Chapter 94

In response to Xuan Bing’s seemingly significant complaint, Chu He immediately changed the subject.

"Hmph, brat, I didn’t ask you to compensate for the loss. Is it really that serious?" Xuan Bing said with a smile, seeing his expression.

"A hundred high-grade spirit stones, you scared me to death. Even if I sold myself, I couldn’t make up for it, Uncle." Chu He first looked very moved, then became pitifully pitiable.

"Hey~" The little guy had never seen his master with such an expression, finding it very surprising and fresh! And also... quite amusing.

"Enough, according to Bai Li, you can already refine low-grade Pei Yuan Pills. A hundred high-grade spirit stones aren’t a big problem for you. Hmph, pretending to be poor is really a secret skill of alchemists. You’ve learned it well from Bai Li." Xuan Bing stared at Chu He and said.

"I am indeed poor. I’ve only been in the Earth Fire Department for a few days. How can I compare to Instructor Bai Li?" Chu He looked embarrassed.

Xuan Bing, however, changed the topic: "This underground river flows towards Qing Ling Town. Let’s go to Qing Ling Town first and find my master to remove this poison."

For the Five-Transforming Poison, Xuan Bing himself wasn’t without methods, but it would take a lot of time. Moreover, leaving the poison in the body for a long time wasn’t a good thing. It was best to remove it as soon as possible, and finding his master was the best method.

Chu He naturally had no objections. After all, Qing Ling Town had True Master Qing Yu stationed there, with many Core Formation Real People under his command. It was a stable place, and even if Poison Pheasant True Man came to attack, they wouldn’t be afraid.

Drifting in the underground river was a novel experience, at least for Chu He and Xiao Bai. Apart from healing, they spent the rest of the time carefully observing.

Although the underground river was dark, many creatures lived in it. Most were strange fish, some of which were ferocious and bloodthirsty. Seeing the small jade boat glowing with magical light, they relied on their large and strong bodies, charging fiercely to try to capsize the boat and hunt the blood food on it.

But today they met their match, all bowing their heads under the sharp sword qi, none escaping.

Seeing Xuan Bing’s sword skills, Chu He naturally looked envious, even imitating a few moves.

Among many cultivators, sword cultivators were one of the strongest and purest in terms of offensive power. Those with deep sword cultivation could even break all laws with one sword, unstoppable and sharp.

Moreover, Chu He had seen many movies where swordsmen sang high songs, subdued demons, and drove away villains, then gained a good reputation and won the heart of a beauty. Such swordsmen were the dream of every passionate young man, and Chu He was no exception.

"You’re not very suitable for learning the sword." Although Xuan Bing was resting with his eyes closed, his spiritual sense was strong, and he could clearly see Chu He’s every move. He suddenly gave a comment, which immediately dampened Chu He’s enthusiasm.

"Really? Is Great Elder Qing Yu also a master of the sword?" Chu He suddenly remembered something and asked.

"Um, he ranks in the top three in Qingzhou." Xuan Bing replied.

"Wait, so I really am not suitable for practicing the sword?" Chu He was somewhat discouraged. If he really wasn’t good at it, joining someone’s sect and failing to make progress in the future would only make him a laughingstock.

"With my eyesight, I can’t say for sure, but there’s a seventy to eighty percent chance." Xuan Bing poured cold water on Chu He’s head.

"Hmph, I don’t believe it. When I become Great Elder Qing Yu’s personal disciple, I will surpass you eventually." Chu He puffed up in anger.

"Boy, don’t have too high hopes, or you’ll be disappointed." Xuan Bing said seriously. But he was secretly pleased, finally dispelling the lingering frustration from losing the spirit stones.

"I didn’t have high hopes anyway." Chu He muttered. He just wanted to take shelter under someone’s roof. As for the sword path, if it wasn’t mentioned, he wouldn’t have thought about it at all.

Besides, in his mind, fighting and killing were not as important as refining pills and earning spirit stones. He wanted to become a boss, and let the sword cultivators handle the rough and dirty work. After all, he would pay them to do it. Thinking of this, Chu He felt secretly pleased.

"Haha, that’s true. But my master is a very serious person. If you’re distracted, hmm." Xuan Bing said, trying to scare him a bit.

...

After much chatting, they didn’t know how much time had passed. The underground river gradually widened and grew larger, with a faint glow appearing ahead and a rumbling sound coming from it.

Moving forward a bit more, Chu He discovered that it was the exit of a waterfall.

The waterfall had a great drop, the rolling mist forming a large cloud that shrouded the deep pool below, making it barely visible. The overflowing water flowed southward, disappearing into the mountains.

Surrounded by mountains, the sky was dark, and they were in a valley. When Chu He saw the gray fog, he realized they were in the Demon Cloud Mountains.

Xuan Bing, who had been on high alert, relaxed after the jade boat flew a few miles without any abnormalities.

This place should be on the outskirts of the mountain range. On the way, they only saw two second-level demonic beasts and didn’t encounter any higher-level ones before leaving the mountains.

The journey to Qing Ling Town, with the jade boat’s extraordinary speed, took about three hours.

Xuan Bing went directly to find True Master Qing Yu and entrusted Chu He to a disciple named Lu You.

Seeing that it was Xuan Bing’s instruction, the disciple didn’t dare to be negligent and took Chu He to the southern part of the town, settling him in an ancient and elegant mansion.

This mansion covered several acres and was exquisitely decorated, always used by Qing Ling Mountain to entertain distinguished guests. Chu He, like a country bumpkin in the city, was curious about everything inside.

The mansion had a high-grade spirit gathering array running, making the spiritual energy very abundant. Chu He’s heart was greatly opened, and he began to like the place.

After confirming that Chu He was fine, Lu You retreated.

Chu He didn’t bother to go out. The spiritual energy concentration here was good, and his injuries were almost healed. He could try to break through to the eighth layer of the Qi Condensation Realm while healing.

After the battle at Blue Crystal Mountain, Chu He’s spirit essence had made some progress, reaching the peak of the seventh layer of the Qi Condensation Realm. No wonder the ancients said that battles could lead to progress; only continuous battles could lead to the great path.

Seeing that he was going to close himself in again, the little guy pouted in dissatisfaction. But how could its little mind match Chu He’s? With two bottles of low-grade Pei Yuan Pills, it happily ran to the side to chew.

Although there were higher-grade Pei Yuan Pills, Chu He didn’t plan to give them to it.

Mainly, he was afraid that with its appetite, swallowing a pile of high-grade Pei Yuan Pills might make it unable to digest the massive medicinal power.

Secondly, he was afraid of spoiling its taste, which would be a disaster. After all, his alchemy skills were still at the low-grade Pei Yuan Pill level. Moreover, if he switched to high-grade Pei Yuan Pills, he would have to buy them with spirit stones, and he was reluctant to let others make a huge profit.