Translator: AnubisTL
One night, half a month later, Chu Youhuan took advantage of the dim moonlight to sneak back into the Jade Maiden Sect. She was surrounded by creditors and dared not show her face during the day.
As soon as she entered the sect, Qi Tingting greeted her, accompanied by a short-haired, neatly dressed Yu Ying.
"What are you saying! Gu Feng came back half a month ago?" Chu Youhuan snarled, her face contorted with anger as she gasped for breath, her chest heaving violently.
"Sect Leader, he returned to the Sunset Glow Sect half a month ago with Elder Shang from the outer sect," Yu Ying replied with a strange expression, a thought flashing through her mind. Their great sect leader, ranked fifth on the inner sect's Heavenly Ranking, was likely to be tricked by Gu Feng again.
"Damn it, what is that kid up to? He must be hiding in the Alchemy Hall. I'll go drag him out!" As she spoke, Chu Youhuan once again took out her forty-meter-long blade and was about to charge toward the Alchemy Hall.
"Sect Leader, don't act impulsively. Our Jade Maiden Sect is hanging by a thread, and we still rely on his pills," Qi Tingting grabbed the furious Chu Youhuan, pleading earnestly.
The two restroom cultivation chambers had been completed days ago, but the final payment had been delayed. At this moment, Gu Feng was their savior, and they couldn't afford to offend him.
Yu Ying, standing nearby, widened her eyes as if hearing something absurd. She wanted to laugh but didn't dare, fearing Chu Youhuan's wrath.
Gu Feng truly lived up to his reputation as the "Scam God." She had no idea how he had convinced their wise sect leader to go all out and build forty thousand restroom cultivation chambers. It was simply outrageous.
In comparison, the five hundred thousand spirit stones he had scammed from her were nothing. It was practically a mercy.
On the way back, Chao Yuan and the others had accidentally let slip, and under Yu Ying's pressure, they confessed everything.
All the talk of spirit stone incentives and extra payments was a lie. The only one who had actually paid was her, with her five hundred thousand spirit stones. People like Guo Renkai and Wu Qi hadn't given a single spirit stone; they were just Gu Feng's pawns.
For Yu Ying, five hundred thousand spirit stones were a significant amount, but not enough to cripple her. Compared to her life, it was nothing, so she let it go.
She found it amusing. The Gu Feng who desperately asked for more money and the Gu Feng who exuded dominance and slayed evil seemed like two different people. It was hard to imagine that the same person could give such contrasting impressions.
Hearing Qi Tingting's plea, Chu Youhuan calmed down.
She put away her forty-meter-long blade and took a few deep breaths. "You're right. We're up to our necks in debt. If he bails on us, we're doomed.
I'll go talk to him!"
With that, she turned and left.
...
Ever since entering the pill furnace room half a month ago, Gu Feng had felt an indescribable unease, as if he was being watched. His back felt cold and tingly.
At first, he thought it was because his injuries had just healed, and he hadn't refined pills in a long time, causing temporary discomfort.
This feeling persisted until one night five days ago. That night, after refining pills, he went out for an hour to get some air. When he returned, he was shocked to find that some of the spirit herb materials he had prepared were missing.
He initially thought Yan Xixi had come to refine pills here, but after asking her, he realized the strange feeling wasn't an illusion. There really was a mysterious person in the pill furnace room.
For a moment, he felt a chill all over his body and didn't dare enter the pill furnace room. He spent the entire night outside, pondering before finally mustering the courage to step inside.
"This person is so mysterious, yet only watches silently. They probably mean no harm."
This time, after entering the pill furnace room, he didn't start refining pills. Instead, he scanned the surroundings. Finding nothing, he gathered his courage and called out.
"Senior!"
In Gu Feng's mind, such a mysterious being should be very proud. He thought his call would go unanswered, but to his surprise, there was an immediate response.
The voice entered his mind directly through telepathy, with a distinct tone. It was a woman's voice.
The voice carried a strong sense of age, but there was no arrogance. Instead, it was somewhat humorous.
