Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

Sect Leader Fang was reading "Sword Immortal Master" in the Enlightenment Hall, chuckling occasionally and sighing sometimes.

Gu Yi, standing beside him, looked out the window, gazing at the rising fortune of the Star-Picking Tower.

"Master, the fortune of our Star-Picking Tower is so prosperous in this generation, has it really fallen on that Junior Sister Zhu?"

She could only look at the city, the mountains, and the sects, but she couldn't discern an individual's fortune.

Therefore, many things can only be guessed.

Sect Leader Fang chuckled and said:

"Why bother with all that? They're all children of our Zhaixinglou."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Zhu Wuyao sheathed her sword. The tree in the neighboring courtyard was one she had recently planted. Fortunately, there weren't many disciples of the Star-Picking Tower, and their residences were kept separate from each other.

Otherwise, digging a hole and planting a tree under the moonlight would be somewhat inconvenient.

The Frost Transformation move in the Falling Leaf Sword technique is not suitable for sparring with fellow disciples. In recent days, she has been pondering how to weaken the power of Frost Transformation.

Try your best to win the championship without compromising your own life.

Moreover, this sword technique is quite tricky; she has to slowly erode a person's life force, requiring a prolonged battle. One or two strikes are hardly effective.

I took out the two copies of "Sword Immortal Master" and looked at them again. The binding wasn't very good, but it was enough.

If I happen to run into Ye Xiaozhou, I can bring one of these books to her.

Classes started the next day.

She could clearly sense that Hua Yingting was somewhat distracted. The usually good student was actually daydreaming in class?

After leaving Chunhuitang that day, Hua Yingting thanked her repeatedly. Zhu Wuyao had once asked her how she could tell that the old woman was not simple.

Hua Yingting told the truth.

It turned out that she had once obtained this secret manual of alchemy by chance. The author did not sign his or her name, but only left a seal on an illustration on a certain page.

The design on the plaque around the waist of the old woman at Chunhuitang is the same as that seal.

"Ah Yao, a large part of the reason I embarked on the path of alchemy cultivation was the guidance of that secret manual. The principles of medicinal properties and the methods of fire control were written in a clear and thorough manner, and the author was by no means an ordinary person."

"It was only after I entered the path of alchemy cultivation that I discovered the unique alchemy methods in this manual. After years of exploration, I can no longer learn the ordinary alchemy methods."

Unfortunately, that manual only covers introductory knowledge for beginners.

The more advanced parts ended there, but Hua Yingting achieved such success with just half a book of secrets.

For many years, I have been searching for the second half of the book but have not been able to find it.

Zhu Wuyao then realized that if the old woman of Chunhuitang was indeed the author of that secret manual, then Hua Yingting should be considered as having received half the kindness of a teacher.

School's over.

When Zhu Wu asked her about the aftermath, Hua Yingting seemed quite worried and said:

"That senior seemed unwilling to teach me, especially after he heard that I was a disciple of Zhaixinglou, he was even less willing to pay attention to me."

"I'm even considering whether I should find a way to leave the Star-Picking Tower and become a disciple of a senior..."

Although she was doing well at Zhaixinglou and had basically established herself there.

If you want to quit, you have to give Zhaixinglou an explanation. You can't just learn it all, use it all, and then turn your back on it.

But when faced with the true path of alchemy that she wanted to pursue, Hua Yingting would rather give up several layers of cultivation, return the magic treasures she had acquired in exchange for double the amount, and start all over again.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wuyao's mind stirred, and after a moment's consideration, he said:

“This is your own future path, and I shouldn’t say anything, but if that old woman doesn’t like the Star-Picking Tower, why does she live in Beixuan City?”

"Furthermore, if you leave the Star-Picking Tower, that senior may be even less likely to accept you."

Hua Yingting asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why?"

"Because there is a kind of relationship that means—even though I don't like you, I won't allow anyone else to hurt you."

"what?"

Hua Yingting was a little confused; she had never witnessed such a twisted and strange relationship before.

"It is unspeakable, unspeakable. My opinion is only for reference. If you listen to my words and then blame me in the future, what should I do?"

Zhu Wuyao had long noticed that the old woman at the clinic had a strange attitude toward Zhaixinglou, and he also remembered what Shen Anzhi had said about a senior who had written down the art of clairvoyance before his defection.

Although my mother-in-law cultivated alchemy, it had nothing to do with the art of clairvoyance, so they must not be the same person.

But based on this, we can expand our imagination and come up with a grand drama.

For example, the old woman originally had a good relationship with Zhaixinglou, but because Zhaixinglou was unwilling to change the fate of the person she cared about, she knew that fate could not be easily changed, so she could neither love nor hate, and could only confine herself to Beixuan City...

Hua Yingting chuckled softly and said:

"Since it's a major life event for me, how could I make a decision based on just a few words from others? I must have thought it through myself before I did it."

"Does this mean that someone else should be responsible for my own path?"

"I must thank you for bringing me to that old woman. From now on, if you ask me to refine pills, I will not charge you."

"Alright, alright, let's go check the registration form!"

The two arrived at the registration form for the sect competition and saw the rounds and rules.

It is divided into three days, with one session in the morning and one in the afternoon.

She's in the session tomorrow afternoon, and her opponent is a senior student named Shi Tao. He's not from the same batch of students as her; he's probably a disciple from one or two generations earlier.

If they are ambitious enough, they will probably reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining by the time they are in their twenties or thirties. If they are not ambitious enough, they may only reach the third or fifth level of Qi Refining.

She looked at the others and saw that her junior sister, Tang Xin, had actually run into Xiao Qingyu, who was supposed to be in a good mood. Her luck was really bad, but at least her ranking wasn't determined by this competition.

Looking further down, it's Xiao Liuzi?

A mutated wind spirit root—could it be this extraordinary? The talent is truly top-notch. To be able to sign up for the competition after only a few months of training, one must be at least at the third level of Qi Refining…

Shen Anzhi is truly going all out.

Hua Ying stopped beside her and said with a smile, "My opponent is this senior sister named Feng Chen, whom I have never heard of before."

"Ah Yao, if the two of us were to face off, who do you think would admit defeat?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wuyao smiled and said:

"Then it's your turn to admit defeat. I've reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining."

"what?"

Hua Yingting's eyes widened slightly as she looked Zhu Wuyao up and down, then she snorted and said:

"Then I'll have to give it a try and see how capable you are at advancing through the mule-slaying technique."

After saying that, he slipped another pill into Zhu Wuyao's hand and said:

"Your older sister loves you, so here's a pill for you. It's for healing, so use it however you like, except when facing me."

Zhu Wuyao accepted the gift with a smile and thanked him repeatedly.

Turning her head, Hua Yingting caught sight of Xu San'er's worried face and followed her gaze, stepping forward with a smile to ask:

"What, have you met your match?"

"Oh my dear sister, isn't that right? My opponent is known as Tianluo Wang Huai. If I remember correctly, he should be at the seventh level of Qi Refining. I am only at the fifth level of Qi Refining. It's a bit tricky for him to deal with me."

Just tricky?

Zhu Wuyao looked Xu San'er up and down; it seemed he had quite a few treasures on him.