Xiao Hong stared across the table at Gu Ran who had a pleasant smile on his face as he inquired, “How is your health, Junior Sister?”
“I’m healing quite well,” Xiao Hong smiled. “You don’t have to worry too much. Just a few more days and I’ll be back to full health.”
Gu Ran heaved a sigh of relief before nodding, “That’s good. Very good.”
He brought out a bottle of pills and placed it on the table. “However, since you have not quite healed, you should not be doing any intensive work like refining Pills. This is a bottle of Healing Pills I found,” He pushed it across the table.
Xiao Hong was a little confused, “I don’t really need these Pills, Senior Brother. I have more than enough stock from before.” She moved her hand to push it back.
“I insist, Junior Sister!” Gu Ran said seriously! “Please use them!”
‘What’s up with this old fogie??’ Xiao Hong felt really weirded out at his behaviour. The narcissistic side immediately reared its head, ‘He didn’t really end up falling for me, did he?’
Though, in her defence, it was not really that narcissistic. The old Xiao Hong, despite keeping to herself most of the time, had involuntarily ended up charming a great number of disciples. Nine out of ten male disciples she interacted with had a crush on her and the number only grew as she did. She wasn’t given the title of No.1 Beauty of the Outer Sect for no reason!
Xiao Hong looked at Gu Ran weirdly and took the bottle of pills.
Like all cultivators, she had also developed the habit of casually scanning everything with her Divine Sense. So she, habitually, scanned the bottle of pills and… immediately froze in place.
Inside the bottle, a few perfectly round orbs, seemingly made of the clearest crystal in the world, rolled around. She was very familiar with those orbs - she had made them after all!
Her body immediately tensed up! Her Qi flow sped up, ready to be mobilised at a moment’s notice! She started at Gu Ran with extreme wariness, ready to move at her quickest!
‘How did he get these?!’ Xiao Hong’s thoughts raced, ‘No rather, what to do now that he’s found out?!’
She was extremely tense. There were some things that could be passed off as monstrous talent and immense competence. The Xianxia World had seen enough of those. However, there were some things that were simply absurd and made utterly no sense. That is when people’s emotions will change from admiration and reverence to… greed.
She trusted Gu Ran quite a bit. But it definitely was not enough to let him know that she could refine Perfect-quality pills. She did not even trust Qiao Guiying that much!
‘At least, she knows that she should be wary,’ Gu Ran noted Xiao Hong’s reaction and nodded inwardly, ‘There would be no way to know what the Sect or the disciples would do if they learnt of her capabilities.
‘Although the Sect is more on the righteous side, organisations cannot possibly be all good. And they would do everything to extract all the benefits they could from her.
Even he could not help but have such thoughts, much less other cultivators who had fewer scruples!
‘The best case scenario would be her being forced to stay at the Sect and refine pills all her life.
‘As for the worst…’ He shook his head. In this vast world, there were countless ways to enslave a Cultivator.
If it weren’t for him luckily noticing those pills she had dropped after she passed out and also having an idea about what they were and therefore acting quickly, things would be uncertain for Xiao Hong after they left the Demon Beast Haven Realm.
For Pills below Grade 4, Perfect-quality Pills just had much greater effectiveness than Supreme Quality ones. But Grade 4 onwards, it was very different. Because of something called the ‘Pill Inscription’.
A Pill Inscription was essentially a miniature formation inscribed onto the Pill itself that exponentially increased its effectiveness. The minimum requirement of such an inscription was that the Pill Quality be at least at the Top Quality, anything below and the Pill would be destroyed. The higher the quality, the greater the number of Inscriptions it could bear.
‘A Supreme Quality Pill with nine Inscriptions can barely be effective as a pseudo-Grade 5 Pill, while also not being as violent,’ Gu Ran recalled, ‘Meaning, Cultivators don’t need to be at the Fusion Stage to be able to consume one.’
‘And, theoretically, a Perfect-Quality Pill can be inscribed with an infinite number of such inscriptions… Well, at least, it can bear as many Inscriptions as its surface area allows.’ The principles behind it were something he did not understand and also never bothered to find out because it was not relevant. Even if he was quite powerful in his previous life, he was nowhere near the top, and thus never had the chance to even come into contact with Perfect Quality Pills. He had only read descriptions about them.
Gu Ran raised his hands and gestured placatingly, he soothed her, “Don’t worry, Junior Sister, I do not have any ill intentions against you.”
