51: Chapter 51: As long as you don't let go, how long does the hug count?

"Fine. As long as you refine a perfect Ningjin Pill for me, I will agree to your request."

"Deal!" Xiao Ye extended his hand with a beaming smile. "Have you prepared the spiritual materials for refining the Ningjin Pill?"

"There's only one set. You'd better be careful during the Alchemy process; if you fail, you'll have to compensate me for the materials!"

"Don't worry, don't worry, my Alchemy skills are top-notch! Hand them over!"

Zi Yun looked at his outstretched palm, then at his old Face blooming with laughter. She couldn't help but feel he was a bit unreliable!

Nevertheless, she turned and went to the storehouse.

She solemnly handed the herbs for refining the Ningjin Pill to Xiao Ye.

Along with them were the spiritual materials Xiao Ye had requested—ten sets each for Yuan-Gathering Pills and Green Spirit Pills, plus a pile of miscellaneous second-grade spiritual materials. Including the remaining Spirit Stones, it totaled exactly two million.

Pocketing the materials and Spirit Stones, Xiao Ye hummed a little tune as he left the Treasure Pill Hall, his steps as light as if he were treading on Wind-Fire Wheels.

Behind him, Zi Yun leaned against the counter, watching his departing back and muttering to herself, "This old thing... can he actually pull it off?"

She looked down at her hands and then touched her own Face.

For the sake of a perfect Ningjin Pill, she had even sacrificed her 'Grandmother' status.

Bah... that's not right. She was just playing the role of someone's grandmother for once.

Elder Xiao, please don't make me wait too long.

One month later, inside the storehouse of the Treasure Pill Hall.

Zi Yun clutched the small porcelain bottle in her hand tightly, as if afraid it might fly away, her knuckles turning white from the grip.

Inside was her only hope for a Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage; how could she not hold it tight?

"We agreed, just one hug." She looked up at Xiao Ye, a final trace of struggle in her voice.

"Mm-hmm." Xiao Ye nodded obediently like a child waiting for candy, yet his eyes never left her... chest for a moment.

That gaze was so sticky it could pull threads.

Zi Yun took a deep breath, her chest heaving. She closed her eyes and proactively spread her arms, looking like a little white rabbit about to head to the execution ground. "Then... go ahead."

The next moment, a hot body pressed tightly against her.

"Mmm~"

Xiao Ye felt as if he were hugging a sponge—soft, supple, and carrying a faint milky fragrance. It was so comfortable he almost let out a moan.

This feeling! It was even more elastic than Bai Susu's 'G-cups' and more addictive than Zhang Waner's slender waist.

Ten breaths passed.

"Let go~ You said just one hug." Zi Yun's voice came muffled from behind his shoulder.

"It is just one hug," Xiao Ye said righteously, remaining motionless. "I'm still in the middle of that one hug."

Zi Yun: "..."

So your logic is—as long as you don't let go, any length of time counts as 'one' hug?

She wanted to lash out, but then she thought that this guy was treating her as his late grandmother to reminisce, which seemed somewhat understandable.

After all, he had done her such a huge favor; a perfect Ningjin Pill was something money couldn't buy.

Fine, let him hug.

But a second later, her brow furrowed.

If you're going to hug, then hug. Can you stop moving your hands around?

Xiao Ye's hands had started getting restless at some point, slowly sliding down from her back like a lost snake exploring a new map.

Zi Yun's Face instantly flushed crimson, the heat spreading from her neck to the tips of her ears.

She bit her lip, enduring it again and again, until she finally couldn't take it and pushed him away. Her chest heaved violently, whether from anger or embarrassment.

Seeing that Zi Yun was about to explode, Xiao Ye quickly retracted his hands. With a sheepish smile, he stepped back and raised both hands above his head in a gesture of surrender. "Sorry, sorry, Fellow Daoist Zi Yun, you're just too charming... oh no, I mean, you look too much like my grandmother! I got excited and..."

