“Two Celestial Spring Sect disciples are dead, and that’s not the end of it. Even the sword fairy is gravely injured…”
“When the time comes, someone will definitely investigate. The two major forces might even clash. Hidden Beast Mountain won’t stay peaceful. I was a witness. I can’t afford to get dragged into this mess.”
“Hidden Beast Mountain isn’t a place I can stay in for now.”
Thinking this, Zhou Kai gritted his teeth and endured the waves of pain from his shoulder as he hastily bandaged the wound.
He swallowed several Rejuvenation Pills. As the medicinal power spread, a warm sensation flowed through him, slightly suppressing his injuries.
After identifying the direction, he hurried toward the Chen Family. The earlier chase had drained nearly all his spiritual energy, and he now felt dizzy and lightheaded.
The outline of Hidden Beast Mountain Marketplace finally appeared at the edge of his vision. Only then did Zhou Kai’s tightly strung nerves relax slightly, though his steps faltered and he nearly fell.
“Whew… finally back.” He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and pushed open the gate to his courtyard.
The door creaked open, and a graceful figure immediately stepped forward.
“Husband, you’re back so soon?”
Before Chen Ziyi could finish speaking, her eyes fell on the cloth wrapped around Zhou Kai’s shoulder and the dark stain clearly soaked with blood. Her voice stopped abruptly.
“You’re injured?!” She hurried over. “Where are you hurt? Is it serious? Let me see!”
Her voice trembled, and her eyes instantly reddened.
Seeing her anxious and distressed expression, Zhou Kai felt a warmth in his heart. “It’s nothing, just a superficial wound. A spirit beast scratched me by accident. It’s no big deal.”
He certainly could not admit he had gone to loot corpses on Hidden Beast Mountain and nearly lost his life.
“How can a superficial wound bleed this much?” Tears welled in her eyes as she stood on tiptoe, trying to untie the cloth on his shoulder. “Don’t lie to me…”
Zhou Kai quickly held her hand and forced a grin. “Really, I’m fine. I’m a cultivator. My recovery is strong. See? I walked back just fine. Don’t worry. Just help me inside to rest.”
“I’ll go to the side room to circulate my technique and heal. We’ll talk later.”
Inside the side room, Zhou Kai sat cross-legged as spiritual energy subtly fluctuated around him.
The Rejuvenation Pill’s power spread gently and steadily, like a flowing stream nourishing his body. A tingling sensation came from the wound as new flesh rapidly regenerated.
After several cycles of circulation, the pallor on his face gradually faded, and his breathing grew steady and powerful.
“Hu…”
Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Zhou Kai slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.
He moved his shoulder. Aside from a slight stiffness, most of the pain was gone.
His injuries were mostly healed.
A cultivator’s recovery far surpassed that of mortals, and with the aid of pills, such wounds were indeed not much.
Thinking of that crazy woman, Zhou Kai could not help but shudder.
“When my cultivation rises, I’ll make you taste the power of my great sword!”
He steadied himself and stopped thinking about that cold beauty. With a thought, two gray storage bags appeared in his hands.
His spiritual sense entered the first bag. There was not much inside. Around 100 low-grade spirit stones, a few bottles of healing and Fasting Pills, and several low-level talismans. It was pitiful.
“Tsk, poor ghost.” Zhou Kai tossed it aside and turned to the second bag.
This one was slightly fuller.
Sweeping it with his spiritual sense, his eyes lit up.
Spirit stones.
A pile of glittering low-grade spirit stones. Counting carefully, there were more than 800.
“Not bad, not bad.” A smile spread across Zhou Kai’s face.
Besides the spirit stones, there were over a dozen pills of slightly better quality than those in the first bag, mostly Qi Gathering Pills and Rejuvenation Pills. A few spare clothes and miscellaneous items were also included.
He then took out the Crimson Gourd Artifact. Holding it in his hand, warmth flowed into his palm.
Upon closer inspection, the gourd seemed refined from some fire-attribute material. It contained a restriction and was of decent quality, at least a high-grade artifact.
“Now this is good.” Zhou Kai weighed it in his hand.
“At least I made something back. Otherwise, I would’ve lost badly.” He finally felt better.
Erasing the former owner’s spiritual imprint was not difficult. After all, the man was dead.
Zhou Kai spent some effort imprinting his own spiritual mark into it and quickly achieved preliminary refinement.
With a thought, the gourd floated above his palm, trembling slightly as pure fire spiritual energy radiated outward.
“From now on, you’ll be called the Flameheart Gourd.” Zhou Kai nodded in satisfaction and stored it away.
He then examined the short sword that had been embedded in his shoulder. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“So it’s only a low-grade artifact. No wonder it didn’t pierce through completely.”
After taking stock of his gains, his mood improved greatly, and even the pain in his body seemed lighter.
He stood and pushed the door open.
The setting sun bathed the courtyard in warm golden light.
Chen Ziyi was sitting at the stone table. Hearing the door open, she looked up. Seeing Zhou Kai walk out with renewed vigor, her face brightened with joy.
“Husband, how are your injuries?”
“Fully recovered.” Zhou Kai smiled and patted his left shoulder. “See? I can move freely. Nothing’s wrong.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” Chen Ziyi sighed in relief, her eyes curving into crescents, her smile warmer than the sunset. “Dinner is ready. Come eat.”
Several delicate dishes were arranged on the stone table.
Most eye-catching was a plate of steaming braised meat glazed in rich sauce.
It was Long-Tailed Rabbit meat she had specially purchased from the Chen Family’s Spirit Beast Garden.
