Since Wen Xuan and Gu Ningyun had begun their body refining, Mu Chenze had produced a fragmented array manual and sought Jun Luo out to study and research it with him.
Jun Luo had no objection to discussing arrays, but his daily routine of thirty thousand sword swings could not be delayed.
Consequently, whenever he practiced his sword, Mu Chenze would watch him with a face full of resentment, looking like... like a man whose heart had been forsaken.
Jun Luo’s heart remained unmoved by this display, though he felt a slight, stinging discomfort in his eyes.
He had initially thought the man was merely putting on an act to discourage him from practicing his sword and force him back to discussing arrays.
To his surprise, the resentment was genuine; the man even remembered exactly how many sessions Jun Luo had practiced.
Jun Luo... Jun Luo’s heart remained as calm as ever; he simply didn't really want to deal with him.
At this thought, Jun Luo tilted his head slightly, shifting his focus from both Wen Xuan and Gu Ningyun to just Gu Ningyun alone.
By his count, Ningyun had not practiced her sword for thirty days.
Practicing the sword was like rowing upstream; to not advance was to drop back.
Going so long without practice was unacceptable; he would have to remind her to make up for it later.
Jiang Yao had already noticed the bizarre attire of Wen Xuan and Gu Ningyun. He jumped up from the ground and began circling them incessantly.
“What's this? Did you two think the previous trial wasn't exciting enough, so now you want to play as evil cultivators for fun?”
Mu Chenze had regained his composure. “Evil cultivators are hunted by everyone. You must never casually...”
Jiang Yao interrupted, “You must never casually give up! It's precisely because they're hunted by everyone that playing as them is so thrilling!”
Mu Chenze reached out helplessly and covered Jiang Yao’s mouth.
When they were choosing a name for their disguised small sect, this fellow had suggested “Fatal Sect.” He should have realized then just how wild this person’s imagination was.
They, a few little Qi Refining kids, were going to play as evil cultivators and go to Donglin City—which sat right across the sea from the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect—to gain experience?
If some high-level cultivator in a bad mood didn't see through their perfunctory disguises and genuinely mistook them for evil cultivators, they might get slapped into oblivion by a single spell.
Mu Chenze sighed deeply, looking at Gu Ningyun with concern. “Ningyun, I know you always have many... many interesting ideas.
“But we are here to gain experience, not to go looking for trouble. There's really no need for this!”
Wen Xuan covered her mouth and giggled.
Gu Ningyun gave them a speechless look. Just what kind of image did she have in the eyes of these companions!
“What evil cultivators? These are our team uniforms!”
She pulled three hooded cloaks from her storage bag and stuffed one into each of their hands. “Put them on once you've finished your body refining. Trust me, you'll love them.”
Jiang Yao was already pulling the hood over his head.
Mu Chenze looked at Gu Ningyun skeptically, then glanced at Wen Xuan, who was still stifling her laughter. Something felt very wrong.
“If it's just a team uniform, why is Wen Xuan laughing so strangely?”
He tilted his chin toward Wen Xuan.
Gu Ningyun’s expression didn't change. “She's just happy because her physical constitution improved significantly after the lightning tempering.”
Mu Chenze snapped his folding fan open, covering half his face and leaving only a pair of elegantly rolling eyes—Did she really think he’d believe that?
Even though he knew Gu Ningyun’s excuse was perfunctory, Mu Chenze still put the cloak away.
Ruiyu Pavilion’s little strategist was always reliable; surely this time would be no different.
If she wasn't saying why, she likely had her reasons, and he would simply cooperate.
Jun Luo didn't think that much about it.
After putting away his cloak, he pushed open the stone door and stood by the entrance.
Once Mu Chenze and Jiang Yao entered, he gave a slight nod to Gu Ningyun and Wen Xuan before raising his hand to close the stone door.
Seeing this, Wen Xuan stopped laughing. She leaned on Gu Ningyun’s shoulder to straighten up and spoke to the slowly closing door, “Don't worry.”
