Chapter 20: Bai Chen's "Brewing Crap" Even Brought the Peak Master!

Bai Chen was going to brew crap — oh wait, brew medicine.

He couldn't leave and didn't know any breath-sealing techniques, so he had no choice but to cover his nose and mouth again, squinting as he endured the ordeal.

Only Shifeng looked utterly intoxicated, flaring his nostrils and inching closer and closer to Bai Chen, until he finally curled his big tail around Bai Chen's ankle and settled down against his leg.

A pair of amber eyes stared fixedly at the thick, bubbling goop churning in the stone pot, drool streaming down in a torrent.

One hour later, the sticky mixture in the stone pot had thickened considerably.

Bai Chen paused his stirring hand, then pulled the firewood from beneath the stove.

"Steward, it's done."

Liu Yan looked at the mixture still faintly bubbling in the stone pot after the fire was extinguished, and withdrew the Spiritual Energy he had been using to cover his nose and mouth.

The moment the Spiritual Energy was removed, the pungent stench immediately invaded his nostrils, making his brow furrow slightly.

Liu Yan pressed his lips together and stepped forward, using his fingertip to scoop a small amount of the paste from the stone pot and taste it carefully.

It smelled worse than dung but wasn't as sticky, and the Inedia effect was clearly present — identical to the previous batch, not a hair's difference.

A flash of intense astonishment swept through the depths of his eyes as he looked up at Bai Chen standing to one side.

He actually knew how to make it — this was no fluke.

A newly admitted disciple with five Spiritual Roots, who had not yet drawn Qi into his body, who knew neither proper Alchemy nor fire-control techniques.

He had merely glanced at the ingredient list for an Inedia Pill, and yet through sheer intuition had managed to brew a pill with a genuine Inedia effect.

Even if the smell was horrifyingly nauseating, this level of talent was already beyond what the word "genius" could describe.

This was a born prodigy with a natural affinity for the Dao of Alchemy — in the hundred years since Hexu Sect's founding, not a single alchemy seedling of this extraordinary kind had ever appeared!

What a pity he had five Spiritual Roots…

Liu Yan looked at Bai Chen, a tumult of complex emotions stirring in his heart.

Regardless of Bai Chen's Spiritual Roots, this matter had already exceeded the scope of what he, a mere Outer Sect steward, could decide.

He should report it to the Alchemy Peak and let them make the call.

Liu Yan said to Bai Chen in a grave tone: "I cannot make a decision about your situation. Wait here while I report to the Alchemy Peak, and I will come find you afterward."

He glanced at the broken wooden door and added: "I'll arrange a different place for you to stay when I return."

Bai Chen cupped his hands in salute: "Understood."

Liu Yan walked out of the wooden hut and glanced at Zhou Shi and Fang He standing outside the door.

"This matter is settled. You two go back and rest."

Without another look at them, he mounted his sword and flew off toward the Alchemy Peak.

Zhou Shi and Fang He exchanged a glance, then without a word between them both headed to Fang He's wooden hut — the one closest to Bai Chen's — to keep a covert watch.

An alchemy prodigy had emerged among their newly admitted disciples. How could they not keep a close eye on things and get the latest news firsthand?

Danyuan Peak was perpetually wreathed in the mist of pill-refining vapors, with dozens of pill-refining chambers scattered across its slopes.

At the very summit stood the "Pill Gathering Pavilion," where the fragrance of medicinal herbs was so thick it seemed impossible to dispel.

Liu Yan landed from his sword, stowed it in his storage bag, and strode forward briskly.

Just as he reached the pavilion entrance, an attendant boy standing guard bowed respectfully: "Steward Liu."

Liu Yan returned the bow: "Please inform the Peak Master that Outer Sect Steward Liu Yan requests an audience. If the Peak Master is occupied, I can return tomorrow."

The attendant boy nodded: "Please wait a moment, Steward Liu."

With that, he turned and slipped quietly through the curtain into the pavilion.

Danyuan Peak's Peak Master, Feng Yang, was dressed in a cinnabar-red embroidered robe, seated upright at a nanmu wood desk, studying a pill scroll.

He appeared to be no older than thirty, with refined and elegant features, his face carrying the warmth of fine jade.

His temperament was calm and gentle, without a trace of the sharp, overbearing pressure typical of cultivators — instead, he exuded the refined and proper bearing of a scholar.

The attendant boy bowed before Feng Yang and said in a soft, lowered voice: "Peak Master, Outer Sect Steward Liu Yan requests an audience and says he has something to report."

Feng Yang heard this, his cinnabar eyes sweeping over the attendant boy as he nodded: "Let him in."

The attendant boy acknowledged and withdrew, lifting the curtain to say to Liu Yan outside: "Steward Liu, the Peak Master invites you in."

Liu Yan straightened his robes, stepped forward, and entered the Pill Gathering Pavilion.

