Chapter 1201

style="font-weight: bold">Translator: StarveCleric  style="font-weight: bold">Editor: Millman97

“What’s wrong?” Noticing that the young lady’s eyes were slightly reddened, as if she had just cried a moment ago, Zhang Xuan frowned.

While Luo Qiqi’s confession had made the relationship between the two of them slightly awkward, he would not hesitate to strike down anyone who dared bully his student!

“It’s nothing much…” Luo Qiqi’s eyes seemed to dim for a moment before she raised her head once more and replied with a smile. “I just want to spend some time with you, Teacher.”

“Ah… Alright then!” Seeing that Luo Qiqi had something weighing on her mind, Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before eventually nodding.

It was inevitable for those too outstanding to be fancied by others. As long as he maintained an appropriate distance between the two of them, there was no issue with them spending some time together.

As long as he conducted himself correctly and made his intentions clear, it would only be a matter of time before the other party dispelled her thoughts. On the other hand, if he continued avoiding her, it would only cause her mind to wander, and that could prove to be dangerous.

Hearing Zhang Xuan’s consent, Luo Qiqi’s face lit up in delight. “Then… shall we find a quiet place? It’s a little noisy over here!”

Be it the Combat Master Hall or the Xuanxuan Faction, they were filled with familiar faces. It was indeed a little inconvenient.

Thus, Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement.

The duo took flight, and before long, they landed at the top of a mountain right outside Qingyuan City.

Sitting on a boulder near the cliff, Luo Qiqi gazed intently at the bustling Qingyuan City, seemingly pondering over something.

A mountainous breeze tussled her hair, pulling some strands over her impeccable face. Yet, this slight imperfection seemed to be perfect in its own way as well.

Admittedly, the young lady was indeed very beautiful, and her beauty was not just limited to her exterior. She had a calming disposition that placed those around her at ease as well, making it very comfortable to be around her.

Facing young lady’s queer silence, Zhang Xuan asked with a frown, “Is there something on your mind? As long as it’s within my means, I’ll try my best to help you.”

There was no doubt that the young lady had some worries on her mind, but there was nothing he could do about it if the latter refused to speak.

“It’s nothing much. It’s just that I suddenly remembered some things from my childhood.” Luo Qiqi smiled as she quietly gazed down at Qingyuan City. “When I was younger, I liked to spend my time idly sitting on the rooftop and watching the sunrise and sunset, as well as the birds that fluttered their wings freely in the sky. Somehow, that brought me great joy as a child.

“There was one time when I found myself deeply desiring an artifact. I really wanted it a lot, so I pestered my father to get it for me. In the face of my relentless pleas, my father eventually caved in. However, he said that he would only give it to me after I mastered a cultivation technique, so I frantically cultivated, regardless of day or night. A year later, I finally succeeded! My father did not renege on our promise either, and he gave the artifact to me.

“I can still remember how happy I was the day I received the artifact. It was something that I had acquired through my hard work. I brought it around with me everyday, hugging it to sleep even. But on one occasion, while I was fighting with another, it broke. I was truly heartbroken, and I wept for three whole days. My father found an identical one to comfort me, and it was really the same no matter how one looked at it. But for some reason, I no longer wanted it.”

With her knees hugged to her chest and her chin resting atop them, Luo Qiqi tilted her head over and asked, “Teacher, do you know why?”

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

“It is because it is no longer the same one that I liked… Even if it appears identical, it isn’t!” Luo Qiqi replied.

Not knowing how to respond to it, Zhang Xuan was quiet for a long moment before replying with a nod.

This should have been a common experience for many. When an object that one liked a lot was destroyed, even if an identical one was bought to replace it, the anticipation for it would no longer be there.

Sentiment was not something that could be transferred just because two objects appeared or were identical.

“Eventually, I slowly came to understand that just because I liked something doesn’t mean that I’ll be able to possess it forever. Just like that shattered artifact, no matter what I do, I’ll never be able to get it back to how it was anymore.”

At this point, Luo Qiqi turned to look at Zhang Xuan once more. It seemed like she had many words at the back of her throat, but she was unable to voice them.

