An alchemy cauldron is dangerous—playing with fire requires caution.
The creaking, grinding tremors were completely beyond Shu Wanzhao’s half-baked cultivation base to suppress.
Her two small hands trembled as she asked nervously, “Mu Xiaoting, how’s your cultivation base?”
Mu Xiaoting: “?”
She was baffled. “Foundation Establishment Stage. Why?”
Right—Shu Wanzhao, the esteemed personal disciple of the Sect Master, didn’t even have a higher cultivation base than this Outer Sect disciple.
Mu Xiaoting felt a swell of pride, but she knew she had to put on a show of humility in front of this senior sister. Suppressing the corners of her lips that wanted to curl upward, she said modestly:
“Oh, senior sister, no need to be envious. You’re naturally gifted—you just disdain cultivation. If you wanted to cultivate, you’d surely surpass all of us. Unlike me, who’s terribly dull. That’s why I want to learn alchemy, to have a few more life-saving pills.”
Every month, the Sect distributed two pills to Outer Sect disciples—one to consolidate cultivation, the other for healing wounds.
However, they were of very low grade and barely enough to fill the gaps between one’s teeth.
She hadn’t originally planned to refine pills herself, but when she saw the cauldron in Shu Wanzhao’s hands, a bold idea suddenly struck her.
That cauldron was clearly no ordinary item—it would be a waste in the hands of this good-for-nothing.
If she could get it and learn some alchemy techniques, not only could she be self-sufficient, but other disciples would also look at her with newfound respect.
At that point, wouldn’t she be able to enjoy the same treatment as Shu Wanzhao?
With that thought, the woman grew increasingly eager, pressing closer to Shu Wanzhao. “Senior Sister Shu, give me the cauldron.”
She babbled on and on, but Shu Wanzhao only picked out what she wanted to hear.
One: Mu Xiaoting surpassed her in both cultivation base and control over Spiritual Power.
Two: She wanted it.
Shu Wanzhao barely needed to deliberate. With lightning speed, she shoved the uncontrollable cauldron into Mu Xiaoting’s hands and swiftly fled.
Her movements were so fast that Mu Xiaoting was left dumbfounded. The cauldron was in her hands, but her beautiful dream hadn’t even begun—she only felt her palms burning hot.
“BANG—”
A thunderous crash shook the entire courtyard three times over. Nearby disciples whipped their heads around.
They looked up and peered.
Confirming the direction—it was that troublemaker’s residence.
The commotion was so great that the entire Sect was alarmed.
Not to mention Shen Changan, who was still refining demon-expelling pills.
The jade-like young man stood before his cauldron, slender, fair fingers pinching pale-red herb roots. Every movement was a pleasure to behold. Hearing the noise, his lashes trembled slightly, yet he calmly completed the final step.
After refinement, three pills flew out of the cauldron.
He placed them into a bottle before glancing toward the direction of the explosion, letting out a faint sigh.
Truly a handful.
The man tucked away the jade bottle, brushed his long white sleeves, and walked out slowly.
Time to see what trouble that little ancestor had stirred up this time.
Meanwhile, Xie Hansheng, recuperating from his injuries within the Sect, opened his eyes from meditation. He initially had no intention of paying attention, but the moment he saw the direction, his cold brows knitted together and his icy thin lips pressed into a straight line.
He silently mouthed three words: Shu Wanzhao.
“SHU WANZHAO!”
A gnashing, furious roar accompanied the smoke rising from the rooftop, billowing ever higher.
“Ah-choo~” Shu Wanzhao crawled out from under the table, face covered in soot. She wiped her face and sneezed repeatedly. “I gave it to you, and you’re still unhappy.”
Why are you yelling? You kept demanding it, demanding it.
Shu Wanzhao patted the dust off her clothes. “What more do you have to complain about?”
Standing across from her, Mu Xiaoting was charred black all over, her hair crackling and frizzing like a crow struck by lightning. Her companions nearby weren’t in much better shape.
All tattered and torn.
She gnashed her teeth. “You did that on purpose! I’m telling Senior Brother!”
