Chapter 99

Sometimes, having too high a cultivation can also be a bad thing. The sect leader, Lian Jing, was blinded by his divine sense and tried hard to use it to see through Lu Xiaodeng, but apart from seeing that she lacked a soul and had no spiritual meridians, he could see nothing else.

The peak masters could not see through Lu Xiaodeng with their divine senses, but when they looked at her with their eyes, they could see that she lacked a soul. However, if she was blocked by something and could not be seen with the naked eye, they would have no idea of her existence.

When Yu Xiudan brought Lu Xiaodeng to see the sect leader, many peak masters were present. They only heard the sect leader say that this woman lacked a soul and had no spiritual meridians. Everyone thought the sect leader's perception was the same as theirs, so they did not mention it again, thinking that perhaps someone lacking a soul could not be detected by divine senses.

Now, looking at the two people sitting opposite him, Lian Jing smiled and asked, "Your master said he didn't know about those elixirs and formulas, so they were all made by the two of you?"

Lu Xiaodeng nodded in acknowledgment but did not say much. Her senior sister had forbidden her from speaking too much, and she was afraid of saying too much, so she just stuffed her mouth with food. Now her mouth was full, making it look like she couldn't speak.

"Leader, those elixirs were indeed made by us. My junior sister came up with the formulas, and I refined them. Because we were just fooling around, the effects were too strong and chaotic, so we didn't dare to submit them. When my junior sister was working on the formulas, she did it with a playful mindset, so the effects were very whimsical," Lu Yaohang spoke for her. Anyway, the sect leader didn't know who had refined the elixirs, and it seemed more likely that it was her.

Refining elixirs was just a craft, but when he heard that all the formulas were created by Lu Xiaodeng, Lian Jing took a sip of tea and suddenly asked, "Lu Xiaodeng, how did you come up with these formulas?"

Even Lu Yaohang couldn't explain this. She didn't dare to send a mental message to Lu Xiaodeng, as her cultivation was far too low compared to the sect leader's. She just had to look at Lu Xiaodeng, hoping she wouldn't say anything random.

"I don't know. When I see spiritual herbs or plants I haven't eaten, I just want to try them. I think about mixing the medicinal properties of spiritual herbs and plants, and even the things from demon beasts can be used to create many things. When the sect leader was at the Heavenly Elixir Peak, the people from the Void Sect suffered because I was testing the medicinal properties," Lu Xiaodeng drank several sips of spiritual tea, swallowed the food in her mouth, and answered seriously. She didn't even consider lying.

Lian Fei remembered this incident. Lu Dan and the Void Sect had a grudge from that time, and it turned out that the elixirs were made by them. At the time, they thought it was Yu Xiudan. It seemed that there were still many talented people among the disciples, but they had not revealed themselves.

"You don't refine elixirs yourself, but you can come up with formulas. Such talent is truly astonishing," he said, finding it particularly incredible that she could come up with formulas without refining elixirs. If she didn't refine them herself, how could she know the effects and the interactions between different medicinal properties? The amount of ingredients needed also required repeated refining to create a new elixir.

Without formulas, some alchemists could spend their entire lives without creating their own. This was a time-consuming and wasteful process, and only top-tier sects like the Ming Sect, which specialized in elixir techniques, would be willing to invest in it.

Even in such sects, it was rare to see new formulas emerge every few decades. Occasionally, a second or third-grade elixir would be created, and it would be proudly displayed at the elixir conference. Many young men and women were lured away by this, not knowing the benefits of sword cultivation, and instead pursued the prospects of wealth.

Seeing the sect leader praise her, Lu Xiaodeng smiled shyly, "It's nothing, it's just a natural talent."

"Natural talent..." Lian Jing looked at her more suspiciously, suddenly thinking of a possibility. Could this be the soul of a powerful alchemist who was killed and had no choice but to possess the body of an ordinary girl?

Because she was an ordinary girl, she couldn't withstand the soul of a cultivator, so her soul was damaged, and she became foolish and lost her memory. Carrying a tripod all the time might be a subconscious behavior, as she was a powerful alchemist before the possession.

For alchemists, there were only two things they couldn't lose: the tripod and the soul fire. Without the soul fire, she still carried the tripod everywhere, so she could tell Yu Xiudan so many formulas.

Yu Xiudan had obtained many formulas from Lu Xiaodeng, and it was impossible to hide this from the sect leader. Although he had the formulas, his skill was too poor, and he failed too many times, often not even producing a failed elixir. Having the formulas was more frustrating than not having them.

The more he thought about it, the more he believed this possibility. How could someone without a soul have such talent in alchemy? A fool couldn't refine elixirs.

Thinking of this, Lian Jing almost laughed out loud. When possessing a body, everyone would look for a cultivator with similar strength. If the target was too strong, possession would fail, and if the target was too weak, it would result in mutual destruction. Possession failure would either result in death or becoming a fool, but it seemed this person had been tricked.

