The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 475 - 276: Clash

Even the origin of Mr. Xu Moyou’s mentorship, which he was particularly curious about, was glossed over lightly with the phrase "my master dislikes publicity".

"My master" just stayed in the God Demon Prison, and now whenever she meets people, she speaks tactfully, and her lips couldn’t help but curve up slightly.

All the people present have high cultivation levels, but neither he nor Ning Xiaoxian were ever concerned about safety. The ceremonial observance is imminent, and Guangcheng Palace would never allow its disciples to cause trouble at this time. Moreover, Duobao Pavilion, after all, is an organization primarily engaged in goods trading, not a law enforcement institution like Arbitration Hall. How could they easily resort to hurting people?

As expected, after a short while, a figure descended from the sky.

Li Jianming had arrived.

He didn’t even use the main entrance but directly controlled his sword to jump down from the sky. Such an act was somewhat impolite, but who had the mind to challenge him at this moment?

As soon as he landed, he saw Ning Xiaoxian sitting at the guest of honor seat in the study, second only to Mr. Xu Moyou, smiling at him. Even though he had cultivated his temperament for two hundred years, he couldn’t help but feel agitated. He stepped forward and said urgently, "You are here!"

If Ning Xiaoxian had arrived earlier as per their arrangement, he might not have been so excited. But he had just been falsely accused and squeezed out by Pei Yuyuan, losing the title of Deputy Chief, and had to ask for punishment himself. His heart was incredibly stifled and resentful, and he was confused while controlling his sword. Ning Xiaoxian’s appearance at this time truly seemed like a lifesaver, brightening up his foggy mind.

The first thing the person sent by Miao Tianxue to chase him said was something he couldn’t believe: "The young lady who brought you the medicine has arrived, the Chief orders me to bring you back."

He was even grateful to her, thankful that she arrived when he was most downcast.

Human psychology is truly marvelous.

She indeed was Li Jianming’s Pill Master. Everyone’s guess was confirmed, and they all breathed a sigh of relief, except Pei Yuyuan’s expression flickered.

Ning Xiaoxian stood up from her seat, bowed to him, and said earnestly, "I’m late for the alchemy, missing the appointed time, please forgive me, Deputy Director Li!" Indeed, it was a big blunder. She was injured by Bai Qing yesterday, and then caught Old K Face and others. She was busy all night and exhausted, and this morning she overslept. Changtian called her several times, but she just wouldn’t get up.

She slept in the God Demon Prison while Tu Jin was out. Miao Tianxue sent someone to her residence to find her, but to no avail.

Fortunately, Miss Ning still had a bit of conscience, and finally remembered her unfulfilled appointment with Li Jianming in her dazed state. She then hurriedly got out of bed, freshened up, and rushed over, just in time before the people from Duobao Pavilion were about to leave for the ceremony. Otherwise, she would have missed the opportunity and might have even been accused of stealing the Immortal Herbs of Guangcheng Palace.

Li Jianming was the one she saved from the Reincarnation Dilemma, and he had helped her out once after that, unequivocally handing over the valuable snake tongue grass for her to keep. Now that she almost caused him to lose his official position, she felt guilty, knowing that Li Jianming was dragged down by this incident. She had made up her mind to help him escape this predicament.

Li Jianming waved his hands repeatedly, "It’s not your fault, not your fault!" He then turned to Miao Tianxue and said solemnly, "The Pill Master I entrusted is Miss Ning Xiaoxian. Now that she has arrived, please Chief, take notice!"

Miao Tianxue gave him a deep look, then said to Ning Xiaoxian, "Miss Ning, you said earlier you would only allow us to verify the pills if Li Jianming is present. Now that he is here, please keep your promise."

Ning Xiaoxian took out a jade box from her bosom and opened it, revealing a white flower snake tongue grass. Upon careful inspection, the grass was missing three leaves, leaving only six left. Pei Yuyuan, who was keen-eyed, frowned and asked, "What happened to the buds of the snake tongue grass?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Ning Xiaoxian could sense his ill intentions toward her. Seeing that he had been silent like a wooden post for so long only to speak now, she thought the contention had finally started. This question was naturally answered by Li Jianming: "I used the buds as payment, asking Miss Ning to help Duobao Pavilion refine two God Transformation Pills."

No sooner had his words fallen than Ning Xiaoxian transmitted to him, "Who was giving you trouble just now? Was it this gloomy man in black clothes?"

Li Jianming felt warmth in his heart and replied, "Exactly. He is Pei Yuyuan, another Deputy Director of Duobao Pavilion. Just now, he used the snake tongue grass issue to squeeze me out of my position and go receive punishment." He reminded Ning Xiaoxian, "This Immortal Herb was decided three months ago by Vice Sect Leader Qiu Chu to be handed over to Senior Xu Moyou for refining a God Transformation Pill, I was just unaware of this."

She suddenly understood and discussed briefly with Changtian, quickly coming up with a plan.

A few words’ time flew by. To outsiders, after Li Jianming finished speaking, Ning Xiaoxian fell silent. Miao Tianxue called her several times before she "awoke" with a start, looking blankly at everyone around.

Could it be that this lady encountered some difficulties during the alchemy process? Indeed, everyone then saw her showing an embarrassed expression, as she said to Li Jianming, "Deputy Director Li, I return the snake tongue grass to you with both hands, but... the medicine I refined, its effectiveness is quite different from the expected."

