Kehendak Abadi (Yi Nian Yong Heng) 32-40

Bukan hanya penonton. Bahkan Du Lingfei pun merasa sedikit iri dengan keberuntungan yang didapatkan Bai Xiaochun. Begitu pula dengan Chen Zi'ang. Empat orang lainnya yang mencapai 5 besar telah menghabiskan banyak energi. Jika mereka berhasil mendapatkan kelereng kosong, itu akan memberi mereka sedikit ruang untuk beristirahat, yang akan menjadi keuntungan besar selama sisa pertarungan. Tetua Sun menatap Bai Xiaochun dan tersenyum, sedangkan ekspresi Li Qinghou tetap sama seperti sebelumnya. Bai Xiaochun menyaksikan dengan penuh antusias saat ronde pertarungan berikutnya dimulai. Lawan Du Lingfei adalah seorang murid yang garang yang sering meninggalkan sekte untuk menjalankan misi memburu binatang buas, dan merupakan tipe orang yang terbiasa melihat banyak pertumpahan darah. Di sisi lain, kemampuan Du Lingfei dalam Teknik Ringan-dalam-Berat cukup menakutkan. Teknik itu tidak hanya memberinya kemampuan bertahan yang kuat, tetapi dia juga mampu bergerak dengan kecepatan luar biasa. Para penonton benar-benar fokus pada pertandingan, dan sesekali terdengar seruan 'ooh' dan 'ah'. Kedua petarung jelas berisiko cedera, namun... ada suara tertentu yang berteriak, memimpin sorakan. “Wow! Gerakan pedang yang bagus!” “Lihat serangan Ekor Naga terbalik itu! Oh tidak! Lihat ke belakangmu! Cepat, lihat ke belakangmu!” “Rah rah rah!” Bai Xiaochun benar-benar terbawa suasana menonton pertarungan itu, sampai-sampai ia mulai bertepuk tangan di momen-momen penting. Itu bukan akting; ia benar-benar terkesan dengan penampilan Du Lingfei, dan sekarang, ia lupa bahwa Du Lingfei sebenarnya adalah salah satu peserta. Ketika Tetua Sun melihat apa yang terjadi, dia terbatuk kering. Wajah Li Qinghou benar-benar tanpa ekspresi, tetapi dalam hatinya yang bisa dia lakukan hanyalah mengangkat bahu. Lagipula, Bai Xiaochun telah menyelesaikan tugas yang diberikan. Menghadapi lawan yang begitu tangguh, Du Lingfei tidak punya waktu untuk teralihkan. Dia berkonsentrasi sepenuhnya selama waktu yang dibutuhkan sebatang dupa untuk terbakar, dan setelah menggunakan Teknik Ringan-dalam-Berat sebanyak tiga kali, dia akhirnya meraih kemenangan. Namun, ia akhirnya menghabiskan lebih dari setengah energi spiritualnya. Sambil berkeringat, ia hendak keluar dari arena untuk beristirahat sejenak, ketika ia mendengar Bai Xiaochun menyemangatinya. Kemudian ia berpikir betapa sulitnya baginya untuk masuk ke 3 besar, sedangkan Bai Xiaochun melakukannya tanpa usaha sama sekali. Rasa jengkel muncul di hatinya, dan ia berharap bisa langsung menghantam Bai Xiaochun dengan serangan dahsyat saat itu juga. Ketika Bai Xiaochun menyadari bahwa Du Lingfei menatapnya dengan marah, dia berkedip beberapa kali, merasa sedikit tersinggung. Kemudian dia membalas tatapannya, yang tampaknya membuat Du Lingfei hampir tidak bisa menahan diri untuk menyerang. Pertarungan Chen Zi'ang berikutnya berjalan sedikit lebih lancar. Namun, dia masih bertarung selama waktu yang dibutuhkan setengah batang dupa untuk terbakar, dan membuang cukup banyak energi spiritual. Dia juga merasa cukup iri pada Bai Xiaochun. “Kami sekarang memiliki 3 teratas. Kalian bertiga adalah Sekte Luar… selebriti.” Penatua Sun berdehem. "Silakan datang untuk menentukan urutan pertarungan. Kali ini, kelereng nomor tiga dihitung sebagai kelereng kosong. Siapa pun yang mengambilnya akan langsung maju ke pertandingan final." Elder Sun melambaikan tangannya, menyebabkan tas itu muncul sekali lagi. Chen Zi'ang adalah yang pertama dalam antrean kali ini, dan ketika dia mengeluarkan kelereng itu dan melihat angka 'dua' tertulis di atasnya, dia menghela nafas dan melangkah ke samping. Du Lingfei menarik napas dalam-dalam saat dia melangkah maju. Tapi kemudian dia berhenti di tempatnya dan berbalik dengan dingin ke Bai Xiaochun. “Kamu duluan!” katanya dengan dingin. Bai Xiaochun, yang telah menyaksikan pertarungan seru selama ini, tidak menolak. Dia merogoh tas saat Du Lingfei melihatnya dengan ekspresi dingin. Bukan hanya dia yang menunggu untuk melihat apa yang akan terjadi, semua mata penonton tertuju pada Bai Xiaochun. Bahkan Penatua Sun dan Li Qinghou menjulurkan leher mereka. Menjadi fokus perhatian dengan cara ini menyebabkan Bai Xiaochun merasa sedikit malu. Sebenarnya, dia bahkan tidak terlalu peduli kelereng mana yang dia keluarkan, namun ketika dia akhirnya melepaskan tangannya, matanya membelalak karena terkejut. Nomor tiga. Bai Xiaochun kembali menatap Du Lingfei, terbatuk-batuk, dan berkata, “Um, hei, kamu memintaku pergi dulu.” Mata berkilauan ganas, Du Lingfei mengepalkan tangannya dan menatap Bai Xiaochun dengan kejam. Dadanya terangkat saat dia menarik napas dalam-dalam; dia sepertinya berada di ambang ledakan. Mata Chen Zi'ang melebar, dan rahangnya ternganga. Gagasan tentang seseorang yang sangat beruntung sungguh melampaui imajinasinya. Sekali lagi... Bai Xiaochun akan melewatkan seluruh pertandingan. Ketika murid-murid di sekitarnya melihat marmer di tangan Bai Xiaochun, mereka tidak bisa menahan diri. Seketika, keributan besar terjadi. "Dia maju secara otomatis lagi! Namanya Bai Xiaochun, kan? Bagaimana... bagaimana dia bisa seberuntung itu!? Dia mendapat kelereng kosong dua kali berturut-turut!" "Betapa tak tahu malunya orang ini! Dia belum melakukan apa pun, namun berhasil mencapai pertandingan final…." "Bagaimana orang seperti itu bisa mencapai final? Sial, jika aku seberuntung itu, aku bisa melakukan hal yang sama!" Semua orang gempar, dan orang-orang yang tersingkir dari kompetisi sebelumnya tampak sangat iri. Penatua Sun ragu-ragu sejenak dan kemudian memandang Li Qinghou. Li Qinghou menghela nafas panjang; dia harus mengakui bahwa Bai Xiaochun benar-benar beruntung. Dalam pikiran Bai Xiaochun, tidak ada alasan bagi orang banyak untuk bereaksi sedemikian rupa. Sambil tersenyum canggung, dia bergegas keluar arena, berdiri di luar dengan ekspresi malu di wajahnya. Lagipula aku berencana untuk kebobolan.., pikirnya, menatap marmer di tangannya dengan tidak percaya. Du Lingfei menarik napas dalam-dalam untuk menekan rasa kesalnya yang ekstrem. Sambil mengertakkan gigi, dia menatap Chen Zi'ang, sekaligus menenangkan qi dan menjernihkan pikirannya. Dia telah mengerjakan pekerjaan rumahnya pada Chen Zi'ang, dan tahu bahwa dia adalah lawan yang sangat kuat. Chen Zi'ang tersenyum pahit, menarik napas dalam-dalam sambil kembali menatap Du Lingfei. Setelah menatap beberapa saat, mereka langsung bertindak. Hampir seketika, dentuman dan dentuman mulai terdengar. Ini sebenarnya pertarungan paling spektakuler di seluruh kompetisi sejauh ini. Chen Zi’ang meletus dengan kekuatan penuhnya, mengeluarkan beberapa benih, yang kemudian dia katalisis menjadi tanaman dewasa dengan kekuatan serangan. Ketika Bai Xiaochun melihatnya menggunakan keahliannya pada tanaman dan tumbuh-tumbuhan sedemikian rupa, matanya berkilauan. Adapun Du Lingfei, dia menggunakan Lightness-in-Heaviness untuk mengirim pedang terbangnya bersiul di udara. Setelah mereka bertarung sebentar, dia kemudian mengeluarkan pedang kayu, yang berputar bersama dengan pedang terbang biasa, mengubah medan perang menjadi pemandangan yang lebih spektakuler dari sebelumnya. Mereka berdua tidak bisa terus menggunakan kartu as mereka dalam waktu lama, dan dengan cepat kehabisan energi spiritual. Pertarungan semakin sengit. Bai Xiaochun menonton dengan penuh semangat, bersorak dan berteriak sepanjang waktu. Pertempuran berlangsung sekitar satu jam, sampai ledakan besar terdengar saat Du Lingfei mendorong pedang kayu itu begitu keras hingga meledak. Fragmen yang dihasilkan kemudian didorong oleh Lightness-in-Heaviness dalam serangan besar yang tidak bisa dihindari oleh Chen Zi’ang. Dia terpaksa mundur dan akhirnya menggunakan seluruh energi spiritualnya. Akhirnya, dia menghela nafas dan mengakui. Para murid Sekte Luar di sekitarnya cukup terkesan dengan pertempuran sengit tersebut, dan mata mereka bersinar karena kekaguman saat mereka menatap Du Lingfei. Mereka sekarang yakin sepenuhnya betapa menakjubkannya dia. Adapun Chen Zi'ang, reputasinya juga meningkat karena pertarungan tersebut. Meski sempat kalah, ia yakin akan semakin terkenal di kemudian hari. Penatua Sun tampak cukup senang, dan bahkan mempertimbangkan untuk menerima Du Lingfei sebagai murid magang pribadi. Pada saat yang sama, tidak peduli bagaimana kompetisi berakhir, nama Bai Xiaochun juga pasti menyebar.... Saat Chen Zi’ang berseru bahwa dia kebobolan, Du Lingfei merosot di tengah arena, wajahnya pucat. Dia terhuyung-huyung karena kelelahan, energi spiritualnya hampir habis sepenuhnya. Sambil menarik napas dalam-dalam, dia mengeluarkan beberapa pil obat yang langsung dia konsumsi. Namun, dia tahu bahwa pilnya hanya akan terisi kembali sebanyak itu, dan dia hanya bisa pulih sepenuhnya dengan duduk bersila dalam meditasi selama beberapa jam. Lagipula, dia baru saja bertarung dalam empat pertarungan berturut-turut. Namun menurut aturan kompetisi jenis ini, para murid tidak diberi banyak waktu untuk istirahat. Bagaimanapun, ini hanyalah kompetisi skala kecil. “Bai Xiaochun, keluar dari sini!” Du Lingfei berkata dengan gigi terkatup. Matanya berkilau dengan cahaya ganas saat dia melihat Bai Xiaochun berdiri di luar arena. Dia ingin memanfaatkan sedikit energi spiritual yang dia miliki untuk mengalahkan Bai Xiaochun terkutuk ini, yang masuk ke pertandingan final hanya karena keberuntungan murni. Begitu kata-kata itu keluar dari mulut Du Lingfei, semua penonton menoleh untuk melihat Bai Xiaochun, ingin sekali menertawakan kemalangannya. Dalam pikiran mereka, bahkan jika Du Lingfei kelelahan, Bai Xiaochun hanya meraih kemenangan secara kebetulan, dan dia akan mampu mengalahkannya dengan mudah tidak peduli keadaannya. Bai Xiaochun berkedip beberapa kali, lalu menatap Du Lingfei yang berdiri di sana dengan goyah, dan tiba-tiba menyadari bahwa dia... sebenarnya bisa menempati posisi pertama. "Ini saatnya Bai Xiaochun akhirnya menjadi super terkenal. Begitu aku pergi ke sana dan menggunakan Lightness-in-Heaviness-ku, maka semua orang akan sangat terkejut." Sambil membusungkan dadanya dengan bangga, dia melangkah ke arena, membayangkan pemandangan semua orang bereaksi kaget atas kemenangannya. Namun, begitu kakinya mendarat, mata Du Lingfei berkedip dingin, dan dia tiba-tiba melakukan gerakan mantra dan menunjukkan. Seketika, pedang terbangnya melesat ke arah Bai Xiaochun. Udara brutal terpancar dari pedang terbang itu, mengirimkan rasa dingin yang luar biasa ke segala arah. Jelas sekali serangan ini didukung oleh seluruh energi spiritual yang dapat dikerahkan Du Lingfei, menyebabkan pedang tersebut mengeluarkan tekanan yang luar biasa. Yang lebih mengejutkan lagi adalah Du Lingfei terbang ke udara di belakang pedang, seolah-olah dia akan bergabung dengannya dan menjadi satu. Sebuah ledakan terdengar saat pedang itu melaju ke arah Bai Xiaochun dengan kecepatan yang mengejutkan, kecepatan yang jauh melebihi kecepatan yang dia gunakan saat melawan Chen Zi’ang. Suara siulan yang menusuk bergema saat itu menjadi sinar prismatik yang menimpa Bai Xiaochun. Semua orang yang menonton sangat terkejut dengan gerakan pedang itu, dan mulai menangis karena terkejut. “Pedang Soliter, Terbang Abadi !!” “Aku tidak percaya Kakak Du benar-benar menggunakan mantra pedang itu!!” Mata Elder Sun bersinar terang, dan Li Qinghou mengangguk. Keduanya tahu bahwa Du Lingfei sebenarnya tidak pernah berhasil melakukan mantra pedang ini. Namun, pada titik pertempuran ini, ketika energi spiritualnya hampir habis, dia berhasil berhasil. Menggunakan sedikit energi terakhirnya, dia nyaris berhasil melepaskan mantra pedang. “Dengan mempertaruhkan segalanya, dia memperoleh pencerahan mantra pedang,” kata Li Qinghou, matanya berbinar karena kekaguman. "Du Lingfei ini lumayan. Tampaknya dia lebih cocok untuk berkultivasi di Puncak Puncak Hijau." Semua murid Sekte Luar benar-benar terguncang. Segalanya tampak berubah menjadi kabur, kecuali Du Lingfei dan pedang terbangnya, yang menyatu menjadi gambaran yang sangat jelas. Pedang itu bersiul di udara, diikuti oleh pengguna pedang, menjadi serangan yang kuat. Du Lingfei tampak kelelahan, tetapi matanya bersinar dengan cahaya yang tajam. Dia sangat yakin bahwa gerakan pedang ini akan menjamin kemenangannya. Pada saat yang hampir bersamaan ketika pedang terbang dan Du Lingfei mendekati Bai Xiaochun, murid Bai Xiaochun mengerut. Suara gemuruh kemudian bergema saat semua aset pertahanannya meledak lapis demi lapis, termasuk liontin giok dan semua jimat. Pada saat yang sama, dia terbang mundur dengan kecepatan tinggi. Pedang terbang itu jelas bukan benda biasa, dan dengan cepat mulai menembus perisai. Itu menusuk lapisan demi lapisan, meruntuhkan semua perisai pertahanan hingga benar-benar mencapai Bai Xiaochun sendiri. Namun, pada saat itu, sepertinya energinya tidak tersisa banyak. Sebelum benda itu benar-benar menusuknya, benda itu tersangkut. Bahkan saat dia terbang mundur, kecepatan pedangnya tetap sama, lapisan pakaian kulit yang dia kenakan masih bisa terlihat. Ketika penonton menyadari hal ini, rahang mereka ternganga, dan mereka tersentak. “B-Bai Xiaochun…memiliki begitu banyak pertahanan!!” "Betapa takutnya orang ini terhadap kematian? Apakah itu benar-benar layak? Dia benar-benar menggunakan benda sihir dan jimat untuk kompetisi kecil seperti ini? Dan yang lebih penting lagi, dia mengenakan pelindung kulit!?!?" Wajah Du Lingfei pucat pasi saat dia melihat Bai Xiaochun melarikan diri seperti kelinci yang ekornya baru saja diinjak. Tidak hanya dia bergerak dengan kecepatan luar biasa, pedangnya masih tertancap di pakaiannya. Sambil menggertakkan giginya, dia melakukan gerakan mantra dan menunjukkan upaya untuk menarik pedang terbang itu kembali padanya. Namun, dia hanya mempunyai sedikit energi spiritual sehingga yang bisa dia lakukan hanyalah membuatnya sedikit gemetar. Dia mencoba untuk yang terakhir kalinya, tetapi bahkan ketika dia mencoba mengedarkan energi spiritualnya, darah mulai mengalir keluar dari sudut mulutnya, dan dia terhuyung mundur beberapa langkah, di mana dia berdiri dengan goyah sejenak sebelum terjatuh dan duduk di tanah. Wajahnya pucat pasi, dan energi spiritualnya terkuras habis. Dalam hatinya, dia merasa ini adalah ketidakadilan yang besar. Dia telah berjuang keras untuk masuk ke 2 besar, sedangkan Bai Xiaochun hampir tidak melakukan apa pun. Faktanya, dia bahkan belum menggunakan energi spiritualnya. Kejengkelannya dengan cepat berubah menjadi kemarahan; mengertakkan giginya, dia menatap Bai Xiaochun dengan kejam, berharap dia bisa membunuhnya beberapa kali. Faktanya, jika dia punya tenaga, dia akan menghampiri dan menggigitnya. Bai Xiaochun menarik napas dalam-dalam saat dia melaju mundur; dia tidak pernah membayangkan bahwa Du Lingfei benar-benar akan menggunakan jurus seperti yang dia lakukan. Tanpa diduga, seluruh pertahanannya telah tertembus. “Sial, untung aku berpikir jernih dan mengenakan delapan jaket kulit.” Dia menatap pedang yang melayang menancap di bahunya. Pedang itu kini benar-benar kehilangan energinya, dan tertancap kuat di antara lapisan-lapisan kulit. Saat mencapai kulitnya, pedang itu sudah tidak memiliki tenaga lagi untuk mendorongnya lebih jauh. Selain itu, berkat Kulit Abadinya, ketika benar-benar menyentuhnya, itu bahkan tidak sebanding dengan gigitan nyamuk. Rasa takut masih menghantui hatinya, Bai Xiaochun menatap pedang itu lalu dengan hati-hati menariknya keluar. Kemudian dia melirik Du Lingfei, yang duduk di sana terengah-engah. “Kakak, kau seharusnya tidak