Extraordinary

The temple master of Danxia Temple had always doted on his daughter and couldn't bear to marry her off.

But the eldest young master was overbearing. The young men below were helpless—firstly, they couldn't beat him, and secondly, they didn't dare offend Xihuan Hall.

Under such circumstances, in full view of everyone, a laugh drifted down from the eaves of the tavern next to the martial arts arena: “I thought this was a martial arts marriage contest. Why is everyone so weak?”

Back then, he had stood in a corner, looking up at the eaves along with everyone else.

Under the shifting shadows of the moon, a youth in a green robe reclined lazily. An empty wine jar rolled at her feet, and she cradled another flask of wine in her arms. With drunken, languid eyes, she spoke again with a beaming smile, “Besides, the eldest young master has been married so many times. Who knows how filthy he is? How does he still have the face to marry someone else's daughter?”

Publicly provoked, the eldest young master turned pale with rage and was about to attack her.

She did not back down. Brandishing her sword, she leaped down onto the arena. Clutching her wine with one hand, her drunken eyes hazy, she spoke in a frivolous and arrogant tone, “I'll fight you with only one hand. If I move even a single step, I lose. How about it?”

At that time, so many people were watching, yet not a single person dared to stand up.

Only she acted as soon as she spoke. Using just one hand, she beat the eldest young master of Xihuan Hall to a pulp within ten moves, leaving him completely incapacitated.

Had it ended there, it would have been a fine tale.

But she didn't seem to have had enough fun. She leaped onto the high platform and smiled at the young mistress of Danxia Temple, “Since I ruined your wedding, how about I make it up to you with a fireworks show?”

As soon as she finished speaking, fireworks exploded.

They were beautiful, but their power was also immense.

The entire crowd fled in panic from the explosions, and Danxia Temple was nearly burned to the ground.

Amidst the chaos, he saw her yawning as she reclined back onto the eaves of the tavern.

He heard that after this incident, Xihuan Hall harbored a deep grudge against her and even placed a massive bounty on her head at Yong'an Tower.

As his memories receded, he looked at the person currently struggling to wipe her face in front of him and pursed his lips.

They were still different.

Compared to that person, the one before him was much more restrained.

At least she hadn't blown up his courtyard.

And she even brought him food, though her method of feeding him was rather crude.

She even tried to cover up her misdeeds. If it were that other person, she would have worn them as a badge of honor instead of feeling ashamed.

Once she finished wiping her face, Ji Duchuan handed her a fresh cloth to clean her hands, kindly offering some guidance like a proper mentor. “Just sit and read. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me.”

Song Yao nodded. “Thank you.”

Ji Duchuan was from Medicine King Valley, after all. His personal notes were priceless treasures that money couldn't buy.

If she could learn even a little from them, she might gain enlightenment and directly become a great pill cultivator or a great medical cultivator.

Summoning every ounce of her concentration, she flipped open the book, determined to absorb at least some knowledge no matter what.

Ji Duchuan returned to his cauldron. Just as he channeled his spiritual fire again, he suddenly felt something was off and looked up.

With a dull thud, the youth at the table had buried her face in the book, fast asleep.

Ji Duchuan: “?”

Wait, what?

Did he lace his book with some kind of sleeping drug?

Even a sleeping drug wouldn't kick in this fast, would it?!

He extended a strand of spiritual energy, wrapping it around the youth at the table to conduct a careful examination.

She was so young, yet how did she have so many ailments?

Her body was weak and her pulse was feeble, as if she had suffered from a severe constitutional deficiency since childhood. This was the hardest kind of condition to treat; one couldn't over-nourish it, yet leaving it untreated was not an option either.

It seemed a portion of her soul was also missing. Her emotions and desires would likely be duller than average, and her lifespan would be shorter as well.

There also seemed to be something quite ominous sealed inside her body. It was hidden too deeply for him to discern clearly, but it would definitely affect her heart meridian.

He frowned and withdrew his spiritual energy, a hint of pity creeping into his eyes as he looked at her.

A genius child plagued by severe illnesses—no wonder the Nine Saints Hall doted on her so much.

...

The moon hung high in the sky as the fragrance of medicine drifted through the air.