Noticing that there was something amiss with the young lady’s state, Zhang Xuan said, “What’s wrong? Did someone bully you? If the other party is at fault, I’ll exact vengeance for you!”

“Pfft!” Luo Qiqi suddenly burst into laughter. She looked at Zhang Xuan playfully as she asked, “Will you really exact vengeance for me?”

“Of course,” Zhang Xuan replied with a light smile.

“You are the one who bullied me. Do it, exact vengeance for me,” Luo Qiqi said earnestly.

“…” Zhang Xuan was rendered speechless.

A moment of carelessness, and he had fallen into the young lady’s trap once more.

Back then, she had claimed that she had some doubts in mind and needed answers, but in the midst of clarifying her doubts, he had ended up being confessed to. It seemed like it was the same this time around as well. A pitiful front, but if he were to earnestly respond to it, he would fall into a pit as well.

Just as Zhang Xuan was at a loss, the young lady suddenly stared at him intently and said, “Teacher, you haven’t given me a proper response yet. You should also know that my feelings for you… are more than just those between a teacher and a student!”

“Is this how you should talk to your teacher?” Zhang Xuan frowned. “If that’s all you want to say, I’ll be leaving now!”

After saying those words, Zhang Xuan stood up.

“I’m joking, I’m joking… Don’t get mad!” Luo Qiqi quickly appeased Zhang Xuan while secretly sticking her tongue out.

“It’s not funny. Please do not make that kind of joke again.” Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

“Alright. Teacher…” Luo Qiqi paused for a moment before asking, “Will you teach me pill forging one more time?”

“Sure.” Zhang Xuan nodded. “What kind of pill do you want to forge?”

There were many different pill formulae in the world, and each of them had a unique forging method.

“The pill that I want to forge is the grade-7 Spirit Reinforcing Pill,” Luo Qiqi replied.

“Spirit Reinforcing Pill?” Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

It was just a moment ago that he had told Hall Master Xing that he needed some Spirit Reinforcing Pills, and he had been intending to find them at the Apothecary Guild. Who could have known that Luo Qiqi would suddenly ask to learn to forge the pill at this moment?

“That’s right,” Luo Qiqi replied with an innocent blink of her eyes.

Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before asking, “Do you have the required pill formula and medicinal herbs?”

This would be a good opportunity for him to refine the forging method for the Spirit Reinforcing Pill. With this, he would be spared from a lot of trouble when he headed to the Apothecary Guild.

“I have already prepared them!” Luo Qiqi answered with a smile before flicking her wrist to take out a jade token.

Zhang Xuan took the jade token and scanned it with his consciousness. The content imprinted within the jade token was swiftly transferred into his mind.

It was indeed the pill formula for the Spirit Reinforcing Pill.

With Zhang Xuan’s knowledge as a 7-star pinnacle apothecary, it did not take him too long to deduce the most ideal method to forge the pill.

“Here are the medicinal herbs.” Luo Qiqi flicked her wrist once more, and a huge pile of medicinal herbs appeared before her eyes.

Taking a swift look at the medicinal herbs, Zhang Xuan was stunned. “Where did you find these medicinal herbs?”

The medicinal herbs that the young lady had taken out each had a maturity of a least several thousand years! One must know that such medicinal herbs were worth an astronomical sum!

An ordinary Spirit Reinforcing Pill only required medicinal herbs that were fifty years mature. If one were to use these several-thousand-year-old medicinal herbs to forge the Spirit Reinforcing Pill, the produced pills would at least be several dozen times more potent!

“As you know, I like to study and explore. I happened to discover an ancient domain a while back, and these medicinal herbs came from there!” Luo Qiqi explained.

“You really are quite lucky,” Zhang Xuan remarked.

Given how meticulous Luo Qiqi was, even being able to trace the underground chamber where Wu Yangzi had been imprisoned through a forged weapon, it was not surprising that she had discovered other ancient domains as well.

“Teacher, are these medicinal herbs sufficient to forge the Origin Reinforcing Pill?” Luo Qiqi asked.

“Definitely! Not only sufficient, the Spirit Reinforcing Pill will also be of exceptional quality!” Zhang Xuan nodded. “However, these medicinal herbs are valuable, so you have to be careful not to make an error during the forging. A cauldron explosion with these herbs would be a huge pity!”