The moment Shu Wanzhao heard “Senior Brother,” she immediately shot back, “If you dare tell Senior Brother, I’ll tell Senior Brother that you tried to steal my cauldron—and that you’ve gotten plenty of benefits from me before.”
Her status was higher than Mu Xiaoting’s, and she held leverage over her.
Mu Xiaoting had taken so many benefits from her—those were all gifts from the Master. Shu Wanzhao could demand them back at any time.
From now on, Mu Xiaoting could forget about getting any more perks from her.
Sure enough, at those words, Mu Xiaoting’s rationality returned. Her eyes red, she clenched her teeth and swallowed her anger. “Senior Sister Shu, don’t be upset. I was just impulsive. I’d never go tattling to Senior Brother over such a trivial matter.”
Seeing Mu Xiaoting’s defiance mixed with helplessness—unable to do anything about her—Shu Wanzhao, who had always been a well-behaved girl in front of her family, finally understood what it meant when the wicked are tormented by the even more wicked.
She stared at the other’s resentful expression, and a flash of inspiration struck her.
She crooked a finger at the woman.
“Come here. Senior Sister has a favor to ask.”
Mu Xiaoting: “…”
She had a bad feeling about this.
Shu Wanzhao extended her wicked plan invitation to Mu Xiaoting.
Mu Xiaoting’s voice came out shrill: “You want me to…”
“Hey? Keep it down. Is this something to be proud of?” Shu Wanzhao clamped a hand over her mouth and muttered in a most unsavory manner, “Don’t worry, if anything goes wrong, I’ll cover for you. And once it’s done, this cauldron is yours.”
Mu Xiaoting: “But why would you pick a fight with him out of nowhere? We can’t even beat him.”
“Don’t worry about that. I have my own plan.”
She rattled off a string of words, alternating between soft persuasion and firm pressure, and finally managed to win over this fence-sitter.
Once everything was agreed upon, Mu Xiaoting went off to make preparations, while Shu Wanzhao began cleaning up the scene of the furnace explosion.
Whenever anything stirred in Wolongzong, Senior Brother Shen Changan would come to check on the situation, ensuring the Sect’s order was maintained.
Sure enough, just as Shu Wanzhao had finished tidying the room and had yet to install the door, he arrived.
He was still in that white disciple robe, ethereal as an immortal, utterly out of place with her half-destroyed little shack.
Shu Wanzhao, clutching a broken door panel as she bustled about, glanced at him in passing, immediately dropped the wood, and raised her hand.
“Senior Brother, I blew up a house. Don’t you have to give me a lashing with the Soul-Suppressing Whip as a lesson?”
Shen Changan’s white robes were whiter than snow, his brows and eyes gentle, his soft gaze settling on her face.
The little girl had just caused trouble, covered in grime from head to toe, her fair cheeks smudged with dust, a streak of black on the tip of her nose—utterly disheveled.
Only her eyes remained bright, like twinkling stars, flickering on and off.
The corners of her mouth were curved upward in a smile she couldn’t suppress, like a mischievous kitten that had deliberately hooked its claws to knock something over, then told its owner with full confidence: You shouldn’t have left that on the edge of the table.
If he really gave her a lashing, wouldn’t she just hook him back with her claws?
At the thought of certain bizarre images, Shen Changan curled the corner of his mouth in feigned helplessness. “Junior Sister, if you’re bored, go cultivate.”
Meaning: don’t idle away your time dismantling the house.
“I don’t want to.” At the mention of cultivation, Shu Wanzhao’s little face instantly fell. She was going home sooner or later—what use was cultivation?
But Shen Changan simply thought she was too idle, and even said he’d find time to continue supervising her sword practice.
Not only had Shu Wanzhao’s Soul-Suppressing Whip plot failed, she’d even gotten herself roped in.
At the thought of endless, sunless cultivation, her head throbbed. Just then, catching a glimpse of someone behind Shen Changan from the corner of her eye, a flash of inspiration struck: “Senior Brother, I want Second Senior Brother to accompany me in cultivation.”
Shen Changan’s gaze darkened slightly. “Junior Sister, you and Hansheng…”