Seeing Gu Ningyun agree without hesitation and turn to the ingredient storage for more Purple Sun Mushrooms and Blue Demon Shrimp, Martial Uncle Chen added, "I was also negligent in allowing such a widespread incident to occur."
With a wave of his hand, he opened the ingredient storage and used spirit energy to bring over two crates of Purple Sun Mushrooms and Blue Demon Shrimp. "Let's make the Purple Sun Shrimp Balls together."
There were ten groups of disciples on Qixia Peak, totaling fifty-four people.
The two of them peeled fifty-four shrimp and processed the Purple Sun Mushrooms, quickly mixing enough paste for the Purple Sun Shrimp Balls.
Since the Purple Sun Mushrooms and Blue Demon Shrimp were nourished by spirit energy, they were safe to eat raw.
The two of them then took the shrimp balls and fed them to the disciples to neutralize the effects.
However, the unconscious disciples were unable to swallow. Gu Ningyun recalled the cool sensation she had felt when she was unconscious, which she assumed was due to some method Martial Uncle Chen had used.
She followed Martial Uncle Chen and watched as he placed a shrimp ball into a disciple's mouth. He performed a hand seal, and the shrimp ball transformed into a faint blue mist that was absorbed by the disciple.
Gu Ningyun memorized the finger positions and began to mimic the seal.
"The general steps are correct, but you need to adjust the details, or it won't dissolve evenly."
Martial Uncle Chen felt a sense of satisfaction seeing her learn it almost perfectly at a single glance.
Teaching a disciple with such high comprehension was truly effortless; they understood everything with just a hint of guidance.
He corrected a few details in Gu Ningyun's finger seals and taught her the verbal incantation.
Only after seeing her perform it flawlessly did he let her go and feed the shrimp balls to the remaining disciples.
Working from opposite sides, they quickly neutralized the toxin for everyone present.
Wen Xuan rubbed her arms as she sat up from the table. "Ningyun, what just happened?"
Before Gu Ningyun could explain, wails began to erupt from various stations across the kitchen.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. I just smelled something really fragrant and was about to find the source when I lost consciousness."
"My Lotus Leaf Hundred-Flower Chicken is burnt!"
"My porridge boiled dry!"
"I haven't even put mine in the pot yet. Thank goodness."
Martial Uncle Chen explained the situation to everyone.
Upon hearing that Gu Ningyun's purple mist had caused the chaos, everyone turned their gaze toward her.
Some had resentful expressions, while others looked at the sealed purple mist with curiosity.
Gu Ningyun felt quite embarrassed about causing such a mess. After a moment of thought, she addressed the crowd. "I'm very sorry for what happened just now."
"But please don't worry. The purple mist only causes confusion and dizziness; it won't harm your bodies."
"Martial Uncle Chen and I have already administered the antidote to everyone, so there won't be any lasting safety concerns."
Hearing this, the disciples' expressions softened. Some even told her it was fine and that the experience was actually quite interesting.
Gu Ningyun smiled and patted her steamer basket. "I'm not sure if you're interested in the purple mist, but as an apology, I'd like to give each of you a bottle of it."
"According to Martial Uncle Chen, this purple mist can even affect cultivators at the early Foundation Establishment stage. Knocking out Qi Refining cultivators should be no problem at all."
"You can keep a bottle for fun, or use it if you encounter danger."
Seeing their interested expressions, Gu Ningyun reminded them to seal their five senses before releasing the mist. Then, she had them line up to fill their bottles.
Of course, Martial Uncle Chen assisted by opening a small gap in the seal to allow the process to proceed safely.
Gu Ningyun had intended this as a peace offering, but she didn't expect most of the young disciples to be so forgiving after hearing her apology.
When they came to collect the purple mist, many even gave her the spirit food they had made as gifts.
Consequently, not only did her peers on Qixia Peak gain a favorable impression of her, but Gu Ningyun also received dozens of portions of spirit food with various effects, most of which were beneficial for the Qi Refining stage.
Once everyone had taken their share and left the kitchen, Martial Uncle Chen bottled the remaining purple mist, including the bottle he had used to collect the mist from the air, and tossed them to Gu Ningyun.
After giving her a stern lecture about never being so careless again, Martial Uncle Chen prepared to leave.
"Martial Uncle Chen, wait!"
