Chapter 110: Refining Pills with a Spirit Vein, Puppets on the Move
“…”
Luo Xue’s eyes widened.
She looked at the attendant, her mouth slightly agape.
“Li…”
“Guest, would you like some wine?”
The attendant quickly interrupted, stopping Luo Xue from finishing her sentence.
The few mortals present seemed to have noticed Luo Xue, and the attendant, under their gazes, seemed a bit nervous, as if he would flee into the shadows at any moment.
This was indeed Senior Sister Li’s unique… cautiousness.
“Yes, bring me a large jug.”
Luo Xue smiled faintly, releasing a bit of her cultivation aura.
The surrounding mortals, sensing a faint pressure, realized that this inconspicuous little girl was actually an immortal cultivator. They quickly averted their gazes, afraid of being noticed by Luo Xue.
Immortals weren’t uncommon in this place, but compared to the number of mortals, they were still a minority.
Moreover, this was the Demon Abyss, where cultivators were generally ruthless and cruel. The mortals here didn’t react with admiration upon seeing a cultivator, but with fear.
“Alright, guest, please come this way. You can choose some good wine from our cellar and savor it slowly.”
The attendant seemed relieved and led Luo Xue further into the restaurant.
As she and the attendant crossed an invisible boundary, the surrounding scenery instantly changed.
Luo Xue found herself in a desolate wasteland, with swirling sand and dark clouds.
“Is this… a formation…”
Luo Xue was slightly shocked. Such a realistic illusion formation was rare.
The attendant before her had also transformed into the familiar young girl, who waved her hand, dispelling the illusion and revealing an ordinary cellar.
A young man dressed as an attendant lay in the middle of the cellar, seemingly unconscious.
“Li…”
Luo Xue was about to call out “Senior Sister Li” again when the girl covered her mouth.
“Shh…”
Li Guijiao placed a finger on her lips, her face filled with caution.
She carefully stepped over the unconscious attendant and led Luo Xue deeper into the cellar.
Here, aged wines were stored, seemingly rarely visited.
Li Guijiao formed hand seals, and the ground shifted slightly, revealing a small hole just big enough for one person to enter.
“…”
Luo Xue looked at the hole, a familiar feeling washing over her.
Senior Sister Li, how much did you like digging holes…
Li Guijiao jumped into the hole, and Luo Xue could only follow helplessly.
After she entered, the entrance was immediately sealed by a formation.
“Little Junior Sister!”
Before Luo Xue could even steady herself, Li Guijiao hugged her and rubbed her face.
“Little Junior Sister, are you okay? Why do you look like this? Wuwuwu… were you… beaten up…”
“Senior Sister, this is the Thousand Faces Cultivation Art you gave me…”
Luo Xue twitched her lips. She couldn’t even recognize her own technique?
“Eh? Really?” Li Guijiao was stunned. “It doesn’t look like it… The Thousand Faces Cultivation Art shouldn’t be this crude.”
“…”
Luo Xue felt like she had been insulted, but she couldn’t refute it.
“But Senior Sister Li, why are you here in the Demon Abyss?” Luo Xue asked. “This isn’t like you.”
“Because Little Junior Sister is in danger.” Li Guijiao said. “Many, many people are after you… even disciples from several sects in the Immortal Domain want to capture you!”
“What about the sect?”
Luo Xue was silent for a moment, then asked.
Li Guijiao hesitated slightly and stammered,
“Actually, most of our Senior Brothers and Sisters are very concerned about you…”
Hearing this, Luo Xue sighed softly.
So there were still some who wanted to turn her in for the bounty.
During her travels, Luo Xue had deeply felt the fear that the once-renowned Peerless Summit Sect instilled in the nine provinces and four domains.
Especially the Demon Abyss cultivators. Once they knew she was a disciple of the Peerless Summit Sect, their attitudes immediately changed.
Like Shangguan Lengyan and Sima Ye. They had initially been cautious, but upon learning she was from the Peerless Summit Sect, they immediately wanted to kill her.
And Shangguan Yu…
She absolutely loathed the Peerless Summit Sect.
The reputation of those sword fanatics, obsessed with slaying demons and eliminating evil, had spread throughout the Demon Abyss.
But now…
In short, the decline of the Peerless Summit Sect in the past few hundred years was too rapid, so rapid that the outside world hadn’t yet reacted.
“By the way, Little Junior Sister, there’s one more thing.”
