Xuanjian: I am the tenth son of Zhenchi, and I plot to seize the throne from Zhenlong.

"Suiyuan Pill?"

Upon hearing Su Ming's request, Li Yuanjiao considered it in his mind and looked somewhat surprised.

When this person first came to the lake, he was at the eighth level of Qi Refining, and his aura was still quite weak. Now, in just over two years, he has actually reached the point of Foundation Establishment.

He was even a Fire Element cultivator, spending his years cultivating by the lake. In comparison, his cultivation talent was almost on par with An Jingming's.

"No wonder that female cultivator was able to abandon her family and run away with him. Perhaps it was at the behest of her master." Li Yuanjiao pondered, suddenly realizing something.

Seeing that Li Yuanjiao did not answer, Su Ming assumed that the Li family might not be able to easily obtain the Suiyuan Pill from the Xiao family, so he changed his mind and said:

"If that doesn't work, I'll offer some more spiritual resources and use the connections of nobles to get a fine magic sword from the Qingchi Upper Sect."

A Qi-refining sword and a Qi-cultivating pill are two different levels of things, and it wouldn't require any favors from the Li family. Based on his understanding of Li Yuanjiao, he would never refuse such a simple request.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanjiao smiled slightly and explained, "Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. I will discuss the matter of the Suiyuan Pill with my wife when I get back, and it shouldn't be a problem."

"Regarding the Dharma Sword, there is a Foundation Establishment cultivator surnamed Yu on Qingchi Yuanwu Peak. In recent years, he has been trying to stabilize relations on the lake and will not cause trouble for my family, so it should not be a problem."

Su Ming's face lit up with joy. He immediately poured out all the magical artifacts and pills he had collected from his storage bag, filling the tables in the pavilion. He then threw some broken fetal breathing artifacts on the ground to make room for them.

The three demonic cultivators Su Ming encountered weren't particularly wealthy, but the items on the table were more than enough to exchange for spirit stones to forge a magic sword.

After two years of observation and the confirmation of his thoughts, he was quite confident in the Li family's actions. He handed over the spiritual resources and spirit stones in one go before speaking:

"The value of the Suiyuan Pill is still unclear. If it's not enough, we'll send someone to get it immediately."

Seeing Li Yuanjiao nod, Su Ming recalled the Daoist theories he had discussed before, and then said rather solemnly:

"I cultivate a path called [Fire Combination]. When refining, if I need to use demons, any demon that can breathe fire can be used in medicine. Jiangnan has many waters, so I absolutely cannot use water-controlling demons as substitutes. It takes a lot of manpower and resources, so I have made up for it one by one."

So far, three members of the Li family have reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Li Xuanfeng and Li Chijing are both in the Southern Frontier. The pills used by Li Tongya were also provided by Li Chijing. Li Yuanjiao had never heard of this before, so he quickly asked for the reason.

Su Ming was not surprised, after all, the Su family had never heard of such a claim until their demise. It would be difficult for a small clan without any close relatives in the Purple Mansion to know these secrets.

Su Ming was able to know this through the words in his mind, and he explained without reservation: "In my opinion, the Suiyuan Pill can be roughly divided into two categories in terms of its effects."

"The first type of pill is made without adding any demons or... cultivators. The resulting Suiyuan Pill is pure and can be consumed by all cultivators on the path of cultivation."

"The second type is when the medicine is refined to save spiritual resources or to enhance its potency, adding ingredients that are beneficial to the cultivator's path. For example, adding demonic creatures to the cultivator's path can greatly help them break through."

"However, using other people's Qi and blood cultivation methods and elixirs in this way will inevitably hinder the subsequent cultivation after Foundation Establishment. My Dao [Flaming Fire] does not have such a big impact."

Li Yuanjiao suddenly realized that he was delighted to have obtained such a secret for free.

So he took the initiative to continue the conversation: "In this way, if one consumes a pill that clashes with one's cultivation path, this beneficial pill will become a poisonous pill, causing one to fail in their breakthrough and die!"

"That's right!" Su Ming nodded in agreement, and then said, "As a rogue cultivator, I naturally don't expect to use the best pills. This matter is of great importance, so I'll just trouble you, fellow Daoist, if you can obtain the Suiyuan Pill, please put in a good word for me."

