189: Why are you being so distant?

However, after taking those few pills simply made by the physician, there was no improvement at all.

Liu Yuting carried Liu Mingyu on her back and rushed out of the Yellow Rank Class courtyard without looking back, leaving behind a few awkward snickers and hushed discussions.

“Tsk, that girl has quite a temper!”

“Isn't she just relying on Senior Brother Jiang's special regard for her? Otherwise, with her just having broken through to Dou Practitioner, where would she get such confidence?”

Liu Yuting ignored them, her steps quick, heading straight for the Alchemy Department.

Liu Mingyu's breathing grew weaker and weaker, the poison had already spread to his neck, and purplish-black lines faintly emerged under his skin, climbing like a spiderweb.

His consciousness was blurry, his lips trembled slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but could only emit faint gasps.

“Brother, hold on!”

Liu Yuting gritted her teeth, her steps even faster.

“Big Brother Jiang must have a way!”

However, when she rushed to the main hall of the Alchemy Department, she was stopped by two guards.

“Stop! This is an important alchemy area, idlers are not allowed!”

Liu Yuting was anxious and shouted directly.

“I'm looking for Senior Brother Jiang Donghua! It's a matter of life and death, please inform him!”

The guards hesitated for a moment, but ultimately dared not neglect her, and turned to walk deeper into the main hall.

Passing through several corridors, they arrived in front of a quiet secret chamber. Taking a deep breath, he placed his palm on the sound-transmitting stone next to the secret chamber and respectfully said.

“Master Jiang, there is a woman named Liu Yuting outside asking to see you. She says she is your friend and that you sought out her and her brother today. I dared not act on my own, so I came to report.”

There was a moment of silence in the secret chamber, then a low, gentle voice came out.

“Liu Yuting?”

Before he finished speaking, the stone door of the secret chamber opened with a rumble, and a tall figure stepped out.

Jiang Donghua was dressed in white, with features as exquisite as a painting, but at this moment, there was a rare hint of anxiety in his eyes.

“Where is she?”

The guard was stunned, not expecting Master Jiang to actually know the woman, and with such urgency. He quickly said.

“She's right outside, carrying a poisoned man, and the situation seems dire!”

Jiang Donghua's eyes darkened, and his figure flickered. He directly used a movement technique, transforming into an afterimage and streaking towards the outside of the hall.

Liu Yuting was waiting anxiously when suddenly her vision blurred, and a familiar figure appeared before her.

“Big Brother Jiang!”

Her eyes reddened, and her voice trembled slightly.

Jiang Donghua's gaze fell on Liu Mingyu, who was on her back. Seeing the purplish-black poison lines spreading on his neck, his brows instantly furrowed.

“The poison has entered his heart meridian. Any later, even immortals couldn't save him.”

He said in a deep voice, then reached out a hand, and a gentle Dou Qi surged into Liu Mingyu's body, temporarily suppressing the spread of the poison.

“Follow me!”

Without another word, he took Liu Mingyu, his figure like the wind, and led Liu Yuting straight to the inner hall of the Alchemy Department.

Seeing this, the two guards dared not obstruct them, quickly made way, and secretly rejoiced in their hearts.

Fortunately, they didn't offend this young lady, otherwise, they couldn't bear Master Jiang's wrath!

Jiang Donghua frowned slightly, while circulating Dou Qi to refine the medicinal power for Liu Mingyu, he asked in a deep voice.

“Yuting, how did you two provoke such a poisonous creature? With your strength, you shouldn't have rashly entered an area infested with poisonous spiders.”

Liu Yuting's eyes were red, and her voice still carried a hint of lingering fear.

“We originally just went to the outer perimeter of the mountain range to hunt Tumu Foxes, hoping to exchange them for some cultivation resources. But we didn't expect that soon after entering the forest, we would accidentally stray into a dense forest filled with poisonous mist!”

She bit her lip and continued.

“That poisonous spider was hiding in the trees and suddenly sprang out! My brother was bitten by one of them while protecting me. If I hadn't just broken through to Dou Practitioner, I barely managed to get him out of the encirclement.”

She didn't continue, but her trembling fingertips revealed her inner fear.

Jiang Donghua's gaze sharpened, and the Dou Qi in his hand surged violently. The medicinal power within Liu Mingyu's body was instantly completely activated.

“Cough—!”

In less than a minute, the previously dying Liu Mingyu suddenly coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of black blood, and the purplish-black poison lines on his face also faded a bit.

“Brother!”

Liu Yuting rushed forward in surprise.

Jiang Donghua withdrew his hand and said lightly.

“The poison is temporarily stable. A good night's sleep will do him good.”

But it seemed that these siblings, especially Liu Mingyu, looked as if he wanted to speak but didn't.

Jiang Donghua patted his shoulder and said.

“Just say what you want to say directly.”

Upon hearing Jiang Donghua's words, a complex expression appeared on Liu Mingyu's pale face. He struggled to sit up, his voice weak but with a hint of bitterness.