He came before the desk and bowed deeply to Feng Yang.

"Disciple Liu Yan pays his respects to Peak Master Feng Yang."

Feng Yang raised a hand in a gesture for him to rise, his gaze returning to the pill scroll on the desk as he asked casually: "What is it?"

Liu Yan straightened up, stood to one side before the desk with his hands at his sides, and slowly reported.

"Today, this disciple encountered a newly admitted disciple in the Outer Sect's Yugu Valley who possesses a remarkable ability. I have come to report this to the Peak Master."

Feng Yang looked at Liu Yan, raising an eyebrow slightly: "Is it related to Alchemy?"

"Indeed."

Liu Yan nodded.

"The disciple's name is Bai Chen. He was admitted today and has five Spiritual Roots. He has not yet drawn Qi into his body. Using only the ingredient list for an Inedia Pill, he brewed it over a common fire in a stone pot, kneading it by hand, and produced a pill with a genuine Inedia effect."

Feng Yang's expression grew serious: "Without Spiritual Energy to guide the process, he refined an Inedia Pill using only a common fire?"

Liu Yan nodded in confirmation: "Yes. To verify, this disciple personally supervised him as he made another batch. Aside from differences in smell and appearance, it was identical to the sect's standard Inedia Pill in every other respect.

"That disciple knows neither fire-control techniques nor pill-condensing methods. Throughout the entire process, he relied solely on intuition to adjust the heat and blend the ingredients. The flame was a common fire lit from dry branches, and the vessel was nothing more than an ordinary stone pot.

"This disciple felt that such an innate affinity for the Dao of Alchemy is exceedingly rare. Knowing it was beyond my authority to decide, I came to seek the Peak Master's guidance."

Feng Yang's fingers curled slightly, a barely perceptible glint of curiosity flickering in his cinnabar eyes: "You said he has only five Spiritual Roots and was admitted today?"

"Yes." Liu Yan bowed: "This disciple swears on his own cultivation that not a single word of what I have said is false."

Feng Yang fell silent, his fingers lightly tapping the pill scroll.

He had immersed himself in the Dao of Alchemy for decades and had seen countless alchemy seedlings, yet he had never heard of a disciple with five Spiritual Roots, no cultivation, and no foundation who could refine an effective pill through sheer intuition alone.

If what Liu Yan said was true, then this disciple was born with a natural affinity for the Dao of Alchemy — a rare and extraordinary alchemy prodigy.

But he had five Spiritual Roots. This…

Feng Yang set down the pill scroll in his hand and stood up.

"Lead the way."

He would go and verify it himself.

Liu Yan bowed: "Yes."

Feng Yang walked toward the pavilion entrance, with Liu Yan following close behind.

Just as the two were about to exit the Pill Gathering Pavilion, a sound of hurried footsteps came from outside.

A Danyuan Peak disciple rushed over, bowed to Feng Yang, and said with a troubled expression: "Peak Master, Junior Sister Feng just threw out all the dinner that was sent to her, and is saying that if she isn't let out she'll go on a hunger strike. The disciples can't talk her down — what should we do about this…"

Feng Yang's brow immediately knitted tight upon hearing this, and the previously calm expression on his face was instantly overlaid with a layer of coldness.

"If she won't eat, let her starve."

Feng Yang looked at the disciple who had come to report, his tone stern.

"Go back and tell her that Hexu Sect is not a private manor at home — it will not tolerate her being this willful and unruly. If she still doesn't know how to restrain herself and refuses to change her ways, she can pack her things and go home tomorrow.

"Hexu Sect does not accept disciples who disregard rules and act however they please!"

The disciple's heart gave a jolt, and he quickly bowed: "Yes, this disciple will go relay the message to Junior Sister Feng at once!" With that, he hurried away.

Feng Yang frowned as he watched the disciple leave, and after a moment looked at Liu Yan, who stood nearby with his head bowed. He composed himself and waved a hand: "Let's go."

"Yes."

The two said nothing more and walked out of the Pill Gathering Pavilion side by side.

Feng Yang tapped the tip of his foot, and golden-red Spiritual Energy enveloped his form as he rose into the air.

Liu Yan mounted his sword and followed.

Two streaks of spiritual light shot straight toward Yugu Valley.

In a fleeting moment, two figures descended before the wooden huts beside the low bamboo grove in Yugu Valley.

Liu Yan stowed his sword, stepped to the side, and gestured: "Peak Master, Bai Chen's residence is just ahead."

Feng Yang nodded and walked toward the wooden hut.

At that moment, in Fang He's wooden hut not far away, Zhou Shi and Fang He were pressing their faces to the gap in the window, craning their necks to peek.

Upon hearing Liu Yan's words, the two stared at each other in shock.

What did Steward Liu just say?

The Peak Master?

Holy shit!

Bai Chen's "brewing crap" actually brought the Peak Master here?!