Rinne's POV:

It had been a week since Rinne began practicing the Hibiscus Rebirth Tempering Art.

In that time, she had managed to process most of her gathered materials, creating several unnamed solutions and crafting over 250 Spirit Gathering Pills and around 200 Fasting Pills.

Every batch had a 100% success rate, something that could cause a stir if any alchemist knew.

About 10% of her pills turned out to be superior-grade, 70% were top-grade, and the rest were still high-quality middle-grade. She stored them in wooden boxes she’d crafted back during the third trial of the recruitment ceremony. However, lacking proper pill containers, she had to reuse the boxes for now.

For the various unnamed solutions, she used something unexpected as storage: virtual vials, made entirely of air within her atelier.

The space of her atelier basically operated inside a formation with remarkable customization abilities. Not only could she shrink objects within it to make more room, but she could also adjust gravity, making walls, ceilings, and even the air itself step-able, as if they were solid ground.

With a better level of control and aided by the illusion function, it was even possible to create illusory but touchable fake objects out of thin air, then treat them as real objects. These objects couldn’t be taken outside the atelier—they’d vanish upon exiting—but it saved her the trouble of buying furniture and tools for personal use.

Maintaining this complex space required a steady flow of spiritual energy, but the Spiritual Gathering Formation in place took care of that, keeping the space active.

And then, move to another matter.

Rinne glanced at her reflection in the mirror.

Her complexion had improved, shedding the malnourished look that once made her resemble a beggar. The Fasting Pills provided enough nutrition, and over the past week, her hair had grown from neck-length to just past her shoulders.

It seemed that the wood-attribute spiritual root she recently gained, though unstable, granted her a small boost in vitality and regenerative power. Those with wood-attribute roots were known for their long life and vitality, so this growth wasn’t entirely surprising.

"Nice, it turns out I'm quite good looking... I should grow my hair long,"

Rinne was satisfied with her appearance.

At this moment, she has fully transformed into an adorable girl, with some reminiscent of her first life. Even her own voice became smoother and pleasing to hear. While her figure remains flat both in the front and back, no one would mistake her for a boy anymore.

With the Hibiscus Rebirth Tempering Art, she would definitely grow into a beauty. This was good, because no one could resist the temptation of being beautiful. Even though she had no intention of socializing, there was no harm in making herself beautiful for her own enjoyment.

“Well then, it’s time to sell those pills.”

After admiring her progress in the mirror, Rinne gathered her things, ready to step out.

♠♠♠

Rinne cautiously traversed the outdoor area within the Frostfire Sect.

To conceal her hair, she pulled the hood of her sect robe over her head. And to obscure her face, she wore a skull mask crafted from the corpse of the red-horned wolf, the spiritual beast she had picked up from the battlefield during the third trial. The robe was fully infused with spiritual energy, enabling its heat-adjustment feature to last an entire day.

Although she was aware that her appearance was rather striking, she had no choice in the matter.

She didn’t like standing out but she also felt uneasy about revealing her face. This was understandable, as it was a common issue faced by introverts, especially from a former evil cultivator who was once terrorized being hunted down by the entire cultivation world.

"Too bad, I don't have the cultivation to turn invisible like before."

If only her cultivation had reached at least the 3rd level of the Spirit Gathering Stage, she could have utilized one of the 1st-level techniques from the Phantasmal Mirage Art to reduce her presence. Furthermore, upon reaching the 6th level of the Spirit Gathering Stage, she would have been able to employ the 3rd level of this technique to render herself invisible, or even alter her appearance.

Unfortunately, these techniques were currently just unusable knowledge. Before Rinne could consider using them, she had to wait until her spiritual roots were stable to cultivate first.

But fortunately, the Frostfire Sect’s cold climate worked in her favor.

Most disciples avoided the open air, preferring to stay inside buildings or use the connecting corridors to avoid the chill. Activating the heat function of the sect robe consumed spiritual energy, which most disciples preferred to save for cultivation rather than warmth. This was also one of the reasons Rinne had chosen this sect, she could keep a low profile here with fewer people outside.

"I hope no one sees me."

Of course, there were occasionally some people seen outside the building. They are disciples who are practicing certain techniques. Some are practicing swinging swords, some are practicing body movements, some are meditating on a large rock, and so on. Judging from their cultivation level, they were around the 4th-6th level of Spirit Gathering Stage.

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Those people were no problem to her. They were so focused on their training that they didn't pay much attention to their surroundings. Rinne just walked away and left them alone.

'I should not disturb them.'

After a while, she reached the familiar Outer Affair Hall building.

This time, she headed straight there without stopping to collect materials along the way like she had previously. The reason was that her spatial bag was of low grade and had very limited capacity. If she wanted to gather anything, she would have to wait until her business was complete and she was on her way home.

♠♠♠

Inside the Outer Affair Hall, Rinne's masked appearance quickly caught the attention of everyone nearby.

Her wolf-skull mask and hooded sect robe made her look out of place, attracting curious glances. Talia Sartin, the teller behind the counter, raised an eyebrow as she looked at Rinne’s small, cloaked figure.

“I want to sell some pills,”

It was only when Talia heard the child's voice that she immediately recognized the child.

It was the same child who had shown up right after orientation to register the sect token and rent a house. Though this kid's voice sounded smoother than before, the familiarity was unmistakable.