membuang-buang hartamu seperti ini. Kau mau pedang ini atau tidak? Jika kau tidak mau, aku akan mengambilnya.” Dengan wajah sangat senang, ia memasukkan pedang terbang itu ke dalam tasnya, lalu mengeluarkan pedang kayu kecil miliknya. Tepat ketika ia hendak melancarkan serangan, orang-orang di kerumunan mulai berteriak ketakutan. Melihat Bai Xiaochun mengambil pedang terbangnya, mata Du Lingfei berlinang air mata. “Kau....” katanya. Tepat sebelum ia benar-benar kehilangan kendali, ia pingsan. Dia adalah orang kedua dalam kompetisi yang pingsan karena Bai Xiaochun. “Eee? Kenapa kau sampai pingsan?” Bai Xiaochun menatap Du Lingfei yang tak sadarkan diri, lalu kembali menatap pedang kayu kecilnya. Akhirnya, dia mengangkat bahu. Para murid Sekte Luar di sekitarnya, terutama mereka yang telah tersingkir dari kompetisi sejak awal, menatap Bai Xiaochun dengan marah. Banyak orang bahkan mulai berteriak. “Tidak tahu malu! Kau benar-benar tidak tahu malu, Bai Xiaochun!” “Kemenangan dengan cara itu tidak sah dan kita semua tahu itu!!” “Diskualifikasi dia!” Semua orang ikut larut dalam kemarahan mereka, menyebabkan Bai Xiaochun langsung gemetar ketakutan. Dia juga menyadari bahwa memamerkan kemampuan Ringan-dalam-Beratnya tidak akan meredakan kemarahan massa, dan bahkan berpotensi menyebabkan konsekuensi yang lebih buruk, dan membuat mereka menyebutnya semakin tidak tahu malu.... Sebaliknya, dia menoleh untuk melihat Tetua Sun. “Tetua Sun, saya dapat juara 1, kan? Bisakah Anda umumkan dulu?” Tetua Sun tersenyum kecut sebagai tanggapan. Adapun Li Qinghou, dia menghela napas; bagaimana mungkin dia pernah membayangkan bahwa mewajibkan Bai Xiaochun untuk bergabung dalam kompetisi akan membuatnya meraih juara 1? Tetua Sun menggelengkan kepalanya dan terkekeh. “Uh... baiklah kurasa aku harus mengatakannya. Bai Xiaochun telah meraih juara 1 dalam kompetisi!” Sebagai tanggapan, semua orang menatap Bai Xiaochun dengan marah. Bai Xiaochun berpendapat bahwa dirinya sebenarnya cukup kuat, tetapi mengingat banyaknya orang di sana… hatinya mulai berdebar-debar karena takut. Tepat ketika dia hendak melangkah keluar dari arena dan meninggalkan lokasi berbahaya ini, Du Lingfei, dengan bantuan beberapa orang yang berada di dekatnya, sadar kembali dan duduk tegak. Terengah-engah, dia menatap Bai Xiaochun dengan marah, menggertakkan giginya, lalu berteriak, “Bai Xiaochun, aku menolak untuk mengakui kekalahan!” “Kau mungkin meraih juara 1, tapi itu hanya karena aku mengizinkanmu mendapatkannya. Dan itu tidak mengubah betapa aku membencimu. Berani-beraninya kau berkelahi lagi!?” Bai Xiaochun tertawa sinis dan terus berjalan. Dalam hatinya, ia akan gila jika harus berkelahi lagi dengan wanita gila ini. Lagipula, apa yang akan terjadi jika wanita itu pingsan lagi? “Aku tidak akan melawanmu dengan sihir,” lanjutnya. “Lagipula, sebagai murid Sekte Luar, kita berdua adalah calon apoteker dari Puncak Awan Harum. Mengapa kita tidak bersaing dalam keterampilan menggunakan tanaman dan tumbuh-tumbuhan?!” Du Lingfei menatap Bai Xiaochun dengan tajam sepanjang waktu, dan ketika berbicara, kata-katanya diucapkan perlahan dan tegas. “Jika kau menang, kau boleh menyimpan Pedang Kayu Pinus milikku itu. Tapi jika kau tidak setuju, maka kau akan menyesalinya!” Bai Xiaochun berhenti berjalan. Setelah mendengar tentang keahliannya dalam mengolah tanaman dan tumbuh-tumbuhan, ia tanpa sadar menoleh ke arah Du Lingfei. Melihat Bai Xiaochun berhenti dan tampak ragu-ragu, dia menahan dorongan untuk melancarkan serangan brutal, dan dengan cepat melanjutkan, “Bai Xiaochun, jika kau bisa mengalahkanku dalam hal keterampilan menggunakan tumbuhan dan vegetasi, maka kau bahkan bisa mendapatkan Dupa Melayang Awan ini!” Dengan itu, dia mengeluarkan sebatang dupa berwarna biru keunguan. Begitu dupa itu muncul, ia mulai berdenyut dengan energi spiritual, dan mata para murid Sekte Luar di sekitarnya langsung berbinar iri. “A tier-1 spirit medicine! Cloudsoaring Incense... it's a really remarkable tier-1 spirit medicine. Definitely very expensive, and useful for anyone under the seventh level of Qi Condensation!” “Du Lingfei must have spent a lot of merit points on that in preparation for breaking out of the fifth level of Qi Condensation....” “Elder Sister Du’s skill with plants and vegetation got her into the top 20 of the first three stone steles outside the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion. Bai Xiaochun is definitely going to lose!” Bai Xiaochun instantly recognized the Cloudsoaring Incense, which he had read about when studying the introduction to cloudsoaring grass in the third volume of plants and vegetation. He was instantly moved, and that was even before he heard everyone mention that Du Lingfei was only in the top 20 on the stones steles, after which his eyes gleamed. Taking a few steps back, he stammered, “Y-you’re... you’re really in the top 20 on the stone steles of plants and vegetation?” He actually just wanted to confirm that what he had overheard just now was true. “Are you going to compete or not!?” Du Lingfei said through gritted teeth. “But I’ve only studied the first three volumes....” he said hesitantly. “That’s what I’m talking about! Compete with me in the first three volumes! Come on, I dare you!” Du Lingfei was so angry she felt like she was about to explode. “Fine… I’ll compete!” he said. “Happy?” Although he looked as though he wanted to cry, inwardly, his heart was blooming with flowers of joy. He couldn’t help but think that this girl really was a bit dim-witted. As soon as the crowd heard Bai Xiaochun's words, they began to boo and heckle him. Du Lingfei took a deep breath, sucking in quite a bit of spiritual energy, which stabilized her a bit. Glaring angrily at Bai Xiaochun, she stalked forward to Elder Sun, then clasped hands and bowed. “Elder, Disciple Du Lingfei requests that you bear official witness to a battle of plants and vegetation between myself and Bai Xiaochun.” Elder Sun’s opinion of Du Lingfei was increasing by the moment. He stroked his beard for a moment before smiling and saying, “Very well. I shall bear witness. However, since we are speaking of skill with plants and vegetation, perhaps it would be better for the peak lord to decide the nature of the challenges.” He looked over at Li Qinghou. Li Qinghou looked deeply at Bai Xiaochun for a moment, then nodded. The surrounding disciples were now quite excited, as was Du Lingfei, who turned to Li Qinghou, clasped hands and bowed. Bai Xiaochun was also very pleased that he wouldn’t have to engage in any dangerous fighting to make a name for himself. He stood there, no longer looking like he was about to cry, but rather, chin stuck up, looking arrogantly out at the crowd in the same way a Chosen would. Du Lingfei snorted coldly. At this point, Li Qinghou glanced at Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei, then began to speak, his voice cool, “The Dao of plants and vegetation is unpredictable. Although we will limit things to the first three volumes, those volumes contain numerous variables. Today I will present you with two challenges. We shall see which of the two of you can secure victory.” With that, he tapped his bag of holding and produced two seeds. “These two flower seeds can be catalyzed with spiritual energy. The level of your skill with plants and vegetation will determine how many spirit flowers bloom. This is how we will decide the winner of the first round.” Li Qinghou waved his hand, sending the two seeds flying to Bai Xiaochun and Du Lingfei respectively. Du Lingfei caught the seed without any hesitation. At the same time, Li Qinghou sent a medicinal pill flying her way, which she also caught, a look of shock appearing on her face. “Take that pill to restore your cultivation base,” Li Qinghou said calmly. Du Lingfei’s face lit up. After expressing her thanks, she consumed the pill. After a few breaths of time passed, she trembled, and her eyes began to shine brightly; her cultivation base had been completely restored. Bai Xiaochun wasn’t very happy with that, but he didn't dare to say anything. Instead, he looked down at the spirit seed lying in his palm, and began to study it closely. “Don’t recognize it?” Du Lingfei said, sneering. “Well I can tell you that it’s a bluespirit thistle seed.” With that, she completely ignored Bai Xiaochun, closing her eyes and circulating her spiritual energy, which she then poured into the seed in her hand. Almost immediately, an emerald green sprout climbed up from the seed. It grew rapidly until it was about one-third of a meter tall. Then, it bloomed with a blue spirit flower, and began to grow even taller. Bai Xiaochun looked over at what was happening, and then turned his attention back to the seed, which he continued to study thoughtfully. Li Qinghou was watching Bai Xiaochun the whole time, and soon, a virtually undetectable flicker of surprise could be seen deep in his eyes. While Bai Xiaochun stood there thinking, all of the surrounding Outer Sect disciples were watching Du Lingfei. The plant in her hand was two thirds of a meter tall, and already had a second flower. By the time Bai Xiaochun sent some spiritual energy into the seed, Du Lingfei’s spirit plant had already already sprouted with three flowers. Bai Xiaochun didn't maintain a steady flow of spiritual energy, but rather, sent it into the seed in fits and bursts. In fact, when the seed sprouted, he even blew the first few sprouts away with a breath of air. After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, Du Lingfei’s face was ashen, and she was gritting her teeth. With her final bit of energy, she caused a sixth blue flower to sprout, after which she breathed a sigh of relief. Placing the plant down next to her, she clasped hands and bowed to Li Qinghou. Li Qinghou nodded. “Six spirit flowers, all of them superior-grade. Nice job.” Feeling very pleased with herself, Du Lingfei looked over at Bai Xiaochun. When she saw that his spirit plant wasn’t even one third of a meter tall yet, her sneer widened. The surrounding outer Sect disciples were getting very excited. “Elder Sister Du definitely deserves her reputation. That bluespirit thistle bloomed with six flowers. That’s incredible! Bai Xiaochun hasn’t even caused one flower to bloom. He’s completely good for nothing.” “A competition of plant catalysis first involves studying the seed, and then using unique catalysis methods to cause it to grow. In that regard, Elder Sister Du is really at the head of the pack.” In the middle of all the conversations, Bai Xiaochun’s spirit plant gradually reached a height of one third of a meter. Next, a somewhat shrivelled blue flower appeared. Compared to Du Lingfei’s flowers, it looked rather malnourished, and even elicited some laughs from the crowd. But then, all of a sudden, a second blue flower appeared on the short plant. Next was a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh.... In the space of a few breaths, Bai Xiaochun’s spirit plant bloomed with nine flowers!! This instantly led to widespread shock and disbelief. Du Lingfei was staring at what to her was a completely unimaginable scene. “Bluespirit thistle blooms with one flower every third meter. How could this plant have nine flowers when it's only a third of a meter tall!” However, things weren’t over yet. Even as the nine small blue flowers appeared, Bai Xiaochun closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then suddenly exhaled sharply. That one breath contained spiritual energy which settled onto the nine flowers and, in the blink of an eye, caused them to begin to shiver and change colors. No longer were they blue, but rather, indigo! Indigo starts out as blue, but its color is deeper and more profound! [1] As soon as people realized what was happening, their eyes went wide with astonishment. “That’s... that’s not a bluespirit thistle!!” “Indigospirit thistle! It’s indigospirit thistle, the seed of which is very difficult to distinguish from that of the bluespirit thistle! In fact, if you use the catalysis method for bluespirit thistle in indigospirit thistle, you’ll actually produce a bluespirit thistle, except you’ll have wasted the seed!” Everyone was shocked, and were starting at Bai Xiaochun in disbelief. Bai Xiaochun opened his eyes, then placed the indigospirit thistle off to the side. Chuckling sarcastically, he clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Du Lingfei. His skill with plants and vegetation had already reached an indescribable level. After studying the seed for a while, he had noticed the differences, and was easily able to tell what type of seed it was. Du Lingfei’s face flickered; to her, it felt as if someone had just slapped her across the face. She staggered backward a few steps, looking first at her bluespirit thistle and then at Bai Xiaochun’s indigospirit thistle. Suddenly, her face flushed with heat. Earlier, she had berated Bai Xiaochun for his lack of knowledge, but then, moments later, he had proven definitively that she had wasted the seed. “This Bai Xiaochun is definitely extremely lucky,” she thought, grinding her teeth. “I assumed it was a bluespirit thistle, and he guessed that it was an indigospirit thistle. Well, that was just a lucky chance on his part, not him actually identifying the seed!” “Bai Xiaochun takes the first round,” Li Qinghou said coolly. “That truly was the seed of an indigospirit thistle, not a bluespirit thistle. They look similar, but some of the veins grow differently. Without studying it down to the finest detail, it's easy to confuse them.” Looking over at Bai Xiaochun, he waved his hand again, causing a spirit plant to appear. It was very unique, with four colors, and nine leaves of different shapes. It also had two flowers on it, one black and one white. The flowers almost seemed in sentient, as they were constantly struggling with each other, as if they wanted to suppress each other. Although the plant seemed like one single plant, if you looked closely you would see the signs that it had been grafted together. “The first round was dedicated to catalysis. As for the second round, it will focus on identification. This particular spirit plant has been grafted together from numerous other plants. Whichever of you can correctly guess the greatest number of graft materials... will be the winner.” Li Qinghou sent the grafted plant floating out in front of him, then looked over at Bai Xiaochun. Considering he had brought Bai Xiaochun into the sect, he was very curious to see what other surprising things he could do. Du Lingfei gritted her teeth. In her mind, she had just been careless moments ago. Now, she was unprecedentedly focused. Taking out a jade slip, she walked up to the spirit plant. Bai Xiaochun’s eyes gleamed with interest as he also stepped forward and began to examine the plant, occasionally making notations in a jade slip. A moment later, Du Lingfei stepped back, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Then she looked over at Bai Xiaochun with a grim expression on her face. She had identified eight types of plants. The others were types she didn’t recognize. However, Bai Xiaochun wasn't finished. His eyes were glowing even more brightly as he buzzed around the plant in circles. Occasionally he even cried out in surprise, as if he had just noticed something very interesting. “Wow, you can do that!? “Well this... this is very interesting!” The crowd looked on silently. None of them believed that Bai Xiaochun could