I feel like I just heard a lot of incredible things...

 

“No, wait, let me think again... I’ll think about it…” Aunt Pang mumbled a couple of sentences, her voice gradually lowering until it fell silent, and she entered a state of contemplation.

This silence lasted for a long time, long enough that the others nearly thought she had fallen asleep, when her voice finally broke the stillness, tinged with hesitation: “Once, when he was helping me with my flowers, he vaguely mentioned a few things about the use of the Seven Star Pill. He said that for someone without any spiritual power, taking this would lead to an immediate explosion of their body. However, for those with cultivation, it seems the impact is smaller the lower their cultivation level, and greater the higher it is. When first taken, it would double the user’s cultivation power, but after a while, the meridians would reverse, and the blood and qi would flow backward... In short, everything would go in the opposite direction, or something like that. Ah... what a pity that the medicine Ghost is no longer around; otherwise, it would be clear if I just asked him directly.”

“Eh? If this Seven Star Pill has such an effect when fully refined, then what came out of the furnace a hundred years ago would count as a half-finished product, right?” Lin Jie thought for a moment and patted his chest in relief, saying, “A half-finished product, while not exactly the same as a finished one, should at least be somewhat similar, right? So it’s a good thing that Xiao Bai hasn’t cultivated before; otherwise, if the deeper the cultivation the greater the impact, wouldn’t that be worse!”

“The head of the Hengtian sect previously said that all those who were sought after during the Yin Year, Yin Month, and Yin Hour had exploded, and it seems this is the reason...” Yu Xian glanced at Bai Ke and sighed, “That really is a stroke of luck.”

Bai Ke didn’t feel much of a survivor’s relief; he was still pondering Aunt Pang’s words: “Aunt Pang said that when nurturing the medicine, it’s best to supplement it with a spirit-boosting pill. She also said that lower cultivation levels experience less impact, while higher levels experience more. Coupled with what happened when I accidentally bit my tongue and the Seven Star Pill went crazy absorbing blood... I think maybe this Seven Star Pill absorbs not blood, but spiritual energy? For someone with low cultivation, like me, the Seven Star Pill can hardly absorb any spiritual energy in my body, so it hasn’t reacted much. It only responded after I swallowed the Golden Pill from the Hengtian sect, because that pill increased the spiritual energy in my body, allowing the Seven Star Pill to become active. However, what it ultimately absorbed was the additional spiritual energy provided by that Golden Pill, so it didn’t harm me, and because of the increase in spiritual energy, my wound healed faster?”

Junxiao nodded, picking up the conversation: “And for those with higher cultivation, the Seven Star Pill remains in a more active state, continuously absorbing spiritual energy from the body. The additional energy provided by the supplement pill, when compared to the already abundant spiritual energy of the cultivator, becomes negligible. In this way, it indeed follows that the higher the cultivation, the greater the damage.”

Lin Jie, feeling like he had discovered something new, clapped his hands and exclaimed, “So if the person nurturing the medicine has extremely high cultivation, perhaps they wouldn’t need eighty-one years to refine it into a pill!”

As soon as he said this, he noticed that everyone, including Bai Ke, was looking at him with expressions that didn’t seem like praise but more like incredulity.

“Uh...” He quickly realized that what he said was utterly nonsensical.

If the person nurturing the medicine had extremely high cultivation... the problem lay in the fact that Bai Ke, who was nurturing the medicine, had very little cultivation. Even if he diligently practiced in the secret realm, there was no way his level could drastically increase in a short time.

“However—” Junxiao pondered for a moment before suddenly speaking, turning his gaze to Bai Ke, his dark eyes appearing almost bottomless: “It’s not completely impossible. I—”

Before he could finish, Yu Xian interrupted sternly: “Nonsense!”

Junxiao didn’t turn around, saying, “It’s not nonsense. My cultivation comes from him; now that I’m giving it back to him, I have nothing to lose.”

Yu Xian’s face darkened: “Have you forgotten what happened to those who did this in the past?! Have you forgotten what happened to the person whose cultivation skyrocketed?! Was there anyone who benefited from it?! I think you’ve completely lost your mind!”

Having known Yu Xian for so long, he had always appeared carefree and laid-back, just like the name of his secret realm—“Carefree”—suitable to a tee. The others had never seen him so serious and grim-faced. Not to mention Bai Ke and Lin Jie, even Junxiao had a hard time recalling such memories.

It seemed this matter indeed touched on some past that Yu Xian had been letting go of..

His anger radiated, creating a pressure that instantly silenced the room. Those with slightly higher cultivation, like Aunt Pang and the others, felt a bit intimidated and didn’t dare to make a sound, while those with lower cultivation, like Lin Jie and Bai Ke, already felt a buzzing in their ears and a tightness in their chests.

“Alright, Master Ancestor Salty Fish...” Junxiao softened his tone, and for a moment, he seemed reminiscent of his younger self. The pressure around him counteracted Yu Xian’s, and everyone felt the oppressive force on them lighten suddenly, allowing them to breathe a little easier.

Lin Jie silently rubbed his buzzing ears, and his restless paws also went to give Bai Ke a gentle rub.

Bai Ke: “…”

“I’m not losing my mind,” Junxiao shook his head. “I remember what happened to Junior Sister. If that fate happened to me, I wouldn’t care just like she did. As for Junior Brother…” He pointed at Bai Ke and said to Yu Xian, “He’s different from Junior Brother.”

