Hearing Gu Zuo ask this, Gongyi Tianheng smiled: “Outer Sect disciples make contributions to the Sect through farming. This is normally considered sufficient. However, since Inner Sect disciples enjoy numerous and generous treatments, they need to do a mission within a year as proof of their own strength. I’ve also entered the Inner Sect for a period of time, and there’s a couple of months before the year is up. I don’t know how long the mission will take. Naturally, it’s better that I remain behind, as completing the mission first is even more critical. You’ll be gone for two to three months, and I can’t go with you.”
Gu Zuo understood.
To put it bluntly, it was considered a test. There was also a worry that Inner Sect disciples would live easily and comfortably for a long time in the Sect and wouldn’t be willing to go out to bear hardships. This would result in the futile wastage of the Sect’s resources. Perhaps it would raise some rice weevils. And it was naturally impossible for a rice weevil to be powerful or add to the glory of the Sect — The Sect wasn’t a professional charity. It raised disciples to train powerhouses who would protect the Sect, not to let people eat and live there for free.
However, the words were spoken in such a way that when Gu Zuo heard that Tianheng needed to do a mission, he felt that something was up: “Big brother, will Lu Jiusi find you to make trouble?”
Tianheng smiled and said: “If he didn’t act on this big opportunity, I’m afraid it’ll be difficult to find another chance again in the short-term.”
Gu Zuo heard this and knew that his dear big brother had long made preparations. He couldn’t help asking: “Then, big brother’s prepared?”
Tianheng smiled again: “For this time’s mission, I’ll be taking along Tianyang, Tianyin, and Tianhe with me. As for Mingxia, her strength still has many deficiencies, so she’ll remain in the valley. With the protection of the Tianlong Guards and the tending of Xi Yangyun, Zhao Yuheng, and the others, it should be safe and secure.”
Gu Zuo understood clearly: “Big brother is preparing to draw out Lu Jiusi?”
Tianheng faintly nodded: “But if the mission is excessively challenging, Tianyang and the others will also stay behind. Otherwise, I won’t be able to take action.”
Gu Zuo said: “That makes sense.”
The matter was settled. Next was to mention the matter of heading to the Pill Battling Assembly.
Gu Zuo said: “I also don’t know when that Pill Battling Assembly will be...”
Tianheng responded: “Just give Xu Lingxiu a message. Inform him that you’ve already agreed. At that time, I’ll have Dragon One stay by your side. He knows almost all of the skills of the Tianlong Guards. Although he’s sometimes not as flexible as Dragon Two, he’s better at being calm. He’s also the most satisfactory when handling matters.”
Gu Zuo knew that Dragon One and Dragon Two were his dear big brother’s left and right hands; especially Dragon One, who was slightly superior to Dragon Two. His heart warmed: “Many thanks, big brother!”
Tianheng smiled: “I’ll naturally protect you.”
Gongyi Tianheng showed his care for Gu Zuo, so it was only natural for Gu Zuo to show his care for Gongyi Tianheng. After delivering his message to Xu Lingxiu, he found out that there was less than a month before the time of departure. He seized the moment to refine huge quantities of medicinal pills, enough to last the following few months. Fortunately, he was a skillful worker, and utilized several pill cauldrons together. Under an unending stream of medicinal herbs, he managed all this without a hitch. A troubling point was supplying top grade pills for the person close to him. In particular, Tianheng was going to do a mission and it wasn’t known how dangerous it was going to be. How couldn’t Gu Zuo be worried?
He scoured through the pill prescriptions stored in his mind for some life-saving medicinal pills — Most of all was the Jinyuan Pill, which could upgrade one’s realm for a short time. That one was fully stocked!
He didn’t believe it anymore. His big brother’s current fighting power was close to Xiantian stage eight. Once he used a top grade Jinyuan Pill to upgrade three realms, could he be killed so easily? At the very least, low Immortal Realms wouldn’t be able to do anything to his big brother! How many could Lu Jiusi mobilize when he reached the mid Immoral Realm? Even if Lu Jiusi ordered someone to act, couldn’t his big brother simply slip away?!
After arming Tianheng to the teeth with medicinal pills, the remaining bits of time were used to toil away for the other people. At long last, Gu Zuo felt a bit of reassurance.
