned just before dark.
In the past, it would always return with at least ten or more second-tier prey, but today, in addition to the mustard seed bag hanging properly around its neck, it was also carrying a bag in its pointed snout.
It hasn't grown to its full size yet; this tiny little thing, no bigger than a palm, not only has a mustard pouch that's half its height hanging from it, but it's also carrying something that's twice its size!
It's exhausting just looking at it.
Zhong Cai quickly caught it and first took the bag off its mouth.
The little green eagle landed on the table and chirped crisply and melodiously many times.
Wu Shaogan said, "It seems to mean that we should examine the bag first."
Zhong Cai complied with Xiao Qingpeng's request, and pulled Wu Shaogan along to open the bag.
What is it that makes Xiao Qingpeng so excited...?
Inside the bag was a fetus shimmering with a hazy glow.
This is truly unexpected.
·
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan exchanged a glance.
Little Qingpeng bounced around eagerly.
Wu Shaogan handed Zhong Cai the top-quality spirit communication talisman he had just made.
Zhong Cai inspired him tacitly.
Then, both of them heard it very clearly.
[Found in the valley!]
[There's a dead person nearby! It's amazing they're still alive.]
[A rift! A spatial rift!]
[I died as soon as I fell!]
[Sixth rank!]
Zhong Cai understood and picked up the animal fetus.
You can vaguely see the tiny cubs curled up inside.
It already has some hair, but you can't tell what it is for the time being.
Zhong Cai asked, "Old Wu, can you recognize him?"
Wu Shaogan also moved closer to examine it carefully.
Little Qingpeng, however, knew more. Seeing that both of his fathers had doubts, he immediately chirped loudly.
[The Bone-Eating Silver Wolf!]
[The fetus contains essence blood!]
[Lucky me, evolved into the Devouring Wolf!]
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan looked at each other.
The Bone-Eating Silver Wolf is a sixth-tier rare beast. If it successfully devours the essence and blood of the Devouring Sky Greedy Wolf, it may have the opportunity to enhance its bloodline and evolve in the direction of the Devouring Sky Greedy Wolf, which has the potential to become a ninth-tier beast...
The process looks so familiar.
Both of them couldn't help but exclaim, "What a coincidence?"
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