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Su Lingxiu's expression changed drastically, her voice trembling slightly, "Second Senior Brother, are they chasing you because of me?"

Meng Chong shook his head, "Junior Sister, what are you thinking? They don't even know you're my junior sister, it's just a coincidence."

Su Lingxiu breathed a sigh of relief at his words. She had been too nervous just now, forgetting about this matter altogether.

Zhou Ying seemed to have figured something out. "You mean, they hired Meng Shushu to find the spiritual medicine treasure land, for the medicinal herbs in that place?"

"That's right," Meng Chong nodded.

"Zhou Yi, what's wrong?" Su Lingxiu frowned and asked.

"Miss, they want to use sixth-grade spiritual medicine to lure you out because they think..." Zhou Ying didn't finish her sentence.

Su Lingxiu understood the reason without her having to say it, her expression dimming involuntarily.

Meng Chong scratched his bald head, "Junior Sister, what's really going on? There's nothing to fear. Even if they're not a formidable force, Senior Brother has killed quite a few of them, and even killed three grandmasters."

Su Lingxiu fell silent for a moment before saying, "Actually, I don't know either what force they belong to. I only know they're part of the dark forces. As for their name and why they want to capture me, I don't know."

Meng Chong furrowed his brows, "Junior Sister, you don't know what force they are?"

"Yes," Su Lingxiu nodded.

After some thought, she added, "But I speculate it might have something to do with my father. It's just that my father... I don't know who he is, or even his name."

At this point, Su Lingxiu's expression turned melancholy.

Meng Chong opened his mouth but couldn't find words for a moment. Su Lingxiu didn't even know who her father was. After a while, he comforted her, "Junior Sister, a master is like a father. You have Master and me and Senior Brother. No one can bully you."

"I know. I'm no longer alone," Su Lingxiu smiled.

Li Xuan's mouth twitched slightly. Su Lingxiu's background felt somewhat melodramatic. Could her father be someone remarkable?

Since they had already mentioned the black-robed men and her enemies, Su Lingxiu no longer concealed anything and recounted the whole story.

"They are probably searching for sixth-grade spiritual medicine to lure me out. They don't know my mother has already passed away, and no amount of medicine can bring her back. 

"My mother was actually a grandmaster martial artist. However, her health declined day by day after giving birth to me and she passed away when I was ten. I've been living with my grandfather... or rather, I should say, my maternal grandfather..."

According to Su Lingxiu, she never knew who her father was, and her mother never mentioned him. Even her surname was taken from her mother. Her mother's health deteriorated day by day after giving birth to her, as if her vitality had been consumed excessively. She studied medicine diligently, all for her mother. However, her mother passed away when she was ten, and she lived with her grandfather ever since.

In the past few years, there were grandmaster martial artists who attacked, wanting to take her away, but they underestimated Su Lingxiu's grandfather's strength and were killed on the spot.

Su Lingxiu's grandfather also realized the seriousness of the situation and prepared to hide Su Lingxiu with Zhou Ying, but the forces of the black-robed men included grandmasters who came to attack.

Su Lingxiu, under Zhou Ying's lead, hid until her grandfather returned. However, when her grandfather returned, he was on the verge of death and hurriedly instructed her to hide before passing away.

After that, it was Zhou Ying who took Su Lingxiu and fled to the border wilderness.

"Junior Sister, your grandfather was a grandmaster?" Meng Chong asked incredulously.

"Yes," Su Lingxiu nodded.

Zhou Ying, who had been silent, spoke up, "The old master is called Medicine King Suzhen. He was adept at making medicine and healing various martial artists' injuries. Initially, the old master intended to seek refuge with Tianbao Pavilion for protection, but it was too late.

"In order to save the young miss, the old master exhausted all his resources and connections, obtaining many spiritual medicines and settling his debts of gratitude.

"Therefore, there were no strong individuals who came to assist us back then."

The "young miss" Zhou Ying referred to was Su Lingxiu's mother.

Li Xuan sighed. No wonder Su Lingxiu was so skilled in medicine. Her background was extraordinary indeed.

As for why Su Lingxiu's mother became increasingly weak after giving birth to her, suffering severe damage to her vitality, Li Xuan had some speculation.

Su Lingxiu had exceptional talent and possessed a special physique. It was because of this special physique that her mother's vitality was greatly damaged, eventually leading to her death.

"Su Lingxiu's physique, constrained by her environment, may not be complete. Could the black-robed men be after her because of her physique? Or is it related to her biological father? Her biological father might not be an ordinary person. What a melodramatic family background!"

Li Xuan muttered to himself.

But none of this mattered. Su Lingxiu was already his disciple, and she had practiced both alchemy and martial arts. Regardless of her background, she was his disciple.

