I courted death and then tried to escape, so the whole sect wants to get rid of me.

He's just a pill cultivator...

Which alchemist could kill three of him with a single sword strike?!

What misunderstanding does she have about Lin Mu?!

What exactly is wrong with this girl?!

Ye Chang'an was slightly doubting his life. He gritted his teeth, raised his hand and covered it with a layer of light blue spiritual energy. He then gripped the sword tightly and forcefully pulled it out of his chest.

A hint of gloom crept into his eyes as he stared directly at her, their gazes locked in a silent confrontation. His voice was hoarse: "The Holy Maiden keeps telling me not to treat her as a substitute, but who is she truly treating as a substitute? Does the Holy Maiden even know the answer?"

Chen Qingqiu paused, his knuckles gripping the sword hilt turned white, and a thin crack appeared in the unchanging tranquility in his eyes.

She took two steps back and sheathed her sword: "Stop talking nonsense."

Looking at her profile, which suddenly tensed up, Ye Chang'an felt a surge of frustration in his heart.

She was actually still thinking about Song Yao!

She was pulled off the Tianqi List by Song Yao back then, and was always overshadowed by Song Yao. Shouldn't she hate Song Yao?

Song Yao and he were engaged, shouldn't she be jealous?

Why are they all mentioning Song Yao?!

He took a deep breath, and the image of that always unrestrained and flamboyant figure suddenly appeared in his mind. His heart felt heavy, and his emotions were extremely complicated.

Everyone knows that Song Yao loves him to death, and is even willing to turn against her junior sister for him.

But no one knew that Song Yao had secretly beaten him so badly that he couldn't fight back.

Even he couldn't figure out what she was thinking.

Is she truly in love with him, or is she just using him as a pastime when she's bored, or even less than that?

In the end, when she left the Nine Saints Hall for the Earth Realm, she never even thought of seeing him again.

His chest wound throbbed with pain, and he felt restless. When he looked up, he saw Chen Qingqiu with her eyes downcast, clearly also thinking of someone.

He suddenly felt it was absurd.

They are getting married this year, and the lonely man and woman are alone in a room, but they fight over a dead person and are even saddened by her.

Is that reasonable?

-

Attacked by two demons who appeared out of nowhere, I managed to escape the extremely boring moral education class.

Song Yao slept soundly until the afternoon, then got up contentedly to eat.

To showcase its grandeur, the Northern Yao Sect has set up a small kitchen that serves food all day long.

However, most disciples choose to take Qi-boosting pills or fast to maintain their best condition.

Song Yao has no intention of making a name for herself in the cultivation world, and she doesn't care about her current state.

Having slept for too long, she was starving, so she angrily ate a bowl of wontons and a stewed chicken, then strolled leisurely to the outside of Ji Duchuan's courtyard, knocked on the door, and went in.

The medicine stove in the courtyard was emitting warm white steam, and the bitter fragrance of medicine mixed with the scent of herbs and trees wafted in the wind.

Ji Duchuan sat cross-legged beside the furnace, his light-colored robes hanging loosely on his knees, a wisp of pale blue spiritual fire condensing at his fingertips, which he was adjusting slightly towards the flame core beneath the furnace.

Hearing footsteps, he didn't turn around, but only raised his eyes to glance at the approaching figure out of the corner of his eye.

Song Yao squatted down beside him, put down the bags in front of him, and said ingratiatingly with her sleeves, "Senior Ji, you've worked hard refining pills. I brought you some gifts."

Ji Duchuan glanced at it twice.

A whole stewed chicken, a large bowl of chicken soup, a large bowl of noodles, and a pile of freshly baked pastries.

They're still steaming.

He paused for half a second: "Was the gift just packed from the kitchen?"

Song Yao nodded.

Ji Duchuan: "...Thank you."

Song Yao: "You're welcome. How much longer until you get the Golden Scale Serpent Pill?"

Ji Duchuan: "..."

This kid is so straightforward.

He slightly raised his chin towards the furnace, saying helplessly, "It will take a few more hours. I haven't closed my eyes or eaten a single bite of food for the past two days in order to refine this pill."

Song Yao immediately and perceptively brought the chicken soup to his lips: "Want some?"

A thick layer of oil floated on top of the chicken soup. Ji Duchuan couldn't bear to eat it and turned his head away slightly: "No need."

Song Yao said "Oh," and then held a whole chicken to his mouth: "Want some?"

Ji Duchuan: "..."

Are you suggesting we let him eat it raw like that?

He tries to curry favor, but he doesn't understand how.

He's probably a tyrant in the sect.

He wanted to refuse, but when he turned and saw her expectant eyes, he swallowed his words and gestured with his chin towards the pastries below: "I'll eat that one."

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Yao quickly stuffed a piece of pastry into his mouth, took one for herself, and got up to wander around the yard.

Ji Duchuan was so choked that his eyes rolled back. Looking at her figure, he had a strange feeling that she had left without a trace, concealing her merits and fame.

So she came all this way just to feed him?

It took him a while to swallow the pastries. Feeling even weaker, he said, "Go back now. I'll send someone to deliver the pills to you once they're ready."

Song Yao paused, then swayed back to his side and squatted down, taking another piece of pastry and stuffing it into his mouth: "This junior just wanted to see if there's anything I can help you with."

This time, Ji Duchuan was mentally prepared. He pursed his lips, preventing her from shoving the pastry down his throat, and repeatedly backed away, refusing, "No need, really no need. Aren't you disciples studying together? You go ahead."

Song Yao poked the pastry into his mouth again: "No, I want to stay here with you."

Ji Duchuan: "..."

He deeply regretted it.

Had he never seen a Qi-replenishing pill before? Why did he have to go and ask someone else for one?

it's good now.

There's no escaping it.

His lips were pressed tightly together, and Song Yao finally realized he didn't want a second piece. She let him go, her gaze falling on the alchemy furnace in the corner, and asked, "Can I use that to refine pills?"

Ji Duchuan grasped at a straw as if it were a lifeline: "Sure, sure, you can use it."

As long as you don't cause him trouble, he'll agree to anything.

"Thanks."

There are differences between alchemy furnaces, and Ji Duchuan's alchemy furnace must be particularly expensive.

Song Yao didn't want to blow up the furnace and incur debt again, so she carefully studied and researched for a while before starting to refine pills.

In the past few days, she has conducted experiments on many mice at the Northern Yao Sect, and has gained a clearer understanding of the proportions of herbs needed to refine the Qi-replenishing pill.

Since I have nothing else to do right now, I'll adjust the recipe and try it out. I can also have Ji Duchuan evaluate it for me.

She took out a pile of herbs and fire-dispelling talismans from her mustard seed bag and placed them on the ground. She wrote and calculated in her notebook, and before she got sleepy, she closed the notebook and threw all the sorted herbs into the alchemy furnace.

Then, he pinched the fire-repelling talisman and threw it under the stove, gathering spiritual power in his palm. Only after the fire-repelling talisman was blazing did he press the spiritual power down, forcefully reducing the fire.

Ji Duchuan glanced over and was horrified.

He had never used such a wild method in all his years of alchemy.

When refining Qi-tonifying pills, isn't it generally done by adding herbs in order and then refining them over a low flame?

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't dare to say anything to remind him.

This girl has finally quieted down for a while and stopped tormenting him, so it's better not to attract her attention.

However, the next second, a loud explosion came from that direction.

His heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly looked up.

The furnace was opened, and billowing black smoke billowed out.

Song Yao, her face covered in soot, pulled a pile of shimmering white pills from the furnace, smiling at him through the black smoke: "Am I fast at refining pills?"