Bai Xiaochun was visibly excited. He stood up, stretched his body, then began controlling his small wooden sword to fly back and forth across the courtyard. Sometimes it whistled through the air with speed, and sometimes it came to a sudden, crushing halt, carrying a heavy, oppressive force.
The entire wooden sword moved unpredictably throughout the courtyard, and soon sword energy spread in all directions, kicking up fierce winds out of nowhere. Bai Xiaochun grew even more thrilled.
After a moment, he flicked his wrist, and the small wooden sword instantly vanished, returning to his palm. Though its colorful appearance still looked unremarkable, the sword—refined through three spirit enhancements—had undergone an essential transformation.
"If I can fully master both treating heaviness as light and treating light as heavy, then I'll be able to activate the only divine ability within the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art!"
Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, eyes full of anticipation.
*"Violet Qi Transforms into a Cauldron!"*
He put away the sword, closed his eyes, and stood silently in the courtyard. After a long while, he suddenly raised his right hand and pointed at the air. At that moment, the spiritual energy inside him—which was normally invisible—suddenly began to shine.
If one looked closely, the energy appeared like threads, quickly outlining the shape of a cauldron in midair. It was as if some mysterious power was guiding it, helping the cauldron rapidly take form.
At the same time, an astonishing pressure erupted from the cauldron, even stronger than when Bai Xiaochun had launched his flying sword.
His face quickly turned pale. His spiritual energy was being drained rapidly. Only after consuming nearly 80% of it did the cauldron finally fully form, hovering midair with an even more intense spiritual pressure.
As Bai Xiaochun pointed forward again, the cauldron shot out and smashed down hard.
The moment it struck the ground, the cauldron shattered first, but a massive amount of spiritual energy exploded outward.
*Boom!* The explosion was so powerful that it spread through the area. Cracks suddenly appeared across the ground within a hundred-zhang radius.
Fortunately, Fragrant Cloud Mountain was protected by a formation, and the cracks soon repaired themselves. But the resulting tremor still startled many outer sect disciples, who looked around in surprise.
Bai Xiaochun gasped. He hadn't expected Violet Qi Transforms into a Cauldron to be so powerful. That one strike gave him the sense that even he couldn't defend against it.
"As expected, this is the only divine ability within the Violet Qi Cauldron Control Art, and it requires mastery of both treating heaviness as light and treating light as heavy to activate." Bai Xiaochun's eyes gleamed with light, though he quickly frowned.
The technique was powerful, but the energy cost was far too high.
What Bai Xiaochun didn't know was that even though it had consumed 80% of his spiritual energy, that was only because his spiritual power was unusually refined. For most disciples, even if they comprehended this divine ability, it would be almost impossible to use before reaching the ninth level of Qi Condensation. Their spiritual energy would be completely drained. Even then, the cost remained significant.
"The manual says this divine ability comes in three grades—low, middle, and high. What I just formed was only a *low-grade* cauldron. If I reach *middle-grade, I can form **two cauldrons. And if I reach **high-grade, I'll be able to form **three cauldrons*, which can then merge into a giant one!" Bai Xiaochun fell into thought. After sitting cross-legged and meditating, by the time the moon rose high, he opened his eyes again, now fully recovered.
"This divine ability will be my trump card. That way, if those admirers of Zhou Xinqi ever provoke me, I can just smash them with a cauldron." Just as Bai Xiaochun was starting to feel at ease, the figure of that young man surnamed Qian came to mind again, and his brow furrowed.
"To become an inner disciple, one has to be at least at the eighth level of Qi Condensation…" Bai Xiaochun's unease returned. He looked at his skin, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He stepped forward with great speed, then raised his right hand. Between his thumb and forefinger, a black light flashed, and he pinched the air.
A cracking sound echoed from the void—there was even a faint sense of something shattering. That one pinch felt capable of breaking through anything. Bai Xiaochun looked at his fingers and hesitated slightly before calming down.
"This is a killing move… for saving my life." Bai Xiaochun reflected for a moment. In his opinion, a life-saving technique should be as strong as possible. But he was still deeply afraid of the Undying Longevity Art.
After he completed the Ironhide Body, he had tried continuing cultivation, but the terrifying hunger returned.
And now, on the South Bank of the sect, all the spirittail chickens had been eaten—only chicks remained. There was simply nothing left to eat. He was sure that relying solely on regular spirit food would lead to starvation.
He had searched all over the mountains for other edible spirit beasts, but ever since the "chicken-thief maniac" reputation had spread, the few remaining beast pens across the three peaks were heavily guarded.
Bai Xiaochun was frustrated. As he dwelled on the issue, his face turned sour. Just then, he remembered that longevity pill from the past.
