Chapter 1: Peeping at Alchemy

  "Bastard, can't you see I'm a disciple of Miscellaneous Tasks? Do you think it's okay to bully me?"

  The sun sets in the west, Wang Fei walks on the winding mountain path with a gloomy expression. The afterglow of the setting sun stretches out his lean figure, beside him are steep cliffs surrounded by mountains, and gusts of cold wind blow over, Wang Fei tightens his worn-out clothes, clenches his fists, and curses incessantly.

  Today is the day to hand over spiritual medicine in exchange for spiritual crystal elixir, Wang Fei got up early and excitedly took a basket of spiritual medicine to exchange for spiritual crystal elixir.

  Because there were many people receiving rewards, Wang Fei had to wait until the sun was about to set before it was his turn. It didn't matter if he was late, though - with the dozens of hundred-year-old spiritual herbs in hand, he should be able to get five fist-sized third-grade yellow crystal and three fusion pills. Thinking about the sparkling crystals and the fragrant medicinal pills, Wang Fei's heart couldn't calm down.

  But looking at the two pieces of spiritual crystal and one elixir in his hand, Wang Fei really wanted to find the person in charge to reason with him. That damned manager saw that he was a miscellaneous disciple, so he privately deducted his own spiritual crystal and spiritual elixir, only giving him two pieces of spiritual crystal and one elixir, which was more than half less than what he should have gotten.

  Wang Fei continued to hold the Ling crystal and Ling Dan, thinking that the steward had made a mistake, smiling and reminding him. Unexpectedly, the steward didn't even bother to respond, waving his hand to dismiss Wang Fei.

  In a sect, who would care about a disciple without spiritual roots and weak in cultivation? All the hardships can only be swallowed with gritted teeth.

  Wang Fei, who understood the cold and warmth of human relationships and the complexity of worldly affairs, naturally wouldn't lash out, but could only endure in silence. However, along the way, Wang Fei cursed that manager's ancestors for eighteen generations. When feeling unwell, venting through cursing can still help adjust one's mood!

  "Wang Fei!"

  Just as Wang Fei was scolding with relish, a woman's cold voice suddenly sounded behind him, which really startled Wang Fei.

  Wang Fei turned around to see a woman in her early twenties standing in front of him, wearing white clothes. She held her head high with the same contemptuous expression on her face.

  "Ah, it's actually Sister Ding!" Wang Fei slightly bowed.

  Ding Shijie was a formal disciple in charge of the medicine field, with a cultivation base of Lingxu Eighth Layer, just one step away from the late stage of Lingyu. In the eyes of disciples like Wang Fei, he was considered a big shot.

  Although he was very dissatisfied with the woman's attitude, Wang Fei didn't mind and continued to ask in a humble manner.

  "What did Master Ding's sister call me for?"

  "Go, go to Dan Fang and get me ten bottles of Rong Ling Dan with 100 pills each. Bring them back by tomorrow morning. If you're late, you'll be in trouble!"

  Ding Shijie casually tossed out a talisman with her seal on it, fanning it in front of Wang Fei, then turned around and left without looking back. Wang Fei could still hear her muttering to herself.

  "With such a stupid and clumsy disciple who has no talent, how did our sect recruit him in the first place..."

  Wang Fei gazed at Ding Shi's gradually disappearing figure, his face darkening, then he put away the paper charm and headed towards the Dan Pipe House.

  The sky grew darker, and the originally bustling valley also returned to tranquility. In the night sky, a round moon hung high. Before long, Wang Fei arrived at Dan Guan House.

  Only in the house, Wang Fei did not find Lin Shixiong who was in charge of this matter. Originally, Wang Fei wanted to come tomorrow morning, but thinking of Ding Shijie's deadline, he had to search around. Two hours later, Wang Fei had searched the entire Dan Guan House surroundings, but still didn't see Lin Shixiong's shadow.

  "Aw, can't find anyone, can't blame me for that, forget it, let's talk about it tomorrow!"

