Bai Xiaochun left Hou Yunfei's residence with a sigh and returned to his courtyard. He looked up at the sky, then down at the ground, first thinking about the "Legacy Sequence," and then remembering all those cultivation clans. He felt that Senior Brother Sect Leader was being too domineering. But after some thought… it seemed this way, although he could no longer continue receiving gifts, he didn't have to return the ones he already got.
"Yeah, this isn't my fault, it's the Sect Leader's decree!" Bai Xiaochun comforted himself with this thought, then began sorting through all the gifts he had received over the past few days. He went down the mountain to exchange them for a large quantity of medicinal herbs needed for refining Tier-2 spirit pills. Afterward, he returned to the Alchemy Pavilion and resumed his cultivation and pill refining.
In truth, regarding Bai Xiaochun and the cultivation clans, Zheng Yuandong hadn't intended to intervene. But he was truly shocked. The previous nine Honor Disciples had all been posthumously awarded — they had died in battle and were all from cultivation clans. Even if they left no descendants, they had kin, so it was natural for their clans to become Honor Clans. The sect would then fully support and focus on cultivating them.
However, Bai Xiaochun was alive. The terrifying implications of such a living Honor Disciple hadn't become clear at first. But after half a year of rumors spreading, even Zheng Yuandong realized something that had been overlooked: for cultivation clans, a living Honor Disciple was an incredibly tempting opportunity.
As countless cultivation clans arrived, Zheng Yuandong initially just observed. In his view, Bai Xiaochun choosing any one of them was acceptable. But what he didn't expect was that, with so many clans competing for one man, they were even willing to offer their clan women as mere maids — just to have a descendant with his bloodline.
He could already imagine: if Bai Xiaochun lacked self-control and agreed, then within a few years, there might be dozens or even hundreds of Bai Xiaochun's offspring. According to sect rules, the first generation of an Honor Disciple's descendants were all considered Inner Sect disciples and received full cultivation support.
If this went on, those dozens or hundreds would continue to branch out. Eventually, there would be dozens or even hundreds of "Honor Clans." A few centuries later, the Spirit Stream Sect might just become Bai Stream Sect… The consequences were too severe.
And Bai Xiaochun was still alive! As long as he kept producing more descendants, this nightmare would never end.
Because of this, Zheng Yuandong held an emergency meeting with the elders that same night. He even reported it to the Grand Elders. The unanimous decision: *Bai Xiaochun was forbidden from taking a partner for the next 100 years*. Harsh as it was, Zheng Yuandong couldn't risk gambling on Bai Xiaochun's self-control. He could only hope that, 100 years from now, Bai Xiaochun would have matured.
---
Time passed — a year in a flash.
Throughout the year, Bai Xiaochun had nearly vanished from South Bank. Very few people saw him. He spent all his time on cultivation and pill refinement. Locked in the Alchemy Pavilion, he threw himself into mastering Tier-2 spirit pills.
His cultivation also slowly improved. He reached mid-stage of the 7th level of Qi Condensation. Thanks to his relentless effort, he was gradually solving one problem after another in Tier-2 alchemy.
In fact, any other alchemy apprentice would have long considered themselves qualified to refine Tier-2 pills. But Bai Xiaochun was obsessively meticulous. He refused to move on to the next furnace until he had resolved every possible issue.
Finally, on this day, after one full year, he felt he had fully grasped the foundations of Tier-2 pills — aside from variations in different formulas, there were no more basic problems left. He fired up the furnace.
"Purple Qi Spirit Ascension Pill!" Bai Xiaochun's bloodshot eyes shone with determination. This Tier-2 pill was perfect for cultivators below the eighth Qi level — just right for him now. He pulled out each herb with practiced ease, throwing them into the furnace while controlling the flame and observing carefully, channeling spiritual energy as needed.
Three hours later, the furnace trembled. A rich medicinal fragrance burst out. Bai Xiaochun's eyes lit up. He rushed over, slapped the furnace — three red pills shot out instantly.
"It worked!" he exclaimed, grabbing the three pills — then paused, frowning.
"Huh? These should be purple, not red…" He scratched his head and sniffed the pill. It smelled potent, full of spiritual energy — but with a faint strange scent. And the color was clearly wrong. He dared not ingest it.
After pondering for an hour, Bai Xiaochun suddenly realized.