Zi Yun rolled her eyes at him.

The cat's out of the bag, isn't it? I knew it; this guy was just taking advantage of me.

But in the adult world, some things are better left unsaid.

Everyone keeps some Face so they can meet again later. Was she supposed to say—I know you're only hugging me to take advantage of me, but I don't mind because I need something from you?

That would be too awkward.

Zi Yun tucked the porcelain bottle into her robes, smoothed out her crumpled collar, and said expressionlessly, "Fine, I've received the pill. You can go now."

Xiao Ye walked out with a fawning smile, looking back every few steps. At the door, he stopped and turned to ask, "Fellow Daoist Zi Yun, uh... if the Breakthrough fails, I can refine another one for you. I won't raise the price!"

"Get out—!"

Xiao Ye took off running.

Behind him, the storehouse door slammed shut with a bang.

Zi Yun leaned against the door, looking down at her crumpled collar, her Face reddening even more.

This old thing actually cursed her!

With a perfect Ningjin Pill, if she still couldn't Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage, she might as well stop being a Pure Cultivator and become a Carnivorous Cultivator instead.

By using the methods of a Carnivorous Cultivator, she could definitely Breakthrough. Although her Realm would be unstable and her combat power weak, she would still be a Golden Core Master!

However, less than a month later.

Lakeside Courtyard.

Xiao Ye was sitting cross-legged in meditation, eyes closed as he Cultivated. His aura was steady, giving him the air of a grandmaster.

Suddenly, the courtyard gate was pushed open with a bang, and a figure stumbled inside.

It was Zi Yun.

Her aura was chaotic, her Face pale, and her eyes slightly red, looking as if she had been beaten up.

"Whoa~ Fellow Daoist Zi Yun, what happened to you?" Xiao Ye opened his eyes and looked her up and down, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "Don't tell me..."

Sure enough, just as expected.

Zi Yun's Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage had failed.

"Elder Xiao, I... I want to ask you to refine another perfect Ningjin Pill."

Zi Yun bit her lip, her voice strained as if she were swallowing glass shards. "I understand the rules."

"Sure, give me the herbs for the Ningjin Pill!"

"I haven't... found another golden spirit fruit yet! Elder Xiao, do you have one?" Zi Yun lowered her head in embarrassment. She was asking someone to refine a pill, yet she hadn't even gathered the spiritual materials.

Xiao Ye's brow furrowed. He uncrossed his legs and said seriously, "Fellow Daoist Zi Yun, it's not that I won't refine it for you. You don't even have the main ingredient, the golden spirit fruit. How can I refine it? Besides, with Medicinal Pills, the first one has the best effect. If you couldn't Breakthrough the first time, even if I gave you two more Ningjin Pills, you still wouldn't succeed."

His words were blunt, but every sentence was logical.

The expression on Zi Yun's Face crumbled bit by bit, as if all her strength had been drained away.

How could she not know this? She just didn't want to give up.

At this moment, she only hated her own poor Aptitude—she had even taken a perfect Ningjin Pill, yet she still couldn't Breakthrough.

Despair, grievance, and loss flooded her heart all at once.

She crouched on the ground, buried her head in her knees, and cried.

She sobbed heart-wrenchingly, her shoulders heaving, tears dripping through her fingers and wetting the ground.

Xiao Ye was startled and hurriedly moved closer. "Hey—don't cry! I said the Ningjin Pill won't work, but I didn't say other pills wouldn't."

"Huh?" The crying stopped abruptly.

Zi Yun snapped her head up, looking at him with teary eyes, her nose red like a startled rabbit. "You mean... there are other pills that can help me Breakthrough? To Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage, isn't there only the Ningjin Pill?"

"There is one," Xiao Ye said, raising a finger and speaking slowly. "The dust-descending pill. After a Foundation Establishment Cultivator takes it, their chance of a Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage increases by thirty percent."