Conquering That Great Demon Lord [Xian Ni Fan Fiction] - Chapter 16: Pill Crafting

Chapter 16: Pill Crafting

Li Muwan took out dozens of medicinal ingredients from her Storage Bag, many of which Wang Lin had never seen before.

“Wang Lin, you control the Earth Fire.” Li Muwan flicked her sleeve, and a soft cushion landed before his feet.

Wang Lin glanced sideways, concealing his concerns as he sat down calmly. He then channeled his Spiritual Power, causing the Pill Furnace to slowly rise enveloped in a red glow.

“Let’s start with a simple pill formula first.” Li Muwan produced another Jade Slip, immediately displaying the pill formula before Wang Lin’s eyes.

This Jade Slip was identical in appearance and patterns to the one she had left him before, except the engraved characters were no longer “Luo He.”

Wang Lin suppressed his emotions and continued controlling the Earth Fire’s intensity to maintain the operation within the Pill Furnace. Vast amounts of Spiritual Energy instantly leaked from the furnace – this Pill Furnace was comparable to the Hundred Beast Spirit Furnace Li Muwan had obtained in exchange at the Sea of Demonic Cultivation.

“The Spiritual Energy is leaking too quickly. The pills refined this way will lack purity due to insufficient Spiritual Energy.” Li Muwan’s voice was calm, as if she truly regarded Wang Lin as a junior disciple to be carefully instructed.

Though his expression remained placid, his heart was extremely troubled, wishing to finish quickly and find an excuse to leave.

Clearly, Li Muwan gave him no such opportunity. “Pill crafting requires mental tranquility first. Don’t be impatient.”

With these words, she took out a silk handkerchief from her sleeve embroidered with twin lotuses – one white and one pink intertwined, emitting a faint fragrance.

Without regard for Wang Lin who was focused on pill crafting and controlling the Earth Fire to prevent Spiritual Power leakage, she casually wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead.

Wang Lin’s body trembled slightly as he looked sideways at Li Muwan in confusion.

Li Muwan maintained a nonchalant expression, as if performing an utterly ordinary action, yet this gesture undoubtedly disrupted the calm Wang Lin had just achieved.

Immediately, the Pill Furnace began shaking violently. Under the impact of Earth Fire, any attempt to salvage the situation proved futile.

As expected, the Pill Furnace exploded, covering both their faces with ash.

Xu Liguo was utterly perplexed: “Master, you must hold firm! That little girl who used to tremble at your mere glance now dares to openly wipe your sweat.”

Wang Lin remained composed, merely shaking his head as if lamenting the wasted batch of Immortal Herbs.

“This little scourge wouldn’t actually be indulging in tender comforts, would he?”

Wang Lin closed his eyes, transmitting his Divine Sense to Xu Liguo’s brow: “One more word, and my True Body will capture you back to suffer Extreme Awareness.”

“What were you thinking about just now?” Li Muwan asked while brushing off the ash.

“This disciple’s Pill Crafting skills are inadequate to assist the Ancestor in alchemy. I should return to the side courtyard first, and only after mastering control of Earth Fire intensity come back to help the Ancestor with pill refinement.” He stood up and cupped his hands, preparing to leave.

“Your Earth Fire control is quite good,” Li Muwan stepped forward, blocking his path while turning her back to him. “It’s your mental state that’s unstable.”

“That’s why I asked what you were thinking about?”

Wang Lin pondered briefly before answering seriously, “I was thinking about how to prevent Spiritual Energy from leaking from the Pill Furnace.”

Li Muwan chuckled inwardly – still the same as ever.

When she turned around, the smile vanished from her lips, replaced by the stern dignity of an Ancestor facing her disciple. She offered her handkerchief, “Wipe your face. There’s ash on it.”

Wang Lin stared at the handkerchief, contemplated for a moment, then accepted it.

Fearing Li Muwan might make another unexpected move, no matter how unflappable he usually was, he needed to display the fluster of an ordinary disciple receiving excessive attention from their Ancestor.

Otherwise, given Li Muwan’s perceptiveness, no matter how he tried to conceal his feelings, he might not succeed.

“Thank you.”

Li Muwan turned around and sat back on the soft cushion. “Your mental state is unstable. Follow me in cultivation these days.”