“Master Jiang, you jest. Those were trivial matters back then. Now you are a Fourth-Grade Alchemist, with a respected status. How dare we, siblings, try to climb higher!”

Jiang Donghua's brows furrowed even deeper, a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes, and he directly interrupted him.

“Liu Mingyu, when did you become so timid?”

He took a step forward, his tone light, yet carrying an undeniable firmness.

“Back then, when my strength was low and I was ostracized, who gave me a first-grade treasure blade, and which two people stayed in that carriage all the way to keep me company and relieve my boredom!”

He stared at Liu Mingyu with burning eyes, his voice slightly deep.

“What, now that I've only achieved a small success in alchemy, you're becoming so polite with me?”

Liu Mingyu was startled, a flicker of trance in his eyes, as if remembering his former bold and righteous self, and his current cautious self due to the difference in strength. For a moment, he couldn't speak.

Liu Yuting watched from the side and couldn't help but interject softly.

“Brother, Big Brother Jiang has never changed. It's you who are overthinking things.”

Jiang Donghua snorted lightly, and with a flick of his sleeve, a pill emitting a faint fragrance flew directly into Liu Mingyu's hand.

“Eat it, stop talking nonsense.”

Liu Mingyu looked down at the invaluable pill in his palm, his throat bobbed, and finally, he gave a wry smile.

“Brother Jiang, I was being sentimental.”

He swallowed the pill, and immediately a warm current surged through his body, and his previously sluggish meridians felt much smoother.

Jiang Donghua's expression then softened slightly, and he said lightly.

“That's more like it.”

He turned and walked to a nearby medicine rack, picking out medicinal ingredients as he casually said.

“I was originally planning to come find you two today, but I didn't expect you to send me such a big gift first.”

Liu Yuting blinked, curiously asking.

“Big Brother Jiang, are you looking for us for something?”

Jiang Donghua didn't turn his head, his tone still flat.

“After much thought, your previous first-grade weapons should be due for an upgrade, shouldn't they?”

Before they could react, he lightly swiped his finger, and the storage ring shimmered. Several pieces of equipment emitting powerful auras appeared out of thin air, suspended in mid-air, faintly radiating water and earth element energy fluctuations.

profound ice spirit blade—a slender sword, entirely azure, its blade like congealed ice. When wielded, it could evoke swirling mists, and wherever its edge passed, the air seemed to freeze into frost.

Azure Wave Soft Armor—crafted from deep-sea profound iron and the scales of a third-grade water-element magical beast, it was as light as nothing, yet could automatically condense a water-screen shield when attacked, offsetting part of the impact.

earth vein heavy sword—its blade was as thick and heavy as rock, yet its edge was incredibly sharp. When swung, it could draw upon the power of the earth veins, making the sword strikes as heavy as mountains, suitable for a broad and powerful fighting style.

Bedrock Battle Armor—forged from geo-core refined iron and the carapaces of earth-element magical beasts, its defense was astonishing, capable of even withstanding Dou Ling Level attacks without shattering.

Any one of these pieces of equipment, if placed in an outside auction house, could fetch a sky-high price of hundreds of thousands of gold coins!

And now, Jiang Donghua actually took out four pieces at once, with a total value definitely exceeding a million gold coins!

Liu Yuting and Liu Mingyu's eyes widened, their mouths slightly agape, but they couldn't utter a single word.

Liu Yuting's fingertips trembled slightly. She reached out to touch the profound ice spirit blade, but then quickly pulled her hand back as if afraid of dirtying it, her voice trembling.

“Big, Big Brother Jiang, this, this is too valuable!”

Liu Mingyu was even more directly frozen in place, his throat bobbed, and he swallowed with difficulty. After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

“Brother Jiang, how, how dare we accept this?”

Jiang Donghua looked at their shocked, almost dazed expressions, and couldn't help but laugh. With a wave of his hand, the four pieces of equipment flew towards the two of them respectively.

“Take them. With your current strength, without some good things for self-defense, if you encounter poisonous spiders again next time, you might not necessarily come back alive.”

Liu Yuting fumbled to catch the profound ice spirit blade and the Azure Wave Soft Armor, feeling the cold touch from the weapons. Her eyes reddened slightly, and her voice choked.

“Big Brother Jiang, I!”

Liu Mingyu, on the other hand, tightly gripped the earth vein heavy sword, feeling the heavy power emanating from the blade. He took a deep breath, finally no longer declining, and clasped his fists heavily, saying in a deep voice.

“Brother Jiang, words cannot express my gratitude!”

Jiang Donghua waved his hand, his tone relaxed.

“Alright, stop being sentimental, quickly get familiar with the new equipment. In a couple of days, I'll take you two to a place, just in time to try them out.”

The siblings exchanged glances, and besides the shock, there was an undisguised excitement in their eyes. From today onwards, their path of cultivation would be completely different!