Faced with this Senior Brother whose train of thought was so extraordinary and with these bizarre medicinal pills, Lu Qingning naturally did not think in conventional terms.
The Bigu Pills that Senior Sister had previously commissioned this Senior Brother to refine were not only delicious but also came in various flavors, yet not a single one was to be found in the shop. This showed that they were merely something he had casually tossed together on a whim.
Lu Qingning pondered, "Actually, you know, we can look at this from another angle. Since the side effects of these pills are far more powerful than their main effects, why don't we just call them poisons?
Senior Brother, you might as well just change the name of our shop, replacing Yunshui House with Netherworld Pavilion.
Take this pill, for instance: after taking it, one becomes immune to all poisons, but the whole body goes numb and becomes completely immobile. Senior Brother, you can directly market its side effects, claiming that once an enemy swallows it, their entire body will go numb and they won't be able to move at all.
Take this other pill: after consuming it, one can move as swift as the wind, but attacks become as gentle as a breeze. So you can advertise it by saying that letting the enemy eat it will weaken their attacks and disrupt their movement speed. Normally, anyone who suddenly speeds up is bound to trip over themselves simply because they are moving too fast.
Now look at this pill: after eating it, it summons ancestral spirits. This one is even simpler. You just need to have the enemy consume it and watch from the sidelines; without even needing to lift a finger, the enemy will already have more than half of their strength crippled.
..."
Lu Qingning explained her train of thought for each of these pills one by one, talking for a full incense stick's time until she finished, leaving her throat completely dry.
With a casual wave of her hand, Xiao Hongyu summoned a cup of tea and handed it to Lu Qingning's lips. Lu Qingning took a couple of sips and continued explaining earnestly, paying no attention at all to who had handed her the tea.
"Also, Senior Brother, didn't you say you didn't know how to get enemies to ingest them? You can grind the pills into powder and scatter them, or turn them into a liquid to coat hidden weapons and wound people with them.
Besides, since the medicinal potency might not be obvious enough this way, you can also trick them into buying more pills, allowing you to sell a lot more at once."
Lu Qingning finally finished speaking, her hands on her hips with a triumphant smile. At that moment, a cup of tea flew over, and Lu Qingning expertly caught it and took a couple of sips.
Suddenly, it dawned on her that this tea had been handed to her by Senior Sister.
Holding the teacup, Lu Qingning flashed a smile at Xiao Hongyu and said, "Thank you, Senior Sister!"
Xiao Hongyu said calmly, "Think nothing of it. I never expected Junior Sister to have such ingenious ways of thinking. I certainly couldn't tell over the past half year."
Lu Qingning hummed smugly to herself. There are plenty of things you haven't been able to tell about me yet!
Standing to the side, Ye Nanxing wore a look of utter shock after hearing all this. He remained completely stunned for a good ten-odd seconds after Lu Qingning finished speaking before bursting into loud laughter. "Hahaha! Junior Sister, you are too smart! Having a cultivator like you in our Tianjian Sect is like striking gold! Many thanks for your guidance, Junior Sister! If you have any pill-refining needs in the future, just let me know!
You two, I'm going to close up shop and tidy things up for a bit. I'll reopen in a week!"
Having listened to Lu Qingning's suggestions, Ye Nanxing could no longer wait to overhaul his own shop.
Lu Qingning let out a long sigh, turned her head, and said to Xiao Hongyu behind her, "Senior Sister, let's go."
Once they stepped out of Yunshui House, Lu Qingning turned her head and said, "Phew! Good thing your Junior Sister here is exceptionally clever, otherwise you would have lost a pouch of Spirit Stones for nothing, Senior Sister!"
Hearing this, Xiao Hongyu said calmly, "A pouch of Spirit Stones is nothing much, really... But Junior Sister, this kind of thinking of yours... might just change the entire pill-refining landscape of the Nine Provinces."
Lu Qingning waved her hand and said, "Ah, highly unlikely. Having just one person like Senior Brother Ye Nanxing is quite enough. If there were a few more pill refiners with a screw loose like him, the entire Nine Provinces would be truly doomed! I have no idea how he even managed to concoct such pills where you inflict a thousand losses on the enemy while suffering eight hundred yourself. Well... though his skill is still undeniable; at the very least, his Bigu Pills are delicious."
When Lu Qingning came to Danding Peak this trip, she had originally expected to eat plenty of delicious food or pills, considering that back on Qingzhu Peak alone, even the Bigu Pills came in over a dozen flavors.
As it turned out, upon arriving at Danding Peak, she realized that this Tianjian Sect was simply a culinary desert.
After Xiao Hongyu and Lu Qingning met with Ye Nanxing, Xiao Hongyu intended to take Lu Qingning and leave.