"Congratulations, you've finally discovered the great existence!"
"May I ask, senior, what should I call you?"
"Guess!"
Guess my ass! With so many words in the world, even a god couldn't guess your name!
"I won't guess!" Gu Feng replied, exasperated.
"Fine." The other party was equally direct in ending the conversation.
And so, another day passed. While resting after refining a Bone Cleansing Pill, the mysterious senior's voice echoed in his mind again. Her tone was both disdainful and envious, a strange mix.
"Heretical methods! Can't even refine proper pills, just churning out counterfeit garbage!"
Hearing this, Gu Feng was displeased and immediately retorted, "Counterfeit garbage? Open your eyes and see, this is a genuine Bone Cleansing Pill, a miraculous elixir with extraordinary effects for those in the Body Tempering Realm."
"It's just that you can't refine a proper Bone Cleansing Pill, so you settle for a half-finished product!"
"If you're so good, why don't you do it? Otherwise, stop talking nonsense!" Gu Feng snapped.
"Fine, I'll show you what real pill refining is!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a burst of intense spirit fire erupted from the ground, taking on a human form in front of Gu Feng.
The figure formed by the flames was tall and graceful, with captivating contours. Her large, bright eyes and a faint smile exuded a noble aura that was utterly compelling. She was an exceptionally stunning woman.
With her chest held high, she smiled confidently, giving Gu Feng a look that said, "Watch and learn, kid."
Then, with a flick of her finger, the spirit herbs on the ground floated into the air, spinning in an orderly fashion. Under her control, the herbs transformed into a delicate flower, then a pagoda, and then...
This display left Gu Feng dumbfounded and filled with envy.
"Hmph, child's play!"
Gu Feng's awestruck expression earned him a disdainful look from the mysterious senior.
After the herbs transformed more than ten times, the ten pill furnaces on the ground were fully warmed up!
"Descend!"
With a light utterance from the mysterious senior, the ten portions of spirit herbs stopped spinning and accurately fell into the furnaces.
The entire process was effortless, yet filled with elegance, leaving Gu Feng in awe. He couldn't help but cheer loudly.
This was what a true alchemist looked like.
Gu Feng gazed at the flame-formed figure with admiration, wondering when he could be like her, exuding an air of mastery and refining pills with ease.
However, as soon as this thought crossed his mind, the pill furnace room erupted in flames, followed by thick black smoke. With a loud bang, he was sent flying, dizzy and disoriented.
Gu Feng crawled up from the ground, his face twitching as he saw the scene before him. All ten pill furnaces had failed, with pill residue scattered everywhere.
"Hmph, pill refining is most sensitive to disturbances. Your cheering, while expressing your joy, also disrupted me. Don't do that again!" the flame-formed figure scolded.
Gu Feng nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, not daring to argue.
The flame-formed figure grabbed another handful of spirit herbs and began the second attempt.
"Boom—"
The familiar explosion sounded, and the flame-formed figure turned her head sharply. "Your breathing is too loud; it's affecting me!"
Third attempt!
"Boom—"
"You're too close to me!"
Fourth attempt!
"Boom—"
"You lack fortune; it's affecting me!"
...
Eighteenth attempt!
"Boom—"
As the familiar explosion echoed once more, Gu Feng stared at the pill furnace room engulfed in flames and the thick layer of pill residue on the ground. His mind was in chaos, as if countless "grass mud horses" were galloping through his heart, shattering it into pieces.
"Senior, please stop wasting my spirit herbs. The losses are too great; I can't bear it anymore!"
Clearly, the mysterious senior was also embarrassed. She stared at her hands, muttering, "Impossible! I've been here for five thousand years, watching countless alchemists refine pills. In terms of experience, few can match me. How can I fail to refine a single pill?"
Damn it, this senior wasn't a master alchemist at all. She was just an overconfident empiricist!
TL/N: An empiricist is someone who believes that knowledge comes primarily from experience and sensory perception, rather than innate ideas or pure reasoning.
(End of the Chapter)
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