Du Xinghe had no idea someone was worrying about her scar.
The injuries she sustained at Heart-Questioning Cliff had long since healed completely.
What she showed everyone were, first, the severe wounds she suffered while killing Lu Youwei facing the Azure Jade Wheel’s attack, and second, the subsequent near-necrosis caused by her attempts at self-healing that nearly ruined the wound.
Later, it was only after Qilin and Xinyue treated her injuries that the damage was stabilized.
As for the scar…
The wound had healed quite well—it neither bled nor hurt—so Du Xinghe paid it no further mind.
She cultivated without fussing over such superficial matters.
This time, Yuanming Zunzhe was purely shouldering a false accusation that had flown out of nowhere and landed squarely on his head. Many cultivators had been present yesterday, and upon returning, they all muttered among themselves—were the Nine Yang Sect members so harsh toward their disciples? No wonder she had fled.
Meanwhile, Du Xinghe, at the center of the discussion, sat cross-legged in meditation, eyes closed.
…
“After Master returned, she vomited so badly she was disoriented. What exactly happened?”
After Xinyue finished asking, Shenshui looked utterly innocent: “Ask Master!”
“Master is cultivating. We can’t disturb her.”
Shenshui recounted the events at the Alchemy Pavilion and said, “I don’t know why Master started vomiting after returning either. She began meditating right after, so she must have her own plans. It’s useless for us disciples to guess blindly.”
He was very conscious of his role as a follower.
Xinyue squatted anxiously on the lower bunk: “You’re so careless—there must be details you missed.” If only Master had taken me out too.”
Du Xinghe hadn’t explicitly said it, but Xinyue could roughly guess why her master had her stay in the room: fearing that other cultivators might discover her Water Spiritual Root and harbor ill intentions. Of course, she couldn’t willfully waste her master’s thoughtful efforts.
Still, Xinyue couldn’t help feeling somewhat resentful. If her beauty brought trouble, she could slash her own face with a knife, but this Spiritual Root—she needed it for cultivation!
The fault lay not with the Water Spiritual Root, but with the cultivators who coveted her.
Xinyue wiped her face with her sleeve, her sorrow turning swiftly into resolve. She sat in a cross-legged position, five centers facing heaven, and began circulating the cultivation method her master had taught her.
She would grow stronger!
She would follow her master openly and proudly!
Seeing both her master and senior sister in the room begin their cultivation, Shenshui—with nothing else to do—could only take the technique his master had given him and practice along.
Normally, Shenshui preferred practicing with the Rakshasa Staff; he couldn’t sit still.
But given the size of the Flying Ship’s single room, if he practiced his staff technique here, the first strike would hit his senior sister, the second his master, and the third would smack the back of his own head—no one would be spared.
…
Three hours later, Du Xinghe finally fully comprehended the techniques for the Soul Gathering Detoxification Pill.
When ordinary people watch others refine pills, even with the best memory, their recollection is at most like a clear video. But with the enhancement of the Thieving Eye, every move of the alchemists was deconstructed and reconstructed by her. Details imperceptible to the naked eye were precisely engraved into her consciousness.
The massive amount of information received and processed in a short time also caused her dizziness and vomiting.
If not for the market opening, she would have taken it slower, but now, learning alchemy naturally took priority.
Du Xinghe stood up, bought some Spirit Herbs, and then went to the Alchemy Pavilion to rent a top-grade alchemy room.
Coincidentally, the pavilion master was also there and couldn’t hide his surprise: “The girl beside you had no knowledge of alchemy and asked me a bunch of questions.” I didn’t expect you to be an alchemist too.”
By “girl,” he meant Shenshui, who was disguised as a woman.
Du Xinghe nodded: “I will be soon.”
The Pavilion Master racked his brains but could never have imagined that this audacious female cultivator before him would attempt alchemy right after merely observing someone else’s process: “Are you truly capable or just pretending… Don’t think it’s simple after watching. Memorizing the pill formula is one thing, but mastering the refinement is a long road ahead.”
Alchemy demands exceptional talent and requires proper guidance to begin.
Even with the same pill formula, a hundred practitioners might fail to produce a usable product.
“For instance, when refining the Soul Gathering Detoxification Pill, you must use divine sense to identify the medicinal properties of each Spirit Herb, employing Earth Fire to eliminate impurities… Blindly refining without understanding might yield a pill that counteracts poison, but the accumulated Pill Toxin could be lethal enough to kill you directly.”
Du Xinghe nodded: “Thank you, but I truly know how.”
Seeing her insistence, the Pavilion Master ceased objections, merely reminding her that the alchemy chamber had emergency measures—she need only call for help if the furnace exploded: “After refining, don’t rush to test the pill yourself. Bring it out for my inspection first.”
After escorting Du Xinghe into the alchemy chamber, an attendant chuckled: “Pavilion Master, you’re unusually concerned.”
“I fear her dying inside would be difficult to explain to the Flying Ship Captain.”
…
The original host knew little about alchemy. Within the Nine Yang Sect, the elders and disciples of the Pill Refining Peak held transcendent status—while others were judged by cultivation level, all showed them extra respect.
Alchemists occupied a unique position in the sect. Even direct disciples could leave after settling grievances, but alchemists were never permitted to depart, lest they share the sect’s alchemical knowledge with outsiders.
Inside the alchemy chamber, Du Xinghe activated the formation, igniting the Earth Fire.
Heating the Pill Furnace to the optimal temperature required time, so she first prepared other materials, including a Magpie Bird egg.
Alchemists used specialized Pill Knives for delicate work.