Before leaving, Lu Qingning took a look at the other shops in Danding City, which were uniformly stocked with healing potions and buffing agents—completely orthodox pill-refining routines.
While riding on the flying sword, Lu Qingning suddenly realized, "Huh? Senior Sister, isn't it a bit inappropriate for us righteous sects to be selling poison?"
In a tone entirely devoid of emotion, Xiao Hongyu said, "Immortal Cultivation is a matter of relying on one's own abilities, regardless of the means. No matter what methods you use, as long as the ultimate result is good, that is all that matters."
Hearing this, Lu Qingning nodded and said, "That makes sense."
Afterward, Lu Qingning hugged Xiao Hongyu a little tighter. For no other reason than that this flying sword was truly too dangerous.
Lu Qingning thought of her own spirit sword.
Stepping on that thing underfoot hardly seemed sufficient—it offered zero sense of security. Were there any swords one or two meters wide out there?
Wait?
Lu Qingning suddenly realized: what need is there for a sword anyway? She could just build a flying carriage.
At this thought, Lu Qingning shook her head. Forget it, she didn't even know how to perform Sword Flight yet, let alone build a flying carriage. She'd better wait.
Back on Qingzhu Peak, Lu Qingning found daily cultivation quite boring, so she asked, "Senior Sister~ When can I finally go out for experiential training~?"
Withdrawing her sword and pondering for a moment, Xiao Hongyu replied, "Once you have mastered the Tianjian Heart Formula and the Guiyi Mental Method, you can go to the Mission Hall to accept tasks for experiential training."
Lu Qingning let out an "oh" and turned to go cultivate.
To speak of achieving mastery—it was difficult, yet not entirely difficult.
It had taken Lu Qingning a full half year just to master the Tianjian Heart Formula, whereas the Guiyi Mental Method had already reached the minor accomplishment stage.
By this time, Lu Qingning's cultivation had also reached Mid Qi Refining.
The cultivation speed of a sword spiritual root was beyond imagination. However, having Shen Ye as a precedent, Xiao Hongyu remained completely calm and composed.
As for Ye Nanxing... over the past half year, Lu Qingning had not heard a single piece of news about him.
She wondered what on earth had happened to Ye Nanxing.
Still, Lu Qingning couldn't be bothered to care about him. Her primary goal now was to roam the world with her sword!
On the very day Lu Qingning mastered the Tianjian Heart Formula, she immediately went to find Xiao Hongyu. The moment she saw Xiao Hongyu, Lu Qingning waved her hands excitedly and said, "Senior Sister! I've finally mastered the Tianjian Heart Formula!"
Hearing this, Xiao Hongyu said, "Come, demonstrate it."
Lu Qingning retrieved the spirit sword from the storage bag given by Xiao Hongyu and readied herself to demonstrate against a wooden stump.
Xiao Hongyu interrupted her, saying, "Come, spar with me."
Lu Qingning was taken aback and said with a sheepish smile, "That wouldn't be good, would it? What if I accidentally hurt Senior Sister..."
Xiao Hongyu shook her head and said, "You won't."
A cold glare flashed in Lu Qingning's eyes as she said, "Then I won't hold back, Senior Sister!"
With that, an imposing aura surged from Lu Qingning's entire body. All the spiritual power within her condensed onto her sword, and she slashed forward with a single strike, dashing right up in front of Lu Qingning. *(Note: Contextually, Lu Qingning dashes toward Xiao Hongyu)*
Without changing her expression, Xiao Hongyu extended her index and middle fingers to pinch the blade of the sword in Lu Qingning's hand, freezing Lu Qingning right in her tracks in front of her.
"Eh?"
Lu Qingning stood frozen in place, dazed.
Xiao Hongyu withdrew her two fingers, nodded slightly, and said with gratification, "Mm, you have indeed achieved mastery. Although it's still lacking some refinement compared to the minor accomplishment stage, it's more than enough for self-defense out in the world."
Stiffly, Lu Qingning retrieved her spirit sword and flashed a smile at Xiao Hongyu. "Haha, Senior Sister speaks the truth."
Hey now, you never mentioned that Senior Sister was this powerful?! Is this really just Early Foundation Establishment?
I'm not that far behind Senior Sister, am I?
Lu Qingning muttered inwardly, complaining to Qiancang.
Qiancang chimed in with his own complaint from the side, "I told you earlier to just go ahead and strike without holding back, no idea what you were hesitating for. This girl is far stronger than you!"
Lu Qingning conceded the point. Indeed, she had made progress over this past year, and Senior Sister certainly had improved as well, probably reaching Mid Foundation Establishment or Late Foundation Establishment by now?
Lu Qingning guessed to herself.
Turning around, Xiao Hongyu grabbed Lu Qingning by the wrist and said, "Let's go. I'm taking you to the Mission Hall."