Mi Xiaojing didn’t know that the Immortal Maiden of Azure Descent was floating in the air, looking at the small courtyard where he was. A hint of surprise appeared on her cold face as she asked the person beside her, “Is Mi Xiaojing your disciple?”
The person beside her was Chen Shouyi from Grass-Benevolence Hall.
“Master Uncle, he is not my disciple. However, this child’s cultivation speed is incredibly fast. In less than half a year since he arrived here, he has advanced from the Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage. He was brought here from Western Expansion Sect. We never expected his talent to be so good.”
The Immortal Maiden of Azure Descent was shocked by this. She had never seen such a fast cultivation speed in Heart Sect. “Are you saying that he started cultivating after entering Heart Sect? Did you not give him any resources?”
Chen Shouyi replied, “I didn’t ask much, but he is very talented in alchemy. He has already become a Pill Master in our Grass-Benevolence Hall, and his success rate in refining pills is quite high.”
The Immortal Maiden of Azure Descent was amazed. This child was a genius! She suddenly understood that Mi Xiaojing was the one who refined the Cultivating Essence Pill. He must have been cautious and never made a move until the trading fair. This child was a mystery!
“Shouyi, can you refine the Cultivating Essence Pill?”
Chen Shouyi was taken aback and said, “Master Uncle, I really can’t. The Cultivating Essence Pills at this trading fair were not refined by me. They were probably obtained by some expert in a certain ruin.”
The Immortal Maiden of Azure Descent said meaningfully, “I see, interesting.” In fact, she already had a definite answer in her heart. It was very likely that Mi Xiaojing had refined the Cultivating Essence Pill, but she didn’t say it out loud.
Chen Shouyi was puzzled and said, “Is it possible that Mi Xiaojing obtained the Cultivating Essence Pill? But since he arrived at Heart Sect, he has never left!” He had never thought that Mi Xiaojing could refine the Cultivating Essence Pill. In his opinion, it was impossible for a Foundation Establishment stage disciple to refine such an ancient and powerful pill. It was simply a joke.
Mi Xiaojing had no idea that he had caught the attention of an Elemental Infant Ancestor. He was still pondering over the Green Wood Flag. Its power was too great, and he needed time to gradually master it until he had complete control.
The Immortal Maiden of Azure Descent said lightly, “Pay close attention to this child. If he advances to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage quickly, report it to me immediately.”
Chen Shouyi respectfully said, “Yes.”
The Immortal Maiden of Azure Descent continued, “You can appropriately allocate sect resources to him. Is he already an inner disciple?”
Chen Shouyi replied, “After advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage, he became an inner disciple.”
“Very well, don’t alarm him for now. Let him develop on his own. If he is worth cultivating, bring him to me.”
Chen Shouyi was surprised. Mi Xiaojing had caught the attention of an Elemental Infant Ancestor. His future was limitless. He said, “Yes, I will keep an eye on him.”
The Immortal Maiden of Azure Descent added, “Also, assign sect missions to him. Remember, I am well aware of the bad habits of Grass-Benevolence Hall. Don’t exploit him and cause his resentment!”
Chen Shouyi was startled and hurriedly said, “Yes, I won’t dare to, I won’t dare to.”
The Immortal Maiden of Azure Descent continued, “In addition, give him a sect mission to refine a batch of Cultivating Essence Pills. The sect will provide the materials. Let him make a list, and for each Cultivating Essence Pill he delivers, he will be rewarded with two hundred spirit stones. Grass-Benevolence Hall is not allowed to withhold any of them. Also, you are not allowed to ask him for the pill formula or refining techniques.”
Chen Shouyi was dumbfounded and asked, “What? Master Uncle, he can refine the Cultivating Essence Pill?”
The Immortal Maiden of Azure Descent said, “Don’t worry about that. Just assign the sect mission.”
Chen Shouyi couldn’t understand when Mi Xiaojing had become capable of refining such high-level pills. How was he, a Pill Master, supposed to handle this? But he dared not disobey the words of the Elemental Infant Ancestor. In Heart Sect, the words of the Elemental Infant Ancestor were absolute. Only those who wanted to die would dare to refute the Elemental Infant Ancestor.
“Yes, yes, I will personally assign the sect mission.”
“You don’t need to go. Let Guan Shangli go. You go and don’t scare the child.”
Chen Shouyi could already sense the importance the Immortal Maiden of Azure Descent attached to Mi Xiaojing. He also realized that the continuous failures in refining the Loss and Gain Pill had disappointed the higher-ups of the sect. They should be looking for more potential alchemists, which gave him a sense of crisis.
“Yes, Master Uncle.”
Chen Shouyi felt helpless. Mi Xiaojing had given him a great sense of crisis. As a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, he instinctively wanted to suppress Mi Xiaojing.
The Immortal Maiden of Azure Descent seemed to see through him. Her gaze turned cold as she warned him. The warning was clear, and Chen Shouyi broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly lowered his gaze.
With a swoosh, Chen Shouyi looked up again and found that the Immortal Maiden of Azure Descent had disappeared without a trace.
Chen Shouyi stared at the courtyard below. He knew that Mu Xiaoyin had been following Mi Xiaojing all along. After a while, a smile appeared on his face as he muttered to himself, “Interesting, very interesting. He really hides it well. Good, very good!” He turned into a streak of light and disappeared into the air.
Guan Shangli entered the small courtyard with a sect order in his hand. He was extremely shocked. This was a sect order, which meant it was a command from the sect elder, an order from the Elemental Infant Ancestor. He couldn’t understand why the sect elder would pay attention to Mi Xiaojing.
The sect order was a sound-transmitting jade plaque. Once it was crushed, a voice would come out. It was a disposable sound-transmitting tool that was not commonly seen. Only cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage or above could refine it. Qi Refining stage cultivators couldn’t refine it.
Mi Xiaojing was called out, feeling a bit confused. He asked, “Senior Brother Guan, what’s the matter?”
Guan Shangli smiled and said, “Junior Brother, do you know any Ancestor? How did you receive a sect order?” He handed the jade plaque to Mi Xiaojing.
Mi Xiaojing was puzzled and said, “What sect order? What Ancestor? I have no idea.”
Guan Shangli said, “You’ll know when you crush the jade plaque. This is a sect order sent by the sect. It is the highest command of our Heart Sect.”
Mi Xiaojing crushed the jade plaque, and suddenly a cold and icy voice sounded in his mind. Mi Xiaojing’s face changed drastically. Refining Cultivating Essence Pills? He was disheartened to realize that he still lacked experience. It was such a ridiculous thing to try to hide his identity in Heart Sect. After the trading fair, he had already become a target.
Cold sweat broke out, and the voice that came after crushing the jade plaque could only be heard by the one who crushed it. Guan Shangli didn’t know the content of the sect order.
Guan Shangli asked, “Junior Brother, what’s the command?” He was extremely curious and couldn’t help but ask, even though it was against the rules. He was not allowed to inquire about the content.
Here, I would like to thank Tianya Langzi Jun for the support! I can see everyone’s support all the way, thank you!
By the way, let me explain the confusion of the readers:
The normal generation and restriction of the Five Elements, as we understand it now, are as follows:
Generation: Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood.
Restriction: Wood restricts Earth, Earth restricts Water, Water restricts Fire, Fire restricts Metal, Metal restricts Wood.
The Green Wood Formation in the book has its own unique generation and restriction changes. Well, it’s a bit unreasonable and a bit of a stretch to explain it like this, but you understand.