184: Chapter 184 Nascent Soul Wu Family

Traveling for seven days, there was plenty of time.

Su Cheng took some time on the road to go over his recent to-do list once more.

wanbao mirror upgrade: Pick up in three months, progress is normal.

Fang Zhenhai: Once the spirit nurturing pill formula is obtained, the time will be ripe to charge for the Golden Core.

Father's investigation of Xuanhuo Ridge: The chamber of commerce is being prepared; he will set out for the Prefecture City after returning home to arrange clan affairs.

Abnormal movements in the Pingling Prefecture Monster Beast Mountain Range: Spies are continuing their reconnaissance, awaiting further intelligence.

Alchemy Hall Competition: Nearly a year remains; it is a key battlefield for obtaining the spirit nurturing pill formula, but he should also try his luck with Immortal Master Elder Lu Yuan.

Some of these matters were moving forward, while others were in a state of waiting.

But ultimately, they would all converge at the same endpoint: becoming stronger.

On the evening of the seventh day, the mountain gate of the Danding Sect revealed its silhouette in the sea of clouds ahead.

Qingmu Peak, halfway up the mountain.

Su Cheng had just landed at the entrance of his Immortal Cave and hadn't even steadied himself when a Utility Disciple came jogging over, drenched in sweat.

"Senior Brother Su, you're finally back! Elder Qingmu wants you to go to the mountain top as soon as you return; he's been waiting for days!"

Su Cheng's brow twitched. "Did something happen?"

"I'm not sure. Elder Qingmu only said to have you go up, and his tone was quite urgent."

Su Cheng and Chen Yuan exchanged a look.

Chen Yuan shrugged. "You go first; I'm going back to the Immortal Cave to drop off my things."

Su Cheng didn't delay. He tucked his Storage Pouch into his waist and flew straight to the mountain top on his sword.

The wind at the mountain top was a few degrees colder than a month ago; autumn had arrived.

The dragon beard vine was still in the same place, but looking at its appearance, Su Cheng's footsteps faltered.

The dragon beard vine was different. The bark of the main trunk had changed from scorched and withered to a deep brown with a moist texture. The branches were covered in emerald green leaves, and the three thickest vines had grown new shoots as thick as an adult's arm, with pale green buds dotting the tips.

It had recovered—completely and utterly.

Furthermore, its growth rate was at least a month ahead of Su Cheng's estimate before he left.

Elder Qingmu was squatting beneath the vines, a small hoe in hand, loosening the soil around the roots.

Hearing footsteps, the old man straightened his back.

"You're back."

"Revered Master," Su Cheng said, cupping his hands.

"Come and take a look." Elder Qingmu jerked his chin toward the dragon beard vine. "I didn't expect that during the month you were gone, its spiritual self-healing mechanism would actually fully activate, requiring almost no external intervention."

Su Cheng took a few steps closer and used his spiritual power to probe the dragon beard vine's root system.

The meridians were clear, and the spiritual power circulated freely; it was like a completely different plant compared to a month ago.

Not bad; it saved him some effort.

"However, the dragon beard vine is not the reason I called you here."

Su Cheng looked at his Revered Master.

Elder Qingmu stood up and patted the dirt off his hands. The relaxed expression he had while gardening shifted into a seriousness that Su Cheng rarely saw.

"While you were away this past month, something happened in the Sect."

Su Cheng waited.

"Elder Elder Lu Yuan took on a major commission. A Golden Core True Person from outside the Sect has entrusted him with refining a furnace of third-rank High Grade Soul-Returning and Spirit-Condensing Pills. Refining this pill requires a great deal of spiritual soothing and processing of Wood-attribute Spirit Medicines. Elder Lu Yuan immediately thought of you."

Su Cheng wasn't surprised. After the incident with the huayuan pill, Immortal Master Elder Lu Yuan had already formed an evaluation of his ability to process Spirit Medicines; he was bound to come looking for him for this kind of work sooner or later.

"But that's not the issue," Elder Qingmu continued. "The issue lies with the identity of the client."

Su Cheng frowned slightly.

"The person who commissioned this furnace of pills..." Elder Qingmu glanced around and lowered his voice, "is from the Wu Family."

The Wu Family, a Nascent Soul clan in the Prefecture City, and Wu Chen's Family.

Wu Chen, who had taken first place in the selection competition by refining a supreme grade biling pill with the help of Glazed Pure Fire and a precious artifact pill furnace, and was immediately accepted as a Disciple by the Grand Elder, came from this Wu Family.

"A branch Elder of the Wu Family, with a Late Stage Golden Core cultivation, suffered damage to his Divine Soul in an accident twenty years ago. He has survived on Medicinal Pills for years, but recently his condition has worsened."

"The Wu Family branch searched far and wide for alchemists and finally settled on the formula for the Soul-Returning and Spirit-Condensing Pill. In the entire Tianlan Province City, there are no more than three Third-Rank Alchemists capable of refining this furnace of pills, and Elder Lu Yuan is one of them."

