164: Chapter 164 Following My Junior Brother

Two quarters of an hour later, the yellowing outer leaves of the first azure soul flower began to shed their yellow hue, and a hint of green reappeared at the leaf tips.

The deacon watching from the side felt his legs go weak and pressed the detection talisman onto it again.

The spiritual energy reading on the talisman paper jumped significantly.

He swallowed hard and didn't say a word.

About two hours later, the spirituality of the first azure soul flower had recovered by seventy percent.

Cyan fluorescence lit up the roots once more, and the leaves unfurled, looking even better than before the issue occurred; Su Cheng conveniently infused an extra wisp of Qi of Creation as "interest."

Su Cheng opened his eyes and exhaled, putting on a look of significant exhaustion.

"The first one is almost done; we'll continue with the rest tomorrow."

Just as he finished speaking, footsteps were heard from outside the herb field.

Han Jing had returned, and someone was with him.

The person wore a gray robe and had his hair tied back; his Face was thin, and although his temples were frosted white, his spirit was excellent, with spiritual energy faintly flowing between his steps.

True Man Lü Yuan.

Su Cheng stood up and bowed with cupped hands, "Disciple Su Cheng greets Elder Lü Yuan."

True Man Lü Yuan did not return the greeting immediately but walked straight to the azure soul flower and squatted down to observe it for a long time.

His Divine Sense was more than ten times stronger than anyone else present; a Golden Core-level Divine Sense swept through the core of the azure soul flower's root system, seeing the progress and details of the restoration with perfect clarity.

Then he stood up and looked at Su Cheng.

That gaze was very direct, devoid of any pleasantries or small talk; it was the scrutiny of an old hand looking at a novice, quickly evaluating and judging value.

"I saw what you were just doing," True Man Lü Yuan's voice was neither high nor low. "Han Jing said you noticed something wrong with the spirituality of the azure soul flower three days ago. What did this 'noticing' feel like? Tell me the details."

Su Cheng repeated his previous explanation, in more detail this time—the sluggishness of the spiritual energy flow deep within the azure soul flower's roots, the fluctuation anomalies at the spiritual core that were so faint as to be imperceptible, and the "fissures" sensed after infiltrating with the Qi of Creation and wood-attribute spiritual energy.

After listening, True Man Lü Yuan's gaze swept back and forth over Su Cheng twice.

"During your Sect entrance selection, was your score in the purification stage perfect?"

"Yes."

"A personal Disciple of Elder Qingmu?"

"Yes."

True Man Lü Yuan fell silent; he turned to look at the azure soul flowers again, the one restored to seventy percent forming a sharp contrast with the two next to it that hadn't been touched yet.

After a long while, he turned around.

"Su Cheng, I have a favor to ask of you."

Su Cheng's heartbeat remained steady. Here it comes.

"In ten days, I intend to refine a batch of huayuan pills," True Man Lü Yuan said bluntly. "The core main ingredient of the huayuan pill, the yuanling grass, has an extremely fierce spirituality during extraction. It requires someone nearby to soothe its spirituality and make it cooperate in releasing its medicinal power."

"I have seen your Spiritual Plant Affinity talent with my own eyes; it is the real deal. I would like to invite you to serve as the sixth assistant during the Alchemy process, specifically responsible for handling the spirituality of the yuanling grass and the azure soul flower."

The sixth assistant.

Su Cheng did not rush to nod.

"I am overwhelmed by your favor, Immortal Master. It's just..."

He paused.

"I am a Disciple of Elder Qingmu, so I'm afraid I must first report this matter to my Revered Master. If my Revered Master agrees, I will naturally not shrink from my duty."

True Man Lü Yuan nodded, "As you should. I will personally visit Fellow Daoist Qingmu later."

"Furthermore..." Su Cheng organized his words, his attitude respectful but not humble, "I have one more presumptuous request. My Eldest Senior Brother, Chen Yuan, has also put a lot of hard work into the Dao of Alchemy."