Ji Duchuan shook her for quite a while before she finally woke up. He handed her a specially made elixir bottle. “This pill can indeed neutralize most poisons in the world. Even if it can't cure it completely, it can delay the poison's onset. What kind of poison did your Second Senior Sister ingest?”

Song Yao took the bottle and rubbed her eyes. “Since you are a guest of the Beiyao Sect, it's not convenient to tell you.”

Ji Duchuan: “...”

That wasn't what she said when she was begging him to refine the pill earlier.

Now she remembered he was a guest of the Beiyao Sect.

Brat.

Perhaps also feeling a bit guilty, Song Yao placed the pills she had refined earlier on the table. “These are for you. They should be slightly better than the previous batch.”

Ji Duchuan: “Fine.”

At least she had a sliver of conscience.

After seeing her out, he let out a sigh of relief and returned to the courtyard. He picked up the porcelain bottle on the table, pulled out the cork, poured out two pills, and rolled them around in his hand.

They still looked like completely ordinary Qi-Replenishing Pills, with nothing remarkable about them.

He lazily wrapped his spiritual energy around them to investigate, only to freeze.

A gentle, rich spiritual energy was circulating within the pills. The medicinal fragrance, which had been tightly sealed inside the pill shell, instantly burst forth the moment his energy penetrated it.

A look of astonishment washed over his face.

This was clearly a quality only found in Spirit-grade or higher pills.

He had previously examined the Qi-Replenishing Pills Lin Mu had given him. Although they were unique, their drawbacks were too significant and their effects too minor, barely reaching the entry-level standard.

In just a few days, her Qi-Replenishing Pills had already reached this level?

He pinched a pill, hesitated for a brief moment, and popped it into his mouth.

The pill dissolved instantly on his tongue, and a sudden, sharp spiciness surged up from his throat.

Worrying it might affect his judgment, he didn't dare suppress the side effects. Instantly, he coughed so hard he could barely catch his breath. Waves of intense heat washed over him, leaving him drenched in sweat, as if his entire body were being consumed by raging flames.

After enduring it for a full half-hour, the gentle, warm spiritual energy surged, flowing through his meridians that had been depleted by consecutive days of pill refining. The exhaustion from pulling several all-nighters was instantly washed away.

Even his stagnant spiritual energy, which hadn't broken through in a long time, began to circulate slowly through his meridians, showing signs of a sudden surge.

The shock in his eyes deepened.

Side effects aside, the range of this pill's effects was simply too broad.

Not only could it replenish Qi and gather spiritual energy, but it could also boost cultivation and even had a minor detoxifying effect.

Although it wasn't masterfully refined in any single aspect, achieving this level was already comparable to a Spirit-grade mid-rank or high-rank pill.

And a pill of this grade would normally take at least half a day to refine.

Yet she had refined it in the blink of an eye?!

It took a full hour for the pill's effects to fade. As his surging spiritual energy stabilized, his body felt much better, and his mind was incredibly refreshed.

Ji Duchuan gripped the porcelain bottle, his expression growing complicated.

Initially, he had only asked for her Qi-Replenishing Pills out of amusement. Later, when he refined the Golden Scale Snake Pill for her, it was out of consideration for Medicine King Valley, having little to do with her pills.

Now, his perspective had completely shifted.

This girl was truly extraordinary.

No wonder she was a personal disciple of the Nine Saints Hall.

At her age, and in such a short amount of time, to refine a Qi-Replenishing Pill to the level of a Spirit-grade high-rank pill... even he couldn't guarantee a hundred percent success rate.

Furthermore, this kind of pill was completely unheard of. The recipe was likely her own creation; otherwise, it wouldn't have such bizarre side effects.

Creating a Spirit-grade pill recipe from scratch...

Her future was truly so bright it was blinding.

Where on earth did the Nine Saints Hall find such a little monster?

Tomorrow, the Myriad Bones Forest trial would completely conclude, and the disciples from the various sects would likely depart from the Beiyao Sect.

Ji Duchuan pondered for a moment. He picked up his notes from the table, went inside to write down two more medicinal formulas, and then headed toward the residence of the Nine Saints Hall disciples.