The following day, they set out for Heavenly Pill Valley.
Qianshou and the others had departed ahead of them.
After the incident involving Mu Shan, Ning Yuzhou made new arrangements for the Hidden Scale Guards. He planned to cultivate them into a secret force that would operate covertly throughout the Central Continent and serve as a hidden trump card at critical moments.
Because of this, it would no longer be suitable for the Hidden Scale Guards to remain by their side. Ning Yuzhou therefore allowed them to leave and develop freely.
He also sent Qianshou out. Ning Yuzhou allocated most of the resources they possessed to the Hidden Scale Guards and instructed Qianshou to lead them in lying low throughout the Central Continent while secretly expanding their strength.
After leaving Cangwu Town, Qin Hongdao took out a flying vessel.
It was an Earth-grade spiritual artefact shaped like a small, flat boat. It rapidly enlarged in mid-air, its entire body gleaming silver-white. Its lines were smooth and elegant, and its design was delicate and exquisite—the kind of style female cultivators tended to favour. It did not look like something Qin Hongdao would use.
“Senior Sister, this flying vessel is really beautiful. It doesn’t look like something you would use. Where did you get it?” Sheng Yunshen asked with interest.
Qin Hongdao answered frankly, “Elder Fu gave it to me when I left the sect.”
Sheng Yunshen immediately cried out in protest, looking utterly aggrieved.
“Why did Elder Fu give you an Earth-grade flying vessel but give me nothing? That’s far too biased! When we return, I’m going to demand an explanation from him!”
“Go ahead,” Qin Hongdao said casually. “As long as you can give him a Heaven-grade refining material, forget an Earth-grade flying vessel—Elder Fu would even refine a Heaven-grade one for you.”
Sheng Yunshen immediately fell silent.
Only Qin Hongdao had the ability to casually give away Heaven-grade refining materials.
Qin Hongdao could never remain idle. In her view, shutting oneself away and working in isolation did little to benefit cultivation. Unlike other cultivators, she did not enter seclusion at every opportunity.
She frequently travelled outside to temper herself and ventured into all kinds of dangerous places. Although the process was often extremely perilous, her gains were equally substantial. She frequently discovered many high-quality resources.
She was also a generous person who spent freely. Anything she did not need, she would casually give to someone who did, without asking for repayment. She did not hoard an object simply because it was valuable.
Because of this, Qin Hongdao had become one of the most popular people in the sect. Whether it was the senior generation or the junior brothers and sisters beneath her, very few disliked her.
Compared with external possessions, Qin Hongdao preferred to temper herself. She believed that as long as she was sufficiently powerful, it did not matter whether she possessed auxiliary items.
With only herself and her sabre, Qin Hongdao travelled across the continent in a bold and carefree manner. She was a role model to many female cultivators.
Qin Hongdao then made an inviting gesture towards Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao. She grabbed Sheng Yunshen by the back of his collar and simply lifted him onto the flying vessel.
Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou also leapt aboard.
After being carried onto the vessel, Sheng Yunshen could not help complaining, “Senior Sister, don’t do that again. I’m still a grown man.”
Because he had been poisoned, Sheng Yunshen could not easily circulate the spiritual energy within his body. He also possessed no fighting strength and could only be protected like a useless cripple.
This left him extremely dejected. Even so, he did not dare treat his own body carelessly. He could not even board a flying vessel without his senior sister lifting him up like a helpless chick.
“I know. You’re a grown man suffering from a deadly poison,” Qin Hongdao replied casually.
She then turned to Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao.
“Young Master Ning, Miss Min, at the speed of this flying vessel, we should reach Heavenly Pill Valley in around ten days. There are ten rooms inside. Choose whichever one you like and rest. I’ll call you when we arrive.”
Ning Yuzhou did not stand on ceremony. After thanking her, he and Wen Qiao chose a room to rest in.
The room was reasonably spacious, likely because spatial techniques had been used in its construction.
This was Wen Qiao’s first time encountering such a flying vessel, and she was extremely curious. She walked around the room with Wen Tutu before saying to Ning Yuzhou, “Brother Ning, this flying vessel is really good. It’s much faster than a Gale Beast. Don’t you think so too, Wen Tutu?”
The words “Brother Ning” were spoken extremely sweetly, like honey from moon bees.
Wen Tutu responded with an agreeing grinding sound.
