Chapter 163: Guiding Xie Lingfeng, the Senior Brother's Responsibility

Chapter 163: Guiding Xie Lingfeng, the Senior Brother's Responsibility

Su Lingxuan looked at the Rejuvenation Pills in her palm and heaved a sigh of relief. The first batch was a success, and the quality was excellent.

As she delved deeper into the understanding of the Elixir Master's Martial Manual and refined her technique of hand-forging pills, her skill in pill-concocting had improved immensely. With the aid of a pill furnace, she was now even more adept at the art.

"Senior Brother, this is the Rejuvenation Pill!"

Su Lingxuan placed the pill into a small jade bottle and handed it to Xu Yan.

"Thank you for your hard work, Junior Sister!"

Xu Yan was delighted.

"Pill concocting is not tiring," Su Lingxuan smiled happily.

She then continued to fire up the furnace and refine more pills, all of which were for Xu Yan's needs.

Xu Yan poured out a Rejuvenation Pill. Its lustrous white color resembled jade, and its lustrous appearance was enticing. One could tell at a glance that it was extraordinary.

Xie Lingfeng and Hu Shan leaned in, and the more they looked at the pill, the more amazed they became.

"This Rejuvenation Pill would likely cause countless martial artists in the Inner Realm to fight over it!" Hu Shan exclaimed.

"Miss Lingxuan, what would it take for you to refine pills for me?" Hu Shan rubbed his hands together eagerly as he asked.

"Just provide the spirit herbs, and I'll do it," Su Lingxuan replied.

"Then I'll provide double the amount of spirit herbs. I can't let you refine pills for free, even though we're quite familiar. But since I don't understand pills, I'll also need you to explain them to me later." Hu Shan said excitedly.

"No problem, I can refine any kind of pill," Su Lingxuan readily agreed.

"Junior Sister, is it tiring to refine pills alone? When we go to the Inner Realm, we'll need a steady supply of pills, and I'm worried that you won't be able to keep up with the demand by yourself." Xu Yan brought up a concern.

Going to the Inner Realm was inevitable, especially since Su Lingxuan's enemies were there.

"Senior Brother, Master has already guided me, and I have a plan. I just need to forge pill furnaces and find someone to teach me the steps of pill concocting... The most important thing is that I haven't prepared the assembly line equipment for mass pill refining yet." Su Lingxuan had just finished refining one batch of pills and was starting on the next as she spoke.

"Sister Lingxuan, if you don't mind, I can take care of it. I can forge any kind of pill furnace, and I guarantee that the treasure materials used will be top-notch." Xie Lingfeng offered.

He wanted to help with the pills, which were sure to be a hit in the Inner Realm, and he hoped to further improve his relationship with Su Lingxuan. Perhaps he could even get some discounts on pills for Jian Zun Cliff in the future.

"That's wonderful! I'll give you the blueprints later. You don't need to use the best materials, just something similar in quality to my current pill furnace. There's no need to spend too much." Su Lingxuan was thrilled.

Xie Lingfeng examined the pill furnace Su Lingxuan was using and noticed it was only made from ordinary treasure materials. "This pill furnace is only made from ordinary treasure materials. I'll have someone forge a new one for you using top-grade materials as a gift and a token of my appreciation."

"Thank you!" Su Lingxuan did not refuse.

"Are there any specific requirements for the pill furnace? Do you need me to keep it confidential?" Xie Lingfeng asked solemnly.

Jian Zun Cliff had its own blacksmiths, so secrecy wouldn't be an issue.

"No need, the furnace isn't the key. Without the knowledge of pill concocting, a furnace is useless." Su Lingxuan shook her head.

After Xu Yan finished refining pills, he prepared to return home. He brought along a canister of Yunwu Spirit Tea.

Su Lingxuan handed the assembly line pill refining blueprints and the pill furnace blueprints to Hu Shan. She had made some optimizations to the new furnace design.

The initial furnace she had made when she first started was basic, but now that her pill refining skills had improved, she knew exactly what kind of furnace would be most suitable for her needs. Since they were switching furnaces, it made sense to forge one that was more in line with her advanced techniques.

"Miss Su, leave it all to me," Hu Shan assured as he tucked the blueprints into his chest and prepared to return to the Inner Realm.

Xie Lingfeng saw him off, "Hu Shan, when you get there, remember to stop by Tianbao Pavilion and retrieve some of Jian Zun Cliff's collections."

"Young Master, I understand!" Hu Shan nodded.

After Hu Shan left, Su Lingxuan continued refining pills, Meng Chong continued to nurture his golden body's acupoints, Shi Er and Zhou Ying continued to hone their martial arts, and Chi Mao lounged outside the manor, his eyes alternating between comprehension and confusion.

Xu Yan had already returned home.

It seemed that only Xie Lingfeng was left idle.

