"Sit down and talk." It seems they came here following the clues I had found while refining elixirs at Baoshan Hall.
"Do you know what caused this?" Shi Xuan asked, putting down his chopsticks.
“I know.” Tang Nong pulled out a chair, sat down, nodded, and said, “It’s deer spine grass.”
"Someone poisoned you?" Shi Xuan was somewhat puzzled, because deer spine grass is a low-level spiritual medicine that can paralyze people, but its toxicity is not strong. If it was poisoning, this person was too lenient.
Sensing the doubt in Shi Xuan's question, Tang Nong felt a little embarrassed. She chuckled awkwardly and replied, "No, I ate it myself."
Shi Xuan was even more confused. Could it be that a pill cultivator was personally testing the medicine? No, that didn't make sense either. She had just introduced herself as being from the Lianfeng Sword Sect, so she should be a sword cultivator.
Tang Nong looked somewhat embarrassed. She glanced at the table leg in front of her and continued, "It's like this. I enjoy cooking. Although this deer spine grass is somewhat poisonous, it has a very unique taste. So... I tried adding a spiritual medicine that can neutralize the medicinal properties of the deer spine grass to make a dish. After eating it, it turned out like this."
After hearing her words, Shi Xuan's image of her as a cold and noble sword cultivator collapsed. She was a ruthless person who didn't even spare herself.
"The antidote contained small blue prickly prickles?"
Tang Nong nodded, her face saying, "How did you know?"
"These two medicinal herbs need to be neutralized when mixed together, otherwise you'll experience symptoms like this. But it's nothing serious; even if you leave it alone, it will be fine in seven days." In the cultivation world, this isn't even considered an illness.
"Seven days? What if you want it to get better faster?"
The other person's voice was a little urgent. This uncontrollable facial twitching was really bothersome; it would twitch whenever she spoke, making her afraid to face others directly.
If she returned to the sect looking like this, her fellow disciples would laugh her to death. She had her pride too, you know. She didn't want to wait even a day, let alone seven.
"That's simple. Just dig up some bitter reed roots, stir-fry them with salt, and eat them. That'll cure it." This minor ailment doesn't even require alchemy.
Tang Nong breathed a sigh of relief and tried to smile, but because of her left cheek, the smile looked a little distorted. "Thank you so much. I thought it would require some incredible elixir to solve this."
As she spoke, she pulled out a small box from somewhere and handed it to Shi Xuan, saying, "You're eating right now, this is some spiritual food I made, using many precious spiritual plants as ingredients. If you don't mind..."
"I find it disgusting." Before she could finish speaking, Shi Xuan impatiently expressed her opinion. This person really didn't have a clear understanding of herself. She had eaten herself into such a state, yet she still had the nerve to offer it as a gift!
Seeing Shi Xuan's meaningful look, Tang Nong chuckled and said, "Actually, it's not like this every time."
She even wanted to do it every time! Shi Xuan said, "I'm treating your illness, but you want to poison me..."
“But,” Tang Nong frowned slightly and said with a twitch at the corner of her mouth, “you have helped me so much, I just want to express my gratitude.”
“There’s no need for that!” Shi Xuan waved his hand, then suddenly remembered something and said to her, “If you want to express your gratitude, I have a few questions I’d like to ask you.”
“Okay,” Tang Nong seemed very happy, her facial twitches became more frequent.
Which sects are currently recruiting disciples?
"A sect accepting disciples?" Tang Nong was somewhat puzzled, unsure of what aspect she was referring to. A pill refiner like her, capable of producing top-grade flawless pills, would likely be sought after by the sect leader if she were to directly enter the Divine Cauldron Sect's mountain gate.
Moreover, someone who can refine the Flawless Pill doesn't seem to have no lineage.
Seeing the confusion on her face, Shi Xuan repeated, "Which sects accept outer disciples now?"
"Outer sect disciples?" Since the question clearly refers to outer sect disciples, it must be someone else's inquiry. Tang Nong thought for a moment and replied, "Most sects start their selection process in June or July, and it's already September. They've basically finished accepting all the disciples they could. The only sect still accepting disciples now is our Lianfeng Sword Sect."
Shi Xuan probably knew about the apprenticeship in June or July, because the Divine Cauldron Sect also received a batch of new disciples during that period.
"Why is the Lianfeng Sword Sect still ongoing?"
"The reasons are quite complicated. We sword cultivators value comprehension highly, which is something that can't be forced. Moreover, in the eyes of the world, the life of a sword cultivator is always rather dull."
Shi Xuan felt that what she said was very subtle. Most people didn't go to the Sword Sect not because the life there was boring, but because sword cultivators were poorer than disciples of other sects. The reason why it was difficult to recruit disciples was to take on more disciples for two months, but in her words, it was because their comprehension was too high and they were rare finds.
However, she didn't have any requirements for the sect. She just wanted a safe place to stay where she could refine pills properly and fix her unstable spiritual root. It didn't matter where she was, since she didn't need anyone to give her basic guidance.
With that in mind, Shi Xuan decided to go and check out the Lianfeng Sword Sect first.
"So you're here on a training expedition? When will you return to the sect?"
"No," Tang Nong said somewhat embarrassedly, but still tried to maintain a composed demeanor, "I'm not going out for training. I came here to set up a stall to sell some of the spiritual food I made myself... but... I want to head back to the sect today."
Upon hearing her statement, Shi Xuan couldn't help but twitch her cheeks a few times, just like her.
"Why not sell them in your own sect's market? Doesn't the Lianfeng Sword Sect have a market?"
Tang Nong's expression froze for a moment at the question, but she answered seriously, "The Sword Sect also has a market, and we used to sell there... but perhaps after a while, it loses its novelty, and fewer people buy from us..."
So, it has already ravaged its own surrounding area. It's probably been blacklisted by people in the neighborhood and can't sell its products, so now it's coming out to destroy other people's businesses.
That's fine too; meeting is fate.
Shi Xuan: "What time are you leaving for your sect today? Would it be convenient for me to take you with me? I'd like to go to the Lianfeng Sword Sect to take an entrance exam."
"You? You're taking the Sword Sect's entrance exam?" Tang Nong was very surprised. She thought that asking which sect was accepting disciples was for someone else.
"With your alchemy skills, why go to the Sword Sect? Just go up from here, and they'll be fighting over you to take you in!" she said, pointing in the direction of the Divine Cauldron Sect.
Shi Xuan spoke nonsense with a straight face: "The Divine Cauldron Sect is too unchallenging. I feel that my comprehension is too high and my talent is too extraordinary. Only cultivating the path of alchemy will bury my talent. Moreover, I am not afraid of being bored. It's a good time to go to the Sword Sect to see if I am the rare and innate sword cultivation prodigy."
...Comprehension...boring...rare and hard to come by...she's just throwing back everything she just said.
Tang Nong's left cheek twitched even more violently. She felt that she had to get away from this alchemy master as soon as possible, otherwise her condition would worsen before she could even take her medicine.
"I'll go buy some bitter gourd root to treat my face first, and then I'll head back to the sect."
Shi Xuan nodded and said, "I'll finish this meal first, then we'll go together."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
