Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improving Spiritual Root Aptitude

"Master Wu, besides meditating and cultivating, do you spend all your time refining pills?"

Bai Ruanqiu took the wooden box from Wu Fan, opened it, and began to carefully count the number of high-quality Qi-Inducing Pills inside. At the same time, she pretended to be casual and asked Wu Fan with a hint of curiosity.

"I am of dull talent, and only through more diligence can I make even a slight improvement on the path of enlightenment."

Wu Fan clasped his hands in response, his tone indifferent.

"Don't you usually go out for walks? Or do you have any hobbies to pass the time when you're bored?"

Bai Ruanqiu immediately pressed for answers, her gaze falling directly on Wu Fan with a hint of inquiry as she began to scrutinize him from head to toe.

She increasingly found that Wu Fansheng was quite pleasing to the eye and easy on the eyes.

Not only are his features well-proportioned, but he also exudes a calm and composed aura beyond his years, with a touch of melancholy in his eyes that inexplicably makes him somewhat attractive.

"Hobby?"

Wu Fan was slightly taken aback, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.

In the past, the aloof Bai Ruanqiu would come to collect her pills at the end of each month, always keeping her conversation brief and to the point. But today, she was unusually warm and chatty, which was quite unusual.

He first suppressed his doubts and replied truthfully, "My daily life is quite simple. Besides meditation and cultivation, I usually practice alchemy. If I had to name a hobby, it would probably be watching the moon. I wonder if that counts as a hobby?"

"To see the moon?"

Bai Ruanqiu froze on the spot, clearly not expecting this answer.

She had expected Wu Fan to be boring, but she never imagined he would be this boring.

If the other party enjoys cooking spiritual food, or is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, he can cater to their interests and take the opportunity to get closer to them.

But someone whose hobby is looking at the moon is really hard to talk to.

In an instant, Bai Ruanqiu's interest in chatting vanished completely.

He hurriedly put the wooden box containing the Qi-Inducing Pill into his storage bag, skipping all the formalities, and quickly turned and left.

Watching his departing figure, the bewilderment on Wu Fan's face instantly vanished, replaced by a solemn expression.

"It seems that this young lady from the Bai family is trying to win me over."

He thought to himself, "Otherwise, given Bai Ruanqiu's usual cold nature, she would never be so enthusiastic towards me."

Wu Fan knew that there was always open and covert struggle within Foundation Establishment families, but all he wanted was to peacefully refine pills and earn spirit stones in the Bai family, and focus on cultivating and improving his cultivation. He had no desire to get involved in these conflicts.

He gently shook his head, putting those distracting thoughts behind him.

The high-quality Qi-Inducing Pills delivered this time, along with the low-grade spirit stones received, are enough to purchase the ingredients for several more Qi-Gathering Pills.

In the past month or so of refining Spirit Gathering Pills, he has used up all the hundreds of low-grade spirit stones he had accumulated over the years. However, fortunately, the success rate of the pills has finally made considerable progress, and can be stabilized at around 40%.

Wu Fan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Such a terrifying consumption of spirit stones would be impossible for an ordinary cultivator to sustain without a stable source of spirit stones or family support.

......

Half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, a servant from Baidan Hall suddenly came to Wu Fan's villa and invited him to a gathering.

It was said that Miss Bai Ruanyu had invited him to a gathering, and the location was still the second floor of Baidan Hall.

The attendant led the way, but it wasn't the office he usually went to; instead, it was another elegant room.

Wu Fan stopped in front of the door, pushed it open, and went inside.

The room was exquisitely decorated, clearly a place used by Baidantang to entertain distinguished guests.

It is built facing south, with bright windows and clean tables. The wooden couch is covered with soft cushions with cloud patterns, and a set of celadon teacups is placed on the table. On one side stands a bronze incense burner, from which the lingering fragrance of sandalwood wafts out and is quite pleasant.

A traditional Chinese ink painting of landscape hangs on the west wall, its brushstrokes vigorous and powerful; a wooden shelf stands in the east corner, displaying several antique jade ornaments, their beauty refined and elegant.