Although this time’s separation was a bit unexpected, he hoped that everything would run smoothly.
With so many preparations being done, time hurriedly passed.
In the blink of an eye, it was Gu Zuo’s turn to leave.
Xu Lingxiu, who rarely deigned to lower himself, was actually waiting outside the valley. That kind of proud attitude caused some nearby Inner Sect disciples to double-take. Most of all were those people who recognized Xu Lingxiu, and their frames of mind were completely astonished. They all knew of Xu Lingxiu’s identity and temperament, and couldn’t help their curiosity towards the person he was waiting for.
It was always rare for people to enter that valley. It went without saying that the place was also remote, so fewer people had dealings with it. If it wasn’t for Xu Lingxiu coming today, perhaps there wouldn’t have been several people stopping by to linger — Who was the person living here?
Not long after, someone scampered out. Looking at his appearance, it was a teenager who was a bit younger than Xu Lingxiu? There was a bit of a blush on his face. After emerging, he walked towards Xu Lingxiu.
Gu Zuo said: “Senior Sect Brother Xu, I’ve troubled you to wait a long time!”
Xu Lingxiu pulled a long face: “Let’s go.”
Gu Zuo promptly nodded.
Just as the two were about to leave, another person came out of that valley. This person’s stature was very tall, and his appearance and bearing were both extremely impressive. He called out to the two: “Pharmacist Xu, please wait a moment.”
Although Xu Lingxiu’s feelings towards Gu Zuo were normally like hating iron for not becoming steel and he also felt that Gu Zuo really followed Tianheng too closely, he greatly admired Tianheng for all kinds of previous matters: “Gongyi, for what matter have you called upon me?”
Tianheng smiled and said: “Ah Zuo has never been on his own before. Although this is a matter of necessity, I’m still rather worried in my heart. For this journey, I’ll have to trouble Pharmacist Xu to look after Ah Zuo.”
Xu Lingxiu’s facial expression loosened somewhat: “You can rest easy. It’s rare to meet a guy with some smarts along the path of medicine refinement. I naturally won’t let him have an accident. I’ll bring him back in one piece.”
Tianheng cupped his hands: “This one believes in Pharmacist Xu. Take care.”
Once all those spectating martial artists exchanged glances, they all made some plans. Amid their realizations, they also wanted to make discreet inquiries as fast as possible for some information and to clarify some things.
A gigantic flying wild beast had long been prepared outside the Sect.
Although this occasion was for going to participate in the Pill Battling Assembly, the distance between Danyun City and here would take no less than ten days to travel had they rode a flying ship — With Xu Lingxiu’s identity, it wasn’t impossible to get a flying ship. However, going to the Pill Battling Assembly wasn’t the sole purpose of the party. Compared to martial artists, pharmacists had fewer opportunities to travel all over the place during their initial stages. Now was a chance that was hard to come by. It was preferable to set off a bit earlier to gain knowledge and experience along the way. They didn’t want to rush to the assembly while traveling day and night, focused only on hastening the trip.
Gu Zuo’s seat was at Xu Lingxiu’s side, which attracted the envious looks of many people. Although he didn’t arbitrarily look around, after he silently discharged his psychic power, the facial expressions of the other people, even the subtle ones, were all taken into his eyes.
There were also three other pharmacists going this time aside from Gu Zuo and Xu Lingxiu.
Besides a middle-aged pharmacist, the other two, a man and a woman, were twenty-something year olds. Their aptitudes might’ve been lower than Xu Lingxiu’s, but they were also first class among the pharmacists of the entire Qingyun Sect.
The young, male pharmacist was called Qiu Qian, the female pharmacist was called Zhu Hong, and the middle-aged pharmacist was called Li Yunquan. Apart from Li Yunquan, the other two hadn’t participated in the Pill Battling Assembly before. This was their first time.
The leader of this group was Xu Lingxiu, whose level was the highest among them — He’d already gone there once. Last time, Li Yunquan provided aid as his assistant. This time, Li Yunquan would still be his assistant.
Other than the pharmacists, there were many guards even further away on the wild beast’s back. The ramrod-straight Dragon One was also a member among them. It was just that Dragon One’s realm was comparatively low at Xiantian stage two. The other guards were at least Xiantian stage six. There was even an individual whose qi energy was hard to fathom. He had probably reached the Immortal Realm or above.
