Now with enough spirit stones, Bai Xiaochun didn't want to think about the little turtle anymore. His heart was riddled with wounds — the only way to heal was to immerse himself in alchemy again.
Gradually, tier-two pills became second nature in Bai Xiaochun's hands. He pushed his success rate to astonishing levels before finally starting to try tier-three pills.
As he practiced refining tier-three pills, booms and rumbles often came from his room in the Pill-Concocting Pavilion. Once, for some unknown reason, the pill furnace even exploded into the air and clanged down heavily on the floor.
That wasn't even the worst of it. One time, thick smoke burst out of the furnace — so bizarre that even the formations couldn't contain it. In the blink of an eye, it filled half the entire pavilion, forcing all the other alchemists out, coughing and cursing.
Bai Xiaochun was bewildered and ran out too. In the end, no one could find out who the culprit was.
Bai Xiaochun felt wronged. After hesitating a while, he crept back to refining tier-three pills. Before long, even he found it strange — he kept producing oddball pills. From the very beginning, he'd had this quirk. Back then, he'd attracted countless ants… and then there was that love-inducing pill…
He vaguely suspected that even he was afraid of his weird pills.
"Could it be because I refuse to stick to fixed recipes? I always want to tweak things to my liking… Or maybe my talent is just so rare that even Heaven is jealous and keeps making things hard for me?" Bai Xiaochun looked at the dozens of oddly shaped, colorful pills before him, frowning miserably.
Some were still round, but others were square, and some were just lumps that looked like blobs of clay squeezed together. One glance made it clear these weren't normal pills — yet each one still gave off a fragrant medicinal scent.
The problem was, Bai Xiaochun wouldn't dare swallow them for all the spirit stones in the world. Who knew what strange effects they might have?
"My goal is the pinnacle of alchemy — drifting in the sky like clouds, untouched by worldly gains. This road must be rough, but I'm not afraid. I'll keep going. That's me — the unique Bai Xiaochun." He took a deep breath, his face slowly filling with stubborn determination, as if he were a martyr to his Dao. He put away the weird pills and got back to work.
And so he refined pills for half a year straight. By the end, hardly anyone could keep refining in the Pill Pavilion — it had simply become too dangerous. One time, the furnace in his room cracked wide open with a deafening bang. Bai Xiaochun had to pay for the damage with spirit stones and was politely invited to leave.
He was about to use his status as the sect leader's apprentice to argue when he noticed a message from Zhang Dapang in his transmission jade. Zhang Dapang was waiting outside his residence, asking where he'd gone.
Seeing that Zhang Dapang was here, Bai Xiaochun gave up on the Pill Pavilion. Walking along the path of Fragrant Cloud Mountain, he felt a wave of emotion.
"Pursuing the peak of alchemy is bound to be a rough road. I, Bai Xiaochun, am the drifting clouds of the sky — I will never bend!" He lifted his head proudly. But as he walked, he realized something was off. It was midday, usually the busiest time in the sect, yet Fragrant Cloud Mountain was eerily quiet. A quick glance showed not a single disciple above the sixth level of Qi Condensation — only those below that level were still around.
Perplexed, Bai Xiaochun returned to his courtyard. From afar, he saw a tall, skinny young man pacing back and forth outside his door, looking excited.
It was none other than Zhang Dapang, after he'd slimmed down.
"Senior Brother!" Bai Xiaochun ran over, calling out.
"Ninth Junior Brother!" Zhang Dapang turned at once. When he saw Bai Xiaochun, he burst out laughing. He didn't care at all about Bai Xiaochun's special position as the sect leader's apprentice. To him, Bai Xiaochun would always be his little junior brother.
Bai Xiaochun led him into the courtyard. The two sat down and chatted about recent events until Bai Xiaochun finally asked curiously,
"Senior Brother, you rarely come by. What brings you here today? If you need anything from me, just say it."
Bai Xiaochun really did see Zhang Dapang as his older brother. He still felt warm whenever he thought of the days in the spirit kitchen.
Zhang Dapang cleared his throat. He couldn't hide the pride and excitement on his face as he looked at Bai Xiaochun. He patted his chest — though the old slapping sound of fat had become the solid thump of bone, his aura surged all the same.
"Ninth Junior Brother, let me tell you a huge secret!"
Bai Xiaochun's eyes widened the moment he heard the word secret. He leaned in, listening closely — for some reason, this felt oddly familiar.
"In the future, I, Zhang Dapang, will be famous throughout the Spirit Stream Sect — everyone will know my name. Plenty of disciples will try to curry favor with me. Even Foundation Establishment elders might treat me with respect!" Zhang Dapang announced proudly.
"Eh? Why? Are you the little turtle too?" Bai Xiaochun blinked.
"What little turtle? Ninth Junior Brother, you know my master is Lady Xu Meixiang, right? The Peak Lord of Violet Cauldron Mountain?" Zhang Dapang's eyes shone. He took a deep breath and continued solemnly.
Bai Xiaochun nodded — he knew this. He also knew Zhang Dapang had lost weight because his master didn't like fat disciples. Back then, Bai Xiaochun had even come up with some strange ideas about it.
"You know what my master is best at? Spirit Enhancement! And guess what I've been learning from her? Spirit Enhancement!"
"Haha! I, Zhang Dapang, have a natural gift for Spirit Enhancement. My master praised me to the skies — she was shocked by my talent! She even told me herself that in a few years, I'll become the Spirit Stream Sect's number one Spirit Enhancer!" Zhang Dapang stood up, lifted his head to the sky, and his aura exploded — for a moment, he seemed invincible.
"Spirit Enhancement?" Bai Xiaochun blinked at Zhang Dapang's impressive pose and quickly put on a look of admiration, gasping in awe.
Seeing Bai Xiaochun so cooperative, Zhang Dapang was even more delighted. He slapped Bai Xiaochun's shoulder.
"Ninth Junior Brother! From now on, if people want me to enhance their gear, I