Chapter 468 – Discussion

Let us speak now of Zhang Xiaohua. After pondering for quite some time, he suddenly understood why the True Qi within his body felt different from before.

The difference lay in how the True Qi now flowed with utter naturalness, as though it had always been meant to move this way—there was no need for him to exert control over it at all.

In the past, the movement of his True Qi had always been directed by his conscious will, turning and circulating through the orderly meridians in accordance with the records of the Carefree Heart Sutra.

Now, although the order of the meridians remained unchanged, the flow of the True Qi bore subtle differences—some meridians were faster, others slower. Yet this variation in speed was perhaps not actual speed, but rather Zhang Xiaohua’s own perception of fast and slow. 

This sensation felt oddly familiar.

Zhang Xiaohua gave it a moment’s thought and came to a realization—was this not the flavor of the Heavenly Dao?

Thus, Zhang Xiaohua came to understand that his sudden advancement in cultivation was very likely related to the insights he had gained regarding the Heavenly Dao during this period—it was the result of a long accumulation now bursting forth in full.

Indeed, this was exactly so. The rise in cultivation is closely tied to one’s state of mind—the loftier the state of mind, the swifter the advancement. And what is the state of mind but one’s cultivation reflected against the Heavenly Dao? One’s comprehension of the Dao directly impacts the refinement of one’s state of mind. For someone like Zhang Xiaohua, who had only just stepped into the early stage of Qi Refining, the impact of this was even more profound. Just a few months of contemplating the Heavenly Dao had already propelled his cultivation forward by a significant leap!

Zhang Xiaohua seemed to grasp some of the relationships between these things. But soon after, he discovered something new.

Beneath the Heavenly Dao, the flow of True Qi was harmonious and smooth—this insight gave Zhang Xiaohua great inspiration. Last night, when he was reading the incantation for concealing one’s cultivation, he had felt puzzled by it. But now, reflecting on last night’s progress, he felt as if he had found a possible breakthrough.

Striking while the iron was hot, Zhang Xiaohua once again took out that incantation and began to study it in detail.

It wasn’t until daylight broke that Zhang Xiaohua finally put the jade slip away. Though it was far too short a time to achieve any real progress, the smile on his lips betrayed the gains he had made in his heart.

Dispelling the formation around the pill room, Zhang Xiaohua cheerfully went through a full set of the Big Dipper Divine Fist. Glancing up at the sky, he thought to himself, “Little Fish Nie should be arriving about now, shouldn’t she?”

Sure enough, just as he reached the door of the pill room, he saw Nie Qianyu approaching swiftly, once again bringing along a few disciples.

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua emerge to greet them, Nie Qianyu beamed and said with her usual cheer: “Brother Ren, could it be that you sensed I was coming again?”

Zhang Xiaohua shook his head and said: “I just happened to wake up early and thought I’d take a walk.”

Then, glancing at Nie Qianyu’s eyes, he asked in surprise: “Little Fish Nie, what’s going on with your eyes? There are dark circles, and they’re a little bloodshot too. Did you have trouble sleeping last night? I’ve heard that for a woman, the most important beauty secret is sleep.”

Nie Qianyu rolled her eyes at him and replied: “It’s nothing. I just stayed up a bit late picking pill formulas for you. It’s no big deal.”

Hearing this, warmth welled up in Zhang Xiaohua’s heart. He cupped his hands and said sincerely: “Little Fish, thank you for your trouble.”

Nie Qianyu’s eyes turned slightly red, and she said: “At least you’ve got a conscience. You noticed I didn’t sleep well, and you even came out to greet me. I suppose this bit of effort was worth it after all.”

Zhang Xiaohua didn’t know how to respond. He could only sigh inwardly.

But at that moment, Nie Qianyu suddenly frowned slightly and looked at Zhang Xiaohua with a puzzled expression.

Zhang Xiaohua rubbed his nose, then his face, even ran his fingers through his hair a few times—he didn’t see any soot or firewood stuck there—so he could only return her gaze with equal confusion, wide-eyed.

Nie Qianyu, embarrassed by his stare, scolded, “Why are you staring at me like that?”

Zhang Xiaohua echoed her words like a parrot, “Exactly—why are you staring at me like that?”

Nie Qianyu couldn’t help but burst out laughing and said, “It’s strange, Brother Ren. Somehow, you look different from yesterday. But your nose, your brows, they’re all the same. Could it be your aura has changed?”

Then she chuckled: “But aura isn’t something that changes in a day or two.”

Zhang Xiaohua’s heart stirred. Could it be that the advancement in my cultivation last night had such an effect? That it could actually draw a girl’s gaze so strongly?

Unconsciously, he flipped his hair and smiled. “Who would’ve thought… I, Ren Xiaoyao, would have a day when I shine like this!”

“Hahaha!” Nie Qianyu burst into laughter. “It’s just that the more I look at you, the more you resemble that fellow who only studied a few months of the ‘Three Character Classic’!”

Clang! Zhang Xiaohua fell straight to the ground—it turned out he hadn’t advanced, but regressed!

In truth, Nie Qianyu had been exaggerating a fair bit. After Zhang Xiaohua’s cultivation breakthrough the previous night, the circulation of True Qi within his body and the operation of the Pill Heart in his Niwan Palace had become even more aligned with the Heavenly Dao, exuding a sense of returning to simplicity and purity. Of course, this was only one night’s worth of cultivation—how could it possibly result in any earth-shattering change? If not for Nie Qianyu’s deep attentiveness toward Zhang Xiaohua, how could she have detected the slightest hint of difference?

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua rise to his feet in such a sorry state, Nie Qianyu stepped forward, brushed the dust from him, and smiled. “Look at you, Brother Ren—was that really necessary? As the ancients said: ‘A golden jade exterior, but rotten within.’ Compared to those kinds of people, you’re a hundred times better!”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua nearly fell over again.

