Zong Hao dawdled all the way to the northwest corner of the herb field, where he slowly and carefully picked out a batch of spirit herbs used for refining Beast Spirit Pills. He loitered for nearly half a stick of incense before finally retracing his steps back.
At the spot where he had left Dian Dian, Zong Hao deliberately lingered for a moment, even letting out a couple of coughs. Only when Dian Dian emerged from the soil and scurried up along his boot into his sleeve did he finally leave the herb field.
Zong Hao paid a sum of spirit stones to take the harvested herbs back to his alchemy room. Once there, he pulled Dian Dian out of his sleeve and asked, "Dian Dian, did you find what you were looking for?"
Dian Dian squeaked twice in reply. Realizing Zong Hao couldn't understand him, he gave a nod instead.
Zong Hao didn't ask what it was Dian Dian had sought. Instead, he spoke sternly, "Dian Dian, you can't act recklessly. The herb field is protected by a warning array. If you harvest any spirit herbs without permission, the spirit beasts guarding the field will immediately sense it. You'd be the first to get caught."
Dian Dian nodded again. He only wanted to find out what kind of spirit herb Wei Yunqing was cultivating. He wouldn't dare touch anything without her consent. Besides, with his tiny limbs, it wasn't like he could do much.
Only then did Zong Hao relax. He set Dian Dian aside and began refining the Beast Spirit Pills.
These pills were specifically for spirit beasts. Not only did they help improve cultivation, but they also enhanced loyalty. The cost was relatively low, making them quite popular in the cultivation world.
Only Yun Xi, being a non-native cultivator, had never bought Beast Spirit Pills. She had always given Dian Dian spirit stones as cultivation resources, which made Dian Dian feel even more attached to her. It was a perfect misunderstanding.
After refining ten batches of Beast Spirit Pills, Zong Hao finally extinguished the alchemy fire. He filled porcelain bottles with the pills, reserving one top-grade pill for Dian Dian to inspect.
Dian Dian twitched his little nose. The aroma was irresistibly tempting. He swallowed the top-grade pill in one gulp, then let out a joyful squeak after it settled in his belly, clearly satisfied with the quality.
Zong Hao smiled and packed up the bottles, bringing Dian Dian with him to find Yun Xi.
Yun Xi had been having a pleasant conversation with Dan Yang Zhēnrén. Once she received the Beast Spirit Pills and took Dian Dian back, she knew everything had gone smoothly and promptly bid farewell to Dan Yang Zhēnrén.
After Yun Xi left, Dan Yang Zhēnrén chuckled and said, "Zong Hao, you've got a good cousin. To ensure you could take me as your master, she even shared her family's alchemy techniques with me, afraid I'd hold a grudge and make things difficult for you."
Zong Hao felt a warm surge in his chest and responded firmly, "Cousin Yun Xi has always believed in me. I'll definitely refine the pills she needs most in the future to repay her for her support."
Once Yun Xi returned to her residence on Lingxue Peak, she turned to Dian Dian and asked, "Did you find out what spirit herb Wei Yunqing is cultivating?"
"I did."
"What is it?"
"Dian Dian's never seen it before and didn't dare get too close. She added multiple layers of protection on top of the herb field's original array. She clearly values this spirit herb a lot."
"Then show me what you saw."
"Alright."
Dian Dian used their contract bond to share what he'd seen.
Yun Xi rested her chin on her hand and pondered for a long time. After mentally flipping through her knowledge of A Compendium of Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, she finally said, "So it's the Enlightenment Fruit. She really went all out. I can't believe this worked!"
"Master, are you sure it's the Enlightenment Fruit?"
"Yes, I'm fairly certain."
Dian Dian spun in a few little circles on the floor before saying, "But Master, from my inherited memories, Enlightenment Fruit grows on the Enlightenment Tree. It's a naturally formed treasure, born of heaven and earth. How could she possibly cultivate one?"
Yun Xi looked up at the sky and replied helplessly, "Exactly. I'm also wondering how she managed to grow it. And such a short one too, like a miniature Enlightenment Tree."