Li Guijiao’s expression turned serious.
“You have to get rid of that spy token quickly. The Peerless Summit Sect’s spies in the Demon Abyss can find you through the token!”
“Senior Sister Li, you don’t have to worry about that. I’ve already thrown the token away in Ghost Demon Pass, secretly placing it in someone’s storage pouch and concealing it with a technique.”
Luo Xue smiled faintly. “There are still many people who think I’m hiding in Ghost Demon Pass and are searching for me.”
Even the Peerless Summit Sect spies could trace the token’s whereabouts. Someone must have sold that information for a good price.
“Ah, that’s good, that’s good.” Li Guijiao patted her chest, relieved. “Little Junior Sister is so amazing…”
“By the way, what about you?” Luo Xue asked curiously. “Shouldn’t you still be at the Evil Spirit Sect’s residence? Why are you here in the capital city?”
“That’s because… the Sect Master of the Evil Spirit Sect is my puppet.”
Li Guijiao said with a giggle, then took out several puppets. “I not only have the Sect Master’s, but also Master’s, Peak Master Xi’s, and the Grand Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall’s…”
Luo Xue watched as Li Guijiao took out one lifelike Spirit Condensation puppet after another, a cold sweat dripping down her back.
Each puppet’s appearance was almost identical to the person she had seen in the sect, especially the Grand Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, his stern and imposing demeanor perfectly captured.
But thinking back, Master Zou at the Evil Spirit Sect did seem a bit like a puppet.
It was mainly because Li Guijiao had the talent to see people’s hearts. There was no way she wouldn’t recognize Luo Xue.
“Does the Sect Master and the others know about this… that you carved their appearances onto puppets?” Luo Xue subconsciously lowered her voice and asked nervously.
“Of course not!”
Li Guijiao said, her eyes wide.
“I learned this after coming to the Demon Abyss. Hee hee, I didn’t expect there to be so many good things outside… Especially the Evil Spirit Sect, I’ve almost emptied their inventory!”
“…Wait, what did you say?” Luo Xue’s eyelid twitched. “Speaking of which, Senior Sister, what exactly is your relationship with the Evil Spirit Sect?”
Li Guijiao thought carefully for a moment, then said,
“As for our relationship, I joined them before, looking for a place to stay, but their Sect Master wanted to refine me into a cauldron, and several disciples snuck into my room in the middle of the night…”
She waved her hand.
“It’s nothing, really. This is all very normal.”
“Nor-, normal?”
Luo Xue began to doubt her understanding of the word “normal.”
“Isn’t the outside world supposed to be this dangerous?” Li Guijiao asked, puzzled. “That’s why I learned puppetry later. The ones who go out are all puppets.”
With that, Li Guijiao took out several “Li Guijiao” puppets, even a younger version.
“These are all puppets made from my inventory. Luckily, I brought some resources with me.” Li Guijiao said, hands on her hips, looking smug.
Luo Xue examined these puppets and found their craftsmanship breathtaking, completely beyond her understanding.
If Li Guijiao hadn’t said that she learned this after leaving the Peerless Summit Sect, Luo Xue would have thought she had been practicing for years.
Wait, if that was the case…
“Senior Sister Li, could it be that your formations are also…”
Luo Xue asked hesitantly.
“I learned it after I left, of course. The Peerless Summit Sect doesn’t teach formations.” Li Guijiao said matter-of-factly. “Swordsmanship is too difficult to learn. These ‘unorthodox methods’ are much simpler.”
Unorthodox methods… simpler…
Luo Xue twitched her lips. If these words were heard by those puppet and formation masters, they would probably vomit blood.
“How did you learn them?” Luo Xue couldn’t help but ask.
“How did I learn them? I don’t know either,” Li Guijiao pretended to think hard, then said, “I just… put this piece here, and that piece there… and it’s done!”
“The difference between people… is sometimes greater than the difference between people and…”
Luo Xue could only sigh.
If Li Guijiao’s talent in this aspect was described on the panel, it would probably be “peerless genius,” right?
“Senior Sister Li, don’t tell me you also know alchemy and talisman crafting?” Luo Xue asked again.
Formations, talismans, alchemy, and puppetry were the four auxiliary Dao paths. Most cultivators would learn some of these as side professions.
Unfortunately, the Peerless Summit Sect considered these unorthodox, prioritizing swordsmanship above all else. There were no elders who specifically taught these, and there were no related records either.
