Don't pretend, everyone knows you're the villain!

When Xi Mingzhu opened his eyes, he saw his eldest disciple looking at him with concern. "Master, were you too tired from refining pills last night? You haven't gotten up until almost noon today, and I'm really worried about you."

"Alchemy? Noon..." Xi Mingzhu vaguely felt as if he had forgotten something.

Was he refining elixirs last night? I have a strange feeling of unease.

Before Xi Mingzhu could figure it out, he heard his eldest disciple continue, "Master, the young lady came early this morning and cooked porridge for you. I put it in the kitchen before you got up."

Miss Lin? He's made himself perfectly clear, so why is she still so stubborn?

Xi Mingzhu said coldly, "Don't accept them again."

The eldest disciple sighed inwardly and scratched the back of his head.

“Master, you should also experience the pleasures of the world. I will soon be going to Qingquan Town to deliver elixirs to Immortal Master Zhang. Why don’t you come with me? Perhaps we can experience the joys of life beyond elixirs.”

Xi Mingzhu lifted his eyelids, inwardly disdainful of these matters. Human relationships, once deeply entangled, naturally become worldly.

Meaningless desires and greed will only lead spiritual practice to a dead end. Countless alchemists have been oppressed by others because they lost their true selves, indulging in power, wealth, love, and lust, ultimately ruining their future.

The eldest disciple, feeling guilty for speaking out of turn, trembled as he was stared at by Xi Mingzhu's cold gaze.

Xi Mingzhu spoke coldly, not to pursue the matter of him disciplining his master.

"Have you thoroughly mastered the elixir formula I taught you?"

The eldest disciple looked ashamed and distressed.

"Reporting to Master, I have not yet fully comprehended it."

Xi Mingzhu nodded. He didn't choose this person as his first disciple because of his talent.

What impressed me most about him back then was his character.

They are kind-hearted yet insightful, but when they try to do good deeds with their own ulterior motives, they often impose them on others without considering whether the other party needs their kindness.

Xi Mingzhu sighed softly, "Put more effort into it. I never held anything back when I taught you. Yet, over the years, you haven't learned even two or three tenths of it."

The eldest disciple lowered his head so much he couldn't lift it. He knew all too well how well his master treated him, but alchemy was something that couldn't be accomplished simply by being diligent.

Every time the furnace exploded, he had to spend a lot of time cleaning up the mess. He repeatedly tried to refine pills, only to have the furnace explode again.

When others saw him, they all advised him to try other paths to see if they could succeed. Even his junior brothers and sisters couldn't bear to look at him, covered in soot and dirt.

As one of the top three sects in the Lin family, and the chief disciple of the chief alchemist, he was under immense pressure from countless eyes scrutinizing him. His lack of talent made it difficult for him to breathe.

Fortunately, his master has treated him as always over the years, teaching him alchemy, imparting alchemical formulas, and even entrusting him with various affairs of the alchemy sect. What a great trust this is.

However, he still hadn't learned even two or three tenths of it, which was truly shameful!

Seeing that the other person kept their head down, Xi Mingzhu mistakenly thought that they were sad because he hadn't accompanied them to deliver the pills. It was just a short trip, why should he go against his disciple's wishes?

"Why are you looking down? I'll answer you."

The eldest disciple was dumbfounded. "Huh?"

"I've agreed to go to Qingquan Town, but I still need to test your alchemy skills. Don't think I'm being harsh; after all, you are my first disciple, Xi Mingzhu's first disciple. I can't let my alchemy skills be left unsold after my soul and body perish."

After saying this, Xi Mingzhu felt even more uncomfortable. Would he have cared about so many things in the past? What happens after death is someone else's fate, and he has no right to interfere.

Even one's chief disciple's future path depends on their own destiny, and which path they take is up to them, not on the alchemy techniques he imparts.

His concern never seemed to be the inheritance of alchemy techniques and formulas; what he was striving for was the level he could reach.

Even if no one outside calls him Master Xi, he never feels that he is at the top.

The eldest disciple wore a bitter expression upon hearing this, saying, "This disciple will work even harder. This disciple will take his leave now."

After his eldest disciple left, Xi Mingzhu, seeing that it was getting late, immediately started refining pills.

He was so skilled at arson and alchemy that he would bottle up and discard many of the pills he usually used.

Xi Mingzhu took out the formula for the Transformation Pill, searched through his storage ring, and then froze in surprise.

Haven't found all the ingredients for the prescription yet?

Why would he subconsciously feel that these things were already prepared and practiced many times?

I have absolutely no recollection of the alchemy session last night.

Something strange about it.

A restless mind makes things difficult to accomplish. One cannot be impatient when refining elixirs, so Xi Mingzhu put aside his work and went for a walk.

He ran into Miss Lin when he went out, and seeing his happy face, he ran over.

Xi Mingzhu stopped in his tracks. Miss Lin knew that Xi Mingzhu didn't like being touched, so she stopped two steps away.

Two blushes appeared on her face, but she still mustered up the courage to ask the question. She knew that if she didn't speak, Xi Mingzhu would definitely not pay any attention to her.

"Master Xi...did you enjoy the porridge this morning?"

Xi Mingzhu, having heard his eldest disciple mention it, was well aware of Miss Lin's thoughts.

"I'm sorry, I've been practicing fasting for many years, so I don't need these things. Miss Lin, you are of noble status, so please don't do these things again in the future."

After saying this, Xi Mingzhu was about to leave when Miss Lin suddenly grabbed his embroidered robe and looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"Master Xi, how could you like me? I'm sincere."

Xi Mingzhu frowned, feeling inexplicably that the words sounded very familiar but he couldn't figure out why, as if he had forgotten something important.

Still reeling from the awkwardness, Xi Mingzhu muttered to himself, "Don't waste time on trivial matters."

The woman, tears welling in her eyes, threw herself into Xi Mingzhu's arms and hugged him tightly. "Master Xi, I fell in love with you the year you came to my house. I haven't looked at anyone else all these years. My eyes can't see anyone else but you. And you tell me this is a waste of time? Is my love worthless to you? Why do you have to trample on it so wantonly?"

Xi Mingzhu shoved Miss Lin aside, and a sharp blade grazed his arm.

"..." Xi Mingzhu lowered his eyes and looked at his torn robe, his expression complicated.

To kill someone simply because you rejected them? Is that also part of love?

In a daze, I heard a man asking me in my ear with great distress, "How can I like you? Brother, please teach me so I can try harder."

Who is he? Why do people call him brother?

Xi Mingzhu, who was adopted by his master from birth, was certain that he was not anyone's older brother. He was the last disciple his master had ever accepted. There were senior brothers and sisters in the sect, but never junior brothers or sisters.

The person who can call him brother... no... Miss Lin just now hated him because of love?

Impossible... Even that man knew to humbly ask for advice after being rejected. Miss Lin, with her gentle nature, would never do such a thing.

Xi Mingzhu stared coldly at Miss Lin, who was holding a sharp blade, and asked, "Who are you?"

"Master Xi, you don't recognize me in the Lin family? Those who have betrayed me, die!!"

As the sharp blade pierced through, Xi Mingzhu instinctively used his Soul Fire.

Miss Lin was burned and eroded by the flames, and in pain, she dropped the dagger and covered her face.

"It hurts...it hurts so much...! Ah!!"

In the blink of an eye, the person vanished into thin air.