identify any of the plants, and in fact, most of them were convinced that the reason he had catalyzed the indigospirit thistle was simply luck. “Penipu!” pikir Du Lingfei. “Ya, kau terus saja berpura-pura!” Dalam hatinya, dia mulai merasa gelisah, dan kebenciannya terhadap Bai Xiaochun terus bertambah. Waktu yang cukup telah berlalu untuk sebatang dupa terbakar, dan Bai Xiaochun masih terus melakukannya. Dia benar-benar sepenuhnya larut dalam apa yang sedang dilakukannya, dan bahkan lupa bahwa dia sedang dalam sebuah kompetisi. Melihat tanaman hasil cangkokan seperti ini tampaknya telah membuka pintu besar dalam pikirannya mengenai keterampilan dalam bidang tanaman dan vegetasi. Tiba-tiba, dia menyadari bahwa puluhan ribu tanaman obat yang dikenalnya tidak hanya berguna sendiri-sendiri, tetapi sebenarnya dapat dicampur bersama. Akhirnya, dia mundur dengan enggan, matanya berbinar-binar penuh kekaguman dan takjub. Li Qinghou dan Tetua Sun saling bertukar pandang, lalu Li Qinghou berkata, “Baiklah. Waktunya telah tiba untuk mengungkapkan tanaman spiritual mana yang telah kalian identifikasi. Du Lingfei, kau duluan.” Du Lingfei menggertakkan giginya, lalu mengeluarkan gaun gioknya dan mulai berbicara. “Aku melihat delapan jenis tanaman, termasuk rhubarb surga air, akar sol dingin, buah naga bumi, lumut kabut fajar....” Dia melanjutkan hingga mencapai tanaman obat terakhir. “Bunga sealwort!” Dengan itu, Du Lingfei menatap Bai Xiaochun, yakin bahwa dia tidak akan pernah bisa melampauinya. Tentu saja, meskipun delapan tampaknya tidak banyak, mengidentifikasi berbagai elemen dari tanaman obat yang dicangkokkan dengan sempurna seperti ini adalah tugas yang sangat sulit. Delapan sebenarnya cukup banyak. “Hmph. Jika Bai Xiaochun cukup tidak tahu malu untuk menyebutkan delapan tanaman yang sama,” katanya dingin, “maka kita bisa menggunakan lempengan giok sebagai bukti!” Bai Xiaochun berdeham, melihat sekeliling, lalu menjentikkan lengan bajunya dan mengeluarkan secarik kertas giok yang berisi catatannya. “Mari kita lupakan delapan tanaman yang disebutkan Kakak Du. Selain itu, saya melihat total 67 jenis tanaman obat. Sayangnya, ada 31 yang tidak dapat saya identifikasi. Itu berarti pada akhirnya, saya hanya mengidentifikasi 36.” Kata-katanya seketika membuat para murid di sekitarnya gempar. “36? Bagaimana mungkin!” “7 atau 8 seharusnya menjadi batasnya. Bagaimana mungkin dia bisa mengidentifikasi puluhan orang?!” Du Lingfei menatap Bai Xiaochun dengan dingin. Dia sama sekali tidak mempercayai kata-katanya, dan berasumsi bahwa Bai Xiaochun hanya akan menebak jenis-jenis tanaman secara acak. “Adik Bai,” katanya sinis, “kenapa kau tidak bilang saja ada 30.000 jenis tumbuhan? Itu akan mencakup semua yang ada di jilid ketiga buku tentang tumbuhan dan vegetasi, jadi setidaknya kau akan yakin bisa menebak beberapa dengan benar.” 1. 1. Ini adalah ungkapan umum dalam bahasa Mandarin untuk menyatakan bahwa sesuatu yang datang setelah/berasal dari sesuatu yang lain, lebih unggul ☜ Semua murid Sekte Luar yang hadir di sana terkekeh menanggapi ucapan Du Lingfei. Tak satu pun dari mereka percaya bahwa kemampuan Bai Xiaochun dalam hal tumbuhan dan vegetasi dapat menandingi kemampuannya. Hal itu semakin terasa setelah mendengar ucapan terakhirnya, yang terdengar sama sekali tidak bisa dipercaya. Jelas sekali, Bai Xiaochun hanya akan menebak-nebak secara membabi buta mengenai tanaman hasil cangkokan tersebut. “Jika Bai Xiaochun benar-benar bisa mengidentifikasi semua jenis tumbuhan itu, maka keahliannya dalam mengenali tumbuhan dan vegetasi di tiga jilid pertama akan menempatkannya pada level yang sama dengan Kakak Zhou Xinqi! Bagaimana mungkin itu terjadi!?” “Ah, dia cuma bersikap misterius untuk membingungkan semua orang. Orang ini menyebalkan sekali! Setidaknya dia akhirnya akan terbongkar sebagai penipu!” Saat semua orang mencemooh dan mengejek Bai Xiaochun, dia berdiri di sana sambil sedikit mengerutkan kening. “Apakah kalian sudah selesai?” katanya, ekspresinya sedingin es, amarah yang sesungguhnya akhirnya membara di hatinya. Jika ini situasi pertempuran, dia tidak akan merasa seperti itu. Tetapi mengingat cita-citanya yang besar untuk menjadi seorang ahli pengobatan tradisional, bagi orang-orang untuk meragukan kemampuannya dalam hal tanaman dan tumbuh-tumbuhan adalah penghinaan besar. “Kalian bisa saja mengatakan aku hanya beruntung, dan kalian bisa saja mengatakan aku menang karena benda-benda ajaibku. Tetapi jika menyangkut Dao tumbuhan dan vegetasi, jangan berpikir bahwa pengetahuan dangkal kalian memungkinkan kalian untuk melihat luasnya langit dan bumi!” Ketika suaranya menggema, khidmat dan serius, tubuhnya yang kecil tiba-tiba tampak lebih seperti gunung yang menjulang tinggi. Cara dinginnya menatap para murid Sekte Luar membuat tawa mereka berubah menjadi tatapan terkejut. Bahkan Du Lingfei pun terkejut. Bai Xiaochun yang ada di hadapannya saat ini tampak seperti orang yang sama sekali berbeda dari sebelumnya. Bai Xiaochun mendengus dingin lalu mengibaskan lengan bajunya. Meninggalkan sikapnya yang biasanya menawan namun menjengkelkan, ia berdiri dengan tangan terlipat di belakang punggung, melihat sekeliling dengan dingin, lalu mulai berbicara, memancarkan energi aneh yang tak terlukiskan. “Tanaman spiritual ini, yang untuk sementara akan saya sebut sebagai anggrek hitam-putih, mengandung akar emas-perak, daun kuning langit, rumput jaring berair, buah sembilan negeri, daging buah spiral, bunga awan perbatasan, tangkai angin pencari, buah penyerap yang....” Saat dia terus berbicara, energi itu semakin kuat, menyebabkan ekspresi aneh di wajah para penonton. Hal itu terutama berlaku untuk Du Lingfei, yang kerutannya semakin dalam saat ia menatap tanaman spiritual tersebut. Ia mengenal semua tanaman obat yang dirujuk Bai Xiaochun, yang memang berasal dari tiga jilid pertama buku tentang tumbuhan dan vegetasi, namun ia sama sekali tidak melihat bukti keberadaan tanaman-tanaman tersebut di dalam tanaman hasil cangkokan itu. Du Lingfei snorted, still completely unconvinced that Bai Xiaochun was actually identifying the grafted plants. “Seems like you really are just going to recite a bunch of random plants from the first three volumes of plants and vegetation. If you can actually recite all of those plants from memory, then I guess I’ll have lost, and in fact, I’ll admit defeat.” Everyone began to once again ridicule and mock Bai Xiaochun. “Yeah, that’s right. If you’re good enough, then why don’t you recite the entire first three volumes of plants and vegetation!? Then you’ll definitely win!” “Trying to seem cryptic, huh? Superficial knowledge? The length and breadth of heaven and earth? You’re the one with the superficial knowledge. If you don’t recognize the plants, just say so. There’s no need to try to pull a fast one. How despicable!” Bai Xiaochun looked coldly at Du Lingfei, then back at the crowd. Then he laughed, looked back and the plant, and continued, “Grow hundredgrass root for thirty years until it becomes fullgrown hundredgrass. Remove the stalks and veins, roast them, then soak them in spirit water. After that, graft them onto skybleak leaf, and you end up with this distinctive spotting pattern.” Bai Xiaochun waved his hand, causing a slight gust of wind to lift up one of the leaves on the plant, revealing a distinctive spotting pattern. “Nine skybleak leaves have been combined into a single leaf, and then fed whiteburn flowers as they grew. You can see that right here! “Whiteburn flowers only bloom once they reach one hundred years of age. When they do, you have only one hundred breaths of time to graft them onto a clover ginseng, which you can use to feed the skybleak leaf. This white flower here is obviously a whiteburn flower! “Clover ginseng, when roasted with spirit fire, eventually withers, infusing the ginseng with the essence of the leaves. That will then aid in the growth of flatshell seed, and the two can be combined! “Then, that flatshell seed....” As Bai Xiaochun spoke, he gestured grandiosely, pointing out the various parts of the spirit plant which contained the evidence he referred to. His descriptions were very precise, and even included the various techniques involved. Soon, the looks of scorn faded away, and everyone began to breathe heavily. Faces fell, and eventually, all the Outer Sect disciple had looks of disbelief on their faces. There were even some people who cried out aloud with shock. “This is impossible!!” “Heavens, how could he be doing this!?” Each and every statement uttered by Bai Xiaochun was like an invisible palm slapping these people. After all, all of them were apprentice apothecaries. Earlier, they hadn't been able to see through the secrets hidden in the spirit plant, but with Bai Xiaochun’s detailed explanation, all of a sudden, it seemed to make more sense. Everything Bai Xiaochun said was correct, and complete. His performance was a like a huge slap in the face to all of the Outer Sect disciples. “I can’t believe that this Bai Xiaochun... has such shocking skill with plants and vegetation!!” The Outer Sect disciples felt like explosions were going off in their hearts. Their previous ridicule and mockery now caused their faces to burn so hot it hurt. Even more astonishing was that his explanations were obviously inferred in reverse. He was able to discern the grafting method merely by looking at the grafted plant; only someone with an unbelievably advanced skill with plants and vegetation could do something like that. Even Elder Sun’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “He’s inferring everything in reverse! He... he understands plants and vegetation to an incredible degree.... “He’s only an apprentice apothecary, and yet he is able to analyze a spirit plant grafted by the peak lord himself. This... this....” As for Li Qinghou, his eyes were shining brightly; he almost couldn’t believe he was looking at the same Bai Xiaochun he knew from before. Du Lingfei’s face was ashen, and she staggered backward. Based on her skill with plants and vegetation, as soon as she heard Bai Xiaochun's explanation, she knew that he was right. In fact, at a few points during his speech, she didn’t even understand what he was saying. By this point, she was feeling completely and utterly embarrassed. Currently, Bai Xiaochun wasn’t using any sort of magical technique. However, every statement he made was backed by his understanding of plants and vegetation, and became like divine abilities or magical items. Du Lingfei was simply incapable of processing what was happening. She felt like lightning was crashing around in her mind, and she backed further and further away, her face growing even more pale. “Flaming crow-dipper and nineflames sky can be used to make the spirit bulblets impervious to strong sunlight. Merge them into crow-dipper fruit, and it will give birth to blackskull lily! That is the last of the spirit plants that I recognize.” It took Bai Xiaochun about half the time it takes an incense stick to burn to finish his explanation. His eyes flashed like lightning as he scanned the crowd and then eventually looked straight at Du Lingfei. “Elder Sister Du. Ladies and gentlemen of the sect. The Dao of plants and vegetation is deep and profound, and contains no absolutes. Were that not the case, it would be impossible for you to make any progress with your skill with plants and vegetation. And yet, you actually want me to list out all of the plants in the first three volumes of plants and vegetation. What’s so hard about that?!” Setting his jaw, he flicked his sleeve and began to recite. "Spiritwinter bamboo…. “Earthdragon fruit.... “Inkroot....” His voice was clear and his expression tranquil as he spoke. Complete silence filled the arena. As his words echoed out, they were like a huge invisible hand smacking everyone a second time. Everyone present was filled with profound shame, and gasps could be heard. Some people even pulled out jade slips with information about plants and vegetation, which they compared with what Bai Xiaochun was saying. Soon, they began to tremble, and their shock increased. Du Lingfei’s face was deathly pale as she backed up, looking at Bai Xiaochun as if he were a ghost. The reason she had spoken such snide words earlier was because she had never seen anyone actually recite 30,000 different types of medicinal plants. To her, it seemed like an impossibility. If someone was actually able to do that, then they had to already possess completely heaven-defying skill with plants and vegetation. As time passed, Bai Xiaochun spoke more and more quickly. With almost a single breath, he talked for two hours straight. To the audience, it almost seemed like no time had gone by at all, and virtually everyone had taken out jade slips to study along with Bai Xiaochun’s recitation. [1] After two hours, he finished reciting all of the medicinal plants. Then, there was deathly silence for a moment, followed by an explosive outburst that was audible even outside of the arena. “Heavens.... Not a single mistake! He was completely correct.... I can’t believe I just witnessed this happen!!” “All 30,000 medicinal plants.... Bai Xiaochun’s skill with plants and vegetation is simply shocking. Wait... what is his ranking on the stone steles of plants and vegetation?” “For Du Lingfei to compete with Bai Xiaochun in skill with plants and vegetation is like throwing an egg at a rock!” As the uproar went on, Du Lingfei looked at Bai Xiaochun with increasing bitterness. Her reaction to losing in the fight hadn’t lead to a feeling like this. But right now, in terms of skill with plants and vegetation, she had been utterly and thoroughly defeated. How could she ever have imagined that Bai Xiaochun, with his incredible luck and multitude of magical items, would actually be so monumentally ahead of her in skill with plants and vegetation? It was a huge blow to her, and she couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. She threw the Cloudsoaring Incense over, then turned and fled the arena. It was simply impossible for her to even consider staying, considering how embarrassed she was. Now that Du Lingfei was gone, the other surrounding Outer Sect disciples started to feel even more embarrassed. They quickly clasped hands and bowed to Bai Xiaochun, then hurried off. It was easy to imagine how long the profound shock they felt would last. Soon, the arena was virtually empty. Bai Xiaochun was the only one left behind, coughing dryly. He realized… that he had really done it this time. Putting the Cloudsoaring Incense away, he looked over cautiously at Li Qinghou. “Disciple... will take off now,” he said, turning and leaving so fast that he almost left behind a dust cloud. Elder Sun watched Bai Xiaochun leaving, and the shock in his eyes was still evident. “Peak Lord, anak ini… luar biasa!” katanya pelan. Li Qinghou mendongakkan kepalanya dan tertawa terbahak-bahak, lalu mengibaskan lengan bajunya dan melesat kembali ke puncak gunung. 1. 