The floor is made of polished blue bricks, so shiny they reflect light like a mirror. In the corner, a pot of glowing charcoal fire burns, warming the room cozy, yet there is no smell of burning smoke.

What really struck Wu Fan was that there was a simple spirit-gathering array set up inside the room, making the concentration of spiritual energy in the room much stronger than outside, several times higher than in his other residence.

Is this the foundation of a Foundation Establishment family?

It truly is an excellent place for cultivation.

As he was pondering this, a pleasant voice came from the inner room: "Master Wu, you've arrived. Please come in and sit down."

Wu Fan originally thought that Bai Ruanyu was the only one in the room, but when he lifted the curtain and entered, he found that Bai Ruanqiu was also there.

He immediately clasped his hands in a slight bow and said, "Greetings, Miss. Greetings, Steward Bai."

"We're all old acquaintances, Master Wu, there's no need for such formalities."

With a smile on her lips, Bai Ruanyu poured him a cup of tea as she spoke, "Master Wu, please sit down and try this fine tea."

"Thank you, Miss."

Wu Fan slowly sat down, a bad feeling already creeping into his heart.

In the past few months, Bai Ruanqiu has been exceptionally friendly every time she comes to deliver the pills.

Today, the young lady specially invited him to this private banquet-like elegant room, and also brought Bai Ruanqiu with her. What's even more unusual is that Bai Ruanqiu, who is usually so dashing, is dressed up today, and the sharpness between her brows has faded, replaced by a lot of gentleness and charm.

Is this a blind date arranged between him and Bai Ruanqiu?

Perhaps his gaze was too direct, Bai Ruanqiu noticed it and, unusually, showed a bit of shyness, her cheeks flushing slightly.

She was not a gentle person to begin with, and after a moment she raised her head and looked straight at Wu Fan.

This eye contact made Wu Fan feel somewhat awkward.

In Bai Ruanqiu's eyes, Wu Fan was much more pleasing to the eye today.

He already had a handsome, traditional Chinese appearance, and the interplay of light and shadow in the room made his features appear even more defined and striking.

Thinking back to his usual demeanor, he was calm and composed, had no bad habits, and was willing to work hard to study alchemy. Recently, he even refined a first-grade mid-level Spirit Gathering Pill, showing that his talent was truly remarkable.

Initially, she only noticed Wu Fan because her cousin asked her to, and she thought he was dull and uninteresting. But after spending half a year with him, she found that although Wu Fan was not talkative, he was very persistent and hard to figure out.

The more I couldn't figure it out, the more I wanted to investigate.

Just as she was pondering, Bai Ruanyu spoke up, smiling broadly: "I invited Master Wu here today because there is something I want to discuss."

Wu Fan cupped his hands in greeting: "What are your orders, Miss?"

"Master Wu is now able to refine a mid-grade first-level Spirit Gathering Pill. Although the success rate still needs improvement, with your talent in alchemy, it's only a matter of time before you overcome this hurdle."

Bai Ruanyu paused deliberately at this point, poured herself another cup of tea, and then slowly said, "Therefore, I would like to hire Master Wu to be the resident alchemist of my Hundred Pill Hall."

"A resident alchemist?" Wu Fan looked surprised.

The rules for the resident alchemists at Baidan Hall are extremely strict. Not only must they be able to consistently refine three types of first-grade mid-level pills, but they must also be people who know them well to be qualified. Just like the alchemist Liu who introduced him to the hall, he stayed at Baidan Hall for more than thirty years before becoming a resident alchemist.

The job is also very well paid. In addition to a monthly allowance of several dozen spirit stones, Bai Dan Tang will also provide an excellent cultivation environment.

However, he has only managed to refine one type of mid-grade first-level Spirit Gathering Pill, and the success rate is far from meeting the standard.

The young lady's actions were clearly a betrayal of her principles.

It seems that my value in her heart is far higher than I imagined.