"Master, should we take it?"
Dian Dian showed no fear at all.
"Can you tell when the fruit will ripen?"
"From the scent I picked up, it'll take at least another half a year."
Yun Xi did a quick calculation on her fingers. That would line up perfectly with the opening of the Baohua Mountain secret realm. The timing was just too precise. It didn't take a genius to realize this was a tailor-made breakthrough opportunity for Wei Yunqing, likely to help her reach the Golden Core stage so she could enter the secret realm.
Yun Xi's eyes gleamed. She still remembered what Ethereal Grace had told her: if she couldn't seize it herself, she could always get someone else to try. At the very least, she needed to figure out where the limits were.
An Enlightenment Fruit was a rare treasure, even attractive to Divine Transformation experts. Once word got out, she wanted to see whether Wei Yunqing could actually hold onto her so-called destined opportunity.
With that thought in mind, Yun Xi decided to set the matter aside for now and revisit it when the Enlightenment Fruit ripened.
After Wei Zonghao became a disciple of Yu Huo Zhēnjūn, Yun Xi went into seclusion.
Wei Yunqing never got the chance to become an official disciple and was so furious she nearly slipped into an cultivtion deviation again. She had to halt her efforts to break into the late Foundation Establishment stage, and even started holding a grudge against Wei Zonghao.
None of this was of any concern to Yun Xi. When she ended her month-long seclusion, she heard that Yu Lian Zhēnjūn had successfully refined a low-grade Mystic treasure. The process had even triggered a tribulation. The alchemy furnace had withstood nine strikes of lightning before stabilizing completely, attracting quite a crowd.
As soon as Yun Xi heard it was an alchemy furnace, her first thought was of the Ziyu Panlong Cauldron she'd sent to be upgraded. She hadn't expected Yu Lian Zhēnjūn to really succeed in turning it into a profound treasure. It was a delightful surprise.
Excited, Yun Xi hurried to the Artifact Refining Peak and successfully met with Yu Lian Zhēnjūn.
Yu Lian Zhēnjūn greeted her with a hearty laugh, "Little Martial Niece, you finally came. Any later and someone might have stolen your cauldron."
Yun Xi replied with a bright smile, "I just came out of seclusion. As soon as I heard Martial Uncle refined a profound treasure, I came to offer my congratulations and pick up my cauldron."
"Tsk tsk, that mouth of yours is sweeter than your master's."
With a wave of his sleeve, Yu Lian Zhēnjūn sent the Ziyu Panlong Cauldron floating before Yun Xi.
Yun Xi could immediately sense the powerful aura radiating from the cauldron, and the two coiled dragons carved along its sides looked more lifelike than ever. She knew the upgrade had been a success. With another wave of her sleeve, she stored the cauldron in her storage bracelet, then offered her compensation for the upgrade.
Having learned that Yu Lian Zhēnjūn had successfully refined a Mystic treasure, Yun Xi gave up on paying with spirit stones. Instead, she handed over the smallest piece of the purple-gold meteorite iron she had left.
Yu Lian Zhēnjūn hadn't expected her to pay with crafting materials. It was clearly a good deal for him, and although he felt he'd gotten the better end of it, the reward was simply too good to refuse. In the end, he gifted Yun Xi a white jade belt to settle things fairly.
Yun Xi also swung by to pick up the repaired Five-Colored Python Robe from Xi Muran before hurrying back to Lingxue Peak.
The first thing she did upon retrieving her cauldron was summon Zi Yan and start refining pills. The upgraded Ziyu Panlong Cauldron no longer had its own alchemy fire. That role now fell to Zi Yan.
Following Yun Xi's instructions, Zi Yan began by preheating the cauldron and then adjusted the flames to suit the refinement process. However, both of the first two batches failed during the pill condensation stage.
Puzzled, Yun Xi kept her divine sense fully active during the second attempt and finally discovered the cause of the failures: it was Zi Yan.