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Sui An listed several types of medicinal herbs and the quantities needed to refine the Hundred Herbs Pill. Based on market prices, she roughly knew it wouldn’t exceed seven hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
“Mm-hmm, that’ll be one thousand high-grade spirit stones in total.” Yuan Nuannuan narrowed her eyes, a calculating, wicked look on her face.
“Hey, can you not be so outrageous? Even at ten times the price, it would be seventy high-grade spirit stones at most. Where did one thousand come from?” Sui An laughed with anger. This person clearly knew she received one thousand high-grade spirit stones every month and was deliberately saying this.
“Eh, you were only away from the sect for a few days, yet you’re so clear on the market price,” Yuan Nuannuan said, her eyes filled with suspicion.
“One thousand it is,” Sui An said quickly.
In the end, Sui An still spent all the money she had on her to buy the medicinal herbs. Although she was ripped off, Yuan Nuannuan gave her quite a large quantity. As long as she could stabilize her alchemy, she should be able to refine over a hundred pills.
If the quality was good enough, she could sell them later. Selling one Hundred Herbs Pill for one to ten high-grade spirit stones was still possible.
Time was tight.
As soon as she returned to the wooden house, she began to prepare for alchemy. She divided the herbs into multiple portions and laid them out on the ground.
Sui An sat on the floor, relaxed her mind, and silently recited the Heart-Purifying Art. After exhaling and inhaling, her hands slowly began to form seals, controlling her spiritual energy to warm the alchemy cauldron.
The cauldron only had one formation, which rotated in multiple directions. Sui An raised a hand, and the cauldron lid lifted. She quickly made a few hand gestures, and the herbs flew in one by one.
For her first attempt, Sui An did not put in too many herbs.
With only one formation, she just needed to focus on controlling her spiritual energy. It was much easier than when she was refining pills in the Pill Pavilion.
She could even occasionally spare some attention to add more herbs.
Sui An’s spiritual energy was much stronger than before her rebirth. The combination of her Fire and Wood spiritual roots made the spiritual sea in her body surge. Faint red glimmers of light streamed into the cauldron, looking as if they were draping a layer of gauze over it.
During pill formation, Sui An once again tried to channel her wood spiritual energy through her fire spiritual energy. The red and green intertwined, merging into a golden light.
Sui An crossed her hands, sending a large amount of spiritual energy to envelop the liquid as it condensed into a pill. The cauldron’s formation continued to operate. Sui An didn’t even dare to breathe too heavily, afraid that a single interruption would ruin all her previous efforts.
When the formation stopped, a puff of green smoke emerged.
The room was filled with medicinal fragrance.
Sui An carefully opened it.
The inside of the cauldron was pitch-black. Sui An reached in to feel. The cauldron was still a bit hot to the touch, but there was a pill inside.
Sui An took it out to look. The pill was crimson, a Human-rank pill. Its color was full and translucent, and the impurities were negligible. Most importantly, there was a faint green light around the pill. It was a mid-grade pill. She had used about ten portions of herbs and only got one finished product, but Sui An was very happy.
“System, what is this green light?”
[It should be caused by the Host’s Wood spiritual root, helping to remove a lot of impurities. The Host can also try tasting it.]
She couldn’t possibly eat poison first and then a Hundred Herbs Pill. She shook her head. “Forget it. The most urgent matter is to practice refining more pills.”
Sui An rested for a moment. After her spiritual energy recovered, she continued to refine pills. For several consecutive days, she did not leave her room, and her control over her spiritual energy became smoother and smoother.
Until three days later.
The day for the opening of the Outer Sect Trial arrived.
All participating disciples gathered at the outer sect, dressed in white robes, their hair fixed with hairpins, exuding an immortal aura. Each of them was high-spirited and full of confidence.
The Demon Slaying Sect’s Outer Sect Trial was supposed to be watched by many other sects. Each time, it was a shoulder-to-shoulder affair, a bustling scene that was quite spectacular. But because it was opened early, many sects did not know about it, so there were only disciples from their own sect. It was much colder and quieter than the previous session.