"Ah — during the refining, I accidentally used too much pollen from the Dona Flower. It contaminated the other ingredients and caused a strange reaction." Shaking his head, he set aside the three red pills and started a new batch.
This time, the furnace trembled, and one purple pill emerged. After confirming everything, Bai Xiaochun was satisfied.
He continued refining for several more days and produced over a dozen Purple Qi Spirit Ascension Pills before collapsing from exhaustion. As he rested, he eyed the three red pills again, hesitant to throw them away.
"Technically, if a pill forms successfully, it is a spirit pill — even if mutated. These three are still valuable, even if strange." He took out a bamboo needle — a tool for testing toxicity — and pierced one of the red pills. After a while, the needle remained unchanged.
"No poison!" Relieved, but still cautious, he didn't ingest it. Instead, he went to the Spirit-Tail Chicken pens and fetched one.
Back in his yard, he tossed a red pill to the ground in front of the spirit chicken. The chicken, originally lethargic, instantly perked up and lunged for the pill — but just then, a gale roared from the sky!
The startled chicken was blown aside as a fierce cry echoed from above. Bai Xiaochun jumped back in alarm. A group of five-colored phoenix birds — usually docile pets of Elder Zhou — had been flying nearby, but now all of them were darting toward him!
Midair, the birds began fighting each other! A particularly burly male bird beat the others and dove down, snatching up the red pill in a single gulp.
Then, with a disdainful glance at the spirit chicken, it flew off — but suddenly its body trembled. It let out a wild screech. Its eyes turned blood-red, veins bulging. Its feathers stood on end — as if it were about to explode from within.
Even more shocking: the male phoenix's muscles swelled with a crunching sound. Its whole body doubled in size. And between its legs… a stiff rod-like feather sprouted.
Its gaze turned manic — scanning the female birds around it.
The others tried to flee, but the crazed phoenix let out a savage cry and *pounced*. Screams and flapping wings filled the sky.
Bai Xiaochun watched, dumbfounded, jaw dropping.
That one phoenix *ravaged* all the others. Not one escaped. Then, still flushed and frenzied, it dove down toward him.
Bai Xiaochun nearly screamed in terror — but realized it wasn't coming for him. It snatched up the spirit chicken and flew off.
He wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
"Terrifying… What the hell was in that pill?!" Bai Xiaochun looked down at the remaining two red pills, shuddering. He guessed they had… aphrodisiac properties. And clearly extremely effective ones.
That day became unforgettable for all of Fragrant Cloud Mountain's disciples.
Because *every single bird* on the mountain — regardless of species — was *violated* by Elder Zhou's crazed phoenix.
All across the mountain, cultivators watched in horror as bird after bird tried to escape, only to fall victim to the furious phoenix. Even the Spirit-Tail Chicken wasn't spared. Especially not the other phoenixes.
News spread to Purple Cauldron and Green Peak Mountains. Many disciples came just to watch.
"Did you hear? Elder Zhou's phoenix went berserk! It's attacking every bird it sees!"
"I saw it myself. It's a monster. Even magpies weren't safe…"
"What did Elder Zhou do to that phoenix?!"
"It's inhuman. I saw that phoenix attack the same bird multiple times! It was tragic…"
Bai Xiaochun walked the sect trails, listening to all the gossip — trembling with guilt.
"It wasn't my fault! Really! I was just feeding a chicken… It was the phoenix that stole it!" Feeling wronged, he rushed back to the Alchemy Pavilion, hoping no one had traced it back to him.
There, he sighed and looked at the two remaining red pills.
"This thing's crazy powerful. Maybe I can use it as a secret weapon… If I run into a ferocious beast, I won't be afraid anymore!"
"But if I want it to work, I'll need a second pill — one that emits a strong *female* scent to draw the target…" He imagined it: throw one pill to make a beast go crazy, then throw the second somewhere else to lure it away.
Tempted, he began trying to invent a new pill formula.
---
Meanwhile, atop Fragrant Cloud Mountain, Elder Zhou returned from a trip — and stood frozen.
Almost all his phoenixes lay limp and defeated. Not far away, the giant male phoenix was still pinning down a spirit chicken, howling wildly.
Elder Zhou's mind blanked. His body trembled. The world spun around him.
Then came a thunderous, earth-shaking roar:
*"WHO DID THIS?!!"*