With such valuable medicinal herbs, as long as the forging process was perfect as well, there was a good chance that they would be able to up the grade of the Spirit Reinforcing Pill!

“Un.” Luo Qiqi nodded.

“Since the medicinal herbs used are of a significantly higher maturity, I’ll have to make some changes to the forging method. Give me a moment,” Zhang Xuan said.

Naturally, the forging method had to be changed when the potency of the medicinal herbs used was different. Zhang Xuan swiftly went through his forging method once more to tailor it to the current conditions before flicking his wrist to summon the Golden Origin Cauldron.

While the Golden Origin Cauldron was a weapon cauldron, it could also be used as a pill cauldron as long as several conversion formations were cast over it.

“Let’s use the Golden Origin Cauldron for the forging; it should lower the chances of a cauldron explosion!”

“Alright!” Luo Qiqi replied.

Once everything was ready, Zhang Xuan whipped out a brush and penned down the revised pill formula before passing it over to the young lady.

It did not take long for the young lady to memorize the pill formula, and soon, the pill forging began.

With Zhang Xuan guiding by the side, the pill forging proceeded smoothly. Soon, the lid of the cauldron was opened, and a burst of spiritual energy burst up to the heavens.

Sou!

Five pills flew out of the cauldron, intending to escape.

“Quasi grade-8 pills!” Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up. He waved his hand, and the Golden Origin Cauldron swiftly leaped up to capture the fleeing pills. After which, Zhang Xuan carefully placed them into jade bottle that he had prepared beforehand.

The Spirit Reinforcing Pill was intended to be a grade-7 pill, but due to the superior maturity of the medicinal herbs used in the forging, they had actually managed to forge five quasi grade-8 pills! While they were not true grade-8 pills yet, their potency could not be compared to a Spirit Reinforcing Pill.

“Since you were able to forge such Spirit Reinforcing Pills, I believe that you should have mastered the forging technique for it as well.” Zhang Xuan passed the jade bottle to the young lady with a smile.

On top of being quasi grade-8, those pills were Inscribed Pills as well! Beautiful patterns flowed over the pills, granting them an exceptional beauty.

The quality of a pill could be divided into four tiers: Formation, Satiation, Perfection, and Inscribed Pill.

The fact that Luo Qiqi was able to produce an Inscribed Pill showed that she already commanded a perfect understanding for the forging process of the specific pill.

As long as she digested what she had learned from this experience, her comprehension of pill forging would shoot up significantly.

“It’s due to your guidance that I was able to successfully forge the Spirit Reinforcing Pills. Thus, I would like to gift these pills to you!” Luo Qiqi pushed the jade bottle back to Zhang Xuan.

“I can’t accept these Spirit Reinforcing Pills from you.” Zhang Xuan shook his head.

The medicinal herbs had come from the young lady, and the pill had been forged by her as well. Even though he had guided her from the side, this was not a good enough reason for him to accept these incredibly valuable pills from her.

“Then… How about this? I’ll keep one for myself and gift the remaining four to you. If you still feel that it’s too much to accept, you can compensate me with spirit stones!” Seeing through Zhang Xuan’s thoughts, Luo Qiqi took a pill out of the jade bottle before pushing the rest back to him.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan eventually nodded. “This… Alright then.”

It just so happened that he needed some Spirit Reinforcing Pill, and the effectiveness of these quasi grade-8 pills was equivalent to several dozen ordinary ones. With four of these, he would have no trouble achieving a breakthrough to Embryonic Soul realm pinnacle!

Taking out a storage ring, Zhang Xuan placed the ten thousand high-tier spirit stones that he had obtained from the Appraiser Hall into it before passing it over.

Luo Qiqi carefully took the storage ring from Zhang Xuan before raising her head to look at Zhang Xuan once more. “Teacher, you said earlier that you would exact vengeance for me if anyone bullies me. Did you mean it?”

Not expecting Luo Qiqi to suddenly ask such a question, Zhang Xuan was taken aback. A moment later, he nodded. “Yes.

“If anyone dares bully you, your teacher shall redress your grievances for you!”

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