Li Yuanjiao's face lit up with even more joy, and he naturally agreed. After the two talked for a while, Li Yuanjiao was about to take his leave when Su Ming suddenly called him back, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Brother Yuanjiao, you are already married, so you must understand the ins and outs. It's just... ever since that day, my Yuxi has been ignoring me. But she has never been one to covet any spiritual resources. What's going on?"

Li Yuanjiao chuckled, a rare occurrence for him. After pondering for a moment, he leaned close to Su Ming and whispered something before leaving.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

That night, at the Li family's house.

After listening to Li Yuanjiao recount Su Ming's words from earlier that day, Li Yuanping lowered his head and pondered for a moment before speaking:

"Both my elder brother and Qinghong are potential Foundation Establishment cultivators in our family. This matter is of great importance. Senior Xiao Yuansi is very close to our family, and his alchemy skills are also outstanding. Why don't we send someone to inquire about it?"

Li Yuanjiao nodded: "The Suiyuan Pill is precious. Once the demonic calamity subsides, I will personally go to the Xiao family to inquire about this matter."

At this point, he changed the subject: "This man was quite friendly to my family, and his purpose was naturally to pay his respects to my uncle. However, matters concerning my uncle cannot be revealed to outsiders, so he was destined to wait in vain."

Li Yuanjiao hesitated for a moment before saying, "He has once again acted righteously and revealed the secret, so it is not appropriate to take his things for nothing. I plan to transcribe some contents of the 'True Explanation of the Jiazi Sword Manual' left by my uncle for him."

"This person is exceptionally talented and knows these secrets. He must have someone supporting him. His chances of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage are extremely high. Let's make a good connection in advance."

Li Yuanping had managed the household with him for many years. Although it was Li Yuanjiao who was speaking, he understood that Li Yuanping was discussing it with him. He carefully considered it for a long time before nodding in agreement.

Then, lowering his voice, he added, "Regarding Yu Muxian, there are at least several decades of preparation. If this person can truly be trusted, perhaps..."

Li Yuanjiao nodded. This was also what he was thinking. Su Ming loved swordsmanship, and his family's "Moon Palace Sword Manual" was extremely profound. If it was truly credible, copying some of it for him would most likely get him to help.

In the past two years, he often sparred with Su Ming in swordsmanship and knew that Su Ming was amazing in fire techniques. Although he was a rogue cultivator, he could fight as well as several cultivators of the same level.

The fragments of the Immortal Mirror are of great importance. If we can invite him to join us in assassinating Yu Muxian, our chances of success will increase considerably.

……

A thatched hut by a tree.

Su Ming, looking somewhat tired, carefully pushed open the door. The woman sitting at the table immediately turned her head away when she saw him.

Su Ming quickly sat down and took out a food box from behind him, placing a series of steaming delicacies on the table.

"Xi'er, is it time to eat?"

The woman pursed her lips, ignoring the dishes on the table: "Who told you to call me that?"

Su Ming sat there blankly, looking dejected. "Alright then."

After a few moments of silence in the room, Yu Yuxi finally couldn't help but turn her head and glance at him. Suddenly, she noticed that Su Ming's face was a little dirty, so she quickly turned around and took a closer look.

She quickly wiped the dirt off his face, sniffed it—it smelled of cooking oil—and opened her mouth in disbelief, asking, "Did you do this?"

Seeing Su Ming nod, she fell silent, her voice trembling with tears, "Could you please tell me beforehand if you're going to do something like this in the future?!"

Su Ming was a little surprised. What was the big deal about cooking a meal? But he smiled and said, "I was just worried you'd go hungry."

Yu Yuxi punched him lightly, finally unable to hold back any longer, and buried her face in his chest, tears streaming down her face: "I was saying that you went to the market to rob things, why didn't you take me with you? What would I do if you died?"

Su Ming's lips were dry, and he couldn't speak for a long time. He could only gently pat the back of the woman in his arms. After she calmed down, he took out a crooked hairpin from his sleeve.

"Who made this? It's hideous."

Do you like it?

"Fool."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

ps

The original text does not explicitly state the specific theory behind the Suiyuan Pill.

The one Wang Xun took out was snow-white and crystal clear, but later Li Ximing added a demonic element to Xia Shouyu.

Actually, I think adding demonic assistance might be more suitable for the Purple Gold Demonic Path. However, different paths, even those of the same virtue, will have different results. I just wrote it according to general logic. Please correct me if there are any errors.