Chapter 88

Miao Miao whimpered. Five imprints!

She could only make three at a time.

The number of imprints is closely related to skill and mental strength. Ye Qiao could make five at once and showed no signs of discomfort.

“She made five pill imprints,” Liu Yun furrowed his brows, lowering his voice.

This clearly wasn’t her first time refining pills.

Si Miaoyan felt a bit complicated too, muttering self-consoling words, “You all are still young.”

“Ye Qiao isn’t that old either,” Miao Miao covered her face. They had always stayed in the sect and, as personal disciples, heard mostly praise and compliments. This was the first time they felt so defeated, truly understanding the phrase ‘her starting point is my endpoint.’

“How many pill imprints can Si Miaoyan make?”

Si Miaoyan was the best alchemist in the Bishui Sect. It was said she had once received the blessing of the Heavenly Dao. Though the truth of that was uncertain, if true, it made her undeniably a rare genius.

A Bishui Sect elder, his tone complex, kept his eyes fixed on Ye Qiao and absentmindedly answered, “Eight.”

“If she pushes herself, she could make ten.”

“So what does that mean? It means our Qiao Qiao is a genius too,” Qin Fanfan boldly spoke out, “She made five imprints, after all.”

The Bishui Sect elder was noncommittal. Indeed, seeing how proficient Ye Qiao was at making pill imprints, it was clearly not her first time.

If she succeeded, it would undoubtedly cause a stir in the cultivation world.

After making the imprints, the next step was purification.

She had practiced this many times before. Purification and merging the pills were steps Ye Qiao could do with her eyes closed.

While the onlookers were extremely nervous, Ye Qiao remained the calmest. Only when the pot began to tremble did everyone’s hearts jump to their throats.

As long as it didn’t explode, it was a success.

“Is it a success? Is it?” Ming Xuan anxiously grabbed Xue Yu and frantically asked.

Xue Yu let out a breath, “It should be successful.”

“Really?” Ming Xuan’s eyes widened. “You scared me to death.”

Mu Chongxi nodded furiously alongside him.

Xue Yu: “So if you’re nervous, be nervous. Why the heck did you pinch me?”

Ming Xuan and Mu Chongxi simultaneously let go, apologizing insincerely, “Sorry. Too nervous.”

Could you blame them for being nervous? Even Xue Yu’s heart was about to leap out of his chest. He came back to his senses, “As long as it didn’t explode, it’s a success.”

Ye Qiao was probably the only one present without a trace of nervousness. She cautiously lifted the lid of the pot and, unsurprisingly, the pills inside were all uneven. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, purely from the heat.

Calmly, she glanced at the Bishui Sect people, “Remember to pay up.”

“Don’t think you can get a free meal.”

“Oh right,” Ye Qiao reminded, “Just convert the market price of Qingxin grass into spirit stones and give us that. Thanks.”

She was… quite polite?

“Is paying the issue now?” Even the composed Si Miaoyan was a bit unsettled. She nearly grabbed Ye Qiao by the clothes to question her but managed to maintain her image, exhaling deeply, “Why are you so calm?”

Why mention this just now?!!

Ye Qiao took a half step back, pondered for a moment, and shamelessly said, “This is probably the self-awareness of a genius?”

“……”

No one dared to laugh at her bragging anymore.

Because outside the secret realm, exclamations were erupting.

“Ah, I give up. Is the cultivation world going to be destroyed by having one more genius?”

“There are so many geniuses in the world, why can’t it be me?”

“I hate this. Is Ye Qiao your Changming Sect’s pride? She can refine pills and draw talismans!”

“Ah, yes, yes. Remember to show proper respect to our Changming’s pride from now on.”

“Yue Qingzong must be crying. They let go of such a genius.”

“I don’t care what her spirit are, I bet they’re not mid-grade. So what was Yue Qingzong thinking, letting her go?”

Yue Qingzong’s fans couldn’t hold back, launching a barrage of criticism at their higher-ups.

That was a genius.

How could they let her go?

When Ye Qiao lifted the pot lid, everyone crowded around, peeking.

“Wow~” came an exclamation.

“So ugly,” they all voiced their disdain in unison.

So ugly it was almost familiar.

Si Miaoyan instantly thought of a certain master.

Ye Qiao was unhappy, “What do you mean ugly? It may be ugly, but it’s beautiful on the inside! Why do you all despise my pills?”

The commotion in the secret realm sparked quite a stir outside as well.

These mature and composed people naturally wouldn’t judge a pill by its appearance, and the elders knew full well the ugliness wasn’t Ye Qiao’s fault.

It was purely the consequence of using a pot.

Bishui Sect members glared at Qin Fanfan, “You let a precious alchemist refine pills with a pot?!!”

Who do you think you are looking down on?!

Elder Zhao was at a loss for words. The issue was Ye Qiao had never told him she could refine pills.

“Hey, where did you find this outer disciple?” Bishui Sect poked Qin Fanfan, “We should go scouting around too, see if we can pick up one.”

They had all heard that Ye Qiao went from an outer disciple to a personal disciple.

Initially, they mocked Changming Sect for being desperate and giving up.

Turns out the fools were themselves.

Qin Fanfan: “Yue Qingzong found her.”

Bishui Sect’s elders weren’t shy, seeing Yun Hen’s changing expression, they ignored his mood and invited Wenjian Sect and Chengfeng Sect elders, “Anyone want to come with me to Yue Qingzong next time? See if we can find another three-practice genius.”

“Finding one would be a huge gain.”

Yun Hen was on the verge of spitting blood.

Three practices!!

When Ye Qiao was in their sect, he hadn’t seen any talent in talisman drawing or pill refining.

Yun Hen couldn’t deny his regret. He even started blaming Yun Que for being difficult. If she had been more sensible, Ye Qiao wouldn’t have turned against them over a spiritual plant.

Qin Fanfan felt a bit guilty under the elders’ reproachful gazes, which seemed to say, “You made a genius use a pot, like planting a flower in cow dung.”

Covering his face, Qin Fanfan said, “Once the secret realm is over, we’ll have Xue Yu take her to buy a pill furnace, and we’ll pick the most expensive one!”

They could suffer, but they couldn’t let the child suffer.

Si Miaoyan picked up a pill, sniffed it, and her eyes lit up. “Such dense spiritual energy.”

Indeed.

Though the appearance was less than ideal, the spiritual energy was undeniably rich.

Liu Yun nudged Xue Yu with his elbow. Xue Yu retracted his egg-swallowing expression and gradually regained his composure. “Who spread the rumor that she has mid-grade spiritual energy?”

Could someone with mid-grade spiritual energy practice three disciplines? He didn’t believe it! If they could, he wanted to be mid-grade too.

This superior-grade nonsense wasn’t worth it.

Xue Yu said, “It’s not a rumor.”

“But we can’t seem to measure Little sister’s spiritual energy properly either,” he added, still puzzled.

“So what level is she?” Liu Yun speculated, “High-grade?”

Miao Miao shook her head. “If we’re being bold, she might be supreme-grade like us.”

“Going even bolder,” Xue Yu questioned, “Is there anything above supreme-grade?”

“There is.” Si Miaoyan paused, then said, “Above supreme-grade, there’s heavenly-grade.”

Not only them.

Even the elders outside the secret realm were pondering one question: could Ye Qiao be that one in ten thousand, the rare heavenly-grade?