Chapter 19: Why Call It "Wind Devourer"? Call It "Dung Devourer"!

Liu Yan shook his head helplessly and raised his hand to reveal a dark jade tablet the size of a palm.

This jade tablet was the exclusive steward's badge of the Steward Hall — just like the wooden tablet hanging at Bai Chen's waist, it served as an identity token.

All identity tokens in Hexu Sect had spirit runes carved within them. Not only did they record the wearer's information, they could also track sect contribution points.

By channeling Spiritual Energy to activate the spirit runes inside the token, one could verify identity or transfer contribution points.

He gathered a wisp of Spiritual Energy at his fingertip and lightly touched the steward's badge, then raised it to face the identity token hanging at Bai Chen's waist.

After a faint hum, Bai Chen's wooden tablet shimmered with a pale blue glow, and the previously blank shallow engravings on its surface slowly revealed the character "六" — six.

Six contribution points had been transferred into his identity token.

"The identity token won't be usable by others only after it has been bound to Spiritual Energy and recognized its owner. Since you haven't yet drawn Qi into your body, keep the token safe — if it's lost, there's no way to recover it."

Liu Yan put away his steward's badge and offered Bai Chen a word of caution.

"Many thanks, Steward Sir!"

Bai Chen ran his fingers over the engravings on the wooden tablet, his face full of delight.

So contribution points could be transferred directly onto the identity token — this wasn't so different from mobile payments in the modern world.

Once he drew Qi into his body, the wooden token would even be safe from loss, making it even more secure than mobile payments.

How convenient!

Liu Yan gave a slight nod, glanced at the porcelain bottle in his hand containing the "Inedia Pills," and couldn't help but study Bai Chen more carefully.

As an Outer Sect steward, his primary duty was to discover talented individuals for the sect.

Now that the earlier misunderstanding had passed, he had finally noticed what was truly remarkable.

"You haven't drawn Qi into your body yet, have you?"

Bai Chen smiled and nodded. "To answer Steward Sir, this disciple has only just entered the sect and has not yet drawn Qi."

Though Liu Yan had already been certain Bai Chen hadn't drawn Qi into his body, surprise still surfaced in his eyes.

Alchemy inherently required one to draw Qi and control fire, using Spiritual Energy to condense the medicinal essence.

Even the most basic Inedia Pill required a cultivator of at least the Qi Refining Stage to manage with any competence.

Yet Bai Chen — a mere mortal who hadn't even drawn Qi — had produced a pill with genuine Inedia effects using nothing but ordinary fire and bare-handed kneading.

Even if the pill reeked and looked crude.

Its genuine efficacy was right there before his eyes — it was undeniably an Inedia Pill.

But whether this was a fluke or whether Bai Chen truly had the skill still needed to be confirmed.

If it wasn't a fluke, then this person was clearly a born talent for Alchemy!

Whether it was a coincidence or genuine ability — he needed to verify it.

Liu Yan said to Bai Chen, "Wait here for me a moment."

With that, a three-foot azure sword flew out from his storage pouch and hovered beneath his feet. Liu Yan rose on his sword, streaking away as a flash of light that vanished in an instant above the bamboo grove of the secluded valley.

He left alone, without taking Shi Feng along.

Shi Feng sat in place watching his master depart on the sword, showing no intention of chasing after him.

Instead, it turned its head, its amber eyes fixed unblinkingly on Bai Chen, its tail swaying gently behind it.

Its mouth smacked contentedly from time to time, and the way it looked at Bai Chen carried a hint of affection.

Clearly, that pot of Inedia Pills had truly suited its palate — and by extension, it had developed a fondness for the person who had made such a "delicious" treat.

Bai Chen looked at Shi Feng grinning at him, thought for a moment, then picked up the overturned stone pot from the ground and scooped out a lump of the paste to offer it.

After all, its master had already paid — might as well let it eat.

At the sight of the paste being offered, Shi Feng instantly perked up, its great tail shooting upright and wagging so fast it became a blur.