These guards were the people who were going to accompany and guarantee the safety of these elite and precious pharmacists. Although Dragon One’s realm was very low, no one said anything about it. It was just that in their eyes, Gu Zuo’s foundation was shallow, so this realm of Dragon One’s wasn’t the least bit odd. And Dragon One himself was naturally only regarded as an attending martial artist who’d pour tea for Gu Zuo. In any case, the other ones with higher realms were already enough to protect these pharmacists.
Gu Zuo also discovered that those couple of people probably didn’t know about the matter of him following Xu Lingxiu. Because, after he sat down, Qiu Qian and Zhu Hong secretly sized him up without any preamble. On the contrary, Li Yunquan was a bit better, and the peripheral vision from the corner of his eye was also very obscure. The micro-expressions of the three basically expressed this meaning — This newcomer, who’d somehow gained Xu Lingxiu’s favor by entering through a backdoor, had come over to gain knowledge and experience. Not a single person had confidence in Gu Zuo’s medicine refining capabilities. No one felt he truly had any skill, too.
However, despite these people’s lack of faith, they all seemed relatively mature. None of them came over to cause any provocations, and nothing was shown on their faces. If it wasn’t for Gu Zuo’s psychic power, with its three hundred sixty degree vision without any blindspots, he basically wouldn’t have been able to find that tiny bit.
Gu Zuo was looked down upon by others, and his heart was a little choked up.
To be honest, there were so many people here; even if it was Xu Lingxiu, it was impossible to be better than him on the path of medicine refinement. If, if it wasn’t for the importance he placed on his small life, he wouldn’t... Thinking up to here, he gave a slightly dejected sigh. Ah, right. His small life was very important.
The system was a powerful golden finger, but the system was also something that could bring a person countless troubles.
Gu Zuo shook his head quickly and peered down below, shifting his attention to the beautiful scenery of the mountains, rivers, and forests. He was wondering in his heart. Once he reached the Pill Battling Assembly and competed with the others, what would he show off and how much should he show off... En, the pill refining hand seals he’d use would be the type that he carried out with Xu Lingxiu. As for the medicinal pills he’d refine and so on, he could also give a strong performance...
At this time, Gu Zuo recalled the scene of the discussion with his dear big brother before leaving.
“Ah Zuo, since <<Minor Seal: Silken Sky Medicine Refinement>> has already cleared the path, your medicine refining ability can also be raised.”
“Then, then how much would be suitable to show?”
“There wouldn’t be any harm even if it was stronger than Xu Lingxiu’s skills.”
“...”
“Ah Zuo’s innate talents are extraordinary. Previously, there were no other options but to conceal it. Xu Lingxiu definitely isn’t the sort to be jealous and superficial — You’ve made friends with him. So, it’s only right that you show off properly.”
As a result, Gu Zuo decided to let loose... That’s not right. He would let loose to a certain extent.
Just as his big brother said, Xu Lingxiu’s character was a bit domineering, but Xu Lingxiu didn’t have those murky thoughts. Continuously lagging behind Xu Lingxiu would only make him slightly acknowledge Gu Zuo as a little brother or something. If he surpassed Xu Lingxiu, then it might be possible to become true friends.
In addition, he actually wanted to be in the limelight for once.
Ah, always holding back. His heart was already old and weary...
On the journey, no one talked with Gu Zuo. Gu Zuo also wasn’t interested in starting a conversation with the others.
When Xu Lingxiu closed his eyes to meditate, Gu Zuo did the same and operated his cultivation method in passing. And when Xu Lingxiu opened his eyes to look at Gu Zuo, Gu Zuo also looked over and listened to Xu Lingxiu’s harrumphs.
But it was also because Xu Lingxiu mainly harrumphed to Gu Zuo the entire journey that the others could see that Xu Lingxiu treated Gu Zuo really well. The relationship between the two was much closer than their relationships with Xu Lingxiu.
