16: Chapter 16: Doubt

Immediately, Xiao Yuan took out a jade bottle and handed it to Luo Ziyan, who was pulling her quilt tightly and lowering her head in a somewhat helpless manner.

"Here you go."

Luo Ziyan instinctively caught it, opened the cork, and took a glance.

In an instant, she froze.

Inside the bottle, ten Medicinal Pills that were as round as jade, with clear pill patterns and a refreshing medicinal fragrance, were quietly lying there—Perfect Grade marrow cleansing pills!

This kind of Medicinal Pill, she had only seen in the Medicinal Pill pavilion of the market at the foot of the mountain.

Compared to the perfect grade Medicinal Pills she had seen, the ones Xiao Yuan gave her were even of better quality.

Her eyes instantly widened, and she abruptly raised her head to look at Xiao Yuan, her lips trembling slightly, and her voice even stuttered a bit: "Xiao... Senior Brother Xiao, th... this is... for me?!"

It was no wonder she was so shocked.

A Low Grade Medicinal Pill of perfect grade was worth at least ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones on the market!

That was ten times that of ordinary Low Grade Medicinal Pills!

These ten pills amounted to one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

As an ordinary Disciple in the Early Stage of Qi Condensation, even if her cultivation level advanced to the Middle Stage of Qi Condensation, the Spirit Stone subsidy issued by the Sect each month was only ten pieces.

This bottle of Medicinal Pills was equivalent to her saving for ten months without eating or drinking!

Immense surprise and disbelief washed over her.

She did not ask about the origin of the Medicinal Pills, clutching the jade bottle tightly with her fingertips turning slightly pale, and her gaze towards Xiao Yuan was filled with deep gratitude.

There was also a trace of post-catastrophe rejoicing—rejoicing that she had met Senior Brother Xiao!

Rejoicing that she had bet right that night.

Under the agitation of her emotions, she suddenly stood on tiptoe and quickly planted a pop kiss on Xiao Yuan's cheek.

Only after kissing did she realize what she had done, her entire face swooshing red like a cooked shrimp, and her head buried so low that she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Xiao Yuan covered the spot on his cheek where he was kissed, stunned for a moment, and then couldn't help laughing.

Sure enough, no matter which world it was, 'money-making ability'... oh no, 'pill ability' was always a good thing.

He felt a slight joy in his heart.

This was great; this 'long-term partner' was now completely secure!

Giving Luo Ziyan perfect Medicinal Pills was not just for "gratitude" or "bribing".

Luo Ziyan had a Water-Wood Dual Spiritual Root.

Although she couldn't compare to a single Spiritual Root Genius like Ye Qingcen, she still possessed a High Grade Spiritual Root, which was countless times stronger than his "Trash" with miscellaneous Five Elements Spiritual Roots.

Ten perfect marrow cleansing pills were enough to push her cultivation level from the Qi Condensation 4th Layer in one breath to the Qi Condensation 6th Layer, or even the 7th Layer!

The higher her cultivation level, the higher the efficiency of the small tripod in acquiring energy!

This was called investment!

Long-term investment!

Of course, it was also to bind Luo Ziyan even closer to himself.

Seeing that Luo Ziyan was still too shy to raise her head, and looking outside to see that the sky was still early.

Xiao Yuan stroked his chin, looking at the "pretty lady" before him with flushed cheeks and a pitiful appearance, instantly wearing a mischievous smile.

Seeing this expression of his, Luo Ziyan instantly knew what Xiao Yuan wanted to do.

Not knowing what she thought of, her pretty face instantly turned pale with fright, and she instinctively wanted to shrink back, but then thinking of the Medicinal Pills in her hand and meeting Xiao Yuan's "malicious" smile, the blush that had just faded from her face surged up once again.

She bit her lips, and finally, closing her eyes, she directly kissed towards Xiao Yuan.

Xiao Yuan didn't expect her to take the initiative; the smile on the corners of his mouth couldn't be suppressed no matter what.

(Three thousand words are omitted here once again.)

By the time Xiao Yuan stopped feeling refreshed and invigorated, the sun outside the window had almost climbed to the center.

He looked inward at his Dantian, feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

The small tripod once again rippled with flowing radiance, brimming with energy!

A rough calculation showed that this time it was equivalent to a full twenty "Ye Qingcen units"!

Thinking about using Ye Qingcen as a unit of measurement again, Xiao Yuan couldn't help feeling a bit nostalgic for that fiancée of his, Senior Sister Ye!

If there's a chance... see if he could find her again!

By this time, she was probably already preparing to make a Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.

