Chapter 692: Ten-Rank Pill Refining Cat

"It's over."

In the meeting hall, Xu Xiaoshou stretched comfortably, letting out a lazy yawn.

In his "perception," he had only vaguely sensed a faint fluctuation, unable to pinpoint the true hiding spot of Yuan Haisheng's Zhan Dao bodyguard. Yet, inexplicably, an intuition told him that the one called Jian Lao was concealed above the rafters.

How clever was Xu Xiaoshou? Tian Shang Di Yi Lou, aside from A Jie, had no real Zhan Dao experts—not even the Gray Fog People could show themselves without transforming. And Yuan Haisheng certainly wouldn't be so kind as to warn him through Mo Mo. So, it was easy to deduce that this could only be Mei Siyi, who had stayed up all night guarding him.

"What a good sword immortal!"

"He's a real good person."

Mei Siyi's intervention was completely unexpected for Xu Xiaoshou. Though he wasn't afraid of Zhan Dao experts, he hadn't dared hope that Mei Siyi would actually pay the rent. But now, it seemed that even without taking action, just Mei Siyi's presence in Tian Shang Di Yi Lou was enough to create a terrifying deterrent.

"Jian Lao..."

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head with a smile. If he'd known earlier that Yuan Haisheng's bodyguard used a sword, he wouldn't have needed to threaten much—he could have simply put on a bigger show and haggled harder. Facing someone with a sword in front of the Seven Sword Immortals...

After a night of negotiations, wouldn't the other side be scared witless? Thinking about how Jian Lao had subtly suppressed Yuan Haisheng's angry words, Xu Xiaoshou found it amusing. He believed that with Mei Siyi's deterrent, Ye Mao would now focus solely on their tasks without any slip-ups. And that, clearly, was the best outcome he could hope for.

"Xu... Young Master Xu..."

Liu Lu watched Xu Xiaoshou stretching from the side, speaking timidly.

He couldn't understand why, after the negotiations ended, the fourth boss and Jian Lao could leave, but he, a minor figure, had to stay behind.

"Oh, and you too."

Xu Xiaoshou snapped back to attention and looked at Liu Lu. "Don't be afraid. I'm not keeping you to kill you—it's just a small but important matter I need your help with."

Liu Lu relaxed a bit at that. "What are your orders, Young Master Xu?"

Xu Xiaoshou placed a bottle of Yuan Ting Dan on the table, thought for a moment, and added two more. "I need you to look into something for me... You know Jiang Xian, right? Find out where he lives, how many guards he has, and any potential risks around him."

Sitting back and waiting wasn't Xu Xiaoshou's style. In the past, he was powerless because he was too weak, but now he had money and "influence"—even if the latter was just a facade that others believed in. So, in this situation, Xu Xiaoshou didn't want to stay on the defensive anymore. He wanted to take the initiative!

Liu Lu stared at the three bottles of dan on the table, not daring to touch them, and asked weakly, "I know where Jiang Xian lives, but what do you mean by 'potential risks'?"

"Take them."

Xu Xiaoshou stuffed the three bottles into Liu Lu's arms. "Just take what I'm giving you. As for risks... for example, if someone wanted to kill him, what extra dangers might he face..."

"Huh?"

Liu Lu nearly dropped the bottles in fright. He looked up in shock, his eyes screaming, "Are you saying that 'someone' is you?"

But years of being in a lowly position had honed his ability to read the room. Liu Lu kept his gaze down, ignoring all the subtext, and selectively blocked out any extra information.

"I-if someone wanted to kill Young Master Jiang..."

Liu Lu swallowed hard, stammering, "It's tough! From what I know, Jiang Xian must have a Zhan Dao guard by his side, just like you—after all, they're both from Semi-Sage families. Though you don't see the guard normally, they're always there."

"Just one?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.

"What do you mean?" Liu Lu was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened in shock, leaving him completely dumbfounded.

Just one?

Listen to that... Is that even a thing to say? So, Young Master Xu, you're not even taking a Zhan Dao seriously?

"W-well, I'm not entirely sure about that..." Liu Lu hesitated in response. The exact number of Zhan Dao guards around Jiang Xian was a mystery. Generally, one was already impressive, but since it was a Semi-Sage family, guessing wouldn't help.

