Chapter 241: Xu Jiupin

Fortunately, it wasn't that guy Lao Zhao who showed up; he's much easier to fool.

Xu Xiaoshou watched as the black-clad figure carried the tall man away, finally letting out a sigh of relief. He turned back to look at the disaster site.

Hmm, the area of destruction was indeed quite extensive, but it really wasn't intentional.

He still took responsibility and contributed some Ling Jing to fund the reconstruction efforts, but the bulk of the work had been taken over by that guy under the strong pressure from Sang Lao's token.

"He's a good person."

Xu Xiaoshou sighed to himself, no longer dwelling on it, and tucked away the precious token.

This thing was incredibly useful!

It had originally been given to him by Sang Lao just to select a spiritual site since he didn't have an inner court disciple token, but Xu Xiaoshou had somehow developed new functions for it.

Sang Lao probably had no idea that he had unwittingly helped clean up after his precious disciple multiple times.

Shifting his thoughts back to the iron ball, Xu Xiaoshou decided not to research it any further.

For now, being able to make A Jie turn into a blade with a command was already a great achievement. Since the other forms couldn't be unlocked yet, he'd just leave it at that!

At least, this incredibly lethal ring blade was sufficient for his current needs.

Once he spent more time with A Jie and their bond grew stronger, what was there to worry about not discovering more techniques?

"Next up, I'll head to the Ling Cang Ge for a look!"

Xu Xiaoshou remembered the original purpose of his trip. Killing Zhang Xin Xiong had been an accident; finding that grass hat old man was the real priority.

He didn't know why, but Sang Lao seemed to dislike him hanging around the Ling Cang Ge. If Sang Lao was actively seeking him out, it had to be something important.

"Hmm, this time, I'll make sure to dig up some more Dan Fang while I'm at it!"

Before entering Tian Xuan Men, he had already fully mastered the "Chi Jin Dan" and "Lian Ling Dan," and even developed new types of spiritual liquid.

However, as his strength had surged, these two types of pills and even the spiritual liquid seemed to have little effect on him anymore.

He did have some "Yuan Ting Dan," but only about a hundred of them.

If he could master that pill formula—or even develop a new "Yuan Ting Liquid"—it would be a massive source of wealth!

As for why he needed the money...

Xu Xiaoshou gazed toward the horizon. He suddenly realized that after being in this world for so long, he still hadn't left the Ling Gong.

In the Ling Cang Ge, on the third floor.

The furnace fire was burning brightly, but Mu Zixi could only barely make out the details with her spiritual sense.

She was starting to envy this invisible flame—it wasn't just powerful for alchemy, but also incredibly effective in battle!

Ever since she had seen Xu Xiaoshou use Jin Zhao Tian Yan to burn down a large swath of the Sen Luo Mi Lin, she had been utterly captivated.

Sang Lao demonstrated the condensing pill technique and handed over the freshly made Chi Jin Dan. "Got it?"

Mu Zixi nodded dumbly, but her mind wasn't on the pills at all. She asked, "What about that fire..."

"Don't even think about it. Jin Zhao Tian Yan isn't something a little girl like you can cultivate." Sang Lao cut her off.

He could tell exactly what Mu Zixi was thinking. This girl had brought up wanting to learn Jin Zhao Tian Yan more than once.

But it wasn't that simple!

Just the threshold of an innate physical body alone would keep her out.

Even though she had the Tun Sheng Mu body and hadn't fully mastered it, Sang Lao still wouldn't dare let her try.

Xu Xiaoshou had succeeded because he had that one-in-a-million chance of success, however slim it was.

As for Mu Zixi...

She probably couldn't even withstand a single attack from the Jin Zhao fire seed!

"Why not?" Mu Zixi didn't understand. She might not have an innate physical body, but as long as her life force was strong enough, she believed she could completely negate the damage.

Sang Lao just shook his head. This little girl was thinking too naively.

"No reason. Your willpower isn't up to it." He said it straight.

Mu Zixi felt like she'd taken a heavy blow and protested unhappily, "Xu Xiaoshou can do it, so I definitely can too!"

"You can't."

"I can!"

"You can!"

"I can't!" Mu Zixi said emphatically, then froze.