“Ancestor Master…”

“Don’t feel burdened. When I taught Zhou Lin before, it was the same. If he could learn, you naturally won’t be worse.” Li Muwan closed her eyes. “I don’t want any disciple under my guidance to be expelled from the inner sect.”

Wang Lin’s mouth twitched, his earlobes turning completely red. Fortunately, Li Muwan couldn’t see.

“Allow this disciple to first return and change clothes.” Wang Lin had no choice. Li Muwan had blocked all escape routes, leaving him no reason to refuse.

Li Muwan remained silent. After Wang Lin withdrew, she secretly sighed.

If Zhou Lin hadn’t been in seclusion, Li Muwan probably wouldn’t have called him to tend the medicinal herbs and oversee his pill crafting techniques.

When Li Muwan said she taught Zhou Lin the same way earlier – what exactly did “the same” refer to?

Was it personally transmitting Pill Crafting, or would she also wipe sweat for him?

A gentle breeze brushed his face, dispersing some of the Southern Garden’s mist. Wang Lin’s figure melted into the thin fog, his blue-and-white disciple robes stained with dust.

Through the carved lattice window of the pavilion above, a pair of clear, captivating beautiful eyes watched the disappearing figure.

“Even if you’ve concealed your Divine Sense and changed your appearance, the way you look at someone won’t change.”

“Senior Brother, you can’t hide.” Slender fingers casually plucked a string, producing a crisp, clear sound.

The light gauze curtain fell as Li Muwan returned to the inner chamber to change into clean clothes. She then took out another Pill Furnace to refine the remaining pill formula into elixirs.

[Soul Pearl: Why bother?]

[Li Muwan: Soul Pearl, do you know why I’m unwilling to change the target of conquest?]

[Soul Pearl: You like the Fiend.]

[Li Muwan: …]

[Soul Pearl: I see the Fiend hasn’t been conquered by you – rather, he’s conquered you.]

[Li Muwan: …It’s not because of that.]

A subtle, inscrutable smile graced her jade-like cheeks. Perhaps only she herself knew why.

After changing clothes, Wang Lin hesitated to step out. He had originally planned to focus on cultivation to break through to Core Formation as soon as possible, but Li Muwan’s intervention had disrupted his plans.

Xu Liguo moved beside him. “Master, your Ancestor Master summoned you. Why aren’t you going?”

Wang Lin: “The grade of elixirs she refines inherently exceeds what my Clone’s Cultivation level can withstand. While cross-level cultivation benefits advancement, it requires massive amounts of elixirs and Spiritual Energy.”

“I naturally don’t have the elixirs with me. As for Spiritual Power, I can use Dewdrop infused with the Heaven Defying Pearl to enhance it, but I can’t take it out in the Southern Garden.”

Xu Liguo: “Then will Master refuse?”

Wang Lin’s brow furrowed as he made a decision. “No need.”

Half an hour later, Wang Lin returned to the main pavilion. The light gauze remained undrawn, hanging behind the curtain. He called “Ancestor Master” several times but received no response from within.

Assuming she was refining pills and too busy to respond, Wang Lin entered without using his Divine Sense to investigate.

The outer chamber was empty. Behind the folding screen carved with plum blossoms and beauties, an enchanting figure flickered in and out of view, accompanied by rustling sounds. Wang Lin seemed to realize something, suddenly turning his head away, his cheeks burning red to his ears, his mouth unbearably dry.

He hadn’t intended to intrude. Quickly, he silently recited the heart-clearing mantra to dispel those distracting thoughts, restoring his fearless demeanor. “This disciple was abrupt, not knowing Ancestor Master…”

Li Muwan emerged from behind the screen, draped in a light purple shawl. Her temperament was gentle and graceful, her waist flowing like pristine silk, moon-shaped earrings adorning her ears.

Wang Lin’s pupils slightly dilated. He stared for a moment before withdrawing his gaze.

“It’s fine, let’s continue.” Li Muwan calmly handed over a pill formula this time a third-grade formula. With Wang Lin’s Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation level, as long as he maintained focus and controlled his internal Spiritual Power, refining it successfully wouldn’t be difficult.

“For every batch of pills you successfully refine according to my requirements, I will reward you with an elixir that can help you advance to Core Formation.”

Using elixirs as rewards to encourage disciples to advance in Pill Crafting was this her usual method of teaching disciples?

Wang Lin became interested, though his expression remained calm. The young man’s clear voice followed, “Thank you, Senior Ancestor.”