1. Oke, jadi saya sudah menghitungnya, dan agar dia bisa melafalkan 30.000 kata dalam dua jam, dia perlu menyebutkan lebih dari empat nama tumbuhan per detik. Pembicara tercepat di dunia bisa mengucapkan sekitar delapan kata per detik, jadi itu bukan hal yang mustahil! ☜ Hanya butuh sekitar setengah bulan bagi berita tentang Bai Xiaochun yang mengalahkan Du Lingfei dalam kompetisi untuk menyebar ke hampir semua murid, dan menyebabkan kegemparan besar di seluruh sekte. Setiap kali Bai Xiaochun keluar, murid-murid Sekte Luar yang ditemuinya akan menyapa dengan riang. Untuk pertama kalinya dalam hidupnya, Bai Xiaochun merasa terkenal. Sekarang, dia menikmati meninggalkan kediamannya. Dia bahkan akan mendekati orang-orang secara acak dan mulai mengobrol dengan mereka, semua itu dengan harapan mereka akan bertanya siapa dia, lalu dia akan dengan bangga mengungkapkan namanya. Bai Xiaochun sangat menikmati kehidupan mewah seperti itu. Dia juga melakukan peningkatan spiritual tiga kali lipat pada dupa Du Lingfei. Dengan menggunakan dupa itu, dia kemudian terdorong dari lingkaran besar tingkat kelima Kondensasi Qi hingga ke tingkat keenam. Sejauh menyangkut sihir Ringan-dalam-Berat miliknya, semakin banyak ia berlatih, semakin halus pula kemampuannya. Bahkan, ia telah mulai menyelidiki tingkat kedua dari Seni Pengendalian Kuali Qi Ungu, yaitu Berat-dalam-Ringan. Meskipun pada awalnya tampak sangat sulit, setelah beberapa kali mencoba, dia berhasil mencapai sedikit kemajuan. Pada suatu hari, ia sedang duduk bersila di halaman rumahnya, berlatih Keseimbangan-dalam-Ringan, ketika tiba-tiba ekspresinya berubah. Sambil menyimpan pedang kayunya, ia mendongak ke arah gerbang utama halaman. Sesaat kemudian, seseorang mengetuk pintu. “Kakak Bai, apakah kau di rumah?” Setelah mendengar suara yang familiar itu, alis Bai Xiaochun sedikit berkerut. Orang jarang datang berkunjung ke halamannya. Ia mengacungkan jarinya ke arah gerbang, yang berderit terbuka perlahan dan menampakkan seorang pemuda kurus. Ia mengenakan pakaian murid Sekte Luar, dan ekspresinya sangat serius saat ia menyatukan kedua tangannya dan membungkuk dalam-dalam. “Xu Baocai menyampaikan salam, Kakak Bai.” “Apa yang kau lakukan di sini?” tanya Bai Xiaochun, tampak terkejut. Pemuda ini adalah Xu Baocai yang sama yang pernah bertarung dengannya di Tungku, ketika ia berada di tingkat ketiga Pengentalan Qi. Rupanya, Xu Baocai sekarang adalah murid Sekte Luar. Namun, setelah melihat bahwa Xu Baocai masih berada di tingkat ketiga Pengentalan Qi, dia merasa jauh lebih tenang. Dengan memasang ekspresi yang sangat tegas di wajahnya, dia berkata, "Apa, sekarang kau sudah menjadi murid Sekte Luar, kau menolak untuk melupakan masa lalu? Kau masih ingin bertarung denganku?" Xu Baocai segera menggelengkan kepalanya. Dengan senyum masam di wajahnya, dia sekali lagi membungkuk kepada Bai Xiaochun. “Dulu aku memang bodoh dan kurang pengetahuan. Tolong jangan mengejekku, Kakak Bai. Aku datang hari ini untuk meminta maaf atas apa yang terjadi. Mari kita lupakan semua itu.” Xu Baocai tampak sangat sungguh-sungguh ingin melupakan semua yang telah terjadi. Lagipula, sekarang dia adalah murid Sekte Luar, masalah masa lalu sebenarnya tidak terlalu penting. The most important thing was that Bai Xiaochun was now very famous on Fragrant Cloud Peak. Now that Xu Baocai was an Outer Sect disciple on that very same mountain, he obviously wanted to avoid any complications that could arise because of the past. Bai Xiaochun blinked, thinking back to everything that had happened back then in the Ovens. In some ways, Xu Baocai counted as an old friend. He quickly rose to his feet and invited Xu Baocai in, whereupon they sat down and began to reminisce. Thinking back to that unforgettable blood notice, Bai Xiaochun couldn’t help but ask, “Now that you mention it, back then, I really didn’t understand why you would write the character ‘die’ so many times with blood. Eventually I got it, but even then, I was always curious; didn't it hurt to use so much blood to write so many characters?” Xu Baocai’s face flushed with embarrassment when he thought back to his outlandish behavior back then, and he quickly changed the subject. “Elder Brother Bai, you need to be careful about the people from the Supervisor's Department. I heard that Chen Fei and the others who you forced into the Outer Sect have been harboring a grudge this entire time.” “Chen Fei?” Bai Xiaochun’s heart instantly filled with vigilance as he thought back to that burly, muscular man from the Supervisor's Department. “What level is his cultivation base now?” he asked, looking very serious. “I heard he’s in the great circle of the fourth level of Qi Condensation,” Xu Baocai replied immediately, hoping that revealing these matters to Bai Xiaochun would clear the air between them. When Bai Xiaochun heard the fourth level of Qi Condensation mentioned, he felt a bit better, and actually looked even calmer than before. Xu Baocai didn’t go into further explanations. He and Bai Xiaochun began to chat about the sect, and soon Bai Xiaochun realized that Xu Baocai actually knew a lot more than he did. He seemed to be in the know regarding just about everything that occurred on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect. He knew about the big events and the inconsequential matters, and had even heard about things that were supposed to be big secrets. Eventually they started talking about the latest gossip, and the discussion got even more lively. “Elder Brother Bai, did you know there are five beauties here in the Spirit Stream Sect, each one of them astonishingly good-looking? Cultivators like us who could be with even one of them would be able to live life without regrets.” Bai Xiaochun’s interest was piqued, so he asked Xu Baocai to explain further. Bai Xiaochun wanted to hear, and this was a subject Xu Baocai loved talking about, so his eyebrows instantly shot up with excitement. “The five beauties are virtually on equal footing when it comes to how pretty they are. However, their positions within the sect are all different. In first place is Xu Meixiang, Peak Lord Xu, who is truly ethereally beautiful and alluring.... Oh, right, she’s Big Fatty Zhang’s Master.” “Really?” Bai Xiaochun was truly shocked to hear this news. Big Fatty Zhang had mentioned his Master on several occasions, and had always called her an old shrew. Then he thought back to how skinny Big Fatty Zhang had been when they reunited, and how it was because that old shrew hated fat people. All of a sudden, things made more sense to Bai Xiaochun. Clearing his throat, and his mind, he decided not to think about the matter further. It was simply too dangerous. “The next two in the rankings are actually from Fragrant Cloud Peak. The first is Zhou Xinqi, Elder Sister Zhou, and then Du Lingfei, Elder Sister Du.” Xu Baocai was explaining everything he knew, so when he brought up Zhou Xinqi, it also necessitated talking about Chosen. “Elder Brother Bai, you probably already know that on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect, there are three great Chosen. One of them is Zhou Xinqi from our Fragrant Cloud Peak. Another is Lu Tianlei from Violet Cauldron Peak, and the last is... Shangguan Tianyou from Green Crest Peak! All three of them are consummate geniuses!” Xu Baocai’s eyes gleamed with envy. [1] “If they’re so awesome, how come they’re in the Outer Sect like us?” asked Bai Xiaochun, his mouth twisted in a bit of a sneer. Although he didn't know much about Shangguan Tianyou and Lu Tianlei, he had already encountered Zhou Xinqi. In fact, the jade pendant in his bag of holding had been a gift from her. Xu Baocai coughed dryly. Although he inwardly looked down on Bai Xiaochun, he didn’t dare to express that feeling, and instead chuckled wryly and said, “Elder Brother Bai, if it weren’t for the strict sect rules, those three would already have left the Outer Sect for the Inner Sect. Even still, they’re extremely famous, and fully deserve to be known as the number one figures in the Outer Sect. Even the Inner Sects fear them. Once their cultivation bases reach the proper level, they’ll definitely become stars in the Inner Sect too! Although, for them, even the Inner Sect will just be a springboard to their eventual goal of joining the legacy echelon!” Bai Xiaochun still wasn’t very convinced. “Take Zhou Xinqi for example. Because of her spirit meridian of plants and vegetation, she’ll definitely inherit the mantle of Peak Lord Li, and will become a master apothecary of the Spirit Stream Sect. And then there’s Lu Tianlei. He grew up in a very poor family, and started out as skinny as a piece of firewood. But he had a rare spirit meridian of lightning, and the magical techniques he cultivates are of the path of the Dao of lightning. In fact, the sect leader personally said that he’ll have an extraordinary future.” “Really?” Bai Xiaochun asked, clearly surprised. He was no longer a newcomer to the cultivation world, and understood a lot about how things worked. When he heard about the spirit meridian of lightning, he couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. A spirit meridian like that would cause one’s magical techniques to be explosively powerful, and would ensure that few bottlenecks came up within cultivation. Seeing that Bai Xiaochun was finally reacting like people usually did when hearing about these things, he went on to talk about the third person: “Of course, there’s also Shangguan Tianyou, who’s even more amazing. He has a Sword Spirit Body, and some people even say that he's the reincarnation of an almighty sword cultivator. For some reason, it's like the heavens are guilty, and have blessed him with an entire life of good fortune. When he was three, he was walking down the road and happened to find an ancient sword; when he was seven, a baby crimson cloudbeast fell out of the sky and instantly accepted him as its master; when he was thirteen, he acquired a golden light shield. That is why his name is Tianyou, and as soon as he joined the sect, the prime elders were completely shaken.” Bai Xiaochun’s eyes were wide, and he looked somewhat perturbed. “The heavens are guilty!?!? Three years old…? What luck! What kind of... wait, he’s the reincarnation of some almighty ancient cultivator?” In that moment, he decided that he would definitely not do anything to provoke Shangguan Tianyou, who even the Heavens catered to. Xu Baocai was extremely pleased to see Bai Xiaochun so shocked, so he sighed and then decided to explain a bit about Foundation Establishment. “Those three will definitely reach Foundation Establishment. Elder Brother Bai, we cultivators start out as servants and then join the Outer Sect. We liken our promotion to the fish which leapt over the dragon gate. However, the truth of the matter is that only by breaking through from the Qi Condensation stage to Foundation Establishment can you truly be that fish who leapt over the dragon gate. It is only then that your life actually changes, and you truly shed that which is mortal. That is the true path of immortality, when your longevity is increased by a hundred years.” Even as Xu Baocai sighed, Bai Xiaochun heard about an increase of one hundred years of longevity, and his eyes lit up with a light more intense than anything which had ever been seen before in his eyes. He even began to tremble, and his mind filled with rumbling sounds. He reached out and grabbed Xu Baocai by the arm. “Did you just say that after you reach Foundation Establishment you get an extra hundred years of longevity?” Xu Baocai stared at Bai Xiaochun’s bloodshot eyes in shock. Feeling a bit frightened, he nodded his head. Bai Xiaochun menarik napas tajam, lalu mulai mondar-mandir di halaman rumahnya, melambaikan tangannya dan meng gesturing dengan liar. Dia hampir tampak seperti orang gila, bergumam sendiri dan tertawa histeris. Xu Baocai sekarang benar-benar ketakutan, dan tidak tahu apa yang sedang terjadi. Rasa dingin menjalari punggungnya, dan dia berkata bahwa dia akan pergi. Bai Xiaochun bahkan tidak menyadarinya; seolah-olah dia telah dirasuki setan. Xu Baocai menarik napas dalam-dalam dan bergegas pergi dengan ketakutan. Setelah sebatang dupa terbakar selama beberapa saat, Bai Xiaochun mendongak, rambutnya acak-acakan saat ia menarik napas panjang dan dalam. Kemudian ia menengadahkan kepalanya dan tertawa terbahak-bahak. “Seratus tahun! Pendirian Yayasan! Aku pasti akan mencapai Pendirian Yayasan!” 1. Nama Lu Tianlei dalam bahasa Mandarin adalah 吕天磊 lǚ tiān lěi. Lu adalah nama keluarga yang umum, Tian berarti “Surga” atau “langit.” Lei berarti “berbatu” atau “tidak rata.” Nama Shangguan Tianyou dalam bahasa Mandarin adalah 上官天佑 shàngguān tiānyòu. Shangguan adalah nama keluarga dua karakter yang relatif jarang. Tian berarti “Surga” atau “langit.” Yu berarti “diberkati” atau “dilindungi.” Bersama-sama, nama “Tianyou” pada dasarnya berarti “diberkati oleh Surga” ☜ Xu Baocai telah sepenuhnya membangkitkan keinginan Bai Xiaochun untuk mencapai Pendirian Fondasi. Pada hari-hari berikutnya, dia pergi ke Paviliun Kitab Suci berkali-kali, dan akhirnya, bahkan pergi ke Aula Kekuatan Ilahi. Aula Kekuatan Ilahi adalah tempat di mana banyak informasi umum tentang dunia kultivasi dikumpulkan untuk tujuan pembelajaran. Setelah mempelajari penjelasan rinci tentang Pembentukan Fondasi, Bai Xiaochun membenarkan bahwa apa yang dikatakan Xu Baocai itu akurat, dan itu seperti percikan api yang menyala di dalam dirinya. Menurut pandangannya, hanya dengan mencapai Tahap Pendirian Fondasi barulah ia benar-benar dapat mengambil langkah pertamanya di jalan kehidupan abadi. Yang membuatnya semakin bersemangat adalah informasi tentang tiga cara untuk mencapai Pendirian Fondasi, yang masing-masing memengaruhi umur panjang dengan cara yang berbeda. Akhirnya, ia memiliki pemahaman yang jauh lebih jelas. “Langit, Bumi, dan Manusia. Tiga jenis Pendirian Fondasi....” “Pendirian Yayasan Mortal-Dao membutuhkan Pil Pendirian Yayasan. Peluang keberhasilannya rendah, tetapi jika berhasil, Anda akan memperoleh umur panjang seratus tahun.” “Pembentukan Yayasan Earth-Dao melibatkan penyerapan energi tali bumi dan mengubahnya menjadi kekuatan yang mengejutkan. Kemungkinan keberhasilannya bahkan lebih rendah, tetapi hasilnya adalah penambahan umur panjang hingga dua ratus tahun!” “Terakhir adalah yang legendaris... Pendirian Fondasi Dao Langit! Itu sangat langka, dan hanya bisa didapatkan melalui peluang acak. Namun, jika Anda berhasil dengan jenis Pendirian Fondasi itu, maka Anda akan mendapatkan tambahan lima ratus tahun umur panjang!” Setelah mempelajarinya lebih detail, Bai Xiaochun memastikan bahwa Pendirian Fondasi Dao Langit tidak dapat dikejar secara khusus. Adapun Pendirian Fondasi Dao Bumi, ada persyaratan khusus untuk dapat memperoleh energi tali bumi. Oleh karena itu, hal termudah yang dapat dia lakukan adalah mengincar Pendirian Fondasi Mortal-Dao, yang membutuhkan Pil Pendirian Fondasi. Bai Xiaochun meletakkan gulungan giok yang dipegangnya dan menarik napas dalam-dalam, matanya bersinar terang. “Aku perlu mulai merencanakan masa depan, dan memastikan aku benar-benar siap. Dan aku harus mendapatkan salah satu Pil Pendirian Fondasi itu....” “Pil Pendirian Fondasi itu mahal, dan untuk berjaga-jaga, aku harus punya lebih dari satu. Kalau begitu... yang terbaik adalah meraciknya sendiri!” Mata Bai Xiaochun berbinar saat mimpinya untuk menjadi ahli apotek dan meracik Pil Hidup Abadi Tak Pernah Mati menjadi semakin kuat. “Apprentice apothecary, journeyman apothecary, master apothecary.... Right now I'm an apprentice apothecary. To become a journeyman apothecary, I have to concoct some medicinal pills and take the promotion test.... The minimum requirement for the test is that you master the fifth volume of plants and vegetation. But that alone is no guarantee. I also need to completely master all five volumes of spirit creatures.” Eyes gleaming with determination, he pulled out the jade