Elder Qingmu's brow furrowed.

"Elder Lu Yuan came to see me personally, saying that the success or failure of this furnace of pills is of great importance. The reward offered by the Wu Family is so generous that even he couldn't refuse. He needs you to handle the Spirit Medicine soothing. However..."

Elder Qingmu paused before continuing, "The Xuanguang Peak side has intervened."

Su Cheng didn't think much of it; he would help if he could, and if not, so be it. However, he did feel some doubt in his heart.

"Wait, Revered Master. Doesn't the Wu Family have deep ties with one of our Sect's Grand Elders? Since it's a Late Stage Golden Core Elder who injured their Divine Soul, why not just ask the Grand Elder to step in? With the Grand Elder's Alchemy attainment, refining a furnace of Soul-Returning and Spirit-Condensing Pills shouldn't be difficult."

Elder Qingmu snorted at the question.

"Do you think anyone can just go and beg the Grand Elder? That's only a branch of the Wu Family."

Su Cheng was even more puzzled; wasn't a branch also part of the Wu Family?

"The Wu Family's Grand Elder is from the direct line."

Elder Qingmu picked up the small hoe and weighed it in his palm. "That injured branch Elder was said to have extraordinary talent before his injury, and many people were optimistic about his prospects of breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage. Think about it: once a branch Elder promotes to Nascent Soul, what would happen to the status of the branch?"

Su Cheng straightened out this layer of relationships.

"The direct line is unwilling to help."

"It's hard to say whether they're unwilling or if it's just inconvenient."

Elder Qingmu shook his head. "The internal affairs of the Wu Family are very deep; I'm only speaking from hearsay. But one thing is for certain: the direct line of the Wu Family has also produced a promising talent in these last two generations, with talent no less than that of that branch Elder, and is likewise expected to have a chance at charging for the Nascent Soul."

"Think about it. In a Family where two lines both have a chance to produce a Nascent Soul, but resources are limited, would the direct line be happy to see the branch take that step first?"

There was no need to think; the answer was clear.

"So this time, the branch bypassed the direct line and the Grand Elder to find an outside alchemist themselves."

"Correct. They found Immortal Master Elder Lu Yuan."

Elder Qingmu pointed the handle of the hoe at Su Cheng. "Up to this point, it's not complicated. What's complicated is what follows."

"Xuanguang Peak?"

"Xuanguang Peak is presided over by two Golden Core Elders: Elder Fang is at the Middle Stage Golden Core, and Elder Zhao is at the Late Stage Golden Core. That Disciple with the innate Water Spirit Body is Elder Zhao's Personal Disciple."

Elder Qingmu's face darkened, clearly displeased. "Elder Zhao publicly stated during a Sect meeting that since an outsider is seeking help to refine a third-rank High Grade pill, the success or failure concerns the Sect's reputation."

"The selection of the assistant should not be decided by Elder Lu Yuan alone; it should be arranged uniformly by the Alchemy Hall. Then, he recommended his own Personal Disciple."

Su Cheng mentally laid out the pieces of Xuanguang Peak's hand.

With two Golden Core Elders stepping forward, the weight of this was not light.

Moreover, they were fighting for a position for their own Disciple and had the capability to do so. The Sect needed unity and competition. Although Elder Lu Yuan had selfish motives, it was difficult to push back against them on the surface.

"What is Elder Zhao's angle?"

"On the surface, it's to help his Disciple fight for an opportunity to assist the Wu Family in Alchemy, thereby securing a favor from them."

Elder Qingmu thrust the hoe into the soil. "The underlying motives are harder to say. To ensure that Elder's recovery, the Wu Family branch is prepared to pay through the nose. This reward is likely not low. If Elder Zhao's Disciple can participate, the benefits they receive will not be small."

Su Cheng didn't immediately voice his stance; he was thinking about another layer.

The affinity of a Water Spirit Body for Spirit Medicines is indeed not weak. Elder Zhao recommending his own Disciple is not entirely without merit.

A Water Spirit Body has a characteristic: its ability to blend different medicinal properties during the Fusion stage is quite strong. This is valuable when refining complex pills that require the coordination of multiple main medicines.

But 'valuable' and 'the optimal solution' are two different things.

Among the six main medicines of the Soul-Returning and Spirit-Condensing Pill, three are Wood-attribute Spirit Medicines. The importance of the spiritual soothing stage far outweighs the blending stage; after all, Immortal Master Elder Lu Yuan can handle the blending himself.

Furthermore, Su Cheng's advantage in this area was already proven with the huayuan pill last time.

Elder Lu Yuan's insistence on having him isn't just out of old sentiment; he's also done the math.

But the problem lies... within the internal affairs of the Wu Family. This matter really needs to be carefully considered before giving a reply.

(Judging by the current pace, the protagonist's cultivation cannot be fast. I hope you all don't get hung up on it; the plot is progressing naturally, and the Family will continue to develop later on.)