  After a search, Wang Fei had to return, but just then, with a dull sound, a burst of light enveloped the place where he was standing.

  The sudden change really scared Wang Fei, so he quickly looked around and found himself standing outside a house. The light also came from inside the house.

  Fortunately, there was no one around, and Wang Fei calmed down. Curious, he looked up to find that he had unknowingly walked to the outside of the Dan room where elixirs were specially refined.

  Wang Fei shook his head, let out a soft sigh, and was about to turn around and leave, but that one strand of dazzling light enticed him, making it impossible for him to lift his feet.

  "Alchemical chamber, alchemy..."

  Looking at the flickering flames, Wang Fei felt an itch in his heart.

  Wang Fei had been a disciple of Danfeng Sect for ten years, and without any spiritual roots, he became the lowest-ranking miscellaneous servant disciple. He was often looked down upon by his peers.

  As for why he came to Danfeng Sect and endured the errands of others, it was all in order to exchange for some Clear Spirit Eye Drops, because only they could cure his mother's eye disease.

  At present, with his identity, it is extremely difficult to obtain Qingling Mu Ye. Since that's the case, why not think of a way to refine it instead?

  Thinking of this, Wang Fei's footsteps slowly approached the window of Dan Fang...

  Under the deep night, Wang flew with his head shrunk, standing outside the house, looking around, and after seeing no one, he carefully stretched out his fingers to open a small hole in the window screen, and squinted to look inside.

  Inside the room, a young Taoist wearing blue clothes sat cross-legged on a cushion, his eyes closed tightly, and in his hands he manipulated a ball of flames. In front of him stood an alchemy furnace over one zhang high, with scarlet flames burning fiercely beneath it, heat waves surging, and a faint scent of medicine wafting out.

  "Is that Lin Shixiong?" Wang Fei was stunned, not expecting the person he had been searching for to be in the Dan room. Shocked as he was, Wang Fei calmed himself down and continued to watch his movements. After watching for a long time, Wang Fei thought to himself, "I wonder if the dan medicine he's refining is what I'm looking for."

  Just as Wang Fei was deep in thought, Lin Shixiong suddenly sensed something and his eyes snapped open. He turned his head to look at where Wang Fei was standing and growled: "Who!"

  "Caught! I've been discovered!" Wang Fei was startled by this sudden shout, his heart tightening slightly as he thought to himself, "How unlucky! How could my secret have been discovered?"

  The situation in front of him didn't allow him to think much, the rules of the sect were not easy to deal with. Wang Fei was getting anxious and hastily looked around, then ran towards the dense forest in the distance.

  "What kind of madman dares to sneak a peek at me refining the elixir!" Lin shixiong spotted the figure swaying outside the window and shouted loudly as he rushed out of the dan room.

  "It's not that easy to run!" Lin saw this and coldly smiled, flipping his hand to take out a flying sword, riding the sword to chase after him.

  Wang Fei had not run far when he heard a loud whooshing sound, and before his eyes flashed a crimson light, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

  "Hmph, Wang Fei, so it's you, this good-for-nothing disciple. Hmph, how dare you sneak a peek at the formal disciples' alchemy practice? You're really asking for trouble!"

  "Huh, Lin Shixiong, I...". Wang Fei saw that he was being chased and his heart skipped a beat. He quickly turned around and pretended to be foolish, saying "Lin Shixiong, Ding Shijie asked me to come find you for the Danfang's dan medicine. I've been searching for half a day without seeing you, it turns out you were in the Danfang all along."

  Wang Fei deliberately put on a look of sudden enlightenment and said.

  "Don't try to change the subject, are you looking for trouble?"

  Lin Shixiong originally looked down on Wang Fei, this miscellaneous disciple, and now that he not only didn't kneel to beg for forgiveness but instead pretended to be stupid and used Ding Shijie as an excuse, his anger immediately flared up. He raised the flying sword in his hand and sneered: "Hmph, you've done something wrong, yet you don't hurry to kneel down and ask for forgiveness? You still want to shirk responsibility? You're really looking for death!"