"If you really want a specific number, Young Master Xu, I'll need to go back and investigate thoroughly."

"Understood."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded. He didn't expect Liu Lu to have all the answers right then, so he waved a hand.

"Go back and find out as soon as possible."

"If you can't, go to Yuan Haisheng. If he won't see you, make a fuss and ask for Jian Lao—he'll help you."

"Remember, get me the full details on the number of Wang Zuo around Jiang Xian, including Zhan Dao experts and whether there's any Tai Xu."

"This is no small matter—consider it a test of Ye Mao's intelligence capabilities!"

Liu Lu nodded, still looking bewildered, and took his leave. Even as he stepped out of Tian Shang Di Yi Lou, the shock in his heart lingered.

Go to Yuan Haisheng? If Yuan Haisheng won't see you, go to Jian Lao? It sounded like Jian Lao had met you, Young Master Xu, exchanged a few words, and got bought out...

But priorities came first. Clearly, to secure the deal worth thirty billion, he had to put his all into this task. So, the moment he left the building, Liu Lu hurried to find his superior and contact Yuan Haisheng, the fourth boss, again.

On the other side,

"Thank you, senior."

Back on the third floor, as he passed Mei Siyi's room, Xu Xiaoshou bowed in gratitude. Though he wasn't sure if the person inside could see him, he was truly thankful for the assistance.

As expected, Mei Siyi remained very low-key, not making a sound, as if truly asleep.

Xu Xiaoshou waited a little while. Though he had some questions about Xiao Wanfeng's appearance in the Tian Luo Zhan, since the person inside wasn't speaking and it was already late, he decided not to disturb them and returned to his room to rest.

The room was a total mess. He hadn't noticed it when he was causing the destruction earlier, but now, returning as an observer to this practice room with its deep pits and broken bed, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.

"This is really not right..."

He sighed but didn't dwell on it. He could have Xin Gugu handle it tomorrow, or at worst, just switch rooms. There were plenty of practice rooms in Tian Shang Di Yi Lou. If he weren't worried about exposing his secrets, Xu Xiaoshou might even renovate them lavishly and rent them out to recoup some of the costs for leasing the building.

"I'm so tired..."

Today had been exhausting with all the running around. Though he'd upgraded a few skills and even awakened one along the way, after being interrupted by Xin Gugu, Xu Xiaoshou didn't feel like drawing for big prizes anymore.

He was a very diligent person. No matter how tough things got, he always made sure to practice for at least ten hours a day. To outsiders, his success as Xu Xiaoshou might seem like pure luck, but he didn't see it that way—he truly put in the hard work every day.

He fluffed up his pillow and lay down. Xu Xiaoshou adjusted his breathing and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Snore, snore...

In his dream, he used the "Breathing Method" flawlessly, drawing in vast amounts of spiritual energy that gathered in his qi sea, cultivating tirelessly through the night.

At some point, maybe because the mattress was uneven and uncomfortable, or perhaps due to some unexplained guilt, Xu Xiaoshou felt like he was sleepwalking. In his sleepwalking state, his body suddenly entered the Yuan Fu, where life spiritual energy nourished him, and he stroked a cat as he slept even more soundly.

That night, he had an extraordinary dream. In the dream, he was surrounded by tens of thousands of bubbling hot baths, filled with aromatic herbs that refreshed his spirit. It washed away his day's fatigue and even sent medicinal power surging into his qi sea, almost pushing him to break through to Zong Shi level in his sleep.

Just as he was on the verge, a sudden urge to urinate shattered the dream. But right after, a second wave of bliss arrived.

The herbal aroma had solidified into liquid, transforming into a rain of spiritual coins falling from the sky. Xu Xiaoshou bathed in this fragrant downpour, feeling his wallet swell visibly before his eyes.

As it expanded to the point of nearly bursting, the urge hit again, shattering paradise once more. Then, a woman in a red dress appeared, sweetly calling out, "Brother," which made Xu Xiaoshou's eyes snap open in a cold sweat, nearly scaring him out of his wits.

"Whew..."

Realizing it was just a dream, Xu Xiaoshou let out a long breath. He never imagined the storyteller would show up in his dreams—it seemed the impression that person left was deeper than he thought.