slip that contained the third volume of plants and vegetation and went through it in detail one more time. After confirming that he had memorized everything, he immediately left his courtyard. However, moments later, he came running back and quickly put on several layers of clothing, and also disguised himself a bit. Only then did he actually leave. “Those fans of Zhou Xinqi are too frightening. Supposedly they've been telling people they’re going to cut me to pieces.... I really have no choice other than to keep a low profile.” He still felt a little bit uneasy. After considering the difference between himself and Zhou Xinqi’s fans, he finally reached a decision. “Hmph. Just wait until I reach Foundation Establishment. Then I’ll make a big scene and tell everyone that I'm Lord Turtle. Then we’ll see who dares to try to cut me to pieces!” As usual, the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion was completely packed. It wasn’t just Outer Sect disciples from Fragrant Cloud Peak in attendance, there were also disciples from Green Crest Peak and Violet Cauldron Peak, who for various reasons were required to be proficient in plants and vegetation. Currently, Bai Xiaochun was worming his way through the crowd, trying to make sure he didn’t attract any attention. After reaching the log cabin dedicated to the third volume of plants and vegetation, he snuck in, took the test, then melted back into the crowd. Although he had originally planned to just leave, after a moment passed, he couldn’t hold back from popping his head up and looking around. It didn’t take long before a clamor rose up as people realized that on the stone stele of the third volume of plants and vegetation, the turtle design had overtaken the magic bottle. Feeling quite pleased, he plastered a shocked look on his face and shouted out in astonishment. However, it only took a moment for Zhou Xinqi’s fiendish fans to appear, which caused Bai Xiaochun to ball his fists in frustration. “It’s their fault that I have to keep such a low profile,” he thought angrily. He glared at them for a moment and then turned and hurried away. In the following days, news about the little turtle once again spread like wildfire through Fragrant Cloud Peak’s Outer Sect. Everyone was talking about the little turtle design that was so prominently displayed on the stone steles. However, another month later, just as the rumors were beginning to settle down, the disciples outside the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion suddenly noticed that the little turtle had appeared on the fourth stone stele, and it had once again passed the magic bottle to take 1st place. The result was an instant uproar! “The little turtle is going to completely surpass Elder Sister Zhou Xinqi soon! He has four 1st place spots!” “He has four stone steles, and Elder Sister Zhou Xinqi has five. Just who is the little turtle...?” Of course, it was Bai Xiaochun shouting these things out, and it made him feel quite good. However, when Zhou Xinqi’s fans started devolving into a frenzy, he cleared his throat, lowered his head, and went on his way. A few days later, Zhou Xinqi showed up in the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion and studied the four stone steles, a very serious expression on her face. Then she entered the tenth stone stele. When she emerged, her name now occupied the 1st place spot. By that point, all of the Outer Sect disciples on Fragrant Cloud Peak were paying close attention to the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion. Zhou Xinqi had her six stone steles, and the little turtle had four.... Everyone was speculating as to whether or not the little turtle would eventually take a fifth stone stele, which would put him on par with Zhou Xinqi. In fact, some of the Outer Sect disciples were starting to place bets on whether or not the little turtle could actually take 1st place in five stone steles. It even reached the point that some of the Elders of Fragrant Cloud Peak were taking note. Bai Xiaochun was going absolutely all out to try to take that next 1st place spot. After getting the relevant jade slip, he studied it day and night. Coupled with how much he hated Zhou Xinqi’s fans, whenever he made his monthly visit to the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion and got a first place spot, he would make a point of whipping up the crowd in favor of the little turtle. Gradually, quite a few disciples began to admire the little turtle, and much of that had to do with Bai Xiaochun himself. He never passed up an opportunity to promote the little turtle to whomever he could speak to about it. For example, by this point, Hou Xiaomei was thoroughly obsessed. Eventually, a month later on a bright and sunny day, the magic bottle on the fifth stone stele flickered and then dropped down by one spot, whereupon the little turtle appeared above it. As of that moment, the Outer Sect disciples of Fragrant Cloud Peak were thrown into pandemonium. Entire crowds came to check out the scene, and soon, all conversations on the mountain revolved around the little turtle. “The little turtle’s skill with plants and vegetation is definitely at an indescribable level. How else could he be so shocking?” “So awesome! The little turtle and Elder Sister Zhou are about the same now....” It wasn’t that nobody in the crowd suspected that the little turtle might be Bai Xiaochun. In fact, some of Zhou Xinqi’s fans didn’t ignore any possibilities, and naturally were paying attention to him. Feeling quite indignant, Bai Xiaochun decided that he needed to get rid of any doubts, so he made a big scene of reluctantly trying to take the test for the fourth stone stele. He remained inside for a bit, after which he stepped out and did his best to convince everyone that he had performed badly. After doing this a few times, Zhou Xinqi’s fans started to shift their attention to others. Of course, there was no way to prove anything about anybody one way or another. However, they continued to spread hateful gossip, telling people that if they found out who the little turtle was, they weren’t going to cut him into bits, they were going to cut him into teeny tiny bits! When Bai Xiaochun heard about that, and thought about what he would look like in such a state, he began to tremble. Finally, he gritted his teeth, and his vicious determination once again bubbled up. “Not happy, huh? Well I’ll make you even less happy when I take more 1st place spots!” Gritting his teeth, he decided that he was going to make that happen, and close the distance between himself and Zhou Xinqi. A month later, the little turtle took 1st place on the sixth stone stele! After another month, it took 1st place on the seventh! Shouts of alarm and astonishment rang out around the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion at that point. “Seven 1st place spots! Go, little turtle, go! Not even Elder Sister Zhou was able to get ten 1st place spots!” “Hahaha, I like this little turtle. He’s definitely going to pull it off!” Even as numerous disciples in the crowd were crying out such things, there were a dozen or so young men in the area, all of whom had very grim expressions on their faces. Some of them were even Inner Sect disciples, whose expressions were particularly icy. One of them was a young man with a pockmarked face, whose eyes glinted with particular ferocity. “Ladies and gentlemen, fellow disciples,” he called out. “If anyone knows who the little turtle is, please tell me, and I’ll owe you a favor!” That pock-faced young man’s voice caused everyone to tremble, and instantly silenced all of the voices calling out about the little turtle. People in the crowd immediately recognized who this young man was, and quickly averted their gazes. Others were incensed, but were too afraid to speak up. “That’s Elder Brother Qian from the Hall of Justice, Qian Dajin....” “I heard that he’s been chasing both Elder Sister Zhou and also Du Lingfei....” Bai Xiaochun stood there in the crowd, glaring at the pock-faced Qian Dajin with righteous indignation. Finally, he stalked back to his courtyard, feeling very irritated. “Kau bahkan tak bisa menemukanku, tapi kau bersikeras berduel denganku!?” Sambil mengatupkan rahangnya, ia fokus mempelajari lima jilid makhluk roh. Saat ia mempelajari lebih lanjut tentang bagaimana berbagai bagian makhluk roh dapat digunakan dalam meracik obat-obatan roh, keahliannya dalam bidang tumbuhan dan vegetasi semakin berkembang. Bahkan, karena ia mampu membandingkan dan membedakan keduanya, serta melihat bagaimana keduanya bekerja bersama, keahliannya dalam bidang tanaman dan vegetasi justru mengalami peningkatan yang signifikan. Bulan berikutnya, desain kura-kura kecil menggantikan botol ajaib sebagai pemegang tempat pertama pada prasasti batu kedelapan! Setelah satu bulan lagi, dia meraih juara 1 di urutan kesembilan! Dia kini telah meraih sembilan posisi pertama! Para murid Sekte Luar di sekitar Paviliun 10.000 Obat-obatan menjadi heboh. Semakin banyak orang yang dengan lantang menyatakan bahwa kura-kura kecil itu pasti akan meraih sepuluh tempat pertama. Adapun para penggemar Zhou Xinqi, tidak ada yang bisa mereka lakukan untuk menghentikannya saat ini. Yang bisa mereka lakukan hanyalah menyaksikan popularitas kura-kura kecil itu secara bertahap melampaui popularitas Zhou Xinqi. Ketika bulan terakhir tiba, Bai Xiaochun pergi ke paviliun 10.000 Obat-obatan saat sedang ramai-ramainya. Ia pergi dengan menyamar, tetapi ekspresinya menunjukkan tekad yang kuat saat ia menyelinap tanpa disadari melalui antrean menuju pondok kayu di bawah prasasti batu kesepuluh. Begitu masuk, ia duduk bersila, mengulurkan tangan, dan meletakkan tangannya di atas altar batu. Suara gemuruh memenuhi pikirannya saat ia sekali lagi memasuki kehampaan yang sudah dikenalnya. Di hadapannya terbentang 1.000.000 pecahan tanaman obat dan makhluk spiritual yang berkelap-kelip. Dengan mata yang berbinar penuh fokus, tangannya mulai bergerak cepat dan menyusun kembali pecahan-pecahan tersebut. 1.000. 5.000. 10.000.... 30.000. 50.000. 80.000 Ini adalah ujian tersulit dari semua ujian yang telah dia ikuti sejauh ini. Tak lama kemudian, keringat menetes di wajahnya, dan matanya merah. Dia tampak seperti orang gila, seolah-olah dia telah melupakan segalanya. Dia sepenuhnya tenggelam dalam proses merekonstruksi tanaman dan vegetasi, serta makhluk spiritual. Tangannya sakit, dan pikirannya kacau, namun dia terus melanjutkan. Tak lama kemudian, ujian pun berakhir, dan Bai Xiaochun duduk di sini, tangannya gemetar saat ia merangkai tanaman obat terakhir. Setelah itu, pandangannya menjadi kabur, lalu jernih kembali, dan ia kembali ke dalam pondok kayu. Bernapas terengah-engah, matanya berbinar penuh kepuasan, dia menyeka keringat di dahinya dan mengepalkan tinjunya. Sepuluh prasasti batu, sepuluh tempat juara 1! Tiga puncak di tepi selatan Sekte Aliran Roh terguncang hebat. Di luar Paviliun 10.000 Obat-obatan, terdengar riuh rendah percakapan. Orang-orang bergegas dari segala arah untuk melihat sekilas kura-kura kecil yang berada di posisi pertama di antara sepuluh prasasti batu. Suara terkejut terdengar. “Sepuluh tempat pertama! Kura-kura kecil itu benar-benar berhasil!” “Terakhir kali ada anggota Sekte Aliran Roh yang meraih sepuluh peringkat pertama dalam prasasti batu adalah seribu tahun yang lalu! Bagaimana mungkin aku pernah membayangkan akan melihat hal seperti ini dalam hidupku!?” Semua orang terkejut dan histeris, dan meskipun banyak orang telah memprediksi bahwa ini akan terjadi, peristiwa ini tetap mengejutkan. Terutama mengingat tiga bulan sebelumnya, di mana satu demi satu prasasti batu jatuh ke tangan kura-kura kecil itu. Ketika orang-orang memikirkan hal itu, mereka tidak bisa tenang. “Siapa sebenarnya kura-kura kecil ini...? Dalam waktu kurang dari setengah tahun, dia mulai dari prasasti batu ketiga dan kemudian menyapu bersih semua pesaingnya di prasasti-prasasti lainnya. Orang ini benar-benar terkenal!” “Keahliannya dalam bidang tanaman dan tumbuh-tumbuhan benar-benar melebihi Zhou Xinqi. Mungkin di masa depan, akan ada lagi ahli pengobatan tradisional selain Zhou Xinqi!” Pada saat yang sama ketika kura-kura kecil itu meraih peringkat pertama di kesepuluh prasasti batu, prasasti-prasasti itu mulai bergetar, mengeluarkan suara gemuruh hebat yang menyatu, dan kemudian bergabung dengan suara dentingan kuali yang datang dari bagian atas gunung. Seolah-olah seseorang sedang memukul kuali obat dengan sebatang kayu besar. Dentuman yang teredam menyebar ke seluruh Puncak Awan Harum, dan kemudian bergema hingga memenuhi seluruh tepi selatan Sekte Aliran Roh. Suara itu disertai dengan aroma obat yang memenuhi area tersebut, dan menyebabkan kabut yang menutupi Puncak Awan Harum semakin tebal. Di puncak Gunung Awan Harum terdapat sebuah gua abadi tempat Tetua Zhou sedang memberi makan beberapa burung roh lima warna kesayangannya. Ketika dia mendengar suara kuali, matanya berbinar karena terkejut. “Kuali Awan Harum?” Dia mengirimkan indra ilahinya dan seketika mendeteksi apa yang terjadi di antara sepuluh prasasti batu di luar paviliun 10.000 Obat. Ekspresinya langsung berubah, dan dia melangkah ke udara. Selanjutnya, Tetua Sun muncul, bersama dengan kultivator Tingkat Pendirian Dasar lainnya. Mereka semua telah mendengar suara kuali, dan sekarang sedang menuju ke arah Paviliun 10.000 Obat, dengan ekspresi gembira di wajah mereka. Yang terakhir muncul adalah Li Qinghou, yang sedang bermeditasi. Ketika mendengar suara kuali, wajahnya berkedut, dan dia melihat ke luar. Kemudian, dia berubah menjadi seberkas cahaya warna-warni yang melesat menuju Paviliun 10.000 Obat. Saat suara kuali terdengar, penonton semakin heboh. Baik murid Sekte Luar maupun Sekte Dalam dari Puncak Awan Wangi benar-benar terguncang, dan banyak yang mulai bergegas ke arah Paviliun 10.000 Obat. “Itu… suara harta berharga dari Fragrant Cloud Peak, Fragrant Cloud Cauldron!” "Seseorang menempati sepuluh tempat pertama di 10.000 Paviliun Obat! Itu belum pernah terjadi selama seribu tahun! Ini belum pernah terjadi!" Kegembiraan bahkan merebak di Green Crest Peak dan Violet Cauldron Peak. Zhang Gemuk Besar menundukkan kepalanya saat seorang wanita cantik dan memikat memarahinya. Wanita itu tidak lain adalah wanita tua yang dikeluhkan Zhang Gemuk Besar kepada Bai Xiaochun. Begitu dia mendengar suara kuali, ekspresinya berkedip, dan dia melihat ke kejauhan. Wajah Big Fatty Zhang menjadi kaget saat dia melakukan hal yang sama. "Suara Kuali Awan Wangi. Mungkinkah beberapa murid di Puncak Awan Wangi benar-benar mendapatkan hasil sempurna dalam semua ujiannya?" Adegan serupa terjadi di Green Crest Peak, menyebabkan para tetua dan pemimpin puncak di sana memandang dengan takjub. Semakin banyak orang memenuhi area di sekitar 10.000 Paviliun Obat. Bai Xiaochun ada di tengah kerumunan, dan ketika dia mendengar keributan, dia melihat ke sepuluh prasasti batu. Meski dia tidak ikut berteriak, hatinya dipenuhi perasaan yang tak terlukiskan. Dia berdiri di sana, senyuman mengembang di wajahnya; bukan senyuman berpuas diri, atau senyuman angkuh, senyuman kebahagiaan murni. Butuh waktu lebih dari setahun baginya untuk melakukan keajaiban ini. Dia memulai dari prasasti batu pertama, lalu menempati posisi pertama dalam sepuluh prasasti. Namun, memiliki banyak tempat pertama pada akhirnya tidak berarti banyak baginya. Hal yang paling penting adalah dia telah memperoleh penguasaan penuh atas tumbuhan dan