  "Brother Lin misunderstood! Misunderstood!"

  "Make a horse cross, and I'll spare you this once. Otherwise, heh heh..." Lin Shixiong said with a playful smile, fiddling with the flying sword in his hand.

  The rules of the sect. If a miscellaneous servant disciple dares to sneak a peek at a formal disciple's practice, they have the right to punish the peeping Tom, and as for how to punish, it is generally a severe beating.

  Staring at the opponent's flying sword with a cold glow, Wang Fei was not an idiot. Fortunately, he had been prepared for this and had trained in advance. So, he pretended to be flustered and took a step back, his face respectful: "Ding... Ding Shijie, don't be impatient, I'm looking for him too."

  "Master Ding's sister?"

  Lin heard this and was startled, quickly turning his head back, but at that moment, Wang Fei pulled out a black bead from his sleeve and threw it at him.

  All that could be heard was a loud bang, and a cloud of dark grey mist exploded and spread out, enveloping Lin Shixiong inside. Wang Fei took advantage of the opportunity to escape, and behind him came Lin Shixiong's angry roar.

  "Damn it, Wang Fei, how dare you play me! I swear to God, if I don't kill you, I'm not human!"

  Wang Fei heard this and his forehead was covered in cold sweat: "Isn't it just about watching the alchemy technique? Is there a need to be so serious? If I had good spiritual roots, would I still be bullied by you?" Wang Fei quickly ran away, and couldn't help but mutter a few sentences to himself.

  Wang Fei covered his mouth and quickened his pace, soon hiding in the dense thicket.

  "Halt!"

  Just as Wang Fei was escaping from Lin Shixiong's pursuit, a loud shout suddenly came from behind him. When he turned around, that scoundrel had already appeared not far behind him.

  In the jungle, due to the dense foliage, Lin couldn't fly with his sword and could only curse as he brushed aside branches in pursuit.

  With a rustling sound, Wang Fei pushed aside the dense undergrowth and entered a cave.

  He often came to this cave to meditate and was very familiar with it. As soon as he entered, he used branches and leaves to conceal the cave, leaving only a small hole to observe the outside.

  "Damn it, this little brat, how did he disappear in the blink of an eye?"

  As soon as Wang Fei entered the cave, Lin Shixiong had already caught up, staring at Wang Fei who had suddenly disappeared. He couldn't help but curse loudly, "Where did you go to die, you stinky little brat? If you have guts, don't mix with Danfeng Sect again, or I'll definitely chop you off! Bastard!"

  As he spoke, he continued his search in another direction.

  Looking at Lin Shixiong who was getting farther and farther away, Wang Fei let out a long sigh, turned around and leaned against the stone wall of the mountain cave, sitting on the ground.

  The desperate sprint just now had consumed a lot of physical strength, if not for the foundation of Ling Xuan's first layer, I'm afraid it would have been impossible to run any further. Fortunately, there was a temporary backup cave, which barely escaped disaster.

  "Damn it? You son of a bitch, with such good qualifications, only at the third level of spiritual roots. If I had your spiritual root qualifications, I..."

  After resting for a while, Wang Fei's physical strength recovered a lot, and he immediately started nagging.

  Wang Fei is an ordinary person without a spiritual root, and his cultivation path is fraught with difficulties. While others can reach the first layer of Ling Yu in one year, he needs ten years, which goes to show how tragic it is to be without a spiritual root.

  In comparison, Lin had three spiritual roots in his body that were as thick as three hairs, belonging to the seventh-grade spiritual root. His talent was countless times better than Wang Fei's.

  Thinking of this, Wang Fei felt extremely depressed, picked up a straw from the side, chewed it in his mouth, hugged his shoulders with both hands, and thought angrily.

  "Crack!"

  Suddenly, a clear and crisp sound echoed in the quiet mountain cave, Wang Fei was shocked out of his angry state, stood up straight, and tensely looked towards the source of the sound.

  On the opposite stone wall, a fine crack suddenly appeared! Next, a voice with sarcasm sounded from beside Wang Fei...