The girl and the rabbit both stared at their “Brother Ning” with wide eyes.
Even though Ning Yuzhou possessed remarkable self-control, being stared at by two such adorable creatures made his resolve waver slightly.
He shook his head and laughed. Beckoning the young woman over, he pinched her soft cheeks and said gently, “Once we gather enough refining materials, I’ll refine a flying vessel for you. Would you like that?”
“Thank you, Brother Ning. Brother Ning is the best,” Wen Qiao said happily before throwing herself into his arms and hugging him.
Wen Tutu also leapt onto his shoulder and rubbed its fluffy body against him.
With one adorable creature pressed into his arms and another hanging from his shoulder, Ning Yuzhou did not know whether to laugh or cry. Yet he also felt a warm tenderness in his heart.
Unable to resist, he wrapped his arms around the young woman in his embrace. He held her for a long while before finally letting go.
Ning Yuzhou then placed several layers of restrictions around the room. The married couple brought Wen Tutu with them into the spatial realm.
The spirit herbs in the space were lush and thriving, full of vitality.
Stone-Golden Python Vines encircled the edges of the space. The thick, stone-gold vines concealed beneath their leaves were powerful and robust, resembling the bodies of giant pythons. It was easy to imagine how hard and durable they were.
Wen Qiao transformed into a tiny seedling and rooted herself in the spiritual field. She began cultivating while accelerating the growth of the spirit herbs in the field.
Ning Yuzhou glanced at the seedling and rabbit, as well as the spirit herbs swaying without wind across the field, and smiled faintly.
He took an old and worn alchemy furnace out of his storage bag, activated several talismans with spiritual energy, and tossed them beneath the furnace.
The talismans ignited, releasing dim talisman flames.
Ning Yuzhou rotated the furnace to preheat it. Once the temperature was sufficient, he placed a batch of spirit herbs inside and began refining pills with complete concentration.
His pill-refining speed was extremely fast. A low-level Yellow-grade pill took only fifteen minutes per furnace. Every furnace produced a complete batch of ten pills, and every pill was supreme grade.
Even so, Ning Yuzhou felt that this was too slow.
He took out another alchemy furnace and began refining pills in both furnaces simultaneously.
When Wen Qiao awakened from her cultivation, she saw her husband operating two alchemy furnaces at the same time. Moreover, each furnace was refining a different kind of spirit pill.
She could not help feeling deeply impressed.
Although she did not understand alchemy, she had heard a little about it. She had never heard of anyone capable of dividing their attention like this.
Had the spiritual energy within his body not been insufficient to support it, she suspected Ning Yuzhou could probably operate several more furnaces at once.
The number of spirit pills he could refine in a single day this way was astonishing.
After replenishing most of their depleted supply of Yellow-grade pills, Ning Yuzhou began refining Black-grade pills.
…
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
Qin Hongdao came over and knocked on the door.
When the door opened, she smelled the medicinal fragrance drifting through the air. Looking at Ning Yuzhou, she saw that his entire body was enveloped in a rich medicinal aroma, as though his very person had become more refined.
She immediately understood that he had spent the past several days refining pills.
Both Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao looked energetic and refreshed as they greeted her.
Qin Hongdao looked at them and smiled.
“Young Master Ning, Miss Min, we’re almost at Heavenly Pill Valley.”
The two thanked her for the reminder and left the room together. They went to the front of the flying vessel, where Sheng Yunshen sat staring outside.
When he saw them emerge, Sheng Yunshen said happily, “Young Master Ning, Miss Min, we’re almost at Heavenly Pill Valley. This is your first time there, isn’t it?”
Ning Yuzhou smiled. “It is indeed our first visit. After leaving Nanming, we went directly to Cangwu Mountain. We’re unfamiliar with most places in the Central Continent.”
Wen Qiao glanced at her husband.
He made it sound so convincing that even she nearly believed they were truly from Nanming.
Wen Qiao more or less understood why Ning Yuzhou was concealing their true origins.
Dongling was remote, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth there was sparse. The cultivators of Dongling were generally weak.
If they accidentally offended a powerful cultivator while travelling and that person redirected their anger towards Dongling, the cultivators there would be entirely unable to defend themselves.
Until their strength became great enough to disregard every scheme and conspiracy, they would not expose Dongling to the cultivators of the Central Continent.