Li Yunquan’s age was somewhat high, and the things he’d experienced were also many. He didn’t have any messy thoughts like the other man and woman. He only remembered that Xu Lingxiu was just twelve or thirteen during the Pill Battling Assembly five years ago. At that time, he was already haughty and untouchable. He looked down upon all the pharmacists who were older than him. Even for the many people in the Pill Battling Assembly, he totally looked down upon the pharmacists who were below Golden-Level. These past few years, Li Yunquan had also been a member of the Pharmacist Hall and would frequently catch sight of Xu Lingxiu. He’d never seen Xu Lingxiu change his temper.
Strange. Truly strange.
Li Yunquan couldn’t help guessing about where Gu Zuo could’ve come from to make Xu Lingxiu look upon him so highly.
Could it be that...it was because of medicine refinement?
Right away, he felt that this was wrong.
A young and highly skilled pharmacist such as Xu Lingxiu was only seen once every thousand years. How could it have been possible for one to appear who was even younger than him?!
But if it wasn’t because of medicine refinement... He couldn’t fathom it at all.
The flying wild beast could endure for a long time. After taking a break between some herb-rich mountain ranges, the few pharmacists all occupied their own territories to store up a good deal of medicinal herbs.
Gu Zuo would occasionally send his consciousness into the storage space to have a look. Within a region, he’d see countless, floating herbs that extended straight towards the interior, and his face would break out in a smiling expression.
After quite a few such harvests of medicinal herbs, they gradually neared Danyun City.
The flying wild beast was somewhat tired. It was about time to stop and give it some prepared food and water to let it rest up. Thus, they decided to stop for a day to freshen up at a place called Yiyun Town, which was just before Danyun City. In any case, there was only about four hours left in the journey. Once each person’s mind and body was recovered, everyone would head towards Danyun City to clearly exhibit the demeanor of the magnificent and grand Qingyun Sect.
There were many people in the town.
Perhaps it was because the Pill Battling Assembly was about to start. Although there were at least a dozen towns of similar size around Danyun City, the interior of each one was filled with people. It was extremely lively.
Li Yunquan’s hand grasped a token and directly tapped it against the large doors of Yiyun Town’s biggest tavern. After flashing this token, where could one still hear any words of refusal? That tavern’s main entrance opened wide, which was to deferentially welcome them inside. The best courtyard was also opened up for them to check in!
Gu Zuo was inwardly speechless.
He was considered to have seen the privileged class before... He previously followed Gongyi Tianheng to visit many places, and had a very good reception at most of them. But it was still inferior compared to the Qingyun Sect.
The power and influence of the Qingyun Sect was truly extraordinary.
Keeping silent as he followed in, and keeping silent as he waited for Xu Lingxiu to allocate a room to him — As Gu Zuo squeezed into the room, Dragon One leaped up and immediately hid on the room’s roof beam.
Quite a few days had passed since Gu Zuo got to lie on a bed. No matter how smoothly the flying beast flew, he couldn’t get a good rest! Dragon One was trustworthy and the guards Xu Lingxiu brought were also very capable, but he still felt a bit apprehensive for some reason... There wasn’t any sense of security.
This time, they’d finally reached a tavern, and Gu Zuo was able to sleep on a bed.
After thinking it over, he divided a portion of his psychic power to drape a “film” on Dragon One to isolate his qi energy. He himself fumbled around for a bit, and arranged a protective layer along the sides of his bed.
Ever since his psychic power had made another breakthrough, its usefulness had increased again and again. So long as it didn’t separate more than ten meters away from him, the discharged psychic power could be maintained for as long as ten hours!
Going to sleep and what not... It was enough.
Although, it stood to reason that this tavern was a safe one.
— Ah, right. It stood to reason.
It was a pity that Gu Zuo’s luck wasn’t too good. What was originally reasonable became unreasonable.
Not long after Gu Zuo fell asleep, the sound of robe sleeves rustling in the darkness echoed out. From the start, he hadn’t completely fallen into a deep sleep. Consequently, he woke up with a prompt quiver!
After Gu Zuo opened his eyes, what he saw was Dragon One in the middle of fighting with another black-clothed person!
An, an assassin?
Gu Zuo’s eyes widened.
How could there be an assassin?! Wasn’t this place supposed to be safe? It was one of the best single-occupant courtyards!
It was unbelievable.