He just wondered if, when her cultivation level broke through to Foundation Establishment and he wanted to go find her again, this woman would turn her hand around and slap him to death.

Thinking about it, Xiao Yuan felt a bit lingering fear.

Forget it, better not to provoke her!

Speaking of which, Luo Ziyan's dual Spiritual Root was also quite formidable!

The efficiency bonus brought by the improvement in cultivation level was very obvious!

Xiao Yuan was wild with joy in his heart.

According to this trend, once Luo Ziyan's cultivation level increased a bit more, he estimated that the energy acquired by the small tripod should barely be able to keep up with the supply!

In contrast, Luo Ziyan's state was... rather "weak".

She barely managed to tidy her clothes.

When she stood up, her legs went soft, and she almost failed to stand steady; her walking posture was obviously somewhat awkward.

"Xiao... Senior Brother Xiao, I... I am going back first."

Her voice was soft and waxy, carrying a deep sense of exhaustion and shyness.

Barely daring to look at Xiao Yuan, she lowered her head and walked out of the Scrap Yard with somewhat weird steps.

Watching her slightly weird back, Xiao Yuan's conscience ached for a rare 0.1 seconds.

It seemed he had gone a bit too far!

Xiao Yuan had an awkward look on his face.

Immediately, he shook his head.

Forget it, pay attention next time.

Sustainable development, sustainable development...

Seeing Luo Ziyan off, Xiao Yuan felt great as he sensed the full energy of the small tripod.

It was time to go do some other things.

He sensed his surroundings, and after confirming that no one was around, Xiao Yuan purified the ten Medium Grade marrow cleansing pills given by Su Ruotong into Perfect Grade Medicinal Pills.

Sure enough, just as Xiao Yuan guessed, better quality meant less energy required for enhancement.

The small tripod's energy required for Medium Grade was noticeably much less than that for Low Grade.

Even for that green scale shield, the energy required was less than half of a broken Spiritual Artifact.

Moreover, the green scale shield was also enhanced into a Top Grade defense Spiritual Artifact.

With the green scale shield, Xiao Yuan felt a bit more at ease in his heart.

Immediately, he left the Scrap Recycling Station, with his target—the market at the foot of the mountain!

With electricity in his pocket, his heart wasn't panicked.

There were still three days left for scrap recycling, and he had no Medicinal Pills left on him, so he had to go to the market as soon as possible to replenish a batch.

He pushed open the wooden door, facing the midday sunlight, and walked towards the direction outside the Sect.

On the other side, Zhao Mingfang paced back and forth with his hands behind his back in his own Cultivation Room, his brows knitted into a knot.

"Why is there still no news?"

He looked towards the door for the Nth time, and the ominous premonition in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

The two Qi Condensation 6th Layer trusted aides sent out last night had agreed to return immediately after succeeding.

But now, it was already high noon, and there was no news at all!

He tried sending people to look for them, but couldn't even find a shadow of them.

"Something happened..."

Zhao Mingfang's expression turned gloomy.

Two Qi Condensation 6th Layer practitioners dealing with a recognized "Qi Condensation 1st Layer Trash" should logically be as simple as pinching an ant to death.

But now, the ant was fine, and the people pinching the ant... were gone?

"Could that brat have done it?"

As soon as this thought popped up, he himself felt it was absurd, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

He had personally sensed it; the spiritual power fluctuation on Xiao Yuan's body was pathetically weak, at best Qi Condensation 2nd Layer!

Such a small fry could silently counter-kill two Qi Condensation 6th Layer practitioners?

You've got to be kidding me!

"Could it be... someone is secretly protecting him?"

Zhao Mingfang thought of another possibility, but then shook his head to deny it, "Him? A miscellaneous laborer collecting scraps, with Five Elements waste Spiritual Roots, having neither background nor potential, who would have nothing better to do than send a master to protect him?"

Thinking over and over, he only felt a fog of confusion.

But he could be certain of one point: the people sent out were most likely not coming back.

However, he also thought of another possibility: could Chen Yin have made a move?

After all, that day at Dan Peak, when Su Ruotong was searching for the jade talisman treasure, Chen Yin was also present.

Thinking of this, his heart tightened.

If Chen Yin succeeded a step ahead, even his Elder brother, who was an Outer Sect Elder, would have to be wary of the other party by a few points.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy his heart became.

Immediately, he found an Outer Sect Disciple, and after promising heavy rewards, asked the other party to monitor Xiao Yuan.

Once Xiao Yuan left the Sect, he would take action himself first; he absolutely could not give Chen Yin a chance.

He could no longer wait; delays would bring changes!