The disciples whispered among themselves about this matter.
“I heard Senior Sister An will be coming too?”
“You don’t know? This Outer Sect Trial was opened early because of Senior Sister An. Of course she’ll be here.”
“I also heard that Senior Sister An has already reached the Foundation Establishment stage. She’s not even seventeen this year. As far as I know, the number of people who reached Foundation Establishment at sixteen can be counted on two hands. Among them, the most talented and strongest is the head senior sister of the Heavenly Secret Sect.”
“No matter how strong she is, she’s not from our sect. Don’t praise outsiders so much and boost their prestige.”
They were actually very nervous. In past Outer Sect Trials, there had been deaths and injuries. If one retreated, showed cowardice, or backstabbed others, they would not be able to pass the trial. Similarly, those with weak strength or weak willpower would also not be able to pass. The requirements were extremely strict.
Thus, people often said that ascending to immortality was difficult, and cultivation was a threshold that blocked countless people outside the gate. It was truly like a mountain separating them1, two worlds that never intersected.
The Grand Elder flew over from the sky with the various Peak Masters. With their heads held high and chests out, only those with supreme status and strength could be so at ease, a complete contrast to the disciples’ trepidation.
“Greetings, Grand Elder.”
The disciples’ faces grew even more tense.
In the past, it was always the head disciples of each peak who presided over the Outer Sect Trial. They hadn’t expected all the Peak Masters to come today. For them, this was also an opportunity to perform. Perhaps some outer disciples who failed the trial might still have a chance to be chosen.
As soon as the Grand Elder landed, she scanned her surroundings, her divine sense spreading out. “Where is Sui An?”
The disciples looked at each other, all shaking their heads.
The Grand Elder frowned and looked up at the sun. “What time is it already? Are we all to wait for her alone?”
Kong Yue gave a dry laugh. “Yes… yes, how about I go back and look for her?”
The Grand Elder sneered. “No need.”
With that, she closed her eyes, her divine sense spreading out to search. The scenery of the sect appeared in her mind. She unhurriedly searched place by place and finally saw Sui An arriving on her sword.
She opened her eyes. “She’s almost here.”
Kong Yue and Ran Qingfeng exchanged a look, everything said without words. They both knew that the Grand Elder was supposedly venting her anger at Sui An, but in reality, she was showcasing her own strength. If Tan Yun didn’t restrain her, those who had once belonged to the Grand Elder’s faction might be rekindled.
But Tan Yun always turned a blind eye.
They were also very puzzled.
Sui An arrived late on her sword. The past few days of alchemy had been very fruitful for her. Just her spiritual energy alone had become much more solidified. Perhaps through this Outer Sect Trial, she could break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.
She landed in front of the disciples. Seeing the extremely ugly expression on the Grand Elder’s face, she immediately bowed. “Greetings, Grand Elder.”
“Sui An, although you are doted on by the Sect Master, you cannot make all the disciples wait for you alone. This will not be an exception. Do you understand?” The Grand Elder’s first words were a reprimand.
“Yes, Sui An understands.”
Tan Yun did indeed dote on her, on the premise that she didn’t leave the sect. But this affection had now become a burden for Sui An. If Tan Yun were just thoroughly bad, why would she have to be so conflicted? She could just meet her with blades and fight to the death.
The Grand Elder looked at the crowd.
“The Outer Sect Trial is in a mountain forest. The forest has a barrier. You will need to teleport there via a temporary teleportation formation. Once you enter the barrier, you cannot force your way out.” The Grand Elder extended an index finger. “There is only one condition for you to leave, and that is to find a Golden Spirit Beetle. Remember, it must be a Golden Spirit Beetle marked by the sect. There are only one hundred in total. After finding a beetle, find the formation set up in the forest and successfully teleport out to be considered as having passed the trial. Once a Golden Spirit Beetle leaves the barrier, a sound will alert you to the decreasing number. When all the beetles have been taken out of the barrier, the barrier will disappear on its own. Disciples who fail to pass the trial can only wait for the next Outer Sect Trial in ten years.”