Wait, that was wrong—she'd been tricked!

And that voice... it came from behind?

She turned around, and Xu Xiaoshou's large hand immediately pressed her head down.

"See? You said it yourself that you can't. Don't struggle; just accept it!"

"Sometimes, we have to face reality. Acting tough will only get you killed."

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't lying about that.

He had endured the burning of the Jin Zhao fire seed purely through his "robustness," "unceasing vitality," and sheer terrifying willpower.

If any one of those failed, it would have been instant death.

Jin Zhao Tian Yan was just too dreadful. If he had the choice, Xu Xiaoshou wouldn't want to go through it again.

Unfortunately, back then, he had faced a ruthless old man like Sang Lao.

Mu Zixi's face turned red as she struggled, but she couldn't escape Xu Xiaoshou's grip, not even managing to lift her head.

"How does he have so much strength?"

As she grumbled internally, the force above her suddenly vanished. The little girl immediately jumped up in a huff, ready to yell.

But Xu Xiaoshou pinched her plump cheeks with two fingers, turning her mouth into an "o" shape.

"Little girl, it's a good thing you're not practicing it. Why are you being so stubborn? Just asking for trouble?"

"You're shaking me!"

Mu Zixi's face was flushed with anger. She flailed her arms, but couldn't reach Xu Xiaoshou at all!

She tried kicking.

Xu Xiaoshou simply leaned back.

Mu Zixi: "..."

"Receiving curse, passive value, 1, 1, 1, 1..."

"Why are you so feisty? Attacking as soon as we meet!" Xu Xiaoshou muttered, ignoring the little girl and turning to Sang Lao.

"Is something big happening again that you need me?" He looked expectant.

Sang Lao didn't answer and instead asked, "How's your alchemy coming along?"

Xu Xiaoshou seized the opportunity. "Speaking of that, I've already mastered the Chi Jin Dan and Lian Ling Dan. Do you have any more advanced Dan Fang, old man?

"Like Yuan Ting Dan or Wang Zuo Dan?"

"Wang Zuo Dan..." Sang Lao's mouth twitched.

He had no intention of entertaining Xu Xiaoshou's banter and was completely focused on the first part. "You learned the Jin Zhao Ning Dan technique?"

Xu Xiaoshou nodded. "There's a flaw in it, so I improved it and came up with a stewing method for alchemy. I'll show you later."

Sang Lao: "..."

What the hell is a stewing method? Do you think alchemy is cooking?

Fine, Xu Xiaoshou, a few days apart and you're spinning tales like this.

He used to be unreliable, but not this outrageous.

Has killing a few people made you think you can soar to the skies?

The old man took a deep breath and asked seriously, "You're saying you've mastered the Chi Jin Dan and Lian Ling Dan?"

"Yep!" Xu Xiaoshou nodded again.

Surprised?

Was his alchemy speed, just like his cultivation speed, unprecedented in history?

Seeing Sang Lao's skeptical expression, Xu Xiaoshou figured he was right.

"Impossible!"

The grass hat old man hadn't even spoken yet when Mu Zixi broke free from Xu Xiaoshou's hand.

Of course, it wasn't because she pried it open—it was Xu Xiaoshou quickly letting go when he saw her baring her tiger teeth again.

He'd been bitten before and was terrified!

"How is that impossible?" Xu Xiaoshou turned back to her.

Mu Zixi snorted coldly, fuming. "It takes me three days to extract the medicinal liquid, and that's barely genius level. Do you think this is a dream where you can just wish for anything?"

She had assumed Xu Xiaoshou had been learning from Sang Lao for a long time. But when she asked later, she found out he was just a beginner.

Even that stewed elbow explanation was only Sang Lao's second lesson for him.

After just two lessons, how could this guy possibly master alchemy so quickly?

Xu Xiaoshou laughed at that. He stared at Mu Zixi and asked, "You really took three days to extract the medicinal liquid?"

Mu Zixi didn't catch the key word in his question: "took."

She puffed out her chest proudly. "That's right!"

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. "Little junior sister, you're not cutting it. It took you three whole days to get that far? Your senior brother here is already a ninth-grade alchemist!"