Xiao Hong did not relax even slightly.
He was not surprised and continued to assure her, “The Heavenly Oath I took back then will also include this. After all, it is due to your Spiritual Constitution that you can refine these pills. So, violating such an oath will not end in fortune for me.”
Besides, he had his principles. As tempted as he was, he would not do something against his morals. He would never do such a thing to his allies - that was against his principles.
But, he did not mention this. In these cases, facts work much better - pretty much any experienced Cultivator that was lacking in the morality department could spout flowery words and then stab you in the back the next day, still spouting the same flowery bullshit.
Xiao Hong relaxed slightly, but she did not stop eyeing him warily. ‘Indeed, I’d forgotten about that.’ She inwardly heaved a huge sigh of relief.
‘He is most likely not here with malicious intent.’ She contemplated seriously. Even if she did not actually have a Spiritual Constitution, the Heavenly Oath would still be effective, since they took an oath to not reveal her secrets it would not matter whether it was a Spiritual Constitution or not.
‘I suppose I can trust him for now.’
Then she silently stared at him, calm but still very wary.
Seeing her still obvious wariness, Gu Ran regretted it slightly, ‘Maybe I should not have told her?
‘Oh, well. It's fine. Relationships can be repaired.’ He believed his sincerity would reach her.
“Ahem.” He cleared his throat. “Actually, I’m here because I wanted to enlist your help in refining a Pill.”
Xiao Hong watched Gu Ran as he pulled out a jade slip from his Storage Bag and passed it on to her. “Junior Sister Xiao, your skill in Alchemy is beyond what I ever imagined.” Gu Ran said earnestly. “And therefore, I wanted your help in refining this pill.
“The Nine Revolutions Pill can help the Cultivator undergo multiple Nirvana and attain a powerful Constitution that perfectly matches their Cultivation Method.
“It is, however, incredibly difficult to refine,” he said. “Even Grade 6 Alchemists will not be able to refine it.
“However, many creative Alchemists have tried a different method and modified the Pill recipe to specialise according to the Cultivation Method.”
‘Oh? Isn’t this similar to the Qiao Family’s Nine Revolutions Flood Dragon Pill?’ Xiao Hong raised her brow in surprise after she finished going through the recipe. ‘Then, isn’t the Nine Revolutions Flood Dragon Pill the modified version of this Nine Revolutions Pill? How interesting!
‘But something seems off?’ She turned to Gu Ran. “This pill seems far more difficult than what you mentioned.”
He nodded and smirked. “This is the Greater Nine Revolutions Pill - a modification that raises its effectiveness even further. Though, I suppose it would be more accurate to refer to it as the True Nine Revolutions Pill.”
His smirk widened. He raised three fingers. Each finger emitted three motes of light - like tiny stars of red, gold, and blue that floated lazily around before rearranging themselves into three triangles of red, gold, and blue.
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Xiao Hong marvelled at the immense control he showed over his Zhenqi. It was far beyond anything she could do.
“Three Nirvana of Essence,” Three golden stars floated above the centre of his palm, glowing brightly. A golden ring connected the stars.
“Three Nirvana of the Body,” the red stars glowed brightly and floated above his index finger and below the three golden stars.
“And three Nirvana of the Spirit.” The blue stars positioned themselves above his pinkie, rotating lazily at level with the three red stars. Rings connected each of the three similar-coloured stars.
“A total of nine Nirvana to attain the mythical Perfect Nirvana.” A huge ring connected the three smaller rings through their centres. All the stars glowed brightly, their intensity far stronger than before. It was even stronger than all nine put together before the bigger ring connected the smaller rings!
“The original Nine Revolutions Pill is actually a partially failed Recipe since it could not realise the purpose the Alchemist had set out to achieve - to allow a Cultivator to undergo nine Nirvana without relying on luck.
“It does not help in achieving the last three Nirvana of the Spirit.” Gu Ran clenched his hand, dispersing the miniature diagram.
“A cultivator would have to rely on sheer luck to achieve the final three.”
He looked at Xiao Hong who was watching with fascination.
“This one,” he gestured to the jade slip in Xiao Hong’s hand, “however, is an improvement made by the later generations of Alchemists - it is completely possible to achieve the three Spiritual Nirvana with talent and hard work. As long as there are enough of these pills.”
Gu Ran paused for a short moment before he continued, “Of course, it also is far more difficult to refine.”