Anyone who dared to bully his disciple would be dealt with!

Meng Chong looked at Zhou Ying, who seemed hesitant to speak, and seeing her furrowed brow, he said, "Since we've already opened up, if you have any questions, just ask directly."

"It's like this, Junior Sister's grandfather is a grandmaster, her mother is a grandmaster, why are you so weak?" Meng Chong awkwardly asked, scratching his head.

Zhou Ying, before practicing martial arts, only had the strength of a fourth-grade practitioner, which was truly weak.

"I just have poor innate talent."

Zhou Ying didn't seem embarrassed at all, she said directly, "My family was ruined, and my parents died. It was the old master and the young miss who adopted me since I was a child. Due to my extremely poor aptitude, the old master used his connections to acquire a sixth-grade spiritual medicine for me, which helped improve my physique.

"From the age of five, I've been using spiritual medicine for nourishment, constantly improving my aptitude. If nothing unexpected happens, I could have become a grandmaster too."

"I see!" Meng Chong suddenly realized, then continued, "I heard that Tian Di Sui can enhance innate talent. When Junior Sister refines the pill, you can also continue to improve your innate talent."

Although they didn't know exactly why the black-robed men were after Su Lingxiu, since they were enemies, they had to be eliminated.

"Junior Sister, rest assured. The identity of the black-robed men won't remain hidden for long. What does it matter if they're from the dark forces? Eventually, someone will find out. By then, Senior Brother and I will go and destroy their lair!"

Meng Chong's eyes gleamed with ferocity.

"Their strength is indeed formidable. We still need to be careful. I'm not in a hurry for revenge. When I become powerful enough, I'll find them one by one and bury them all!"

Su Lingxiu clenched her fists.

Li Xuan glanced at Zhou Ying but didn't ask anything. He could tell she was withholding something. She probably knew something about Su Lingxiu's background and the motives of the black-robed men.

Since she didn't say anything, even hiding it from Su Lingxiu, there must be some reservations.

After Meng Chong brought back a large amount of spiritual medicine, Su Lingxiu immersed herself once again in the study of alchemy, constantly experimenting with new pill formulas based on the properties of the herbs.

For example, pills suitable for Meng Chong's cultivation.

Physical martial arts focused on tempering the body, so the pills emphasized body refinement and opening up acupoints, nurturing the essence of the body. Su Lingxiu developed pill formulas based on this theory.

For her first attempt at refining pills using all spiritual medicine, she didn't dare to be careless. She started with ninth-grade spiritual medicine to practice, and once she became proficient in pill refining, she would elevate the grade of the pills.

The flames under the pill furnace burned, Su Lingxiu's expression serious, her hands manipulating the flames, supplemented by the divine firestone, she began her first attempt at pill refining.

As expected, this first attempt failed.

The pills turned out lumpy.

However, since they were refined from spiritual medicine, even though they were lumpy, their effects were much stronger than those refined from ordinary ingredients.

Chi Mao was extremely excited.

After consuming two discarded pills, it felt a bit bloated and lay at the door to digest.

After failing with two furnaces of pills, the third furnace succeeded. Twelve pills emitted a fragrant aroma, with a faint gloss on their surface.

"Second Senior Brother, these are Strengthening Pills. Give them a try!"

Su Lingxiu excitedly handed the pills to Meng Chong.

"Great!" Meng Chong was thrilled. He also wanted to break through to the Grand Sun Golden Body as soon as possible, so he could go and beat up grandmasters.

After swallowing one pill, he began to assimilate it.

Li Xuan took a glance and already knew the result. Although the Strengthening Pills were refined from ninth-grade spiritual medicine and had strong effects, for Meng Chong, who practiced the Grand Sun Golden Body, the effects were ordinary.

Meng Chong's physical body was already so strong that it was almost comparable to a treasure.

"How is it, Second Senior Brother?" Su Lingxiu's face was full of anticipation.

Meng Chong touched his head and said, "It's average. But for other martial artists, the effects should be remarkable!"

Su Lingxiu pondered for a moment, recalling the properties of various herbs. She planned to upgrade the Strengthening Pills since Meng Chong's physical body was incredibly robust.

Ordinary pills wouldn't have much effect on him.

"Second Senior Brother, don't worry. I'll refine pills suitable for your cultivation," Su Lingxiu said solemnly.

"Just do your best. I'm not in a hurry for pills. Even without them, my cultivation won't be slow," Meng Chong said without any urgency.

He gave the remaining Strengthening Pills to Zhou Ying and Shi Er.

Seeing this, Li Xuan decided to reveal a hand. A pill formula emerged in his mind.

Golden Body Pill!

"The way of pill refining is profound and vast. Don't limit yourself to herbs, don't confine yourself. Today, let me demonstrate it to you."