It was their turn to stand guard at the entrance; the boys could focus on their tempering.
Once the stone door was closed, Gu Ningyun pulled out her peach wood sword.
Having not practiced for so many days, she would need to spend some time catching up.
Otherwise, if Ling Hanbai or the others challenged her to a spar later, it would be embarrassing if she lost.
She flourished her sword, surveyed the surroundings, and nodded.
This cave was quite good—spacious enough for her to use.
Just as she stepped toward the center of the cave, she caught a glimpse of Wen Xuan pulling out a jade slip.
Seven gold-embossed characters caught her eye—
“《The Overbearing Alchemy Cultivator Falls for Me》?”
Gu Ningyun gave Wen Xuan and the jade slip in her hand a look of utter disbelief.
Had the trend of overbearing CEO stories finally reached the cultivation world—and even Xiaoyao?
Most jade slips in the cultivation world had two ways of being read.
One was to sink one's divine sense into the slip to read the recorded information.
The other was to use spirit energy to project the contents so everyone present could see.
Seeing that Gu Ningyun was interested in 《The Overbearing Alchemy Cultivator Falls for Me》, Wen Xuan swiped her palm over the jade slip.
A light screen made of spirit energy popped up from the top of the slip.
On the screen were dense rows of text.
Wen Xuan flipped through them rapidly with her spirit energy, as if searching for something.
Gu Ningyun leaned in to look—it was packed with pill recipes.
Gu Ningyun: “...”
If it was a collection of pill recipes, why give it such a name?
It was far too easy to misunderstand!
Stopping at a certain point, Wen Xuan halted her spirit energy. “Found it.”
She pointed a finger at the light screen. “Look, Ningyun. With this Hair Growth Salve, our hair will grow back in no time.”
Following Wen Xuan’s finger, Gu Ningyun read the text on the screen:
Hair Growth Salve, a best-selling ointment in the cultivation world.
Whether demon cultivators or Daoist cultivators, whether rogue cultivators or sect disciples, as long as they are not Buddhist cultivators, most will face the problem of hair loss.
Any cultivator who has endured heavenly lightning will find themselves blasted into baldness.
This hair loss and baldness is not as simple as normal wound healing or flesh regeneration.
At times like these, isn't it the perfect opportunity for us alchemy cultivators to earn spirit stones!
Wherever there is demand, there shall be ointment.
One only needs three bottles of top-grade Hair Growth Salve, applied continuously for three months, to regrow magnificent hair on a scalp blasted by a lightning tribulation.
Apply for one more month, and the hair can grow to waist-length.
However!
In business, one must always focus on creating demand.
If the ointment works too well and the cultivator’s hair grows back too quickly, won't the number of customers buying Hair Growth Salve decrease?
It is suggested that alchemists keep the top-grade Hair Growth Salve for personal use and sell only up to high-grade quality to the public.
Well, little alchemist, have you been conquered by the wisdom of this jade slip? Are you about to fall in love with me yet!
The following is the detailed recipe for the ointment:
Sun and Moon Spirit Dew: forty-nine drops
Hanjiian Grass: ...
...
Gu Ningyun: “!!!”
She understood.
She had learned something new.
“The author of this jade slip truly knows how to make money.”
Creating demand—she noted that down. She would do the same when selling talismans in the future!
“This 《The Overbearing Alchemy Cultivator Falls for Me》 records most of the commonly used pill recipes in the cultivation world. It's very popular on Alchemy Peak; apparently, it was compiled by a certain senior there.”
Wen Xuan cleared her throat and leaned close to Gu Ningyun’s ear, whispering, “They say this senior was a total profiteer. A good part of why the Xiaoyao Chamber of Commerce grew to its current scale is thanks to him.”
Gu Ningyun also whispered, “I’ll go exchange for one too when we get back to Xiaoyao.”
Wen Xuan: ...She knew it!
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