Elder Ye

“I am just looking around. Have you come across any promising young talents here lately?”

Elder Ye chuckled and stopped teasing him.

His bright eyes looked at him with a smile, filled with intense curiosity.

“Oh, Elder Ye, you're really rubbing salt in my wound. You know how remote this place is. How could any promising talent ever fall into my lap? Even if there were a few, they wouldn't stand a chance against the geniuses of the major factions.”

Having said that, he looked at him with a resentful gaze.

Elder Ye got goosebumps from the look. No matter who it was, being stared at by a plump, middle-aged man with such a resentful expression would make anyone uncomfortable.

“Not even a single one?”

“Not even one.”

“Alright, then. I'll wander around on my own. Go back to your work.”

Before the other man could react, he stood up and strolled away with his hands clasped behind his back.

Today, Senior Sister Huang Mei had some matters to attend to and had left, so Jiang Lu didn't need to go to Courtyard No. 1 to process spiritual plants. Instead, she went to a temporarily unoccupied herb garden to practice her spells.

By now, she had already mastered various basic spells, such as the Rainmaking Spell, the Harvesting Spell, the Soil-Tilling Spell, the Cleansing Spell, and so on.

She had also committed several offensive and defensive spells to memory, such as the Fireball Spell, the Wind Blade Spell, and the Earth-Tunneling Spell. When it came to spells, very few fellow Qi Condensation cultivators could match her.

She had also long since mastered that sword technique. It was a rather basic sword style in the cultivation world—the kind that about two out of ten people knew. Its moves were simple, serving well for both offense and defense.

However, a sword technique known to everyone also had many weaknesses. She still needed to find a new sword manual as soon as possible.

Having been in the cultivation world for several months, she was no longer the clueless novice she used to be and had gained a solid understanding of various aspects.

She had also grown a bit taller, now standing at 1.6 meters, so reaching 1.7 meters still seemed highly promising.

However, her current strength was still being suppressed heavily at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation. If she cultivated too quickly, it would inevitably arouse suspicion, but she wouldn't be able to suppress it for much longer.

She let out a sigh, conflicted about whether she should leave the Medicine King Pavilion. If she left, no one would notice anything unusual about her cultivation speed.

But based on her observations during this period, she still needed the backing of an established faction. Otherwise, she would be at a severe disadvantage, and traveling the world would be far more dangerous.

It wasn't that those rogue cultivators didn't want to join a faction; they simply lacked the strength to do so.

This was why she hesitated time and again.

As Jiang Lu brandished her sword, she pondered her situation. Looking at the two spirit beasts not far away, her worries deepened.

She didn't know what was going on with those two. Ever since they returned that day, they had been gnawing on the spiritual orb before falling into a deep slumber.

Truth be told, she was also envious of the spiritual orb. However, she had a premonition that her constitution shouldn't rely too heavily on external aids. This was also why she rarely took Boundary-Breaking Pills or Body-Solidifying Pills to assist her cultivation.

Chi Li and Cang Chen lay huddled together not far away. They had already divided and absorbed the spiritual energy inside the spiritual orb, and now they needed to refine that energy into their own spiritual power.

That was why they had fallen into a deep sleep. This was how spirit beasts cultivated—converting all their energy into spiritual power during slumber, and once they woke up, their strength would increase.

When Elder Ye arrived, he was greeted by this harmonious scene of a girl and two beasts.

A twelve-year-old at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation possessed decent strength. Although she couldn't compare to those top-tier geniuses, she could still be considered quite outstanding in a place like this.

However, watching her cast Wood Spiritual Spells, Fireball Spells, and Whirlwind Blade Spells one after another, something felt off no matter how he looked at it.

Did mixed spiritual root disciples have such high spiritual root purity nowadays?

He felt a bit strange. He wasn't sure, so he decided to watch a bit longer.

With a light tap of his toes, he leapt up and reclined sideways on a tree branch, holding a spiritual fruit and eating it while watching her performance.

He watched as Jiang Lu practiced all her spells once, went through her sword technique again, and then sat down to meditate.

Seeing her practice without a single pause from day to night, Elder Ye couldn't help but admire the disciple's resolve.

Just when he thought she was done for the day, Jiang Lu pulled out her elixir cauldron.

Elder Ye's eyes widened, and he froze on the spot, nearly dropping the spiritual fruit in his hand.

Low-level cultivators in the cultivation world didn't usually go all out like this without a break; even during closed-door cultivation, they still needed to sleep.

He looked down at his fingers, counting them, feeling even more uncertain. If he hadn't miscalculated, this kid had already been at it for nine shichen, from practicing spells to meditating.

What was she planning to do now?

Refine elixirs?

Did she even have the energy left to refine elixirs?!

How interesting!

Truly fascinating!

A smirk of intrigue appeared on his face as he watched Jiang Lu with great interest.

It had been a long time since he had encountered such an interesting cultivator. One had to know that cultivators nowadays had limited energy, and mastering one or two techniques was already considered quite good. Yet she seemed to dabble in everything.

Then, with a wave of Jiang Lu's hand, a table appeared next to the elixir cauldron, and she proceeded to take out spiritual plants from her storage bag, arranging them on the table.

To avoid being discovered due to carelessness when using her space, Jiang Lu usually kept her spiritual plants and some common daily necessities in her storage bag.

This practice had unexpectedly turned out to be a blessing in disguise, preventing her secrets from being pried into.

He watched as she processed the spiritual plants in her usual manner, then channeled her spiritual fire into the elixir cauldron.

Seeing this, Elder Ye was startled. She was actually attempting to refine Tier Two elixirs! Several of the spiritual plants on the table were Tier Two, which weren't used in Tier One elixirs.

A fourth layer of Qi Condensation refining Tier Two elixirs?!

Elder Ye put away his casual attitude. His expression turned solemn as he pursed his lips, closely observing Jiang Lu's movements.

Her technique was steady, and she had the sequence completely memorized.

Her foundation was exceptionally solid.

He watched as she methodically placed the spiritual plants into the elixir cauldron, constantly controlling the temperature of the spiritual fire.

Bang!

The refinement was complete.

Jiang Lu extinguished the spiritual fire and opened the elixir cauldron. Ten round, plump elixirs appeared in a jade dish.

Every single one of them was a high-grade elixir!

Elder Ye could no longer remain calm. A twelve-year-old at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation was something he found normal.

Being able to refine elixirs was also nothing out of the ordinary; after all, in the Medicine King Pavilion, refining elixirs was just a basic skill.

But!

For a cultivator at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation to refine Tier Two elixirs, and to produce ten top-quality, high-grade elixirs at that, was highly abnormal!

This was a genius!

No, wait!

But... a mixed spiritual root?

He lowered his head in deep thought. Then, he saw Jiang Lu pack away her elixirs and elixir cauldron, leaving with her two spirit beasts.

Under the faint glow of dawn, he watched as Jiang Lu's figure gradually faded into the distance.

He immediately followed her and saw her enter Alchemy Courtyard No. 1.

With a flash of his figure, he vanished from the spot.

“Old Man Shui, get out here. I have something to ask you.”

He walked into the courtyard of the Xijiang City branch pavilion master and shouted toward the inside.

A moment later, the door swung open with a bang, revealing a pair of eyes filled with resentment.

Would this guy ever leave him alone?!

“Elder Ye, is there something you need?”

Elder Ye nodded, then asked how many alchemists were in Alchemy Courtyard No. 1 and what their cultivation levels were.