Li Xuan sat in his chair without even standing up.

With a wave of his hand, several spiritual herbs flew over.

"Watch closely. This time, I'm demonstrating Void Alchemy, refining a batch of Golden Body Pills!"

With another wave of his hand, it seemed as though a pill furnace appeared in the void, formed from condensed true qi.

The spiritual herbs were thrown into the virtual pill furnace, and instantly, fierce pill flames emerged.

Visible to the naked eye, the herbs melted, extracting their essence, refining away impurities. The essences of various herbs merged together, undergoing transformation.

Faint golden light emerged, and in the virtual pill furnace, twelve pale golden pills appeared.

Su Lingxiu didn't even blink, deeply shocked in her heart. This Void Alchemy was truly mysterious and unpredictable.

"I've only just started, and I'm still far, far away from the realm where Master is."

The Golden Body Pills were successfully refined.

With a casual wave, Li Xuan sent the Golden Body Pills flying in front of Meng Chong.

Meng Chong eagerly accepted them, "Thank you, Master!"

As he ingested one pill, a strong medicinal power instantly merged into his body, and a faint golden light appeared on Meng Chong's body.

"Golden Body Pills are for cultivators of the physical body. You two are not physical body cultivators, so don't take them casually. Otherwise, you'll harm your body and ruin your foundation, which is not worth it."

Li Xuan reminded Shi Er and Zhou Ying.

But inwardly, he sighed in relief. Void Alchemy consumed too much energy, far beyond what someone in the Profound Realm could handle. Even with his strength multiplied by a hundred compared to others in the same realm, he almost couldn't control it.

The consumption was immense, beyond imagination.

"I almost messed up."

Li Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If the alchemy had failed, it would have been embarrassing for him, a peerless expert master.

Fortunately, relying on his strength multiplied by a hundred and the seemingly innate mastery of Void Alchemy, he successfully refined the Golden Body Pills.

"Master, this Void Alchemy..."

Su Lingxiu was extremely excited, pounding her Master's shoulders while wearing a face full of anticipation.

"Your strength is too low. Even if I teach you, you won't be able to master it. First, master the manual blood alchemy technique with your bare hands. When your strength improves, then consider Void Alchemy."

Li Xuan found that even if he passed on Void Alchemy to Su Lingxiu now, she wouldn't be able to practice it, let alone use it as a foundation to comprehend higher levels of alchemy.

So, he decided not to pass it on to Su Lingxiu for the time being.

Once she mastered manual blood alchemy and reached the pinnacle of the Profound Realm, then he would pass it on to her.

"Alright, Master, rest assured. I'll soon break through to the Profound Realm."

Su Lingxiu felt that what her Master said made sense. She shouldn't aim too high.

With spiritual herbs available, she could refine more types of pills. And because she cultivated both alchemy and martial arts, she didn't have to worry about overdosing on pills and causing problems with her foundation.

With this, her cultivation speed would skyrocket.

Su Lingxiu continued refining Golden Body Pills using the alchemy furnace. Naturally, the first batch failed, and these discarded pills became Chi Mao's food.

After consuming the Golden Body Pill, Meng Chong went to the small mountain peak outside the estate to cultivate.

Kou Ruo Zhi brought a jade box, and Su Lingxiu carefully stored the Tian Di Sui and sixth-grade spiritual herbs inside, burying them underground.

In the following days, Su Lingxiu continued refining pills, studying pill formulas, and cultivating martial arts. With the consumption of spiritual herbs, the number of pills she refined increased.

Qi and Blood Pills were essential, and the most numerous. Pills refined from spiritual herbs had astonishing effects. Both Zhou Ying and Shi Er saw rapid improvements in their cultivation with the assistance of pills.

In addition to Qi and Blood Pills, there were also Qi Essence Pills, which were pills for cultivators at the Profound Realm. They could nourish true qi, quickly restore depleted true qi, and enhance cultivation speed.

However, Qi Essence Pills were not very useful for Meng Chong and Xu Yan.

A portion of the refined pills were sent to the Xu family in Donghe County and handed over to Xu Junhe for distribution.

Li Xuan called Su Lingxiu over.

It was time to pass on the Alchemy and Martial Arts Manual to her.

After receiving the Alchemy and Martial Arts Manual, Su Lingxiu's martial arts cultivation reached a new level. The variety of pills she refined increased, and the speed of pill refinement became faster.

The technique of manual blood alchemy had become extremely proficient. Pills refined from ninth-grade spiritual herbs hardly ever failed. Even pills refined from eighth-grade spiritual herbs had a success rate of over sixty percent.

Of course, if using a pill furnace to assist in alchemy, the success rate of refining pills from eighth-grade spiritual herbs would be close to ninety percent.

A little stuck in the translation~~

(End of this chapter)