Still marveling at how dawn had come, Xu Xiaoshou was about to get up and freshen up when he suddenly realized he was truly inside the Yuan Fu. Around him, the tens of thousands of dan ding and medicinal herbs hidden in the ring were all laid out.

Each dan ding was bubbling away, with medicinal liquid condensing inside—many were already ready to be harvested as Chi Jin Ye.

"Was I really this dedicated?"

Xu Xiaoshou was startled. "Even sleepwalking to refine dan and make money—am I that serious?"

Though he always self-deceptively told himself, "I'm working so hard," Xu Xiaoshou knew that compared to others, his cultivation was easy, his breakthroughs were simple, and the way he acquired "spiritual skills" was straightforward.

Deep down, he was well aware of his true nature—a lazy person! So, the fact that he had apparently worked so hard in his sleepwalking state—setting up thirty thousand dan ding and refining several rounds of Chi Jin Ye—felt utterly unreal to him.

He rubbed his eyes, hardly believing what he saw. But then, in the vastly expanded Yuan Fu space, he spotted a plump white cat darting around busily.

It was excitedly dashing between the dan ding, sucking up the freshly refined Chi Jin Ye into jade boxes, then pawing the lids shut with a satisfied meow. Following the path of the sliding jade boxes, Xu Xiaoshou saw a small mountain of them piled haphazardly nearby.

Clearly, such a messy stack wasn't his style—it had to be the work of the little white cat, Tan Shen.

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. "Tan Shen is refining dan?"

His worldview was shaken. He vaguely recalled that before falling asleep last night, he had indeed entered the Yuan Fu, then clumsily taught the little white cat some basics, forcibly refining a batch of Chi Jin Ye out of guilt without even recovering the liquid, before drifting off.

But had the white cat Tan Shen actually learned it?

"Where did it get the Chen Zhao Bai Yan from?"

"How did it learn to refine dan?"

"And what drove this increasingly plump white cat to have such enthusiasm for this?"

Xu Xiaoshou's mind raced with questions. Suddenly, he remembered something and flopped back down with a thud.

He felt like he was still dreaming, but pinching his palm with his fingernail brought a real sting of pain. Realizing something was off, Xu Xiaoshou quickly pretended to be asleep and used his "perception" to observe Tan Shen's every move.

The Chi Jin Ye had already been refined in multiple batches. With thirty thousand dan ding operating simultaneously, Tan Shen wasn't very skilled—some succeeded, some failed. Whenever it smelled something burning, the little white cat would rush over, suck up the liquid in one go, let out a contented burp, and then spit out a trace of Chen Zhao Bai Yan. It compressed the flame into a virtual form to calcify the dan ding.

Next, it would spit out a handful of herbs from its belly, use the virtual flame to extract the liquid, then let the dan ding idle for recirculation, compressing the liquid while it went to tend to the others.

"My goodness!"

Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded. This technique was clearly his own creation. The process, the sequence—everything matched his usual dan refining routine. Even the way it tossed in the herbs in a frenzy was so similar... How had Tan Shen learned this?

After a moment of bewilderment, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized. Ever since he gained the Yuan Fu, he'd been refining various dan in that space to avoid explosions. While others might enter, the one who spent the most time there was undoubtedly Tan Shen!

"So, this guy was stealing techniques, learning my entire dan refining method?"

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked. This cat was insane! Why learn this? And how did it get Chen Zhao Bai Yan?

Watching Tan Shen bustle around, endlessly spitting white flame to refine dan, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly understood. Every time he returned to the Yuan Fu to sleep, Tan Shen would snuggle up to him. He thought it was just drawn to his abundant life energy, but apparently, while absorbing that, it had been secretly siphoning off the Chen Zhao Bai Yan too.

Because his energy was so plentiful and he hadn't guarded against it, Xu Xiaoshou only noticed now. This little spirit had scared him half to death.

This was too mysterious. The little white cat, which he thought only snoozed, snored, and stole life energy, could actually pull off something like this?

"You're basically a magic conch cat!"

Xu Xiaoshou marveled, still in disbelief. He knew his dan refining method was simple, but the prerequisites were demanding. He never imagined Tan Shen, with its devouring ability, could acquire all the prerequisites and master the whole technique.

"So, out of nowhere, I've ended up teaching a ten-rank dan refining cat?"