"Oh, it’s you? Your sense of style is… unique."

Talia said with a slightly amused tone.

Around them, the spectators’ initial curiosity faded, everyone returning to their business. After all, this kind of cautious attitude was not uncommon in the cultivation world. The cultivation world was dangerous and the sight of cultivators robbing each other was not uncommon.

It was just that the choice of using a wolf skull as a mask was quite strange and looked like an evil cultivator. But seeing the stature of the child who did it, they only found it funny, a cute attempt to look intimidating.

“Take out the pills you want to sell,”

Talia said, getting back to business.

Rinne removed two small wooden boxes from her spatial bag and placed them on the counter. She opened them to reveal rows of pills with varied hues.

“Here they are. This box has 50 Spirit Gathering Pills, and this one has 50 Fasting Pills. Please check them.”

Talia blinked at the large quantity of pills, eyeing the irregular coloring, which hinted at unconventional ingredients.

What surprised her more was the casual way Rinne had stored them in simple wooden boxes. Pills were normally kept in specialized containers to preserve their potency, but here they were, all together in makeshift boxes like common trinkets.

"Then, excuse me,"

Talia said as she picked up a few samples, taking a quick sniff.

Despite their unusual color, the medicinal effects checked out, top-grade quality, consistent and potent. She returned the pills to their box, curiosity sparking.

“I’m curious, who made these pills?”

Rinne had expected the question and quickly replied,

“My father made them before I left home. They were for my cultivation, but I have a debt now, so I need to sell them.”

Hearing Rinne's answer, Talia just remained silent.

This father again!

“Who is your father, anyway?”

It was the same question as the last time Rinne visited this hall.

Talia couldn't help but be curious about who this clueless father was, who treated pills like mud balls, yet had the real skill to produce 100 top-grade pills.

Regarding this, Rinne simply replied politely, using the same line as before.

“I’m sorry, I was told not to share personal information with strangers,”

Talia had expected this answer.

It was no surprise that alchemists were arrogant and difficult to make friends with. It would be good if she could get one more alchemist connection, but it didn't matter if she didn't. Still, befriending the alchemist's child could also be considered as forming a connection with the alchemist himself.

“Alright then, 50 Spirit Gathering Pills and 50 Fasting Pills. Since they’re top-grade, I’ll give you 2 spirit stones each, totaling 200 spirit stones. Does that work for you?”

She held out two pouches, each containing 100 spirit stones.

Don't think that 200 spirit stones are a little. For common expenses, spirit beads were used, where 1 low-quality spirit stone is equal to 100 spirit beads. One low-quality Fasting Pill costs 5 spirit beads and one medium-quality Fasting Pill costs 20 spirit beads.

Rinne thought for a moment.

The price of the pills was as she had expected. She had been worried that the price would go down because of the strange color. However, fortunately her worries were unfounded.

She took the pouches, counting the stones quickly before nodding.

“Okay, I’ve received the spirit stones. By the way, I also need some materials. Can you help me get them?”

Talia smiled at Rinne's question.

The Outer Affair Hall functioned as a hub for managing resources gathered in the Frostfire Sect's outer sect area, while also serving as its venue for resource exchange.

Furthermore, it had an indirect connection to the Immortal Alliance via Inner Affair Hall. Through this connection, Talia could obtain almost anything, provided the item was available and there are sufficient spirit stones to purchase it.

"Of course, as long as there are spirit stones, I can give you anything you want."

Hearing Talia's answer, Rinne heaved a sigh of relief.

She then handed a paper containing a list of a few names of ingredients.

"Here is all the things I need."

Talia silently read the list and frowned.

The list contained the names of 24 different spiritual plants, 18 of which were easy to obtain as they were specially cultivated in the sect, while the rest were quite troublesome, they could only be grown in the wild due to their difficult growing conditions.

Eternal Primrose, for instance, could only be found deep in the cold waters of Frigid Abyss Lake, requiring a dive through intense cold and crushing pressure. Another was the Infernal Ashroot, which thrived solely in the depths of volcanic lava.

In addition of that, there were various parts of 8 spiritual beasts, including rare ingredients like Crystal Snow Elk blood, Three-horned Salamander brain fluid, and Green-eyed Yeti testicles.

Those spiritual beasts were mostly grade 2 beasts which were equivalent to the Foundation Establishment stage, and there were also grade 3 ones which were equivalent to the Core Formation stage.

“Kid, why do you need these things?”

Talia asked, suspicion flickering in her eyes.

Rinne tilted her head, feigning innocence. However, her mind quickly went into frenzy, thinking about how to answer. She couldn't understand why this teller needed to ask when all she had to do was serve customers.

Of course, Rinne couldn't say that it was all alchemy materials for herself to refine. No one would believe that a child of the 1st level of Spirit Gathering Stage could perform alchemy, especially with such high-level materials.

Fortunately, she could quickly came up with an answer.

“It’s for my father’s research. Is there a problem? These materials are within the Frostfire Sect territory, so I assume they’re available?”

Talia could only stare for a moment, left speechless by the reply.

Although everything on the list did exist in the Frostfire Sect, some items were extremely difficult to obtain. It was safe to say that some of them required several Core Formation stage cultivators to obtain them.