Chapter 6

"Sure, I must have been influenced by the people in the group. Although the chat records in the group look very cheerful, I should still leave the group after some time. Otherwise, I will be assimilated over time—after my cousin checks the prescription and confirms whether the supplements will be poisonous, I'll leave the group." Song Shuhang thought to himself.

Actually, they were just some strange group members... He had been added to the group in a strange way, so Song Shuhang could completely ignore them.

But he always felt that if he knew that the 'pills' the other party was taking were toxic, he had to try to persuade them. Whether the other party would listen to his advice or not, at least he had to do his best to have a clear conscience.

Yes, a clear conscience.

Whether to listen or not was up to the group members, but whether to persuade or not was his responsibility.

***

After returning to the dormitory, Song Shuhang logged into the chat app and sent a list of the copied herbs to his cousin, Zhao Yaya.

"Yaya, assuming all the above herbs are put into a pot and boiled into a medicinal paste, would the resulting concoction be lethal? Please help me check if you have time."

He pressed the Enter key to send the message and leaned back in his chair, clearing his mind.

His cousin Zhao Yaya was different from him; she was already in the internship period of her university and didn't go online much. Sometimes she wouldn't log in for several days, and it was normal for her to take a week to reply to a message.

If possible, Song Shuhang didn't want to ask this question online.

After all, some things are better discussed in person to avoid misunderstandings. If his cousin thought he wanted to take the medicine, and he didn't clarify it in person, his mother might fly over to see him.

However, today, he felt more and more that he was being 'assimilated' by the group—indeed, although the chat records were very cheerful, it was better to leave the group sooner.

Taking advantage of the fact that he had never chatted in the group and had no close relationships with the members, leaving the group wouldn't cause much regret.

Despite this, his fingers still involuntarily clicked on the bottom right corner of the screen, opening the Nine Provinces Number One Group.

It's actually very easy for people to form habits; he only took ten days to form the habit of checking the group every day.

There happened to be someone online in the group.

Northern River's Loose Cultivator: "Aqi, is the tribulation over? Has Little Sixteen advanced?"

This message was sent more than ten minutes ago, but Su Clan's Aqi didn't reply.

"Did the lightning tribulation go wrong?" Lingdie Island's Feather Soft asked, this time logging in herself rather than her father. Although the girl had just joined the group, she was sweet-talking and had already befriended a few active members.

She knew that every lightning tribulation for cultivators was significant; even the weakest tribulation could cause major problems if not handled carefully.

"Probably not, with Aqi around. A mere third-rank tribulation, if there were any issues, he could force it to dissipate." Northern River's Loose Cultivator said.

However, since Su Clan's Aqi didn't reply, he couldn't feel at ease.

At this moment, an ID that Song Shuhang had never seen before appeared. It was called 'Copper Trigram Immortal Master': "Don't worry, let me cast a divination, and we'll know the result."

Northern River's Loose Cultivator paused for a moment and replied: "Alright."

It seemed that this Copper Trigram Immortal Master was playing the role of a divination master?

After about two or three minutes, Copper Trigram Immortal Master appeared again: "Ha ha, no worries. My divination shows a great sign, everything is going well, and Su Clan's Aqi and his junior will be fine. We just need to wait for Little Sixteen to come and challenge everyone!"

A great sign, that should be reassuring, right? Although divination isn't always accurate, it can sometimes provide some comfort. Song Shuhang thought to himself.

However, after hearing the divination result, Northern River's Loose Cultivator didn't feel relieved; instead, he fell silent.

After a moment, he sent a bitter smile: "It seems Little Sixteen really had a problem, which is why Aqi hasn't logged in. Is anyone near City H? Go check on Aqi and see if he needs help?"

Three Waves of Mad Saber appeared and sighed: "Since the Immortal Master's divination shows everything is fine, it must mean something went wrong. But I'm far from City H, and it would take me several days to get there."

"?" Feather Soft was puzzled.

"Feather Soft, you don't know, this Immortal Master's divinations have never been accurate. If he says everything is fine, you'd better prepare for the worst. Conversely, if he says you're in trouble, you can relax because you're about to have good luck. If he says you're facing a world-ending disaster, you can start planning a celebration because you're about to find a magical artifact!" Three Waves of Mad Saber explained.

Northern River's Loose Cultivator added: "From another perspective, the Immortal Master's divination skills are indeed strong. Because if you interpret his divinations in reverse, they are usually correct."

Copper Trigram Immortal Master: "..."

He wanted to scream and resist, but he had a long history of failures, so he was torn.

"By the way, Miss Feather Soft, can you ask when your father will return home? He has been a guest at my place for a long time. Doesn't he miss home and his lovely and beautiful daughter?" Three Waves of Mad Saber learned his lesson this time and didn't say anything to provoke her.

"Sure, Senior, I'll ask Father when I have time." Feather Soft replied politely, but it was just a hollow promise. She didn't specify when she would ask or if she would ask her father to return home.

Three Waves of Mad Saber, being a seasoned person, couldn't miss the敷衍 (敷衍 means敷衍, but in this context, it means 'being evasive' or 'not sincere') in Feather Soft's response, so his eyes welled up with tears.

"Is anyone in City H?" Northern River's Loose Cultivator asked the group.

The members who were lurking all appeared and shook their heads. China is so vast, and there were only so many people in the group, so it was impossible for everyone to be in the same area.

Song Shuhang's Jiangnan region was close to City H, but he didn't know Su Clan's Aqi—besides, he still had a clear head and wouldn't accompany the group members to find someone who had disappeared due to a 'lightning tribulation' and whose divination showed 'something went wrong.'

After all, he hadn't been assimilated yet.

At this moment, Feather Soft spoke again: "I'm planning to go to City J to handle some matters. I'll first fly to Jiangnan Airport and then transfer to City J. Jiangnan is close to City H, so if you need any help, you can contact me... Although I'm not familiar with City H, I will do my best if you need help."

"That's great." Northern River's Loose Cultivator replied.

Passing through Jiangnan? This girl from the group is coming here? Song Shuhang blinked.

Northern River's Loose Cultivator said happily: "I'll try to contact Aqi. If I need help, I'll contact you, Feather Soft."

He and Su Clan's Aqi were close friends, and they had been close even before joining the Nine Provinces Number One Group. Now, the divination by Copper Trigram Immortal Master had made Northern River's Loose Cultivator a bit anxious.

When it doesn't concern you, you remain calm; when it does, you become anxious.

At this moment, the group owner, True Monarch Yellow Mountain, appeared and comforted him: "Northern River, don't worry too much. With Aqi around, even a fourth-rank innate lightning tribulation wouldn't be a problem."

"You're right." Northern River's Loose Cultivator sighed. "Actually, I wasn't worried at first, after all, it was just a third-rank tribulation. But the great sign from Copper Trigram Immortal Master made me nervous."

"..." True Monarch Yellow Mountain.

"..." Three Waves of Mad Saber.

Northern River's Loose Cultivator made a lot of sense, and they had no words to respond.