Ran Qingfeng added, “There are many highly aggressive demonic beasts in the mountain forest. A cultivator’s head is always on the line. A single misstep could lead to death. You all must be fully prepared psychologically.”
“And if, I’m just saying if, you were to die inside, we will send someone to inform your families,” the head of the Finance Hall said.
The disciples below began to discuss among themselves.
Sui An wasn’t familiar with the people around her. This rule was friendly to her. There were only one hundred Golden Spirit Beetles, but there were tens of thousands of trial participants. This would force a group of people to have to fight for themselves. Even if they formed teams, there was no guarantee that disagreements wouldn’t arise.
“May I ask, Grand Elder, besides these, are there any other rules we need to pay attention to?” one of the disciples asked boldly.
“No. Whether you can pass safely depends on your intelligence, strength, and luck.”
Sui An frowned. In that case, it was very likely that fellow disciples would fight and kill each other. Everyone could become an enemy, and even form life-and-death grudges because of this.
This was completely different from the rules Tan Yun had set. It was a true world of the strong. If you were weak, you would very likely die inside. What was worse, among this group of disciples, she was not the only one with a Foundation Establishment stage cultivation. As soon as they entered the formation, Sui An predicted that these people would seek her out for an alliance.
It was a good thing, and at the same time, a bad thing. She would be targeted first by thousands of disciples, making it difficult to move a single step.
“All disciples, follow me to the teleportation formation.”
The group moved in a vast procession.
Sui An walked at the very back, her eyes searching for a friend she knew from before her rebirth, Yu Mufei. He was in this crowd right now, but there were too many people, and Sui An couldn’t find him.
The crowd was teleported in batches.
Sui An was the first to stand on the teleportation formation. With a flash of light, the originally magnificent buildings were instantly replaced by a lush, towering forest. The air was filled with a fresh fragrance, and she could hear the chirping of birds and beasts. Bathed in the sunlight, she greatly enjoyed this moment of freedom.
“Senior Sister An, there are many high-level demonic beasts in the mountain forest. Why don’t we form a small team to search for the Golden Spirit Beetles together?”
One of the male disciples stood in front of Sui An, respectfully inviting her. Before he could get an answer, another female disciple stood in front of her.
“Senior Sister An is a woman. It would be somewhat inconvenient to follow a group of men. Why don’t you travel with us, Senior Sister An, how about it?”
Sui An had no desire to team up with people she didn’t know. She randomly pointed at a bush and shouted, “A Golden Spirit Beetle!”
With that, a group of people swarmed towards it. Sui An mixed in with them. When the two were not paying attention, she turned and hid behind a tree, retracted her spiritual energy, and held her breath.
The two looked up and searched for Sui An, but couldn’t see her anywhere, so they ran off with the main group.
Sui An peeked out. After confirming the crowd had run far away, she turned and left in the opposite direction.
[Host, walk straight ahead. There are a large number of medicinal herbs there.]
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Glossary
- Divine Sense (神识, shénshí): A cultivator’s spiritual sense or perception, which can be extended beyond the body to observe the surroundings, often over great distances.
- Golden Spirit Beetle (金灵甲, Jīnlíngjiǎ): The target item for the Outer Sect Trial. 甲 can mean armor or beetle.
- Yu Mufei (榆木飞, Yú Mùfēi): A friend of Sui An from her past life.
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Reika’s Notes:
- She spent all her money! I hope she gets something good during the trial.
- This text was translated by RudeGirl and given to BC Novels for publication.
- I helped with the footnotes, formatting, grammar, etc., the usual stuff that is needed to post this on the website.
- Please let me know if there are any errors. Thanks for reading!