"Senior, I am confused about my cultivation path and seek your guidance to dispel my doubts!" Xie Lingfeng said respectfully.

Li Xuan sat in a chair, sipping the Yunwu Spirit Tea and enjoying the moment.

Xie Lingfeng's confusion likely stemmed from the distinction between true and false martial arts. After condensing a body of true qi, his strength had indeed improved.

As for the next step in his cultivation, he simply needed to continue following the Inner Realm's martial arts path. All he had to do was combine the method of condensing true qi with his existing practice.

Having already reached the level of a Grandmaster martial artist, his martial arts foundation was more or less set. Even if he wanted to switch to a different martial art, he couldn't start from scratch. Besides, he could already be considered at the Innate Realm level.

Since Xie Lingfeng had not unblocked his Heavenly Pool bridge, it meant he couldn't fully cultivate the martial art he had created. For the stage beyond the Innate Realm, he would naturally have to follow the path of Communicating with the Mysterious.

He would need to condense his true qi into true yuan, but the framework of his martial art would still be based on the Inner Realm's martial arts, with the core gradually shifting towards the art he had created.

If Xie Lingfeng could break free from the framework of the Inner Realm's martial arts upon reaching the level above Communicating with the Mysterious, even without unblocking his Heavenly Pool bridge, he would still be considered to have cultivated the "true martial art."

Li Xuan then thought of another issue. If he were to take on a fourth disciple, or even a fifth, and they already had martial arts skills, how would he guide them to transition to the martial arts he had created?

Would he have to discard their existing martial arts and start anew? If so, they would have to begin at a low level and slowly work their way up again. What benefit would that bring?

"Therefore, the fourth martial art should be modified. Even if a new disciple already has martial arts skills, they should still be able to transition to the martial art I've created based on their existing foundation.

"Only in this way will the new disciple's realm not be too low. But how can we make the transition easier?"

Currently, Li Xuan didn't have a good solution to this problem.

"It's not time to take on a new disciple yet, and the fourth martial art isn't ready either. There's no rush. Let's wait until I break through the fourth realm of martial arts. If I can see the golden fingertip, perhaps I can use it to create a suitable martial arts technique."

Li Xuan planned to wait until he could utilize the golden fingertip before creating a new martial art.

If his predictions were correct, he should be able to see what the golden fingertip was and how to use it once he surpassed the Communicating with the Mysterious level.

After taking a sip of tea, Li Xuan turned to Xie Lingfeng and said, "You're too fixated on the concept of true and false martial arts. Why bother with such distinctions? Now that you've condensed your true qi, just continue cultivating according to your original method. All you've done is condense your martial arts' internal energy into true qi.

"As for the realm beyond the Innate Realm, it's still far off for you, so there's no need to overthink it. Just cultivate diligently and systematically. The more you think about it, the more confused and uncertain you'll become."

In that instant, Xie Lingfeng felt a sudden clarity. His spirit lifted, and his cultivation path ahead seemed to suddenly become clear.

He would cultivate diligently, breaking through to the peak Grandmaster realm, then advancing to the Grand Master realm, and beyond that, he would continue with the True Martial Dao's refinement method.

And when he reached the stage beyond Grand Master, perhaps that would be the time for him to switch to a new cultivation method.

"Thank you, Senior, for clearing my doubts. I now understand the path ahead," Xie Lingfeng said respectfully, bowing to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan nodded. Although Xie Lingfeng couldn't compare to Xu Yan, he was still a heaven-defying genius, and it wasn't an exaggeration to call him the number one genius of Jian Zun Cliff in a thousand years.

His confidence had merely been shaken, leading to his momentary confusion.

All Li Xuan needed to do was acknowledge him and boost his confidence.

"The paths of martial arts may differ, but they will eventually intersect. Don't be fixated. Instead, focus on understanding and exploring. A true martial artist will ultimately forge their own unique path," Li Xuan advised.

He didn't say that all paths would lead to the same destination, as that might not be the case, and it would be embarrassing if it turned out otherwise. However, it was possible for paths to intersect, especially since Li Xuan had referred to the Inner Realm's martial arts when creating his own cultivation methods.

"Thank you, Senior!" Xie Lingfeng exclaimed, his heart stirred by Li Xuan's words. Was forging one's own path the mark of a true martial artist? Senior was indeed unfathomable. In his eyes, a martial artist who hadn't found their own path wasn't considered a true practitioner!

With his doubts cleared, Xie Lingfeng began to cultivate diligently, determined to catch up and not fall too far behind.

Xu Yan returned home and spent a few days with his parents before heading to the Qi Kingdom's capital to visit his maternal grandfather and deliver the pills.

It was almost half a month before Xu Yan returned.

And on that day, Su Lingxuan broke through to the peak of the Qi and Blood realm.