The flying vessel stopped ten li from Heavenly Pill Valley.
Qin Hongdao once again grabbed Sheng Yunshen and leapt down from the vessel.
Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao followed. Wen Tutu lay calmly on its elder sister’s shoulder while secretly manipulating the surrounding wind. A gentle current supported the couple, allowing them to land with extraordinary lightness and elegance.
Qin Hongdao sensed something and turned to look at the small rabbit on Wen Qiao’s shoulder. It appeared fragile and harmless.
She could not help laughing.
“It’s a good one.”
Wen Qiao stroked Wen Tutu’s fur, and a trace of softness appeared between her usually cool brows.
After Qin Hongdao stored away the flying vessel, the four of them walked towards Heavenly Pill Valley.
There were many flying vessels in the surrounding area. Like them, they carried alchemists and accompanying cultivators who had come to participate in the Five Cities Alchemy Convention.
After disembarking, they all hurried towards Heavenly Pill Valley.
As the Five Cities Alchemy Convention approached, cultivators from every region of Shengwu Continent gathered in Heavenly Pill Valley.
Most had come with specific objectives.
The first was to watch the alchemy convention.
The second was to obtain the spirit pills refined by the alchemists during the event.
The third was to befriend a powerful alchemist participating in the convention. That way, should they need someone to refine pills for them in the future, they would have a useful connection.
It could be said that the Five Cities Alchemy Convention had always received tremendous attention throughout Shengwu Continent.
When they reached the entrance to Heavenly Pill Valley, they saw a giant stone nearly a hundred feet high standing there.
Three bold and vigorous characters were carved across its surface:
**Heavenly Pill Valley.**
Cultivators patrolled beside the giant stone, while others collected the entrance fee.
Every cultivator entering Heavenly Pill Valley had to pay twenty yuan crystals.
In addition to the twenty-yuan-crystal entrance fee, anyone who paid another hundred yuan crystals could receive a Heavenly Pill Valley token.
Those possessing a token could not only receive discounts when buying spirit pills in Heavenly Pill Valley but could also purchase some of the rare spirit herbs stored by the valley.
After paying the entrance fees, Qin Hongdao specifically purchased two tokens. She kept one for herself and gave the other to Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao.
Wen Qiao examined it and thought that Heavenly Pill Valley truly knew how to conduct business.
After entering Heavenly Pill Valley, Qin Hongdao led them expertly to a place where cave residences could be rented and generously rented two high-grade cave residences.
The entire process cost a considerable number of yuan crystals, but Qin Hongdao was clearly wealthy. She did not even blink.
With the Five Cities Alchemy Convention about to begin, Heavenly Pill Valley was crowded with people. Every inn was fully occupied, including those hidden in remote alleys.
Anyone wishing to remain in Heavenly Pill Valley could only rent a cave residence.
Most cultivators attending the alchemy convention would not stay for very long. Since renting a cave residence was excessively expensive and not particularly worthwhile, few cultivators were willing to rent one, especially a high-grade cave residence.
Of course, this did not include high-ranking alchemists with no shortage of yuan crystals or disciples from famous sects.
After the four of them settled into Heavenly Pill Valley, Qin Hongdao took the list Ning Yuzhou had written for Sheng Yunshen’s third treatment and headed directly for Heavenly Pill Valley’s market.
Heavenly Pill Valley truly lived up to its reputation.
The variety of spirit herbs available there was extremely rich. In less than half a day, Qin Hongdao gathered all the nearly five hundred medicinal herbs required and returned to the high-grade cave residence.
Sheng Yunshen was once again placed inside a bathtub to begin another medicinal bath.
“This treatment will take longer. It would be best for him to soak for a full three days,” Ning Yuzhou said.
Qin Hongdao placed her long sabre beside her and sat down boldly next to the bathtub.
“I’ll remain here and watch him. This is your first visit to Heavenly Pill Valley, and there are many spirit herbs here. You should go out and have a look.”
Ning Yuzhou had been thinking the same thing.
After explaining several precautions, he left the high-grade cave residence with Wen Qiao.
Although Heavenly Pill Valley was called a valley, the terrain was extremely broad, making it resemble a medium-sized cultivation city.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the valley was denser than outside.
In addition to its lively markets and cave residences, many spiritual fields were distributed across the wide-open areas surrounding the valley.
