Lin Daozi accepted the pill, his square face full of smiles. "Good, good, I appreciate your kindness. There's no need to talk about how valuable it is. I'm already very pleased to have such a thoughtful gesture."
Although he had no use for low-grade pills, most of the gifts from his disciples were small in price but heavy in sentiment, mainly expressing the heartfelt meaning. Could a Nascent Soul stage cultivator like him possibly need the things of a mere Qi Refining disciple?
This thought lingered the moment he opened the porcelain bottle.
This fragrance... it's something special.
Lin Daozi had seen good things before. Drawn by the fragrance of the pill, he immediately poured one out and examined it in his hand, and was greatly surprised.
This is actually a top-grade, flawless Spirit-Returning Pill!
The first-tier Rejuvenation Pill is the most common type of pill, and it can be found in markets and Hundred Herbs Peak. However, top-grade pills are extremely rare, and flawless top-grade pills are even more priceless.
Then this newly accepted apprentice just casually gave away two bottles—what a wealthy family's child he must be! Although these pills are of no use to him now, if he were to present them as gifts to a junior, they would be quite impressive and make him look good!
Lu Wenxing stood behind Shi Xuan, looking at his master with a smug look, waiting for him to be frightened like he was.
Seeing that his master's expression had changed, he quickly asked for credit, "Master! I escorted my junior sister to Hundred Herbs Peak to refine these pills, so I deserve some credit for the gift my junior sister gave you!"
Lin Daozi was even more surprised: "You refined this elixir yourself?"
Shi Xuan nodded and smiled at his master, "Right now I can only refine some low-grade pills. When my cultivation level is higher, I will offer you even better ones!"
Lin Daozi was at a loss for words. He never expected that taking in a disciple with innate sword bones would also come with a future alchemy master as a bonus!
Tang Nong, who already knew the situation, smiled slightly, with a composed expression as if she were the only one sober in a world of fools, and said, "Thank you for the top-grade Rejuvenation Pill, Junior Sister. I don't have anything else to offer, only..."
“I don’t need spiritual food,” Shi Xuan quickly interrupted.
Tang Nong frowned slightly, her voice tinged with relief: "Junior Sister must be worried that Junior Sister is overworked. I appreciate Junior Sister's thoughtfulness, but don't worry, Junior Sister, no matter how tiring it is to make spiritual food, I will do it willingly!"
How could she repay kindness with enmity? She tried to poison me when she healed my face, and now she wants to poison me again after giving me pills... Thinking of this, Shi Xuan also pretended to be serious and said, "If Senior Sister insists on doing so, the next batch of pills will not include Senior Sister's share, so that Senior Sister will not have to think about thanking me."
Tang Nong's expression changed incredibly quickly. She dropped the pretense and immediately slapped her forehead, saying, "I remember now. I haven't been resting well lately and I'm lacking energy, so I can only be the second senior brother or the fourth junior brother!"
Lu Wenxing jumped up and shouted, "How did this get dragged into this? I don't need any spirit food! I'm perfectly healthy!"
Tang Nong had already been forced to lose her junior sister as a client, and she couldn't afford to lose her second senior brother as well. She said decisively, "No, you need him."
He Weiqing, who had been silent, hesitated. He also wanted to say that he didn't want to eat the strange spiritual food made by his third senior sister. It wasn't that it tasted bad, but that sometimes it would cause unpredictable reactions.
He glanced at his third senior sister, not daring to speak, then turned to Shi Xuan, blushing as he said, "Thank you, thank you, junior sister."
Watching his three disciples bickering, Lin Daozi felt both gratified and saddened. Only if the missing one could return would the group be truly complete. He took out the wine gourd from his waist and took a couple of sips. His disciples were enjoying themselves, and he didn't want to bring up unpleasant things or be the spoilsport.
"Xuan'er, come here," Lin Daozi beckoned.
Shi Xuan stepped forward, "Master."
Lin Daozi took out two Qin wood boxes from his storage ring and handed them to Shi Xuan, saying, "Since Xuan'er is skilled in alchemy, I have a few spiritual herbs here that I obtained from various secret realms many years ago. I will give them to you so that they can be put to good use."
The fact that a Nascent Soul stage expert would preserve these two boxes of spiritual medicine using precious Qin wood speaks volumes about their value.
"Thank you, Master! You are so generous!" Shi Xuan accepted the gift with both hands, smiling broadly, her dimples adding to her charm.
Seeing this, Lu Wenxing appealed again, "Master, I also contributed to Junior Sister's success in making this pill. Will I receive a reward?"
"Yes." When Lin Daozi turned to face him, his smile was noticeably less warm than when he was facing his junior disciple. "Now I will reward you with a verbal commendation. I hope you will continue to perform well in the future and protect your junior brothers and sisters."
Verbal praise is no reward. Lu Wenxing's shoulders slumped, and he nodded dejectedly.
Tang Nong added at the opportune moment: "If you want to protect us, you need to be strong enough too. Second Senior Brother has only reached the third level of the Golden Core stage after all these years of training. If he encounters a strong enemy, he might not be able to defeat them on his own. What can we do? I can only work harder and make more spiritually rich food to nourish Second Senior Brother!"
"No need, no need!" Lu Wenxing quickly waved his hand and said, "Starting tomorrow, I will cultivate for one, no, two hours every day!"
The group dispersed amidst the commotion. Shi Xuan returned to his courtyard and found his fourth senior brother following behind him, as if he had something to say.
Shi Xuan stopped and asked, "Fourth Senior Brother, is there something you need from me?"
He Weiqing seemed startled, took a step back, and stammered, "I...I think...tomorrow..."
"Do you want to come with me to Baicaofeng tomorrow?" Shi Xuan asked anxiously for him.
He Weiqing nodded vigorously and looked at Shi Xuan.
“Okay,” Shi Xuan readily agreed, “Then come here tomorrow morning and take me there on your sword.”
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