Chapter 9 - This Junior Disciple Is Extraordinary!

Murong Qianxue gracefully descended from the sky and approached Gu Liuyun calmly.

“Thank you for your assistance, Senior Sister,” Gu Liuyun expressed his gratitude.

Gu Liuyun promptly thanked her and curiously inquired, “Why are you here, Senior Sister?”

Rather than providing a direct answer, Murong Qianxue assessed Gu Liuyun with a somewhat uncertain gaze.

“In the middle of Qi cultivation?” She questioned.

“A few hours ago, you seemed to have no cultivation at all,” she remarked, surprised by his rapid progress.

She remained silent, but Gu Liuyun’s mind began to race, wondering if she had discovered the hidden intent behind his earlier glance.

He cautiously glanced at Murong Qianxue and asked, “Senior Sister?”

Murong Qianxue, who had not noticed his previous momentary lapse, was interrupted and refocused her thoughts.

“Oh, there were many new disciples today, and the elder one responsible for transmitting the techniques was running low on spiritual energy. I happened to come on his behalf,” she explained.

Gu Liuyun had a moment of realization. The many new disciples and the elder’s demands had drained him.

He expressed his gratitude again, saying, “Thanks to you, Senior Sister, my junior brother’s life was in jeopardy.”

Murong Qianxue nodded and then began to inquire about his cultivation level. However, before she could finish her question, Gu Liuyun didn’t wait for her response but instead turned his attention to the distant tree where the Queen Bee was attempting to escape. Without inherent offensive capabilities, and with the bee colony scattered by the Blue Wind Bird, Gu Liuyun promptly captured the Queen Bee by covering it with his clothing.

He then returned to Murong Qianxue with the Queen Bee and asked with a smile, “I almost let it escape. What were you about to say, Senior Sister?”

Murong Qianxue shook her head lightly and suggested, “It’s nothing. Let’s quickly return to the medicine hall.”

Gu Liuyun had no choice but to follow her to the medicine hall. A short while later, they arrived at the entrance of the medicine hall. Murong Qianxue descended from the sky with Gu Liuyun, and he reluctantly released his grasp, but the lingering scent of her presence remained.@@novelbin@@

Initially, Gu Liuyun had intended to take the opportunity to hold Murong Qianxue’s hand or embrace her slender waist, but the height they had been flying at made him hesitate. His lack of prior favorability made him reluctant, as he considered the possibility of being left stranded.

“If only I had more favorability points… My strategy is lacking!” Gu Liuyun lamented, heading into the medicine hall.

Murong Qianxue watched him with a puzzled expression, unsure what he meant. Inside the medicine hall, Wu Simiao immediately spotted them entering together and felt relief.

“Welcome back! Are you injured? Did you find the Queen Bee?” Wu Simiao inquired.

Gu Liuyun was touched by Wu Simiao’s concern and stepped forward to hand the Queen Bee, safely wrapped in his robe, to him.

“We found the Queen Bee, thanks to Senior Sister’s timely arrival. I’m completely unharmed,” he assured Wu Simiao.

Wu Simiao breathed a sigh of relief and said, “That’s good. Now, we can finally proceed with the antidote.”

After speaking, Wu Simiao kept one hand away from the poisoned disciple, shook off his robe with the other hand, and pointed at the queen bee to kill it. Then, with a swift motion of his finger, he extracted the queen bee’s poison sac and administered it to the poisoned disciple with a dose of the antidote.

Having completed these actions, Wu Simiao finally relaxed, and his hands, which had been in constant motion, came to rest.

He turned to Gu Liuyun and nodded with satisfaction, saying, “Well done, young man.”

Gu Liuyun chuckled and replied, “Thanks to your excellent guidance, Master.”

Wu Simiao chuckled in response, waved his sleeve, and said, “Oh, don’t be so modest. I only took you as my close disciple less than two hours ago. What have I taught you?”

Murong Qianxue, who had been listening to their conversation, couldn’t hide her astonishment. She couldn’t help but ask, “Elder Wu, what’s going on between you and him?”

Wu Simiao laughed and patted Gu Liuyun, explaining to Murong Qianxue, “This is my newly accepted closed disciple.”

Murong Qianxue was surprised by this revelation. Elder Wu was among the top three alchemy masters in the Divine Palace, and his discernment was highly regarded. Many talented disciples had been rejected when they sought to become his students.

Now he had taken in a newcomer, and not just any, but an important closed disciple?

She composed herself and offered a respectful bow to Wu Simiao, saying, “Congratulations, Elder Wu, on gaining a closed disciple.”

She then turned her gaze to Gu Liuyun and expressed a hint of regret, saying, “I noticed your exceptional skills when you were handling the Green Wind Bird earlier. I thought your potential in the path of cultivation was promising. However, now that you have become Elder Wu’s disciple, you have turned to alchemy.”

Gu Liuyun raised an eyebrow, thinking that Murong Qianxue had arrived earlier and witnessed his actions.

He scratched his head, about to explain, but Wu Simiao chimed in, “There’s no need to lament, my dear. This young man originally aspired to be a cultivator, and I used the Enlightenment Pill to convince him to study alchemy with me.”

Murong Qianxue heard this and was slightly surprised. The Enlightenment Pill was a valuable elixir, even for her. She would have to make significant contributions to the Divine Palace’s main hall to earn a chance to obtain one.

She looked at Gu Liuyun again, with a tinge of regret, “I observed your skills while handling the Green Wind Bird. Your use of Palm Thunder displayed remarkable finesse. I thought you had great potential as a cultivator, but now you’ve chosen to study alchemy under Elder Wu.”

Her words momentarily took Gu Liuyun aback and began to explain, but Wu Simiao spoke up again, revealing the truth.

“You don’t need to feel sorry for that,” Wu Simiao said. “This young man had originally wanted to pursue cultivation. I used the Enlightenment Pill to persuade him to study alchemy with me.”

Murong Qianxue, blinking her eyes, felt that there was nothing wrong with that explanation. Wu Simiao, however, couldn’t help but twitch his mouth as he realized that Gu Liuyun had entered the middle stage of Qi training, a feat that should have been impossible in just a few hours.

As for Gu Liuyun’s cultivation, Murong Qianxue suddenly remembered and asked, “What about your cultivation? How did you advance directly to the mid-stage Qi training in just a few hours?”

Wu Simiao realized that he had conducted a cursory assessment earlier, not considering the possibility that Gu Liuyun might have exceptional spiritual resources. He stroked his chin, thinking Gu Liuyun’s talents were probably more than ordinary.

Gu Liuyun, however, remained composed and explained, “I used the introductory cultivation technique to enter the first stage of Qi training directly. Additionally, I consumed a Qi Gathering Pill to advance to the mid-stage of Qi training. Isn’t that normal?”

Murong Qianxue, hearing this response, blinked and thought there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with his explanation.

Wu Simiao, pondering the situation, had various expressions flicker across his face, realizing that there was more to Gu Liuyun’s spiritual resources than he had initially assumed.

Meanwhile, Murong Qianxue was quick to pick up on the unusual circumstances. She glanced at Gu Liuyun and considered her situation. Tomorrow, her master from the main hall would fetch her, and a thought began to take shape in her mind.