tumbuh-tumbuhan, serta makhluk roh, sesuatu yang harus dikuasai oleh apoteker magang. Dia telah menciptakan landasan yang dalam dan belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya. Saat dia mengingat kembali hari-hari yang panjang dan malam-malam tanpa akhir yang dia habiskan secara obsesif mempelajari tumbuhan dan tumbuh-tumbuhan, dan kemudian makhluk roh, Bai Xiaochun menghela nafas secara emosional. Di seluruh Sekte Arus Roh, bahkan tidak ada satu pun murid Sekte Dalam yang memiliki dasar yang kuat dalam keterampilan mereka dengan tanaman dan tumbuh-tumbuhan. Saat ini, Bai Xiaochun merasa sangat puas. Segera, banyak berkas cahaya terlihat terbang di udara, semuanya memancarkan fluktuasi basis budidaya yang kuat. Di antara mereka adalah Penatua Zhou, Penatua Sun... dan tentu saja Li Qinghou. Mereka melihat ke sepuluh prasasti batu, dan kura-kura kecil di posisi pertama, dan mata mereka mulai bersinar terang. Hal ini terutama terjadi pada Li Qinghou. Desain kura-kura kecil itu menyebabkan dia terkejut, lalu mulai tertawa keras, ekspresi aneh di wajahnya. Dia melihat ke arah kerumunan, dan melihat Bai Xiaochun, setelah itu kilatan pujian muncul di matanya yang tidak dapat dideteksi oleh siapa pun. Setelah beberapa saat berlalu, dia menjentikkan lengan bajunya dan pergi, cukup senang setelah menebak bahwa kura-kura kecil itu tidak lain adalah milik Bai Xiaochun. Segera, anggota generasi Senior lainnya pergi. Namun, semakin banyak murid Sekte Dalam yang muncul dan menatap kura-kura kecil itu dengan kaget. Bagaimanapun, mereka semua telah bangkit dari Sekte Luar, dan tahu betul bahwa hanya murid Sekte Luar yang diizinkan untuk menantang prasasti batu tersebut. Mereka juga tahu betapa sulitnya tantangan itu. “Setiap murid Sekte Luar yang bisa melakukan ini pasti Terpilih….” "Hmph. Kami adalah apoteker pekerja harian, jadi yang kami pedulikan hanyalah obat-obatan roh. Keahlian luar biasa dalam menggunakan tanaman dan tumbuh-tumbuhan tidak ada artinya jika Anda tidak bisa membuat obat roh!" Beberapa murid Sekte Dalam jelas mengagumi kura-kura kecil itu, dan yang lainnya meremehkannya. Namun, terlepas dari perasaan mereka, kesan mendalam telah tercipta, dan faktanya, kebanyakan dari mereka sebenarnya sedikit ketakutan. Tak satu pun dari mereka yang tahu betapa terampilnya orang ini dalam meramu obat, namun dengan dasar yang kuat, begitu orang itu menjadi apoteker pekerja harian, jalannya pasti akan jauh lebih lancar. Keributan terus berlanjut hingga akhirnya Zhou Xinqi muncul. Dia berdiri di sana di atas sutra terbang birunya, mengamati kura-kura kecil itu. Perlahan-lahan, kerumunan itu menjadi tenang, dan semua mata tertuju ke arahnya. Pemandangan kura-kura kecil di tempat pertama di semua prasasti batu menyebabkan sinar pantang menyerah muncul di matanya. Di masa lalu, ini adalah ekspresi rumit yang dia timbulkan di mata orang lain, tapi sekarang, yang terjadi justru sebaliknya. “Hanya siapa kamu…?” dia bergumam dengan gigi terkatup. Meskipun dia tidak sanggup mengakuinya, dia telah berusaha keras dalam banyak kesempatan untuk menandingi kura-kura kecil misterius itu dalam hal keterampilan dengan tanaman dan tumbuh-tumbuhan, namun kemampuannya terlalu mendalam. Pada saat ini, dia tidak memiliki keyakinan apa pun untuk mampu mengungguli dia. Saat ini, kura-kura kecil itu telah sepenuhnya tertancap di hatinya. "Kamu mungkin lebih kuat dariku dalam hal tanaman dan tumbuh-tumbuhan, tapi tunggu saja sampai kamu menjadi apoteker pekerja harian. Aku menolak untuk percaya bahwa kamu akan melampauiku dalam hal meramu obat!" Dia menarik napas dalam-dalam dan menenangkan dirinya. Dia telah mengikuti tes dan dipromosikan menjadi apoteker pekerja harian, jadi setelah melihat prasasti batu itu untuk terakhir kalinya, dia berputar dan menghilang di kejauhan. Setelah melihat sepuluh prasasti batu untuk terakhir kalinya, Bai Xiaochun berbalik dan pergi. “Ini hanyalah perhentian pertama dalam perjalananku untuk menjadi apoteker grandmaster!” Soal sepuluh prasasti batu tersebut menimbulkan keributan yang berlangsung berbulan-bulan. Orang-orang membicarakannya tanpa henti, terutama ketika mereka pergi ke Paviliun 10.000 Obat dan benar-benar melihat kura-kura kecil di atas prasasti batu. Sementara itu, para penggemar Zhou Xinqi menyisir sekte tersebut, menggunakan semua taktik yang mungkin untuk mencoba mencari tahu siapa kura-kura kecil itu. Hal ini terutama terjadi pada pemuda bermarga Qian, yang marah dengan masalah tersebut. Seluruh tepi selatan Spirit Stream Sect terpengaruh. Sementara orang-orang terus-menerus mendiskusikan kura-kura kecil itu, Bai Xiaochun berada di halaman rumahnya, matanya merah saat dia mengendalikan daun pohon yang melayang di depannya. Dia sekarang sedang mempelajari tahap Berat-dalam-Terang. Sebenarnya, dia telah berulang kali mencoba melakukan hal tersebut selama setengah tahun terakhir, namun baru sekarang dia mampu melakukan apa pun dengan hal tersebut. Karena kejadian di Paviliun 10.000 Obat, penggemar Zhou Xinqi terus-menerus mencarinya. Sensasi krisis perlahan-lahan muncul dalam dirinya, jadi dia memutuskan untuk mengatasi masalah di kediamannya saat dia mengerjakan Heaviness-in-Lightness. "Ringan-in-Heaviness adalah tentang kecepatan. Berat-in-Lightness... adalah tentang metode pengendalian!" Ekspresi bijaksana muncul di mata Bai Xiaochun saat dia merenungkan semua yang dia pahami baru-baru ini. “Atau mungkin Anda bisa mengatakan bahwa kendali seperti itu sebenarnya adalah ledakan energi spiritual internal seseorang!” Mata Bai Xiaochun berbinar. Dia sekarang berada di Kondensasi Qi tingkat keenam, dan energi spiritual internalnya seperti sungai besar. Ketika menyangkut Lightness-in-Heaviness, dia bisa mempertahankannya tanpa batas waktu, dan mengeluarkan kecepatan yang mengejutkan. Dia telah lama memahami bahwa apa yang disebut tahap Berat-dalam-Terang hanyalah sebuah cara memanfaatkan energi spiritual internal seseorang. Ibaratnya daun pipih bisa digunakan untuk menarik dahan kecil ke udara, tapi daun yang digulung bisa mengangkat batu kecil. Begitu pula jika daun dipotong menjadi potongan-potongan lalu dijalin menjadi tali, daun tersebut akan mampu mengangkat benda yang lebih berat lagi. Banyak materi yang seperti itu; pada akhirnya, berbagai beban yang dapat diangkat hanya bergantung pada cara seseorang menggabungkan berbagai elemen. Heaviness-in-Lightness hanyalah teknik seperti itu, dan dengan menguasainya, Anda bisa mencapai tahap baru. Bai Xiaochun memikirkan masalah ini sedikit lebih lama, lalu melambaikan tangannya, menyebabkan daun lain terbang, dan dia mulai bereksperimen. Kadang-kadang daun itu bergerak dengan cepat, di lain waktu ia bergerak sangat lambat seolah-olah ada gunung yang menimpanya. Namun, dia tidak mendapatkan hasil yang diinginkannya. Setelah satu kali percobaan tidak berhasil, dia mencoba sepuluh kali. Setelah sepuluh kali mencoba tidak berhasil, dia mencoba seratus kali. Setelah seratus kali mencoba tidak berhasil... dia mencoba ribuan kali. Ia akhirnya kehilangan hitungan berapa kali ia telah mencoba. Tak lama kemudian, halamannya dipenuhi dengan serpihan daun yang telah hancur, dan ia bahkan harus keluar mencari daun baru. Akhirnya, hampir semua tanaman spiritual di Puncak Awan Harum kehilangan daunnya, hingga, pada suatu hari, mata Bai Xiaochun berkedip, dan ia melakukan gerakan mantra dan menunjuk. Daun di depannya melayang di sana dengan lembut, tetapi ketika jatuh ke tanah, bunyinya seperti batu besar. Suara dentuman keras terdengar, dan seluruh halaman rumah bergetar. Seolah-olah sehelai daun itu beratnya ratusan kilogram. “Berhasil!” Mata Bai Xiaochun berkaca-kaca, tetapi ekspresinya menunjukkan kegembiraan. Tiba-tiba dia melambaikan tangannya, melemparkan pedang kayu kecilnya. Pedang itu berubah menjadi garis hitam yang melesat di udara dengan kecepatan luar biasa. Kini kecepatannya bahkan lebih luar biasa dari sebelumnya, dan mengeluarkan suara siulan melengking saat menembus udara. Kemudian, terdengar suara dentuman keras saat sebuah batu besar hancur berkeping-keping. Kekuatan luar biasa seperti itu sudah tidak lagi setara dengan tingkat keenam Kondensasi Qi. Bahkan seseorang di tingkat ketujuh Kondensasi Qi pun akan sangat terkejut dengan apa yang baru saja terjadi. Bai Xiaochun tampak sangat bersemangat saat ia melompat berdiri dan mengayunkan lengan serta kakinya, lalu melemparkan pedang kayu itu mengelilingi halaman dengan dramatis. Terkadang pedang itu melesat cepat di udara, terkadang pula melayang lambat di udara tanpa bergerak. Pedang kayu itu mengalami transformasi total di halaman itu. Tak lama kemudian, energi pedang berputar-putar di seluruh area, seolah-olah angin kencang telah menerpa. Bai Xiaochun menjadi lebih bersemangat dari sebelumnya. Sesaat kemudian, dia melambaikan tangan kanannya, dan pedang kayu kecil itu terbang kembali ke tangannya. Pedang yang mencolok itu tidak terlihat begitu istimewa, tetapi kenyataannya adalah, berkat peningkatan spiritual tiga kali lipat, pedang itu benar-benar jauh lebih hebat dari sebelumnya. “Jika aku bisa menguasai baik Berat-dalam-Ringan maupun Ringan-dalam-Berat, maka dengan menggunakannya bersama-sama, aku bisa melakukan... satu-satunya kemampuan ilahi dalam Seni Pengendalian Kuali Qi Ungu!” Bai Xiaochun menarik napas dalam-dalam, dan matanya bersinar penuh antisipasi. “Pemanggilan Kuali Qi Ungu!” Bai Xiaochun menyimpan pedang kayunya, lalu memejamkan mata sejenak. Tiba-tiba, dia mengangkat tangan kanannya dan menunjuk ke langit. Seketika, energi spiritual internalnya yang sebelumnya tak terlihat tiba-tiba muncul dalam kilatan yang menyilaukan, untaian tipis energi spiritual dengan cepat membentuk garis luar sebuah kuali. Seolah-olah ada kekuatan misterius yang membimbing mereka, mengubah mereka menjadi bentuk tertentu itu. Gelombang tekanan luar biasa mulai memancar keluar dari kuali, tekanan spiritual yang bahkan lebih kuat daripada tekanan dari pedang yang terbang. Wajah Bai Xiaochun memucat dengan cepat saat tekanan spiritual di dalam dirinya berkurang hampir delapan puluh persen. Pada saat itu, kuali telah terbentuk sempurna, dan memancarkan tekanan spiritual yang sangat kuat. Bai Xiaochun memberi isyarat dengan jarinya, mengirimkan kuali itu menghantam tanah. Ketika itu terjadi, kuali itu hancur berkeping-keping, dan sejumlah besar energi spiritual tersebar di sekitarnya. Suara dentuman keras bergema, dan tanah sejauh 300 meter ke segala arah mengeluarkan suara retakan saat celah-celah menyebar. Untungnya, formasi mantra pelindung Puncak Awan Harum hampir seketika memperbaiki kerusakan tersebut. Meskipun begitu, cukup banyak murid Sekte Luar yang berada di dekatnya mendengar suara ledakan yang teredam, dan terkejut. Bai Xiaochun menarik napas dalam-dalam. Dia tidak pernah membayangkan bahwa Pemanggilan Kuali Qi Ungu akan begitu mengesankan. Satu serangan darinya tampaknya hampir tak terkalahkan. “Pemanggilan Kuali Qi Ungu jelas layak menjadi satu-satunya kemampuan ilahi dalam Seni Pengendalian Kuali Qi Ungu. Tak heran jika kemampuan ini hanya dapat dilepaskan setelah Beban-dalam-Ringan dan Ringan-dalam-Beban sepenuhnya dipahami.” Mata Bai Xiaochun bersinar terang, tetapi hampir seketika itu juga, ia mengerutkan kening. Meskipun kemampuan ilahi ini kuat, ia membutuhkan banyak energi darinya. Bai Xiaochun knew that the reason he had wasted only eighty percent of his spiritual power, and not more, was because it was so pure. Any other disciple who gained enlightenment of this divine ability before the eighth level of Qi Condensation would have had all of their internal spiritual energy drained. The only way to truly utilize the technique without incredible wastage was to wait until the ninth level of Qi Condensation. “According to the description of the Violet Qi Cauldron Summoning, it can be divided into high-grade, mid-grade, and low-grade levels. The cauldron I just produced was low-grade. If I can reach the mid-grade level, I’ll be able to form two cauldrons. By reaching high-grade, I can have three cauldrons, then form them together into one big cauldron!” After standing there thoughtfully for a moment, Bai Xiaochun sat down cross-legged and began to perform breathing exercises. It was not until the moon hung high in the sky that he finally opened his eyes, revealing a bright spirit glow in his eyes. As of now, his cultivation base had almost fully recovered. “A divine ability like this can be used as a trump card. If Zhou Xinqi’s fans ever mess with me, I can use it to crush them.” Although Bai Xiaochun felt a little bit better, when he thought about the Inner Sect disciple named Qian, his brow furrowed. “You have to be at least in the eighth level of Qi Condensation to get into the Inner Sect....” When he thought about that, Bai Xiaochun felt just as worried as before. He glanced down thoughtfully at his skin for a moment, and his eyes glittered. With that, he rose to his feet and took a few steps forward, picking up speed as he reached out with his thumb and index finger. A black light flashed as the tips of those two fingers then touched each other. Cracking sounds rang out in the air, along with an explosive aura. Bai Xiaochun looked at his two fingers in surprise for a moment before recovering his composure. “This is a killing move... that I can use to save my own life.” After some more thought, he came to the conclusion that the more powerful the killing move, the better it would be for him. Now, the main thing he was worried about was the Undying Live Forever Technique. After acquiring his Undying Iron Skin, he had attempted to continue cultivating the Undying Live Forever Technique, but found that as soon as he began, he started feeling hungry again. Furthermore, the spirit tail chickens on the south bank of the Spirit Stream Sect were no longer an option. He had only ordinary spirit food to rely on, which he was sure wouldn’t be enough to stave off his hunger. He had searched the rest of the mountain high and low for other spirit creatures to eat, but ever since the Chicken-Thieving Fiend’s rise to fame, the three mountains on the south bank began to closely guard all the areas where spirit creature were raised. The anxiety on his face grew as he contemplated the problem. Even as he pondered how to solve the problem of the intense hunger, he suddenly thought back to the Age-Prolonging Longevity-Enhancing Pill. “Yeah, that's right....” he said, eyes beginning to shine brightly. Not only could that pill increase one’s cultivation base, it also replenished vital energy. After acquiring his Undying Iron Skin, he realized that cultivating it actually required vital energy, which was why he got so hungry. “I’ve made huge strides in my skill with plants and vegetation, and although I haven’t been promoted yet, I can still concoct medicine on my own. Furthermore, although the cost of some spirit medicines is very high within the sect, the actual ingredients are relatively cheap.” Bai Xiaochun was becoming more and more convinced that he had come up with a solution. “Basically, I can just concoct my own medicine. That way, when the time comes to take the promotion test, I’ll be much more confident. Also, it will be much easier to concoct a Foundation Establishment Pill in the future.” Having made his decision, he set his jaw thoughtfully to ponder the matter further. The next morning at dawn, he fairly leapt to his feet. “Concocting medicines requires medicine formulas, and I can get those even without being promoted to journeyman apothecary. All I