My best friend asked me if I was still doing system tasks.

Luo Hanying readily agreed, but she didn't expect that the two of them wouldn't be able to control the cauldron at the same time.

Ruan Chayan paid attention to the condition of the Chinese pepper grass, and used her divine sense to remove impurities from the cauldron, while Luo Hanying, who had a fire spirit root, used her dantian fire to heat the cauldron.

Whenever Ruan Chayan asked Luo Hanying to add or remove fire, Luo Hanying could never tell how much fire Ruan Chayan needed to add or remove.

Moreover, the oral recitation process had already missed the best opportunity for refinement, and it was only by sheer luck that the two of them didn't explode.

Ruan Chayan has a water-elemental root, making her inherently unsuitable to be an alchemist. Furthermore, she lacks the flame needed for alchemy, so she is now forcing herself into a difficult situation.

Luo Hanying took on the task of refining the pepper grass herself, flipping through her previous alchemy notes while heating the alchemy furnace.

Without the flames needed for alchemy, even the dantian fire of a Foundation Establishment cultivator wouldn't be enough to refine a single batch of pills. Therefore, Xiange didn't force her to practice, so she only had theoretical knowledge about alchemy.

However, refining the herbs shouldn't be a problem. Since Xiange said she was only half a step away from entering the Golden Core realm, Luo Hanying was willing to try to break through her limits.

"Is your stomach upset?" Ruan Chayan's divine sense swept over Luo Hanying, who was sitting to the side, and saw that she kept clutching her lower abdomen.

Luo Hanying casually replied, "It's probably because I ate too much spicy food at noon. My body can't handle spicy food as well as it used to. I feel uncomfortable after eating a little bit."

She felt a surge of energy in her lower abdomen, and it was also a little bloated.

Ruan Chayan said apologetically, "Then I'll put in less next time..."

Luo Hanying, who loves spicy food, couldn't stand such words: "Oh my god! That won't do!"

Thunder rumbled from afar, growing louder as it approached. Luo Hanying said to Ruan Chayan, "This place is really strange. It rains every few days. We finally had a week of sunshine, and now it's going to rain again."

"That's right, my seasonings are almost moldy." Ruan Chayan was also quite annoyed by the climate here.

It's not a long-term solution to rely on her to drain the water essence from the spiritual herbs, or on Luo Hanying to force the water essence out of the spiritual herbs.

Luo Hanying stood up to help Ruan Chayan tidy up the dried herbs and meat that were drying in the sun.

String Song sat in the tree watching the play, but something felt off about the two women's movements. It looked up and glanced up—

The humidity level in the air, the wind direction, and the cloud cover all indicate that there is no sign of rain.

Its divine sense extended outward to look at the thunderclouds, and it shouted: "Luo Hanying! Your Golden Core Realm's Second Nine Heavenly Tribulation has arrived! Quickly run far away and activate the defensive array plate!"

"Keep the spirit stones and pills in easily accessible places!"

Luo Hanying's mind went blank: "What the hell?"

She took off running out of the yard—

We finally managed to build this house, we can't let it get struck by lightning!

Luo Hanying tossed out several array plates and quickly sat down to meditate, examining her dantian. Looking at the nearly formed golden core, she muttered in frustration, "Is there really a golden core? No way, it's too ugly! Does it need further shaping?"

She took out the high-grade spirit stone and held it in her hand to absorb spiritual energy. She used her divine sense to knead the viscous spiritual energy onto the sphere to shape it, while the Dao intent brought by the heavenly thunder was also wrapped in the spiritual energy ball. Purple-gold characters flashed on the golden core.

Luo Hanying's Heavenly Tribulation of the Second Nine Heavens ended with the destruction of four defensive array plates and the force of five heavenly lightning strikes.

Despite the pain, Luo Hanying took out a pill from her storage ring and swallowed it. The spiritual energy flowed through her meridians, repairing the cracked and crackling wounds on her body.

After Luo Hanying had basically recovered, she used the Cleansing Spell twice to remove the broken hairpin from her hair. Looking at her tattered robes, she resigned herself to changing into a new set.

Ruan Chayan watched the terrifying heavenly tribulation and stayed by Luo Hanying's side to protect her. Only after Luo Hanying had tidied herself up did Ruan Chayan step forward with concern to ask about her condition.

Luo Hanying patted her biceps to show that she was perfectly healthy: "I'm fine. Although it really hurt when I was struck by lightning and I suffered some minor injuries, I feel full of energy now!"

Look, my cultivation level has stabilized at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm! A solid foundation is really useful!

Ruan Chayan was also happy for Luo Hanying: "That's wonderful!"

Xian Ge explained that heavenly lightning has the effect of tempering the body, but not everyone can withstand it.

The Heavenly Tribulation of the second nine stages upon entering the Golden Core Realm only involves eighteen heavenly lightning bolts; subsequent tribulations become increasingly difficult to overcome.

If Ruan Chayan wants to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, she needs to prepare early, as the items given in the newbie gift pack are completely insufficient.

As Ruan Chayan listened to Xiange's words, she couldn't help but ponder how she should prepare to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm.

"Now that I've reached the Golden Core stage, I should be able to fight those demonic beasts. Shall we leave here next month to search for treasure?"

Luo Hanying's words brought Ruan Chayan's attention back, and she nodded and said, "Okay, it's no fun staying here all the time."

Luo Hanying said with a smug look, "That's great, now I can successfully extract the Chinese pepper grass."

The two returned to the cabin in high spirits and continued with their work.

*

noon the next day.

Ruan Chayan went out and caught five one-legged demonic beasts that resembled pheasants but were twice the size of them. Her magic robes were scorched and torn by the demonic beasts' flames, but she didn't seem to be injured.

Upon seeing Ruan Chayan's appearance, Luo Hanying quickly dropped the wild rice she was processing and stepped forward to take the beast, asking with concern, "What happened to you? Did you encounter a high-level spirit beast? Are you injured?"

Ruan Chayan sighed lazily, "Don't even mention it. We were surrounded by pheasants. I wouldn't say I was injured, but they were throwing fireballs at me one after another, which really singed my hair."

Luo Hanying went around to Ruan Chayan's back and saw that her hair was shorter. She heard Ruan Chayan say, "I cut it because it was uneven."

Ruan Chayan added in her mind: "Please ask Xiange to cut it for me."

The two of them heard a "humph" in their minds, a rather arrogant sound.

Luo Hanying smiled and said with relief, "It's good that you're alright."

Don't go to their lair next time; if you do, call me.

Ruan Chayan said that she didn't really intend to catch the monster. She just happened to come across a lame "pheasant" on her hunting trip. She thought she might as well catch it, so she followed it.

Who would have thought that this was a trap set by the demonic beasts? Three mid-stage Golden Core cultivators, one early-stage Golden Core cultivator, and one Great Perfection Foundation Establishment cultivator—five demonic beasts—besieged and attacked.

Ruan Chayan said with a wry smile, "Let's catch some ordinary, real pheasants to eat for now. These monsters might have gotten angry from eating us."

Luo Hanying was still shaken: "Are there any ordinary wild game in this secret realm?"

Xian Ge confirmed Luo Han Ying's guess: "That's really not the case."

Ruan Chayan covered her face: [“That’s a good option.”]

String Song: ["Go ahead and look for it if you don't believe me. If you manage to find it, I'll eat shit on live stream."]

Ruan Chayan & Luo Hanying: Uh... you really can afford to play this big game.