Xiaoyun's injuries were minor, and she had only used a single drop of the chalcedony from the bottle. When absorbing a natural treasure like chalcedony, the most pressing concern was being interrupted while practicing. Xiuzhu feared Xiaoyun would be ambushed again after she left, as she had last time, so she remained by his side.
Xiaoyun had spent three days absorbing a single drop of chalcedony. Xiuzhu was anxious, but he had no other options. After all, he had taken the chalcedony secretly. If he had asked his parents to watch over Xiaoyun, if they were discovered, Xiuzhu's entire family would be implicated in the theft. The world of cultivation was very strict regarding betrayal. Even without Taoist Baopu's investigation, if Xiuzhu's theft of Zhou Xi's chalcedony became known, their entire family would be doomed.
Only after Xiaoyun absorbed the chalcedony and opened his eyes did Xiuzhu hurried to Jinping Peak. Three days had passed, and Xiuzhu had no idea how Zhou Xi was doing, but he didn't dare run away. Xiuzhu's family were all servants in the Yushan Sect. If Xiuzhu stole the chalcedony and ran away, Taoist Baopu would surely punish his family. Having offended Taoist Baopu, Xiuzhu had nowhere else to run in the world of cultivation.
When Xiuzhu took the chalcedony, fearing Zhou Xi would try to stop her, she used her family's inherited technique to activate several hidden acupuncture points on Zhou Xi. If Taoist Baopu hadn't gone to the secret room, Xiuzhu suspected Zhou Xi would still be in the medicine pool. During Zhou Xi's first two bodybuilding exercises, Xiuzhu had accompanied him and observed that each time Taoist Baopu added more medicine, Zhou Xi's expression grew more painful.
Xiuzhu didn't know that the chalcedony in his hand was used to neutralize the medicinal properties, and she thought that this time would be the same. With the addition of chalcedony, Zhou Xi would feel more pain.
Xiuzhu thought it through. After a few days, without his help, Zhou Xi's physical training would only be suboptimal. He didn't expect that his selfish motives would almost kill Zhou Xi.
Zhou Xi had nearly lost his life this time. During the previous two body-building sessions, Taoist Baopu had personally guarded the poolside, fearing any mishaps. Zhou Xi had been quite capable, having made it through both sessions without incident. After the two sessions, Zhou Xi's health had improved significantly. Unfortunately, Taoist Baopu had a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder; he felt that with Zhou Xi's endurance, he could still perfect his body.
This time, the body-building medicinal concoction wasn't as elaborate as the previous two, requiring Master Baopu to constantly monitor and add ingredients one by one. This time, Master Baopu poured the concoction into the pool all at once, adding only a drop of chalcedony every five or six hours to neutralize the concoction's violent properties. Of course, Master Baopu wouldn't explain the secrets of this to Xiuzhu, a mere servant. In Master Baopu's view, a servant like Xiuzhu simply needed to follow his instructions.
Centennial chalcedony was hard to come by. If it weren't for Zhou Xi, who had the potential to become his own body, Taoist Baopu would have been reluctant to use such a treasure. Even with the vast wealth of Taoist Baopu, he couldn't find such a rare elixir as thousand-year-old chalcedony. Precisely because there was no thousand-year-old chalcedony, the pool of medicinal juice needed to be dripped with a drop of centennial chalcedony every few hours. Otherwise, a drop of thousand-year-old chalcedony would be enough to neutralize the medicinal properties of the juice, and Zhou Xi wouldn't have to endure so much pain.
Coincidentally, during Zhou Xi's third bodybuilding exercise, Taoist Lingyun sought out Taoist Baopu for an important matter. It concerned the Yushan Sect's annual allocation of spirit stones, and directly impacted Taoist Baopu's future cultivation resources. Taoist Baopu, figuring that adding chalcedony to the medicinal concoction would be a simple matter, delegated the task to Xiuzhu. Before leaving, he repeatedly emphasized that Xiuzhu should time the addition and report back in three days.
Xiuzhu was so excited when she realized that the small jade bottle contained a hundred-year-old chalcedony that she began to tremble. Fortunately, Taoist Baopu had already turned and left, and didn't notice Xiuzhu's abnormality.
After Xiaoyun was injured, Xiuzhu even dreamed of finding a hundred-year-old chalcedony to heal Xiaoyun. Now, a bottle of hundred-year-old chalcedony appeared in his hand, and Xiuzhu was immediately tempted.
Without Taoist Baopu, Zhou Xi, who was at the first level of Qi training, was no match for Xiuzhu.
Taoist Baopu had never imagined Xiuzhu would be so bold. He had always assumed Zhou Xi's third bodybuilding session was proceeding smoothly under his guidance. After Taoist Baopu finished his work with Taoist Lingyun, Liu Jingyun brought Wen Ziqing back to the Yushan Sect. Overjoyed by Wen Ziqing's arrival, Taoist Baopu forgot all about Zhou Xi in the secret room.
If Zhou Yuanyuan hadn't appeared in Zhou Xi's training chamber, Zhou Xi would have died from the pain. After Xiuzhu's attack, Zhou Xi was trapped in the pool, unable to move. The medicinal juice in the pool, without the neutralizing effect of chalcedony, became increasingly violent. By the time Zhou Yuanyuan found him, the life force in him had already begun to fade.
In fact, this was also Zhou Xi's "fate". He lost the hundred-year-old chalcedony, but gained the innate spiritual energy from Xiaoyu, which was hundreds of times more effective than the thousand-year-old chalcedony. It could be considered a blessing in disguise.
After Zhou Xi absorbed the medicinal properties, Zhou Yuanyuan asked for his consent and threw him into the trial world of the Chaos Pearl.
After the Chaos Pearl recognized its master, its trial world could follow the master's wishes. When the trial missions were not open, it was just an ordinary world. Zhou Xi's strength was too low, and Zhou Yuanyuan was afraid that she would not be able to take care of him in the event of danger. It was better to let him stay in there, at least he would not be a burden.
Not to mention Zhou Xi’s shock after entering the trial world, let’s just say that after Taoist Baopu taught He Jingjing a lesson, he stood in Wen Ziqing’s yard and “watched” Wen Ziqing immersed in cultivation, and then returned to his residence with satisfaction.
Taoist Baopu sat by the window, leisurely enjoying a cup of spiritual tea brewed by Taoist child Yuzhu, before he remembered Zhou Xi, whom he had forgotten for a few days. Counting on his fingers, three days had passed, and Zhou Xi should have completed his body training. But why hadn't Xiuzhu come to report to him?
Thinking of this, Taoist Baopu could no longer sit still, so he stood up and went straight to the back mountain.
While Zhou Xi's body wasn't as good as Wen Ziqing's, it was still a good choice for Baopu Taoist. Accidents are common on the path to immortality, and until the very last moment, Baopu Taoist couldn't be sure if he'd succeeded in taking over another body. With an extra option, Baopu Taoist wouldn't pin all his hopes on Wen Ziqing.
The two restrictions in the cave were set up by Taoist Baopu specifically for Zhou Xi. Before Zhou Xi completed his "transformation", Taoist Baopu did not intend to let him appear in front of the public.
To be honest, this is also due to Taoist Baopu's vanity. Taoist Baopu hopes that everyone will see the Zhou Xi who has been reborn from today onwards, rather than the old Zhou Xi from more than a month ago.
Taoist Baopu was carrying a jade token with restrictions on entry and exit. When he encountered the first restriction, the jade token flashed with light, and Taoist Baopu walked into the cave without any obstacles.
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