have to do is head to the market at the bottom of the mountain and I’ll be able to purchase whatever random medicine formulas are available.” Bai Xiaochun patted his bag of holding and thought about how he hadn’t really spent much money at all since arriving at Fragrant Cloud Peak. As an Outer Sect disciple, he was given a stipend of spirit stones every month, which meant he had quite a bit of savings built up. The truth was that Bai Xiaochun didn’t really care much about material possessions, though. He immediately flew out of his courtyard onto the path that led down the mountain. During the entire time he had been on Fragrant Cloud Peak, this was only the second time he had left the mountain to go to the markets. The first time was when he had purchased the medicinal plant he needed to trade for that medicinal pill. Almost as soon as he stepped foot off of Fragrant Cloud Peak, two people suddenly flew toward a nearby courtyard residence. “Elder Brother Chen, are you home?!” “Elder Brother Chen, Bai Xiaochun left the mountain!” These two people were both quite powerful, with extraordinary cultivation bases in the fourth level of Qi Condensation. They burst excitedly into the courtyard, where a burly man could be seen sitting cross-legged in meditation. The burly man was incredibly muscular, as broad-shouldered as a bear and a tough-looking as a lion, and as soon as he heard the words spoken by the two men, a bright gleam flickered in his eyes. “Bai Xiaochun? So, he finally left the mountain, huh?!” The burly man laughed viciously, then suddenly shot to his feet. He looked as big as a mountain, and had profound energy, which came from a cultivation in the fifth level of Qi Condensation. As a result, he emanated a powerful spirit pressure. This was none other than Chen Fei, who used to work in the Supervisor's Department. These three had been friends since back in those days, and at that time had lacked for virtually nothing. Not only did they have other servants to wait on them back then, they had also been able to embezzle quite a sum of spirit stones. Of course, they had never expected to be literally pushed into the Outer Sect by Bai Xiaochun and his friends. The past two years had been hard on them, and their hatred for Bai Xiaochun had seeped deep into their bones. However, they couldn’t afford to provoke Big Fatty Zhang, much less Third Fatty Hei. On the other hand, even though Bai Xiaochun seemed strong, they were of the opinion that he was actually relatively weak. Thus they had long since planned their revenge. Unfortunately for them, during that entire time, Bai Xiaochun never left the sect. And in the end, even though Chen Fei had some connections, he didn’t dare to violate sect rules. Actually, his biggest connection in the sect was his older cousin, who was an Inner Sect disciple. However, his cousin didn’t pay much attention to him, and had only helped him to a limited degree, even in his days as a servant. Therefore, they had been forced to wait for two whole years for Bai Xiaochun to leave the sect. Now, the moment they had been waiting for had arrived. Chen Fei was feeling completely confident thanks to his recent breakthrough into the fifth level of Qi Condensation. After asking around, he knew the level of Bai Xiaochun’s cultivation, and had also heard about him taking 1st place in the recent competition, although the news was that he had won that victory by pure chance. “Back then he scared us all by tricking us into thinking he had mastered Lightness-in-Heaviness. Hmph! I can't believe he forced us into joining the Outer Sect. At long last, I’m going to give vent to this anger of mine!” A fierce gleam appeared in Chen Fei’s eyes. His plan wasn’t to kill Bai Xiaochun, just crush his bones and sever his tendons, enough to keep him bedridden for at least a year. Although the sect would surely investigate the matter afterwards, because there would be no eyewitnesses, because no death would be involved, and because Chen Fei had connections in the sect, the big matter would become a small one, and then that small matter would be easily resolved. “You can’t blame us if he just doesn’t measure up!” Chen Fei flickered into motion, immediately heading down off the mountain, followed by his two friends. The three of them moved at top speed to a certain path they knew that Bai Xiaochun would pass on his way back from the market, and lay there in wait. ** Pasar tidak terlalu besar, jadi Bai Xiaochun tidak butuh waktu lama untuk menemukan dua formula tingkat 1 secara acak. Salah satunya dapat digunakan untuk mengisi kembali energi spiritual, yang lainnya untuk memperkaya energi vital. Untuk formula yang memperkaya energi vital, versi tingkat tinggi sangat mahal. Namun, versi tingkat rendah, meskipun jarang ditemukan, sebagian besar digunakan oleh manusia biasa untuk kesehatan dan olahraga. Meskipun sebagian besar kultivator tidak akan menganggapnya berguna, bagi Bai Xiaochun, pil-pil itu seperti harta berharga. Setelah menggunakan wajan kura-kuranya untuk melakukan peningkatan spiritual tiga kali lipat pada pil obat yang dihasilkan, hasilnya akan sangat berbeda. Bai Xiaochun bahkan tidak menghabiskan banyak batu spiritualnya untuk mendapatkan tanaman obat yang dibutuhkannya untuk meracik obat-obatan spiritual. Sambil menepuk-nepuk tas penyimpanannya dengan gembira, ia mulai bersenandung kecil saat meninggalkan pasar. Saat berjalan di sepanjang jalan kecil kembali ke sekte, ia membayangkan bagaimana rasanya meracik obat-obatan itu, dan ia sangat bahagia. Namun, sebelum ia berjalan terlalu jauh menyusuri jalan setapak, ekspresinya tiba-tiba berubah, dan ia berhenti di tempatnya. Setelah mencapai tingkat keenam Kondensasi Qi, indranya menjadi jauh lebih tajam, dan ia dapat langsung mendeteksi napas tiga orang yang bersembunyi di semak-semak di dekatnya. Jantung mereka juga berdebar kencang saat mereka memperhatikannya datang menyusuri jalan setapak. Melihat Bai Xiaochun berhenti di tempatnya, Chen Fei dan kedua temannya bergegas berdiri di depannya. “Bai Xiaochun,” katanya dengan ganas, “hari ini telah tiba untuk mengakhiri dendam kita!” Teman-temannya juga menyeringai ganas sambil mengapit Bai Xiaochun. “Chen Fei?” seru Bai Xiaochun sambil berkedip. Dia dengan cepat mengamati Chen Fei dan kedua temannya, dan setelah menentukan tingkat kultivasi mereka, dia langsung merasa tenang. “Bai Xiaochun, bahkan jika kau jatuh ke tanah dan memohon ampun, sudah terlambat. Kaulah yang punya ide untuk memaksa kami masuk ke Sekte Luar, dan kau akan membayar untuk itu. Aku, Chen Fei, telah menunggu hari ini sejak lama sekali!” Sambil tertawa terbahak-bahak, Chen Fei melambaikan tangan kanannya, melepaskan kekuatan Kondensasi Qi tingkat kelima. Akibatnya, banyak daun tersapu ke udara, menciptakan pemandangan yang sangat mengesankan. “Setelah bergabung dengan Sekte Luar, aku menghabiskan seluruh waktu untuk berlatih kultivasi, dan sekarang aku berada di tingkat kelima Kondensasi Qi. Biar kukatakan padamu, Bai Xiaochun. Hari ini kau akan benar-benar mengerti apa artinya ditindas. Tulangmu akan patah dan tendonmu akan putus!” Sambil tertawa dengan kesombongan yang angkuh, Chen Fei melakukan gerakan mantra dengan tangan kanannya, menyebabkan pedang terbang berwarna hijau muncul. Panjangnya hanya sekitar 15 sentimeter, tetapi memancarkan aura dingin dan kuno. Adapun dua teman Chen Fei yang berada di sisi Bai Xiaochun, mereka menyeringai jahat sambil melepaskan basis kultivasi mereka dan mengeluarkan pedang terbang mereka sendiri. Mengingat mereka telah mengepungnya dan jumlah mereka tiga kali lebih banyak darinya, mereka sangat yakin bahwa mereka dapat mengalahkan Bai Xiaochun. Hal itu terutama benar setelah analisis mereka sendiri membawa mereka pada kesimpulan bahwa Bai Xiaochun tidak pernah sepenuhnya menguasai Teknik Ringan-dalam-Berat seperti yang awalnya mereka kira. “Kau pasti aman jika kau tidak pernah meninggalkan gunung. Tapi di sinilah kau, di luar sekte. Dan sekarang kau akan mengerti harga mahal yang harus dibayar atas kesalahanmu!” Chen Fei merasa sedikit lebih baik setelah melampiaskan amarahnya seperti itu, meskipun kemarahan masih membara di dalam dirinya. “Apakah kalian bertiga tidak takut melanggar aturan sekte dengan menyergapku di sini?” tanya Bai Xiaochun, dengan rasa ingin tahu yang tulus. “Aturan sekte? Hahaha! Kita sekarang berada di luar sekte. Lagipula, kau sama sekali tidak sebanding dengan kami dalam hal kemampuan. Tidak ada yang akan menyalahkan kami jika kau mematahkan beberapa tulang dan memutus beberapa tendon. Paling buruk, kami hanya perlu meminta maaf, dan kemudian semuanya akan selesai.” Chen Fei tertawa bangga, membayangkan Bai Xiaochun terhempas ke tanah. Dia bahkan sudah menyiapkan beberapa ejekan bagus untuk digunakan setelah mengalahkannya. Namun, ketika ia menyadari betapa tenangnya Bai Xiaochun bersikap, ia tiba-tiba menyadari ada sesuatu yang tidak beres. Meskipun dikepung dari tiga sisi, ekspresi Bai Xiaochun sama sekali tidak berubah, dan bahkan, ia tampak merasa situasi itu agak aneh. Dengan penampilan layaknya seorang kultivator ulung, Bai Xiaochun dengan bangga berkata, "Oh, jadi begitulah. Kalau begitu, aku merasa jauh lebih baik." Pupil mata Chen Fei menyempit, dan dia merasa semakin tidak nyaman. Namun, sekarang bukanlah waktu untuk merenungkan situasi tersebut. “Attack!” he barked, performing an incantation gesture to send his flying sword shooting toward Bai Xiaochun. At the same time, his two friends also performed incantation gestures and sent their flying swords into action. Three flying swords were bearing down on Bai Xiaochun, who suddenly smiled. He didn’t even produce a magical item; he simply stepped backward. To the eyes of Chen Fei and his friends, Bai Xiaochun just seemed to vanish into thin air. When he reappeared, he was right next to one of the burly men in the fourth level of Qi Condensation. The man’s eyes went wide, but before he could do anything, Bai Xiaochun clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out. The fist moved with incredible speed, landing on the man’s neck with a boom. The man’s entire body was shaken, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood as he bent over backward. It was as if some massive object had slammed into him; he immediately flipped head over heels, slamming into a nearby tree. The tree shuddered, and the man coughed up some more blood, then collapsed, unconscious. This sudden development left the man’s companion staring at Bai Xiaochun in complete shock. His mind felt as if it were being struck by countless bolts of lightning. Even in his wildest dreams, he would never have imagined that Bai Xiaochun... could possibly move so fast, or unleash such astonishing power. Chen Fei’s face fell, and he gasped. Without even thinking about it, he backed up, looking at Bai Xiaochun in disbelief. “You....” “Too weak,” Bai Xiaochun said, looking like a profound master, alone in the world, unable to find a worthy opponent. Sighing, he took a step forward, appearing directly in front of the other fourth level Qi Condensation cultivator. The burly man let out a maddened shout, causing cultivation base power to surge wildly, sending the flying sword slashing toward Bai Xiaochun at top speed. However, because of the Undying Live Forever Technique, and his Undying Iron Skin, Bai Xiaochun’s fleshly body had reached a shocking level. He easily sidestepped the sword, then once again punched out with his right fist. A boom rang out, and the man let out a miserable shriek. Blood sprayed everywhere as he was sent spinning backward. There was no tree for him to run into, so he landed about thirty meters away, his internal organs vibrating painfully. He couldn’t even get back to his feet; he just lay there, seemingly struggling to hold on to life. “Too weak,” Bai Xiaochun said, shaking his head. Then he looked back at the trembling Chen Fei. “Y-you... you....” Chen Fei’s mind was spinning, and he suddenly felt like a complete fool. He had absolutely no confidence in being able to win now; Bai Xiaochun had suddenly transformed into something like a wild beast. Two fist attacks had easily knocked out his two friends; that in itself required an incomprehensible amount of power. Subconsciously swallowing, Chen Fei backed away; he had no desire to keep fighting, and the only thing he could think about now was to flee. Before he could get very far, though, Bai Xiaochun flew forward at top speed, hand clenched into a fist which sped toward Chen Fei. Before it could land, a flashing light appeared in front of Chen Fei, and a little buckler materialized, which met Bai Xiaochun’s fist. The resulting boom caused Bai Xiaochun to sigh. He shivered slightly, but at the same time, the buckler trembled, and it was sent spinning off to the side, its spiritual energy fading rapidly. Chen Fei was now scared out of his mind. He had spent quite a few merit points on that buckler, and it should have been able to hold out for a while even against the sixth level of Qi Condensation. And yet, Bai Xiaochun had severed his connection with it in a single blow. “Bai Xiaochun, y-you... you push things too far!!” he shrieked. “Hmph! Let me tell you, today you will truly understand what it means to be bullied. Your bones are going to be broken and your tendons severed!” Bai Xiaochun was happier than ever to see the terror in Chen Fei’s eyes. He would never give up an amazing chance like this. Furthermore, he didn’t just repeat Chen Fei’s words, he also unleashed his cultivation base, allowing the power of the sixth level of Qi Condensation to erupt out. A huge wind swept up, sending his hair flying about, and his energy soaring. “Sixth level of Qi Condensation....” Chen Fei gasped, his eyes bulging and his scalp tingling in fear. He staggered backward as Bai Xiaochun closed in with another punch. This time, there was nothing he could do to block it, and the fist slammed into him. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he flew backward, his entire body vibrating. A miserable shriek rang out. It didn't matter that he was as broad-shouldered as a bear and a tough-looking as a lion, or that he was in the fifth level of Qi Condensation. He was now going all-out to escape, heart filled with intense bitterness, rueing his decision to try to ambush Bai Xiaochun... in a place so far away from the sect. However, Bai Xiaochun was chasing after him like a wild beast, causing Chen Fei to shriek, “Bai Xiaochun, aren’t you afraid of violating sect rules!?!?” Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat, then repeated Chen Fei’s own words. “Sect rules? Hahaha! We're outside of the sect right now. Plus, you don’t measure up to me at all in skill. No one’s going to blame me for breaking a few bones and severing a few tendons. At the worst, I’ll have to make some apologies, and then the whole matter will be over with.” Then he kicked out with his foot. Tendangan itu membuat Chen Fei terlempar ke udara, di mana dia sekali lagi muntah darah. Ekspresi putus asa muncul di wajahnya, dan dia berteriak. Namun, sebelum dia sempat mendarat di tanah, Bai Xiaochun mulai menghujaninya dengan pukulan dan tendangan. Chen Fei ketakutan dan tak bisa berhenti berteriak. Tak lama kemudian, tubuhnya membengkak dari kepala hingga kaki, dan teriakannya semakin melemah. Tulangnya patah, tendonnya putus, dan wajahnya pucat pasi. Ia segera terbaring di sana, mati rasa dan menatap Bai Xiaochun dengan penuh kengerian. Meskipun Bai Xiaochun tampak polos, cantik, dan agak kurus, apa yang dilihat Chen Fei adalah binatang buas yang menyamar dalam wujud manusia. Hal itu semakin terlihat ketika Chen Fei menyadari bahwa Bai Xiaochun bahkan tidak menggunakan benda-benda magis apa pun. Dia hanya mengandalkan kekuatan tubuhnya sendiri yang mengerikan untuk menghancurkannya. Di kejauhan, kedua pria kekar di tingkat keempat Kondensasi Qi sadar kembali, dan ketika mereka melihat apa yang terjadi, kulit kepala mereka terasa kebas dan jantung mereka mulai berdebar kencang. Mereka segera berpura-pura pingsan lagi, tidak berani bergerak agar tidak menarik perhatian Bai Xiaochun. Melihat Chen Fei terengah-engah, Bai Xiaochun akhirnya kehilangan minat. Dia menenangkan energi spiritualnya, lalu mengosongkan tas penyimpanan mereka dan juga mengambil perisai kecil itu. Sambil bersenandung pelan, dia melanjutkan perjalanannya menyusuri jalan setapak. Saat melihat Bai Xiaochun pergi, Chen Fei ingin menangis, tetapi air mata tak kunjung keluar. "Siapa yang memberitahuku bahwa Bai Xiaochun memenangkan kompetisi Puncak Awan Harum murni karena kebetulan!?!?" Jika dia tahu sejak awal bahwa Bai Xiaochun begitu menakutkan, bahkan ancaman dipukuli sampai mati pun tidak akan bisa meyakinkannya untuk membuat masalah. Adapun dua pria bertubuh kekar lainnya, mereka cemberut sedih, hati mereka dipenuhi teror saat Bai Xiaochun pergi. “Kakak Chen, apa yang harus kita lakukan sekarang...? Biarkan saja dia, lupakan masa lalu. Kudengar Xu Baocai juga melakukan hal yang sama.” Kedua pria itu dengan cemas menunggu jawaban Chen Fei. Hati Chen Fei dipenuhi kepedihan. Setelah berpikir sejenak, dia menggertakkan giginya. “Aku ingin balas dendam, tapi aku tidak bisa melakukannya sendiri. Apa yang harus kulakukan...? Aku perlu berpikir....” Bai Xiaochun kembali ke sekte sambil bersenandung kecil dan diam-diam merasa senang. Setelah sampai di halaman rumahnya, dia menghela napas. “Aku berlatih kultivasi keabadian untuk hidup selamanya. Orang-orang seperti itu yang selalu berkelahi dan membunuh adalah orang gila.” Ia duduk di halaman rumahnya, dan mulai mengatur berbagai barang yang telah diambilnya dari Chen Fei dan teman-temannya. Mereka sama sekali bukan orang kaya, yang berarti Bai Xiaochun sebenarnya tidak membawa pergi banyak barang, meskipun ia sendiri tidak terlalu peduli. Setelah selesai, ia mengeluarkan tanaman obat yang baru saja dibelinya dan memeriksanya dengan saksama untuk beberapa saat. Meskipun ia memiliki dasar pengetahuan yang mendalam tentang tumbuhan dan vegetasi, sebenarnya ia tidak memiliki banyak pengalaman berurusan dengan tumbuhan itu sendiri. Sekarang setelah ia dapat memeriksa tumbuhan-tumbuhan ini secara langsung, pengamatannya menyatu dengan informasi yang sudah ada dalam pikirannya. Ia bahkan mengikis permukaan beberapa tumbuhan untuk memeriksa struktur internalnya. Setelah melakukan beberapa percobaan, ekspresi berpikir muncul di wajah Bai Xiaochun, dan dia mengeluarkan dua formula acak yang telah diperolehnya. Setelah melirik formula untuk mengisi kembali energi spiritual, dia fokus pada formula lainnya, yang dirancang untuk manusia biasa yang ingin memperkuat tubuh fisik mereka. “Dupa Panjang Umur....” gumamnya. Formula obat khusus ini tidak membutuhkan banyak tanaman obat, hanya tujuh. Selain itu, tidak ada yang istimewa tentang cara mereka berinteraksi. Namun, dengan menggunakan teknik penguatan dan penekanan timbal balik, dimungkinkan untuk menarik kekuatan ketujuh tanaman obat itu, menghancurkannya menjadi bubuk, dan kemudian mengubahnya menjadi dupa. Dua dari tanaman itu bahkan beracun. Jika seorang petani mengonsumsinya, itu hanya akan menyebabkan diare selama dua minggu. Namun, bagi manusia biasa, tanaman itu akan berakibat fatal. “Ada banyak jenis tanaman spiritual di langit dan bumi. Beberapa dapat langsung dikonsumsi, sedangkan yang lain perlu diracik menjadi pil untuk menghasilkan efek optimalnya. Ada banyak yang, karena toksisitasnya, hanya dapat digunakan untuk membuat dupa.” Sambil bergumam sendiri, Bai Xiaochun mengeluarkan tanaman obat yang dibutuhkan untuk Dupa Panjang Umur, lalu mulai mempelajarinya secara detail. “Aku masih belum sepenuhnya yakin dengan ini,” pikirnya. “Hal terpenting yang perlu dipikirkan dalam meracik obat adalah tingkat keberhasilannya. Bahkan obat-obatan spiritual tingkat 1 yang paling sederhana pun masih memiliki tingkat potensi kegagalan yang tinggi.” “Aku punya sepuluh set masing-masing tanaman obat. Aku tidak bisa menyia-nyiakannya.” Bai Xiaochun adalah orang yang berhati-hati, dan lebih suka merasa yakin sebelum melakukan apa pun. Begitulah dia dulu ketika dia asyik menghafal semua jenis tanaman dan vegetasi, dan situasinya saat ini pun sama. Alih-alih langsung mencoba meracik obat, dia lebih memilih untuk mempelajari formula obatnya terlebih dahulu. Seven days passed. After fully absorbing the information from the medicine formula, he then closed his eyes and began to analyze the matter further. It was evening when he finally opened his eyes. Then, after a bit more thought, he produced the formula for the spiritual energy replenishing medicine and began to review it. Two more weeks passed. Bai Xiaochun’s eyes were bloodshot, but by now, he felt that he completely understood all of the various medicinal plants that were part of these medicine formulas. After more thought, he rose to his feet and walked out of the courtyard. Medicine concocting required a pill furnace, but those were quite expensive, more expensive than Bai Xiaochun could afford. Thankfully, in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion, there were pill furnaces available for use by disciples in their medicine concocting, at the price of a few merit points. The Medicine Concocting Pavilion was on the east side of Fragrant Cloud Peak, not too far from where Bai Xiaochun lived. It wasn’t like the 10,000 Medicines Pavilion, which was always teeming with crowds of people. The Medicine Concocting Pavilion was a relatively quiet and peaceful place. After all, even on Fragrant Cloud Peak, people who qualified to concoct medicine were relatively few in number. Of that small number, quite a few already had their own personal pill furnaces, and didn’t need to come here to rent one. Bai Xiaochun paid for the right to use the Medicine Concocting Pavilion facilities for an entire month. He was given a personal workshop, complete with a protective spell formation that prevented any interference from outside while he worked. Clutching the wooden key he had been given, Bai Xiaochun quickly found workshop #13 and walked inside. It wasn’t very large, and was completely empty except for the pill furnace and the flame which burned beneath it. After sitting down cross-legged, Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, then examined the pill furnace closely. When he tried to manipulate the flame with some spiritual energy, he found that he could cause the flame to grow much hotter, filling the entire room with intense heat. At the same time, the pill furnace itself began to glow bright red. Drawing upon his foundation in the Violet Qi Control Art, he performed some tests, and quickly got used to the intense heat. It didn’t take long before he became familiar with how to control the level of the flame. Finally, he slapped his bag of holding to produce the various types of plants and vegetation. “The Longevity Incense is too important to put first on the list to concoct. First I’ll get familiar with the general concoction process, then I’ll try. I’ll start out with the Spirit Replenishing Pill. That's a tier-1 pill, useful for the fifth level of Qi Condensation and lower.” Bai Xiaochun was now completely determined. Expression very serious, he mentally reviewed the medicine formula for the Spirit Replenishing Pill, then began to concoct. He produced the first medicinal plant, then waved his hand, causing the leaves to fall off. Eyes gleaming with concentration, he sent his internal spiritual energy out, forming a powerful yet gentle force that crushed the leaves together into nine beads of sap, which he then dropped into the pill furnace. A plopping sound could be heard, and a green mist instantly rose up within the pill furnace. Bai Xiaochun’s eyes gleamed brightly, and as soon as the mist actually appeared, his hands flew through the air as he extracted the stems and veins of the medicinal plant, which he then tossed into the furnace as well. Occasionally, he adjusted the flame, ensuring that more and more mist built up inside the furnace. None of that mist escaped outside, though. It congealed together, swirling as Bai Xiaochun pulled out the second medicinal plant. After catalyzing it briefly, the medicinal plant bloomed with flowers, the petals of which he plucked and put into the pill furnace. Time passed. Bai Xiaochun was completely focused on what he was doing as he pulled out one medicinal plant after another. Soon he was on the eighth plant, and his eyes were shining brightly as he stared at the pill furnace. As he continuously adjusted the temperature of the flame, sweat dripped down his face. Two hours later, a muffled rumbling could be heard from inside the pill furnace. Black smoke poured out, to be absorbed by the room’s spell formation. Bai Xiaochun was choking and coughing, and a frown could be seen on his face as he stared at the charred slag inside of the pill furnace. “Failure....” he murmured. Sitting down and placing his chin on his hand, he began to think. After reviewing everything he had done, he didn’t begin another batch immediately. After all, he was a cautious person, and whether it came to memorizing plants and vegetation or concocting medicine, he always wanted to do it in the most prudent way possible. He contemplated the matter for three full days. During that time, he reviewed what he remembered regarding his first attempt at least a thousand times. That helped him to identify at least fifty problematic areas. Finally, he took a deep breath, rested for a moment, and then once again heated up the furnace. The actual time it took to produce the pill wasn’t very long. Four hours later, the pill furnace emitted rumbling sounds once again, and when the smoke cleared, the spoiled remnants of the pill once again became visible. At this point, his stubborn determination once again rose up. Removing the slag from the pill furnace, he examined it closely, then compared it to the information he had gleaned so far about medicine concocting. He then spent ten more days further examining the medicine formula, as well as the plants and vegetation involved. Finally, eyes bloodshot, he began to try a third time. The third batch seemed much more stable, but just in the moment when the pills were about to solidify, everything fell apart, accompanied by muffled booms. Bai Xiaochun leapt forward and stared at the slag again. After more thought, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to ponder the matter further. This time, he spent nearly half a month. His time in the Medicine Concocting Pavilion was almost up. Finally, his eyes opened, and he gritted his teeth as he began a fourth batch. Eventually, his time was up, and the most recent batch was a failure. If any journeyman apothecary could observe what was happening, he would find it hard to believe. Almost any other person would have attempted at least dozens of batches of medicine within a month’s time, and would have succeeded in at least some of them. Even if they only came up with one pill in the end, it would still count as a success. After all, most people viewed medicine concocting as something extremely difficult. If that weren’t the case, then there would be more than a mere two master apothecaries in all of the Eastwood Continent. Even journeyman apothecaries were not very common, and most of them didn’t have any hope of ever becoming master apothecaries. Of course, the real reason for that was... most people didn’t have access to the resources which were needed to truly develop as a journeyman apothecary. In the end, though, if anyone worked long enough at it, their chances of eventually becoming a master apothecary would be much greater. Therefore, most people believed that the best way to increase one's success rate in medicine concocting was simply to practice a lot! And that was why most people simply pursued practice. After you got familiar enough with the process, your confidence in success would increase. Of course, simultaneously, journeyman apothecaries came to view failure as an ordinary thing. After a failure, one could just begin again, and thus slowly improve. That was especially true of the more ordinary medicinal pills. Ingredients for pills like that were not very expensive, and could be used as fuel for that hard work and practice. However, Bai Xiaochun walked a different path than others. He went much slower, and after every failure, he would spend more time analyzing why he had failed than he had in the actual concocting process. This had a lot to do with his caution. It would even be appropriate to call him scrupulous. Only a bit of that scrupulousness had come out during his time studying plants and vegetation. Now that he was making his first foray into medicine concocting, his scrupulous nature increased dramatically, becoming the most outstanding aspect. Because of that scrupulousness, he was able to identify even more problem areas than the average person would. In fact, the number of problems that other people might identify couldn’t even compare. He thought and pondered the matter in ways that others wouldn’t even consider, and thus identified various fishy areas. Karena kehati-hatiannya, bahkan masalah terkecil pun ingin ia kendalikan sebelum melanjutkan pembuatan ramuan apa pun. Karena alasan inilah ia menghabiskan begitu banyak waktu untuk berpikir. Sebulan telah berlalu; rambut Bai Xiaochun acak-acakan dan wajahnya belepotan abu. Karena kelelahan, ia meninggalkan Paviliun Peracikan Obat dan kembali ke halaman rumahnya, tempat ia duduk sambil berpikir dan merenung. “Masih ada sembilan area masalah. Setelah saya menyelesaikan masalah-masalah itu, saya seharusnya bisa melanjutkan pembuatan obat.” Sambil menggertakkan giginya, dia duduk di halaman rumahnya, mata terpejam, menganalisis masalah tersebut, sesekali mengeluarkan tanaman obat untuk diamati dan dipelajari. Setengah bulan berlalu sebelum dia tiba-tiba bergegas keluar, menggunakan poin prestasinya, dan memasuki Paviliun Peracikan Obat lagi. Batch kelima... gagal total! Setelah menganalisis masalah tersebut selama tujuh hari lagi, dia menemukan lebih banyak masalah, menyelesaikannya, dan kemudian mencoba lagi. Batch keenam... gagal total! Matanya merah padam. Dia menghabiskan dua puluh hari merenungkan masalah itu sebelum mencoba batch ketujuh. Dua jam setelah proses dimulai, tidak terdengar suara gemuruh lagi. Sebaliknya, aroma obat menyebar, dan wajah Bai Xiaochun berseri-seri. Di dalam tungku pil itu terdapat dua pil obat berwarna hijau. Batch ketujuh berhasil! Dia mencoba lagi, dan percobaan kedelapan... berhasil, menghasilkan tiga pil! Percobaan kesembilan... berhasil, menghasilkan lima pil! Percobaan kesepuluh... juga berhasil. Namun, pada akhirnya, hanya satu pil yang muncul. Pil itu bukan berwarna hijau, melainkan hitam. Selain itu, pil itu tidak mengeluarkan aroma obat, melainkan bau aneh yang berbeda. Bahkan saat Bai Xiaochun merenungkan masalah itu dengan penuh rasa ingin tahu, seluruh Paviliun Peracikan Obat menjadi gempar.