Gu Zuo then saw that the strength of the assassin who’d come to attack him was around Xiantian stage five. Dragon One was no more than Xiantian stage two. Although he was already classified as someone who broke through quickly, his strength surpassed ordinary martial artists with equivalent realms, and he was able to fight surmounting battles, Dragon One wasn’t Gongyi Tianheng in the end. The discrepancy in ranks between the two was a bit too large.
Dragon One soon fell to a disadvantageous position.
That assassin’s moves were very strange, and was apt to hiding in the darkness. If it wasn’t for the Tianlong Guard’s special training, and that Dragon One was regarded as a personal guard and dark guard, he would’ve been defeated even faster!
Dragon One’s palm shined and produced a fiery-red energy. It was the power generated in his second set of bone pearls. What’s more, he’d linger near the medicine refining cave when he had free time and this power would absorb the fire qi inside. With the increased support of a special power, he lasted even longer in his entanglement with the assassin.
After Gu Zuo hurriedly glanced to see all this and saw that Dragon One was already unable to hold out for much longer, he immediately furrowed his brows. If Dragon One suffered injuries in order to protect him, he wouldn’t be happy at all.
Merely, his psychic power still couldn’t be exposed so rashly — As such, he wouldn’t use the Spirit Piercing Awl. Using a Trick Pill would be the most effective response.
Therefore, Gu Zuo raised a hand and ten or so Trick Pills were suddenly thrown out with a clatter. They fell haphazardly around Dragon One and that assassin.
Dragon One reacted almost immediately. After pulling a feint to lure that assassin, he swiftly jumped out and escaped at flying speeds.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Yellow smoke instantly engulfed that assassin. The assassin’s face, which was covered with a shroud, stiffened. In a split second, the assassin tilted backwards and fell to the ground.
Dragon One’s body was also swaying.
Gu Zuo hastily slipped him a medicinal pill. Dragon One didn’t dare to act negligently, and swallowed it without delay. This got rid of the threat posed by that yellow smoke.
Immediately following that, Gu Zuo snapped his fingers and some transparent droplets were sprinkled out. The smoke was dispersed, and the black-clothed assassin who’d fallen to the ground was still lying on the ground.
Dragon One walked over and extended a hand to pull off the assassin’s face shroud.
This face was very ordinary, and it didn’t have a single special thing about it. Moreover, it was unfamiliar. They’d never seen such a person before.
On the contrary, Gu Zuo thought it through. For a profession like an assassin, one would want this kind of personage who’d be lost in a crowd and couldn’t be found. Only, where did the assassin come from and why did he want to assassin him? Could it have been Lu Jiusi? Ah, wrong. Hadn’t Lu Jiusi been trying to rope him in the whole time? Ordering an assassin over was truly too simple and crude. It basically wasn’t his style. In that case, who was it?
He couldn’t get a clear understanding for some time. Gu Zuo then decided to find Xu Lingxiu to talk about it.
Maybe this guy didn’t come for Gu Zuo at all, and he just happened to be unlucky?
In short, he wasn’t able to fall asleep.
The facts proved that Gu Zuo’s thinking had really been correct. Because, once he left his room, he could hear the distant and fragmented sounds of fighting without even mobilizing his psychic power to investigate.
His mind thought: Wasn’t this supposed to be one of the best single-occupant courtyards...
There was no other way. He needed to check things out after encountering this. Gu Zuo still felt that he had some ability to defend himself, and had Dragon One carry the assassin. The two went to Xu Lingxiu’s room together.
Before they could go in, that door was slammed open and a black-clothed figure was thrown out from within. The figure smashed into the ground and let out a muffled groan.
Gu Zuo saw that the guy wanted to struggle and threw out a Trick Pill out of a conditioned reflex.
A whiff of odor burst out, and that struggling black-clothed figure lost consciousness...
The doors of all the rooms opened.
The people inside came out one after another. Without exception, they had all either captured or killed several black-clothed intruders.
Xu Lingxiu first glanced at Gu Zuo and saw that there was nothing wrong with him. Dragon One had also caught an assassin. He didn’t turn his face away, but the expression on his face was also a bit unsightly: “What’s going on with this tavern? Assassins have even broken in, and there hasn’t been any response at all!”
At this time, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard from outside the courtyard.
T/N: Thanks for the corrections, Charysa.
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