As for the pills and talismans within the sect, most were bought from elsewhere, some were spoils of war.
“I’ve learned some alchemy, but I haven’t practiced it.” Li Guijiao said honestly. “I haven’t learned talisman crafting, I don’t know. I do want to learn, but the Evil Spirit Sect didn’t have any…”
If the Evil Spirit Sect knew that she not only bombed their residence three times, but also did so after secretly learning their techniques, their petty Sect Master would probably die from anger, right?
Oh, it should be four times now, because Luo Xue had bombed them once more for Li Guijiao.
“But the protective formation you built for them… aren’t you planning to bomb them a fifth time?” Luo Xue asked with a smile.
“What fifth time… No, I’m not planning to bomb them this time.” Li Guijiao scratched her head and counted on her fingers. “The previous times were because I couldn’t open their treasury.”
“And this time?”
“There’s nothing left in their treasury.”
“Oh…”
“But they still have a spirit vein, a whole spirit vein.”
Li Guijiao waved her hand, her face full of excitement. “I’m planning to create a formation to extract all the spiritual power from the spirit vein and refine it into a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Pill!”
“I haven’t refined any pills yet, I really want to try!”
Buying this spirit vein had cost the Evil Spirit Sect more than half of their assets. They wanted to use the spirit vein’s spiritual energy to nurture their disciples.
And Li Guijiao’s plan was basically draining the pond to catch the fish, extremely wasteful.
Unless she could refine a Heaven-grade pill, it would be a huge loss.
But refining Heaven-grade pills required a certain level of cultivation. Without Nascent Soul as a foundation, one couldn’t comprehend the power of laws, let alone refine a Heaven-grade pill.
Not to mention, Li Guijiao had never even used a pill furnace before. She only had theoretical knowledge…
In other words, she was planning to use an entire spirit vein to practice.
Such extravagance would probably shock even the Nine Sects and Four Forbidden Areas.
However, the money to buy the spirit vein wasn’t hers… and they couldn’t take the spirit vein with them, so Li Guijiao didn’t feel any heartache.
If she couldn’t take the enemy’s things, she would destroy them. Li Guijiao, a devoted reader of popular stories, understood the “way of the protagonist” very well.
“By the way, Little Junior Sister, it seems someone has been watching you.” Li Guijiao suddenly whispered. “Do you want me to get rid of her?”
Li Guijiao waved her hand seriously.
“I’ve buried six chain explosive formations around here. I can detonate them if necessary.”
“…Where did your obsession with explosions come from?” Luo Xue’s expression changed slightly.
“Eh? Isn’t there a saying? ‘There’s nothing a sufficiently large explosion can’t solve. If there is, then use a bigger explosion’!”
Li Guijiao clenched her small fists. “The outside world is too dangerous. Everyone wants to harm me!”
“Being cautious is a good thing, but… forget it,” Luo Xue smiled wryly. “The person watching me outside is a friend. She’s protecting me.”
“But she seems like a bad person, her whole body is red… like Senior Brother Kong Lianbin.” Li Guijiao said, troubled.
Li Guijiao now knew that Kong Lianbin was a Demon Abyss spy who wanted to kill Luo Xue.
Since that incident, Li Guijiao’s paranoia had worsened. She kept spreading the rumor that “Li Guixing is dead,” just so no one would remember her outstanding performance at the competition.
This gave Hei Pao another headache, and she finally managed to send Li Guijiao out for some training.
“Well… she’s different. Although she’s a Demon Abyss cultivator, she’s a good person.” Luo Xue said. “It’s fine, if you’re worried, just change your appearance before going out.”
Luo Xue didn’t expect Li Guijiao to trust Nangong Mengxiang just because of her words. So far, there were only two people Li Guijiao didn’t guard against:
Her and Hei Pao.
“If that’s the case… then I’ll use a puppet to go out.”
Li Guijiao was even more cautious than Luo Xue had imagined. She picked up a puppet and handed it to Luo Xue, then paused and asked,
“How about, Little Junior Sister, you use a puppet with me?”
“No need…”
Luo Xue looked at the puppet, which was identical to her previous appearance, and twitched her lips.
“Then be careful, Little Junior Sister,” Li Guijiao shrank back. “I’m not going out. The Demon Abyss is just as dangerous as the rumors say.”
Since learning puppetry, Li Guijiao hadn’t appeared outside in her true form. Transforming into an attendant to meet Luo Xue was something she did only because she had no other choice.
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