Chapter 245: Badge

Mu Zixi stared at Xu Xiaoshou, her face filled with shock. She always felt that as long as she was by this young man's side, she would always learn some strange and unconventional knowledge.

So, was it really possible to extort things so shamelessly and legitimately?

Slowly encroaching, bit by bit, until even the "Whale Candle Jade" was given away, would Elder Sang not hand over the Yuan Ting Pill's formula?

As expected, under the similarly expectant gazes of the two, the straw-hatted old man sighed softly and handed over a jade slip.

"Suc-successfully?"

Mu Zixi found it utterly unbelievable. In her eyes, Elder Sang, even as her master, was a terrifying existence, akin to a "Saint Servant."

The chilling gaze in the Spiritual Hidden Pavilion and the pronouncements on the night of discipleship had left an indelible impression of horror on her.

Yet, even such a person, when facing Xu Xiaoshou, had to confront the fate of being "harvested" like chives?

She once again recalled Zhou Tianshen's words: "Follow the champion, and there'll be meat to eat!"

"That tall guy really had some foresight..."

Mu Zixi couldn't help but sigh inwardly. If it were her, let alone the pill formula and the "Whale Candle Jade," she probably wouldn't even be able to get a single piece of "Purple Hidden Jade."

"Received admiration, Passive Points +1."

Xu Xiaoshou cheerfully took the jade slip, pondered for a moment, and said, "The Yuan Ting Pill is a seventh-grade pill, right?"

"Hmm?"

Elder Sang made a sound of surprise, then shook his head with a slight smile. He knew instantly what this guy was planning.

"Here, the formula for the Xiantian Pill, eighth-grade!"

Xu Xiaoshou gladly accepted it. Indeed, this old man was smart; speaking with smart people required hardly any hinting.

He put the item away again, then rubbed his hands and said, "If the Scarlet Gold Pill is tenth-grade, it seems a bit too slow for my pace now..."

Mu Zixi: "..."

She was completely stunned, as if witnessing a new continent, staring blankly as Elder Sang pulled out yet another jade slip.

"What pill is it?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.

"The Starfall Pill, a seventh-grade healing medicine, even harder to refine than the Yuan Ting Pill."

Elder Sang explained, "Practice with the Xiantian Pill first. Although it's an eighth-grade pill, its refining difficulty is no less than that of an ordinary seventh-grade pill."

"Oh, okay, and the ingredients?"

The old man handed over yet another new ring...

Mu Zixi finally couldn't hold back and said, "Xu Xiaoshou, can you really refine ninth-grade pills? Even if you can, aren't alchemist ranks harder to advance the higher you go?"

"How..." She looked at Elder Sang, not understanding why the old man would offer the Starfall Pill, a top-tier seventh-grade medicine, to someone who wasn't even an eighth-grade alchemist.

To be honest, Xu Xiaoshou was also a bit curious.

It was one thing for him to be confident in himself, but how could this old man be even more confident in him than he was in himself?

Hmm, should this be called... 'his faith'?

Elder Sang shook his head without speaking.

Regarding the young man before him, he knew his potential better than anyone.

No matter when, this guy was always the underestimated one, not just in cultivation, but also in alchemy.

In just a few days, he had managed to independently improve the Scarlet Gold Pill and the Spirit Refining Pill, achieving significant results.

In Elder Sang's view, Xu Xiaoshou's alchemy talent was even slightly superior to his cultivation talent!

"Seventh-grade, it's not as impressive as you might think."

"Aiming too high without proper foundation is terrifying, but the path of alchemy and spirit refinement, to its very end, is a struggle against heaven and a contention with the Great Dao. In our hearts, we shouldn't harbor too much fear too early!"

"To be honest, seventh-grade is just an innate-level alchemist. At most, they hold a noble status, comparable to a Grandmaster expert."

"It's nothing remarkable!"

Mu Zixi was shaken. These words were like a sudden enlightenment, forcefully expanding her horizons.

People with different perspectives indeed see things differently.

