Firefly Journey

As dawn broke, Lin Yuanran got up, tidied himself up quickly, and headed down the mountain path.

The path down from Zhulai Peak is not rugged; it is very flat. The steep sections are marked with stone steps, which must be the result of years of hard work by the fellow disciples on the mountain.

In some fertile sections, there are even spiritual plants on both sides, truly leaving no place untouched.

Spiritual plants are different from ordinary ornamental flowers and grasses. They naturally possess magical energy fluctuations. When they are laid on both sides of the road, a refreshing fragrance wafts over, making people feel relaxed and happy.

Lin Yuanran descended the steps, enjoying the fragrant aroma along the way, which put him in a great mood.

He thought he was already very diligent by setting off under the blazing sun, but when he arrived at the alchemy hall halfway up the mountain, he found many people already working in the large field of spiritual plants at the entrance.

However, he soon realized that since he lived on the mountaintop, he had to walk down the mountain to maintain his Qi Refining Realm persona, which would take a lot of time.

The other non-direct disciples usually live on the mountainside, and it's only a short walk to the Pill Hall. What are they supposed to compete with? They're at a natural disadvantage.

The buildings on the mountainside are also mainly made of bamboo, but they are much larger than those on the summit. The main hall where classes are held is even larger than the main hall where we chose our instructors yesterday.

That's true. After recruiting so many disciples over the years, how could the place be small?

Lin Yuanran walked straight into the main house and found it chaotic. Everyone was doing their own thing, some were holding ancient books and shaking their heads, others were looking at spiritual plants intently, but no one paid any attention to him.

Just when he thought the learning atmosphere here was the same as in Class 29, where everyone just went with the flow, someone spoke up.

The man's voice was full of vigor: "Disciples who just joined yesterday, gather outside!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuanran obediently went out.

Upon looking around, he saw three other disciples like himself, standing in a neat row, so he joined them.

The middle-aged man who called for the assembly was wearing a dark ink-colored robe. He looked the four people over, and when his gaze landed on Lin Yuanran, he couldn't help but linger for a few more seconds.

Lin Yuanran was already used to it. Coming to Great Xia to cultivate with a foreign face did attract some attention. However, he didn't regret it. Although it wouldn't be difficult to change his face to an Eastern one with that mask, this face was still his own, and he wouldn't want to become someone else unless absolutely necessary.

Moreover, he had only recently started dating Fengling, and this was the face he had when they first met, which made him even less willing to change it.

“My name is He Suoqiu. I am the first disciple that Master accepted. You can call me Senior Brother.”

"Hello, senior brother!"

The four of them said in unison, "Sure enough, when it comes to flattery, even if there was no prior understanding, people can still work together."

It was only then that Lin Yuanran realized that one of the three newly initiated disciples was an old acquaintance.

They couldn't really be called acquaintances; they had only met once.

Han Yi, the cultivator who attacked him at the Nanlou Hotel.

Clearly, the other party also noticed Lin Yuanran, their eyes darting away, seemingly unwilling to acknowledge him.

He Suoqiu said, "Four junior brothers, please show me your jade tokens. I need to verify your identities."

Yesterday, after accepting all his disciples, Qingfeng Daoist sent a message to his eldest disciple, instructing him to be in charge of guiding them the next day, and also telling him that one of them was a personal disciple.

Hearing this, He Suoqiu was furious. He had been a disciple of Zhulai Peak for at least sixty or seventy years. Although he was not very talented, he had worked hard even if he had not made any great contributions. He had not yet become a direct disciple, so how could he let a newcomer take the credit?

So he was very angry.

Of the four jade pendants, Lin Yuanran's was the most unique.

He knew what he was looking for; this was his personal disciple. He sneered inwardly, already planning how to make things difficult for him.

Lin Yuanran was completely unaware.

Of course, even if they find out, they won't take it seriously.

Most of the people in the Alchemy Hall came to study alchemy because their cultivation paths were blocked. Even though He Suoqiu was the chief disciple, his cultivation level was only at the Core Formation stage, which was no match for Lin Yuanran.

"Put it away, fellow disciples, come with me."

He Suoqiu led everyone to a side room.

Pushing open the door, you'll find a storeroom filled with all sorts of things: ancient books, alchemy furnaces, and dried herbs and plants, all arranged haphazardly.

He Suoqiu found several outfits and threw them to everyone, saying that these would be their uniforms.

Then, he pointed to the pill furnaces scattered on the ground and said, “Every disciple of my Pill Hall knows how to refine pills. As the saying goes, sharpening the axe doesn’t delay the work of chopping wood. A good cauldron can make pill refining twice as efficient. Each of you will have one of these basic pill furnaces. If you become more proficient in the future and want to use better ones, you can exchange them with others using spirit stones or other things, or find a weapon refiner to help you forge one.”

When distributing the alchemy furnaces, He Suoqiu played a trick, giving Han Yi and the other two ordinary furnaces, but only giving Lin Yuanran a pitifully small furnace that was even chipped.

Logically speaking, a disciple's alchemy furnace should not be so shabby; it should be better than an ordinary furnace. But He Suoqiu is too petty.

Although Lin Yuanran had not yet mastered the basics, he couldn't help but frown slightly when he looked at the alchemy furnace in his hand, which was clearly inferior to those three.

"Senior Brother, my alchemy furnace is so small, it feels like it will break as soon as it's heated. Is it a bit..." Lin Yuanran said.

He Suoqiu directly refuted: "Junior brother, you don't know this. Our lineage has the lowest status in the sect. We are given the least food, clothing and other necessities. The alchemy furnace is only replaced every few years. It just so happens that this is the only one left for you. Don't look down on it. As Master's personal disciple, you should consider the alchemy hall."

He Suoqiu emphasized the words "personal disciple" with particular emphasis, and Lin Yuanran, being so intelligent, immediately understood the crux of the matter.

Well, we've been targeted.

It seems this senior disciple felt he had surpassed him and taken his place as his personal disciple, so he came to trip him up.

Lin Yuanran didn't care. He wouldn't be staying long anyway, so he could do whatever he wanted. However, he wouldn't swallow his anger.

Lin Yuanran squinted and said, "Such a small alchemy furnace would probably explode if the firepower were even slightly too high. It would be a minor matter if it smashed the flowers and plants, but it would be terrible if it blew up people. That would be really dangerous."

"Well then, since there aren't any extra alchemy furnaces here, I'll go ask my master for one. I'm sure he'll give me one eventually."

Lin Yuanran's actions were no different from telling his teacher: "It doesn't matter if you don't give it to me, then I'll tell Qingfeng Daoist. Does he know that you're not giving me the furnace?"

He Suoqiu's face darkened slightly.

Although he is the senior disciple, he only has the authority to manage things on behalf of others. If he were to cause trouble for Qingfeng Daoist over such a trivial matter, he would be in the wrong and would not get any good results.

"Oh dear, junior brother, look at my memory! How could I forget that there's another one in the corner?"

As he spoke, He Suoqiu handed Lin Yuanran a normal furnace.

Lin Yuanran accepted it with a smile.

He Suqiu was so angry he wanted to grind his teeth. "White-haired devil, you just wait! We'll see!"