He was growing increasingly comfortable addressing her as “Senior Ancestor,” while Li Muwan still hadn’t quite adjusted to it.

Another plan began forming in her mind.

For several consecutive months, aside from collecting dew in the herb field each morning and tending to spirit herbs, Wang Lin spent all his remaining time refining pills with Li Muwan.

Sun Zhenwei visited the Southern Garden again.

This time, Wang Lin happened to be present.

“I’ve often heard that Junior Sister Li shows special care for this grand-disciple,” Sun Zhenwei said, eyeing Wang Lin refining pills in the adjacent room with ill intentions.

Although this person’s cultivation level was somewhat low, his handsome features and extraordinary temperament made Sun Zhenwei feel uneasy and jealous about him spending all day with Li Muwan.

“I only have one disciple under me. Senior Brother Sun knows how much effort I spent nurturing Zhou Lin after taking him in years ago,” Li Muwan took a sip of tea and said lightly. “Being good to this grand-disciple is merely for Zhou Lin’s sake.”

The pill furnace suddenly shook, and Wang Lin abruptly withdrew his Spiritual Power from the adjacent room. Sensing the change in the furnace, Li Muwan knew his mental state had fluctuated, though fortunately he recovered quickly.

“Even so, Junior Sister, you and I are to be married. Having a male disciple in your chambers what would outsiders think of me?” Sun Zhenwei narrowed his eyes, glancing at Li Muwan from the corner of his eyes as he extended his folding fan toward her.

“What does Senior Brother Sun suggest then?” Li Muwan maintained her composure, withdrawing her arm from the table.

“If Junior Sister cares for your grand-disciple, you could send him to my Eastern Garden. I’ll teach him in your place, certainly not worse than you could. The Eastern Garden has many disciples with whom he could discuss cultivation and spar.”

“Senior Brother Sun, my grand-disciple is an inner sect disciple who mainly practices Pill Crafting. If you want him to cultivate in an outer sect,” Li Muwan pondered briefly before smiling faintly, “how could I explain this to Zhou Lin?”

“If Senior Brother doesn’t trust me, I simply won’t allow him to come to my pavilion for cultivation from now on. This way, can Senior Brother rest assured?” Li Muwan deftly deflected the suggestion with a compromise. Unless Sun Zhenwei wanted to tear apart all pretense of cordiality, he wouldn’t insist further.

“As long as Junior Sister knows where to draw the line.” Sun Zhenwei finally smiled, taking out a Magical Artifact from his Storage Bag. “This is a Spirit Gathering Ring that can gather Spiritual Energy from hundreds of miles around, converting it into refined Spiritual Power. It’s quite effective for improving cultivation level and pill refining. Please accept it.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother. I won’t see you out.” This time, Li Muwan accepted it without ceremony.

From Sun Zhenwei’s description alone, the Spirit Gathering Ring’s effects were clearly significant. She had also read related records in ancient texts if it could gather large amounts of Spiritual Energy, it would be greatly helpful for potentially detonating the Heaven-Seizing Seven Cauldrons to escape dangerous situations in the future.

Wang Lin in the adjacent room had been able to hear their conversation all along. Sun Zhenwei made no attempt to lower his voice, looking down on Wang Lin’s status as a mere disciple and not considering him a threat at all.

Whether Li Muwan had developed feelings for Wang Lin or Wang Lin for Li Muwan, anyone who stood in the way of his Dual Cultivation with Li Muwan would face consequences.

As an esteemed elder of the Cloud Heaven Sect who had been spoiled since childhood, he was determined to have Li Muwan.

Having barely finished refining a batch of elixirs, Wang Lin found his emotions turbulent, though he couldn’t pinpoint the reason.

Li Muwan let out a soft sigh, sitting cross-legged in meditation without saying a word, not disturbing Wang Lin’s alchemy practice in the adjacent room.

After a long while, Wang Lin rose and stepped out of the compartment, gazing at the silent Li Muwan, seemingly detecting a trace of melancholy in her brows and eyes.

“Ancestor Master, this disciple needs to go out for a while,” Wang Lin said, feeling depressed.

“Mm, this Spirit Gathering Ring will benefit your cultivation. Take it for now and return it when you’re done. These days, you don’t need to come to the pavilion to refine elixirs. Come only if you have questions,” Li Muwan said without opening her eyes to look at him.