Martial Uncle Chen paused in his tracks. "What is it?"
Gu Ningyun handed him one of the bottles of purple mist. "I caused a lot of trouble for you today. Please take this."
"This isn't very useful to me. Keep it for yourself to play with."
"Then how about this?"
Gu Ningyun opened the steamer. Rows of palm-sized, dark purple steamed buns were arranged neatly inside.
Seeing a purple even deeper than that of the mist, Martial Uncle Chen raised an eyebrow.
He used spirit energy to lift one of the dark purple steamed buns for inspection. "If simply heated, it can produce the purple mist from earlier."
"If consumed, it can affect demon beasts up to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment."
The steamer had three tiers. Gu Ningyun took a food box and packed one tier for him. "You should be able to make some use of these buns, Martial Uncle."
Seeing Martial Uncle Chen hesitate, Gu Ningyun looked at him with wide, watery eyes. "If you don't accept them, I'll feel terrible about today..."
Martial Uncle Chen sighed helplessly.
He took the food box. "I won't take your things for nothing. I'll teach you that sealing technique."
Gu Ningyun was ecstatic.
Although techniques could be learned at the Technique Hall, live instruction from a master was entirely different. Being able to ask questions on the spot was something a recording at the Technique Hall could never match.
...
Not long after the music and food cultivation courses began, Gu Ningyun had broken through to Qi Refining level three.
After her breakthrough, she checked her identity jade token and found that the Mission Hall had indeed been unlocked.
However, she couldn't leave the sect yet and her cultivation was still low. The available missions offered few points and wouldn't help much in improving her strength.
After some thought, she decided that taking ancient script translation missions from Book Peak was the best option. The points were high, and she could accumulate knowledge at the same time.
A month had passed now, and the two courses had concluded. Gu Ningyun's cultivation had reached the early stage of Qi Refining level three, and she had a bit more free time.
Considering how busy she had been with classes, she hadn't been able to play 《Clear Heart》 well, and she had spent most of her spare time practicing the zither.
Although she practiced thirty thousand sword swings every day, she hadn't spent extra time summarizing her insights into the Sword Dao.
She figured it would be best to spend the next few days organizing everything she had learned this month—including the Sword Dao and various techniques—while earning some points through missions.
That way, when she finally went to the Trial Tower, she wouldn't find herself short on points.
Thinking of Martial Aunt Yang's words, she took out her jade slip and sent a message to the "Prosper Together" group.
Gu Ningyun: I'm planning to go to Book Peak for ten days to do translation missions. Anyone want to join?
Jun Luo: I'll go. The first floor of the Trial Tower costs ten points per entry, and I'm almost out of points.
Gu Ningyun: That's so expensive! I checked the missions for Qi Refining level three, and even the higher-paying ones only give ten points a day.
Lu Heyun: That's why I said having Martial Aunt Yang with us puts us miles ahead of the other groups.
Gu Ningyun: Definitely!
Wen Xuan: I've been learning alchemy at the Alchemy Hall recently. I just took a mission to assist at the Alchemy Peak, so I can't join you guys for now.
Jiang Yao: Hahaha, I'm doing chores at the Artifact Peak, so I can't go either.
Mu Chenze: I also took a chore mission at the Array Peak. What we learn at the Array Hall is mostly theory; it's better to get some practice through a mission.
Lu Heyun: @Yang Churan, Churan, time to get to work.
Yang Churan: Ningyun, Jun Luo, I'll have someone send the missions to you later. Probably about ten missions each. Just click 'accept' in the Mission Hall on your jade tokens later. Once you've accepted them, you can come over tomorrow to pick up the ancient script materials.
Jun Luo: Thank you, Martial Aunt Yang.
Gu Ningyun: Great, thanks, Martial Aunt Yang.
So the Mission Hall could be used like this? It was quite convenient.
After finalizing the mission details, Gu Ningyun checked the platform.
Aside from her and Jun Luo, the other friends were all off to learn the four arts of cultivation.
Gu Ningyun thought about the spirit stones in her space; it seemed like a lot, but once her cultivation reached a higher level, it likely wouldn't be enough.
She was too busy now, but she would have to find time later to see which of the arts she should learn.
She definitely didn't want to become a penniless, debt-ridden sword cultivator.
Rate on N.U.