Li Jianming was startled, "Did you encounter any problems?" This was also what everyone wanted to ask. But just as he finished speaking, he received a transmission from Ning Xiaoxian: "The elixir has been refined, watch as I avenge you. Just follow along with the act."

"The God Transformation Pill is indeed not something ordinary people can refine. My Innate True Fire is not sufficient enough. Yesterday, I first tried one leaf and ended up ruining an elixir. Later, when I attempted to refine the other two, some accidents occurred..." She sighed softly, speaking to everyone.

Li Jianming dejectedly said, "Ruined as well? Ah, refining the God Transformation Pill is indeed not that easy; I was too hasty." Remorse was evident in his words. Qi Zai, who was perched on Ning Xiaoxian’s shoulder, secretly transmitted a laugh to her, "This guy’s expression is so convincingly real, he seems to be a good actor."

Ning Xiaoxian had no time to pay attention to it, only making a fist and palm salute to Miao Tianxue, whispering, "Just now, this junior did not dare to present the elixir without seeing Vice Director Li, truly feeling incredibly embarrassed. How could I speak of such a face-losing matter to everyone? I have failed Vice Director Li’s trust, please forgive me."

Upon her words, everyone felt like looking into a clear mirror: this young girl overestimated her abilities trying to refine the God Transformation Pill, only to fail. They didn’t feel disappointed; instead, they thought that for such a young girl to actually refine such a Spirit Pill would truly be monstrous and defy all reason. Such failure is rather normal instead.

Miao Tianxue inwardly sighed, feeling this was the best outcome she could accept. Thus, she handed over the jade box containing the snake tongue grass to Xu Moyou, indifferently saying, "Indeed, it’s not easy to refine the God Transformation Pill. Not to mention Miss Ning, even the Pill Masters in my Duobao Pavilion, if even one in ten succeeds, that’s not bad."

Li Jianming also apologized to Miao Tianxue, "It was my dereliction of duty."

Wow, the success rate for the God Transformation Pill is so low? Then, her success yesterday was truly extraordinary. Yet, Changtian still looked as if it were only to be expected, he really tricked her again! She cursed him several times in her heart, causing Changtian in the God Demon Prison to feel an itchy nose as if wanting to sneeze, then apologetically said: "Chief Miao is truly generous and magnanimous. The ceremonial rites are about to start; this junior will take her leave first!"

Miao Tianxue’s lips moved slightly, wanting to say something, but in the end, she remained silent, only nodding her head. Ning Xiaoxian hesitated no longer and turned to leave.

Hey brother, I’m about to leave now; could you quickly fall into character? In her mind, she counted down: three, two, one...

"Wait!" Sure enough, a voice rang out from behind.

Yes, this idiot took the bait.

The one who shouted, of course, was Pei Yuyuan. He stood up and coldly said, "Young girl, after taking the snake tongue herb from Duobao Pavilion, you just think of leaving?"

Ning Xiaoxian paused, turned around, and explained earnestly, "Those three leaves were not taken by me, but were consumed in the alchemy process!" She turned her head to Miao Tianxue and inquired, "Chief Miao, just now you also said that out of ten attempts by the Pill Masters in Duobao Pavilion to refine the God Transformation Pill, one succeeds. For those nine failures, are the Pill Masters responsible for compensating for the loss of the materials?"

Miao Tianxue was momentarily stunned and answered, "Of course not."

This was the very reason no one had stopped Ning Xiaoxian earlier. The Golden Core Pill and Nascent Soul Pill she refined indeed had astonishing effects, so everyone recognized her status as a Pill Master. Changtian initially told her the cost contained significant profit margins, but in fact, the cost for each God Transformation Pill is about eighty thousand Spirit Stones. With one successful refinement out of ten in Duobao Pavilion, the cost consumed is eight hundred thousand Spirit Stones! Although this number sounds large, it’s something Duobao Pavilion can afford. If every failure required personal compensation from Pill Masters, who would dare refine pills for Duobao Pavilion?

It’s like how most large modern laboratories enjoy government funding; they may research for ten years without any product. The risks and costs involved are paid for by the government.

Of course, there was another crucial reason, as Li Jianming originally managed the elixir sector at Duobao Pavilion. He had the authority to designate which elixirs the Alchemists should produce, and the risk of failure was also borne by Duobao Pavilion.

Pei Yuyuan’s mind was fairly clear, quickly seizing her slip of the tongue, "But you are not a Pill Master of our Duobao Pavilion, how can you freely use our materials to experiment with?"

Ning Xiaoxian raised her thumb, praised him, "Well said. Deputy Director Pei is indeed devoted to the public good!" She gestured towards Xu Moyou, "Then may I ask, is Senior Xu a Pill Master of Duobao Pavilion?"

A Pavilion Elder spoke up, "Our Duobao Pavilion does not have such fortune."

"Then why can he use the snake tongue grass from Duobao Pavilion to refine pills?"

"This..." Of course, because Xu Moyou is renowned and prestigious, most importantly, Vice Sect Leader Qiu Chuyuan personally promised the snake tongue grass to Mr. Mo You!

She wondered, "If I recall correctly, Duobao Pavilion is supposed to be managed by Vice Sect Leader Feng Wenbo?" Implying, why then it would be up to Vice Sect Leader Qiu to freely distribute snake tongue grass? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to QiDian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)