Only then did Wang Lin dare to openly examine that face which had become even more beautiful than two hundred years ago, now blossomed like a lotus emerging from water.

The hidden affection from their separation in the bamboo forest had been gradually spreading these days, like gathering clouds before a storm.

Their daily interactions were almost similar to their time in the Sea of Demonic Cultivation, yet different.

At least the Li Muwan before him didn’t look at him with timidity, but rather with an indescribable probing gaze. Wang Lin didn’t know if it was an illusion or speculation arising from their respective statuses.

“This is from Sun Zhen…” Wang Lin paused, then corrected himself, “Elder Sun, for you.”

The Spirit Gathering Ring lay before him, with Li Muwan showing no intention of taking it back. “Since it was given to me, I can decide who to give it to. Unless you disdain your Ancestor Master’s magical artifact?”

Li Muwan lifted her eyelids, slightly raising her head to meet Wang Lin’s gaze. Wang Lin instinctively glanced at the blue-and-white porcelain vase nearby, where a butterfly lightly landed on the white plum branch inserted within.

“This disciple wouldn’t dare,” Wang Lin coughed lightly and accepted the Spirit Gathering Ring.

“Dismissed,” Li Muwan waved her sleeve and withdrew her gaze.

Wang Lin examined the Spirit Gathering Ring in his hand for a moment. This artifact could gather spiritual energy from within a thousand miles, collecting the essence of the sun and moon, greatly beneficial for improving cultivation level. It was truly fortunate for Wang Lin to obtain such a magical artifact.

If Li Muwan was merely treating him as her disciple’s disciple, then her sincerity toward Zhou Lin as her disciple was evident. This was just like her – two hundred years ago, she had wholeheartedly refined sufficient elixirs for his Core Formation, collected dewdrops, sewn dragonhide armor, and even sacrificed herself to block a Core Formation cultivator’s attack just to buy him time.

Such a passionate and sincere heart was right before him, yet he didn’t dare and couldn’t reveal his identity.

Wang Lin showed an imperceptible bitter smile, his heart filled with complex emotions as he stored the Spirit Gathering Ring and left the pavilion.

[Soul of Life: Your cultivation has stagnated, just when you need this Spirit Gathering Ring. Why did you give it to him?]

[Li Muwan: The Spirit Gathering Ring is useless for my cultivation, while he needs it right now.]

[Soul of Life: I still can’t sense the fiend’s presence. He can’t be the one…]

[Li Muwan: Are you going to make me change my target again?]

[Soul of Life: If you don’t change soon, you’ll die when your lifespan runs out. Then I won’t be able to collect the remaining three emotions.]

[Li Muwan: What exactly will happen when the Soul Pearl gathers all seven emotions and six desires?]

【Soul Pearl: It will upgrade into a higher-level Magical Artifact, attracting powerful Cultivators to search for it, leading them to other starfields.】

【Li Muwan: The Fiend has his own goals to achieve, but you’re just a pearl how can your ambitions be so lofty?】

【Soul Pearl: …】

Countless Cultivators in this world pursue elusive realms of power, slaying gods and vanquishing ghosts along the way. Li Muwan sighed.

【Li Muwan: You’ve gathered the seven emotions and six desires of humanity, yet you yourself are nothing but an emotionless Magical Artifact. Meanwhile, the Cultivators whose Souls of Life you’ve absorbed have had their fates altered because of it.】

【Soul Pearl: All is cause and effect.】

Li Muwan smiled bitterly.

Cause and effect?

Everything in this world revolves around cause and effect.

The Fire Beasts attacking the Fire Incineration Kingdom was the cause; the kingdom’s destruction was the effect.

The war between two nations was the cause; her falling into the Sea of Demonic Cultivation was the effect.

The Fiend saving her was the cause; her gifting him the Azure Dragon Jade Tablet was the effect.

Reuniting with an old acquaintance in the Cloud Heaven Sect was the cause so what would the effect be?

Up in the pavilion, the sound of a zither drifted once more. Wang Lin was meditating in his side chamber, studying the usage of the Spirit Gathering Ring, when the melody reached his ears. Outside, Spirit herbs swayed in the sunset glow.

As dusk approached, Spirit Beasts emerged from the Herb Field, shimmering with light like fleeting sparks.

Her zither music evoked a strange sense of belonging for a moment, one might wish to forget all past troubles and steal a moment of peace in this fleeting life.