As long as he treated her well, with her current character, she would definitely contribute everything she knew. But he couldn't be too obvious or too forceful, or she might recover and seek revenge, which would be unpleasant.

If he showed her kindness, when she recovered her strength, she would only thank them for taking care of her and wouldn't cause any trouble. Being honest and sincere was always the right way to interact.

Thinking of this, Lian Jing said several "good" and then solemnly said, "I will entrust the Heavenly Elixir Peak to you. Teach the disciples well in alchemy."

Lu Yaohang looked at the sect leader in confusion. Why did he speak in such a tone? Did he just recognize Xiaodeng's alchemy skills without asking anything else? The Heavenly Elixir Peak belonged to their master, yet he let Xiaodeng take the position.

"Leader, rest assured. I will teach my master well and make him a powerful alchemist," Lu Xiaodeng said confidently, without any hesitation.

Lian Jing nodded. Such confidence must mean she had some real skills, but he wondered which predecessor had met such a fate. Possession was a risky business with too many uncertainties.

He then asked with a gentle smile, "You have broken the Void Sect's plot and done a great service to the Yunjian Sect. What kind of reward do you want?" Although he said "you," his eyes were fixed on Lu Xiaodeng, clearly wanting to give her something.

Lu Yaohang wisely kept quiet. If she dared to ask for a reward, the sect leader might put her in solitary confinement.

There was actually a reward. After thinking for a moment, Lu Xiaodeng said, "Leader, can you help me refine a defensive weapon?"

"Oh, that's easy. What kind of weapon do you want?" Lian Jing immediately thought that the weapon she wanted must be one she had used before, a habit. By the type of weapon, it would be easier to find out her identity.

"A hand crossbow, but the arrows should be smaller, not longer than a finger, and as thin as possible. Also, a tube about a finger long that can withstand strong impacts and is very smooth." With the sect leader refining it, the materials and quality would definitely be high, so she wouldn't trouble her senior sister, Lu Xiaodeng quickly explained.

A hand crossbow was understandable, but what was the small tube for? He asked, "What is the tube for? Is any tube okay?"

"Yes, just a smooth tube. I can use it to drink medicinal soup and blow things away." It had many uses, Lu Xiaodeng said with a smile.

It sounded like a toy, maybe for blowing away medicinal residue when making formulas. Since it wasn't difficult, Lian Jing readily agreed, planning to investigate if there were any experts who used hand crossbows after they left.

He had never heard of any predecessors using such weapons. At most, they used bows and arrows. Hand crossbows were weak in power because they were just objects, and the real attack came from the small arrows.

Experts who used bows and arrows later used spiritual energy to form arrows, which were more powerful and versatile than hand crossbows. Hand crossbows were given to weak women for self-defense or for sneak attacks.

Lian Jing had a good piece of ore on hand and decided to use it to refine a set of hand crossbows for her as a reward for her work on the formulas.

After the discussion, the two were released. Lu Xiaodeng pulled on Lu Yaohang's clothes and flew toward the Heavenly Elixir Peak. Looking down at the thin, sobbing sword, she said to Lu Yaohang, "Senior Sister, can you buy me a flying treasure driven by crystal beans? Standing on the sword, there's not enough room for my feet."

"Don't you just want to run around all day? I don't have time to look for you everywhere," Lu Xiaodeng said warily.

"How could I? I just want to sit more comfortably," Lu Xiaodeng said indignantly. She had only gone out a few times, which wasn't much at all.

Lu Yaohang thought for a moment and agreed. It was easy to get, and she would buy one that used crystal fruits. That way, Lu Xiaodeng would only have crystal beans and couldn't go far.

Yu Xiudan was waiting anxiously on the Heavenly Elixir Peak, hoping Lu Yaohang would return to help him. Since Lu Dan went out to kill evil cultivators, he had been managing the hall and hadn't refined elixirs for several days.

Finally, when he saw them return, they had become traitors and were expelled from the sect. No one was more heartbroken than him. Losing an excellent disciple, now only Lu Yaohang could manage things. If she got into trouble, it would be the end of him.

Before Lu Yaohang returned, he received a secret message from the sect leader. After reading the content, he was shocked. The sect leader said that Lu Xiaodeng was a powerful expert who had failed in possession. He was investigating her identity, but it seemed she had lost her memory and was not dangerous.

Lu Xiaodeng had great talent in alchemy and could be used to guide the refinement of elixirs, and he must improve his alchemy skills before the Nine Provinces Elixir Conference. The message also specifically reminded Yu Xiudan not to reveal Lu Xiaodeng's identity and to treat her as before, not showing fear just because she was a powerful expert.

This made Yu Xiudan feel like crying. The situation had changed too quickly. The sect leader must not have tried it himself. Looking at Lu Xiaodeng, how could he think she was a powerful expert? He couldn't even feel afraid.

Picking up a medicine child and finding out she was a senior expert, what kind of situation was this?