Lu Yaoyao rolled her eyes and cheerfully called out, “Master! Eldest Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, Fourth Senior Brother! I’m back!”
Hall Master Mo’s displeased expression softened upon seeing his second disciple and youngest disciple. “You’re back.”
Ziwan secretly turned his head and made a funny expression to Lu Yaoyao before returning to stand up straight with a serious face.
Ziwen held Lu Yaoyao’s hand and led her to stand next to Ziting. They both paid full attention to the instructions.
“Ziwen has already explained your progress to me. Have you memorized the four introductory books on alchemy and the compendium materia?”
Lu Yaoyao replied earnestly, “Yes, Master.”
Ziwen smiled and commented, “Little Junior Sister is very smart.”
“One pure, one impure. The metal and wood are separated by the gate of earth. Where does this come from, and what does it mean?”
“Replying to Master, this passage comes from the ‘Recovering Elixir and Life,’ and it means the convergence of one essence and one mind, where yin and yang come together at the gate of life and death…” Seeing Lu Yaoyao fluently recite the passage, Hall Master Mo’s expression became even more relaxed and he nodded slightly in satisfaction.
After she finished reciting, the questions continued. Lu Yaoyao answered all of them correctly, causing Hall Master Mo’s mood to improve significantly. He had been frustrated by his two disciples’ behavior, but now, seeing Lu Yaoyao’s progress, he finally felt some relief.
“Well done. It’s impressive that you’ve thoroughly understood the four alchemy books and can recognize spiritual materials in just half a month. However, you must remain humble and patient. This is just the beginning. Starting from tomorrow, you will come here for lessons every day.””
Originally, it should have been him who taught his youngest disciple, but he had been in seclusion for over a month. During that time, he had entrusted her guidance to his most responsible second disciple. Since he didn’t plan to go into seclusion again in the short term, he decided to keep her close.
“Master, can I start refining pills now?” Lu Yaoyao’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
Hall Master Mo smiled kindly. “Don’t be impatient. You can start once you’ve learned the other essentials.”
“Alright!”
Ziwan and Ziting, thinking that their Master was no longer angry, relaxed their posture subconsciously. But the next moment, Hall Master Mo’s sharp gaze fell on them, causing them to immediately stiffen. Hall Master Mo transformed into a fiery dragon, scolding, “Look at you two! And look at your little junior sister! Don’t you feel embarrassed as a senior brother? Instead of improving in your alchemy skills, you’ve regressed! You’re not young anymore, and yet you play around all the time…”
Hall Master Mo was truly distressed. These two disciples, who had been carefully selected as his personal disciples due to their extraordinary talents in alchemy, were not focused on their cultivation. One was constantly causing trouble, and the other was always thinking about going down the mountain. They often drove him to the brink of madness.
What a waste of talent! A complete waste!
Ziwan and Ziting, the troublesome pair, were once again subjected to a torrent of criticism.
In the end, it was Lu Yaoyao, the caring little junior sister, who rescued them from their master’s anger.
“It’s really good to have a junior sister,” Ziwan said with lingering fear. Next to him, Ziting’s face also turned green. Their two senior brothers would just stand aside and listen as they were getting scolded by Master. As expected, a junior sister was better. Only she would feel sorry for them!
The five senior brothers and sister left the courtyard together. Ziting gently patted Lu Yaoyao’s head and said, “Listen, Little Junior Sister. Your senior brothers are relying on you. Try to excel and make Master proud. He’s very eager for talent, and in the future, he’ll probably only pay attention to you and won’t have time for us.”
Ziwen gave them a sideways glance, “Master scolds you sternly because he cares. Don’t disappoint him.”
These two junior brothers of his were the most troublesome. With his playful nature, Ziwan loved experimenting with pill refining, causing explosions every few days. Ziting, on the other hand, was more infatuated with beauty than he was interested in cultivation, having numerous female admirers scattered all over the place.
Lu Yaoyao nodded in agreement, looking at them with a smile. “Third Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Brother, you should listen to Master!”
Ziwan chuckled and touched his nose, giving an insincere smile.
“Second Senior Brother, how long do you think it will take before I can use the alchemy furnace?” Lu Yaoyao was eager to start practicing alchemy.
Ziwan replied, “It will be awhile. Eldest Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother started using the furnace in their third year. I and your Fourth Senior Brother are more talented, and it took more than a year before we could use it.”
Ziwen nodded, “The pursuit of the Dao of Alchemy differs from other Dao. The four alchemy books are the foundation of all foundations. You also need to recognize countless types of medicinal herbs, understand their properties and functions, know their generative and inhibitory relationships, and understand the effects when different herbs are combined. After memorizing all of that, you still need to memorize the entire compendium of pill formulas… Only then can you start refining pills.”
Lu Yaoyao felt a little dizzy listening to all this complexity. When she considered it, she realized she had a long journey ahead of her.
She clenched her fist determinedly and said, “I’ll work hard!”
“Little Junior Sister, you can do it!”
Lu Yaoyao was greatly encouraged. She began to study alchemy diligently under her Master’s guidance and made rapid progress. Occasionally, she thought of her Father, with whom she was still in a unilateral cold war. Since that day, Father had not appeared again.
Meanwhile, Yao Jiuxiao was still troubled, pondering how to appease his angry daughter.
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I like how we get to see the many factors that allow someone to be able to make pills rather than just stating all someone needs to do is read a few books and produce pills. Hopefully, with extensive knowledge, Lu Yaoyao will be able to make pills that even devils can take without any hassle. On another note, good luck Yao Jiuxiao on coaxing your daughter!
Thanks for another chapter! 😀