After checking prices, Du Xinghe opted to draw her sword—
Not that a Pill Knife was unaffordable, but her own blade offered better value.
The sword tip traced a circle above the egg, then curved inward. In a blink, the top opened neatly, allowing her to pour out the egg white and yolk.
The Clear Orchid Mushroom needed slicing for addition. While a master could produce uniformly thin, cicada-wing slices, she replicated the technique perfectly.
Had any alchemist witnessed this, they would have marveled at her flawless handling of the Spirit Herbs—every movement economical and precise, indistinguishable from Master Chun Ci’s methods.
And she was so remarkably young!
As the furnace neared perfect temperature, Du Xinghe opened her System to exchange for the More Sons, More Blessings Halo.
【More Sons, More Blessings Halo】: When activated, the host experiences the joy of abundant harvests. You become a symbol of fertility in the harem—even pomegranates handled by you bear exceptionally numerous fruits. Recommended for use with contraceptives, as scarcity enhances value for objects and people alike.
Du Xinghe had long contemplated this halo.
What if applied to alchemy and Spiritual Field cultivation?
Her desire for a secluded establishment stemmed from testing this theory—alchemy was merely one income stream; true wealth accumulation would better enable gathering rare treasures for her use.
Sweat trickled down her expressionless face as she meticulously controlled the fire… Those without fire-aligned Spiritual Roots expended more Spiritual Power manipulating Earth Fire. Sensing the spiritual energy properties within the herbs, she systematically extracted their medicinal essences for the final refinement and blending.
The properties of different Spirit Herbs fused together, the perfect extraction moment fleeting and transient.
Du Xinghe focused all her attention, sensing the moment when the spiritual energy reached its peak.
“Rise!”
She let out a clear shout, and instantly a hundred elixir pills rose from the furnace.
Like large and small pearls falling onto a jade plate, the brocade box was filled to the brim, piled up in the shape of a pagoda.
An intense medicinal aroma permeated the air, but Du Xinghe covered her mouth and nose, turning to vomit where the waste materials were discarded. She hadn’t yet fully mastered the art of alchemy, having recalled Master Chunci’s techniques throughout the process, causing her mind to overload and leaving her dizzy.
Such physical discomfort meant nothing to Du Xinghe.
The System popped up: 【Host, have you used More Children, More Fortune in a strange place again?】
“How could that be? Look, I’m even having morning sickness.”
Du Xinghe scooped up clear water to wash her face, mumbling indistinctly.
……
After a short rest, Du Xinghe walked out of the alchemy room and asked the dozing receptionist: “Where’s the pavilion master?”
“The pavilion master has gone to rest. Do you need something from him?”
“I’m here to check out.”
Earlier, the pavilion master had mentioned wanting to take a look once the pills were refined, which was why Du Xinghe asked. Since he wasn’t there, she didn’t insist.
“Just leave your token here. I’ll clean up later.”
After Du Xinghe left, the receptionist picked up the cleaning tools and entered the alchemy room. He opened the Pill Furnace and let out a surprised “huh,” finding it completely empty.
Refining pills is like brewing medicine—it inevitably produces residue.
The difference is that while medicinal residue means the effective components have been fully extracted, pill residue remains because the Alchemist’s skills are insufficient, wasting that portion.
The better the technique, the less residue remains.
Some apprentices leave so much residue that they can scrape together some pellets from the leftover bits. While useless to cultivators, these are valuable to mortals and can be sold.
“How could there be nothing left at all?”
The receptionist wondered: “She couldn’t have scraped it off and eaten it like rice crust, could she?”
—More Children, More Fortune couldn’t create something from nothing. Increasing probability still required a basis, so all the medicinal materials Du Xinghe bought were squeezed dry without a drop remaining, entirely refined into Antitoxin Pills.
Enjoying the joy of a bountiful harvest, Du Xinghe was in high spirits but was stopped by Qin Qingyue on her way back.
“What do you want?”
Seeing it was him, Du Xinghe immediately wiped the smile off her face.
Qin Qingyue steeled himself and relayed Su Yan’s words, having polished them for him: “He truly values your past camaraderie as fellow disciples. When he heard about your scar, he immediately asked me to help purchase a Mystic Grade Healing scar-removing pill.”
“Even if you tried hard to extract ivory from his mouth, you can’t cover up that dog-like smell. Those definitely weren’t his exact words.”
Du Xinghe then revealed a meaningful smile: “Is his beloved little junior sister’s life only worth a Mystic Grade pill?”
Qin Qingyue lowered his head, looking embarrassed: “I also think he handled this improperly, but won’t you do anything about that scar?”
“This scar doesn’t hinder my cultivation. When I make another breakthrough, physical wounds will vanish in an instant. I only brought it up yesterday to avoid others misunderstanding that there’s any real camaraderie between Ming Zhi and me.”
Du Xinghe spoke as if it were natural, treating breakthroughs as inevitable events.
He was immediately left speechless.
Both Su Yan and he had assumed female cultivators would always care deeply about their appearance, never expecting her to dismiss it so casually.
Du Xinghe: “If there’s nothing else, move aside.”
“Wait…”
Qin Qingyue secretly made up his mind: “Regardless of what he does, I also have medicine that can heal and remove scars. I’ll give it to you.”
“No need.”
Du Xinghe thought he was going to say something useful.
Her patience had run out, and she directly walked past him.
Sister Du has a CP, with a character design but I haven’t figured out how to introduce him yet. What I can say is that those seemingly pretentious and powerful men won’t be the male lead… When I write strong female protagonist stories, I don’t like creating male leads who steal the female lead’s spotlight… My protagonist must be the pinnacle!