"He usually doesn't have the opportunity to observe the refining process of a third-rank pill. If you don't mind, Immortal Master, I would like to request that you allow him to observe from the side."

"Just to observe, without interfering in any part of the process."

True Man Lü Yuan's expression didn't change; bringing an extra person to watch was a small matter to him. Compared to the risk of the huayuan pill failing due to issues with the Spirit Medicine, this bit of a favor was not worth mentioning at all.

"Very well."

Su Cheng bowed his thanks without any further unnecessary words.

That afternoon, True Man Lü Yuan flew to Qingmu Peak on his sword.

Elder Qingmu was squatting next to a dragon beard vine loosening the soil when he saw a streak of spiritual light descend from the direction of Wanhua Peak. His mind was full of question marks; when did that old fellow Lü Yuan come to his mountain? They hadn't dealt with each other for twenty years, right?

After True Man Lü Yuan landed, he stated his purpose directly: Your Disciple Su Cheng has an extremely rare talent for spiritual plant maintenance, and I would like to borrow him for a few days to assist in refining a huayuan pill.

Elder Qingmu's first reaction was not surprise, but a sense of pride that said, "You only just noticed?"

Of course, he wouldn't say it out loud.

On the surface, Elder Qingmu reservedly stroked his beard, gave a reserved hum, and reservedly stated, "Since Fellow Daoist Lü Yuan thinks highly of my humble Disciple, I naturally cannot refuse to give you Face."

After True Man Lü Yuan left, Elder Qingmu squatted back down by the dragon beard vine and chuckled to himself at the old vine, which had recovered by sixty percent, for a long time.

"I must say, this kid is quite impressive."

He muttered to himself before starting to loosen the soil again.

That same evening, Su Cheng returned to Qingmu Peak.

He didn't go back to his Immortal Cave first but instead took a turn toward Chen Yuan's residence.

Chen Yuan was hunched over his desk drawing a draft of a Array Inscriptions when he heard a knock and looked up, his Face covered in ink stains.

"Senior Brother, is something the matter?"

"Senior Brother, you mentioned before that you wanted an opportunity to observe a third-rank alchemist at work. Do you still want it?"

The brush in Chen Yuan's hand snapped in two with a crack; he stared at Su Cheng, his mouth wide open.

Su Cheng briefly explained the whole story.

By the time he mentioned True Man Lü Yuan's personal invitation, Chen Yuan's ink-stained Face bore an expression too complex to describe: thirty percent ecstasy, thirty percent bewilderment, and forty percent 'what kind of monster is my Junior Brother.'

"How... how did you do it?" Chen Yuan was shocked and confused.

"Just good luck," Su Cheng said, leaning against the doorframe. "There was an issue with the azure soul flowers at Wanhua Peak, and I happened to have taken a maintenance task there, so I helped handle it."

"Good luck?" Chen Yuan stood up and paced back and forth in the Immortal Cave. "A month ago, Wei Tian and the others locked down the spots, and I was shut out. How long has it been? Not only did you squeeze in yourself, but you even got me an observation spot? You call that good luck?"

Su Cheng didn't explain; some things didn't need explanation, as the results spoke for themselves.

Chen Yuan walked up to Su Cheng and said nothing, only giving his shoulder a heavy pat.

"Good."

Just that one word, but his voice was a bit raspy.

That night, Chen Yuan was too excited to sleep; he dug out the alchemy notes he had accumulated over several years and reviewed them, then went to the water to wash his Face and sat under the moonlight in a daze for two hours.

A full observation of a top-tier third-rank alchemist's refining process, and it was even for a huayuan pill.

An opportunity so many people dreamed of had been secured just like that by his Junior Brother.

Chen Yuan recalled Su Cheng's performance in the six months since he joined the Sect: he was taciturn, generous, thorough in his actions, never made empty promises, and always followed through on his word.

He thought back on his own decades of stumbling through the Sect.

Then he reached a conclusion: following this Junior Brother, his future would be limitless.