In fact, he was having a massive headache over this! He had no way to refine this at all! He had already checked his talent in Alchemy and… he felt it was better to not talk about it.
Unfortunately, he had no one to rely on either. Even if he did, the question was how the hell was he supposed to ensure they were trustworthy?
‘It’s like sitting on a mountain of Spirit Stones, but being unable to use them!’ His hand twitched, subconsciously wanting to pat his chest to relieve the stifled feeling.
Anyway, just when he was breaking his head over this, he discovered that Junior Sister Xiao was able to refine Perfect Quality Pills!
‘The Heavens are really helping me!’
He gazed at Xiao Hong.
“So, here’s the deal.” He rested his chin on his fist, “Both of us will work together to gather the required Spirit Herbs and I will give you the complete Pill Recipe. We will share the Pills equally when you have successfully refined them.
“Of course, I understand this deal is more in my favour. So, you can demand for whatever you require to balance it out.” Gu Ran added. “I will accept as long as I believe it is fair.”
Xiao Hong fell into thought.
‘It is a good deal. But…’
“Grade 4 pills require a Cultivation of at the Soul Palace Stage, right?” Xiao Hong asked, “This Pill would be of no use to me if I’m not even at the Nirvana Stage.”
Gu Ran blinked in confusion, before a realisation struck him, “Ah! I think you have the wrong idea Junior Sister. The second to ninth Nirvana can be achieved at any time before the Fusion Stage, one doesn’t need to stay at the Nirvana Stage to attain the latter eight Nirvana.
“In fact, undergoing more Nirvana right after the first is utter idiocy! Nirvana is one of the few chances to remould one’s very Self, recklessly undergoing Nirvana without accumulation is an utter waste of Heaven’s Gifts!”
Xiao Hong was stunned! “What? Really?”
Gu Ran nodded.
‘Huh.’ she felt dazed. ‘I didn’t expect that.’
She snapped out of it soon enough, though. “Thank you for enlightening me, Senior Brother.”
“It’s only natural for me to guide my Juniors.” Gu Ran waved his hands casually.
Xiao Hong nodded and decisively agreed. Even if it was a big question mark whether she could achieve Nirvana before 30, she could not completely ignore what came after if she succeeded. This was a chance she might not come across again!
“I agree. But I want a few things: Grade 4 Formation manuals, Grade 4 Alchemy manuals, ten variegated Physical Cultivation Techniques at Earth Rank or above, information on Heaven Swallowing Roc Breathing Method…”
Gu Ran’s eye twitched violently, ‘There it is again! Shamelessly taking a mile when given an inch!’
“Junior Sister, that is a bit too much, isn’t it? Grade 4 Formation Manuals are the best I can do…”
Xiao Hong gritted her teeth in an attempt to hold back the myriad curses threatening to shoot out of her mouth. ‘This damned shameless old fogie! Does he take me for a fool?!
‘Was his conscience probably eaten by dogs?! How could he deceive a cute Junior Sister like this?!’
Suppressing her desire to test out her newest Divine Ability on his nose, she argued, “Senior Brother, when I return to the Sect I can easily get Grade 4 manuals whenever I want. The only reason I’m asking you is because I can’t help but be interested in it.
“Without the manuals and Physical Cultivation Techniques, I’m losing out too much in this deal.”
Gu Ran shook his head, “The Greater Nine Revolutions Pill is incredibly unique. I daresay you would not find it even if you turned the entire world upside down! You’re definitely not losing out!
“Please reconsider your words, Junior Sister. I am offering you such a deal in consideration of our relationship.
“At worst, I’ll simply hand over the Pill Recipe to the Sect. According to Sect rules, I would gain a great number of contribution points and priority when purchasing these Pills.
“One Heaven Rank Physical Cultivation or three Earth rank Cultivation Method is the best I can do!”
“That is True.” Xiao Hong nodded, “but it is extremely unlikely that you would be able to gather enough Pills for all nine Nirvana, right? The Sect has to distribute these pills to other disciples also. So it is unlikely they will allow any one person to gather too many. As an Alchemist of the Sect, I will be able to access the Pill Recipe whenever I want.
“Moreover, you came to me because I can refine Perfect Quality Pills. As one of the few people who can refine such a pill, the Sect will give the required materials without me even having to go out of my way to collect them. The rules of the Alchemists allow me to keep the pills that exceed the agreed-upon amount.”