These spiritual fields were managed by the Five Cities Alchemist Alliance.
The spirit medicines grown within them were not easily sold. Most were reserved for the alchemy convention or used as prizes during the event.
After leaving the area containing the high-grade cave residences, the couple arrived at a lively street.
Multi-storey restaurants with raised eaves lined both sides of the road, and the rich fragrance of wine drifted out from within them.
There were so many restaurants that newcomers could easily be overwhelmed by the choice.
“Ah Suo, which restaurant should we visit?” Ning Yuzhou asked, leaving the decision to his young wife.
Wen Qiao sniffed the fragrance of wine in the air and pointed towards the fifth restaurant after entering the street.
“Let’s go there.”
The fifth restaurant was called the **Nine-Spirit Fragrance Restaurant**.
When the two entered, the rich yet refreshing aroma of spirit wine in the air became even more pronounced. Even Wen Tutu could not resist twitching its nose and sniffing.
Although Wen Tutu was a vegetarian rabbit, it still enjoyed spirit pills and spirit wine. After all, both were produced from spirit medicines.
Many cultivators were drinking in the first-floor hall. As they sampled spirit wine, they discussed the upcoming Five Cities Alchemy Convention.
After finding a seat in the hall, an enthusiastic waiter came over to serve them.
“What signature spirit wines does your establishment offer?” Ning Yuzhou asked.
The waiter smiled.
“Naturally, our Nine-Spirit Fragrance. It is brewed using nine rare spirit medicines and several hundred spirit herbs. Many people who visit Heavenly Pill Valley come specifically for our Nine-Spirit Fragrance.”
“Then bring us a pot of Nine-Spirit Fragrance and a few side dishes.”
After looking through the menu, Ning Yuzhou ordered several additional dishes and a bucket of Purple Spirit Rice.
The waiter recorded their order and quickly left. Soon afterwards, he returned with several plates of cold side dishes and a pot of wine.
Wen Qiao took out three wine cups and poured the wine.
Pale bamboo-green wine flowed into white jade cups. The combination of white jade and light green was indescribably beautiful.
A crisp, refreshing fragrance rushed towards them. Before they had even tasted it, they already felt slightly intoxicated.
Wen Qiao took a sip of the Nine-Spirit Fragrance and narrowed her eyes slightly.
After finishing the entire cup, she could not help saying, “It’s really delicious.”
Not only did it taste excellent, but the wine also contained gentle spiritual energy capable of replenishing the spiritual energy within the body. Its effects were extremely obvious, so it was no wonder the price was so high.
This small pot of spirit wine alone cost one thousand yuan crystals.
Wen Tutu crouched there and swallowed the entire cup of wine in one gulp. Its mouth moved as it savoured the taste, while its fluffy ball-like tail trembled violently.
It was clear that the rabbit also liked the spirit wine.
Ning Yuzhou smiled. “Since you like it, drink some more.”
The rules of the Nine-Spirit Fragrance Restaurant were rather unusual.
Customers could only drink the wine inside the restaurant and were not allowed to take it away. Anyone who wished to drink it had to visit the restaurant personally.
Wen Qiao shook her head.
“No. It’s too expensive.”
Although they did not currently lack yuan crystals, Ning Yuzhou already worked extremely hard refining pills to support their household. Wen Qiao could not bear to make him work even harder.
Understanding what she meant, Ning Yuzhou’s brows and eyes softened with a tender smile. His gaze shimmered as he said warmly, “Since Ah Suo likes it, once we return, I’ll find several spirit-wine recipes and brew some myself. Then you’ll have more spirit wine than you could ever finish.”
Wen Qiao was delighted.
She never doubted Ning Yuzhou’s words. In her mind, whenever her husband said he could do something, there had never been anything he failed to accomplish.
She did not know when this belief had begun, but it had already become deeply rooted.
She happily turned to Wen Tutu.
“Wen Tutu, your brother is going to brew spirit wine for us. Are you happy?”
Wen Tutu was naturally delighted.
It immediately rolled onto its back, exposing its soft belly with an expression that said it could be stroked and kneaded however one pleased.
This was its way of thanking Brother Ning.
Ning Yuzhou did not even glance at the little rabbit.
Once the waiter brought over the food, he filled a large bowl with Purple Spirit Rice for Wen Qiao, and the two began eating.
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