"Right…!" Bai Xiaochun's eyes lit up. There were many types of spirit medicines—not just ones that increased cultivation, but also those that replenished life energy. After his Ironhide Body breakthrough, he realized that cultivating the Undying Longevity Art consumed immense vitality.
"Now that I've mastered plant knowledge, even if I haven't officially become an apothecary, I can still refine medicine myself. In the sect, finished pills are expensive, but raw herbs are much cheaper."
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
"This way, I can get early experience with alchemy. When I take the trial to become an apothecary later, I'll be much more confident. And it'll make refining a Foundation Establishment Pill easier too." Bai Xiaochun made his decision. He propped his chin in thought until the next morning, then leapt to his feet.
"To refine medicine, I need recipes. That's easy. You don't need to be an apothecary to get them—some are sold down in the marketplace at the base of the mountain." He patted his pockets. Since coming to Fragrant Cloud Mountain, he had barely spent any spirit stones. As an outer disciple, he received a monthly stipend, and he had saved up quite a bit.
He'd never been one to care about material wealth, so with excitement, he dashed off down the trail from Fragrant Cloud Mountain.
This was his second time descending the mountain. The first had been to buy herbs to exchange for a pill. Now, just as he left the mountain path, over on Green Crest Peak, two figures rushed toward a courtyard.
"Senior Brother Chen, are you there?"
"Senior Brother Chen, Bai Xiaochun has left the mountain!" These two were strong, at the fourth level of Qi Condensation. Eyes gleaming with excitement, they entered the courtyard and spotted a burly man meditating.
The man was even more massive, with broad shoulders and a sturdy build. When he heard the words, his eyes snapped open with a flash of cold light.
"Bai Xiaochun? He finally left the mountain?" The burly man grinned viciously and stood up. His presence was imposing, and he radiated the aura of a *fifth-level Qi Condensation cultivator*.
He was none other than *Chen Fei*, who had once worked in the Discipline Hall.
Back then, the three of them had been living comfortably in the Discipline Hall—servants at their beck and call, and even gaining spirit stones from skimming off supplies. But then Bai Xiaochun and his group had forcibly exposed them and gotten them kicked out to become outer disciples.
The past two years had been hard, and their hatred for Bai Xiaochun ran deep. But Zhang Dapang was not to be trifled with, and Hei Sanpang was known to be even more difficult. Bai Xiaochun, despite having shown some skill, seemed like the easiest target.
They'd long wanted revenge but hadn't acted because Bai Xiaochun rarely left the sect. And although Chen Fei had some backing, even he couldn't risk violating sect rules.
After all, his greatest connection was being a cousin of an inner disciple—who didn't pay much attention to him anyway. Back in the servant days, that cousin had barely looked after him.
So, Chen Fei waited for the perfect opportunity—almost *two years. Now that Bai Xiaochun had finally left the sect, he was ready. Recently, he'd advanced to the **fifth level of Qi Condensation*, and he had investigated Bai Xiaochun's strength. Though Bai Xiaochun had taken first place in the small competition, he believed it was through trickery.
"That day, we were fooled by his treating heaviness as light. I really thought he had comprehended it. Hmph! Because of him, we were forced to become outer disciples. Time to pay that debt!"
Chen Fei's eyes gleamed with malice. He didn't intend to kill Bai Xiaochun—just to break his bones and make him bedridden for a year.
The sect would investigate, yes—but as long as there were no witnesses, no death, and given Chen Fei's connections, the matter could be swept under the rug.
"If your skills are lacking, you can't blame me," he sneered, then vanished down the mountain, his two companions close behind. The three of them waited on a narrow mountain trail that Bai Xiaochun would have to pass through on his way back from the marketplace.
The marketplace wasn't large, and Bai Xiaochun quickly found two first-tier medicine recipes—one for replenishing spiritual energy, and another for restoring vitality. The latter was especially rare at high levels but relatively common at lower ones. Such pills were usually given to mortals for health.
They were useless for others, but for Bai Xiaochun, they were priceless. He had the turtle-wrought cauldron—any ordinary pill would become far more effective after three spirit enhancements.
With the rest of his spirit stones, he also bought multiple sets of ingredients. Satisfied, he patted his storage pouch and hummed a little tune as he walked along the path back to the sect, daydreaming about future success as an alchemist.
But before long, as he walked along the forested mountain path, he suddenly paused, eyes narrowing.
Since reaching the sixth level of Qi Condensation, his senses had become sharp. He instantly detected three people hiding nearby. He could feel their breathing. The moment they saw him, their heartbeats quickened slightly.
The moment he stopped walking, *Chen Fei* and the other two burst from hiding and blocked his path.
"Bai Xiaochun, it's time to settle the score from back then!" Chen Fei glared at him, voice cruel. His two companions wore the same vicious grin as they quickly fanned out to surround Bai Xiaochun.