“What’s different?! Are you trying to infuriate me on purpose?” Yu Xian’s voice grew even louder when he heard him speak, his pressure increasing: “That kid Wu Nan is human! He’s also a person! As long as he’s human, it’s the same! If you’re not afraid he’ll go crazy and become a monster, just do what you want! Once you’re all gone, I’ll be the only old man left! Then I can truly be at peace and no longer have to worry…” As he finished, his voice suddenly aged.

It was as if his gray hair and elderly appearance were not illusions but genuinely reflected reality.

However, it was true; he had witnessed too many deaths and partings. Though his body had not aged, his heart had long since grown weary.

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy, making everyone present feel uncomfortable…

“Master—” Junxiao finally spoke after a long silence.

“Don’t call me that!” Yu Xian waved his sleeve: “I won’t listen!”

Junxiao: “…”

Just as the crowd had breathed a sigh of relief, another wave of pressure slammed down on them: “…” Can’t they catch a break to breathe?!

“Have you forgotten about the Seven Star Pill?” Junxiao directly addressed the main point and noticeably quickened his speech to avoid being interrupted mid-sentence by Yu Xian’s “shut up, I won’t listen”: “The biggest difference between him and Junior Brother is that he has the Seven Star Pill in his body. Master, you’ve become overly sensitive to such actions because of past events, focusing all your attention on the transmission of cultivation itself, while forgetting my purpose of passing on cultivation to him.”

Seeing Yu Xian momentarily stunned and not immediately rebutting, Junxiao continued: “Junior Brother experienced a sudden surge in cultivation without the ability to control it, causing chaos in his energy, muddled thoughts, and falling into demonic deviation, which led to that outcome. But he has the Seven Star Pill in his body. My transmission of cultivation power to him is merely making him a medium. While I pass on my abilities, the Seven Star Pill is also absorbing the cultivation and spiritual energy within him, so naturally, it won’t produce the outcome you’re worried about.”

Yu Xian’s expression remained grim, and he opened his mouth, yet he couldn’t find a rebuttal. After a moment of stiff silence, he finally said, “And you?! If you transmit all your cultivation power to him, what will you have left?!”

Junxiao suddenly smiled: “My life already belongs to him; what does my cultivation matter?”

“You all…” Yu Xian thought for a moment, his face sour, and said angrily, “You! And you and your Junior Brother and Junior Sister! How can you all be so stubborn?!”

Junxiao merely smiled slightly at one corner of his mouth, choosing not to argue. When he wasn’t smiling, his aura was extremely solemn, heavy, and oppressive. However, when he occasionally smiled, his dark eyes lit up and gave off a hint of mischief.

Yu Xian seemed to see again that tiny little brat who loved to take risks, clung onto legs when playing tricks, and grinned wickedly after getting his way.

“However—” Yu Xian spoke again.

“What now?” Junxiao thought this old man was changing his mind again after some back-and-forth thinking.

Instead, Yu Xian said, “For matters like this, with me as the master, what need is there for you, a disciple, to intervene? Go away.” He didn’t stop at just speaking; he also pushed Junxiao aside, lacking any semblance of a celestial demeanor, his childishness spilling over.

“…” Junxiao twitched his mouth: “Master, you’ve got it wrong.”

“Get lost!” Yu Xian shot him a glare. “I said I’m his master! You’re his disciple! With such a big head, do you think your brain is only as big as a walnut?! Can’t you even understand that? How annoying!”

“…” Junxiao, who only had a walnut-sized brain, feeling like he was dealing with an old fool whose nonsense had persisted for thousands of years, thought that the disciple he had trained to be a cool flower on the outside was actually a fool on the inside. Naturally, his disciple couldn’t lag behind; each generation should surpass the last. Thus, he spoke up: “Master, you might as well give it up. With your unpredictable tendency to scatter your cultivation out of the blue, if it happens while you’re transmitting half of it, that would truly be disastrous.”

Yu Xian was so furious that he felt like spitting blood at Junxiao: “……” How did I end up picking up this kind of trash for Yu Sheng Men back then?! What was the point of bringing him back?! Just to give me headaches and shorten my life?! I might as well be tired of living and jump into the South Sea! If I had known I would bring back something like this, I would have chopped off my hands—better to end it all!

Seeing that Yu Xian had nothing to retort with, Junxiao nodded and said, “Then it’s settled.”

“Wait…” Bai Ke, who hadn’t had a chance to interject, finally found an opportunity to speak, “I hear I’m one of the parties you’re discussing, right? You all just decided this without asking for my opinion?”

Yu Xian and Junxiao turned back: “What’s your opinion?”

Bai Ke replied calmly, “I disagree.”

Yu Xian: “……”

Junxiao: “……”

After a moment, the other unrelated bystanders in the room were politely asked to leave. Before closing the door, Junxiao said expressionlessly to the crowd in the courtyard, “Sorry, you can carry on with your business; we need to have a serious discussion.” After that, he “clicked” the door shut and locked it.

Lin Jie blinked his big eyes, which were like bronze bells, and looked at Uncle Zongzi holding the peony pot and Uncle Iron Fan. After a while, he finally blurted out, “I feel like I just heard a lot of incredible things…”

The peony pot swayed a bit: “I also feel like there’s a lot of information; I’m a bit dazed right now.”

 

Translator : DarNan