It snatched the lump of medicinal paste eagerly and swallowed it down in two or three gulps, then curled its tongue to lick away the remnants at the corners of its mouth and the tip of its nose — and while it was at it, its pink tongue gave Bai Chen's palm a gentle lick.

Then it leaned its body against Bai Chen's leg.

"Holy shit!"

Bai Chen stumbled and nearly toppled over, hastily pushing against Shi Feng's head with both hands in protest.

"Do you have any idea how big you are?!"

Shi Feng paid no attention to what Bai Chen said, and of its own accord kept bumping its head against him, whining and nudging toward the stone pot.

Bai Chen understood perfectly what Shi Feng wanted, so he scooped out another lump and stuffed it into its mouth, then wiped his hand on Shi Feng's head — or rather, gave it a rub.

He muttered to himself inwardly.

This thing loves eating dung so much — why call it "Wind Devourer"? Should've named it "Dung Devourer."

* * *

After Liu Yan departed on his sword, Zhou Shi and Fang He stood awkwardly outside the wooden hut beside the low bamboo.

Liu Yan had come because the two of them had gone to the Steward Hall to "report" the matter.

Now that things had been cleared up as a misunderstanding, and Liu Yan had given no further instructions, they didn't dare leave on their own.

They could only pinch their noses and stand their ground.

Before long, a streak of azure light swept across the horizon — Liu Yan returned on his sword.

He touched down lightly, carrying several plain cloth bundles, put away his sword, and walked straight into the wooden hut, spreading the bundles open on the wooden table inside.

Bai Chen glanced at the contents of the bundles and found that they contained polished rice, poria mushroom, Chinese yam, and other ingredients used to make Inedia Pills.

With a feeling of what was coming, he looked toward Liu Yan — and sure enough, Liu Yan turned and said, "Do it again. Let me watch."

As expected, the Steward Sir wanted to personally assess his abilities and see whether that previous pot of Inedia Pills had been a lucky accident or whether he truly had some skill.

He didn't decline. He clasped his hands and bowed toward Liu Yan. "This disciple obeys."

Bai Chen carefully scraped out the residual medicinal material left in the stone pot, washed it clean, and laid out the new ingredients Liu Yan had brought one by one.

He lit the fire and set the pot. Drawing on that inexplicable intuition within him, Bai Chen repeated the entire process of brewing the "Inedia Pills" from before.

The firewood crackled and burned, flames licking the bottom of the stone pot.

At first, the contents of the stone pot gave off the clean sweetness of polished rice and the fresh crispness of light bamboo leaves, mingled with the dense fragrance of poria mushroom — quite pleasant, actually.

Outside the wooden hut, Zhou Shi and Fang He exchanged looks of surprise.

If it had smelled like this earlier, they wouldn't have gone to find the steward at all.

Liu Yan was equally puzzled, and as he looked at Bai Chen, a faint trace of disappointment even stirred in his heart.

Could it be that the previous pot had been a fluke after all?

The three people's doubts didn't last long. The pleasant fragrance suddenly changed character.

The clean sweetness was smothered by a thick, rank stuffiness, followed by a surge of scorched bitterness.

Several odors churned together under the high heat, growing stranger and stranger as they fermented, until at last they drove straight toward that same "dung-like stench" as before.

Perhaps because the pot was still cooking, the smell was even stronger and more pungent than the last batch.

"Ugh!"

Zhou Shi was the first to crack, clapping his hand hard over his mouth and nose as he stumbled backward several steps.

Fang He followed suit, retreating alongside him. The two backed all the way to the edge of the bamboo grove — a good three meters from the wooden hut — yet the piercing stench still reached them.

The smell stung their eyes shut, leaving them squinting and dry-heaving, without even the energy to complain.

Inside the hut, Liu Yan's brow furrowed deeply as well.

The stench bored straight into his nasal passages.

But he had to stay and watch Bai Chen brew the Inedia Pills and couldn't leave, so he simply activated a breath-sealing technique.

In an instant, the foul odor was cut off, and the world was finally at peace.