The meat was tender, the broth thick and fragrant. It was clear she had put her heart into it.
After dinner, night gradually deepened.
Zhou Kai did not immediately return to his room. Instead, he took Chen Ziyi for a walk in the courtyard.
Moonlight flowed like water, casting a soft glow over them.
Zhou Kai held her hand, warm and soft to the touch.
The night breeze whispered as insects chirped softly.
Passion followed naturally.
…
Afterward, Zhou Kai felt refreshed, a warm current surging through his body.
[Chen Ziyi Favorability +3]
[Exchange Interaction Points +40]
The system notification sounded at the right moment.
Zhou Kai smiled slightly and without hesitation added the 40 points to Alchemy.
With a thought, he summoned the system panel.
[Zhou Kai (damaged dantian)]
[Cultivation: 4th stage Qi Refining Realm (0/400)]
[Vitality: 2nd stage Meridian Awakening Realm (0/200)]
[Spiritual Roots: Metal (Low-grade 12/100), Wood (Low-grade 25/100), Water (Low-grade 17/100), Fire (Low-grade 23/100)]
[Hundred Arts of Cultivation: Alchemy (1st Grade 95/100)]
[Confidante: Chen Ziyi]
[Available Exchange Interaction Points: 0]
Seeing Alchemy at (95/100), Zhou Kai’s lips curled upward.
“Just 5 more points and I’ll advance to 2nd Grade Alchemy.”
Once he became a 2nd Grade Alchemist, his status would change completely.
In the entire Chen Family, not a single 2nd Grade Alchemist existed. The 1st Grade Alchemist hired by the family acted arrogantly every day. To ask him to refine pills required careful words and generous benefits.
If he became a 2nd Grade Alchemist… Zhou Kai’s eyes flickered thoughtfully.
But now was not the time to reveal it.
A tree that stands out in the forest is destroyed by the wind. Especially with the system in his possession, low-profile development was the best strategy.
“And with 2nd Grade Alchemy, I can refine the True Condensation Pill.”
The True Condensation Pill was a 2nd Grade pill whose primary function was not to increase cultivation, but to repair a damaged dantian foundation.
Zhou Kai’s gaze sharpened.
“Once my dantian is repaired, I can truly cultivate.”
“Using exchange points directly on cultivation is a waste. I’ll save them for breakthroughs.”
“I’ll definitely enlighten Chen Ziyi’s spiritual roots in the future. After that, I won’t be able to gain exchange points from her.”
“If I awaken her spiritual roots and let her Step onto the Immortal Path, according to the system rules, I won’t get exchange points from her anymore…”
The thought flashed through his mind.
Then he felt Chen Ziyi’s warm body in his arms and heard her soft breathing.
She had devoted herself wholeheartedly to him. Today, she had been worried sick over his injury.
Zhou Kai was always self-serving, but toward Chen Ziyi, there was always a trace of softness he could not discard.
“No. Chen Ziyi is my first woman…”
“And with cheats like mine, how could I lose?”
He suppressed the thought, pulled the docile, catlike Chen Ziyi closer, and fell into deep sleep.
[Confidante: Chen Ziyi (Mortal)]
[Spiritual Roots: None]
[Favorability: 85 (Affection)]
[Provides Exchange Interaction Points: 8]
…
The next day, Zhou Kai did not go out and plunged straight into the side room.
Inside the alchemy room, heat waves rolled.
Zhou Kai sat cross-legged before the furnace, fully focused.
Opening the furnace, preheating, adding ingredients, controlling the fire, condensing pills… every step was meticulous.
1st Grade pills were second nature to him.
Qi Gathering Pills, Rejuvenation Pills, Lock Yang Pills… batch after batch was refined.
The furnace trembled slightly, releasing a rich medicinal fragrance.
Sweat formed on Zhou Kai’s forehead, but his eyes grew brighter.
Suddenly, a notification appeared on the panel.
[Alchemy Proficiency +1]
It seemed that personal insight and improvement were also reflected on the panel.
…
Time passed quietly in his concentration.
By midday, a knock sounded outside the alchemy room.
“Guest Elder Zhou, are you in?” A respectful voice called.
Zhou Kai steadied himself, extinguished the furnace, and opened the door.
Outside stood a servant in blue, a member of the Chen Family household.
“What is it?” Zhou Kai asked.
The servant bowed. “Reporting to Guest Elder Zhou, Young Master Xingze has returned home today. The Patriarch has ordered a banquet tonight to welcome him. You are specially invited to attend.”
“Chen Xingze?” Zhou Kai raised a brow.
“He’s back?”
“Yes, he arrived today,” the servant replied respectfully.
“I understand. I will attend on time.” Zhou Kai nodded.
The servant bowed and withdrew.
Zhou Kai returned to the furnace and began refining another batch.
Though the mental consumption was significant, he wanted to strike while the iron was hot and see if he could increase his Alchemy further before the banquet.
However, the next two batches, though successful, did not trigger further proficiency growth.
“Seems I’ve reached the limit. Too much is as bad as too little.” Zhou Kai stopped and did not force it.
“Four points left. No rush. I’ll break through tonight.”
He cleaned up the alchemy room, washed, and changed into a clean blue robe.
Seeing there was still time before the banquet, he sat at the stone table in the courtyard and took out the Flameheart Gourd to examine carefully.
When lanterns were lit and night fell, Zhou Kai finally put away the gourd and walked calmly toward the main hall where the Chen Family banquet was being held.
The Chen Family’s main hall was brightly lit and bustling with noise, filled with lively celebration.