A young person who has always remained in the Spirit Palace naturally has access to relatively lower-level things. However, the world is vast, and once one truly steps out, these things are nothing at all.

Xu Xiaoshou also nodded slightly, agreeing with these words.

As for fear, he naturally had none.

A seventh-grade alchemist, if you really think about it, is just a small skill that comes along with putting 50,000 passive points into cooking mastery?

"Heh!" Thinking this, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt that seventh-grade was a bit weak.

After all, a cheat-enabled life doesn't require reverence!

Once this major turmoil passed, he would find time and opportunity to accumulate more passive points, and his strength should be able to rise another significant level.

After all, many of his passive skills were still at the innate level!

Elder Sang saw that both had gained some understanding, so he nodded with satisfaction and asked, "Both of you, it seems you haven't left the Spirit Palace yet, have you?"

Mu Zixi's eyes lit up. Indeed, she had never left the Spirit Palace since entering it.

Although she was renowned as a genius, having moved from the outer court to the inner court in less than a year, and even becoming the Vice Dean's personal disciple.

But who wouldn't be interested in the outside world?

Especially that blank memory in her mind...

Aside from the two headaches she experienced when the Heavenly Profound Gate encountered the Grey Mist figures and when Blindman Lei Shuanghang came to assist Luo Leilei, no further information had been revealed.

If she wanted to uncover the secrets of her past, she would definitely need to leave the Spirit Palace and explore.

Xu Xiaoshou was also somewhat surprised. He truly felt that this old man was extraordinary; it seemed he always managed to bring up exactly what he was thinking about.

Yes, ever since defeating Zhang Xinxiong, Xu Xiaoshou had felt that the Spirit Palace offered little further help to his development.

He had already entertained the idea of leaving the Spirit Palace to explore, and now Elder Sang brought it up again...

"No!"

"I don't want to go out!" Xu Xiaoshou said flatly.

"Why not?" Mu Zixi tilted her head curiously. If she wasn't mistaken, Xu Xiaoshou hadn't left the Spirit Palace in three years!

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't explain why. He frowned, carefully sensing this feeling of déjà vu.

What feeling was it...?

The feeling of being arranged by fate!

That's right, every time this old man appeared, he brought a sense of forcefully arranging his life's trajectory... an illusion?

The Cinder Flame Seed from Goose Lake, the cultivation techniques from the Spiritual Hidden Pavilion, the night of discipleship, and now...

Thinking of this, Xu Xiaoshou was suddenly startled.

It seemed that every major shift in his life's path, all along the way, was inseparable from this old man?

If he had followed his original plan, he should have relied on the passive system, progressing step-by-step, entering the inner court, and then leaving the Spirit Palace...

Definitely not in this current direction!

Xu Xiaoshou deeply trusted his intuition. Perhaps it was the prescient whims from "Perception," or the direct keenness from his soul as someone who had lived two lives, or perhaps...

In any case, he felt that Elder Sang's arrangements were both very appealing and very unappealing to him!

"Why not?" Elder Sang was equally surprised by Xu Xiaoshou's strong reaction.

"It's nothing." Xu Xiaoshou calmed himself and asked, "What would we do outside the Spirit Palace?"

"What else?" Elder Sang chuckled casually, turning to look out the window.

The weeds outside the Spiritual Hidden Pavilion, which Xu Xiaoshou had burned away, grew extremely fast due to the high spiritual energy concentration in the inner court.

Not only vegetation, but various small insects and animals had also gathered there.

Looking down from above, one could even see a grass snake hidden below, lying in wait.

Elder Sang adjusted his straw hat and said, "You've already become a ninth-grade alchemist. In a few days, once your junior sister's pill-condensing technique stabilizes, you two can go together to the Alchemist Association in Tiansang County and apply for a special alchemist's badge."

"A badge?" Xu Xiaoshou was startled. "Is that all?"

Elder Sang turned around, surprised, and asked, "What else did you have in mind?"

Xu Xiaoshou scratched his head, speechless.

He...

Had he thought too much?