"Your disciple, Su Lingxuan, has broken through to the peak of the Qi and Blood realm, and you've achieved perfection in your Dan Medicinal Martial Arts (Innate realm)

," Li Xuan said, unsurprised by this development.

However, after breaking through to the peak of the Qi and Blood realm, Su Lingxuan didn't immediately attempt to break through to the Innate realm, even though the cultivation of Dan Medicinal Martial Arts was similar to orthodox martial arts.

The process of cultivating and breaking through the Innate realm was also comparable, and she had already understood the method to break through.

But her foundation still needed some work, and she required more time to accumulate her foundation.

For instance, she hadn't yet comprehended a body technique from the Eight Trigrams.

Xu Yan would also need to explain the wonders of the Innate realm to her.

"One of the responsibilities of a senior brother is to guide their junior disciples..." Li Xuan said with a smile.

In the future, even though their martial arts systems would be different, Xu Yan could still help his junior disciples with their comprehension. And with his pure and powerful martial arts foundation, his insights would be extremely beneficial.

Li Xuan wanted Xu Yan to come into contact with all martial arts systems, eventually integrating them into one, forging a truly pure and unique martial arts path, one that would be his own.

This was how Li Xuan showed his importance to his senior disciple. Only Xu Yan had the potential to walk such a path.

Upon his return, Xu Yan began to help Su Lingxuan comprehend the Eight Trigrams, guiding her towards the development of her own body technique. As a clear-minded and clever young girl, the fierce and aggressive styles of Thunder Flash or Angry Thunder Across the Sky were not suitable for her.

Furthermore, her Dan Medicinal Martial Arts had its unique aspects.

With Xu Yan's help, Su Lingxuan had already gained some insights, and it wouldn't be long before she comprehended a body technique and even an entire set of martial arts techniques.

It was around this time that Hu Shan returned, carrying a bundle on his back that looked like a small mountain. It didn't seem light, but to a Grand Master like him, the weight was negligible.

"Miss Su, this is a pill furnace!" Hu Shan took out a pill furnace and handed it to Su Lingxuan.

This pill furnace was made from top-grade treasure materials, classifying it as a top-tier treasure, and its value was extraordinary.

"Thank you! With this new pill furnace, I'll refine a batch of Qi-Containing Pills for you," Su Lingxuan said excitedly as she took the furnace.

"Then I'm very grateful to you, Miss Su!" Hu Shan replied happily.

He opened the large bundle and took out item after item, all of which were Su Lingxuan's assembly line pill-refining equipment, including the pill furnace.

Because of the assembly line pill refining, where each person was responsible for a single step, the pill furnaces were a bit different, designed to be easier to control and refine pills with.

Su Lingxuan was thrilled and immediately began assembling the equipment.

Li Xuan watched curiously and couldn't help but admire Su Lingxuan's ingenuity. He had given her an idea, and she had turned it into a reality.

Once assembled, the assembly line pill-refining equipment took up most of the courtyard. Each step could be performed by several people simultaneously, and if the next step wasn't ready, the half-finished products would accumulate and be slowly consumed.

The equipment was also enclosed to prevent the loss of medicinal power from the half-finished pills.

"Junior Sister, this assembly line pill refining looks pretty good. I wonder how much it improves efficiency!" Xu Yan exclaimed as he circled the equipment, impressed.

"Training pill refiners might not be easy, though," Meng Chong said, scratching his head thoughtfully.

"It's not a big problem. Learning just one step will be much easier. Practice makes perfect, and the most challenging part is probably the last step," Su Lingxuan replied excitedly.

Longqing Pavilion could finally be put to use.

"Shi Er, inform Kou Ruozhi and ask him to bring some people to build an assembly line pill-refining room outside the manor. Also, I want to select a group of people to train in pill refining. Ask him to prepare more medicinal ingredients and Divine Fire Stones," Su Lingxuan instructed Shi Er.

"No problem!" Shi Er immediately set out to carry out her orders.

Xie Lingfeng and Hu Shan were also curious about the wonders of assembly line pill refining.

"I want to try out the new pill furnace!" Su Lingxuan exclaimed, holding the new furnace and preparing to start refining Qi-Containing Pills.

"Miss Su, these are my spirit herbs!" Hu Shan took out a bag of spirit herbs and handed them to her.

"I won't charge you for this batch of pills. Just tell me what kind of pills you want," Su Lingxuan said as she took the herbs.

Hu Shan thought for a moment and then asked Xie Lingfeng, "Young Master, what kind of pills should we refine?"

Xie Lingfeng pondered for a moment before replying, "Pills that enhance cultivation speed, heal injuries and restore vitality, and strengthen the physical body. Let's focus on these three types."

These were the areas he wanted to improve, and they aligned with his cultivation direction.

He envied Meng Chong's robust physical body.

No, Xu Yan's physical body was also ridiculously strong! Xie Lingfeng decided that he would enhance his physical body as well.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end