Qiu Liu recounted the events in full detail. In truth, what hurt her most wasn’t the slap from Elder Yao Fan, but rather Ye Feng’s attitude. Her once gentle and kind junior brother had actually yelled at her, then abandoned her and left. That left Qiu Liu deeply upset.
Lu Sheng gently patted Qiu Liu’s back, comforting her, “Xiao Feng is a child with a strong sense of pride. Being slapped and scolded in front of so many fellow disciples must have been hard on him. He didn’t yell at you on purpose.”
Qiu Liu sniffled softly. It had to be said—favorable impression really was a mysterious thing. After Lu Sheng’s divine-level words, Qiu Liu’s goodwill toward Ye Feng shot straight back to full, and she even felt a hint of guilt toward him.
That’s right! Her junior brother had such strong pride. He must be feeling terrible inside. She shouldn’t have blamed him; she should’ve understood and comforted him.
Honestly, in terms of self-PUA, Qiu Liu could absolutely be considered the number one person throughout history.
“Master, I’ll go comfort junior brother now.” Qiu Liu wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. She had been somewhat resentful toward Ye Feng earlier, but now she was full of guilty self-reproach.
Lu Sheng felt quite gratified. But her expression dimmed as she thought—if Hengge could be as sensible as Qiu Liu, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.
“Master, what about the pills?” Qiu Liu asked, still unwilling to give up.
She still had plenty of pills in her possession—many of them refined by Lu Hengge himself. She couldn’t even finish them all. But she hadn’t gotten any today and had even been scolded, which made her feel as if her own things had been stolen.
Hearing this, Lu Sheng paused for a moment. “I’ll go take a look at the Pill Hall.”
Qiu Liu nodded obediently. However, she tugged at her robe, reluctant to leave. Seeing that, Lu Sheng affectionately patted her head. “Just go to my cave and take a few stalks of spiritual herbs.”
“Thank you, Master!” Qiu Liu finally left, satisfied.
Lu Sheng was known in the Three Thousand Dao Sect for fiercely protecting her disciples. Before Ye Feng had joined the sect, she had shown special care toward both Lu Hengge and Qiu Liu. But after Ye Feng became her disciple, Lu Hengge had become practically invisible.
True, this had something to do with the system’s favorability manipulation. But at its core, Lu Sheng genuinely cared less about Lu Hengge than she used to.
Lu Hengge was the Holy Son—she assumed he lacked for nothing. So her attention naturally shifted toward Qiu Liu and Ye Feng, who had less talent and needed her support both in daily life and cultivation.
“This matter must be related to Hengge,” Lu Sheng thought.
Elder Yao Fan had always been close with Lu Hengge. Many elders and disciples in the sect even said Yao Fan was Lu Hengge’s true master. Now that Lu Hengge’s cultivation was ruined, that might be hidden from ordinary disciples—but surely not from Yao Fan.
Knowing Yao Fan’s personality, he was definitely venting his anger for Lu Hengge.
With that thought, Lu Sheng set aside the ancient book in her hand. Her figure vanished in a flash, leaving behind only the scent of perfume and the lingering warmth on the open page. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
In the Pill Hall, a junior alchemist was sweeping the floor.
There were actually quite a few alchemists in the Pill Hall, but due to poor harvests from the medicine fields, most had left the sect to search for herbs. As a result, the hall felt deserted.
“Where is Elder Yao?” A crisp voice suddenly rang out.
The junior alchemist was startled. Looking up, he saw a stunning figure in a crimson robe.
A flash of infatuation passed through the alchemist’s eyes but quickly faded as he bowed respectfully. “Elder Lu, the hall master is in seclusion and is not receiving visitors.”
Seclusion? Lu Sheng’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.
Elder Yao was already half a step into the Grand Completion stage. Was he about to break through into the Divine Emperor Realm?
“That’s a good thing. Congratulations to Elder Yao,” Lu Sheng said calmly.
Elder Yao had lived for nearly ten thousand years and was only now barely approaching the Divine Emperor Realm. She, on the other hand, had lived only two thousand years and was already in the late stage of the Spirit Fusion Realm. In terms of talent, she surpassed him.
“I came to ask about today’s pill distribution. If Elder Yao is unavailable, could the pills still be handed out?”
Lu Sheng also believed there were pills in the hall. Elder Yao just didn’t want to distribute them.
In truth, the Pill Hall really didn’t have many pills left. Most were refined by Lu Hengge, and all of them were currently in his hands.
The junior alchemist looked troubled. “Please forgive me, Elder Lu. There really are no pills available today.”
Lu Sheng frowned slightly. “How could the Pill Hall of the Three Thousand Dao Sect be out of pills? If word gets out, we’ll become a laughingstock.”
The alchemist forced a smile. Not knowing how to respond, he just played dumb. After all, he was just a junior. Elder Lu wasn’t likely to make things hard for him.
Lu Sheng fell silent for a while. The junior alchemist grew nervous.
After all, Lu Sheng was a Spirit Fusion Realm expert. And cultivators of that level were the hardest to read.
Lu Sheng spoke gently, “Since Elder Yao is in seclusion, I won’t stay. But do inform him of this message: pill distribution is a duty of the Pill Hall. If pills are not distributed today, the sect master may hold him accountable when his seclusion ends.” Enjoying the story? Read on at NovelPing.
This was both a reminder and a warning.
She knew Elder Yao didn’t fear her. With his status as a half-step Divine Emperor and a top-tier 8th-grade alchemist, he didn’t need to give her any face.
In the Three Thousand Dao Sect, only the sect master could make Elder Yao sit down and talk properly.
Lu Sheng turned to leave.
Just then, the door to one of the alchemy rooms slowly opened. Lu Hengge walked out coughing. His clothes were torn, and his hair was blown up like a hedgehog. “Refining high-grade pills without spiritual Qi is still a bit forced.”
Three elements were crucial in alchemy: ingredients, pill flame, and spiritual power.
Ingredients were the base. The right flame improved success rates. Spiritual power controlled the flame’s intensity. Spiritual Qi, however, was optional. If one had strong enough spiritual power, they could refine pills without it.
Lu Hengge, being an 8th-grade alchemist, naturally had powerful spiritual strength. But after shattering his Nascent Soul, his spiritual power had been affected. So refining high-grade pills now required the assistance of spiritual Qi.
Unfortunately, he had none.
After much thought, a wild idea struck Lu Hengge. Since demonic Qi could be used to cultivate, could it also be used in pill refinement?
Lu Hengge felt like he had discovered a new continent. He kept trying to refine pills using demonic Qi, but the result was obvious—he blew up the furnace.
“Demonic Qi is too aggressive. The moment it touches the ingredients, it devours their life essence. That’s the key to the explosions.”
Lu Hengge now understood the problem, but finding a solution was difficult.
He walked out of the alchemy room, planning to eat before continuing his research. He believed using demonic Qi for alchemy was viable—it just hadn’t been done before.
The junior alchemist respectfully greeted, “Holy Son.”
Lu Hengge ignored him.
The next second, a familiar figure blocked his way.
Instantly, Lu Hengge’s gaze turned ice-cold. “Move, mutt.”
The junior alchemist broke out in a cold sweat. Good heavens! The Holy Son really had guts—to even curse at his own master…