“Junior Sister is absolutely right.” Gu Ran nodded in agreement. “But this pill is incredibly difficult to refine and very few Alchemists would be able to successfully refine it. The Sect will be very protective of you.” He smiled at her meaningfully.
The Sect would really go all out to protect her, probably assigning incredibly high-level Dao Protectors. And that would restrict her too much. Especially since she had too many secrets.
“...” Xiao Hong stayed silent for a bit before changing her tone.
“Sigh, I really want to help you Senior Brother but, from what I can see, the amount of effort I have to put in to refine this will be tremendous.
“I might even have to spend years trying to understand it…” Xiao Hong sighed, her head drooping low.
She wiped away the small tears that appeared in the corner of her eyes. “I-I might even lose out on the chance to achieve Nirvana before 30 if I spend too much of my time on it.
“You might not know but, perhaps because of my Spiritual Constitution Talent, my Cultivation Talent is really bad, this is why despite working so hard at Cultivation, I’m still at the initial stage of Divine Sea.”
Her head drooped even lower.
An onlooker would feel their heart ache on seeing this scene.
Gu Ran was dumbfounded! ‘What the fuck?! Weren’t we just bargaining logically? Why are you suddenly pulling the emotion card?!
‘Also, don’t bullshit me! You think I don’t know about that absurd Physique of yours-?!’ He started cursing inwardly when a thought struck him!
‘No wait… That makes sense.
‘Her Physique is probably a bit too overbearing and channelled a vast majority of the resources towards strengthening itself, leaving very little for her Essence Cultivation.
‘She must have felt it and decisively chosen to pursue Physical Cultivation to gain strength to protect herself. Otherwise, it is extremely unlikely that a girl would choose to pursue Physical Cultivation, considering its drawbacks. Because of that, she must believe her talent in Essence Cultivation is bad.
‘Essence Cultivation is the mainstay of the Immortal Path, after all. Even if Physical Cultivation does grant equivalent strength, it does not grant equivalent capability and versatility.
‘This is why, despite all the advantages, it is only considered among the Top 10 in Immortal Path. Only when considering other Paths like the Martial Path is it considered among the Top 3.
‘And she cannot even change Paths now that she has started establishing the Immortal Foundation…’
Gu Ran was stuck between a rock and a hard place, on one hand, he wanted to repair the relationship between them and this was a prime opportunity for that. On the other hand, he also did not want to make the first losing deal in ages!
Oh, he knew that she was probably exaggerating and was even tempted to simply cancel the deal to see her reaction - he was sure it would be amusing, but in the end, he decided not to.
‘Oh, forget it! I did take advantage of her in our first deal, it doesn’t matter if I take a step back this time!’
“Hais,” Gu Ran sighed resignedly, “Alright, Junior Sister, I’ll agree to your terms.”
Xiao Hong looked up hopefully, “Really?”
Gu Ran nodded. “Yes, but I can only give you three Earth- and one Heaven-rank Physical Cultivation Technique. I don’t focus on Physical Cultivation as much as you do, so I don’t really have too many of those.
“As for the Heaven Swallowing Roc Breathing Method, I don’t really have much information about it since I haven’t been very successful in cultivating it.”
“I can give you the Grade 4 Formation and Alchemy Manuals.”
Xiao Hong smiled brightly and exclaimed, “Thank you, Senior Brother!”
Gu Ran’s heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t help but stare for a moment at the breathtaking appearance that seemed to dim the very world around.
‘Damned adolescent body!’ He felt helpless. He’d thought that after spending so long with her he’d gain immunity. But now that seemed unlikely. ‘Sigh. I can only wait until this body matures more…
‘Well, at least I gained some resistance against other beautiful women.’
“Ahem. Let’s finalise the details…’
***
“Thank you for visiting Senior Brother,” Xiao Hong happily waved her hand at a departing Gu Ran, “Feel free to visit again~!”
Gu Ran’s mouth twitched violently. He really wanted to punch something! ‘I was wrong! This girl takes a fucking Realmspan when given an inch!’
He stomped away.
On the other side.
‘I expected him to blackmail me, or something…’ She felt a little guilty about thinking so little about Gu Ran as she watched him take off into the sky after exiting her courtyard. ‘He may be a little unscrupulous, but he’s ultimately a good person.
‘Oh well. It’s fine. I will make it up to him at some point later on.’
She returned to her room.