Nie Qianyu covered her mouth with her hand and said with a chuckle: “Alright, Brother Ren, I won’t tease you anymore. Let me tell you about the pills we’re going to refine today.”

As expected, the pills to be refined today were different from those of the past few days. The process was somewhat more complex, and there were significantly more herbs involved. When Zhang Xiaohua used Spring Rebirth Valley’s pill furnace to begin refining, he found things didn’t go quite as smoothly. But it was precisely through this kind of difficulty that his alchemy made progress.

In the Immortal Dao, alchemy was far more advanced than in the martial world, yet it relied primarily on incantations to guide the process. As for the control of temperature through one’s hands and eyes—those fine, minute adjustments—it was an area where Immortal Dao alchemists often fell short. Just as certain martial techniques could surpass Immortal Dao spells in refinement and precision.

As a result, Zhang Xiaohua’s refining speed slowed slightly. And with the abundance of herbs Nie Qianyu had brought, the batch wasn’t finished even after an entire morning. Nie Qianyu, however, kept a cheerful expression the whole time, clearly pleased with how well she had arranged things.

So it continued for over ten days. Nie Qianyu came each day, gradually increasing the complexity of the pill formulas and the volume of herbs, spending the better part of the day inside Zhang Xiaohua’s pill room.

Only after completing the “assignments” she gave him would Zhang Xiaohua find a bit of time to refine his own pills. Looking at Nie Qianyu’s smiling face each day, Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but mutter resentfully, “I’ve become Spring Rebirth Valley’s old ox—eating grass, but giving milk!”

But it was precisely through this kind of hard work that Zhang Xiaohua not only became more proficient in the martial world’s alchemy techniques, but also gained an intuitive grasp of Immortal Dao alchemy. He even developed insights that none of his predecessors had achieved.

Time flowed on in this state of quiet bliss~

That night, while Zhang Xiaohua was using the pill furnace to practice refining Spring Rebirth Valley’s secret medicinal pill—the Three Purities Pill—

The main hall of Spring Rebirth Valley was bustling with activity.

This was the very assembly hall Zhang Xiaohua had first seen when he arrived at the valley.

Inside the hall, Valley Master Nie sat in the central seat of honor. On either side, six men of varying builds—tall and short, fat and thin—were seated on the guest chairs. Behind each of them stood disciples dressed in martial attire, standing solemnly at attention.

To Valley Master Nie’s left, a lean man in martial garb, around fifty years old, spoke with surprise: “Second Brother Nie, are you truly planning to go through with this? This concerns the future of Spring Rebirth Valley! If that fellow harbors any ill intentions toward the Incense-Spreading Sect and ends up offending them, it won’t just be our valley at risk—the entire Yuli Alliance could be dragged into danger!”

Valley Master Nie smiled as he glanced at the man and said: “Old Third Zuo, it seems you still don’t have much faith in your second brother.”

Old Third Zuo furrowed his brow and replied stubbornly: “I’m just speaking the truth. Second Brother Nie, when Little Yu went missing last time, Qionghua Horse Farm was ready to mobilize everyone. But you insisted we remain at the farm and stay put, while you ran some ridiculous martial tournament to recruit a husband. The whole thing was a mess—it nearly ended in disaster!”

At this, an elderly man seated beside Valley Master Nie, with a head full of grizzled hair and a wild beard, said: “Old Third Zuo, can’t you understand the effort your second brother put into that? Wasn’t he trying to guard against falling into an enemy trap? If everyone had rushed off to save Little Yu, the enemy might have struck while we were away and wiped out the Yuli Alliance altogether.”

“Big Brother Si, I know that much. I just felt that Second Brother didn’t treat me like a real brother. When there was no word from Little Yu, I couldn’t help at all, not even a bit.”

Brother Si chuckled: “Didn’t the same happen with us at the Weapon Refining Sect? We weren’t allowed to assist either—only sent out a few disciples to investigate.”

A sharp-eyed, short man sitting nearby chimed in, “I’ve told you more than once, Third Brother Zuo—our Yuli Alliance flourishes or falls as one. How could Second Brother not treat us like brothers? He simply knew there was no word from Little Yu, and the enemy was still lurking in the shadows, likely having failed to strike. In such a case, better to remain still than act rashly.”

Old Third Zuo gave him a sideways glance and said: “Come off it, Old Sixth Ying. Wasn’t your Zuying Horse Farm also armed and ready to move?”

“Hahaha, that’s enough talk,” said a man built like a butcher, standing up with a laugh. “In the end, our little niece really was blessed with good fortune—nothing happened to her. In fact, she even picked up a fine son-in-law! I heard his martial skill and strength are both top-notch? Even our Little Lu from the Artifact Refining Sect couldn’t best him?”

The last to speak was an unremarkable-looking middle-aged man, who said with a smile: “You jest, Fourth Brother Zhen. Just think—this Young Hero Ren cut through five rounds and defeated six challengers, taking the top spot on the martial tournament stage. How could his skills be compared to an ordinary man’s? If someone like him were already part of our Yuli Alliance, would Second Brother Nie be racking his brains to come up with plans?”

Fourth Brother Zhen of the Artifact Refining Sect gave a mysterious smile and said: “Well, maybe we didn’t have anyone like that before, but that doesn’t mean we won’t in the future, right? Heh… but this lad is a good man, his martial arts are outstanding, and he’s quite the looker too. It’s just… Second Brother Nie—his origins are far too unclear. You know, Little Lu mentioned it to me before, so I made a point to investigate the martial sects around Danhe City—but I’ve never heard of any famous or prestigious sect matching his background. Second Brother Nie, if you’re planning to make a move, be sure you don’t end up making a misstep!”